BFF, Redefined

It’s BFF Week here at Fit Bottomed Girls, and I’ll agree it’s great to have a BFF Week in your corner to support all of your corporeal endeavors; but today, I’m redefining the definition and taking the BFF to a new level.

This post is about Lori, my Best Foodie Friend.

As the name implies, this type of BFF focuses on another equally important aspect of good health: those eats!

Lori is fearless in the kitchen; there is no recipe too complicated or ingredient too funky for her to try. She transformed my hatred of pickles and showed me a sustainable use for watermelon rind with this recipe. Queen of the kitchen hacks, she knows all the tricks of the trade. When my garden harvest went into overdrive last year, she enlightened me on the simplest way to freeze tomatoes.

Meal-planner extraordinaire, she has an encyclopedia of recipes stored in her head. She can stretch a rotisserie chicken into five meals and can masterfully re-purpose any leftover. Give her three or four random ingredients, and she’ll turn it into a gourmet delight. When mealtime inspiration lacks, Lori is just a phone call away.

She could give lessons on how to stock a pantry, and hers is stocked to the hilt! There is no obscure spice or unusual liquor she doesn’t own, and I’m eternally grateful for all the dibs and dabs I have borrowed that have made my own cooking a success.

A love of horticulture runs through her veins; she keeps a log of what works and doesn’t work in a Midwest garden, so again, why Google when I can knock on Lori’s door, get a first hand tutorial and a glass of her special mint tea blend to boot. (Of course she grows her own mint – four kinds!)

Healthy living is a balancing act. No amount of exercise can make up for a crappy diet, and knowing how to cook well is a powerful tool to possess. Having Lori as a Best Foodie Friend has inspired me to stretch my own culinary boundaries, making mealtime at my house healthier and happier!

Do you have a Best Foodie Friend who encourages you to try new things? Lori and I recently tackled homemade cheese and stretched our own mozzarella! —Karen