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Windfall

16 March 2010, 6:37 pm

My mom called me awhile ago and told me she has some random food items that she thought I might like (her fiancé ordered a bunch of food online and I guess this came with it). Not going to lie, when she said “organic raw pecan butter” I got really excited, because hello, that stuff isn’t cheap.

Yesterday, I picked up my windfall. The foodie goodies from my mom, along with a jar of homemade reduced-sugar blueberry jam gifted to me from a good family friend (actually, she’s an angel in my eyes since she lived with and took care of my grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s, before my grandma went into the convalescent home) made me a very happy camper. I mean, check out this stuff (and, I don’t have to review it unless I want to, heehee).

windfall

According to J.D. over at Get Rich Slowly, if you experience a windfall you should take care of your immediate needs and save some for a rainy day (like, when you find yourself suddenly out of nut butter, I suppose). However, I don’t follow anything that they recommend on Get Rich Slowly—ask me how that emergency fund is doing—so I immediately dug into that mini jar of the pecan butter. Much like the first time I tried almond butter, I didn’t like it at first but the second time I tasted it I was a big fan.

I had been planning for weeks to make banana bread a la Foods of April. I’ve come to terms with the fact that my sweet tooth is not going away, so I wanted to have a healthier option around for my after-dinner treat.

Side note: I’ve been finding myself more snacky at night lately, which I’ve never had a problem with before. I know it has a lot to do with the fact that I’m alone a lot for dinner nowadays, due to Mitch’s school schedule. I’ve recognized it though, which is a start, right? I’m trying the classic “kitchen is closed” and “hot tea” tricks too, which help.

However, I was not feeling great last night (nothing big) and therefore I realized after putting in the oven that I had used baking soda instead of baking powder.

Oops.

I did a quick Google search and learned that baking powder makes things rise whereas baking soda makes things rise and neutralizes acid (like lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, etc) in recipes. This recipe didn’t have any acid, I don’t think, so I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. Wasting ingredients makes me really mad so I was hoping this wouldn’t be a baking fail.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that leavening did, in fact, occur.

banana bread

I think 40 minutes was a little too long because it was a little more browned on the outside then I would have liked. Otherwise, it came out pretty good! (I’m sure it would have been better with baking powder though, don’t get me wrong). It definitely tasted like a “healthy treat” but as such, it was really flavorful and comforting, two important components to banana bread. I think a slice of this, toasted and served with some crack Dark Chocolate Dreams (or raw pecan butter, if you will) is a much better nightly treat than, say, white chocolate chips and Cadbury Crème eggs.

banana bread 2

The lighting wasn’t great here, but I think you can see how I overcooked the outside a tad but inside the bread is moist (gross word) and delicious. Great job on this one, April!

I still can’t get over this time change! It’s almost 6:30 and still light out. I know I’m not going to be loving it when I have to take Nina on her walk in the morning before work, but I’m thinking I’m going to do most of my weekday running after work once I start seriously training for my half marathon. Oh have I not talked about that in awhile? Yep…still registered. Slightly freaked out. But I’ll survive…training officially starts in less than a month!

Are you “snacky” at night ever? How do you deal with it?

Are you signed up for any races or sporty-type events? If not, I highly recommend signing up for something…it’s great motivation if you need a little push!

Later gators :-)

Filed under Exercise, baking, product review, sweets. Tagged , , , , , , , ,
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How I Stir Fry

8 March 2010, 8:06 pm

In my last post I talked about one of my two “go-to” meals, a big pot of yummy soup. I mentioned my other "go-to” was a big stir fry. Just like with my soup-making skillz, I feel like I’ve gotten pretty good at making a decent stir fry.

I press a block of extra-firm tofu between paper towels and heavy books for at least 30 minutes. I then cut the tofu into bite-size blocks and marinate for at least an hour. Usually my marinade is a mixture of low-sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, Bragg’s, and chili garlic sauce. A few weeks ago I won a sample pack of sauces from Annie Chun’s (thank you, Twitter) so I used their sesame-soy-shitake sauce for the stir fry I made last week. The  nutritional stats are decent but it’s a bit high in sodium.

achung sauce

 

P.S. I used to do tofu/chicken to make my carnivorous man happy, but lately we’ve begun eating organic chicken about once a week so I’ve been making stir fries with all tofu to save the chicken for something else…and to my surprise, the BF does not mind at all.

In a wok I heat about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil or coconut butter in a pan over medium-high heat. I know you aren’t supposed to use olive oils at high heat, but I do and I’m still here to talk about it. Anyway, I cook the protein until browned (usually 4-5 minutes) and then I remove them to a plate a set aside.

tofu stir fry 1

(woah, bad photo! I have got to get better lighting in my kitchen,)

I then spray the wok with PAM add all my vegetables in order of “toughness” to the wok Broccoli or cabbage and onions usually go in first (since I like onions well cooked) followed by carrots (thinly sliced), celery, bell peppers, bok choy, or anything else you like. I add a splash of soy sauce, a splash of rice wine vinegar, and half a bottle a touch of Sriracha to help “steam” the vegetables and add some extra flavor. I don’t use garlic too much because it tends to burn on me.

When the vegetables are 90% done (and this depends on how crunchy you like your veggies, so taste-test!) I add the protein back in and cook until everything together for a few more minutes.

 

And we’re done! I served my dinner with some quinoa and more Sriracha (and the old, “use a salad plate to make it look like you have more food” trick. Which in case you were wondering, doesn’t work so well when you pile your plate to the brim and  have to move it into a bowl and photographing in order to eat it.). You could also serve this with rice or noodles (whole grain, of course!).

tofu veggie stir fry

And that’s how I stir fry :-)

This bottled sauce was just OK as a tofu marinade. It smelled great, but the flavor on the tofu wasn’t that strong even though I marinated it all day. I have 5 more flavors to test out, though, so we’ll see.

Do you make stir fries often? How does your method compare to mine? I’d say I do some sort of stir fry at least once a week. I love testing out new recipes,  but sometimes you gotta go with what you know.

In other news…is anyone as glad as I am that Monday is over? Today was pretty hectic at work…the bosses are all doing budgets for the next year and that process is about as fun as it sounds. Budget time makes me happy I’m just a “worker bee.”

Also, in case you’re keeping track, I am sticking to my New Year’s goal of trying one new restaurant a month. But I was camera shy for February and March! Last weekend we went to Vagabond, where I had “Peruvian-spiced pork shoulder oven-roasted in banana leaves served with sweet potatoes, plantains, and au jus” which sounds somewhat better that it tasted. The sweet potatoes were undercooked which was a major bummer, but I really like the plantains! Can’t win ‘em all.

On the exercise front, I’m solidly in Stage 2 of the New Rules of Lifting for Women, and I can definitely feel I’m increasing in strength, but I’m not going to lie. I was hoping that upping the weight training would lead to some weight loss (due to increased metabolism and muscle mass) but I haven’t seen it yet. That might be due to a semi-new habit of nighttime snacking I’m trying to nip in the bud, but still. I exercise a good amount and I eat pretty healthy, so I’m not sure what else I can do differently at this point. I have one month until “official” half marathon training starts so I’m stick with this program for now.

This less-than-super day has left me with a bit of a headache so I think I might try to get to bed early. I have a date with my pup and a big hill in the morning!

XOXO

Filed under Tips, dinner, easy, product review, vegetables. Tagged , , , , , , ,
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Black Bean Chipotle Soup

3 March 2010, 8:57 pm

I think my two favorite things to cook are stir fries and soup. (Mmmm…fries….oh wait. Never mind). I love them because they are easy, relatively quick to pull together, and are so adaptable. Plus there’s the potential for lots of leftovers and the ability to basically throw whatever you have in the kitchen together for a nutritious meal.

I have wanting to make black bean soup for awhile, and this weekend I finally got my act together. (You know, chopping onions is REALLY hard work.) I was a little nervous because it seemed like I was adding a lot of chipotle, but I pretty much have no ceiling on my heat tolerance so I knew I could handle it. I didn’t use a recipe but I had a feeling it would come out ok, given my previous soup-making successful.

P.S. what do you do with half a can of chipotles in adobo? That and coconut milk are two ingredients I love but rarely use since I don’t know what to do with the leftovers. I think chipotle scrambled eggs might be on the breakfast menu tomorrow. But I digress.

This is a great recipe because it relies on pantry staples (plus onion and carrot, which you could even leave out if need be). And you can mix it up however you want. I kept it simple but you could add a can of diced tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, corn, whatever you want.

Also, you don’t need a crock pot. Just throw everything together, heat to boil and simmer for 30 min (I think?) and then go on your soup-eating way.

According to Spark Recipes nutritional calculator, 1/4 of this recipe (without garnishes) has about 257 calories with 16 grams of fiber and 14 grams of protein, and a host of nutrients including 23% of your daily iron needs. Whew!

Black Bean Chipotle Soup

Ingredients:

  • one medium onion, chopped
  • 2 large or 3 small carrots, chopped
  • 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2-3 canned chipotle peppers, diced
  • 2-3 Tbsp adobo sauce (from the can of chipotles)
  • 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • salt and pepper to taste (I didn’t add any)
  • garnishes: chopped cilantro, chopped onions, avocado, cheese, etc.

Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients into a slow cooker and mix.
  2. Cook on low for 8 hours.
  3. If desired, puree in batches some or all of the soup (using a blender, food processor,etc) until desired consistency is reached. I pureed about 3/4 if it.
  4. Stir and serve with the same garnishes you would with chili.

Since I can’t really call a blended recipe a meal, as much as I wish I could (guess I need to chew…protein smoothies? I’m full for an hour tops, no matter what) I added avocado and quinoa to my bowl.

  

After mixing it all up and making it look totally unappetizing, I added a dollop of light sour cream. I would have preferred Greek yogurt but the sour cream was already open and I hate waste. I don’t like sour cream or yogurt as a chili topper but I loved it with the soup. Gave it a “depth of flavor” as they say on Iron Chef.

soup on spoon

Some blogger (don’t remember who, sorry!) wrote that the uglier-looking the food, the better is tastes. I think she had something with that one. This was an excellent soup. The heat wasn’t as strong as I was expecting, and the simplicity of the ingredients allowed the flavors of the peppers and the beans to really shine through.

(And I don’t know why but with my new camera, all my photos are a lot more rectangular that my old ones were and I don’t think I like it. Does anyone know if that’s something I can fix in the settings or something? Hmm…)

I’m listening to American Idol (don’t hate) while writing this post and the girl just talked about how she can say “give me a kiss” in seven languages. Which brings me to tonight’s uber-random questions. I want to learn the foodie and non-foodie sides to my lovely readers!

  1. How many (and what) languages do you speak? I used to be “proficient” in Spanish (meaning, not fluent but close enough) but I’ve lost nearly all of it since college, which makes me sad. And I can say a smattering of words/phrases in Hebrew, Russian…and I think that’s it. Bo-ring!
  2. What food(s) are you craving right now? This took care of my black bean soup craving, but lately it’s been slow-roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed chard…ok, ok, and a juicy hamburger with French fries (mmm…fries). And frozen yogurt.
Filed under crock pot, dinner, recipes, vegetables. Tagged , , , , , , ,
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My New Blue Toy

1 March 2010, 7:11 pm

Susan was right, I got a new camera! I went with the one I’d been eyeing, a Canon Powershot SD1200 IS. It’s so much faster and smaller (yet the screen is way bigger) than my other camera and although they say megapixels don’t matter that much, my old camera was 5 MP and this one is 10 so that’s quite the upgrade! I can’t wait to play along with it.

Canon_SD1200_IS_Blue_1

(photo source)

It was really hard not to pick the pink one :-) but I’m trying to rebel against my reputation as “Hallie who likes all things pink.” Not totally sure why though…

I’m still playing around with it but I’m having fun so far! I never buy myself toys (unless you consider Larabars, toothpaste, or dog food toys, which hey, you might). I know this is going to make photography much easier and enjoyable. With my old camera, I’d have maybe one non-blurry shot out of the 15 photos I would take, but with this one it’s at least 50/50 (which, considering I’m in macro, is not bad).

Here’s the winning photo of tonight’s dinner (I ate early tonight because, well, I was hungry! I’m planning on going to bed EARLY so I show up to work on time for once have plenty of time for the gym in the morning):

italian chili w quinoa and veggies2

We call this “Italian chili” and I’ve probably mentioned it before. We used to call it “spaghetti sauce” but since we never eat it with spaghetti, I renamed it. Mitch takes this recipe for tomato sauce and adds extra vegetables (zucchini, artichokes, and bell pepper) and lean ground turkey (cooked before adding to the sauce).

It’s SO delicious and spicy, but I don’t like eating straight sauce (even if it’s called chili) so I bulk it up with vegetables (tonight, cauliflower and more zucchini) and this time, some quinoa. I love making a big batch of quinoa and eating it all week (so ask me why I don’t do it more often?).

Thanks for your comments and thoughts on my last post. I’m at the point where I’m considering counseling but it’s hard to tell what’s normal “girl” behavior and what’s not, you know? It’s funny because I can always recommend therapy to someone else but it’s harder to take that step yourself. Caitlin pointed tonight to her post on the guilt thing and it totally resonated with how I’ve been feeling. She gives tips on how to stop it but it doesn’t seem as easy as “just don’t do it” for me.

Anywho….I made a yummy soup tonight that I’ll post about tomorrow (hopefully). Hopefully the flavors will blend overnight and be even tastier. I guess we’re getting some (relatively) cooler nights this week, so my timing was good.

Questions:

  1. What was the last “toy” you bought for yourself?
  2. What book are you reading right now? Or the last good book you read? I’m reading Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind. It’s not a light read per se but it’s pretty interesting. I am BAD about reading (darn internet and TV) but I really do enjoy it. I may have asked this before but I am always looking for book recommendations!

Night all :-)

Filed under body issues, dinner. Tagged , , , ,
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Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Blondies with Side Notes

24 February 2010, 9:42 pm

Hellooo! How is everyone’s week going so far? Mine’s going…ok, I guess. Work is busy which is always nice, and I worked on a freelance project last night that was looming over my head so it was nice to get things done.

Side note 1: check out my new blog header! I’ll link to the artists website when she has it up and running. Thanks, Shelby (and Lydia).

My application for grad school is due on Friday and ok, I’m kind of freaking out about it. You know, the whole “am I making the right decision” “am I really ready to handle all this extra work” “how am I going to keep up with my exercise (and sleep),” “will I forget what my boyfriend/friends/dog look like” kinds of questions. I’m trying to push those thoughts out of my head and remember all the reasons I want this and why this is the best time for to do it,  but it’s still kinda scary.

Side note 2: The grad school thing, combined with some processed food choices that’s making me feel “puffy,” has led to lots of “fat talk” in my brain this week and I don’t know how to stop it. It’s the kind of stuff I wrote about here and although I wish I could have the healthy relationship with body image that so many others seem to have, I literally don’t know how to go about changing those thoughts that are as normal to me as breathing. Ok…I’m done. Thanks for listening.)

So, three girls at work are expecting babies within the same month or so (I’m staying away from the drinking water, just in case). And since we’ll take any reason for a potluck, we had a joint baby shower to celebrate and embarrasses the male coworkers who showed up for the food.

For the party I decided I’d take the blondie recipe I made awhile ago and try to make it a smidge healthier. And go me, they came out as tasty as I was hoping they would! It didn’t have quite that caramel-buttery flavor of the regular recipe, but they had a nice flavor (and a teeny bit of nutrition) with the sweetness of the brown sugar and chocolate balanced by the hearty pumpkin.

The only problem was that when they were done baking, it was still really gooey in the middle. I think maybe it was the moisture of the pumpkin? I know we all love our undercooked baked goods, but the middle pieces were definitely not worthy to serve to other people so I kept them all for myself. 

pumpkin blondies

See what I mean? But for a “not-so-butter-laden” treat, they were excellent. I want to experiment further with “healthified” baked goods. I’ve come to terms with my sweet tooth, so I have to find a way to make desserts I can eat (in moderation!) sans guilt (see side note #2).

Side note 3: I did warn the guests of honor that I was 99% sure the eggs were cooked all the way through, but not 100%. I am caring that way.

Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Blondies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen (adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick of butter, melted
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Big pinch salt
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 0.5 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 to 2 cups chocolate chips (I used most of a 12 oz bag, might have been too much)

Directions:

  1. Butter (or spray) a 9×13 pan
  2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar and pumpkin until smooth.
  3. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
  4. Add salt, then stir in flours. Mix in chocolate chips
  5. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 25-30 minutes. It might be too soft in the middle, but you don’t want the edges to overcook.
  6. I recommend letting them cool completely before cutting.

pumpkin blondies cut

See, totally edible. :-) I cut them into mini pieces, because it’s all about the “dessert sampler” at a potluck, as everyone knows.

Side note 4: What do you think of the “sit around and watch the guest of honor open gifts” thing at showers? I am not a fan. How many times can you ooh and ahh over a bib set (baby shower) or serving spoons (at a bridal shower). If it were me, I wouldn’t want to make my guests stare at my loot.

Side note 5: I bought a new toy today that will hopefully help with my blogging! If you follow me on Twitter you know what I’m talking about, but I’ll keep it under wraps here until it shows up at my door. I’m excited!

And with that, I’m OUT!  I am really trying to get more (read: adequate) sleep, even if that means I can’t work out in the morning—and since I prefer AM workouts, it’s incentive to get my butt into bed!.

Filed under Healthy Twist Recipes, Party Time, baking, body issues, recipes, sweets. Tagged , , , , ,
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Have Twitter, will Roast Chicken

18 February 2010, 10:11 pm

UGH I had this whole post written and then Windows Live Writer gave out on me. Serves me right for not saving often enough!

Tonight, I was going to pick up a rotisserie chicken for dinner, but when I got to the store, they were all out. Not wanting to drive to another store (what if they were out too?) or abandon my dinner plans (I promised Mitch he’d have chicken and roasted vegetables waiting for him when he came home from school) I picked up a whole (uncooked) chicken instead. I’ve roasted a chicken twice before, but Mitch and I decided that since the rotisserie chickens are really tasty and only cost a dollar more, homemade roast chicken wasn’t worth the effort (and I HATE removing the the gross stuff inside…it makes me want to vomit and seriously consider vegetarianism).

Before I got home I Tweeted that I was roasting a chicken tonight and asked if anyone had any advice. One of my favorite food bloggers (not just because she lives in San Diego so in theory she could just show up at my house with her delicious snacks and treats) Recipe Girl gave me some tips and pointed me to this funny article about how to roast a chicken. I used a combination of that method and Jenna’s method (basically, the same thing) and I stuffed the poor bird with two small lemons and half a large onion, rubbed the outside with olive oil, garlic salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, and cooked it for 15 minutes at 450. I turned the heat down to 425, squeezed lemon juice on top and cooked it for another 45 minutes.

When I turned down the heat I threw three pans of chopped vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, onion, bell peppers, cauliflower, and sweet potato) into the oven to roast as well. I have never had my oven so packed! I’m so efficient.

I then tried not to spoil my dinner with Newman’s Own Organics protein pretzels (YUM) while I was waiting patiently for the chicken to cook. Note to self: plan smarter next time, Hallie.

Finally, I pulled everything out of the oven and admired my handiwork (aka, placing stuff in the oven. Difficult stuff, really).

oven contents

Note the time. That’s quite late for dinner for me. Boo. But please don’t note my dirty stovetop. It’s on the “to do” list for this weekend for my boyfriend since we all know I don’t clean.

The chicken was a lot more juicy and flavorful then I was expecting. Win! Although that wasn’t my favorite part of the meal. I ate the chicken for the protein, but I stuffed my face with those vegetables…mmmm. I probably had twice what you see below, straight from the pan. Now I’m really full but it’s. worth. it.

I love roasted sweet potatoes with ketchup as well. We’ve been getting sweet potatoes in our CSA the past few weeks so I’ve getting my Vitamin A, that’s for sure.

roast chicken dinner

I think I’ll still go with the pre-cooked chicken most of the time, but this came out pretty good and it was nice knowing that if I get to the store and heaven forbid they are out of chicken or the rotisserie thingy is broken, I can roast my own chicken just fine, thankyouverymuch.

But then when I attempted to carve it, I freaked out because I thought half of it wasn’t cooked, which resulted in a less-than-clean carving job, and about a third of the chicken and the carcass (which I was instructed to save to make stock) ending up in the trash. Fail. Oh well, I got enough for Mitch to have for dinner, but I don’t think we’ll have leftovers.

Oh! And look what I got earlier this week:

DSCF4344

My Secret Bloggie Valentine package! I was paired up with Kelsey, who doesn’t have a blog so she sent me a photo with a little info about herself. Kelsey, I think you need a blog! You seem really cool and you have excellent taste (I LOVE Lindt truffles and can’t wait to try that vegan cookie). Thanks Kelsey! I can’t wait to use the coffee mug. This was my first blogger goodie exchange and it was quite fun, both picking out my items to send and of course, getting some shtuff in return! Blogging is fun :-)

What’s the coolest thing you ever got as a result of blogging (it can be anything…free stuff, making a new friend, a new recipe or fitness idea, a trip to a yoga retreat in Massachusetts…)?

Filed under Tips, dinner, vegetables. Tagged , ,
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Valentine’s Day Hike Recap and a Vegan Recipe

16 February 2010, 10:01 pm

Hello! How was everyone’s weekend? I had yesterday off for President’s Day so today felt like a Monday, and not a normal one at that, since I was in an all-day seminar all about mobile media that was way over my head. And tomorrow at work we’re doing a press conference in the morning, which is always stressful because we put a lot of work into them, and there is a chance no one will show.

Mitch and I went on a long hike with Nina for Valentine’s Day, which was really nice, but during parts of it I was wondering why I didn’t request “chocolate chip pancakes” instead of “hiking a big mountain” as my activity of choice.

mitch leaving me

See that guy at the top of the hill? That’s Mitch (it’s harder for him to go slow so on big hills, we just meet at the top. I know, romantic). I don’t know if you can tell but this hill was REALLY steep so I played the “oh, I’ll just stop for a sec to take a photo” excuse game.

I’m joking (kinda). It was really nice to be out in the sunshine, but it wasn’t too hot since it is, you know, February.

And here I am at the top of Mt. Fortuna, rocking my running skirt, doing the “stupid hip pose” and a little too out of it to forget to put down the camera case.

DSCF4302

We took Nina, but we think it was a little too much for her because her paws got a little irritated by the end. Just to be safe we took lots of water breaks and went slow on the second half of the hike and I was very happy to blame that all on her.

Nina

Look at my dog, hanging out in nature. She was a trooper and slept very well that night. I think she had fun with all those different nature smells, and now we know that we shouldn’t take her on the “full” hike.

Then yesterday, I made a casserole, based of a recipe I found online by Googling “sweet potato chickpea curry.” Mitch is doing the low-carb thing for a few weeks, so I thought I’d go the complete opposite way and make something vegan for myself. It came out well! I stuck two portions in the freezer so I don’t have to eat it every day.

 
Curried Sweet Potato and Bean Casserole
 
Adapted from Recipezaar (and Eat Drink and Be Vegan, apparently)
Ingredients
  • 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas
  • 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans (or other white beans)
  • 1 (4 oz) can green chilies, drained (I used the “hot” kind)
  • 1 cup coconut milk (I used light)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 large red onion, chopped
  • 1 large sweet potato, diced
  • 1 apple, diced
  • 1 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tbsp ginger, minced
  • 1/2-1 tablespoon curry
  • 1/2 tbsp cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
 
  1. Mix all of the ingredients into a large casserole dish. Cover.
  2. Bake, covered, for 70 minutes at 375 degree
  3. Serves 5

curry casserole

Curries always look so unappetizing but taste so good. Lentil curries especially. Side note: I want real Indian food, stat.

I served this “inauthentic” curry over spinach (you know, the whole Popeye thing) topped with Sriracha. I love how food like this is so filling and nutritious and not that calorie dense. I calculated this meal to be under 300 calories a serving. Not bad!

sp bean curry 2

Give it a try!

I’m going to watch the rest of American Idol and go to  bed. Cross your fingers there’s no political scandal, celebrity wedding, or “heavy” rainstorm that might pre-empt our press conference!

Question of the day:

How do you handle stress at work (or school)?

Filed under Exercise, dinner, recipes, vegetables. Tagged , , , , , , , ,
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My New Crazy Endeavor, and Why I’m Becoming Popeye

13 February 2010, 11:58 am

In my last post I asked if you’ve ever done a workout that made you say “WTF AM I DOING” halfway through, and a few of you said yoga. Well, I think I have stumbled upon the craziest of “WTF yoga” out there—Bikram. A friend of mine talked me into going to a class, and since the studio has a “one week unlimited” deal, I felt I needed my money’s worth so I went three times in one week. I’m sure you’ve heard of Bikram before, and I had too, but I thought I’d do fine since I’ve done Vinyasa yoga in a heated room before.

Um. Not the same. At all. Picture a sauna. Now picture working out in a sauna. With 25 other people. That’s Bikram. You start sweating after the first exercise….which is just breathing! Your heart is racing even when you’re in Savasana (lying on the floor) It’s not nearly as “zen” as other yoga I’ve done before, but between the heat and the stretching, I definitely feel “cleansed” when I leave the room. I can’t afford to keep going more than maybe once a week, but I’m going to try to keep it up because in some sadistic way, I really like it.

And, at least at my studio, the people in class are all different shapes and sizes, so I don’t feel out of place. The last time I took yoga at a studio, I felt like the only one who was “bad” at it (and the only one not a size 2, thanks). At Bikram, I know that as long as I’m trying my hardest, I’m doing well.

Oh and I love the quotes the teacher says, things like, “Try not to drink water until I say so. It’s like taking a shot without your friends” and “Small heart attack now to ward off the big one later” and “If you wipe the sweat off, it’ll just come back.” Ok, it’s probably less funny when I’m not on the brink of collapse.

On the food front, I’m trying to turn into Popeye.

baby spinach

I had some routine bloodwork done (which, if you have insurance, I highly recommend getting once a year. No matter how healthy your lifestyle, there are genetic factors to health you can’t know about. Stepping off the soapbox now…) and I was told that I’m slightly anemic. Now, I thought that between my diet and my multivitamin, I was pretty covered, but maybe my body just doesn’t process iron that well? I don’t eat much red meat but I do eat turkey, eggs, chicken, etc. So I don’t know, but when I looked up symptoms of anemia, it sure sounded like me. Pale skin, fatigue, cold hands/feet, etc.

Now, I’m trying to eat even more iron-rich foods to bring up my iron levels. I want to give blood again (I have the universal blood type so they love me) but I haven’t been able to in a long time, because of my low iron. I bought a huge tub of spinach and I’ve been trying to eat as much of it as possible, paired with either some meat (like sliced turkey) or fruit high in Vitamin C to increase the absorption of the iron in the spinach. (Here’s a list of more about high-iron foods here…umm organ meats? Pass on that, thanks)

(Please remember I am NOT a medical professional and I really have no business giving anyone any type of medical or nutritional advice. Doesn’t seem to stop me, though.)

This morning, after Nina and I went on a run, I chopped up a ton of the spinach and blended it with protein powder, soymilk, strawberries, banana, and pineapple. I topped it off with Kashi Heart 2 Heart cereal. I love how you can put a lot of spinach in a smoothie and you really can’t taste it at all…promise!

green SIAB

I need new cereal! I like the H2H but I don’t eat cereal often so it tends to go stale before I finish it. Boo.

Questions:

1. Have you been tested for any vitamin or mineral deficiencies? Do you pay attention to the amount of iron in your diet?

2. What is your favorite cereal?

I’m off to go grocery shopping (I’m developing a Whole Foods problem…this can’t be good!), drop off some clothes at Goodwill, then get ready for work tonight (picking up some overtime hours). Tomorrow Mitch and I are going on a hike and he’s making my favorite BBQ chicken sandwiches for dinner…oh and I’m sure there will be some chocolate eaten ;-)

Have a great weekend and a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Filed under Breakfast/Brunch, Exercise, Tips, vegetables. Tagged , , , , , ,
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Easy Appetizer: Just Add Puff Pastry!

9 February 2010, 8:18 pm

Well, another football season has come and gone (I know, most of you are devastated). On Sunday we had 18 people over to watch the big game, which was a tight squeeze given our small condo, but we made it work. I think a good time was had by all, and as usual we had lots of yummy food and drink to share.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, I ended up making pulled-pork sliders using some precooked pulled pork from Costco that I heated up with Mitch’s homemade chipotle BBQ sauce and serves on sweet Hawaiian rolls. Good stuff.

I also made “my famous” sangria, and I don’t know why I am always surprised when the pitcher is drained 20 minutes after the party starts. I never make enough! I added an apple to this batch, because I thought it’d be pretty. I was right.

superbowl sangria

What a way to get those antioxidants :-)

Anyway, moving on. I wanted to share the recipe for vegetarian-friendly snack I made, because, if I do say so myself, it was the hit of the party. Well that and Mitch’s fresh, Parmesan fried zucchini, but it’s hard to compete with that.

I was proud of myself because I didn’t follow a recipe (although I did look online for assembly and cooking-time advice). I’m going to experiment with puff pastry more in the future, because the effort-to-result ratio made this my kind of snack. One guest said it tasted like Spanikopita. My vegetarian friend said it tasted like it had pepperoni in it, but what does she know (just kidding, friend!). The flavors were really balanced, and they weren’t greasy, salty, or bland.

Puff pastry isn’t exactly healthy, but I liked that I could control the ingredients of the filling and I knew that my vegetarian guests would have something they could enjoy.

Sun-dried Tomato and Spinach Appetizers

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz (or so) sundried tomatoes (see note)
  • 1 (8 or 10 oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
  • ½ or 1 large shallot, chopped
  • 3-4 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
  • Pepper to taste
  • 1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed if frozen (I used Pepperidge Farm)
  • Flour for cookie sheet
  • 1 egg, beaten with 1-2 Tbsp water

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. If you have a food processor, pulse together the first 5 ingredients a few times until everything is combined and tomatoes/shallot are chopped.
  3. If you don’t have a food processor you poor thing, chop the tomatoes and shallot finely and in a medium bowl, stir everything together until combined.
  4. Lightly flour a cookie sheet and unwrap the puff pastry carefully. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut each sheet into 8 equal (or close to it) pieces.
  5. Put 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons spinach mixture on each rectangle and fold over. Seal each “pouch” with a fork, and prick the top of each pastry to allow steam to escape.
  6. Brush the tops of each pastry with the egg wash and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until browned and puffed to your liking.
  7. Let cool on the pan for a few minutes before removing to serving platter. Can be served warm or room temperature. Makes 16.

spinach snacks

Notes:

  • If you’ve never worked with puff pastry before, read a few instructions first.  I didn’t prick the pastry (TWSS??) but I might next time as they were probably more puffy than I would have wanted.
  • I used a package of sun-dried tomatoes that were already plumed up, but that weren’t packed in oil. How do they do that? Anyway, if you get the kind packed in oil (or water), make sure you drain and dry it really well.
  • You can prep everything (except the egg wash) a day (or more?) ahead of time.
  • You could mix this up lots of ways: different herbs/spices, garlic, more or less cheese or a different type of cheese.

If you give these a try, let me know! I’m about to go relax and watch TV before bedtime, but my question for you today is:

Have you ever done a form of exercise where, in the middle of it, you thought “WTF AM I DOING”? I’ll tell you what I’ve been up to, on the exercise front in my next post. (If you follow me on Twitter, you probably already know!)

Filed under Party Time, easy, recipes, vegetables. Tagged , , , , , ,
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A List and An Epiphany

3 February 2010, 7:45 pm

Hey folks! I am in a list-making mood tonight, so I hope you don’t mind. Here are some things that have been going on in my world since I last updated my little bloggy.

  • Work is really busy this week! Some weeks are more hectic than others (as I’m sure if the case with most jobs) and I’m a million times happier when I’m busy and feel productive.
  • Grad school…I need to get my act into gear and fill out my application. It’s not even difficult (since I’ve already applied to this program once, and they don’t require GREs) so I just need to set aside an afternoon and DO it.
  • Freelance is going well (well, relatively speaking)! I have a potential PR client that I’m going to contact this week because they need help. I just have to figure out exactly what I can offer first…
  • I’m going to Bikram yoga tomorrow for the first time! I haven’t done yoga in, oh, forever, so I know I’m going to be awful at it. But I’m looking forward to the challenge. And after yoga, I’m replenishing all that lost sodium by getting sushi with a girlfriend. Mmmm seaweed salad…
  • This weekend, Mitch and I are having a Super Bowl party. If you were a reader from the beginning, you may remember our party last year. The one with the multiple televisions (in a small condo, mind you) , including the one positioned FACINF THE BATHROOM so no one has to miss a moment of the game

bathroom tv

2 tvs

Aw, I spy a cute doggie! Anyway, I’m not sure about the TV set-up this year (and I assume my readers care even less than I do, haha), but I am planning on bringing back this old friend:

DSCF1647

My sangria! (ignore the rest of the booze in the back ok?). I haven’t made it in awhile.

For food, I’m leaning towards simple (read: semi-homemade style) snacks. I want to do some kind of mini sandwiches or sliders but I’m having trouble deciding what to have as the filling…I don’t want burgers so maybe carnitas (store-bought) or ham/cheese, or falafel (from a mix)? Hmmm…

And just to finish off my list with some food/health/fitness type stuff:

  • I’m still doing the New Rules of Lifting for Women workouts, three times a week. I feel like I’m getting stronger, however, since I’m still in phase 1, I’m spending a lot less time at the gym than I normally do. The workouts take me about 25 minutes to complete, which feels too short, but I’m trying to be faithful to the program. I decided to keep it up even when I start officially half-marathon training, I just might cut it to 2x per week or something.
  • Susan and some other bloggers are calling this month Fatty February and making goals for increasing their (healthy) fat intake. I’m jumping on that bandwagon because I am sick of my painful dry skin, especially on my hands. Whole eggs (instead of whites), more oil and less Pam in cooking, almond/peanut butter, and avocados will be my main fats of choice. Man, the things we do for beauty :-)
  • I am making turkey meatloaf right now and it smells SO good. Just had to share.
  • I had a bit of an epiphany last weekend, after my date night. (This will be a long bullet). I came home and was unhappy with myself and my “overeating,” mostly in the form of the alcohol and the chips (the rest I “planned for” you know?). I was felt “fat” and frustrated because I haven’t lost the post-holiday (and post-bootcamp) weight I’ve gained, so I feel like a failure and blah blah blah. Now, I often joke that I “waste” so much brain energy thinking about food and weight that I could probably have solved world peace if I focused my thoughts there instead. But here’s what I figured out. I had a pretty rough week last week, with people that I love going through some hard things, with the Haiti situation making me really sad, etc. Big, life-altering things. I realized that stressing about my weight is easier, safer, than thinking about death, destruction, and pain. Being mad at myself is easier than being mad at…I don’t know, G-d? So that’s what I do. I think.  Now, that doesn’t exactly change things yet, but I think figuring that out at least is a start.

Whew! Sorry for ending this post on a down note like that. But it was weighing heavily (OMG I’m hilarious) on me so I wanted to share my thoughts and see what you guys think. But if you don’t want to comment on that…tell me what I should put in the sliders this weekend!

I’m off to clean the kitchen I just destroyed and then fold laundry while catching up on the DV-R. I know, I live a thrilling life.

Filed under Exercise, Party Time, body issues. Tagged , , , ,
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