Day 29 of 30- Gyros!

Tomorrow is already the last day of the challenge.  I remember thinking on the 3rd of 4th day, "OMGGGGGG THIS IS GOING TO BE THE LONGEST 30 DAYS OF MY LIFE" and agonizing over the foods I wouldn't be able to eat.  I stressed about my meals and what I'd make and if I'd feel full and if I'd feel gross after eating so much meat.  There was a turning point some time after the 10 day mark.  I'm not sure what happened.  Maybe my cooking got better.  Maybe i stopped thinking about things I couldn't eat and started thinking about things I WANTED to make and try!  I think that might have been it.  Recently, I rediscovered EVEN MORE delicious sounding recipes and it made me consider making it a WHOLE 31! or 32.... or 33....... and then I decided, no.  I'll just keep to what works for me and reintroduce and see how that goes.  I know I definitely won't be going back to my previous ways of eating.  I'll be more aware of the foods I put in my body, and I think I have become better at creating in the kitchen, on my feet, on the go, with limited ingredients.  With so many things you can't eat, there's so much you can do to make what you CAN eat infinitely better. 

I love food, and all the flavors of it.  and this challenge really has helped me realize that food in it's most beautiful and unadulterated state can and is amazingly delicious.

My most recent kitchen endeavor has been to make gyros.  I had leftover ground lamb and beef from the shepherd's pie, and I didn't really know what to do with it.  The magical thought of gyros crossed my mind and I immediately banished those thoughts from my mind because I was somehow under the impression that they were IMPOSSIBLE to make!!  But, I looked it up and found that it was actually really reasonable.  on a whim, at 11pm last night, i decided to make it. 

Gyros

Ingredients

Ground lamb (1/2 lb)
Ground beef (1/2 lb)
2 cloves garlic chopped
garlic powder
crushed rosemary
thyme
salt
pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F. 
2.  Knead the meat and warm it up a little, adding the chopped garlic.  (it helps if you break it up into smaller pieces of meat and knead them separately before mashing them all together)
3.  Add the garlic powder, crushed rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper and continue kneading until the spices are mixed in well (I didn't measure these, but I would approximate 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp rosemary and 1/2 tsp thyme.  Next time I make it, i'm definitely doubling the spices and adding more salt.).
4.  Take the ball of meat and throw it firmly on the counter top/cutting board for about 10 minutes.  Somehow, doing this helps create the proper texture.  They say it makes the fats break down?  I don't know, but it worked.
5.  After tossing the meat, pat into a tight ball and flatten slightly to compress into a miniature dense loaf.  Some people may want to take a rolling pin and press it further.  Mine wasn't too big so i just kept it the way it was.  you don't want it to be thicker than about 2-3 in deep. 
6.  Bake in a baking dish (I used a greased 9x11 loaf pan) for ~1hr

Test the meat with a meat thermometer to make sure the inside gets to at least 160F to make sure that the meat is thoroughly cooked and safe.  After you take it out of the oven, let it rest for about 10 minutes or so before slicing into fine strips.

Wooooo out of the oven!

It smelled SO fantastic out of the oven. There was a delicious dark coat and the juices spilled out of the loaf, it seemed wasteful to throw it away.  I snuck a few tastes of the gyros and it was so yummy.  Zorbas in my mouth FTW.  Gyro dinner was a couple slices of gyro, sardines in olive oil, olives, and shredded raw brussels sprouts salad with lemon garlic aioli.  Delicious.  Dessert was coconut date bars from the co-op.  again, delicious :-) 

Tomorrow is the 30th day.  WHAT DO I DO!?!?!?!/

I know that on Saturday morning, I will eat a standard breakfast.  and subsequently enjoy a glass of wine and a frango chocoalte.  That's about as far ahead as I have planned.  and i can't wait :-)

til next time, eat well and be well!

Day 28 of 30- Baba ganoush

I don't know how nature does this, but massive temperature swings have been a fantastically recurring theme this year.  Yesterday was in the 60's.  Today's high was at 10:05AM at 53F, and tonight's low will be 18F.  not cool.  COLD. FREEZING COLD.  This makes preparing to bike a nightmare.  Dressing for the 50's is very different than dressing for the 10's in terms of temperature. OH WELL.  gotta deal with it.

My roommate just told me about the most AMAZING THING ever.  LEGO kits to understand transcription, translation, DNA replication, protein folding..... EVERYTHING!  omg.  THANKS MIT for your brilliant minds.  check this out HERE .  I seriously wish that i had this growing up as a kid.  It would have been so fun to play with in science class and it would have been such an easy and fun way to learn the basics.

Today is a simple and delicious recipe.  I've greatly  missed having hummus and dips and stuff in my life, so baba ganoush is the next best thing :-)  Tahini is still a debatable ingredient, and I think it adds a fantastic layer of flavor.

Baba ganoush

Ingredients

1 large eggplant (try to get the narrower ones) or 2 japanese eggplants
2 T tahini
1 lemon's worth of juice
olive oil
salt
pepper

1.  Cut eggplant in half and roast in the oven 375F, cut side up until eggplant is tender.  Broil briefly to get the nice charred and smoky flavor
2.  When the eggplant is fully cooked, scoop out of the skin and place in food processor
3.  Squeeze in the lemon juice and scoop in the tahini and a drizzle of oil

Next time, I would also roast some garlic and toss those in.  and maybe some olives too for MORE FLAVOR!!!!  Overall, I'm happy with this.  the texture isn't quite the same as hummus, but whatever.  It is a fabulous substitute AND delicious with almost anything!  I dip carrots in it, pour it over my cauli rice, scoop it directly into my mouth and all that jazz :-)

Two more days until i can enjoy my wine and frango chocolate.  Two more days of culinary adventure :-)

til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!!!

Day 27 of 30- Almond Crusted Salmon

IT'S ASHTANGA TUESDAY!  It was in the 60s today in JANUARY..... wtf global warming??  Never the less, it was kind of a grumpy Tuesday.  They've been working on the building I work in and today was exceptionally terrible.  Jackhammering and banging and drilling on the roof just above our desks.  Since we work on the top floor, there's little to buffer us from the loud noises.  It was like some terrible conditioning experiment.  Everyone in the lab was so grumpy and irritable. But of course, there was relief come the lunch hour and then again at 5. Thank goodness for the predictability of union workers...... i guess.

To distance myself from the stressors of every day living, of course it was yoga time.  Today we did our sun As and Bs largely unguided, making us really pay attention to our breath, even inhales, even exhales, matching breath with motion.  inhale, exhale, practicing our ujjayi breath.  I would say that I have seen significant improvement since my first class.  And it's so awesome to see that work put in = results out.  There are so few things in research that actually improve the more you work on it.  It sucks that so much of it is chance, luck, and the stars aligning as pigs fly.

I noticed that I really struggle with some of the poses that involve stretching the quads.  My knees just don't bend that way and my muscle groups just get in the way.  Pulling gastroc out of the way to make room for my hamstrings just isn't enough.  All that running has made my long leg muscles super tight.  And while I may have some strength and stability, I definitely lack the length of muscle and flexibility.  THAT is something I would very much love to improve on.  I can already tell that over the past weeks, my hamstrings are less tight and my shoulders and torso are also more limber.  I found myself getting into binds that I couldn't do last week, and it felt like i had just passed a level onto the next.  so fun.  I'm really digging this new lifestyle.

Recently, I feel like I have been consuming WAY too much meat in the past week.  I think it was because my meals were very red meat heavy and for the life of me, I STILL do not and cannot enjoy beef unless it's doused in some ridiculously delicious sauce or deep fried and still doused in some ridiculously delicious sauce.  I don't like the texture.  I don't like the taste.  I really don't like steaks, but for some reason i endured it.  Gosh, no wonder i just stopped eating red meat all those years ago.   Today was mostly a non warm blooded animal kind of day and I was grateful.  I feel much lighter after eating a meat free lunch and enjoying a hearty salmon for dinner.  I'm definitely cutting back down on the meat consumption after this challenge is over.  It's too hard to spend all that effort digesting animal proteins.  This recipe i'm putting up will be modified from what I actually made.  I attempted to make almond milk over the weekend which means you just blend a ton of almonds and squeeze out all that is delicious then you're just left with the fibrous remains of what used to be delicious almonds.  I tried to dry the crushed almond remains and convert that to vanilla bean flavored almond butter but failed miserably.  It tasted great, but it was just missing all that lovely white flesh.  I decided to use this semi fibrous gritty almond mashed paste thing to coat my salmon and it turned out fantastic. 

Almond Crusted Salmon

Ingredients
Salmon filet
handful of crushed almonds, ideally lightly salted and toasted
salt
pepper
oil

1.  Rub the salmon with oil and sprinke lightly with salt and pepper
2.  Press the salmon into the crushed toasted almond mix unti you get a wonderful coating of nuts.  I would probably try to put on as many almonds as possible.  In my case, i just scooped a ton of the weird paste and caked it on the salmon.
3.  Bake at 425 for 15 min, making sure that the almonds don't burn
4.  Quickly broil the fish to get the nuts nice and toasted (i had to broil mine a lot to get the paste to be toasty and crispy)
5.  Serve with generous helping of veggies

looks uggo, but so delicious!!

I had my salmon with cubed sweet potatoes that i cooked up in my skillet with some brussels sprouts and fennel with a handful of grape tomatoes.  Loved the colors.  Loved the flavors.  Loved the textures.  And it was super filling and delicious.  I love food and all the flavors of it.

til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!

Day 26 of 30 - Squash and Crab Bisque

Today was an indulgent day of eating.  I guess I still can't help myself when there's such delicious food in front of me.  I had leftover shepherd's pie and I made this fabulous Squash and Crab Bisque..... definitely went for seconds with the soup.  definitely didn't need that second bowl.  but...... definitely worth it. 

I neglected yoga all weekend because of unforseen circumstances.  This week threatened to prevent me from going to class, but after some coaxing and finagling, I am having my cake and eating it too.  Today was hatha monday.  I'm not used to hatha so i was really nervous.  It was challenging to hold poses for longer than i was used to, not to mention i haven't quite broken in the new mat yet so it's still a little slippery.  Makes the jump ups a *little* tricky with the looming threat of slipping.  I got a fantastic workout just trying to maintain good form in downward facing dog.  Today's class was based on concentration.  Concentration in your practice, focus in your practice.  We did a lot of balances, focusing on a single point, used that focus to drive our bodies to practice something a little different in our transitions. 

One thing that really struck me was the way your body has preferences.  The way you cross your arms-- is it right arm on top or left arm over?  The way you cross your legs, the way you clasp your hands, flexibility in your shoulders, open-ness of your hips.  The instructor asked us to cross our legs the opposite way to have equal opening, practicing with our legs crossed one way and making sure to do the same with our legs crossed the other way, the same for the clasping of our hands.  It brought a lot of attention to the way certain things felt so unnatural one way, and natural the other way, and it really made me think about the asymmetry in our bodies.  I appreciated the balance in the practice, between theory, learning, and movement as well as the way we tried to concentrate on our bodies and it's symmetry or asymmetry.

foggy ride home

I've been at this new studio for less than a month, and it already feels like I've found such a great new home.  I love the people there, and it's been so warm and welcoming.  And of course, warm and welcoming was the theme of today's dinner.  It was a warm and balmy mid 50's today.  96% humidity = relatively dense fog.  i LOVE fog.  it is so romantic.  and beautiful.  and leaves you alone with your emotions and thoughts.  just you, your heart, your mind, and the fog.  I think the humidity really got to me though, because despite the high temperatures, I was still chilled to the bone.  Hence, the soup.

Squash and Crab Bisque

Ingredients
8oz crab meat
1 largeish acorn squash (any delicious squash here will do, actually)
1 med onion
3 stalks celery
1-1 1/2 c chopped carrots
3-4 c vegetable broth (or chicken broth or home made broth)
1 c coconut milk
1 1/2 T ghee
salt
pepper
water

1.  Preheat the oven to 375F.  Cut squash in half and place in a baking dish with 1/2 inch of water, cut side down and place in the oven.  Bake until the squash is tender to fork.
2.  While the squash is baking, chop the onion, celery and carrots and sautee in ghee until the onions are translucent
3.  When the vegetables are fully cooked, add the broth and simmer for ~15 min then take off the heat.
4.  When the squash is done cooking, scoop the flesh out from the skin and place in soup. 
5.  Blend the soup in batches until it reaches a consistency that you like
6.  Add cocnut milk and crab chunks and simmer briefly.  Salt and pepper to taste

so delicious!

I'm really excited about this soup.  It's really simple but it'll be easy to jazz up with any spices or to have with a salad or cauliflower rice.  This pot comfortably made about 6 servings.  I think I probably had 2 of those 6 servings today. oh well.  :-)

til next time, eat well and be well.

Day 25 of 30- Sweet Potato Shepherd's pie

Winters are so dreary sometimes.  Yesterday was a beautiful and sunny day.  Fiona's boyfriend came by and napped on the deck, curled up in a scruffy ball of cream colored fur.  today..... it was cold and wet and humid, the kind of cold that chills you to the bone, where even the hottest soups and the spiciest foods won't warm you up. I have no idea how the cats survive outside on gross days like today, or really cold days like earlier in the week.

Anyway, yesterday was so fantastic, and the thought of the warm sunny saturday afternoon's activities warmed me up.  A friend of mine from the program recently gave birth to a cute little baby girl.  My photography partner in crime and I went over to her apartment to take some cute photos of the 2 mo old baby, and it was tons of fun.  I have no idea how the couple do it, barely sleeping, trying to figure out what each of the baby's cries and sounds mean.  Complete mystery to me, but all cries, diaper changes, and fussing aside, baby K is cute as a button.  I look forward to taking some family photos out in the park when it gets warmer out :-)  picnic style!

cute little baby K :-)

It's been a while since I did a shoot, so this was a great breath of fresh air.  Babies are also a new photo subject, so that was a  new and exciting challenge. 

Today's recipe is a modified shepherd's pie, with a sweet potato crust.  It is so earthy, filling, warm, sweet and delicious.  The perfect combination of sweet, savory, and delicious.

Shepherd's pie with sweet potato

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground lamb (from the local farm!)
1/2 lb ground beef (we saw that ground grass fed beef was like, not THAT much  more expensive than whatever ground beef they sell at the grocer)
1 large leek
1 med onion
large handful mushrooms
1/2 green bell pepper
carrots
celery
1/2 c vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
2 medium sized sweet potatos
salt
pepper
rosemary
parseley
thyme

1.  Chop the sweet potato into small sized chunks and roast in the oven until tender (set oven to 350 or 400 and turn down to 350 when baking the assembled dish)
2.  While the sweet potato is baking, chop the vegetables.
3.  Mix the ground lamb with the beef and season with salt and pepper, rosemary and thyme and some parseley
4.  Heat a big skillet/frying pan with some ghee and cook the meat until fully cooked.
5.  Toss in the vegetables and sautee with the meat until fully cooked.
6.  Add in the chicken broth and half the can of coconut milk and simmer with the vegetables until some of the liquids boil off.  Move the meat and vegetables to a glass baking dish until the mash is prepared
7.  When the sweet potatoes are fully cooked, process them in the food processor with a splash of broth and the remaining can of coconut milk.  Season with salt and pepper
8.  Scoop the sweet potato mash over the meat and vegetables in a nice layer and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes
9.  Set the oven to broil and broil on high for another 10 minutes

Serve:

A hot messy mash of veggies meat and potatos

I'm trying not to let days like today get me down.  I had an entire weekend devoid of yoga, and it's strange how down i feel.  I'm trying to find a happier place in my  mind and looking forward to hot summer nights when I look to the sky while biking home and see the sky like this:

Til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!

Day 22, 23 and 24 of 30- Garlic and lemon aioli

Less than a week to go.  On Feb 2, I will be free to reintroduce foods into my diet again.  Exciting!

It's been a couple days since my last post-- it's been kind of a crazy couple days mostly because it was my birthday :-)  and I had too much fun celebrating and being surrounded by amazing people.  I was so impressed by the thoughtfulness of people.  awesomely notable gifts would be the orchids my parents sent me, many thanks to D for picking them up from the flower shop!!! and the secret package my dad sent (a super cute HOT pink wallet, with a nostalgic and embarrassing photo of me haha) and this awesome yoga anatomy book from D.  It was truly a trifecta of awesome:  Yoga, Anatomy, and BOOKs!  It's so cool to know what muscles are involved in each pose, the way you can engage certain groups, and with my basic anatomy knowledge, seriously, best idea ever!  I'll know my poses inside and out :-)  Lastly, I can't even express the kind of joy that washed over me when this last gift was handed to me.

I had been eyeing this awesomely cute new Manduka yoga mat.  It was a beautiful light blue/turquoise, and it called out to me almost every day.  Who knows how many times I'd look at the bin before and after class to make sure it was there and silently and not silently telling myself that as a gift to myself, I'd get myself a new mat.  I was SO EXCITED to buy it.  But before i could get to it, my amazing yogi friend Kat had gotten her hands on it first.  She reached behind the counter and pulled out a monster pink tissue paper wrapped gift and was like, happy birthday!  I was so overwhlemed when I saw that she got me the mat!!!!!!!!  So much so i nearly cried.  I'm such a baby sometimes.  Apparently there had been a whole plan to get me to notice that the mat was missing from the bin and they wanted me to be sad about someone buying it and then i would have been presented with the mat.  I was planning on looking for it and buying it after class, but this surprise was so awesome.  And from afar, I got a cute little bag from two very very amazing people M and J. It's like the perfect size to fit my camera + lenses and I'm so excited to take it around with me.  I am so lucky to be surrounded by so many thoughtful and caring people, it really made my day.  I'm excited to grow inside and out and I really hope that this year brings a lot of great things.

my new baby :-)

I hope that I can return all the thanks and gratitude in more ways than one, and make everyone's day a little brighter just as everyone makes mine a little brighter! 

I haven't been cooking as many exciting and involved dishes, they mostly have been quick stir frys and salads.  But this week, I am going on a culinary adventure:  making almond milk, shepherd's pie, and beet salads. 

D and I went out for a birthday dinner to one of the local restaurants.  They focus heavily on locally grown and organic goods, and we found that their menu was very amenable to our challenge. One thing they also did fantastically well was help us realize that O.M.G...... there are OTHER WAYS to cook and eat our food!  Some inspiring things were fried Brussels sprouts with a white truffle and lemon aioli, beet salad, root vegetable mash (since mashed white potatoes are a no go, i think roasted root vegetables are AOK), and just getting even more creative with how we eat and present our foods.  Of course this isn't the best time saving method, but I am sure that once in a while, cooking fancy and trying new things is fun.

So here's to new tastes, trials, and tribulations in the kitchen.

Dinner today was awesomely fantastic:  shepherd's pie, beet and fennel salad with garlic and lemon aioli.  The co-op carried some beets, and I grabbed a bunch of normal red ones and then a mystery beet. When i cut it open, it was just such a beautiful work of art!  I don't even know what kind of beet this is, but it was such a decadent treat for my eyes :-)

Beautiful Beets!

Beets with fennel!

Garlic and lemon aioli

2 cloves garlic
1 large egg yolk (warmed to room temp)
1T fresh lemon juice (about all the juice from half a lemon is good)
1/4 c olive oil
3T vegetable oil
1t whole seed mustard

1.  Chop and crush garlic with a sprinkle of salt
2.  Whisked the egg yolk with mustard and lemon juice until it becomes a thick consistency
3.  slowly drizzle in the oil, not letting it separate
4.  When completely whisked and a nice thick consistency, add the garlic.  Add salt and lemon to taste

delicious aioli!

We wanted ours to be more lemony, so we ended up adding a LOT more lemon juice, and a dash more salt.  I had truffle salt laying around so i was sure to use that the entire time.

It was FANTASTIC.  like, BETTER than what we had at dinner on thursday.  I just wish we had some brussels sprouts to fry up and eat with it!  There's so much i want to write about, but i'll have to save it for another day :-)

til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!!!

Day 21 of 30- Broccoli beef stirfry

Many exciting things happened today.  Namely-- an awesome pharmacogenomics workshop for a wonderful collaboration that the university has with the mayo clinic.  I really hope that something awesome comes of this for the medical students especially!  We have great ideas and we are probably the best equipped to be thrown into the clinical arena with research expertise!   I loved how enthusiastically the physicians and researchers visiting from Mayo wanted to collaborate.  It was such a breath of fresh air to see scientifically minded people actually willing to share their overly abundant mountain of knowledge and resources with those who have the ability to help.  So inspiring.  Times like these rekindle my love and joy for science and medicine together.  After the Individualizing Medicine conference back in October, I really felt inspired and excited.  That tapered off relatively quickly as various obligations took over my mind, but having them come and visit again was really a great way to jump start and refuel the love of learning.

After all this excitement, I felt like I had to try something new-- with my newly acquired coconut aminos!!!!  I had been trying so hard to try and do asian type dishes without the use of soy sauces or sesame oil.  Coconut aminos seem to be the next closest thing, and I found that the Co-op carries a nice and reasonably priced bottle of it!  yay!  WIN.  Today, we experimented with vegetables.  It was a fantastically tasty and quick dish to whip up, espeically with the superb pork roast of crispy carnitas to throw in with the veggies and to soak up the sauce.

Broccoli with meat (sorry for the gross sounding dish name)

Ingredients

1 medium crown of broccoli
1 small onion
large handful of mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
coconut aminos
pepper

1.  chop the vegetables into desired sized pieces.
2.  In a deep frying pan, add some water and heat to boiling and toss in the broccoli and garlic to quickly cook and steam.
3.  Throw in the mushrooms and onions and season with pepper and coconut aminos.  You don't need much of the aminos, two hefty splashes were enough flavor for me.
4.  Add crispy carnitas.

If you are going to cook a meat separately, say, beef!  You can slice the beef into thin strips and cook them up with some aminos and pepper and add them to the cooked veggies.  I might have to try this variation at some point.  The meat that the co-op carries has been so fantastic, it's a shame I haven't tried more cuts yet.

til next time, eat well and be well!!!!  especially be well in this cold. 

Day 20 of 30

2/3 of the way ALREADY!  It feels like I just started the challenge not too long ago and it's already zipping by so fast.  It's funny how my attitude towards this new lifestyle has changed so dramatically.  I dreaded the days in the first week, and I resented not being able to eat what I wanted to eat, but now.... it doesn't matter.  I feel really good inside and out, and I know for a fact that my mood has just been significantly more stable despite external stimuli.

I used to go through these crazy ups and downs and my emotional landscape was like an unexplored minefield.  Part of it had to do with my hunger and low blood sugar and just busy days and a lot of stress, and part of it had to do with personal things that affected me in many negative ways.  I felt like it was a crushing burden, and sometimes it still feels that way, but I think with the combination of the whole 30 challenge + the adoption of a yogic lifestyle, I have found that I can manage my demons a little better.

Today is a day of reflection.  I enjoyed my casserole, tossed in a little bit of the crispy carnitas and warmed it up.  Munched on some deliciously sweet bell peppers and tomatoes and topped off my meal with a satisfying small handful of sweet sweet grapes.  The flavors of food.  The textures of food.  It's amazing how much we miss all of it when it's buried under all those artificial sweeteners and preservatives, when it's so processed you can't even pronounce half the ingredients.  I definitely have a new found appreciation for what makes those natural life giving calories so delicious.  I'm curious to see how my taste buds will react when I crack open that box of Frango dark chocolate mint that I've left on the counter since the new year.  I'm curious to know if I will relish the sweet semi bitterness of the chocolate and bask in the sugary goodness of the morsel, or if I'll be overwhelmed by the sweetness and immediately feel sick to my stomach.  hm.  maybe I should wait on that.  I don't want to ruin my return to chocolate!

So on this ridiculously cold day, I wish you all a warm night-- a soft fluffy kitty by your side, a huge warm all enveloping down comforter, or a person you can cuddle up with to keep each other warm.

til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!

Day 19 of 30- Spicy Chicken casserole

Today's weather was outrageously cold.  It's amazing how things can survive in such cold weather.  Checked on the worms and they are chillin with some moldy friends.  I didn't realize i had to cover them with some dirt and stuff that doesn't generally  mold to prevent that from happening.  so far, i hope things are ok?

Only time will tell!

Today's recipe is a bulk meal item for the rest of the week.  D made some crispy carnitas and we did a food exchange of two meal's equivalents.  I'm excited.  the crispy carnitas are delicious and the chicken casserole is spicy and filling.

Chicken casserole

Ingredients
Chicken breast (sliced into 1in cubes)
1 large sweet potato
2 carrots
large handful mushrooms
1 onion
1/2 can coconut milk
1/2 c chicken broth

paprika
garam masala
chipotle chile powder
cayenne
garlic powder
salt
black pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Chop the sweet potato, onion, carrots, and mushrooms.
2.  Rub chicken breast with paprika, chipotle chile powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.  When oven is preheated, bake the seasoned chicken for 10 min in a large glass baking pan.
3.  while the chicken is baking, heat fat in a large skillet/frying pan and cook the chopped vegetables until mostly tender, adding paprika, garam masala, chipotle chile powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt to taste.  Add chicken broth and milk when vegetables are done.
4.  Add the vegetables in coconut milk and broth to to the chicken and bake at 400F for an additional 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and chicken is thoroughly cooked.

This is pretty spicy mostly because I tend not to measure spices and herbs when i cook.  I think i might have over done it with the chipotle and the cayenne, but it has some good heat to it that would go really well with some cauliflower rice.  I'm excited to have this for dinner because it's also a pretty flexible dish that can be adjusted to be tasty in any number of ways.

til  next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!

Day 17 and 18 of 30- Chorizo boats

so two things for this weekend's post:  1.WORMS! I got a split of worms today!  Vermicomposting begins..... TODAY!  and 2.  INVERSION WORKSHOP!!!! awesomeeeee!

so remember back in early January, I wrote about my resolutions?  vermicomposting was one of them.  I am terrified of worms, but I felt a great desire to become a hippie this year, pursuing things such as yoga and composting.  but not just composting, vermicomposting!  so yeah. worms are gross.  But my friend Kat (click to see her blog) had a fantastically ready to split bin of worms.  we sorted through her super rich bin of digested materials and picked out some worms and partially composted materials and i scored a great handful of worms to start my own bucket.

It was amazing how rich and beautiful the dirt was.  You would also think that since it was just a ton of cardboard egg cartons, coffee grounds, fruit and veggie peels and egg shells, that it would smell really gross, but actually there was no smell at all.  if anything, you just got a really nice rich and mildly peaty smell coming from the pile of dirt on the ground.  As for the worms, armed with two plastic bags covering my arms, i managed to sort through clumps and handle the worms with relative ease.  Mind you, i have been mentally preparing for like, months.  haha.  anyway, I finally FINALLY drilled holes into the giant bin i bought and threw in all that organic waste i was saving and tossed in my little army of red wrigglers.  I feel like a new proud parents.  I can't wait for my worms to get comfy.  since tomorrow and the day after threaten to be like, 10F, i decided to keep them indoors so they can generate enough heat to move to the garage when it warms up on Wednesday.  I hope they survive the night.  *fingers crossed*

Second thing:  Inversions workshop!  SO much fun!  Inversions have been difficult for me because of a huge mental block.  I am not confident in my body's ability to support my weight using my arms, and I am not comfortable being upside down.  Breathing becomes difficult, blood rushes to your head, and your mind just scares itself.  But it's strange.  Headstands are ok.  and I've been working on my forearm stand, but handstands were terrifying.  We talked about a lot of things, but bottom line was:

"NO FEAR.  YOU DO"

You just do it.  You do the best you can, and you just do it.  So we did.  And we all somehow found ourselves upside down.  balancing on these small surfaces of our hands and forearms, legs stretched up above our bodies, trying to reach the sky.  It was difficult.  I really struggle with some shoulder flexibility in my right arm due to some minor rotator cuff injuries in high school, so getting my shoulders, arms, and back stretched adequately was quite a challenge.  We worked doing some partner yoga, working on ways to support the inverted yogi, and also worked on helping each other feel the way our shoulder blades were supposed to make room for our neck and the way our arms were supposed to spiral.  It was a LOT of fun-- mentally challenging, physically challenging, and emotionally uplifiting, but honestly, it's just practice and getting over the ego and the fear.  so I'm glad i went and i'm excited to keep finding places in my practice to work on inversions.

but anyway, it was a really fun weekend of surprise parties, tutorials, research, yoga, grocery shopping, and eating, I feel like the weekend flew by without me having a chance to really even think about what i should put up today. Today, during one of the tutorials, a student said to us, "these tutorials are the best things ever.  I LOVE them.  thank you so much."  and it made my day.  I am really glad that we have a group of dedicated students already.  It's so fantastic to see familiar faces and to see that what we do gets them excited about medicine.  It's helping me learn so much too.  I hope that it really helps me next year and into the future.

Chorizo boat with baked egg in an avocado

Ingredients

chorizo (man, i honestly love this stuff from the local farmer.... it is fantastic)
chard
onions
carrots
garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 avocado pit removed (with a little extra flesh removed to make an egg fit)
1 egg

1.  Preheat the oven to 425F.  In a small round cast iron serving bowl, press the chorizo into the sides to make a bowl.
2.  Sautee the chard, onions, carrots and garlic lightly, adding a sprinkle of salt and pepper and place into the chorizo bowl
3.  Scoop out the avocado from the skin and place into the sauteed vegetables, making sure the vegetables also come up around the side.  It might help to put the avocado in first then fill in the gaps with vegetables, but you get more veggies if you put some veggies in first
4.  crack an egg into the hollow of the avocado

Before the oven

5. Bake until the egg is firm and the chorizo shell is cooked.

Some changes i would make to this would be to cook the vegetables less and also change the way i cook the chorizo.  I would heat the cast iron on the stove before popping it in the oven and then broil it so that the egg and avocado don't dry out too much.  It was amazingly delicious and the avocado was so creamy.  I wished the egg was more over easy or over medium in terms of cookedness, but i will have to work on that a little next time. At least i was able to enjoy a delicious breakfast.  Look at those colors!  I love food. 

Don't forget your veggies

Avocado boat, deconstructed

This coming week, I'm trying a new thing.  Rather than do a variation of CHICKEN! with A GLAMMED UP SALAD! I'm venturing on trying to cook bulk food items and do meal trades with D.  Just so we can jazz up our week of food.  A sneak peek: chicken casserole, squash (and maybe crab) bisque, and crispy carnitas are coming up soon :-) 

til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!!

Day 16 of 30- Coconut ginger curry chicken

We are now past the half way point.  I am really proud of myself and my partner in crime D for making it this far.  We caught mistakes early and fixed them, changed the way we ate, the way we lived, and the way we approached the challenge.  I think after two and a half weeks of doing this, it is a lifestyle that suits all walks of life.  It takes effort, and a lot of discipline, but like i said at the start of the challenge, it's only 30 days.  what you do after the 30 days is up to you.  but I'm glad I gave it a shot.

Tomorrow is going to be an inversion workshop at the yoga studio. I'm really excited.  Inversions are basically any time your legs are above your heart.  headstands, handstands, legs up the wall.  you name it. Maybe i'll walk away comfortable enough to try this:

yeah right.  i wish.  haha

It's different being upside down.  the world is strange and your breath is strange, and all the blood rushes to your head and your brain feels strange.  But the fear is just in my head.  Here's to tomorrow.

Something that I recently realized was that i haven't been utilizing is the awesomeness of making my own salad dressings.  I've been too lazy to make any dressing besides splashing some oil and vinegar on my salad.  But i decided to make a whole seed mustard mayo dressing with some apricot vinegar and it is fantastic over a bed of lettuces, egg, tomatoes, SPROUTS (my new favorite salad addition!!!), grapes, you name it.  throw it in your salad, drizzle some of this creamier dressing on it, and man.  you'll never miss ranch again.  

Tonight's recipe is kind of a fun one.  Today I was largely meat free, enjoying a small piece of chicken today for dinner.  Every so often, my body gets tired of these meats so a day without meat is a very welcome treat. 

Coconut Ginger curry chicken

Ingredients

Chicken (leftover curry marinated chicken worked fantastically)
1T ginger, chopped
2 cloves garlic
carrots sliced into coins
mushrooms (i used dried shiitake mushrooms)
coconut milk

1.  Cook the chicken or warm up a precooked chicken in a skillet.  If you are cooking the chicken in the skillet, make sure the chicken is pretty much finished cooking before you add the other ingredients.

2.  Pour in some coconut milk and a splash of broth if you have it, water is fine if you don't, and throw in the garlic, ginger, and carrots.  Let simmer in coconut milk, addingmore water ifyou want it to be a little more runny

3.  When the carrots are just undercooked, throw in a handful of the dried mushrooms and continue cooking until they are rehydrated and softened.

I served this up with some sauteed green beans using some of the fat that came off the chicken, ends trimmed, tossed with ginger.   I really miss the flavors of sesame oil and soy sauce because the salt i added to the beans weren't quite exactly the same.  either way, it was fantastically delicious.  The mushrooms just soaked up the sweet coconutty flavor and the chicken was tender and delicious.  I don't generally like cooked carrots, but hey, I tricked myself into eating ALL of my carrots!  wooo!

the weird mass on the bottom right is the chicken.

So yummy.  Tomorrow for breakfast, I decided to try making chorizo and chard boats with avocado, baking an egg in the middle of the avocado.  yum?  or yuck?  we shall find out soon!  I'm really excited to be using my new mini round cast iron servers! 

til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!!

Days 15 of 30! HALF WAY THERE!

I was so swamped yesterday, that day 15, the fantastical half way point came and went without being noted in history! 

Day 15:  a recap

What a day.  Half way through the challenge and it was pretty action packed.  It's been a pretty hectic week especially since getting the tutorials started up and yoga studio membership signup.  I've probably already got my money's worth for the month.  Despite the craziness, I think it's been so great to be working with such a fantastic group of people and I'm trying to stay optimistic about our surgery interest group endeavors.  Without the effort and time volunteered by the peer instructors and without the dedication of the students who attend and participate, there's no way we'd have ever gotten this going.  I'm so excited to see where this goes and I hope it becomes a part of the med school culture here.

But, it was also a big milestone in a lot of ways besides academics.  Half way through the challenge i've noticed a few things.

1.  I'm less tired during the day.  There's not much of a mid afternoon crash anymore.  I make my coffee in the morning because it's the only amount of time i allot to pack my lunch and it's part of my wakeup ritual and drink some of it.  I don't need the afternoon coffee run.  If i go, it's just an excuse to socialize with people because I don't usually end up drinking most of it anyway.  Coffee consumption:  down.  Energy: up. Sleep:  probably close to the same as usual. Even on nights when i don't sleep well or get many hours, I still feel significantly better with better attention and focus.

2.  They tell you you're not supposed to weigh yourself during the challenge.  I had no intention of doing so, but I can tell that the holiday weight I gained is rapidly melting off.  It's only been two weeks and the combination of yoga has made me feel fit and spry.  my hello jello is also decreasing in jiggliness and I feel stronger and more centered during yoga.

3.  I would love to say that my skin is clear and glowing and i've seen improvements in the shininess of my hair or the strength of my nails but i haven't seen any changes in that. so, i'm sure it would benefit some.  i'm still waiting

4.  It's easy for me to say no to others, but it's hard to say no to myself.  Practicing due diligence with this challenge has been interesting.  Both in the way my friends perceive it and in the ways they support me and in the ways that I perceive it and the ways i support myself.  I haven't told a lot of people about it, but those i have told have been great and supportive and encouraging and considerate.  Even going out and hanging out at the bars, it's been easy for me to say no thanks i don't want to try your beer.  And have a fun time chatting with people and catching up.  Someone told me, if you don't like hanging out with your friends when you're sober and they're drunk, then why are you friends with them?  The hardest parts of resisting have been internal. example: when i go to seminars or buying and setting up snacks for our surgery interest group events.  There's a huge abundance of cookies, candies, chips, crackers, drinks...... telling myself no is hard.  sometimes i just want to take a nibble.  I want to taste the snickers bar or eat an oreo cookie.  but then the urge goes away pretty soon after that.  I'm just adding things to my list of FOODS I WILL DEVOUR AT THE END OF THE CHALLENGE!!!!! or just take one bite of each. 

No recipe for day 15.  It was a day of thoughtful reflection.

til next time, eat well and be well. 

Day 14 of 30- Curry marinated chicken

Today has been exhausting.  For a lot of reasons externally and internally, so less blab, and more recipes!

My daily mantra before I eat goes something like this:  "I love food and all the flavors of it." and today's dinner was no exception.  It was another chicken + salad combination.  But I've become highly proficient at making salads go from bland to GRAND! 

Curry marinated chicken 

Ingredients

Chicken
curry powder
olive oil
pepper
anise seeds
garam masala
a splash of lemon juice

1.  marinate the chicken in all of the above.  I made mine the day before and it was sitting in juices for quite some time before I cooked it up.
2.  Preheat the oven to 425, preheat a cast iron skillet (if you don't have a cast iron, any baking dish is OK too), heat up a standard frying pan and rapidly sear the chicken a few minutes on each side.
3.  Transfer the chicken to the cast iron skillet, skin side down if it has skin
4.  Bake for 20 min at 425

When the chicken comes out of the oven, it is crispy, juicy and delicious!  slice it up and serve it over a bed of greens.  My salad portion consisted of a heaping pile of boston red lettuce, a hard boiled egg, olives and sliced sundried tomatoes.  delicious!  so many colors, so many flavors!  drizzle with olive oil and splash on some balsamic vinegar and there you have it.  DINNER!

A delicious and filling salad.  Just look at that crispy skin!

I was thinking about what my first meal would be at the conclusion of this challenge.  And I have no idea what I would eat! (well, first i would grab a nice cold beer or a glass of wine.... ).  At the start of the challenge, I craved sweet things and starchy carby fatty salty things, but now it's easy.... easier.... to turn it down.  I might continue a modified and less stringent version of the Whole 30, but I'm still not even half way through (almost but not quite!) so we'll have to see what happens later.

Til next time, eat well and BE WELL!

Let thy food be thy medicine, and they medicine be thy food!

Day 13 of 30- Apple cider vinegar chicken with Califlower rice

Ashtanga Tuesday.  There's a joyous ring to that.  The Ashtanga primary series is pretty intense.  Here's a link to a video led by K. Pattabhi Jois and his students.  It is supposed to be a cleansing practice, where you align your breath with movement, clearing your mind and also bringing attention to the muscles in your body and how it works with your breath.  It's almost painful to watch and as a beginner to the primary series, I've found that it's just a little tricky to tie yourself up into a little pretzel and balance on the point of your butt and somersault backwards back into chaturanga.  Uh..... definitely got stuck the first time i tried.  But overall, it's a challenge that I am very excited to face.

This class however, was my second go at the full primary series, and I realized that today was markedly less difficult, more familiar, and also more challenging than last week.  Because I spent less time trying to figure out how to position myself and spent more time focusing on all the alignment and breathing, I got more out of this practice than last week.  I also found myself able to bind in ways that were unavailable to me last week, and perhaps it is due to the rigorous regiment of yoga class attendance these past couple weeks!  My muscles have been aching, my body twisted and turned, pulled and stretched in so many ways, it's remarkable how good I feel!  Mind and body together, I would say we are going on an exciting and new journey.  Maybe this will help me think less about the exact date that the PhD will magically land in my pocket, and think more about the ways I can make the most of my time in research before moving on to clinical obligations.

Stock photos of yoga are always a person's silhouette with a sunset in the backdrop, balancing on some object on one leg..... It always looks so serene.  the opposite of what today was.  haha

If only practicing was like this every day. 

But less about yoga, more about food!  One thing I have missed terribly since starting this challenge, has been RICE.  I LOVE RICE.  like, LOVE.  LOVE. LOVE it.  It's been a staple grain of my diet since before I was born.  Finding recipes that are delicious to eat without rice has been a little tough, BUT-- I randomly came across this recipe where they used caluiflower to mimic rice.  I decided to give it a whril (haha in my food processorrrrr!!!!) and see how it would taste, and goodness gracious, it is AWESOME!  I enjoy eating raw cauliflower, but man, cooking it up really brings out a delicious sweet flavor, and it seriously has the consistency of short grain white rice.  I may be in love again. It was so simple to whip up and dangerously easy to get a generous serving of vegetables without even feeling like you ate vegetables.

Also, chicken is great because you can spend 5 minutes preparing the raw chicken in a delicious marinade/sauce and it'll feed you for days.  

Apple cider vinegar chicken and Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients

For the cider chicken
Chicken thighs, de fatted
Apple cider vinegar (~1/4-1/3 c?)
2 tsp whole seed mustard
lime juice
paprika
salt
pepper

1.  Marinate the chicken in the vinegar and mustard with all the spices and lime juice.  I put it in a bag and tried to squeeze the air out so that all the juices will co mingle with the chicken.  Let marinate for......... i dunno.  30 min?  I threw it in the fridge because I made it the night before, so that's ok too.

2.  Preheat the oven to 425F, warm up your cast iron (if you don't have a skillet, a baking dish/pan/whatever is totally fine too), and a non stick frying pan.

3.  When the frying pan is hot, sear the chicken thigh, skin side up for about 3 min, and then flip to sear the skin side for about 3 min.  Transfer the chicken to the skillet, skin side down and throw into the preheated oven.  Bake for 20 min or so, until the chicken is fully cooked.

Usually, while I have incubations like this, I like to whip things up really quickly.  During the chicken bake, prepare your RICE!

Cauliflower rice
1/2 head of cauliflower (this will make 2 generous servings)
garlic (or garlic olive oil-- just a drizzle)
shiitake mushrooms

1.  Cut up the cauliflower into smallish pieces and put in the food processor.  Pulse until the pieces are about the size of short grain rice.

2.  Cut up the mushrooms.  If the mushrooms are dried, reconstitute them in some hot water for about 5 minutes and they will soften up nicely.

3.  Sautee the cauliflower crumbles, drizzle lightly with garlic olive oil or toss in the chopped garlic, and add the mushrooms.  Sautee for about 5 or so minutes, until the crumbles are soft and tender and sweet.  Salt to taste (I don't generally salt my food much, but just a dash here really brought out the sweetness of the cauliflower).

RICE! made of cauliflower with perfectly seared and baked chicken

These two piled up on top of each other were seriously a filling and delicious meal.  (sorry about the crappy photo, I couldn't wait to run and grab my real camera so my iPod was the closest thing i had at hand.  All the cauliflower is piled up underneath the chicken and on the side.  Sweet, savory, and satisfying!

Til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!

Day 12 of 30- Salmon salad

This past weekend I made the commitment to join a yoga studio.  After the 20 dollar unlimited week, I decided that the people there were awesome.  The studio is great and the atmosphere is fantastic. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it felt like a huge commitment and a huge step forward in one of my resolutions.  Tomorrow is Ashtanga Tuesday, so we'll see if there's any improvement since last week :-)  I'm pretty excited.  I feel like this is a lifestyle that's been waiting to be embraced, and I hope that I can improve myself and let that improvement help others around me.

In addition to the yoga studio, I feel like my colleagues and I have accomplished an incredible feat this weekend and into today.  We began our surgery interest group tutorials this past weekend, and it was such an amazing experience.  Talk about curriculum development, preparation, and execution-- I think we managed to nail it.  We were able to integrate functional anatomy with embryonic development, gut rotation, physiology, nutrition, radiographs, clinical correlates, and demystify inguinal hernias.  The students loved it and really truly appreciated all the neat clinical cases and presentations related to their anatomy class.  Honestly, it is such a rewarding experience for those who participate-- the students and the peer educators both.  I hope it continues to go on as a successful venture and will also cross over into future years.  It's been a challenge trying not to step on toes, cross lines, and keep things under the radar, but in the end, we are students helping students help students... and nobody should try to stop that.

Meals today were pretty interesting.  And it was a fanatasically whipped up delicious treat, especially after a really long day.  Many thanks to D! Just look at all those beautiful colors!

Salmon Salad over a bed of lettuce with sliced carrots

Oven baked chicken coated in mustard and spices on lettuce with baked yams, oil and vinegar dressing

Today's is a variation of the crab salad recipe..... but made with SALMON! and much tastier :-)

Salmon salad

Ingredients

1 can salmon (remove bones etc.  removing skin gives you a prettier colored salmon salad)
1 lemon's juice
celery, chopped
green onion, chopped
dill
curry powder
2 hard boiled eggs
MAYO.

1.  Hard boil eggs.  Remove bones and all things ugly from the canned salmon.
2.  Break up salmon and eggs into small pieces and mix with lemon juice, mayo, green onion, and spices.  Salt and pepper to taste.
3.  EAT.

This salmon salad is deliciously simple and very tasty.  The tang from the lemon, crunch from the celery, flavor from the curry and dill.  it is perfection.  Serve a dollop over greens and make it a satisfying salad!  like I've said before, don't be afraid to be creative!  explore flavors!  textures!  colors!  As much as I complain about wishing I could eat that snickers bar or munch on some salt and vinegar chips..... this challenge has really forced me to TASTE my food and MAKE IT TASTY (not that it wasn't tasty before ;-D)

til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!!!!!!

Days 9, 10, and 11 of 30- Sweet potato chorizo scramble, Crab salad endive boats

We're 1/3 of the way done!  how fantastic! I think one good thing about this 30 day venture is that the cost of eating out has been dramatically reduced.  i have "eaten out" a grand total of twice..... to get coffee.  I am buying groceries and produce more frequently and in greater volume, and according to my budget, spending a little more as well, but it's definitely way less than what i'd spend if i had eaten out for lunch and/or dinner throughout the week. Increase in grocery spending could be due to a number of things:  1.  midwest in the winter = expensive produce, minimally local and all the local stuff is hella expensive.  really?  8 dollars a pound for brussels sprouts?  2.  my garden is not producing (duh...) so i am not making as much of my own food as i do in the summer.  3.  produce just doesn't create as many meals per dollar as other processed foods.   ex:  5 dollars of avocados will not go anywhere as far as as lets say 5 dollars of box pasta.

I've been wanting to have an indoor greens garden in my garage, and have self watering canisters set up so i can have fresh veggies throughout the winter.  the awesome thing about my garage is that it's cool enough in the winter to grow leafy greens but it's not so cold that everything dies.  If i also throw in the vermicomposting, then hell.  i might as well be my own local food source.  this may be my chance.  but i'm too afraid and poor to try.  but maybe if i save enough from these 30 days, then i'll give it a shot.  I have a drill and everything.  all i would need are the boxes.  and the dirt.  and.... the mental power to start.  SHOWING UP, BEING THERE, and taking the first step is always the hardest part.

Anyway, I think if am ever to do this again, I would change a few things:  namely- plan meals better.   Here's the great thing about a chicken breast.  you can cook it up in any way you want and it'll just take on the flavors of whatever sauces you douse it in.  but here's the great thing about a whole chicken.  You can cook up the meaty part in any way you want and it'll just take on the flavors of whatever sauces you douse it in.  AND you can take the remaining bones and make a rich  broth with which you can make a chicken soup or you can reserve some of that rich hearty broth and make other kinds of soup!  I want my food to go a long way.  I made a pot of chili on the first day.  and of course, i get bored of eating chili for dinner every day.... so chop up some veggies and throw in some kale, cook down the chili and throw in some eggs.  voila!  BREAKFAST CHILI SCRAMBLE! lucky for me, my stomach, heart, and brain are so easily tricked by small changes in the way foods are presented to me.  that old gross chili suddenly became a novel and exciting meal item.

Scrambling scrambling scrambling!

The great thing about weekends is that I allow myself much more time to be creative with my cooking.  ESPECIALLY with breakfast. i LOVE breakfast.  LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  It's fascinating how i've been forced to be creative with the way i assemble my meals, how i substitute things, and what flavors mix together well.  This morning, i was feeling rather adventurous.  so i made breakfast chorizo muffins.

Chorizo sweet potato muffin

 For something quick dirty, and delicious, check out today's recipies! 

Sweet potato chorizo scramble

Ingredients

2 medium sized Japanese sweet potato
chorizo (please check ingredients)
onion
swiss chard
3 large eggs

1.  Cook the sweet potato til almost tender to fork
2.  Add the raw chorizo and cook until done
3.  Add chopped onion and chard and cook until onions are slightly translucent and chard is wilted

(the breakfast muffin version is similar but you cook the veggies first, and in a large muffin tin, press the chorizo into the well until it forms a cup shape.  Press the chorizo all the way up to the brim because when it cooks, it will shrink. Fill the chorizo cups with the cooked vegetables, make sure to press it in and pack them in there and spoon egg over the vegetables. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 min.  Pop them out of the muffin tin and there you have it- a savory breakfast muffin sitting in a cup of chorizo!  it was amazing btw)

be creative.  it's pretty fantastic.

Crab Salad endive boats

Ingredients

Lump crab ~8oz
2 hard boiled eggs
Mayo
onion
salt
pepper
curry powder
Belgian endive leaves

1.  Hard boil two eggs and peel
2.  mash together lump crab, onion chopped finely, hard boiled egg and mayo
3.  add salt, pepper, and curry powder to taste!

Crab salad endive boats!  yum!

Til next time-- EAT WELL and BE WELL!!!

Day 8 of 30- Squash soup

Food is so delicious, it makes me so sad when it doesn't agree with my stomach.  Today has been kind of an off day, and I have a strange suspicion that it's roll over from yesterday.  maybe it's that massive broccoli salad i had for lunch and my stomach couldn't handle all those raw veggies.  I had not felt this much nausea since..... i dunno.  

I downloaded an app called "sleep time" and it's supposed to somehow track your night's rest.  What the app does, is uses the accelerometer built into your iPhone or iPod and tracks your movement and activity during the night.  It's a little awkward because you have to set your iDevice near you on the bed so if you roll around a lot, you might find yourself sleeping on top of your iDevice.  I was a little skeptical at first because I doubted its abilities.  but lo and behold, it looks like neat sleeping patterns!  I'm excited to try it out tonight to see how it compares to last night.  I think i was exhausted last night because i hardly remember waking up.  Most nights, I wake up frequently and have trouble falling asleep.  Maybe the firmness of my bed made my movements less notable.  who knows.  I will attribute this night's rest to a good night of candlelight flow yoga, exhaustion, and journal club the next morning. look at that!  90% efficiency.

 

sleep records!

So, today is day 8.  I thought I had been doing fairly well.  However, today's trip to the grocery store was immensely difficult.  Their open salad bar, aisle after aisle of healthy nuts and snacks and fruits,  cereals, bins of grains and beans, and yogurts and cheese galore made me weep inside a little.  A woman can only take so much temptation!  I was on a mission to find some meat to add to my squash soup, so i headed to the meat section, slowly meandering through the aisles of cereal and granola.  Even finding meat products that have been unadultered by preservatives and sugars was really hard.  I bought a pack of chorizo from an award winning local farm and i'm pretty excited about that.  I also found sausage patties that have been seasoned with only salt and pepper.  That had me absolutely thrilled until I realized, I really didn't want to eat them.

I searched more and found these fantastic chicken sausages..... seasoned with all these amazing spices and herbs.... with NO added sugar and NO wheat or soy, NO hormones, NO antibiotics..... win?  i don't consider it a win because 4 links (yeah they were about the length of my hand and as girthy as a johnsonville brat) cost me a steep 7 dollars.  NOT COOL.  these sausages better be damn tasty.

I opted to cook up some brussels sprouts and the remainder of the broccoli to pack for lunch with slices of the sausage.  Lets see how it goes.

But anyway, ridiculous cost of food aside, here is a recipe for the amazingly delicious squash soup i made.  I'm really enjoying the flavors of the foods that i'm eating with very little additives and sugars. For example, despite the trauma the broccoli salad inflicted on my tummy, the orange peppers were so sweet and crunchy, the raisins so sweet and chewy, the broccoli..... i still don't really enjoy raw broccoli.  but yeah it was all really tasty. 

Squash soup

Ingredients

maks 6 ish servings-- depending on what you call a serving

2 small-medium sized squash (similar to acorn, my mom got them from some asian grocer)
1/3 can coconut milk (what i had leftover)
1 c bone broth that I made from a previous meal
1 c water
pepper
dash of salt
seasoning*

I wish i had roasted the squash because i think it would have brought out the sweet flavor of it, but the way i made it, it still came out really well.

1.  Cut squash in half and remove seeds and butt ends
2.  Cook squash until soft and tender to fork pokes.  (i started this in a slow cooker and then got impatient so i just steamed them with some water and then added more water and broth when they were almost done)
3.  Puree in food processor or blender, adding coconut milk or broth to get a nice consistency (my processor couldn't hold all the pieces at once so i just scooped in a couple wedges at a time with some scoops of broth). I kept the skins on my squash.  it was just easier that way.  don't mind the strange color of the soup!
4.  Cook pureed squash, adding pepper and maybe some salt if you need it (my bone broth must have had a lot of leftover salt and pepper on it because the soup was seasoned so nicely). 

you can crumble on some bacon over the soup and enjoy!

*Some options for other ways to season it would be to just do salt and pepper for a more savory pumpkin soup, usually i toss in ginger and cinnamon, sometimes some nutmeg to give it a nice fall flavor.  You can probably get really creative here, making a curry squash soup or crumble in some sausage and add italian spices.  it's a really versatile base, esp with it's thick and subtly sweet flavor.  I can't wait to eat more of it tomorrow. 

Til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!!!

Day 7 of 30- Salmon patties

It's been a week!  How do you feel?  I feel tired and hungry :-(  Today was a largely meat free day.  And I think a combination of ultra mega yoga yesterday + stressful day today + meager meatless meals has made me hangry. I realized I'm doing my eating wrong-- especially with my workouts. 

The idea for active individuals is to keep you fueled for performance and recovery without weighing you down with a huge meal before your exercises.

Preworkout: a small protein dense snack should be consumed anywhere from an hour and 15 min, to 15 min before your workout.  *this.  i have not been doing.  fail on my part.

Postworkout:  protein dense and starchy vegetable (like sweet potato) meal 15-30 min after you work out.  *this.... i probably also failed to do.

I think I should plan this a little better so that next time, I'm prepared.

Salmon patty

Ingredients

Canned salmon (remove juices and all bones as necessary)
1 egg
handful of finely chopped onion
dill
cayenne
black pepper
garlic powder


1.  Mash all together, mixing the egg in completely, making sure that the salmon pieces are broken up and evenly mixed
2.  Scoop a handful of salmon mix and pack into a ball, pat down to about 1" thick on a flat surface
3.  Fry up on a skillet and eat with fantastic brussels sprouts

chop onion, quarter brussels sprouts, sautee with some ghee and salt and pepper.  when cooked to satisfaction, add a splash of vinegar and eat with salmon patty.

My first patty did NOT hold together well so it became a crumbled mash of deliciousness.  the other patty.... i'm eating it for lunch with my pretty awesome broccoli salad.  Helloooooooooooooo mayo!

crumbled salmon patty with brussels sprouts and onion

Til next time, eat well and be well!

Day 6 of 30- Tuna salad with avocado

Today is day 6 of the challenge, and i must say, today has definitely been challenging.  It started with the refrigerator- it was not cold this morning.  it was cool, but not cold. so of course, I, being the food monger than I am, spent a good 20-30 min trying to move the fridge, checking it up and down and moved food to the garage instead of eating breakfast, making my coffee, and packing a lunch.  luckily, i moved all the important things to the garage and managed to throw something together really quickly.  thank goodness for leftovers.  The rest of the day seemed to progress in a similar fashion:  one thing beginning with chaos, ending in a relative state of OK..... leading to another thing that began with chaos and ended OK...... ending with the ultimate test of fat metabolism to kick in. 

I recently signed up for a week of unlimited yoga to test out a new studio.  Today, I dared to challenge myself to back to back classes:  slow flow, and the Ashtanga primary series.  together, these classes are about 3 hours of yoga-- bending, folding, breathing, stretching, balancing, sweating, and finding myself within my mind.  This is a great idea to me, however it fell at a critical time in my day!  DINNER TIME!  what is a yogi to do???  I decided to brave the classes without eating, and probably for the better.  I have no idea how i would have completed the primary series (link to the craziness HERE .... srsly it's cray) if I had eaten before class.  so of course, it meant that dinner would not happen til after class.

By the time I grabbed some groceries and got home, it was after 9, almot 9:30 and it had been...... 7.5 hours since i completed my lunch.  can you believe that???? 7.5 hours.  WTF.  that blows my mind.  how did it happen?  I HAVE NO CLUE! but it did.  and strangely enough, I was fairly OK after biking back home after 3 hours of yoga.  In an act of desperation, I poured myself some almond milk from the new container i bought and one thing really struck me-- why was this milk so sweet?  the brand was the same. the box was the same so i thought maybe they had changed something and surely enough, one of the ingredients was evaporated cane sugar.  seriously, after not consuming any artificial sweetener and not adding ANY extra sugar and only relying on the sugars of my food, that extra added cane sugar was a punch in the taste buds.  I was so torn.  Do I pretend like the cane sugar doesn't exist in that milk?  or do i go and buy another almond milk?  I caved and bought another one.  I realized that there's an "unsweetened" version that the first store didn't carry.  so that sweet delicious carton of almond milk will have to wait.  All in all, I am feeling less hungry between meals.  The habit of wanting to snack is still hanging in there, looming over my head, and I guess I do have more energy.....

Anyway, here's the dinner I shamelessly whipped up while in starvation mode:

Tuna salad with avocado (like, literally)

3 ingredients:  canned tuna, mayo, and avocado. 
mash it all together.  eat.  haha.  mayo is A-OK to eat because it's just whipped up egg whites and oil, so that was a life saver for me.  (no picture..... i ate it way too fast... oops)

Inspired by the rediscovery of mayo, i decided to prepare lunch for tomorrow: a broccoli salad

Broccoli salad

Broccoli (lots of it), orange bell pepper, sundried tomatoes, raisins, carrots.  Fried up some bacon and crumbled it in there to add some salt.  and MAYO!!!! my life saver for the day.  I'm not too sure what the deal is with bacon.  if it's OK or not for the challenge.  so to deal with that, i only put in a little and will have to research more tomorrow. 

til next time, EAT WELL and BE WELL!!!