Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm not gonna lie, this year has kind of stunk. It's not too terrible really, just so many ups and downs. I feel like just when I get grounded, something wipes me out. I can't remember the last time I felt relaxed or calm. I'm either exuberantly excited or a bit down in the dumps. With a year like this, I'm totally ready for the holidays and January 1st. Bring. It. On.

With that being said, I can point to many things I'm thankful for, but one thing in particular. I'm thankful that my dad, who had a massive and scary stroke over a month ago, is recovering well. He spent a week in the ICU, unable to do much with his right side or speak, and was moved from one hospital setting to an acute rehab facility and is now in a residential facility where he is walking (yippee!) and talking up a storm. This month has been rough but inspiring. I see his strength in his struggle and I know I have that in me as well, the struggle is our strength. Through the struggle we find out what we will fight for, what we will move mountains for and see ourselves truly.

Now, I'm going to roast some veggies and begin my holiday prep. Seriously excited this year, time to get cheery!

Enjoy,
m

Rosemary Rolls

A year or so ago, I made these rosemary rolls from the pioneer woman. I loved them instantly and they were easy peasy. Then I did my October unprocessed (holy moly, that was a year ago) and couldn't bear to look at the ingredient list in the premade, frozen rolls. I tried to make yeast rolls from scratch, but they never lived up to my standards (thanks in most part to my grandma's amazing, fluffy, golden, tender rolls that melt in your mouth and I think make a great savory side with butter or an amazing dessert treat with a hint of jelly.. mmm..).

Yesterday, I decided to try my hand at another yeast roll. I'm not quite ready to give my grandma's recipe another try (there was a rolls turned hockey puck incident in my kitchen last year that left me feeling less than confident) I thought I'd try another rosemary roll recipe, this time with yeast rolls from scratch.

Do you love rosemary? I can hardly believe how much that scent does for me. I've been in a funk lately, and I keep trying to pull myself out of it, and I succeed for days or even a week here or there, but I eventually get sucked back in. Yesterday morning I was feeling the funk, you know what I mean? I didn't want to do anything, see anyone. I was forcing myself to go for a bike ride, knowing that I need that exercise to work through whatever is going on mentally, but I just broke down before I could even get out the front door. I took off my helmet and didn't know what to do.

Dylan asked me what I really wanted to do, how did I really want to spend my day? I had to think, but eventually it came down to wanting to do something with a finished product. I haven't cooked a lot lately (as you can plainly see) because even cooking has felt a bit like a blessing and a curse.

Long story, a bit shortened, I decided to roast some veggies for a soup. It seemed like a good place to start. I walked out to the front yard to pick some rosemary to throw in the pot. I grabbed the stem of the thickest little stalk and stripped it slowly of its aromatic leaves. I carried the little leaves inside and began chopping them up into itsy bitsy pieecs and with each slice the scent felt a bit as though it was waking me up.

It made me fantasize about those rosemary rolls from last year and I decided I just had to make some fabulous rolls to go with this delightfully autumnal soup. I went to my favorite place for recipes, food gawker, and found this wonderful recipe for rosemary rolls and whipped up a batch. The recipe was easy to follow and they taste great. I subbed a bit of flour for some whole wheat flour, and they are still light and fluffy.

Go give them a try!
Enjoy!
-m

Super Easy Hollandaise Sauce

Fun!

We had a very fabulous little brunch get together this weekend and I decided to make a sausage hash, topped with fried eggs and hollandaise sauce. I chose not to take pictures because I was sure it was going to turn out horrible, go figure.

Anyway, I was prepared to put some blood, sweat and tears into the sauce (not literally, of course, that goes by another name, surely). I bought waaay too many eggs, figuring I'd make attempt after attempt at it.

Instead, I rocked that sauce in one easy go, if I do say so myself. I found and used this recipe for Julia Child's method- using a blender. I have to say it was the easiest thing ever. Seriously. You have no excuses- go make some hollandaise!

Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Enjoy!
-m

p.s. Have you heard of bromosas!? Craziness.

Lessons Learned: Wheat Free, Week Three

Breakfast! Eggs, Canadian bacon and zucchini.

It's been about three weeks since I dove head first into a wheat free life.

I feel I've learned a few tidbits worth sharing:

• Breakfast can seem challenging when you are used to muffins, cereal and toast as options; but my wheat free (gluten free? eh, the terminology doesn't concern me at the moment) breakfasts have been pretty fabulous and incredibly tasty (see the picture above if you don't believe me). I am eating quite a bit of eggs, but I also have leftover meats and veggies, nitrate free sausages and uncured bacon. Along with my green juice, of course. It's undeniably filling and I'm rarely ravenous by lunch, it's a good feeling. 

• Also, I thought these breakfasts would be so utterly time consuming, but they are in fact rather quick. I often cook up the bacon or sausage the night before, while I'm cooking dinner, and have them ready to be reheated in the morning. I'm trying to tell myself 'no excuses', not having enough time is one of my all time favorite excuses to try to trick myself into bad habits.

• Have I mentioned one of my favorite things I've read recently? I don't recall where it was but it suggested that instead of saying "I don't have time" replace that phrase with "It's not a priority" because that is in fact what you mean. Try it next time you find yourself uttering that excuse and you'll find you will either make time for it or realize it just isn't a priority.  

• When I search for 'gluten free' foods, I often am inundated with fake cupcakes and cookies even though I'm honestly looking for satisfying meals- not cheat treats. Booger. I'm still searching for more fabulous blogs/sites. If you have any, please share!  
• If a cooking video on you-tube has the word 'sexy' in the title, don't click on it. They're being literal. Even though they are talking about zucchini as pasta. 

hungry hungry hippo

 

• My hunger used to feel all consuming. I was constantly hungry, and it was non stop. A ravenous beast lived in my belly and turned me into a grouchy witch whenever I waited more than two hours between snacks or meals. Now, three weeks wheat free, I see how people wait for meals- I can see how hunger should feel. I can handle the hunger a lot more than I could before. I'm snacking way less, and finding it much easier to say no to the cookies in the staff room (yes, that actually happened. Cookies, doughnuts and muffins, oh my! I walked away from them all.)

hunger cycle pre-wheat free

While it's not the best graphic, you see the spike and the drop so dramatically

•  I ate some pizza last weekend, and it was delicious. About two hours after the super carb meal, I was completely overrun with the desire for cookie dough. I had some almonds instead, but it was a tough choice. I really wanted some sugar. I can't help but think there's a correlation here. 
• I am having wheat once a week or so, if I want it. Trying to stay balanced! 

Super satisfying lunch option: walnuts, aged white cheddar, chopped zucchini

• Simple lunches, like the one above, have kept me satisfied and I am so surprised. I used to pack so much stinkin' food every single day. This is crazy and I'm loving it. I am drinking lots of water and adding green tea to my days as well, I'm sure that helps too. 
• While wheat is what I'm avoiding, I'm also staying away from sugar and I've found that once I have a bit of sugar, just a teeny tiny bit, the cravings for more last all stinking day. Geez. Not worth it. 
• I'm not the only one in the household noticing that it feels better to eat less wheat. Dylan has adopted the breakfast routine and eats whatever I cook for dinner, and he has been talking about how fabulous he's feeling overall. 
• I'm feeling pretty good too- but, in full disclosure, my sleeping has been strange. I've been waking up at about 3am and finding it hard to go back to sleep. I read something that suggested a few nuts or nut butter before sleep to keep blood sugar satisfied throughout the night. I've tried it and it seems to work. I'll take it! 

 It's been interesting, trying to avoid wheat and sugar, and remain on the unprocessed side of life. I'm loving it so far!

Hope your weekend is just fabulous!
-m

 

food for thought

Tomorrow my summer is over. Back to the grind, which means that tonight I'm thinking of lunches to get ready for the week and getting my coffee set up to be ready and waiting for me in the morning.

As much as I love summer, I'm ready for the school year to begin. I thrive when I'm busy and feeling purposeful. But I also get easily overwhelmed and stressed out. I'm hoping that I can avoid that this year. I've moved schools and hope that I'll have more time to focus on teaching and less extra duties that kind of wore me out.

Here are a few things I've been loving in this last bit of summer...

food for thought 

I'm not going Paleo 100% (a lifestyle with lots of veggies and protein), but kind of with the whole no wheat thing, so I've been searching for a good paleo blog to give me ideas for wheat free meals. I stumbled upon nom nom paleo and am in love!

One of the books I thoroughly devoured this summer was Room, by Emma Donoghue. It's the story of a mother and son who are trapped in a room, and the mother makes life very interesting for the young boy by turning everything into games and riddles. The most striking aspect of the story is the fact that the young boy is the narrator. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I could not put it down.

Another favorite, and an author I am currently obsessed with, was Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. This one is a heartbreaking memoir that made me want to lace up my hiking boots and go out for hours. I cannot tell you how much I admire her courage and spirit and at the same time how much she just baffles me. I loved her writing style so very much that I picked up her book, Tiny Beautiful Things, a compilation of advice columns she wrote as Dear Sugar. It was another simply fabulous read. Very well worth your time, though you can read all the advice online too!

This video was suggested by a friend for being inspiring and heart warming.  It doesn't disappoint, get out your tissues.

Have I posted about this lunch roundup before? I know it's for kids, but I like the ideas (sans wheat of course, 14 days and still going!)

have you heard of a leptocephalus? I'm entranced by this thing.

Enjoy!
-m

Egg Salad with Cucumber

I love egg salad. Love love love. I always have. And while it is usually seen in a sandwich, I honestly prefer it by itself. Seriously- not just because I'm giving wheat free a try, but I always have. When I was in elementary school, the teachers told my mom that I wasn't eating my lunch. They had seen me throwing away my sandwiches, or so they thought. Turns out I was just gobbling up the delicious insides and throwing the bread out.

The only thing that bothers me about egg salad is that I think it gets eaten up way too quickly. I wanted to find a way to make it last a bit longer and make it, can I say, heartier? more refreshing? crunchier? It fits all those bills.

chopped English cucumber 

 I will admit that my egg salad is pretty basic. I do not add mustard to it (eek. no thanks) or vinegar or really anything other than mayo, eggs, green onions and some seasonings. You can make your egg salad however you please and add the cucumbers as you are mixing it all up!

Now I'm wondering how I can add to tuna salad as well! Any other ideas?

Egg Salad 

ingredients

5 boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise, add more or less to taste
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 English cucumber, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (English cucumbers do not need to be peeled)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil eggs, peel and chop into bite size pieces in a medium bowl. Add the mayonnaise, cucumber and green onion and mix.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!
-m

intention

I haven't gone to yoga in what feels like ages, but I keep thinking about what is often said in the beginning of the class- set an intention.

In yoga, my intention is usually a focus for my practice for the day, but what about in life? It's almost the start of a new school year and it is time for me to set an intention for myself and my well being.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I both listened to much of the real food summit and that I'd picked up the book Wheat Belly.

Both things have got me thinking about a few things. Allow me to ramble just a bit...

Etsy

First, and maybe most importantly, who can you really trust? For the longest time we'd been told that low fat diets were going to make us healthy. Now, they are killing us and fat isn't the enemy. I believe it, because I've read a good amount of research/books that seems to explain it. But, honestly, I'm sure there are books and research suggesting the opposite. Who do we listen to? Who can you trust?

I don't have an answer. I'm just curious. I listened to many people during the real food summit talk about healthy, nutritious whole foods and I was so inspired. Meat is not an enemy, vegetables still reign supreme and processed foods are always going to be bad for you. Anything that can sit that long on a shelf shouldn't go in our bodies, I get it. I'm choosing to believe this side, I think that's fairly obvious with my desire to eat unprocessed foods.

But, here's my next thought, we live in America, in the 21st century and most of us are fairly social people who enjoy a meal out once in a while. Some of the presenters suggestions depressed me. No eating out, no sugar- not even honey, very limited fruit, no wheat, make it all yourself always, don't trust anything, ever. Yikes. Eat raw foods, including milk and eggs. How realistic is this to expect?

Side note: I looked up raw milk in our area, because I am curious, and I can get it delivered to a cooler in front of a strangers house. I would go and pick it up from the cooler outside their house, how fabulously creepy does that sound? Dylan didn't go for it. 

I wanted to call in and ask how to do this realistically, but I heard one of the presenters mention that if this was too hard then he felt sorry for us, because we were slaves to convenience foods. Eek.

Here's the thing. I'm no slave to convenience foods, but I do go out and I do go to other people's houses and I do enjoy a treat once in a while. And, and this is a big one, during the school year I work a lot. A lot. I need easy breakfasts and lunches and I need to relax and have someone else prepare a meal once in a while. Many presenters focus their whole lives around this real food and I admire that, but I don't live that life.

I live my life, so how can I incorporate what I've learned with the restrictions I know exist in my life?

I'm also reading Wheat Belly, and I'm not gonna lie, it's awfully dull. But he has some seriously interesting points to be heard- did you know that bread increases your blood sugar level more than table sugar? more than a snickers? I think he is suggesting I make all my sandwiches with snickers in place of bread (ha! dreaming!).

It's made me rethink my love afair with bread, but.. I do love bread. But I also love feeling good and not feeling bloated.

I've been slowly eating less and less wheat over the past year. Around this time last year, I noticed that I ate wheat at every meal: muffins, sandwiches and pasta- yikes! No room for vegetables!

So, what to do? How to live a healthy life but a realistic one with work and friends and stress and time limits on lunches?

Another good question.

I'm going to aim for balance and preparedness, but here's my plan as I see it..

• limit refined sugar intake: 
• This I can do. I don't have a serious sweet tooth. I have like a cheese tooth or something. Cheese. That's my vice. I'll allow a treat here or there, but I'm thinking like once a week or so.

• limit/restrict wheat intake:
• Whoa. Really. I'm aiming for about 30 days wheat free, followed by limited wheat with one meal a week with wheat allowed (you know it's going to be a delicious wood fired pizza pretty often, that's cheese and bread. oh heaven). I get so bloated and gross feeling when I eat wheat, even though I love it to pieces, it obviously doesn't love me back. 

• eat tons more veggies and protein
• up the protein intake- more eggs, more meats, more beans, more nuts. Can do. 
• enjoy more vegetables, with every meal including breakfast and lunch!

• enjoy my meals, savor them
• this is hard with breakfast and lunch, I seem to inhale them. Last school year, I got about 20 minutes for lunch if I was lucky and I'm hoping for something better this year but I can't be sure. I just have to savor what I can get and bring good, delicious foods with me. 

I will, of course, share a lot of what I end up savoring here! Especially lunches, as I think that preparing and bringing a good lunch to work can be quite a struggle.

Why am I sharing all of this? You might notice it without reading this post, but I doubt I'll be posting a heap of bread and cookies like I had before. I thought it was worth a warning!

Why in the world am I doing this? I don't feel very healthy. Really. My hair and nails stink, I have a gross itty bitty ganglion cyst (his name is Bruce, be nice) on my wrist, I don't sleep well, I have a super sensitive stomach and I gain weight when I just think about nachos. When I eat junk, I feel like junk. While junk for me isn't fast food and soda, more like frozen Trader Joe's foods and tortilla chips, I still end up in a bad place. I want most of all to feel good, to have energy and to sleep well, and if I lose some weight well, I won't complain. But if I just feel fabulous, but don't lose an ounce, I'll be happy as well. Life is too short to focus on the size of my pants, I want to have the energy to focus on the things that really matter. That's my intention.

What's your intention? Making any changes soon? Got any delicious recipes to share that fit this intention? I'd love to hear it!

Wish me luck!
-m

food for thought

strolling through central park

Just last week I returned from a 12 day trip to the East Coast. I had a blast and devoured delicious food and amazing American history. I am now feeling all that fairly processed food I consumed while on the trip. Yikes. My body is not happy.

getting on the metro in DC

Part of the trip was a sponsored teacher education thing where I had very little control over what we were served (but I did help myself to the biscuits and gravy at the breakfast buffet, twice! I was in Virginia! How could I resist?) and the other part was just for fun. I leave on Friday for a 10 day trip up north. We are staying in a little condo with a kitchen and I plan to be a lot more on top of my food choices while we are away. I'm even bringing my immersion blender so I can make a quick green smoothie every morning to go with my eggs. 

green smoothie and yogurt parfait from yola in DC, one of my favorite places we ate on the trip. seriously. delicious.

How do you cope with making good food choices while away from home? How do you spot the real food and stay away from the processed food that calls our names? (I feel I deserve an award for staying away from the fried dough on the street carts of Boston, every time we passed by I wanted to try a bit so badly.. but I refrained. And had a crab roll instead. Cest la vie!) 

"a cure for the refractory"- behave or you will be tarred and feathered!

We didn't have much wifi on the trip, so I'm catching up on some internet browsing and feeling share-y! (totally a word) 


food for thought 


this bathroom visit enhancer is a bit interesting

I listened to as many of the Real Food Summit presenters as I could in the limited time I had, and I loved it. I plan on reading some of the presenters books and checking out their blogs/sites often! The list of presenters is at the end of the website linked above.

the summit made me rethink my dedication to unprocessed, real foods and how I've been slipping a lot lately. It's so easy to fall into familiar patterns of eating, especially ones that rely on convenience foods, it's way harder to take control and make the good food choices. I'm going to think about how to rededicate myself and what that looks like for me, since everyone's journey is so unique. I found this photo to sum up my feelings on it perfectly:

I just picked up this book, Wheat Belly, and we will see where that leads. I know my body doesn't respond well to wheat and sugar (does anyone? I get grouchy, bloated and hungry for more and I kinda think that's not unusual for us humans. Why do we keep eating it then? That's the question), I might just have to cut those bad boys out of my life. Seems drastic, but I think my health is worth it, don't you?

On a lighter note, I've been sitting by my computer, trying a bunch of pinterest hair tutorials and failing miserably. It's quite comical.

Speaking of comical:

organic witches!

Hope your summer is going well!

Enjoy!
-m

Juice

Love the glass? I got it from this etsy seller!

I have a confession to make. Well, two:

1) I watched this food documentary and loved it, it was amazing and it led me to watching a few more. I started with hungry for change. This was an amazing thing to watch, I wish I could find it online for you to see easier than having to purchase it, but it was worth it. I loved the emphasis on finding balancing and accepting yourself but being aware of the food we eat and what we are told about nutrition. I highly reccomend it.
After watching it, I had to watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead as well, and thought that while it wasn't as good as the previous movie, it was well done and I did do the most rational thing after watching it- I spent days researching juicers and went out and bought one.

So there is confession number 2

2) I bought a juicer and have used it almost everyday and I love to itty bitty pieces. When I nearly broke the darn thing and couldn't use it for a week, I almost lost my mind. I love this thing. I went with the omega 8004 because it can do so much and as mentioned before, I spent days researching things and this one seemed to be a favorite. It is already one of my most favorite things. I brought it with me on vacation! (and then nearly broke the thing, yadda yadda).

There are many people out there now touting the juice thing. They have been for years! and I have been listening! Well, sort of. Want to hear a funny story? Too bad, I'm gonna tell it. It's quick!

I tried a juice 'cleanse' a year ago. It was so easy, I felt great, I didn't know what the hype was about. I drank as much juice as I wanted for 3 days, and I never felt bad. It was at about day three, after 3 cartons of orange juice and 3 jugs of apple juice and one v8 that I realized, as I reread an article on the wonders of juicing, that they meant homemade mostly vegetable juice. Oops! I didn't own a juicer, so I just jumped off that wagon.

Now, back to today. I drink a mean green juice nearly every stinkin' day and I love it. I make a big batch of it every morning and have it with some scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then I take the leftovers with me to have with my lunch. It grosses everyone in the staff room out and I love that. :)

Also, all the leftover pulp is a great addition to my compost bin. Lovely!
  
I do have to chop up the produce to juice it in my particular juicer, but it takes no time at all. I love the flexibility of the juice recipe- just use what you have! Or follow one of the hundreds of recipes online

Want to read more about juicing? Here are some places to start:

hungry for change
runner's world
goop 

Green Juice
makes one big ol' cup and little cup leftover (or three small cups or enough to share if you want) 

ingredients

1 cucumuber
1 small apple
1/4 lemon, peeled
1 cup kale
5 stalks of celery 

Put it all in the juicer! That's it. :)

Enjoy!
-m

Pesto Garlic Bread

Summer is finally here! Our last school day was Friday, and while I was sad to say goodbye to the students, I am so grateful for some time to myself. The past three weeks have been so nutty- I swear I've had more sugar in the past month than I've had in the past 12 months. I feel a bit out of whack, but looking forward to a restful and restorative summer.

I'm sure I'll share more about that later, but for now I'm going to share something that..isn't quite restorative.

Hm, well, it restored my beliefs in homemade compound butters!

I bought this cookbook a few months ago and this jumped right out at me. Certain parties in this household love buttery, cheesy garlic bread. Like, love love love. I'm ambivalent, I prefer pizza if I'm going to go all bread and cheese. But I do like to see everyone smile so, I'm often on the lookout for a good garlic bread for those fancy dinners I sometimes like to prepare at home when I'm sick of restaurants. It happens!

This recipe is good for two loaves of your favorite bread- I like a good whole grain bread. You can bake one up and freeze the other for a quick side dish.

This bread was rated as a top 5 contender for favorite things made in my kitchen. Seriously. Make it. Make someone's day (maybe your own!) and save that leftover basil butter, you'll thank me later.

Pesto Garlic Bread
By Tyler Florence 

ingredients

1 pound butter
1/2  bunch of fresh basil
10-15 garlic cloves
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 loaves of crusty bread
sea salt
pepper

Put all the ingredients (except the bread, duh) in a food processor (or blender, as I did) and whip it up until it is all mixed up and creates a gorgeous basil butter.

Next, slice the bread almost all the way down, leaving the slices hanging together (see photo above). Butter the bread by spreading basil butter between each slice of both loaves, then spreading the remaining butter on the tops of the loaves. Honestly, I end up with a good 1/2 cup left and I freeze it and cook up veggies with it later. Yum.

Wrap both loaves with foil and either bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or freeze for up to a month. When you take it out of the freezer, simply bake it at 350 for 30-40 minutes (mine tends to take longer than the suggested 30 minutes). Let it cool a bit before slicing again and serving.

Enjoy! 
-m  

food for thought

My cooking has been sporadic lately. Lots of goat cheese omelets and chili. Also, I keep falling asleep before 8:00.

It must be the end of the school year! 5 more teaching days. Lots of things to do. I used to think that the end of the year must be so relaxing for teachers, but it never lets up. Luckily for me, my students are behaving well (knock on wood) and having fun with the projects we have been working on.

I find myself at home, wanting to watch pointless tv and read goofy stuff online. Here's a mixup of things that have caught my attention this week.


Food for Thought: 

I teach in a portable classroom and this company is doing interesting things with old ones! I don't know if I'd want to live in one, but they look pretty nifty and who doesn't love recycling?

I'm not sure how familiar you are with the paleo diet, I'm not totally sold on it but I like it's basic premis and try to limit my grains, sugar and dairy- but I'd be much more interested if they did more research studies about it. This is a sign that they might be headed in the right direction, just maybe.

I went through a health documentary phase a few months ago and watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Good one, very inspiring, and then I went out and bought a juicer and have been drinking homemade veggie juice twice a day. I love it. The filmakers website has the movie as well as hundreds of juice recipes! I used them as a guide in the beginning, so very helpful.

Speaking of documentaries, here is the one that started my fascination with them. Hungry for Change is a great documentary, but they don't make it easy to watch.. I keep hoping it will show up on netflix! Maybe go halfsies on the dvd with some friends and watch it together? They had it for free online a few months ago and I was lucky enough to see it.. I just loved it. The focus on healthy, unprocessed food and accepting and loving ourselves was just exactly what I try to extoll. Try. They hit the nail on the head. A friend of mine has their recipe book and I have had a few things from it, holy moly it has been good!

My family adores Disneyland, and it's been a few years since I've been visited. This time lapse video of Disneyland captures a lot of the chaos and delight of the place. Kinda makes me miss it. Kinda.


Enjoy!
-m

Enjoy the long weekend!

Society 6 Prints

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olive Oil Popcorn!

Sometimes the blog posts write themselves. I cook, I snap some pictures, I type a bit and boom. It's a fun process. Other times life gets stuck in what feels like a mad dash to some unseen finish line. In this mad dash I imagine I'm a horse, because I think horses look better running than I do, and I've got those horse blinders on, because it works for the metaphor. I seem to be stuck in a mad dash toward the end of the school year. I'm on hyper drive. Wait, that doesn't work with the horse thing. Oh well, I'm a sci-fy horse or something.

Either way, I'm neglecting my blog posts when I should be focusing on them most. It's not very balanced of me to be 99% work and 1% things that make me happy. And blogging makes me happy. It's a combination of the things I love to do in my free time: write, cook, eat and take pictures.

So, with that being said, here is one of my favorite things to make. It takes about 3 minutes total and gives you a great, healthy snack that everyone will want to gobble up.

We don't have a lot of stereotypical snack foods in our house. We rarely have crackers or chips but we do seem to crave some crunch once in a while. That is where this popcorn comes in handy. It is so very inexpensive (something like $2 for a bag that lasts us for months) and easy to make. I can't handle the chemical taste of microwave popcorn, so this popcorn is ideal.

I started making popcorn on the stove years ago when I was doing weight watchers. I wanted a healthy snack that was low points, and this olive oil popcorn seemed perfect. The only problem- I really stunk at making popcorn on the stove. It would end up chewy or burned. Gross.

After much trial and error, and asking anyone who would listen, I found a strategy that works for me. If I want popcorn for one, I use a small pot. If I want popcorn for a crowd, I use a stockpot. I usually use the big ol' pot and store the leftovers- they last all week. Here's the basic process:

I realized that my popcorn was getting chewy because I put the lid on right after turning on the heat, which was a mistake.  Now, I pour in the olive oil- enough to cover the bottom of the pan I'm using. I pour in the popcorn and mix it up with the olive oil. Then, I turn on the heat (high) and wiggle the pan around until the kernels turn golden. Once that happens, I put the lid on like this:

Also, I pick up the lid every ten seconds or so to release more of the steam. I leave the heat on for about 45-60 seconds. But not much longer, otherwise it will burn. Then I turn it off, let if sit for a minute or so and then take off the lid and pour it into a big bowl. I often toss a hot piece of sort of bland popcorn into my mouth at this point, and always regret it. Wait until you've seasoned it. I like to use olive oil spray and kosher salt. I spray and toss the salt on, then mix the popcorn around the large bowl. I may or may not do this a few times.

 

Now, time to eat it! If you are looking for a more hearty snack, mix in some trail mix (I love this) or you can use this popcorn to make any recipe calling for popcorn- caramel corn anyone? Or just leave as is for a great movie snack. Not gonna lie, I have snuck this into movie theaters. 

Olive Oil Popcorn

ingredients

olive oil
popcorn
kosher salt

Grab a large pan and drizzle enough olive oil to almost cover the bottom. Pour in the popcorn, just enough to form one layer on the bottom of the pan. Stir it around to cover each kernel in oil. Turn on the heat to high, leave the lid off, and wiggle the pan around to begin the cooking process. When all the kernels go from opaque to golden, you are ready for the lid. Put the lid on and let the popcorn pop. Release the steam frequently by lifting the lid up slightly.

Let the popcorn pop with the heat on for about 45-60 seconds, then turn off the heat and let it sit for a minute or so. Pour the cooked popcorn into a large bowl and spray with olive oil spray (lightly) and sprinkle with salt. Repeat this process one or two more times, depending on your seasoning preferences.

The leftover popcorn should last for up to 5 days in an air tight container. Makes a great snack for afternoons or with lunch!

Enjoy!
-m

Carbs vs. Fat

I'm a sucker for information presented in an unusual way, like an infographic- which seems to be facts and data presented with graphics to enhance understanding.What's not to love?

This is part of one of those infographics that I love, for the whole amazing thing- click the hyperlink below.

infographic by Massive Health: https://eatery.massivehealth.com/

Carbs are killing you! Why fat doesn't make you fat.

Check it out! I think you'll dig it.

-m

Spicy Sausage Cabbage Soup

Sometimes it seems to me that life is a bunch of befores and afters. Often little befores, before I bought my first real purse (a satchel!) and after, where nothing else compares and the canvas bags of yore are used for grocery shopping. I think we have a habit (the royal 'we', were I include everyone and no one all at once) of over emphasizing some befores & afters. We fantasize about how different life will be after we ____ (fill in the blank: start that new diet, buy that new car, move out, move in, start dating). Sometimes rightfully so, but more often the resulting 'after' is remarkably similar to the life before. And often again, we go through a before and after, a transition of sorts, without even recognizing it! How crazy is life? So. Crazy.

Here is my example. I have fantasized much about life's transitions and what a fabulous new thing is waiting for me as soon as I make my way from before to after. Most of the time though, I end up in nearly the same patterns and life doesn't change too much. It can be disappointing. Can't it?

I've spent a lot of time focusing on what's next, I just purchased a fabulous juicer and expect life to change very dramatically from here on out, but I seem to have missed a transition I didn't even know was occurring. I've gone from someone who buys pre-made soups to someone who can whip one up with what's on hand.

Hollah!

No, really though. How and when did this happen? Also, please tell me there is a soup boon occurring because I swear I see homemade soup recipes all around me.

I made this soup recently, I've made about a half dozen times, and Dylan asked me where I got the recipe from. I looked at him and thought long and hard about it. Where did this recipe come from? I looked around. No cookbook, no printout. Just the ordinary mess of prep work gone mad; casings of sausage on the meat cutting board, ends of chopped cabbage rolling about and mingling with carrot bits and pieces. I didn't have a recipe. How quaint.




Now, I can see how those of you who rock this kind of thing all the time may not be amazed. That's fine, I accept that. But I just realized you can make pretzels and wheat thins at home if I wanted to. And somewhere in the past six months I learned how to make soups from scratch with and without a recipe. What, what? Seriously. I did that.



It's all a part of this big transition I'm finding myself going through. My unprocessed food love affair. This recipe does include sausage, spicy delicious Italian sausage, and while I go all organic and buy the good stuff, you can use whatever type of sausage you are comfortable with. I am sure some guru's of unprocessed foods may not be fond of sausage, but the flavors- oh the flavors. Read the ingredients: avoid additives  like nitrates, flavorings, etc. to keep it unprocessed.

This soup is adored in this household. Adored. It's not the prettiest thing to hit the plate, but who the heck cares.



Spicy Sausage Cabbage Soup
serves 4

ingredients

1 lb organic spicy Italian sausage
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped (or more or less depending on your preference)
2 carrots, chopped into 1/4 inch rounds
4 cups vegetable stock

1 tablespoon chopped chives (garnish)



Warm a large soup pot at medium high heat. Start prepping by removing the casings on the sausage (if it came in casings). I make a cut down the inside curve of the sausage and peel back the casing very gently. Then, crumble the sausage into the warm pot and brown for 4-5 minutes. I prefer a good browning, cook to your desired doneness as the sausage will finish cooking in the soup later. Remove the sausage from the pot, but leave the fat in the pan.

Toss in the cabbage and carrots and stir it up to coat the veggies with the fat. Let the flavors combine for 1-2 minutes, then pour the vegetable stock in and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are a bit tender, about 5-6 minutes, and then toss gently place the sausage back in. Let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the sausage has cooked through. 

The soup is ready to go after the vegetables and sausage are cooked through. I often let it simmer for a bit longer to let all the flavors really combine or serve it the next day as it just gets better after a day. The spicy sausage creates a mild kick and if you are sensitive to spicy foods, substitute any other type of sausage you prefer.

Enjoy!
-m

Pan Fried Cod

Mmm.. lovely! Except that watery mashed cauliflower in the top right, ignore that mess. :)

How much do I love this pan fried cod? Let me count the ways..

1) Almond flour, oh so fabulous and hearty and nutty and..well, fabulous. Don't be afraid of almond flour.

2) Butter! You can't go wrong with butter. Good, wholesome butter. 

3) You can adjust the flavors to meet your particular fancy, I just love that.

4) Did I mention that I'm in awe of the almond flour? Because I was feeling mild trepidation towards covering some fish with ground up almonds, but fear not, it was delicious and more than holds a candle to a covered in white flour substitute. The almond flour has so much more substance, texture and flavor, I can hardly imagine using anything else at this point.

5) Did I mention the butter? because it deserves to be mentioned.

6) Guess what I will always have on hand from this point forward? Everything needed for this recipe.


Pan Fried Cod
adapted from Nourished Kitchen
serves 4

ingredients

3/4 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if desired)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 lbs cod filets
1 egg, beaten
butter, for frying (1/4-1/2 cup)

Mix together all the dry ingredients and put them in a bowl, big enough to dredge the filets in. You can use any seasonings you desire, I loved the cayenne pepper but you might not.

Dip the cod filets in the egg, then cover in the filet with the seasoned almond flour. Cover the whole thing, you'll want it all on every surface.

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed skillet and fry the cod in the butter until cooked through and golden on both sides. Flip it once. This should take about 4 minutes per side, about.

Enjoy! 

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

A few years ago, I was telling a friend about a whole wheat pasta dish I had enjoyed and their remark took me by surprise. They asked why I would eat such a horrible tasting thing as whole wheat pasta. I tried to defend my desire for more whole grains but, while I knew there were countless health benefits, nothing other than "I need more fiber in my diet" came to mind.
They lamented that fact but suggested I just eat smaller portions of the 'good stuff'. The conversation has stuck in my mind and I have ruminated over this question since- Why eat whole grains if they supposedly taste worse? Why not simply eat less of the processed grains? I believe it boils down to your intended goal, lose weight or overall health? (The teacher in me really wants to type 'loose weight' and see who catches it, but the teacher in me also just can't type that on purpose)



I was only beginning my food explorations at the point that this conversation was held and I didn't know why, but I was already drawn to the unprocessed side of life. After the past year, I feel much more confident in my eating habits. While I'm no supermodel and that is not my purpose, I do strongly feel that the addition of whole grains to my meals was for the better.

There is research behind this as well, of course. Do you know the history of white flour? You might find this article interesting. Or the reason white flour has become so present in our daily eating lives? Shelf life seems to be the answer to so many of my over-processed food questions. Wheat flour has too many good things (vitamins and nutrients) that go bad much quicker than it's processed counterpart. Which seems to be one way that white flour became the norm.

Ease.
Convenience.

Seems like holding ease and convenience near and dear to our hearts has cost us dearly. If you are trying to eat healthier, then you are familiar with this struggle. It's so much easier to eat the processed foods, the pre-made dinners and the packaged cake mixes. I guess it's a struggle for a value you can't readily see, or that's how I view it. Time is valuable and while health is as well, it is a long haul and time is instantly gratifying. Does that make any sense?

I spend an hour every Sunday night chopping vegetables, making smoothies, getting food stuff ready for the week. A year ago, I spent that hour in other ways. Sometimes, when I'm beat and feeling lethargic, I lament my change in eating habits and crave that extra hour of laziness. But then I think ahead, what path will I be on if I take this step forward and change lanes from what I know is good for my body and mind overall, for what seems ok for my body and mind in the moment?

http://wallblank.com/products/food-with-thought

I feel like I'm still learning quite a bit when it comes to my food choices. Reading this book last summer, In Defense of Food, and participating in the October Unprocessed challenge have really guided me in what I believe to be the right direction. Have you heard of the pendulum swing as it relates to ideas and thoughts? In education, people are often referring the pendulum and how it affects our teaching. I can see this though, with our food choices now. I found the poster above, which is from World War 1, and thought it was something you'd see in a new foodie cookbook. How's that for things coming back around?

Anyway, that leads me to my recipe to share. As I do every year around this time, I made carrot cake. Last year the cake was all kinds of messed up and I made a trifle instead with the broken cake. I decided to make carrot cake sandwich cookies this year, sounded like fun!

The dough is sticky but firm after an hour cooling in the fridge.

But, as I was baking them I felt wracked with guilt. All that sugar. All that flour. While this is special occasion, there would be other deliicous meals to celebrate this special birthday, and this was the only one where I had control over the ingredients.

So, I did it. I swapped half the flour for whole wheat flour. I use raw sugar. And I used the recipe that called for 2 cups of oats. Whole grain-y! And I didn't tell a soul. Until they were eaten, then I spilled the beans because A) I can't keep secrets and B) I'm a horrible liar. I giggle like crazy. It's nothing too nutty, I get that, but I feel confident in my decision to attempt to make everything I create in my kitchen a bit better, anyway I can. (I do understand that I'm saying this as I share a cake recipe with a sugary crazy frosting. So be it! It's on my mind!)

I just love the look of these, excuse the abundance of similar photos. I could not resist.

I promise that I'll share more non-baking related recipes soon. I've got a pan fried cod I'm digging and a broiled salmon that is simply rocking my socks, but for now, enjoy this little ditty.

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies with Whole Wheat Flour
adapted from Martha Stewart

ingredients

1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, (about 3 large carrots)

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine sugars and butter in a medium sized bowl (you can use a mixer or do this by hand) and beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until combined.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and stir to combine. Slowly add flour to butter mixture and continue to mix on a low speed until just blended. Mix in the oats and carrots and then chill dough in refrigerator for about an hour, or until it is firm.

Before you bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or grease with butter. These are sticky!

Using a ice-cream scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets. It's a good idea to leave 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 11 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Prepare the frosting by mixing the cream cheese with the butter, followed by the sugar and vanilla. Adjust the sugar to your tastes/desired thickness.

Once cooled, spread about 2 teaspoons of cream-cheese filling onto a cookie. Squish this onto another cookie and repeat with the rest of the cookies. You can store them in an airtight container for a few days, but good luck with that! 

Enjoy!

-m