health
Karma is a bitch…
So, Paul has recently been put in charge of my sweet tooth. We don’t generally keep “sweets” in the house, but anything even remotely close, I will eat.
Upon buying a bag of my favorite treat outside of chocolate (pull and peel twizzlers), I asked him lovingly to hide them from me, and only allow me one per day.
Now, I realize how unfair it is to make him the “bad guy”. I’m a grown woman, I should have the sense of control to not binge on sweets… but this just isn’t the case.
So today while cleaning, what should I stumble upon, but the stash of sweets.
I immediately text Paul to let him know that security has been breached and the stash has been compromised, BUT, I am no where near a sweet tooth attack.
A few minutes later I decide that I will have just one twizzler… just one.
2 delicious bites in the high-fructose corn syrup beauty, I start to choke. Raw throat, eyes watering, spit up a half-chewed piece of gross, choke.
I have learned my lesson about unsupervised snacking.
Recipe of the month: Beet and Walnut Salad!
I went into this recipe like a complete 12 year old; “Beets are gross and I hate Rachel Ray” (because it is a Rachel Ray recipe).
Ok, I don’t really hate Rachel Ray, I just think there was an over-saturation of her a few years back that I am scarred from. I didn’t need to see her on every channel, not to mention on my box of Wheat Thins.
But I digress…I said, “I don’t like beets”, but I would be hard pressed to tell you the last time, if ever, that I have eaten one. Plus I figured, this whole cooking experiment was to open my mind, so with my open arms in a cranial sense, I loaded up at the grocery store.
The best part about this recipe is that there is no actual “cooking” involved. Not only did it turn out to be super tasty, but it is a great way to get loads of vegetables into a meal, vegetables that I would guess most people don’t use on a daily basis.
Beets are actually a very underrated vegetable. Ancient Romans used beetroot as a treatment for fevers and constipation , amongst other ailments. Today, beets are one of the best foods out there for you. It is a high-fiber little power house that can help lower your LDL, or bad, cholesterol, is a known anti-inflammatory, is loaded with natural antioxidants, and contains folate, an essential B vitamin.
A picture of my dad and aunt picking beets back in the day… I’m just kidding, I found this picture on the internet. I have no historical connection to beets.
Let’s not forget about the radishes! Also a high-fiber contender, radishes are loaded with vitamin C. Both beets and radishes are also noted as being cancer fighters, mainly colon cancer.
Pick ‘em up next time you are at the farmers market! They are great for snacking too!
The preserves (I used raspberry) gave this salad a very sweet and refreshing finish, and all in all I found this to be a great little dish! And it turns out that beets aren’t really gross at all.
You can find the entire recipe at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/beet-and-walnut-salad-recipe/index.html .
I will have original pictures back next month. Technology was not on my side this weekend.
Enjoy!
30 Day Running Challenge: Day 1
When did you start running and why?
I started running officially the summer after my sophomore year of college when I was 19, about to turn 20 (2004).
I have always been very active and thrived on playing sports in high school, but adjusting to college life when I had no organized sports to keep me moving really shook up my lifestyle. I would rollerblade and go to the gym with my roommate, but it just wasn’t the same.
I somehow missed out on the freshman 15, but was hit by the sophomore 25. I saw a picture of myself at a party with a friend and could not believe what I saw! How could this be me? I’m an athlete! Alas, I was an athlete with no athletic activity.
That May, I moved into my first apartment as a sub-leaser, and as luck may have it, my new roommate was a dietetics major who was an avid runner. She ran 6 miles every day without fail and was running a marathon at the end of that summer.
For me, it was easy to pick up an active lifestyle while living with someone like that. I went out and moved every day for at least a half hour. Rollerblading, riding my bike, walking around campus, it just became a part of my daily life, and the weight started to roll off.
I loved running when I was in elementary school. I was one of the best runners in my class, but somewhere in middle school I started to HATE running, and that mindset had stuck with me. But in my mind, the fittest people were always runners. It represented discipline and determination, so one day, I went for a run. I only made it about 3 blocks (this was right before I realized I had severe asthma). But the next day, I made myself go 4 blocks. Soon, I was running for 5 minutes, then 7, then 10, and before I knew it, I was doing 2 miles without thinking about it.
I still remember the day I ran 4 miles for the first time, and the time I ran for an hour straight for the first time, my first double digit mileage run. I was suddenly a runner. A day didn’t feel successful unless I ran.
I realized that I was completely in love and addicted.
Need an oil change?
Most people know that cars need routine maintenance; gas to make it run, and consistent oil changes. Then there are a select few that religiously get the tune ups, the engine flushes, tire rotations, break inspections, the things that a car can continue running without, but not for very long.
This is how I feel about the human body in some regards. Most people know that you have to eat to survive, the better the fuel the better you perform, and most people will workout once in a while because they know it is good for them.
But unlike a car, we can’t get a new body when our current one breaks down from improper maintenance, or trade it in when we want a new body style. This is why it is SO important to take care of the one we have!
Just like you would take your car to a mechanic for the things that go beyond your knowledge or skill, I firmly believe everyone should see a personal trainer, or some other guru of what I like to call “natural preventative medicine” to learn how to make and keep your body at its best.
We only get one body, and unlike the car I have that I am very terrible at maintaining, I want to do everything I can to make sure my body performs at its peak for as long as it can.
You know you need to work out and eat healthy, but do you know why you need a certain type of carb or protein after a workout? Have you ever thought about the flexibility of your spine or your hip mobility?
I used to be a pretty average gym person. I would go, stretch, do some cardio, and do some weights… but there is so much more than that that should happen to get results and reap the benefits of fitness!
There is an overload of information out there on fitness and nutrition. There are always the latest fads, new workout crazes, but there are also the tried and true methods of how to keep your body healthy and at its best.
So, if you want to keep your “engine” running at its peak, take the time to do the maintenance and find a credible professional you trust to help you out and show you the way.
Remember, you only get one body, and there is more involved in maintaining it than gas and oil changes.
Recipe of the Month: Baked Tomatoes with Quinoa, Corn, and Green Chiles
This recipe really tested my skill level in the kitchen. Broiling, carving, bagging, this one was certainly an adventure.
The shopping was all pretty straight forward, until I got to the “Poblano chiles”, because, according to Meijer, they are “Poblano Peppers”. Enter, exhibit A:
Alas, I believed it to be the same, so off to the check-out we went, and from here on out they will be referred to as “peppers”. This actually wasn’t the first “interpretation” I made on this recipe, for example:
“Place tomatoes and tops, if desired, on a jelly-roll pan”
What the H is a jelly-roll pan? Google tells me it is just a baking sheet, so all systems were a go.
The broiling turned out to be way easier than I thought it would be, since it was just a button on the oven next to “bake”. I used to be under the impression that broiling was a fancy way to boil something in a frying pan. Oh, how adult-hood is changing me.
Post-broiled peppers, blackened skin acquired.
I was a little unsure about putting the broiled peppers into a paper bag, but then realized it was probably to dry them out, making the skinning process easier.
A Horrocks bag sealed with drink mixers is kind of the same thing the recipe asks for. Paul tried to take a picture of me putting the peppers into the bag, but said my face looked too disturbed.
Skinning the blackened peppers, by the way, not annoying at all! Just kidding, it was a total pain in my butt.
The tomato carving was the most nerve-wracking part for me. I was deeply afraid of failure in this step, but, I am happy to report that I was very successful! I envisioned a massacre, but it was very much like carving a pumpkin. Just don’t stab through the bottom (or a side) and you are all good.
So cute!
I actually did the tomato carving first, that left the pulp to pretty much drain itself while I was preparing the peppers, onion, and corn. By the time I was ready to go back to it, I had very little pressing to do.
Confession time: I didn’t rinse my quinoa. I never do. I am a second child, I ate stuff off of the floor, got pacifiers straight out of the dirt, and shared my ice cream cones with the dog. I doubt my life will be saved now by rinsing quinoa. It always turns out just fine!
I questioned whether the last step was necessary or not. What major difference could 1 and a half minutes in the broiler make? Paul, in all his wisdom, told me that baking will cook it all of the way through, and the extra broiling will crisp the top. Thank goodness for adult supervision while I’m cooking.
Ready to go into the oven!
What a flavor-full turn out! Even if you don’t like tomatoes, eating just the filling will satisfy you without an overwhelming tomato taste. And it looks so impressive and presentable!
The only thing I might change is the quinoa to corn/onion/chili ratio. The mixture turns out to be mostly quinoa, but I believe it could be have a stronger flavor with more of the corn mixture.
All in all though, this seems like a very tedious recipe at first, but is one that can be mastered after just a few swings at it.
You can find the full recipe here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/baked-tomatoes-50400000121356/
The recipe I will be tackling next, a little more in my comfort zone skill wise, is a beet salad. It will be my first go around with beets, so we will see how it goes!
I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July! i will post about my vacation sometime this week, I promise!
It’s my birthday weekend!
I love birthdays, whether it be my own or someone else’s. I think everyone’s birthday should be a big deal. A great day to tell and be told, “I’m glad you were born”.
I am so blessed because my birthdays have always been days when I am reminded how great my friends are and how loved I am. This year is no exception.
My best friend is coming in from Chicago tonight to spend the weekend with me. She has NEVER missed a birthday in the almost decade that I have known her, no matter where she is at in life. I am so not worthy of her love 🙂
So, this will be me this weekend:
Fat. Sassy. Relaxing…. except for that 10 mile run on Sunday.
Speaking of running, it has only been 2 weeks, so I guess I can update about the half marathon I ran over Memorial Day; It went much better than I expected it to. I ran the first half in record time, but slowed down in the last few miles, so my time wasn’t awesome, but it gives me a goal for the next one… which is a week from Sunday.
But, until then, I shall enjoy my time with my amazing friends, and be thinking about my amazing friends who can’t be here.
Have a great weekend everyone!
(Mint chocolate chip ice cream cake…only the best cake in the world)
omg yummmyyyy! 🙂
As the weather finally gets hot here in Michigan, all I want is ice cream!!! I think it is Pavlovian, but once the temp creeps above 80 degrees, the salivation srtarts and all I crave is the creamy goodness of ice cream.
I have yet to have my offical soft-serve break in of the summer, but I feel it coming soon.
So glad it is finally warm out!
Not sure what to do at the gym today?
http://mystateoffitness.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/may-workout-of-the-month-2/
Work out of the month from State of Fitness!
Some words of wisdom can be skipped
Yesterday, I had the unfortunate pleasure of going to the doctor’s office for a basic check-up and to get my allergy/asthma meds refilled. I have year-round allergies, and am allergic to everything found in nature, animals and plants included, which really sucks for an outdoorsy, animal lover such as myself. My asthma, while not exercising, is always set off by my allergies (just let me hang out at your house if you have a cat for while without my inhaler… I do an epic Darth Vader impression).
When the doctor asks me how everything is going and how my asthma is, I tell him the usual; I always use my inhaler before I workout and run, and generally right before I go to bed. This is always when the writing stops and he peers up at me over the rim of his glasses. “If we look back at your test results,” he says, “you responded the strongest to Maple trees, mold, dogs, cats, and grass. You have pets don’t you?”, I proudly respond with, “yes, a cat and a dog.” I always stand firm on this, I have already broken up with 2 allergists for telling me to get rid of my cat…at the second one I replied with, “Sure, lady, kill your second born”…I don’t think so. But my primary doctor knows to tread lightly on certain subjects; my weight and my pets in relation to my allergies/asthma.
He continues to educate me though. “Where most people with allergic reactions show a level of 60 or below, your levels are clear above 1500, so… you are pretty allergic”. Levels of what, I am not sure, but I am smart enough to do the math in my head and realize quickly that 1500 is a heck of a lot higher than 60 (gotta love college).
“Do your pets sleep in your room or on your bed?” I get a quick image in my head of me, sleeping diagonally across my bed, clutching what little covers I can out from under my 70 lb dog, who always wants to sleep right where my body needs to go. Meanwhile, my cat not only sleeps with me, but across my neck, resting her chin in my eye-socket.
“Sometimes,” I reply, not being proud enough of this explain to him my nightly ritual.
“You might want to start shutting your bedroom door, even during the day, to keep them out of there. It will really help. What type of pillow do you use?”
Do I explain to him that, at 27, I sleep on a monkey pillow pet? I am trying to formulate the argument in my head that it is SO soft and supportive, and he’s a monkey! Thankfully he cuts off my train of thought of searching for an answer to give him, “Is it a down pillow?”…”No?”, said with no conviction….”It probably isn’t, down pillows are about $100. You probably haven’t spent $100 on a pillow recently.” Oh great… being poor is now a diagnosable, medical condition. “I would recommend you get a hypo-allergetic pillow, that will help too.”
“Do they make a hypo-allergetic pillow pet?” I want to ask, but I don’t. I know how to pick my battles.
20 minutes later, and loads of sound, adult, doctor recommended advice later, I headed home, where I dove head first into my pillow pet and proceeded to nap for an hour, cat on my head, dog at my feet. Some sacrifices are just so worth it 🙂
Adventures of S 