Giveaway Winner and Grits

Hey there! Happy Sunday. I hope that you’re all doing well. I had an exciting afternoon – my thesis is officially printed and bound. That’s over one year of work! Phew. At this point, I still feel extremely nervous, but its also really exciting. I can’t believe presentation day is this Wednesday. We’re doing things kind of backwards so I’m going to have a couple more classes and will finish everything December 22nd. However, this thesis has been on my mind for such a long time, it will be such a weight off of my shoulders. I’m sure you guys are ready to stop hearing about it, too. Haha. Yay for that!

Now, without further ado, I’d like to get to the giveaway winner.

Lucky number six is the lovely Trayn Harder. Shoot me an email, lady, and we’ll get this sorted out so you can get your processor or blender. Thanks so much for entering, guys! I wish I could give a gift certificate to you all.

Next, I have to share my dinner with you as it was a first for me – I made corn grits!! Now, this was only my second time having them; the first time I had them was in lovely Georgia with the even lovelier Homecooked Em. Those grits were heavenly. I didn’t even try to match them.  My own version was pretty good, though.

I started by sautéing some green bell pepper, onion, and carrot in a well oiled pan. I then added some cubed tempeh. Once everything was lovely and browned, I started the grits. Which are so easy to make, by the way – boil water, add grits, stir, done. The version I bought was Bob’s Red Mill Organic Corn Grits. Yum.

To sauce up the stir fry, I added low sodium soy sauce, tahini and ample amounts of red pepper flake. Once all was warmed through, I plopped down some grits and topped them with the sautéed mixture. It was definitely a winner. It ended up tasting very “meaty” somehow – in a good way. Probably the earthy carrots and tempeh.

Best part? There are leftovers. :)

Fall Breakfasts & Disconcerting Events

Hey guys. Happy Saturday. I hope that you’re enjoying your weekend thus far. Before I get to my post, I just wanted to remind you to enter my first giveaway thanks to CSN stores. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me what you’d pick out with your $55 gift certificate. I’m going to be randomly picking a winner tomorrow night so get to it!

So, with the cooler weather and changing leaves, I’ve been really into warm, fall-inspired breakfasts.  This obviously means oatmeal and the warm flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg. The first of my two favorites has been plain oatmeal topped with 2% plain Greek yogurt and warm cinnamon apples and some honey.

This particular bowl was eaten at work. I just peel, slice and nuke the apples with cinnamon and nutmeg the night before and then heat them up in the morning along with the oats. The greek yogurt definitely puts this over the top with creaminess.

The second of my recent favorites is oatmeal made with some soy milk and topped with peanut butter, chia seeds, raisins, cinnamon and honey.

I love the raisins and chia seeds on top because they add some awesome texture. The peanut butter gets melty and delicious and brings a bit of saltiness to the sweet.

Now, you might notice a serious lack of pumpkin. I absolutely love the fact that fall means access to a whole bunch of orange squash and taters.  However (!), the weirdest thing has happened to me. A couple of weeks ago, I woke up in the morning and felt a bit nauseous and couldn’t stop thinking about squash and sweet potatoes. I think that I must have had a dream about eating some type of orange vegetable and it did not agree with me. I did not eat squash or sweet potato the night before so it was pretty random. 

The disconcerting part of this whole thing is that I cannot bring myself to think about (or eat) sweet potato, pumpkin, or squash.  Its really upsetting. I’m going to go with it for now – not force it, but I hope that I’ll get back to my old gourd-loving self soon.

Has anything like this ever happened to you guys?

My Very First Giveaway

Hey guys! Happy Friday. I apologize for being so absent. Wednesday is the big day - the day when I will no longer be thinking about my thesis for more hours of the day than I'd like to admit. Our presentations are coming up and I'm so excited to have them almost over with! I also can't wait to put more effort into the blog. I have some good ideas rattling around in my old noggin'... Enough about me, though, I have a special giveaway (my very first one!) for this fall Friday.

The people at CSN Stores recently offered to give one of my readers a 55 dollar gift certificate for any product from any one of their three websites (this does not cover shipping costs). There is so much to choose from, including modern bedding, cookware, furniture, and even shoes and handbags. I'm so excited that one of you guys will be able to choose one of these awesome products to purchase with your gift certificate.

To enter the giveaway, please leave me a comment telling me what you would choose to buy! I will randomly pick a winner Sunday evening.

Have a great Friday, friends. :)

The Future of Food

Hey guys! I know its Wednesday and technically my guest post day, but I am not prepared and thought that I might as well just check in and share with you this pretty cool story about a new restaurant that's opening in NYC. The restaurant, called 4food, whose logo is "de-junking fast food," specializes in burgers (not just any burgers - burgers with a hole in the center...more on this soon!).

The cool thing(s) about 4food is that not only does it focus on social media (diners are given iPads to order their meals with and have access to free wi-fi upon sitting to follow tweets and other media within the restaurant), but the restaurant is centered around high quality, local ingredients and biodegradable packaging for all of its food and drinks. In addition, the restaurant has a composting machine in the basement, utilizes sustainable and efficient materials (like concrete flooring with heating and cooling) and utilizes specialized shades to block and capture the sun as needed.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. When it comes to choosing just how to have your burger, diners have the option of creating their own profile by which they can enter their height, weight, eating habits and dietary goals. The system will then design the "optimal" burger for you with options like a salmon burger (with a whole in the center) filled with avocado and topped with swiss (or something like that).

I guess I'm not sure what to think of this. I feel like it could be a slippery slope. My curiosity was peaked - would I enter my height, weight, eating habits and goals and end up with a lettuce leaf on a bun? I feel like even for those of us with solid relationships with food (um, who can say that they don't have any issues with food?), this could be a less than positive exercise. On the other hand, it is pretty neat to have that option if you'd like. Its definitely not mandatory. I could see it becoming a fun way of getting to know your friends better. A "guess-the-friend-by-their-burger," type thing.

What do you guys think about it? Do you think that this type of menu option will catch on?

An Evening Out on the Town

I hope that you all are having wonderful weekends. Mine has been pretty great – the perfect balance of work and fun. On Saturday night, I got to go into Cambridge for an amazing meal with Melissa and Lauren. Melissa suggested Bambara – which is located in the Hotel Marlowe – and it absolutely did not disappoint.

I am continually amazed at how wonderful the bloggers I’ve met are. These girls were no exception – we had such a great time and the conversation was flowing (so much so that I think we were driving our waiter crazy). I definitely foresee many foodie meet ups (and otherwise) in the future!

For dinner, I ordered the shrimp and clam linguini. It was beautiful and featured whole clams, fresh-made pasta and garlicky sauce. Yum. I most definitely grabbed a fresh roll and sopped up all of the sauce.

The waiter was very kind and even sent us some dessert wine to sip after our meal. I don’t have a picture, but it was quite tasty!

After dinner, we made our way into the hotel and managed to have some fun taking goofy pictures. Did I mention we had a great time? :)

What have you guys been up to?? Any fun shenanigans?

My Mom’s Pizza

Hey guys! I hope that all is well. This post won’t contain a lot of pictures, but it will contain a crowd-pleasing meal that is fun to make and really versatile.  I’m going to call it: My Mom’s Pizza.

My mom is a really good cook (even though we’re realizing more and more that’s she’s pretty picky – no cottage cheese, bananas, yogurt, store bought hummus, or guacamole will ever pass her lips).  Probably one of my favorite Mom-meals is pizza. It just screams “Friday” and is usually a laid back meal with beer and laughs involved.

This past week, I set out to make an attempt at My Mom’s Pizza and was pretty happy with the results (not mom-par, but that’s setting the bar pretty high for the first time). Here’s what I needed:

• 2 bags of store-bought raw pizza dough (TJ’s has really good whole wheat dough, but I used just plain ole white flour dough from Shaw’s)
• 1 can of plain tomato sauce (not marinara sauce, just plain tomater)
• 4 cloves of garlic (vampires need not apply)
• 1 bag of 5 cheese Italian mix
• Feta cheese
• Frozen broccoli
• Sliced button mushrooms
• Basil
• Oregano
• Black Pepper
• Red Pepper Flake

I heated the oven to about 430 degrees. This was probably too high, but I was impatient and usually overheat the oven. :)  I then finely shopped the four cloves of garlic. I placed half of the garlic into a pot with some olive oil to warm up just a bit (not too much – burnt garlic stinks!). Once the garlic is warmed, add your can of sauce and season with pepper, basil, oregano and black pepper to taste.  Allow the sauce to heat and get started on your first pizza.

For my first pizza, I simply spread out one of the doughs on a cookie sheet greased with olive oil. Now, don’t worry if its not the perfect shape – its how it tastes, people!

Once you have what might resemble a circle, square, or something in between, drizzle the dough with olive oil and then spread with what remains of the garlic. Next, use some of the 5 cheese mix – but not too much. Then crumble the feta and apply liberally – it should be the star of the show. Finally, add your frozen broccoli and sprinkle amply with red pepper flake.

Place into oven and get started on pie numero dos (technically, this should be Italian, but, just work with it). Spread out the dough just as you did the first and then top with your garlicky sauce, the rest of the 5 cheese mix and your mushrooms.

Your first pie should be well on its way to completion by the time the second is completed. I don’t remember how long it took. You’ll get a feeling, though.

Both pizzas came out really well, despite some bubbles in the crust that made them look quite unconventional. They were delicious and I had enough for several days of leftovers. Make sure to mix up the toppings to suit your tastes. I most definitely recommend the feta and red pepper flake combination, though. :)

The Lunch Equation

Hey guys! How goes it? Not long ago, I did a post on my tips for an easy and healthy dinner – The Dinner Equation.  Well, I got a request (Jen, I’m talking to you!) for a lunch post so I figured it was about time to get to it. This equation, is no doubt, less of an equation and more of a method or even just suggestions.

It is also worth mentioning that the five days of the week that I’m at work most often involve a packed lunch so this may or may not apply to you lucky folks that can eat at home for lunch!  For those of you working the 9-5 in cubicle hell heaven, this may just be the ticket that keeps you going strong and with a happy, healthy belly.

Without further ado, here is my lunch equation in bullet form (no particular order).

• Leftovers. Ok, I lied, maybe there is a particular order to this list. Leftovers, by far, are my favorite lunch food. When you make enough food the night before, its SO easy to just pack it up in a tupperware and go. I think its the 9-5er in me, but a warm lunch just seems so much more special. Today’s lunch was a couple of slices of homemade pizza – sauce and cheese with mushrooms and olive oil, garlic, feta and broccoli. Yum.

 

• Crunch. So, you’ve had your oatmeal, or your yogurt or your toast (probably also eaten at your desk), you’ve worked hard all morning and now its time for lunch. You most definitely want something crunchy that preferably takes a while to munch through. Enter – salad. Salads are really easy to prepare and true to the nature of this bullet point – are crunchy and take a good while to eat. I love reading blogs and slowly munching on salad during my break. Heavenly. My salad favorites can be found here, but I’ll just share a few pictures tonight. (As you can see, crunchy accoutrements are encouraged.)

• Open-faced Sandwiches. If you’re like me, sandwiches tend to go down the hatch in seconds. That is NOT ideal when you’re looking to unwind and truly enjoy your lunch. I’ve found that open faced sandwiches pack just as easily and take a bit longer to get down my pie hole.  My favorite combinations (obviously veg but meat is encouraged if you’re so inclined) include hummus, cheese, avocado, tempeh, spinach, tomato, mustard, pickles…all together or not…on rye, English muffin, sandwich thins, rolls, whole wheat… :)

So, tell me, what are your favorite lunch tips? Do you guys bring lunch to work, go home, takeout, or what?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Raisin Oatmeal Balls

Hi guys! I hope that you’re having a great weekend. I had a productive day yesterday and time to reflect on 9/11 during my walk. I can’t believe that it has been 9 years. Its unbelievable how life changed that day and how quickly it has seemed to pass since then. I still have a hard time thinking about all of the lives lost and changed drastically during that day but I hope that we are all slowly but surely healing.

On to much lighter things – the title of this post. I was looking for something chocolaty, simple, and healthy to have for a treat Friday night and managed to come up with a no-bake cookie that is pretty tasty. I didn’t really measure anything (too much pressure, really), but here is my best estimation of the ingredients…

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup soymilk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
2 tbsp dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 tbsp honey

Bring soymilk, water, and protein powder to a boil. Add oats and stir. Add raisins, cocoa, peanut butter and honey. Mixture should be quite thick. Once incorporated together, turn off heat and let cool (I put the pot in the freezer to speed up the process). Once cool enough to handle, form into little balls, place on cookie sheet and put in the fridge or freezer.  I put mine into the freezer and actually stored the extras in a tupperware in there. They thaw quickly and are really tasty cold. :)

Warning: While delicious, they do not photograph well…

 
Let me know if you guys try this out! :)

A Few of My Favorite (Fall) Things

Hi there! Happy Weekend! I’m not sure about how the weather has been where you are, but the past few days have definitely been fall-like here. I’m loving it! It has me thinking about my favorite fall things, like:

Pumpkin Oats

Fallen Leaves

Squash

Backyard Fires

Do you guys like fall? What is your favorite thing about it??

Guest Post Wednesday: The Non-Dairy Queen

Before I start, I want to say thank you to Emily for asking me to do a guest post! I am extremely honored that you would ask me!

Now, a little introduction for those of you who don’t know me, I am Sarena from The Non-Dairy Queen. My adventures in blogging began when I discovered I am extremely lactose intolerant. Since then, I have also discovered that I have a horrible allergy to soy and my husband has celiac disease, so no gluten here either. Luckily, I grew up in the kitchen and furthered that with going to culinary school so I am not afraid of the kitchen. I am not going to lie though, all of these food restrictions were a little overwhelming in the beginning. My focus with food has always been making the best tasting healthy food I can. Now, the challenge has been upped a little but I have discovered that these challenges can be fun. Oh and on top of all of that, I have two little boys that are trying to learn how to eat everything in moderation.

Dinner here became such an ordeal. I was making multiple meals to suite every ones’ tastes, food restrictions and any other issue someone had with the meal that night. Through a lot of discussions (with all of us including the little guys) and really working on meal planning, we have discovered that eating family style is a great option for us. This gives those of us with food restriction alternatives, it adds variety to everyone’s diet and makes healthy food fun!

Our favorite meal lately has been fried rice. This is one of the meals that I have always hated. I don’t like greasy food and I am not a fan of white rice (well unless we are talking about rice pudding and that is a different story). My husband and boys love it though. It became a huge pain to make all this food and me not even eat it. On top of it not being my favorite, it has soy sauce (which I always thought was a key component) so I couldn’t have it. My husband suggested we make it without soy sauce and load it up with vegetables. I told him I would be willing to try it out, but would he mind making it with brown rice. He said it was worth a try. Now we had to get it past the boys. Max (my 9 year old) love vegetables, but Jay (my 12 year old) has a handful that he will eat. So, we started out with peas and carrots and then gradually started adding more vegetables to the mix. I think the key to encouraging healthy eating in kids is to NOT force things on them. Baby steps give them the ability to feel like they are making their own choices. We also make sure that the texture of the other vegetables is similar to what is already in the mix. Jay always picks the mushrooms out, but I know people either love them or hate them.

Here is our version of family style soy free fried rice…I hope you like it.

Soy Free Fried Rice

(Makes 16 cups)

2 cups egg whites (or 8 eggs)

Spray a nonstick electric skillet with cooking spray and scramble the egg whites. Remove from the pan when done and set aside.

1 cup sliced onions

4 cloves garlic minced

1 TBSP sesame oil

Heat the oil in the electric skillet and then add the onions and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes until just translucent. Then add...

1 12 oz bag of frozen Asian vegetables (mine had green beans, broccoli, onion and mushrooms)

2 cups frozen peas and carrots

2 cups mung bean sprouts chopped

2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt (I needed more to my servings, but the boys used gluten free soy sauce)

Cover with lid to steam and then remove lid to sauté. When done, remove from pan.

8 cups cooked brown rice

3 TBSP sesame oil

Heat the oil in the skillet and then add the rice. Fry the rice stirring occasionally until browned. Add everything back to reheat and enjoy!

We eat these as lettuce wraps with hot sauce and the boys add soy sauce to their servings.

Oh and this makes a lot, but I like that you can change the vegetables and quantities to suit you and your family.

The Easy Way Out

Well hey! What’s the good word? Tuesday is a very good word. I kept getting giddy today when I thought about the fact that we had fast forwarded right past Monday. I had a great Labor Day weekend full of family, bbqs and outdoor time. It was nice to unplug as well. I hope that you guys enjoyed your Labor Day just as much.

Despite the gloriousness that is a Monday-less week, a late return back to MA last night followed by a busy busy workday, workout, and grocery store trip meant that by the time dinner came around I was tired and HUNGRY. Thus, the easy way out.

While at the store, I picked up two bags of frozen stir fry veggies. I usually use fresh veggies but frozen are most definitely a time saver – no washing, de-seeding/skinning or chopping required! I also got some super firm cubed tofu (again, no chopping!) and some instant brown rice. Easy peasy!

I sauteed the tofu in a pan to get nice and crispy while the frozen veggies heated on low heat and the rice did its thing. Once the veggies were hot and the tofu crispy, I combined and then added hot sauce, low sodium soy sauce and garlic powder. Served on top of the rice and drizzled with some tahini. Easy, delicious and quick! Plus, can you say LEFTOVERS!? :)

 
What do you guys do when you want to take the easy way out?

The Dinner Equation

Hi guys! Before I get to it, special thanks to Jen for her guest post. If you haven't read it yet, check it out!

I was thinking a lot the other day about my "cooking" style, if you could call it that. While I've read enough Michael Pollan books to be aware of the dangers of reducing a meal into its macronutrients (namely, the erosion of the idea of a meal as enjoyment and tradition), oftentimes, I find that when it comes to dinner especially, my method involves a simple equation.

Now, this simple equation works because, in the words of a wise man, I do the hard work of choosing good, wholesome, fresh foods while at the grocery store each week. It is also quite utilitarian and allows me to create quick meals that cover all my bases. (Read, when I'm starving and on the verge of a breakdown, I can quickly satisfy my belly with a healthy meal.)

Are you ready for my equation?

Carbohydrate: In my kitchen, this most often includes, but is not limited to brown rice, whole wheat pasta, couscous, potatoes (white and sweet), whole wheat bread, oatmeal (yes for dinner, mom), and soba noodles.

+

Protein: I'm a veg-head. You guys know this. I love eggs, tempeh, tofu, edamame, and beans (all kinds!) to get in some protein. It does the trick, and much to my parents' delight, I'm not withering away without meat.

+

Fat: Fat is essential to any diet, including this girl's. I love the flavor that tahini adds to stir fries, and will also add nuts, avocado, coconut milk and flavored oils to spice things up.

+

Fruits and veggies are kind of tricky because they are hybrids - can be termed a bit of a carbohydrate and a bit of a protein depending on which side of the bed they wake up on that day (kidding). It doesn't feel like dinner to me without at least one vegetable. I love all vegetables except celery. Ugh. Favorites and regulars include broccoli, bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, zucchini and carrots. Also, fruits deserve mention here too because, well, tomatoes and avocados are the bomb. Also, I'll occasionally throw some raisins in a savory curry dish because its delicious.

Finally, flavor. Its essential. Soy sauce, salsa, HOT SAUCE (yeeaahhh), curry, cumin, chili powder, garlic, basil, cilantro, lime, lemon...the sky is the limit here, guys. Take flight.

Now, the beauty of these equation elements is that they can be mixed and matched at will. I've created some pretty funky combinations (see below), but they always turn out delicious and are always what I'm looking for!

Macronutrients and some meal satisfaction? Count me in!

Guest Post Wednesday: Jen of The Dean Files

Happy September, friends! This week's guest post is another special one. Jen is an extremely intelligent, kind, and funny person and "meeting" her through the blog world is definitely another one of those amazingly kismet circumstances that I'm very thankful for. Her post this week happens to be quite inspirational and especially pertinent to me, and I'm sure to many of you as well. It stands to be quite a coincidence that this post is happening on the very first day of Tina's 30 Days of Self-Love Reflection as well. Amazing how these things happen, huh!? Well, before I get too verbose, lets get to the post! Make sure to check out the blog that Jen and her husband command (The Dean Files) - there are always amazing things to think about and beautiful pictures to look at.

When approached by Emily to submit a post for this Wednesday, I ran through a variety of topics in my head and decided to discuss the incorporation of another person into your own, finely tuned health routine. However, the remainder of the week, followed by the weekend, turned my thoughts elsewhere. Now, here we are with an entirely different topic, one that festered and developed over the past several days. So, please bear with me in hopes that there will be lesson at the end.

I am a fighter. A determined, ambitious, tough although fearful and worrisome fighter. Give me a problem and I will find a solution – but not without anxiety. I will face anything but I will probably worry about it a little first. I can look anything in the face but I might be trembling when I do so. It may take me fifteen tries but I will figure it out.

Take, for instance, the current situation. My husband and I are anxiously, although somewhat patiently, waiting for him to obtain a job. He has worked diligently over the past year and half during his master’s degree to put himself at the top of the heap but we have been, just as diligently, actively trying to find a job for the past three months. It is a daunting task and one that can wreak havoc on the job seeker’s self esteem. At the same time, I am waiting to hear where we might end up living so that I can enroll in school and begin my own journey of higher education. So many decisions are tied up in one event.

I dare say that we are so tied up in the idea of finding a job that we may have made ourselves nauseous over the past several days. And then, the click happened. The click where you realize that perhaps you are making this harder than it should be. The click that is accompanied by a deep sigh. You know, the one in which you feel as though you are truly breathing again. Stomach puffs up, stomach goes down.

Being a fighter and one who cannot stand to give up, I often fight until it makes me sick. “Keep going, keep going!” says my inner monologue. However, if thirty-two years and a plethora of life experience outside of the norm taught me anything, it is that letting go is just as important as fighting sometimes. Being able to remain proactive whilst realizing that you, yourself, do not control the universe is a valuable lesson. And usually, once you let go, you find that the path becomes quite clear.

I have an idea of what the future could look like for my husband and I. I have my favorite option. And I have a couple of things that I have my fingers crossed tightly for. However, I am also open to what is supposed to happen. I have been in this situation before and I have ended up in a very different place(s) than I had envisioned. Despite whatever I had conjured up in my own mind for where I would like to be, I cannot remember any scenario as good as where I am presently. Pritzker Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Oscar for best actress in a comedy-drama depicting the life of Gilda Radner, or no.

I see this pattern frequently, especially among women. Women are hardcore and they do not want anyone to tell them any different. Whether you use the childbirth argument or that we look just as good in pants as men, women do not want to be thought of as incapable of handling any task. This is especially true of the women I know and I imagine most of you that read this blog. You all have blogs of your own, you are proactive, you have something to say, you have a voice. However, I will tell you, that remembering, in the heat of the moment, that it takes a lot of strength and wisdom to say, “I will keep on moving forward but I am also going to let go.” It is weeks such as the last few that remind me of this. And more than telling you about my latest recipe, I felt that imparting a different type of wisdom was more pertinent this go-around (although I fully intended on talking blackberries with you). Perhaps, if asked back, I shall title my post, “Trifle and the People Who Love Them”. Until then, practice your punches and your downward dog. It makes for a nice balance.