Frisky Lemon

Now it's REALLY Official...I've Moved

2010-09-07T14:37:00.002-04:00

I've become one of those people who moves their blog over to Wordpress.

Please visit me at www.Friskylemon.com

Please make sure to update your bookmarks (Dad) and Google Readers (The one reader I have that isn't in my family).

Thanks!

Allison

AllisonNichols.HC@gmail.com

It's Official

2010-09-07T10:23:00.001-04:00

I have business cards. I'm trying to be professional and transfer my blog over to wordpress and thus to my new URL...but I'm failing...so please excuse my lack of posts...I'm trying to be a grown-up...

Carrot Cake Breakfast Treat

2010-08-30T12:17:00.005-04:00

My new favorite breakfast item is in the form of a delicious Oh She Glows Carrot Cake Scuffin. Of course, I doctored the recipe to make it paleo friendly, and the results were, I dare say, amazing.

Paleo Carrot Cake Scuffins

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp baking power

1/4 tsp sea salt

1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1.5 cups shredded or grated carrots

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

I combined the dry ingredients and then neglected to follow the rest of Angela's well laid out instructions...mostly because I was being a little bit lazy. Everything turned out okay in the end.

I shredded the carrots,

and combined everything in one bowl. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup oats, but I replaced these with shredded coconut to give the scuffins a less soupy consistency. I also reduced the maple syrup from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup for less sweetness.

I scooped six scuffins on to parchment paper.

I topped them with shredded coconut and baked at 350 for about 25 minutes.

mmMMMmmm...carrots.

We prepared a Saturday morning breakfeast:

Scuffins, scrambled eggs and tiny plums with neon insides

We ate outside in the sun.

Chester wanted some. He didn't get any.

Homemade Beef Jerky

2010-08-25T15:18:00.000-04:00

Sunday was jerky day at my house. We ventured through the rain to Whole Foods to pick up some beautiful meat to jerkify.

After staring at the red meat section for a good five minutes, we decided to go with this guy:

Methinks he's a sirloin?

M got to work slicing. We sliced most against the grain, but some pieces with the grain to see how they would differ in texture.

While M sliced, I collected the strips in a bowl and covered them with our Ginger Teriyaki marinade.

This was a super, fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants test run, so we decided to go with the prepared marinade. Next time, I plan on whipping something up myself!

One of the less gross meat pictures I took...that reddish stuff is marinade...not extra blood.

We laid the strips out on the dehydrator and let it do it's thing.

We left the jerky for about 4 hours on 160 degrees, and by then it was time to go to bed...so we turned down the heat to 130 and left them dehydrating over night.

The end result was some delicious jerky, of which I do not have pictures. I'm planning on having a Lil'Nic taste test this evening, and I will report back asap.

Adventures in Nutty Granola

2010-08-23T09:33:00.007-04:00

A few weeks ago, M and I went up to Southern Vermont for Family Work Day for the Jenckes Foundation. Family Work Day is filled with trail work aka lopping, chainsawing, hacking and stacking. We spent most of the day removing fallen trees from the ski trails in the form of chucking 60lb logs into the woods.

We started the morning at M2's house with a delicious granola breakfast care of my Mama. I broke my "no grains" rule to indulge in some coconutty, oaty granola from Healthy Living, an amazing health food store up in Northern VT. Mostly, I broke my rule so that I could have some of my mom's homemade fruit compote, which is soon to be replicated, but the granola was phenomenal.

Since tasting the forbidden granola, I've wanted to try and make my own. I found a guide on Girl Gone Primal and modified it a bit to make my own, nutty granola.

Nutty Granola

Ingredients:
Almonds
Cashews
Walnuts
Unsweetened shredded coconut
3 Tbs maple syrup
5 egg whites

I put all of the nuts into a bowl to soak for a few hours.

Chester was curious. I'm not sure of my exact nut measurements: I used an entire bag of raw almonds from Trader Joe's, half a bag of raw cashews and 1/2 cup walnuts.(This recipe can be modified for any amount of nuts: you just have to change the number of egg whites and maple syrup.)

I soaked the nuts for about three hours-- until they had soaked up almost all of the water in the bowl and looked nice and soft.

I ground the nuts cup by cup in the food processor,

and whisked the maple syrup and egg whites in a separate bowl.

I combined the nut and egg white mixtures, making sure that all of the nuts were covered in egg.

After lining a baking sheet with parchment paper, I spread out a 1/2 inch layer of the mixture. I baked the nutola for about 10 minutes at 350, stirred (or flipped) and then continued to bake for another 10 minutes.

I completed this flipping/stirring step a few more times before the nuts were browned and toasted looking.

Once the nuts were done baking, I added the coconut flakes.

I attempted to shake the nuts and coconut together in a plastic bag. However, we are cheap, so our plastic bags are ghetto and don't seal very well (and I'm a gross kid), so there was a granola explosion.

I managed to salvage most of the goods and we ate them with almond milk, blueberries and some demon peanut butter for our Sunday Breakfeast. Needless to say, I'm all nutted out-- I can't even think about nut butter without longing for some cold, crisp vegetables. The granola is great though, and I'm going to attempt to make some fruit compote in the next week or so-- it needs some fruit to lighten it up-- all of those nuts just go straight to my chins!

Healthy Living Blogs

2010-08-21T15:24:00.000-04:00

Even though I haven't been blogging for that long, I've found that the health blog community pretty amazing. Whether an avid meat eater or a strict vegan, everyone is incredibly supportive of each other. That is one of the reasons why I decided to join the Healthy Living Blogs site.

Healthy Living Blogs is a new resource for the health blogging community. Created by Lindsey of Sound Eats, HLB is a site designed to enhance the positive community of the healthy living blog world. Bloggers and readers can explore the site and find more blogs to love, bloggers in their area, and forums to deepen healthy discussion and support. If you're interested in having your site listed on HLB, simply send the following information to healthylivingblogs@gmail.com and check the site out for yourself!

Email subject line: MEMBERS
Your name (please share if you prefer to go by first name, first and last, or however you prefer to be known on the Internet)
Blog Name
Blog URL (please start with http://, not www.)
Your twitter handle, if applicable
Your location (if you prefer not to disclose this information for privacy's sake, that is completely understandable. We'll simply include your blog listing in the A-Z listing, not by location, too)
Any specific labels (i.e. vegan, gluten-free, weight loss, running, etc.

I would encourage anyone with a health related blog to join this site: whether focused on paleo or raw foods, this site is a great resource!

Pesto Chicken Pizza

2010-08-19T09:26:00.010-04:00

The first meal I ever cooked for M was a pesto pizza in my crappy Allston apartment in an ancient oven in the kitchen with windows that looked into a sketchy alley. I used pesto made my former boss' mother, a little Sicilian lady we liked to call "Mama T" (Mama T was crazy...for reals, but a good kind of crazy: she always used to say "wha's tha matta you? Shutuppa you face!"). We've made pesto pizza since then, but never with homemade pesto.

So, last night we decided to whip up some Chicken Pesto Pizza. I used the almond meal pizza dough derived from NorCal Strength & Conditioning, and a walnut pesto recipe derived from Everyday Paleo.

Walnut Pesto
Ingredients:

4 cups fresh basil
1 cup walnuts
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
6 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp lemon juice

I combined the olive oil, garlic, walnuts, sea salt and lemon juice in the food processor and processed until well blended.

I then added the basil cup by cup until the mixture was a pesto-y consistency

Chicken Pesto Pizza
Ingredients:

Almond meal pizza crust
1 chicken breast
4 tomatoes
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (I used Cabot Seriously Sharp)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
As much pesto as is desired (I used a bunch, probably 1 1/2 cups)

I prepared the pizza crust and rolled it out onto a greased baking sheet. We allowed it to bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

While the crust was baking, M seasoned the chicken with garlic powder and parsley and cooked it in olive oil over medium heat.

Once the crust was finished pre-baking, I covered it in pesto and tomato slices (from my mother's garden in VT!)

Once the chicken was done cooking, we covered (smothered?) the pizza.

I added the cheeses,

and she was ready to go in the oven. We baked the pizza for about 15 minutes: until the cheese had started to brown.

While the pizza was baking, I whipped up a salad using cucumber and cherry tomatoes from my Mama's garden.

We snacked on homemade guacamole that M's mother had brought over!

After about 15 minutes, the pizza was finished.

The olive oil from the pesto ended up exploding over the sides of the crust. I'd never made pesto pizza with an almond meal crust, so I didn't account for the oil that would seep through--usually a wheat pizza crust will catch and hold the oil. All of the extra oil caused the almond meal crust to be a total fail-- it stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Even though it wasn't technically a pizza, it was still delicious! The pesto was so garlicky! Just the way I like it! The chicken was tender and the tomatoes were sweet. I'm sure that Mama T would be impressed...

Integrative Epiphany

2010-08-17T10:35:00.003-04:00

I had a realization yesterday while listening to my Integrative Nutrition lecture. I had a completely blond moment (no, I'm not actually blond...at all), in which I realized how the word "integrative" applies to this program and to a healthy lifestyle in general.

in·te·gra·tive (nt-grtv) (source)

adj.

1. Of or relating to integration.

2. Tending or serving to integrate.

3. Relating to a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to medicine that combines conventional treatments with alternative therapies such as homeopathy or naturopathy.

My epiphany: integrative nutrition means that one has the freedom to choose whatever dietary theory they want, whenever they want. If I want to follow the daily cycles of Ayurveda, while eating a paleo breakfast, a vegan lunch and fasting through dinner, I can do it! It's the integration that keeps our bodies guessing and the variety of foods that we choose that keep our bodies nourished and satisfied.

The Integrative Nutrition program encourages its students to experiment with different dietary theories and ways of eating. I have just now gotten used to trying new diet things. In the past, experimenting with my diet has been a major source of stress. I felt like, in this crazy world, my diet was all that I had control over and experimenting, which I equated to relinquishing control, was not my style. I wasn't comfortable eating new, different foods: what if they didn't work for me?

In my learning, there have been a few diets/lifestyles that have stuck with me. I wanted to share what aspects of each that I've incorporated into my own diet.

The Primal Blueprint
The Primal diet promotes eating foods our paleolithic ancestors in the manner in which they might have eaten them (large meals followed by periods of fasting).

All of the foods that I eat fall under this lifestyle: vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry, fish, nuts and eggs. I don't necessarily eat in the same manner as a caveman, but I do try to eat the same food as he might have eaten.

Macrobiotics
The macrobiotic diet is pretty intense, so I'll let you read Wikipedia's detailed description...

One thing that Macrobiotics promotes is eating seasonal, local foods-- or at least eating food that can be found in the climate where you live. Andrea Beaman, author, health counselor and chef, gave a great example of this in one of her IIN talks. If I'm not mistake, she explained how an Inuit living in Alaska would benefit much more from eating a diet high in protein and fat, than a diet of mangos and coconut. His body would thrive on the food available to him in Alaska. If, however, he moved to Jamaica, he would need to change his eating behavior: he would be less healthy (according to macrobiotics) eating a ton of heavy protein and fat, without taking advantage of the tropical fruits available in that climate.

I still eat coconut and fruits that are not found in Massachusetts, because they are delicious and nutritious. However, I eat tend to eat less mangoes and papayas and more apples and blueberries, which are found in abundance in the northeast.

The Raw Diet
The raw, or living food diet, is exactly what it sounds like: one eats only raw foods that have been prepared under 118 degrees F. Raw foodists believe that cooking vegetables depletes them of valuable enzymes that aid our digestion and promote longevity.

I don't really like cooked vegetables, so many of the raw food recipes appeal to me. Another aspect of this diet that I've tried to adopt is supplementing my diet with Superfoods, such as cacao, goji berries and spirulina.

Ayurveda
Ayurveda is another one of those ancient ways of living that focuses on finding balance. Ayurveda is very much based on cycles found in nature, including a daily cycle, called Dincharya, and the cycle of the seasons.

In the past few weeks, I've been keeping the daily routine of Ayurveda in mind. Those who practice Ayurveda eat three meals a day with no snacks. According to the daily cycles, the best time to eat is between 10am and 2pm: this is when the digestion is the best. Thus, lunch is the largest meal of the day. Breakfast is meant to hold you over until lunch, and dinner is a small supplemental meal that is meant to hold you over until bed.

In summary, it's taken me a lot of experimenting and playing around with different ways of eating to find something that I'm completely comfortable with and that works for me. Plus, it's much more fun to have the freedom to eat however you want whenever you want than to follow a strict diet. I've found that the more freedom I give myself, the more likely I am to stick with something for the long haul.

With what different dietary theories do you identify? Are you the type who experiments with their diet often?

Looky What I Got!

2010-08-13T10:47:00.005-04:00

We eat a lot of beef jerky at my house. It's hard to find good beef jerky: most varieties are super expensive and/or contain MSG. Recently, we've been chowing on Trader Joe's Organic Beef Jerky, but even that has added sugar (evaporated cane juice) and other stuff.

Mostly because we wanted to be in control of what was in our jerky, but also because our jerky habit was getting expensive, we purchased a relatively inexpensive food dehydrator.

There will now be unlimited jerky in my future. Well, maybe not unlimited...My consumption of jerky will be directly related to my motivation to marinate flank steak.

I'm pretty excited about making my own dehydrated foods. Oh yes, I will be using this new toy for more than just jerky. I will be making tons of raw granola, macaroons, and nut crackers. I even bought a raw cook book (recommended by The Fitnessista's Amazon store), Everyday Raw.

Everday Raw, by Matthew Kenney, has a ton of simple (ish), tasty-looking raw food recipes for the dehydrator including raw (also grain-free, and white sugar free) blueberry granola, chocolate ginger macaroons and raw chocolate chip cookies. There's even a recipe for almond milk that I plan on attempting.

This dehydrator might be just the thing to get me back in the swing!

Does anyone else have one? If so, what do you use it for primarily?

The Mid-August Slump

2010-08-12T10:04:00.007-04:00

Remember that time I didn't write for a while because I was on vacation? Well, this is different. I'm in a slump. I haven't felt like cooking anything more complicated than a turkey burger or scrambled egg in about a week. Don't get me wrong, I'm still eating stuff...just not being creative and not sharing things because I don't want you to see how lame I am right now in terms of food.

Yes, people: it's almost September. For me, this means that school will be starting soon and my job will be picking up as faculty and students come back to Beantown. I see this as a good and bad thing. Good because I'll have more stuff to do so the days will go quicker, bad because I'll have more stuff to do aka actually have to do my job, which I'm not liking so much at the moment. (Source)

Anyway. To beat my Mid-August Slump into submission, I've been focusing extra hard on my workouts these days. I've been using heavier weights than I would usually and working more on skills that I usually do (I concurred the pistol for reals, yo). When I'm in the adrenaline-ized workout zone, I can pretend that I don't have a job and that all I do all day long is read, eat cookies and hang out with my awesome bf and the coolest puppy around. Working out is a mental escape.

I'm especially proud of the workout we did yesterday:

Workout We Did Yesterday (Modified from Crossfit Football)

The Warm-up:

Trunk twists
Arm Swings
Leg Swings
Other stuff
3 minutes jump rope (including 1 min double unders)

The Workout: AMRAP in 12 minutes

10 Thrusters @ 65lbs
200m run

The Results:
5 rounds, + 2 thrusters

I've never attempted to do 65lb thrusters in a workout before, let alone 52 of them. I was SO spent when those 12 minutes were up, but it was the best kind of spent there is: the smiley, sweaty kind. I wish the 200m runs had been faster. I have a complex about running since Lil'Nic, worked out with us*, but I'm working on it.

I'm making a promise to myself that I'll get back in the blogging groove next week. Don't get me wrong: I'm still eating in my usual way, I've just been way less creative this week...but Monday is a new day.

How have your workouts been lately? Any awesome accomplishments to share?

* Lil'Nic, aka my sister, joined us for her first Crossfit workout a few weeks ago. Let me first say that she was an NCAA Division I middle distance runner. Our workout was sandwiched between two 200m runs. I went first, being the cool, big sister that I am. Apparently, while I was out on my first 200m, Lil'Nic asked "where is she? Is she okay?" Meanwhile, I was running...as fast as I thought was appropriate...which, for me, was fast. Needless to say, I now have a complex about my running (even though I too used to be a college XC and track athlete). I'm working on it.

More From the Cabbage Patch

2010-08-04T15:55:00.004-04:00

Ever since I made that coleslaw last week, I've been craving cabbage. I've always liked cabbage...I think. I guess I only really ate it on top of salads and in coleslaw...Anyway. A while ago I read Melicious' recipe for Smokey Cabbage Saute and, after eating cabbage last week, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. So I made it.

I fried the bacons, and poured some of the grease into the saute pan along with a little bit of coconut oil.

Sauteing the onion (please excuse the Iphone pictures...)

Added the cabbage

After sauteing the cabbage a bit, I put the lid on and allowed the mixture to steam.

Then I added the bacon!

I also added a little bit of sea salt and garlic powder. I would have used fresh garlic, but I forgot to add it at the onion stage, which would have made sense.

Let me just say: I am loving the cabbage these days! We devoured almost the entire pan of this last night for dinner. I even added this to my scrambled eggs this morning...awesome!

Sea Foraging in Gloucester

2010-08-04T09:27:00.008-04:00

Last weekend, M and I had the pleasure of joining my mother and her boyfriend (also an M...so let's call him M2) for dinner in Gloucester, MA. M2 spent his boyhood summers there as a wee lobsterman selling lobsters for something like 25 cents per pound. Lucky for us, he still has lobster traps and an amazing fishing boat: our trips to Gloucester are, naturally, filled with lobsters and boat rides. Mama and M2 whipped up an amazing meal for us in one of the most beautiful and relaxing places on Earth.

The Aerie (Eagle's Nest)

M2 built these stairs leading up to the house. One of his many Sisyphus Projects.

I've spent many hours scaling these rocks. Back in my college marine bio days, I could always be found searching for crabs in the seaweed.

The view.

The dinner table.

We started off the night with a boat ride to Crane's Beach and a tour of the harbor. The sun was setting when we got back and started working on dinner.

We nibbled on cheese and summer sausage. Okay, everyone else "nibbled", I feasted.

The vegetables.

Yellow tomato, regular tomato and avocado.

Cucumber salad made with cucumbers and fennel from my mother's garden in VT.

Cucumbers, fennel, and red onion mixed with some Bragg Healthy Vinaigrette.

M2 caught two lobsters that we boiled up and ate with melted butter.

Surf and Turf. To go along with the two lobsters, we grilled us some steak. There was also corn on the cobb, but I don't do "the cobb" part. I hate corn stuck in my teeth. Plus, there's a surprising amount of corn on one cobb. I shaved it all off, and ate a little less than half of what was on my plate.

For dessert, I had made a traditional carrot cake in honor of my mother's 32nd birthday (*wink wink*). I followed a recipe from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. I substituted coconut oil for the vegetable oil that the recipe called for, but that was the only change that I made. Well, the cream cheese frosting recipe called for 5 cups of confectioners sugar, which I decided would give me instant metabolic syndrome. So I only used one cup of sugar, and that was definitely sweet enough for me.

The cake was perfect, if I do say so myself. Not too sweet, and wonderfully coconutty.

It was a delectable dinner with wonderful company in a beautiful setting. Sharing quality time with my family is very important to me, especially because my two sets of parents live in a different state than my sister and I. It's always a treat when they come to visit: we get spoiled with homemade mama food and people telling us we look pretty and stuff. Sometimes one needs a good dose of parental doting-- even when they're in their late 20's....

A Letter to Kale

2010-08-03T10:13:00.006-04:00

Dear Massaged Kale Salad,

Where have you been all my life? In all my years of eating leafy greens, why have I not bumped into you? I'm embarrassed that it's taken me so long to make your acquaintance. How could I not have known about your delicious nutritiousness? More importantly, how could I not know how easy you are (no offense)? I just drizzle some olive oil, sprinkle some sea salt and garlic power and massage your leaves until they are a brilliant green. It takes no more than two minutes, and it's delightful!

I've paired you with homemade bacon bits, and with avocado-- you taste great with everything! I will be eating much more of you in the future. Not only are you in season right now, but you are full of calcium, vitamins K, C and A and cancer preventing organosulfur phytonutrients.

I promise to keep trying all different kinds of you, Massaged Kale Salad, with the hopes that you fill me with nutrients and keep me smiling with your awesomeness.

Sincerely,

AllieNic

Sometimes I Get Jealous...

2010-08-02T12:49:00.012-04:00

I love eating the way that I eat. I love eating the foods that I eat. Eating this way has helped me gain energy, changed my body composition and allowed me to comfortably stop counting calories and worrying all the time about gaining weight.

How do I eat, you ask? Well, I try very hard to follow a Primal way of eating. I'm not strictly Paleo, but I do avoid grains, legumes and dairy* whenever possible. I use unsweetened almond milk in my coffee and I enjoy the occasional spoonful of peanut butter. I will eat special goodies made with wheat flour at family get-togethers, but for the most part I bake with almond meal and sweeten said baked goods with honey or maple syrup. No oats, spelt, amaranth, sorghum, barley, buckwheat or kasha for me.

That being said, sometimes I get a bit jealous when I go through my daily food blog rounds. Carrots 'N' Cake, KERF, Oh She Glows and The Edible Perspective (to name a few) are always creating amazing looking oatmeal or pancake breakfasts. Oatmeal and pancakes with nut butters, chia seeds and berries and coconut! Drool-worthy overnight oats. When I look that the pictures of these concoctions, I sometimes feel like I'm missing out. I want to put all of those delicious toppings on top of something, but I choose not to eat grains. Thus, a grainy base is out.

Last weekend, I gave in to my jealousy and created an almond meal pancake monster, which I topped with blueberries, almond butter and maple syrup. Totally hit the spot!

Monster Almond Meal Pancake

Ingredients:

1/4 cup almond meal
1 egg
1 tsp cinnamon
1Tbsp chia seeds
~2Tbsp shredded coconut
blueberries

I fried this puppy in coconut oil over medium heat until cooked through and browned on each side. Once finished cooking, I topped it with maple syrup, almond butter and additional blueberries.

This was going to be a single serving sized pancake, but it turned out to be gloriously dense and pretty gigantic, so M and I split it. It was everything I'd hoped it would be and more.

The primal way of eating works incredibly well for me. Not only do I feel and look healthier, I've also made huge gains in my workouts since switching away from the standard American diet. Eating this way, on top of my exercise routine, has given me the fitness results that I've always wanted...and I'm still improving everyday. A lot of that has to do with the way that I work out, but, they say, your body composition is 20% exercise and 80% diet.

I rarely crave grains, legumes or dairy and I don't really miss them either. Peanut butter is an exception: I do crave PB every now and then, but because my diet is pretty clean otherwise, I allow myself to give in to this craving (within reason). I eat so many vegetables and such a wide variety of vegetables that I never really want breads or baked goods.

* Okay, so lately I've been less than stellar with the avoiding of cheese. I really don't drink cow's milk, eat yogurt or consume any non-cheese dairy products. I try really hard to avoid cheese...but sometimes it sneaks into whatever I'm eating...mostly because other people put it there to sabotage me. Cheese is delicious, and I'm pretty sure it has addictive properties. I try to avoid it...really, I do.

A Moment of Wisdom

2010-07-30T17:17:00.006-04:00

I'm currently flying through Michael Pollan's Food Rules, an Eater's Manuel. The book is a how-to guide that reaches both those who are clueless and those who are tuned in. I would definitely recommend reading this book, and definitely recommend gifting it to someone you love.

The book is based around Pollan's simple rule: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." It's broken down into three sections (What Should I Eat? What kind of food should I eat? How should I eat?)in which Pollan provides simple sayings and rules of thumb that he has acquired throughout his travels.

I wanted to share a rule or two (a moment of wisdom, if you will) from the first section of the book--to give you a taste and get you hooked.

No. 11 Avoid food you see advertised on television

No. 13 Eat only foods that will eventually rot (aka NOT McDonalds burgers)

Buy it! NOW!

Degrassi Coleslaw

2010-07-29T10:04:00.000-04:00

Okay, so the coleslaw has nothing to do with Degrassi, other than that it was enjoyed while watching the newest episodes of my favorite show "Degrassi: The Next Generation." Nope, I'm not kidding. It really is my favorite show: my sister and I have been watching since it started in 2001. Yes, I am 26 years old. Yes, I do watch TV geared toward high school students (middle school students?). There's just so much unbelieveably awesome drama...and it takes place in Canada, which makes it so much weirder...I mean...so much cooler. Canadian teens have a lot going on in their lives. Sometimes I wish I were Canadian.

(Source)

Degrassi is doing this thing called "The Boiling Point" where they show a new episode every week night for six weeks. My DVR is working overtime between Degrassi and Anne of Green Gables on PBS (another Canadian favorite-- It must be because I grew up so close to the border in VT).

My Sis came over for a Degrassi marathon and M and I decided to make BBQ ribs and coleslaw. In a time crunch, we used Plumrose baby back ribs (the best option we could find at Stop N Shop), instead of making our own. I whipped up some coleslaw using a variety of recipes, but mostly my coleslaw-seasoning instincts.

Degrassi Coleslaw
Ingredients

1/2 head of cabbage
2 carrots
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
1 Tbsp spicy mustard
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp coriander
1 tsp sea salt

I chopped up an entire head of cabbage before deciding that half would be enough--cabbages are deceptively large.

I shredded the carrots

I combined the carrots, cabbage and salt and let them sit, covered, in a colander for about an hour. Instructions on the Paleo Diet website said to let it "stand until the cabbage wilts, about one to four hours." I'm not sure why this is (maybe to drain water from washing?), but I don't know if it really made a difference.

After an hour, I added the mayo, mustard, apple cider vinegar and the rest of the spices and stirred.

Man Hands...I mean, my sister wanted to taste test.

While I was adding ingredients, M was grilling the ribs.

To round out the dinner, we had some organic baked beans. The next time we decided to have ribs, I really want to try making them on my own: buying a bare rack of ribs and marinating or seasoning them myself. While the Plumrose ribs were better than some of the other brands, they still have some not-so-natural sounding ingredients in them that I would like to try to avoid in the future.

After dinner, M headed out with the boys and My sister and I settled in to watch Degrassi. Oh the drama! I looooooove it!

Do you watch any TV shows that are not exactly "age appropriate"?

Peanut Butter Bandwagon

2010-07-28T10:00:00.004-04:00

I've been reading about Peanut Butter Finger's flourless peanut butter cookies all over the place as of late. I read about them so much, that I couldn't resist trying the recipe out for myself...I do love the peanut butters after all.

Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies Ever (a la Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers)

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix the three ingredients together, dollop onto a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. How easy is that?

The cookies are sweet, greasy and peanut buttery. Highly addictive, so beware: prep and baking take about 12 minutes, so it's super easy to make these whenever you want...there is absolutely nothing to it. For me, the quick prep time makes these a dangerous treat--when I want them, I can basically have them in less than 15 minutes.

Because I've become a chocolate and peanut butter freak thanks to HEAB, I had to add some chocolate to this recipe. I just melted M's leftover Easter bunny, with his permission of course, using my ghetto double boiler method.

I put the melty chocolate into a Ziploc freezer bag and cut off the tip to create a cookie decorating tool.

Using my non-decorating skills, I drew chocolate worms.

And personalized a cookie for M and for me

I don't typically eat peanut butter, but for some reason I've been craving it the past two weeks. I usually stick to the almond butter or sunflower seed butter, but the thought of cheap, salty peanut butter has been irresistible for some reason.

I'm working through my cravings-- trying to figure out what nutrient or emotion my body is lacking that's making me crave nutty fats. I've attempted to add other sources of fat into my diet from coconut and avocado in order to quell the need for pb, and so far, it seems to be working. It could be worse: I could be craving chocolate cake...at least peanut butter has some nutritional value. Everything in moderation.

For more on why peanut butter is not-so-good for you, see Whole9's Peanut Manifesto

Hapalainio Cheddar Burgers

2010-07-27T11:27:00.001-04:00

Last month, while at my friend's wedding, I had the pleasure of sharing an inn suite with my friend H and her Hubby. I've known both of them since college (we all lived in the same dorm freshman year), and we used to be neighbors in Beantown before they moved to the Windy City. Anyway, it was wonderful to spend and extended amount of time with them after what seems like years apart: I'd forgotten how much I laugh when I'm with them.

What does this have to do with hapalainio burgers, you ask? What is a hapalainio? Well, it's actually a jalapeno. The night before the wedding in June, M and I stopped at a gas station to pick up some snacks for the weekend. We ended up with some Lay's Kettle Cooked Jalapeno Chips. The second we got back to our room and whipped them out of the bag, H's Hub started calling them "hapalainio chips" apparently because there's an SNL skit in which George Bush (played by Will Ferrell) refers to jalapeno poppers as "hapalainio poppers". Also, H's Hub is hilarious...so it all makes sense...right.

Anyway, we laughed and laughed about the chips for the rest of the weekend...or at least until I got back from the wedding reception and ate the remainder of the bag...which was more than half full I believe. That's what Bacardi and good times will do to you.

So, when M had a hankering for a spicy burger we decided to whip up some of our very own Hapalainio Cheddar Burgers.

Hapalaino (Jalapeno) Cheddar Burgers

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef
2 Jalapeno peppers
1 cup cheddar cheese (we used Cabot Seriously Sharp)

M de-seeded the peppers and chopped them up, whilst I grated the cheddar cheese.

Is this picture gross?

We then combined the beef, peppers and cheese and formed four perfect burger patties.

M threw them on the grill along with some of his Mama's Buffalo Chicken Burgers, which were basically BBQ sauce, buffalo sauce, breadcrumbs and some spicy seasoning.

While M grilled, I snacked on some guacamole and plantain chips. I need to put a serious restriction on the number of plantain chips I'm allowed in one sitting. It's getting out of control.

Along with our burgers we had some sweet potato fries,

and deviled eggs.

After dinner, we retired to the back deck to enjoy the humidity.

Chester was there.

And so was this guy.

The burgers were great. Neither of us have been brave enough to experiment with jalapenos at home, so this was a great first attempt: there was only one accidental touching of the eye incident. The burgers could have been spicier, so next time, I think we'll leave a little more of the pith on the pepper. We were afraid they'd be too hot, so we erred on the side of caution. Overall, a great success!

Are You Average?

2010-07-26T15:21:00.007-04:00

I found this visual representation of what the average American eats in a year while browsing the Crossfit Boston site...and to tell you the truth, I was actually surprised. I prepared myself for the worst, but what I saw in this chart was even more atrocious than I expected.

Of note:

The average male is 5'9" and weighs 190lbs, while the average female is 5'4" and weighs 164lbs.
The average American consumes 600.5lbs of non-cheese dairy products per year.
The average American eats about 142lbs of caloric sweeteners per year (including 42lbs of corn syrup)

It's eye opening and scary to see these stats laid out like this...

Were you surprised at any of these findings?

Health Counseling Update

2010-07-26T12:27:00.007-04:00

In addition to writing this blog, cooking healthy food, and enjoying summery activities, I've also been busy with my IIN health counseling program. Since classes began in April, I've mostly been listening to the modules, experimenting with whole foods and doing supplementary research on my own (mostly in the form of reading, reading and reading, but also playing around with my diet).

On the business front I'm trying to get a better picture of what I want my counseling practice to look like (ideally). Who my "target market" will be, and what other kinds of services I can offer besides counseling (grocery store tours etc.).

Toward the end of August, I will receive a certificate from IIN that approves me to start officially seeing clients. Until then I will be practicing initial health history consultations like crazy with any and everyone.

The initial Health History consultation is a free, laid-back meeting that can be done in person or by phone. The Health History is a way for you to get a sense of what it would be like to work with me to address any health/nutrition/wellness issues you have.

If you are interested in helping me with my health histories, if you would like more information, or if you have a completely unrelated question, please email me at:

AllisonNichols.HC@gmail.com.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Allison

Sunday Breakfeast

2010-07-26T09:42:00.005-04:00

Yesterday morning, M decided that he wanted to make me breakfast. Not just any breakfast...a breakfeast as he called it. Breakfast foods are most easily my favorite kinds of foods: I would eat eggs and bacon for every meal if it were possible slash not weird.

We made a special trip to Whole Foods where Chester and I stayed in the car and M went in a did the shopping. He came out 15 minutes later with a mystery bag full of groceries...and I had no idea what he bought! The entire breakfast was a surprise.

I sat in the living room, drooling over The Phantom Gourmet, while M slaved away in the kitchen. Twenty minutes later, I was sitting in front of my dream breakfast.

When we go out for breakfast, I have the hardest time choosing my breakfast meats...so M made both sausages and bacon! The sausages were Wellshire Farms original pork sausages. I think the bacon was from Wellshire Farms too.

I love putting avocado on my eggs. We've recently become avocado obsessed: they're a great source of healthy, monounsaturated fats.

The main dish: Cheesy Eggs. Fried and scrambled eggs are a breakfast staple at our house...the cheese was our weekend indulgence.

M bought a whole pineapple and cut it into chunks. We're big on fruit in the mornings, but we usually eat berries of some sort. The pineapple was a tropical treat.

Breakfast is the best. For reals. I love waking up hungry for delicious breakfast foods. They say that eating breakfast is important because it helps boost your metabolism and it keeps you from overeating throughout the day. I like breakfast because it helps me get some protein in the A.M. and because there are so many different breakfast foods that I enjoy eating. Eating a healthy breakfast definitely keeps me on the healthy eating track for the rest of the day.

Tuesday is Fish Night

2010-07-21T11:07:00.010-04:00

So it's taken more than a while to get back into the groove of cooking at home (and documenting the cooking) than I thought it would. Our weeks have been busy and weekends action packed. We are just now starting to take control and hold ourselves accountable for the cooking and the eating.

In an effort to get back on track, M and I have instituted Fish Tuesdays. M loves fish. I love fish. We savor the experience of ordering it at restaurants, so M figured, why not make more fish at home? Now that we have the grill, it's super quick and superier easy.

M's Rosemary Halibut

Ingredients:
Halibut (we got the pre-portioned version from Whole Foods)
Olive oil
Rosemary (fresh or dried)
Oregano
Fresh lemon juice

We coated the fish with the olive oil, oregano and rosemary and topped with lemon juice. M popped them on the grill for about 10 minutes.

The fish lady at Whole Foods talked us into buying some expensivo lemons-- Meyer lemons from California. I was sold from the moment I saw them...the most beautiful lemons I've ever encountered.

Chester liked them too

We snacked on some California rolls while the fish was cooking.

I whipped up some balsamic tomatoes a la our favorite restaurant, Raso's Grille. They serve these puppies with their baked haddock dish-- to die for. I diced up a tomato, added some olive oil, garlic and some Maple Grove Farms Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Completed the meal with a little seaweed salad (my favorite)

For dessert we had delicious blueberries that I picked up at the Copley Farmer's Market. I forgot how awesome fresh blueberries are! I'm probably never going to buy berries from the grocery store again...These berries in particular brought me back to the days when my best friend lived next to a blueberry farm. We would pick, legit, five pounds of blueberries each...and eat them over the course of a day or two. Blueberry fiends...good times.

Fish Tuesdays have been a huge success so far! I can't wait to try out a different kind of fish next week. Now I have another food day to look forward to...in addition to Fancy Pizza Sunday...more on that one another time.

Drooling for Days

2010-07-13T11:21:00.002-04:00

Ever since I started reading Mindless Eating, I can't stop thinking about peanut butter cups. Well, actually, I came across Heather Eats Almond Butter's post about the "World's Most Brilliant Combo" and my mouth hasn't stopped watering since. I've been trying to be good lately, aka keeping the sweet, chocolaty goodness to a minimum, but yesterday afternoon I broke down and made my own version of that delectable Reese's favorite.

Almond Butter Coconut Cups

Ingredients:

85% Cocoa Dark Chocolate
Almond Butter
Coconut Butter (grind unsweetened coconut in the food processor until buttery, about 8 minutes)

Paper Muffin Tin Liners
(I used enough chocolate to make two massive candies: I made a limited quantity, one for me, one for M, to keep my chocolate habits in check)

I melted the chocolate over medium heat using a ghetto double boiler method (a metal bowl floating in a small frying pan), and poured the melted chocolate into the muffin liners. The first pour should be enough to cover the bottom of the liner, and to coat the sides.

After freezing the muffin liners for about 30 minutes, I mixed together about one Tbsp of almond butter and one Tbsp of coconut butter and put a dollop of this mixture into each chocolate cup, and covered with the rest of the melted chocolate.

After an hour, I had the biggest peanut butter cups EVER. I might have gotten carried away with the chocolate...

They were about the size of the muffin liners...huge. The sweetness of the almond butter coconut mix was essential to balance the bitterness of the chocolate (I mean bitterness in the most delicious way possible). The almond butter cups were so rich that M and I could only eat half of a half each! Maybe I'll make a pact with myself to only eat chocolate candy that I make-- that way I know what's in it, and I have to go through the "trouble" of preparing it myself. That should keep my peanut butter chocolate peanut butter craving in check.

On another note...Chester and Jack look kind of like dark chocolate and peanut butter...no?

Please pardon Chester's alien eyes...

No chocolate for Chester!

Reading: Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More than We Think

2010-07-12T13:16:00.000-04:00

To supplement my education, I am currently reading Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More than We Think by renown food psychologist Brian Wansink, PhD. Although I am only half way through the book, the things I have learned thus far have been eye opening. Mainly that people make over 200 decisions about food everyday and that most of these decisions are not influenced by hunger, but by lighting, music, the size of the food container and the company we keep.

One of the most interesting things I have read so far is how much people rely on external cues, such as the size of a dinner plate, to tell them when they are full. When same portion of food, such as a scoop of mashed potatoes, is placed on an 8-inch plate and a 12- inch plate, people eating off of the 8-inch plate will be more satisfied than those eating off of the 12-inch plate (p. 66). Even though the amount of food is exactly the same, the portion looks larger on the 8-inch plate, therefore people perceive that they are eating more food. I would guess that those with the 12-inch plate are more likely to ask for seconds than those with the 8-inch plate simply because they feel like they didn't eat as much: the food didn't take up as much room on their plates. The more we rely on external cues to tell us when we are done eating, the more likely we are to have trouble regulating our weight.

Not surprisingly, none of us are immune to the tricks our eyes play on us. Dr. Wansink and his team carried out a study in which the subjects were his colleagues from the Nutritional Science Division at Cornell University. The scientists were invited to an innocent ice cream party where some were given 17-ounce bowls, and some were given 34-ounce bowls. Even though the subjects were PhDs with loads of experience and insight, those with the 34-ounce bowls still ate 31% more ice cream than their 17-ounce bowl counterparts (p. 67). Basically, even if you are aware of the tricks your mind can play, it will still get the best of you.

It might seem like there's no escape, but I believe that there is hope. Since I began reading this book, I've noticed that I have been paying much more attention to the reasons behind my eating and behind my stopping eating. In my opinion, being aware of all of these external distractions is the first step toward having control over my eating decisions. Now I question whether I'm eating that last piece of chicken because I'm physically hungry for it, or because the music/TV/lighting has distracted me into it. I've found that I'm eating less now that I'm better educated and more aware of how my eyes and surroundings can trick me.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in regulating their weight and the psychology of how our brains can subconsciously sabotage our attempts at healthy eating. Even if you don't struggle with your weight, the concepts introduced in this book will make you reevaluate why you eat as much as you eat.

Wansink, Brian. Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More than We Think. New York: Bantam, 2007

Grilled Budget Pizza

2010-07-09T10:53:00.006-04:00

We're finally back in the swing of things after our vacation to MV, and the long holiday weekend. We are also on a strict budget after our holiday spending...In order to save some money and get back on track, we've attempted to buy minimal groceries and use up some of the ingredients we buy, but never use that just kind of hang out in our pantry.

For dinner the other night, I decided to whip up some grilled pizza using mostly ingredients we had in the fridge (I did have to buy a tomato and some cheese). Gluten free, grilled white pizza with spinach, tomato and bacon to be exact. I used recipe for almond flour pizza dough that I found on the NorCal Strength and Conditioning blog, and modified a white pizza sauce recipe from Serious Eats.

Grilled Budget Pizza

Pizza Dough:

3 cups almond meal
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp salt

I mixed all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and formed a dough ball to roll out onto a cooking sheet covered with cornmeal.

After adding extra, extra cornmeal so that the dough would slide off of the try and onto the grill (hypothetically), I rolled the dough into a squarish shape. M fired up the grill to about 400 degrees, and we attempted to dump the dough onto the grill. It would have been nice to have a pizza peel, so that I could slide the dough gently onto the cooking surface, but the almond flour dough was incredible sticky, and thus it was more of a dumping action than a slide.

The result was what we like to call a "rustic" pizza crust aka totally misshapen. There was some minor breakage, but nothing to stop the grilling process completely. We optimistically cooked the dough for about 3 minutes and then used a two person flip technique: one of us guiding the cookie tray underneath the dough while the other gently lifted the dough with a spatula. Once the dough was flipped, we heaped on the toppings.

White Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/4 cup heavy cream
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

(I made the sauce and prepared the bacon before grilling the crust so that everything would be ready once the dough had been flipped on the grill.)

I heated the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat, added the garlic, salt and pepper, and let the mixture bubble for about two minutes.

After adding the heavy cream, I let the sauce simmer for about three minutes until it thickened.

While the sauce cooled, I fried up some bacon.

I really like bacon...

Once the dough was flipped, I spread on the sauce, topped it with spinach, sliced tomatoes, cheese and the bacon bits. We closed the grill, and cooked the pizza until the cheese had thoroughly melted, about 8 minutes.

We ended up with a heaping pile of garlicky, bacon-y goodness!

Everything was cooked just the right amount: the crust didn't burn, and the toppings were all piping hot! The almond flour crust was a little dry (M said it smelled like movie popcorn...), which I attribute to the grilling and the fact that there was no yeast involved. I have a feeling it would be different--more doughy, less crumbly-- if it were baked in the oven. Next time we grill pizza, I'll be curious to try a traditional, whole wheat dough recipe.

En Vacances

2010-07-02T09:51:00.005-04:00

Not that you're wondering where I went....but I went on vacation. A family vacation, to be exact, on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard. M and I spent the week beating my mother and her M at tennis (which I haven't played since elementary school gym), and floating in the ocean. It was a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of Boston and our jobbies.

While on the Island, M and I designed a "boot camp" work out for my Mama and Aunt. They attend a so-called "boot camp" back in VT two or three times a week. I put "boot camp" in quotations, because at this "boot camp" they are allowed to use 6lb weights...which, in my opinion, do not a boot camp make. So one sunny morning, we subjected them to a bum-kicking workout...

"McCay"

Warm-up:
250m jog
Arm circles
Leg swings
Other stuff

Workout:
30 Overhead squats (with 6lb weights in each hand)
250m run
30 Burpees (modified)
250m run
30 Turkish get-ups (15 R, 15L, unweighted)
250m run
30 Sit-ups
250m run
30 Push-ups

They did the whole thing in about 17 minutes! YAY family! M and I taught them some moves to take back to their "booty camp," as Mama's M calls it. It was so humid and hot out that we were dripping with sweat...and I mean DRIPPING...like I couldn't see...too much info? Good thing we had the ocean nearby!

Our trip to MV was a much needed break from the stresses of our day jobs. I think everyone should take advantage of the summer weather and take some time off from work. Vacation hours for everyone! So many people don't use their vacation time-- or use enough of it...Taking time away from work is important for recuperating...and regenerating your motivation and creativity...at least for me.

Anyone else going on vacation this summer?

Whil Wheber Strikes Again

2010-06-25T09:55:00.011-04:00

A few days ago I was spending my entire paycheck...err...visiting my favorite grocery store, and I decided on a carnivorous impulse to buy a family sized package of steak tips. One million dollars later, I was at home marinating steak. I'd actually never prepared red meat before! I was a vegetarian during and after college, so basically my Mama made the red meats before college, and M usually makes them now. There wasn't really much to the steak tip prep, but I was still nervous that I was forgetting something...It turns out you can't go wrong with steak tips!

I marinated them in some Organicville Sesame Teriyaki, and let them steep for a day or so. We chopped up one red pepper, a yellow pepper and a large red onion to go along with the tips.

Oh Whil, you do such a great job grilling stuff...You put delicious meats in my belly and a smile on my face.

We ended up with a great big pile o'meats/vegetables

The steak was sooooo good! I think grilled steak tips might be my new favorite food! The sesame teriyaki marinade was just right-- you could taste the teriyaki, but it wasn't overpowering. The tips were a bit chewy, maybe next time I'll tenderize them...or something...

For dessert, I made some chocolate covered bananas. I had a bunch of these ripe bananas that I didn't want to go to waste. I don't eat bananas very often, and when I do, I only eat them if they're a little bit green...I usually make banana bread, but this time, I tried something new.

Ingredients: Green & Black's 85% dark chocolate, almond butter, bananas, unsweetened coconut flakes.

I melted the chocolate and almond butter in a pan over low heat, and rolled the banana pieces around until they were covered.

I put them on a tray and drizzled the remaining chocolate over them along with some coconut flakes.

I put them in the freezer for about an hour and then served.

mmMMMMmmmm...chocolate bananas. A match made in Heaven. The dark chocolate balanced the sweetness of the ripe bananas perfectly.

Buffalo 'n Beets

2010-06-24T11:15:00.007-04:00

One of my favorite "in moderation" foods is buffalo chicken. M makes a pretty meal grilled buffalo wing--which I adore--but my heart lies with the greasy fried goodness of buffalo chicken tenders. Every now and then I will convince M to add them on to our take-out order (I pretty much try every time we order Italian takeout, but M has this Jedi mind trick to get me to not want them anymore) and I bask in the bready, fried, blue-cheesy glory that are buffalo tenders.

In an effort to healthfully satisfy my buffalo craving, I decided to make baked buffalo chicken tenders:

Gluten-Free Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders
(sheesh...what a name!)

Ingredients:

Chicken tenderloins (or a chicken breast sliced into tenders)
Almond meal (I used the Trader Joe's variety)
Franks Red Hot
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Blue cheese dressing for dipping

I started by rolling each tender in almond flour (frowny face unintended)

After spraying both sides of each tender with olive oil, I placed them on a baking sheet. Then I placed them in the oven at 450 for 10 minutes on each side. It was about 90 degrees in Boston last night, and about 120 degrees in our kitchen...

In the meantime, I poured some of our gigantic container of Frank's Red Hot into a frying pan along with about 1Tbsp of butter over medium heat

When the tenders were finished baking, I coated each of them with the buffalo sauce

Voila: Gluten-Free Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders

To go with our chickens, I decided to make a beet salad using beets I picked up at the Copley Farmer's Market.

I cut off the beet greens to save for another day

Then washed and wrapped each beet in aluminum foil and placed in the oven at 450 for about 30 minutes.

While the beets were roasting, I put together a salad of mixed greens, goat cheese, walnuts and blueberries

Once the beets were done, I rinsed them in cold water. The skin comes off easily in cold water after roasting--all you have to do is gently rub the beets.

Voila: Beet Salad

I was so excited that the beets worked out! They were a great way to spice up a salad that we make fairly often. Plus, beets are in season in Massachusetts right now! We needed a nice, cold salad to offset the spicy hotness of the buffalo tenders: it was, in my opinion, the perfect summer salad.

Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables

2010-06-23T14:05:00.004-04:00

(Source)

Eating produce that's locally in-season is a great way to insure that you're getting the best, freshest fruits and vegetables.

To check what's in season near you, visit Sustainable Table

Visiting your local farmers market is a great way to pick up seasonal produce--what they have is what's in season and it's usually fresh and delicious!

Guacamole Obsessed

2010-06-23T09:21:00.013-04:00

I will be the first to tell you that I have a mild...okay, moderate... obsession with guacamole. I'm not sure how it first started, but I know that every time I visit Whole Foods, I drop a pretty penny on their guacamole.

Yesterday's trip to WF started like any other, but while reaching up for the guac, I stopped short. A crazy idea popped into my head: why don't I make some guacamole. I haven't made guacamole since middle school Living Arts class (aka Home Ec.) with Mrs. Gruber. If my memory of middle school serves me, making guacamole was a complicated process with a multitude of spices that must be in the perfect ratio in order to actually taste edible. I put my fears aside and whipped out my internet capable mobile phone and looked up a recipe...After all, I've matured a lot since middle school (I think) and I have much more cooking experience under my belt. This is what I came up with...

Guacamole
(Adapted from Whole9 and Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

4 avocado
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove
Juice of two limes
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

I sliced the avocados in half, peeled them and pitted them using a trick I picked up at a Mexican restaurant where they make guacamole in front of you. You pierce the pit with the sharp side of a knife, and then wiggle it back and forth until it comes out. When I first saw our waiter do this I was intrigued, but maybe everyone does it this way...

I mashed all four avocados with a fork and added the lime juice. Four avocados makes a boatload of guacamole FYI.

Then I added the rest of the spices and the cilantro and broke into a new container of Whole Foods Plantain Chips-- another WF item for which I have strong feelings.

The guacamole turned out really well. The recipe was simple (unlike the one I followed in middle school), and it actually tasted like restaurant guacamole! Next time, I think I'll add some tomato and a little bit of red onion to jazz it up a bit. If you're thinking of adding tomato to your guac, make sure you de-seed it first: the slimy tomato seeds can change the color and consistency of the mole.

Anyone else guacamole obsessed?

Quote of the Day

2010-06-22T15:48:00.004-04:00

"Set your goals high because what a person accomplishes is in proportion to what they attempt."

-Mitchell Naufell

Pecan Crusted Chicken with Kale Chips

2010-06-18T10:04:00.000-04:00

I'm all about trying out other blogger's recipes right now. Most recently, we attempted Everday Paleo's Pecan Crusted Chicken and a kale chip recipe found on Oh She Glows.

Pecan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 cup spicy brown mustard (preferable of the organic variety)
2 Tbsp raw honey
1 cup pecans
4 Chicken Breasts

For this recipe, I used my favorite honey:

Honey Gardens Apitherapy Raw Honey from the town next to my hometown in Vermont, The Green Mountain State.

I combined the mustard and the honey in a bowl:

Chopped up the pecans in the food processor:

Next, I coated the chicken in the mustard/honey sauce and rolled in the pecans. I placed the chicken in a greased (olive oil) glass baking dish (aka my pie pan)...

...and baked the chickens at 350 for about 35 minutes.

While the chicken was baking, I washed and de-stemed one head of kale that I picked up at the Copley Square Farmers Market. I laid the kale out on a baking sheet, sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.

I popped the tray into the oven at 350 and baked for about 10 minutes per side, until the kale was crispy.

The results were delicious!

I will definitely be making both of these dishes in the future. The meal was so good that when I packed the leftovers in my lunch this morning, Chester went into my bag and attempted to open the tupperware containing the chicken! He was caught in the act (thankfully), and while I don't have a picture of the actual incident, he looked something like he does after destroying his "baby."

Note the mutilated baby in the background

No chicken for Chester!

Our First Official "Backyard Workout"

2010-06-17T09:36:00.000-04:00

After a recent trip to Mohegan Sun, which included a fruitful roulette endeavor, M and I decided to invest in some gym equipment for our home. M had been wanting to set up a home gym for a while, but stubborn me had resisted. Before we got into our Crossfit-like workouts, I was a cardio demon, and I thought that I would never workout at home unless there was an elliptical machine involved. I've since changed my tune (after seeing and feeling great results with our new regimen), and I've gotten super excited at the prospect of getting a good workout in at home.

Some searching on Amazon.com led us to everything we could possibly need for some butt kicking workouts in the comfort of our own backyard:

His and Hers kettlebells: 20lbs for me and 53lbs for M. We debated on getting me the 35lb-er, which I usually use for kettlebell swings. We decided on the 20lb for now, because I'm not strong enough to do thinks like Turkish Get-Ups with a 35lbs bell...yet...

(source)

Rings: for pull-ups, dips and muscle-ups...err...for M to do muscle ups...and me to attempt them in vain.

(source)

Undulation Rope: um...for what this guy is doing?

Speed rope: M got me my very own PURPLE speed jump rope! Now I can jump rope in style...maybe the purple will distract me from the fact that I can only do one double-under at a time...

Our First Official "Backyard Workout"
(in the style of Melicious)

Warm-up
Jump rope
Arm swings/circles
Leg swings
Hip circles
Other Stuff

Workout
Partner 1 runs 400m -Partner 2 does burpees
P2 runs 400m- P1 does burpees
P1 runs 400m - P2 does kb swings
P2 runs 400m - P1 does kb swings
P1 runs 400m - P2 does squats
P2 runs 400m - P1 does squats
P1 runs 400m - P2 does sit ups
P2 runs 400m - P1 does sit ups

Time: circa 18 minutes

My Stats: 4 x 400m (we didn't do splits), 30 Burpees, 60 kb swings with 20lb bell, 75 squats, 95 sit-ups

We didn't time our splits, but each 400 probably ended up being about 2 mins. We ran around a 400m city block instead of a track, so there were four, 90 degree angle turns, which probably slowed us down a little...next time, we'll do splits. I was really impressed with myself after this workout...but after writing it down I want to do it again...and better...It never looks/ feels as good on paper as it does when you're panting and blinded by sweat immediately post-workout.

I'm looking forward to doing many a workout at home! YAY for saving money and having a regular exercise routine! A regular home exercise routine that's not a DVD! I hate getting sweaty in my living room...outside is much more fun. Maybe I just haven't found a DVD that works for me...

Does anyone else workout at home sans DVD? Or with a DVD? If so, which one?

The Bad Vegetarian

2010-06-15T15:15:00.004-04:00

This week's IIN module talks about plant-based diets...and it got me to thinking about myself and how I used to be a bad vegetarian...

The summer before my senior year of college, I spent ten weeks on Appledore Island in the Isles of Shoals as a research intern at the Shoals Marine La boratory. While living on Appledore, weate all of our meals in a dining hall setting. The majority of the staff on the island were either vegetarian or vegan, so there were always multiple variations of each meal: something I had never encountered before. Before my visit to the island, my only brush with vegetarianism was with my sister, who considered eating an empty hot-dog bun with ketchup a vegetarian meal.

All of the different food offerings opened the door for long dinner conversations about plant-based diets. It seemed as though everyone had a different reason for becoming a vegetarian or vegan, whether it be for morality or for health. I admired the discipline and ingenuity (mostly the discipline) of my new vegan friends and wanted to be a part of their elite group.

After leaving Shoals, I changed the way I ate. My four year fling with a plant-based diet started as an attempt to only eat meat if I knew where it came from. I had no problem doing this at home in Vermont, where I was lucky enough to have access to local chicken and beef. At school, however, the hamburgers didn't even look like hamburgers....so how could I possible know where they had come from? Thus, I cut out meat all together. Eventually, my reasons for becoming a vegetarian became moral reasons rather than health reasons. All in all, I was ill informed and unprepared and my decision to stop eating meat led to years of disordered eating.

To make a long story short, after a three years of eating mainly yogurt, fruit, peanut butter, cereal and fake meat products, my diet was no longer supporting my lifestyle. Even though I wasn't eating meat, I didn't feel healthy: I felt lethargic, heavy and stuck. I had taken my main source of protein out of my diet and I hadn't replaced it with anything: I was eating mainly fruits, complex carbohydrates and dairy products--and not enough dairy to get adequate protein for my lifestyle. I didn't eat nearly enough vegetables, especially dark, leafy greens, and there was no variety to the foods I did eat. I ate the same thing every day for weeks at a time. Something needed to change and I knew what the change should be, I just felt extremely guilty about implementing it.

In November of 2009, I bit the bullet and started eating meat again. M had made some delicious looking Italian Grilled Chicken, and on an impulse I ate a piece...or maybe three. At first I did feel guilty about eating meat again-- it seemed too difficult to explain why I gave up my vegetarian lifestyle...I didn't want to go back on my word or my morals. However, I immediately felt the effects of eating more whole food protein, and those effect far outweighed the integrity of my morals. I felt more energized than when I was eating mainly wheat gluten protein products. I also felt like I could eat less food and be more satisfied.

My diet changed again after starting the Institute for Integrative Nutrition program. Now I'm experimenting with all kinds of vegetables and fruits to add more color and variety to my meals. I'm eating more whole foods and less refined products and I'm modifying my favorite recipes to include healthier ingredients. IIN had drastically changed the way that I look at food-- I actually get excited to go to the grocery store and buy nutritious goodies to fuel my body. This new way of eating has changed the way I look at myself too. After years of disordered eating, I'm finally in a good place in terms of my body image.

I call myself a "bad vegetarian" because I didn't eat many healthy foods. I would eat a bowl of cereal for every meal with a piece of toast with peanut butter and honey. Being a vegetarian wasn't easy for me. I didn't know that eating tons of processed carbohydrates wasn't the best idea(Kashi GoLean is supposed to be good for me, right?). There are so many easy ways to incorporate a variety of vegetables into one's diet. I should have done more research and experimented with foods more often, but I wasn't mentally in a place where I cared that much about myself, and my body suffered as a result. I chose to be a vegetarian with good intentions, but for the wrong reasons.

My hope is that through health counseling, I can educate and support others to make similar changes in their lives. I will be able to give them the tools to figure out what is nutritionally best for them, and the resources to support their dietary choices (something I wish I had had when I was attempting to be a vegetarian). In addition, helping people sort through their issues with the larger aspects of life will, I hope, help them sort out their issues with food and to figure out what is most beneficial for them. Happy people are healthy people, after all.

Whirlwind Wedding Weekend: The Importance of "Cheat Meals"

2010-06-14T10:45:00.001-04:00

I spent this past weekend in upstate New York with all of my beautiful girlies from Hamilton. One of our own, Little MRS Trailmix tied the knot! The ceremony was brilliant-- I had never been to a traditional Jewish wedding before, and I pretty much love anything that involves a new-to-me cultural or religious tradition. The reception was fantastic! The food was delish, and the band was SO much fun! We basically danced and sang our faces off all night long!

M and I arrived on Friday evening, and went immediately to the rehearsal dinner-- a catered affair at the Cranwell Resort . The spread included lobster, steak, chicken, clams and all of the sides you would associate with those tasty meats. After dinner, we went back to our accommodations, the Shaker Meadow Bed and Breakfast, where the bride had so thoughtfully reserved rooms for our whole group of friends. There we had an after dinner bonfire complete with s'mores...mmMMMmm...

(Source)

On Saturday morning, we woke up early to accompany the bride on a pre-wedding, get-your-jitters-out run through picturesque New Lebanon, NY. We ran three miles down Lovers Lane...seriously...past farms and open fields. It was a wonderful start to the morning!

The ceremony and reception were at Tannery Pond. I can't imagine a more perfect place for this wedding! Check out Mrs. Trailmix's blog to see why...

The reception was outside, under a tent decked out with string lights and Chinese lanterns. The dinner was family style: filet mignon, red snapper and portobello ravioli. The drinks were...well, free...and that explains why the only pictures I have of the entire event are the following:

The bride made all of the table labels-- they were just so cute I had to take a picture...I know how hard she worked on them!

The place settings were also made by the bride and groom! My favorite part was the sprigs of lavender with their names and wedding date attached.

The wedding favors were gourmet chocolates with a tribute to the Dave Matthews Band--the Bride and Groom's favorite band.

Some Wine

My drink of choice: the always-classy Bacardi and diet. It's my guilty pleasure...actually not so guilty...Check out the drink flag! Another DIY methinks.

Someone else's guilty pleasure...I think I just liked the color.

The wedding was so much fun! After reading Mrs. T's wedding blog, it was so cool to see everything come together. I think everyone had an amazing time-- it was one for the books. A wedding to aspire to.

As for "cheat meals," I think that depending on your diet/ lifestyle, they are an approved necessity. Some people need them in order to stay sane and on track with their healthy eating, while others can happily forgo the cheat. I fit somewhere in between those two groups: I eat clean, healthy meals probably 85-90% of the week. When I feel like eating something that's not in my "diet," I don't beat myself up, because I know that I'll be back on track the next day.

So if I'm at an amazing wedding and I wish to partake in some adult beverages and chocolate, I do! When am I going to be at this wedding with this chocolate ever again? It took me a while to get to a place where I didn't punish myself for "cheating" and now that I'm there, I'm much happier. Life is so much more fun when you can enjoy yourself with friends without thinking about sticking to your normal diet 100%. The trick is to hop back on the wagon after your meal/day of indulging. It can take practice, but it can help when you know that one day of eating is not going to have a huge negative impact on your goals.

What is your "cheat meal" philosophy?

Sustainable Me

2010-06-10T10:19:00.005-04:00

My newest favorite thing is my Aladdin to-go iced coffee cup. LOVE it! It's getting to be summery in Boston, and thus too hot and muggy for regular coffee. I found this tumbler at Target and I'm definitely obsessed.

(Source)

Now I can stylishly take iced coffee with me everywhere! No more reused Starbucks cold cups for me! I'm decreasing my environmental impact, while increasing my caffeine intake (slightly). M and I are huge fans of the travel mug: we have about a billion hot mugs, and this tumbler is a wonderful addition to our mug cabinet.

Lazy Paleo Cookies

2010-06-09T10:07:00.027-04:00

I call the following endeavor "Lazy Paleo Cookies" for the following reasons:

I used a vegan recipe from Eat Me Delicious, but replaced some ingredients I didn't have with ingredients I did have, because I was too lazy to go grocery shopping.
The cookies are not really "paleo" cookies, because they have maple syrup and honey in them...which are better than regular, white sugar, but some paleo sticklers will say that any sweetener is no good.
The finished product was not actually a "cookie" per se...mostly because I was too lazy to grind my almond flour fine enough...

Ingredients:

3/4 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp raw honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp coconut oil

I mixed all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and stirred to combine.

My coarsely ground almond flour

The rest of the ingredients went into another bowl. The recipe called for flax meal, but when I tried to grind my flax seeds, they just kind of spun around in the food processor...and I was lazy, so I just added some kinda-broken-flax seeds to the mix.

I combined the wet and dry ingredients and stirred until they were just barely mixed together...

Plopped about 1 Tbsp of "batter" onto an ungreased cookie sheet and cooked for 10 minutes at
350.

The result was more of a granola than a cookie. I have a feeling that the cookies crumbled because the almond flour was too coarse, and because there was no flax meal. The next time I attempt this recipe, I will make sure to be diligent with my almond flour, and maybe add an egg to keep everything together. Granola is fine. Granola is great! Something for M to put on his oatmeals in the morning.

Have you ever had a recipe turn out differently than you...err....expected?

An Extravagant Brunch

2010-06-08T13:50:00.010-04:00

Last Saturday, I decided to make a delicious brunch. I was inspired by yet another gifty from IIN, gluten-free, wheat-free, sugar-free, dairy-free blueberry maple muffin mix from Purely Elizabeth.

All I needed to add was maple syrup (I used 1/2 of the recommended amount), olive oil, blueberries and vanilla. Easy-peasy. I stuck some blackberries in with the blueberries to make them a little more exotic and I thought about using coconut oil instead of olive oil, but I really wanted the brunch to be niiiiice, so I followed the recipe...

I popped the mini muffins into my ancient oven. (You can't really tell from this picture, but there are no numbers on the burner dials...they have two settings: inferno and gas leak).

The mini muffins came out perfectly!

Some glamour shots:

To round out our brunch, I made some scrambled eggs (two eggs, two whites each), and bacon, because, as we know, no brunch is complete without bacon! I also sliced up a peach I had lying around.

It was a protein packed, blueberry muffin-y brunch! The muffins were great: they had a very unique taste-- maybe it was the chia seeds and millet flour. I used to be some sort of muffin freak (I would eat a dunkin' donuts reduced fat blueberry muffin every morning before work in the olden days), and I really liked these! I'm not sure if I would buy the mix myself, but I definitely plan on using it as a model for my own healthy blueberry muffins.

Sugary Baked Goods

2010-06-04T10:21:00.001-04:00

In case you didn't know, I love to bake. Love, love LOVE to bake. I bake cookies, brownies, shortbread, quick bread, cupcakes, cheesecakes...basically anything I can find a recipe for. Lately, I've been attempting to remodel my recipes so that they don't include wheat flour or white sugar. I haven't tried to bake anything using the new recipes, but I'll let you know how it goes when I do.

Here are a few crappy phone pictures of things I've baked over the years:

New York Style Cheesecake with Mini Cadbury Eggs (for Easter last year)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Cherry Linzer Hearts for Valentine's Day

Most recently, I made some Double Chocolate Brownies with pistachios for the first Celtic's Playoff game against LA (pistachios are green...like the Celtics...get it?).

The Celtics lost (boo), but the brownies were chocolaty, dense and wonderful!

Baked goods used to be my downfall: I would make a gorgeous batch of cookies on Saturday, pretend I wasn't going to eat any, and then late Sunday night I would eat all the wounded soldier cookies left behind after the weekend. Recently, I've gotten much better at not eating the ENTIRE batch of whatever I make. Now, I mostly make these baked goods for other people and have a small piece for myself. I'm now very aware of my sugary baked good craving, and I make sure to have plenty of quick, healthy snacks around whenever I decide to bake something. If found that my sugar craving comes out of convenience: whenever I want to eat a cookie, it's usually because I'm hungry for a healthy meal, but the cookie is so much easier than taking the time to prepare something healthy (or so my twisted mind thinks).

Does anyone else have a weakness for foods of the sugary, baked variety? Have you been listening to your cravings?

A Wandering Lunch Hour

2010-06-03T13:34:00.027-04:00

This morning M woke up with a fever...which I may or may not have passed on to him...oops. So, like the wonderful girlfriend that I am, I decided to bring him some remedies during his break between clients: mainly some Oscillococcinum from CVS and the cure-all for hangovers and fevers alike, Red Gatorade.

After making sure my honey was all set, I started back toward my office. As I exited his building, I was immediately distracted by a farmers market across the street. I had some extra time to kill (the boss is out today), so I decided to check it out.

(Source)

The Dewey Square Farmers Market is put on by the Boston Public Market Association and Rodale.

After Dewey Square, I stopped by Lambert's outdoor market in Downtown Crossing

I bought some blackberries for $1.00

Got distracted again by a sneaker sale...

Decided to stop for some iced green tea

Almost got distracted by the big cookies. So many different kinds!

Finally made it back to the office with tea in hand.

I plan on going to lots and lots of farmers markets this summer: there's no better way to get fresh, local produce. We're lucky enough to live in the Boston area where there are markets almost everyday of the week that are accessible by public transportation. If you're from the Boston area, check out Mass Farmers Market.org for the 2010 schedule.

More Adventures in Home-Cooked Goodness

2010-06-02T09:19:00.011-04:00

Last night, we decided to embark on another kitchen adventure. I've been scouring the world wide web for new ideas and recipes, and last week I stumbled upon the Everyday Paleo blog post for homemade plantain chips with guacamole. I was surprised to find the recipe, because for some reason, M and I were under the impression that we had invented the combination of plantain chips and guacamole...we pretty much thought we were culinary geniuses...but apparently, everyone eats plantain chips with guacamole...who knew?

Anyway, after a quick jaunt to Whole Foods, we had all of the ingredients to make some plantain chips to go with our beefy taco salad. I modeled the taco salad recipe after one that I found on the Whole9 Blog. The plantain chips were produced by two methods: lightly frying in coconut oil a la Everyday Paleo, and baking with olive oil, a la Martha Stewart's recipe for baked potato chips. I also baked up the last sweet potato from over the weekend...

Plantain Chips (& Sweet Potato Chips)

(please disregard the wine and ping pong balls)

Ingredients:

Ripe plantains-- I used two and had plenty of chips for two people
2-4 Tbsp Coconut oil*
Sea Salt to taste

* For the baking method, replace coconut oil with olive oil (or another oil that's liquid at room temperature.)

If frying, place coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Slice the plantains either width-wise or lengthwise with the peel still on (a tip from Everyday Paleo: the plantains keep their structure better with the peel). Remove peel and place in oil, and fry until brown on both sides.

If baking, line a baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with olive oil. Place the chips on the tray making sure that they do not overlap. Spray the chips with oil and salt them at your own discretion. Bake for about 25 minutes rotating the tray once. (Follow the same protocol for sweet baked sweet potato chips, but bake for about 30 minutes).

The baked chips came out great! Some were crispy and some were chewy. All of them were deliciously sweet and salty!

The fried plantain chips were, in M's words "sinful." The first thing he said when he tried one was "these can't be good for you..." I mean, they're not great for you...but they're better than...some other things. Frying the plantains in coconut oil seemed to caramelize them more than baking them. The browned edges of the chips were almost like candy, but the added salt balanced the sweetness perfectly. They were a little bit thicker and chewier than their baked brothers, but we ended up liking these more.

To go with our plantain chips, we also prepared a nice, taco-y salad:

For the meats we used:

Four hamburger patties (leftover from our weekend BBQ)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (we lika da spicy foods)

M ground up the hamburger patties in a bowl, added the spices and then cooked the meat in a pan with some olive oil and a little water to moisten it up. In the future, we'll probably just buy ground beef instead of using already formed hamburgers...but we were trying to be thrifty.

I cut up some tomatoes, red pepper and red leaf lettuce for the salad base. We topped our salads with salsa and some guacamole from Whole Foods.

It was a great, homemade Mexican-ish feast with plenty of leftovers for another day. We both ate too much and walked off our bellies with Chester after dinner. Isn't it great to eat too much of a meal that you made yourself? To want to eat more of something you created? It's kind of a new experience for me...and I love it!

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potatoes Equal a Glorious Memorial Day

2010-06-01T10:07:00.012-04:00

Last weeks module for my Integrative Nutrition course focused a lot on healthy cooking at home. Since starting the program, I've gotten much, much better at organizing my grocery store trips so that I have plenty of ingredients to cook dinners and pack lunches. I make sure to have lots of leafy greens for salads galore, a variety of fruits, and snacks for throughout the day. The beautiful summery weather has made us grill crazy, so we've also been making sure to stock up on turkey burgers, chicken sausages and chicken wings (M makes a mean grilled buffalo wing).

This being Memorial Day Weekend, we hosted the obligatory BBQ. The usual suspects showed up and we had a grand ole time playing games (beer pong and ladder ball), eating steak tips, burgers and some mouthwatering hors d'oeuvres.

My newly found love for cooking at home inspired me to make something different for this get together, so I experimented with two of my favorite things: sweet potatoes and bacon. This is what I came up with:

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potatoes:

Ingredients:
Two sweet potatoes
One pound uncured, nitrate-free bacon (I used Nature's Promise from Stop and Shop)
Olive oil
Rosemary (I used dried, but fresh would work too)

I cut the sweet potatoes into "fries" (with the skin on), sprayed with olive oil and baked at 400 for 10 minutes on each side. After baking, I let the sweet potatoes cool to a temperature that I could comfortable handle them, and dipped them in a mixture of olive oil (1/4 cup ) and rosemary (1 Tbsp). Then, I cut the bacon strips in half and lightly fried them. I wrapped each fry in one "1/2 strip" and secured with a skewer. After laying each morsel on an aluminum foil lined baking pan, I baked them again at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes on each side (until the bacon was crisp).

These were a hit! I will most definitely make them again...

Also among our mouthwatering hors d'oeuvres was this crazy-good (but probably not good for you) Buffalo Chicken Dip:

One of our friends makes this for basically every party we have...because it's addictive...like crack.

She won't divulge her secret recipe, but I'm pretty sure it's chicken, buffalo sauce, and many kinds of cheeses including blue cheese and cheddar.

The BBQ was a success! Everyone enjoyed themselves...including Chester and Meadow, who shared a rawhide bone.

They were in a rawhide induced coma for most of the evening...

I Found New Things To Read!

2010-05-25T10:46:00.005-04:00

I was surfing my usual websites this morning, when I stumbled upon a link to something new and wonderful: new (to me) blogs written by women. Not just any women: Crossfitting, paleo-eating, fit, happy women.

Reading what they've written has totally brightened my day! I love a good success story, but even more than that, I love reading about people living their lives the way that they want to and having fun doing it. It's empowering and inspiring.

New To Me Blogs:

The Clothes Make The Girl by Melissa 'Melicious' Joulwan. I've read her comments on Urban Gets Diesel and the Whole9 Blog for a while...lots of awesome things to say.

I Want To Be Healthy and Strong by Catherine Hart. Catherine has an amazing success story about her Crossfit Journey.

Primal Eating Modern Table by Crystal Nelson and Lauren Sheehan. A great site that provides information on how to transition to a primal lifestyle and support to reach your primal goals.

Those are a few of the new blogs I've been reading (when I should probably be doing work). I'm sure the magical workings of the interwebs will bring me more awesome blogs in the near future.

Come On Baby Flip My Tire...err...

2010-05-24T14:16:00.005-04:00

As M and I have gotten more and more into this Crossfit thing, we've tried to find ways that we can contribute to our friends' slash trainers' business endeavor. Partially because we can workout with them for free right now (other Crossfit gyms in the area charge as much as $350.00 a month for membership), but mostly because we want to see their gym-owning dreams become reality.

M has been on the hunt for the past couple of months for a piece of equipment to add to the gym. Something really big...and really heavy. He wanted to give the gym that "we're even more hardcore than you thought" vibe that every Crossfit gym needs. M's had a couple of leads, but none of them worked out until last week, when I arrived home to find a gigantic TIRE in our driveway! Behold:

A Big Effing Tire. Of course, this picture doesn't do it justice. The tire is about 5 feet tall and it weighs about 150lbs, which is much lighter than we thought. (Basically that means we're technically still on the prowl for an even heavier tire.) I'm not sure what kind of vehicle this tire came from, but I know that a grown man could fit inside it and roll down a hill Natty Gann style. This tire is great for flipping and sledgehammering. The day we got it, we rolled it over to the gym, conveniently located in our friend's driveway two blocks away, and went to town.

Big Effing Tire Workout: (it's called something else, obviously, but I have no idea where the found this one...so this name will have to suffice)

As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 12 Minutes of:

5 Tire Flips
10 Box Jumps
20 Tire Sledgehammer Strikes (for lack of a better term) 10 on each side.

I think I like AMRAP workouts because they force me to get competitive with myself and work as hard as I can for as long as I can. Luckily, I was able to do all of these exercises as prescribed, so I really felt like I was working as hard as possible. It took a little while to get the hang of the sledgehammering: swinging a 10lb hammer over my head was not a motion I was used to, but I got into a rhythm after a while.

I heart the Big Tire! Using things like Big Tires and sledgehammers really keeps our workouts interesting...I'd much rather flip a tire out in the sun than do a million reps on the smith machine at the gym. M and I are looking for other interesting pieces to add to the collection. Methinks M has his eye on some Undulation Ropes...I'll let you know how that goes.

Have you ever worked out with unconventional equipment before?

Cuckoo for Coconuts

2010-05-20T11:11:00.002-04:00

Last week, I received a gift basket in the mail from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I happened to sign up for the program on a day when they were offering this special promotion. The gift basket was full of books, and samples...mmmMMMMmmm...samples. I have become particularly smitten with one of said samples: Vanilla Almond Snakaroons from Laughing Giraffe Organics.
Laughing Giraffe Organics was started by an IIN graduate, Justin Baumgartner. They are a small, family owned and operated company in Phoenix, Arizona committed to making delicious, "nutrient dense, minimally processed snack foods". I closely relate to and really appreciate their mission statement:

We believe that the energy that goes into making your food is as important as the ingredients themselves. The intention behind creating your food is important to us. Is your food made with disregard for the people making it? Is there more focus on profit margins than the quality of your food or the well being of the people preparing your food? At Laughing Giraffe Organics these things concern us. We believe that happy, well taken care of employees, who take pride in what they do because they are appreciated make a better more nourishing product.

I am in LOVE with the Snakaroons! I could eat them everyday and/or eat the whole package at once. Coconutty goodness in every bite! They are dense, chewy and jam-packed with flavor and good fats. These treats are a little on the sweet side, but the sweetness comes from organic agave nectar... so, in my opinion, they are a great choice to satisfy a sugar craving, because they won't mess too much with your blood sugar.

For anyone looking for a delicious, nutritious way to satisfy a sweet tooth, while supporting a family run company, this is it. The nutritional value of these coconut morsels make them a better choice than many other sweets...lots of good, saturated fat and protein. The only downside is that Laughing Giraffe is located in Arizona, and it is not super environmentally friendly to have them shipped across the country...but they offer free shipping on orders of six or more items...so if you buy in bulk, or go in on some treats with friends, you'll certainly reap the benefits of this amazing company and product.

The Great Breakfast Experiment of 2010

2010-05-19T12:30:00.001-04:00

Last week, after my horrible whey protein breakfast experience, I decided to actively partake in a Breakfast Experiment. The Breakfast Experiment was first brought to my attention in the "warm-up" classes for my Institute of Integrative Nutrition program. We were all asked to record what we eat for breakfast each day of the week, and record how we feel two hours later, and then in the evening. We were also encouraged to experiment with different types of breakfast foods.

I'm kind of stubborn when it comes to breakfast: I love me my eggs. I usually eat one egg and two or three egg whites every morning with some fruit. When I first read about the experiment, I wasn't really in the mood to switch things up, because I know that this breakfast works for me. Last week I was hit by a sudden urge to try something different...and it went terribly wrong. As a result, I decided to experiment with types and amounts of breakfast food to see what really holds me over and gives me energy...

Wednesday, May 12th
Breakfast (8:00am): Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein, one scoop with one cup almond milk, almond butter, spinach and flax seeds. (A Green Monster gone bad)

10:00am: UGH...I hate whey protein...and I secretly knew this would happen: I felt sick to my stomach all morning.

5:00pm: Even after lunch and my delicious snack, I still felt hungry and a little sick. I ended up having a headache...and taking a nap on the commute home (don't worry...I wasn't driving).

Thursday, May 13th
8:00am: One egg and three egg whites & a large Dunkin' Donuts Coffee with cream and splenda (I usually have something in addition to the eggs...but we're due for a grocery store trip aka out of everything.)

10:00am: Hungry! Breakfast was not substantial enough to hold me over until Lunch.

5:00pm: Doin' good...probably the bowl o' Boloco I had for lunch...

Friday, May 14th
8:00am: One egg and two whites scrambled with 1 cup spinach, strawberries and coffee with milk and stevia

10:00am: I can't tell if I have my morning snack out of habit...or if I'm actually hungry. I think this time it was truly hunger...I had an apple and 1/2 of a Cinnamon Roll Larabar.

5:00pm: I'm starting to think that lunch is my most important meal of the day...I usually don't need an afternoon snack after a good lunch. Does this mean I'm eating too much for lunch? Or that because I need a morning snack, I'm still not eating enough for breakfast?

Saturday, May 15th
9:30am: Ditto yesterday, but this time...WITH BACON!

11:30am: Weekends are tough...I lose track of time...I was fairly satisfied all morning long. Was it the bacon? Or that my brain was occupied instead of sitting in front of a computer watching the clock?

5:00pm: Doing pretty well...forgot to eat lunch...which probably means my breakfast was AWESOME.

Sunday, May 16th
10:00am: Pink Lady Apple with 2 tbsp Almond butter, coffee (a couple of fork fulls of M's eggs and guacamole...YUM). I didn't feel like making a huge production with the breakfasts...so I went for something simple. I was going to be home all day anyway, so I didn't need to hold myself over for anything.

12:00pm: In the middle of an intense clean and jerk Crossfit workout-- I guess my apple helped me through.

5:00pm: Still going strong (with the help of a turkey burger lunch)

Monday, May 17th
8:00am: Two eggs and two whites scrambled, with a leftover steak tip from Doms!

10:00am: Feeling pretty good. The extra fat and protein from the steak tips helped tide me over until lunch.

5:00pm: I still gots to have my afternoon snacks! I needed a little kick to get me through the afternoon...maybe I need to do the "Great Lunch Experiment of 2010"

Tuesday, May 18th
8:00am: I gave the Green Monster another shot-- this time, without the whey protein. Spinach, flax seeds, 1 Tbsp almond butter, one cup almond milk and 1/2 a banana.

10:00am: Woot! I'm not hungry! Even better: I'm not sick to my stomach...'twas definitely the whey.

5:00pm: Hungry for dinner! I ate a little less protein than usual at lunch...so that's probably why.

Wednesday, May 19th
8:00am: Back to the usual-- one egg, two whites scrambled with spinach and a large coffee from Dunkin' Donuts.

10:00am: Still feeling pretty good...

Conclusions: After recording my breakfasts for the past week, and really paying attention to how my body felt after each meal, I've decided that the best breakfast for me is one high in whole food protein. I also feel most satisfied mentally when I have a "food" breakfast, like eggs, as opposed to a "drink" breakfast like the Green Monster.
My egg and spinach breakfast has about 17g of protein according to The Daily Burn, which, for me, is a great way to jump start my day.

Even though the Green Monster is nutritious, I found myself wanting to eat more (even though I wasn't so hungry) after having it for breakfast. I'm pretty sure it's a mental thing: I feel like I didn't eat anything...because I drank my breakfast. I do, however, really like experimenting with the spinach shakes and I plan to try more tasty recipes...I'll just need to remind myself that I am getting nutrients...and that using a straw for breakfast can be as satisfying as using a fork.

I've also discovered that (duh) lunches are pretty important for me. Breakfast might help me start my day, but a well rounded lunch can hold me out for much longer than my breakfast...maybe I need to eat more breakfast...I probably should have varied things a little more...oh well, I'm done with the official experiment for now, but I plan to keep trying new foods and different quantities of food.

Has anyone else ever done this kind of experiment before? What kind of breakfast works the best for you?

Before You Go Nuts...

2010-05-17T15:37:00.001-04:00

I came across an article in the New York Times today about a new nutritional study stating that eating about two ounces of nuts a day can lower your cholesterol. The study looked at data from 25 preexisting nut consumption trials that involved 583 men and women from 7 countries with normal and elevated blood cholesterol levels. A analysis of the pooled data revealed that eating 67g (2.4 oz) of nuts a day could significantly lower one's cholesterol.

Don't get me wrong, I think nuts are great. I eat them everyday (mostly almonds). Nuts are full of good fats and have a fair amount of plant-based protein. They are, however, very calorie and nutrient dense. A serving of nuts is typically one ounce, which is usually characterized as "one handful." One serving of almonds has about 160 calories and 14g of fat, while one serving of walnuts as about 200 calories and 18g of fat. According to this study, you should be eating almost two and a half servings of nuts a day if you want to lower your cholesterol-- If you chose walnuts, this would mean an additional 500 calories and 45g of fat per day. Most diets, such as The South Beach Diet, and even the Primal Blueprint recommend eating no more than one serving of nuts per day.

I am not a medical professional, nor do I want to sound preachy... but before you go nuts with the nuts, maybe consider some other ways to lower your cholesterol...like taking a look at your red meat consumption, and maybe increasing whole grains. I love almonds and pecans and walnuts-- I eat about an ounce pretty much every day (I might be a little too addicted to almond butter for my own good), but I know that if I were to eat two servings a day, my waistline would most definitely increase. Definitely eat nuts, but maybe consume them in moderation...everyday...just a little bit...

Snack for My Angry Stomach

2010-05-12T17:00:00.001-04:00

I made this mistake of drinking a whey protein shake for breakfast this morning. For some reason, my tummy can't handle the wheys-- When M and I used to beef-up at the gym, I used to drink them after almost every tough workout...and 70% of the time, they would make me puke. I always attributed the sickness to the intensity of our exercise and not the whey. This morning, however, I had not exercised anything but my subconscious (dreaming), so it must be the whey.

I'd heard from people that coconut water can soothe an upset stomach in addition to being nature's Gatorade. Mark of Mark's Daily Apple goes into more detail about the amazing nutritional qualities and the versatility of the coconut here.

So for a snack today I had a Vita Coco coconut water with peach and mango to appease my tum, and a Kind Nut Delight bar as a treat to make my her happy.

Glamour Shots

I need to find a good whey protein alternative that's also not soy protein...maybe I'll just stick to getting my protein from whole food sources instead...

Introducing Whil Wheber and Some Sick-Nasty Kabobs

2010-05-11T15:22:00.004-04:00

For our birthdays this past year, M and I decided it was time to buy each other a grill. Not just any grill...a Weber Spirit E-310.

(Source)

We've named him Whil Wheber to honor Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame via Family Guy (first runner up went to Gril Weber). Yes, it's a little nerdy. What's NOT nerdy is how awesome M is at grilling stuff. Most of the meals that we cook at home now involve the grill in one capacity or another. We love having people over for BBQs (recently mostly indoors because of the terrible New England Weather) to share the grill wealth.

Last night, we had the most de-li-cious grilled chicken kabobs that I've ever had-- and that's saying a lot as considering I am somewhat of a chicken kabob connoisseur. M marinated the chicken over the weekend using Organicville Island Teriyaki and Sesame Teriyaki marinades. These sauces are amazing! Not only do they taste great, they are also gluten free, and made with agave nectar.

We chopped up some red bell pepper and red onion and skewered:

Whil Wheber in action:

We also tossed on some tomatoes and some Cajun Chicken. Plenty of food for dinner, lunch and another dinner.

The end result:

On the side we had a salad with some lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and mushroom. (Paper plates equal me not being in the mood to do dishes...)

These were, by far, the best chicken kabobs I've ever had...and we made them at home, which makes me really happy! Have you ever noticed that when you cook a really great meal at home, you feel one thousand times happier than when you get a great meal at a restaurant? M and I have been trying to cook at home a lot recently, and, if I do say so, our creations have been phenomenal. We feel more nourished and like we've accomplished something after we cook a nice dinner.

Yay for Whil Wheber! He makes us delicious food and saves us money!

Flip Flip Flipadelphia

2010-05-10T09:57:00.021-04:00

This past weekend I made a trip to Philadelphia with my sister, mother and aunt to visit my grandmother for Mother's Day. It was a whirlwind tour (flew in Saturday and out Sunday), but we managed to get in some good quality visiting time.

Upon our arrival, we went to the Ardmore Farmer's Market for lunch.

Great Harvest Bread Company!

Delicious sausage treats

Lots of fresh veggies

Mother's Day Treats

On Mother's Day, we had a wonderful brunch at my Grandparent's retirement community

mmMMMmmm....meats...

My sister's downfall...

Round One

Round Two. Yes, I did have seconds on the bacons. You can never have too much bacon...

It was a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! I am so thankful that I have such a wonderful mother...and family!

The Importance of Physical Activity or, My Armpits are Swollen

2010-05-07T14:34:00.001-04:00

Well...not my armpits exactly, but my latissimus dorsi. They are, no joke, swollen. I look like a crazy, roided-out dude right now...well, not exactly...but I can't comfortably put my arms down at my sides.

Why? You may ask. Because we started doing Crossfit. M and I had a serious discussion about cardiovascular fitness on one of our weekly hikes at the dog park. We decided (obviously) that we need to do some kind of physical activity to be healthy-- eating clean 90% of the time helps, but doesn't get your blood pumping like a nice jog. Plus physical activity also plays an important role balancing the rest of our lives-- it can influence moods thereby influencing relationships, how one feels about his job, and even the food on one's plate.

We know we should be exercising more, but how much more? And what kind of exercise? I'm starting to trust "official recommendations" less and less-- how do they know what's good for me? M and I used to go to the gym religiously--so much so that we got totally burnt out and completely stopped going. Our physical activity for the past few months has been mostly hiking with the dogs with a jog or a boxing session sprinkled in here and there.

In order to implement regular exercise, we decided a non-traditional approach would work better for us. We decided to go the Crossfit route. A few of our friends have been doing it faithfully for a few years now, and M has done it in the past. Basically, they are super intense workouts designed to work multiple muscle groups in minimal time. Here's a great explanation from the Crossfit Main site:

"CrossFit is in large part derived from several simple observations garnered through hanging out with athletes for thirty years and willingness, if not eagerness, to experiment coupled with a total disregard for conventional wisdom. Let me share some of the more formative of these observations:
1. Gymnasts learn new sports faster than other athletes.
2. Olympic lifters can apply more useful power to more activities than other athletes.
3. Powerlifters are stronger than other athletes.
4. Sprinters can match the cardiovascular performance of endurance athletes even at extended efforts.
5. Endurance athletes are woefully lacking in total physical capacity.
6. With high carb diets you either get fat or weak.
7. Bodybuilders can't punch, jump, run, or throw like athletes can.
8. Segmenting training efforts delivers a segmented capacity.
9. Optimizing physical capacity requires training at unsustainable intensities.
10. The world's most successful athletes and coaches rely on exercise science the way deer hunters rely on the accordion."

The first workout we did (the one that swelled my armpits) was one round of 70 Burpees, 60 Sit ups, 50 Kettlebell swings, 40 Pull ups and 30 Handstand push ups for time. (I did a modified version 50-40-30-20-10, but it still totally kicked my butt...er...armpits). We didn't time ourselves, but from the comments on the website it seems like most people did this in under 20 minutes...insane.

We are sore and blistered, but we will persevere. I know that things will be less inflamed in time. After all, it's important for your mind, body and soul to exercise regularly. "No pain, no gain"

Beautiful Day Equals Colorful Lunch...and a Red Sox Game!

2010-05-04T17:00:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Boston! So beautiful that I decided to take a walk for my lunch break-- I went on a two mile loop that just happened to take me by a Whole Foods...so I splurged on some fruit and a salad. Unfortunately, the two mile walk eats up most of my lunch...so I had to eat at my desk instead of outside in the sun.

A rainbow salad featuring cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, squash, cherry tomatoes, red and yellow bell peppers, roasted sweet potato and sliced almonds, and some mixed berries and grapes for dessert. The hot weather had me wanting lots of fresh fruits and veggies.

On my trip to Whole Foods, I also bought some Organic Sunflower Seed Butter that I've been wanting to try.

For my afternoon snack, I had a spoonful of the nut butter and the rest of my mixed berries. It was super sunflower seedy tasting, which was a nice change of pace from my usual nut butters.

The weather held out for the Sox game...M and I decided to eat dinner at Fenway.

Turkey Tips and a Premio Italian Sausage...yum!

It wouldn't be a baseball game without beer! Miller Lite to be exact...classy.

(Sigh)I love Boston!

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

2010-05-03T14:32:00.007-04:00

I readily acknowledge that I have a mild bag addiction. A few weeks ago, I saw M's sister's Ogio work bag and fell in love! It might sound silly, but seeing her bag actually fed my motivation to start my own health counseling business...so that I could have an awesome work bag of my own!

But why wait until I officially start my business? Why not just get one now?! So I immediately started my online shopping spree and in no time I found a bag that has everything I need to be a business lady.

The Stockton Bag from Timbuk2. Obviously I will fill it with my pearl necklaces, magazines and trendy rec specs (?). It's perfect...and it comes in the mail today! YAY for new bags! Now I'm ready to start my business...right?

Monsterberry

2010-04-30T15:01:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I ate the largest strawberry known to mankind.

Yes, my hands are on the small side, but this berry was seriously gigantic! Did you know that conventional fruits (of which this is one) are usually larger and less tasty than their organic counterparts?

Conventional strawberries are also a member of the"Dirty Dozen": the 12 fruits with the highest pesticide residue (59 detected in a 2009 survey according to The Daily Green). Strawberries, along with peaches, apples, blueberries and nectarines are among the most contaminated fruits on the market. If you have a choice, buy their organic counterparts.

Also, see The Daily Green for a list of "Clean 15: Foods You Don't Have to Buy Organic"

Update: FitSugar just posted this cute little pocket guide to the "Dirty Dozen"

Taking Care of Our Dogs...and Ourselves...

2010-04-29T09:31:00.000-04:00

After what we thought was careful consideration, M and I decided to adopt a new pup. We wanted to add another amazing dog to our pack: a companion for Chester and another cuddle bug for us. We both thought that Chester, our fabulous black lab, would have a much happier life with a friend to keep him company. We wanted him to have the dog park all day, everyday...

The whole adoption process was seemingly led by fate. We found Jack, a beautiful fox red lab, on a random visit to an adoption website and emailed about him as soon as we could. Unfortunately, we were told he'd already been adopted. M and I were disappointed, but figured it wasn't the right time. However, hours later we got an email saying things didn't work out with the other family and asking if were were still interested. We were...

To make a long story somewhat shorter, we picked up Jack on Saturday. After an hour long drive to the middle of nowhere, we waited in a hotel parking lot for the white Adopt a Lab van to arrive. There were at least 10 other families excitedly awaiting the arrival of their new, furry babies. Jack turned out to be the quiet one of the bunch, unlike Chester who whined and whined while waiting for his turn to exit the van. Jack was incredibly bony, but had the most amazing droopy face. M and I were excited-- Jack seemed sweet and calm-- the perfect yin to Chester's crazy yang. He was so quiet on the drive home that we almost forgot he was in the back seat.

The initial introduction went well, but it was not at all what we had hoped for. Both dogs could stand each others company, but there was no playing. Chester attempted to start something once or twice, but Jack was just so incredibly neglected and disoriented that Chester's jests were lost on him. It all deteriorated from there.

Now there are growls where there used to be none--mostly from Chester. The weekend was unbelievably stressful for both M and me. We both went back and forth as to whether adding another dog to the family was a good idea or not. We blame ourselves for Chester's new "mean dog" disposition and his listless avoidance of us both. I'm certain that things will get better with time, but it's so hard to keep bobbling back and forth between hopefulness and guilt. We need new stress relievers.

Things will work themselves out with time. They say it takes two weeks for a dog to get used to his new home, so it may take two weeks for us to get used to Jack...maybe longer. Hopefully, Chester will be back to his old self before long...In the meantime, I think this is a great opportunity to find more effective ways to take care of ourselves: better ways of releasing our stress about the dogs and about normal, everyday things. Stress management is especially important right now because our home, which used to be the nice, relaxing environment we crave, is now so full of tension that neither of us want to be there at the end of the day.

So far we've coped by treating ourselves to take-out from our favorite Japanese restaurant, and visiting family members who just happen to feed us homemade spaghetti and meatballs...Having someone else make dinner takes a huge weight off our shoulders. On a non-food related note, we've also increased the frequency and duration of our hugs and back scratches (it's the little things that make a huge difference).There have been some tears too...sometimes we just need to let it all out.

It all boils down to this: what happens happens. In the end we will do the right thing because we really care about Chester and Jack. It's also important to really care for and about ourselves too. I'm confident that our love for our dogs and ourselves will help us make the right decision.

deciding everything is falling into place perfectly as long as you don't get too picky about what you mean by place. Or perfectly.

- Brian Andreas

First Post is the Best Post

2010-04-27T09:39:00.003-04:00

I'm starting a Blog (duh), which is something that I never thought that I would do. I have always liked reading blogs written by others-- I even follow a few blogs of close friends and family--but I never really considered writing my own, because I don't think I'm that interesting: who would want to read about the escapades of little ole me? I'm not especially astute or verbally gifted, and my day to day life is fairly normal. I was once asked by my sister to write a guest post for her blog "The Misadventures" and my response to her request was "about what?" The bottom line is I don't have that many interesting things to say...

Well, times are a-changin'...and I believe that in the near future I am going to have some interesting things to write about. I have just enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition Professional Training Program with the goal of becoming a Certified Holistic Health Counselor. Over the course of the year, this formal training program will give me the tools that I need to counsel others around food and lifestyle choices. Of course, in addition to learning how to help others, I will be learning how to live a better life through eating good, whole food and taking care of myself. Hopefully, I will be able to open a health counseling business by this time next year.

My hope is that this blog will serve as a place for me to share my journey: to post pictures and thoughts about the program and about life. I'm excited to have the opportunity to support people in creating happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives for themselves. So welcome to my blog...I hope you find something interesting to read here...

Sincerely,

Allison