FLOG

I have another long day ahead of me today, (church choir practice tonight,) so I'm all packed up and ready to go again!

BREAKFAST:

pumpkin smoothie, made with plain Greek yogurt, canned pumpkin, a frozen banana, a little agave, some pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice

SECOND BREAKFAST:

pumpkin chocolate chip muffin!

LUNCH:

the last of the stir-fry (finally!), some diced mango, and a raspberry oatmeal bar
AND, some mac and cheese and sliced cucumbers with ranch dressing (part of the kids' lunch, and I couldn't say no! Mmmmmmmm salty, creamy mac and cheese!)

SNACK:

another apple-fennel-walnut-bleu cheese salad (a weird snack, I realize, but it will up my veggie quota for the day!)

DINNER:

provolone, avocado, spinach, tomato, and Vegenaise on whole-wheat bread, and a red bartlett pear
not pictured: one of Laura's toffee bars during church choir practice break time (shout out to Laura! Thanks for the ride home, and hope you are reading this!)

Happy hump day!

FLOG, muffins, and blog suggestions

I don't know why this happens, but I already find myself eating more healthfully when I FLOG! Does anyone else experience this? I don't think my basic intake changes much, (I still eat lots of veggies, whole grains, etc.) but I snack less -- I'm less inclined to eat "junk" at work when FLOGging. Awesome!

Anyhow, here's today:

BREAKFAST:

I ate the oatmeal at home, and packed the banana for post-chiropractor, bus snack

not pictured . . . a Mexican Mocha from Spyhouse! (My chiro appointment finished earlier than I was expecting, and it was so friggin' cold and rainy, I felt like a little extra caffeine and warm-up could only help!)

MID MORNING SNACK:
a slice of American cheese, a few saltines, and a small handfull of raisins (not pictured, again!)

LUNCH:

Leftover rice and dal, some diced mango, and the last butterscotch pudding (and a few bites of someone's leftover birthday cake . . . but it wasn't very good, so I threw out the rest of the piece I took.)

SNACK:

two Dr. Kracker flatbreads and some homemade white bean hummus

DINNER:

Leftover rice and beans, chard, and portobello mushroom.

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I have had the urge to bake since Sunday afternoon, and finally got around to it tonight! Behold, Diann's Pumpkin, Millet, and Chocolate Chip Muffins:

I got a dozen standard-sized muffins, plus a dozen minis from her recipe, (but I did add extra chocolate chips . . . gasp!) which the kids will happily gobble down tomorrow. I'm just excited to have something besides dry cereal or bananas for "second breakfast!"

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I'm shopping for new blogs to add to my blogroll -- anyone have any suggestions? Please let me know if I'm missing any of your favorites!

FLOG

Since I have to head straight to yoga class after work tonight, I have my entire day's worth of food packed up and ready to go -- hence, a FLOG preview!

BREAKFAST:

A "black-and-blue" smoothie (plain Greek yogurt, frozen blueberries, frozen blackberries, a squirt of agave, and unsweetened almond milk)

SECOND BREAKFAST:

Cereal to munch on when I get to work

LUNCH:

Leftover tofu stir-fry over brown rice, some golden raspberries (which I will share with the kids -- they won't be able to help themselves!), and a little cup of homemade butterscotch pudding

SNACK:

Some homemade white bean hummus, and a Dr. Kracker flatbread, (and a few saltines, to use up the extra hummus!)

NOT PICTURED:
soy chai latte from Mississippi Market :)

DINNER:

Salad of mixed baby greens, apple, fennel, walnuts, homemade balsamic vinaigrette, and bleu cheese.

Enjoy your Monday!

dal on a rainy night

We're having kind of gross weather in the Twin Cities today -- grey, drizzly, rainy, and cool -- in the 40s. Don't get me wrong . . . I'm delighted that it's not SNOWING, but still, it's been kind of a blah day. I did force myself out and run some errands today, but have been home since about 3:00, twiddling my thumbs and wondering what to do to occupy myself! Now, I caught up on my reading for yoga class, did a load of laundry, talked to a friend on the phone . . . and then decided a medium-scale cooking project was in order. :)

I have mountains and mountains of "staples" on hand right now, and I'm trying very hard not to buy new stuff, and just use up what I have. (Produce and cold items like tofu, cheese, and eggs are still requirements, and coffee is always a must, but in general, I'm trying to avoid adding more rice, more lentils, more dry goods to my already packed cupboards!) My freezer is also pretty loaded, so anything I can pull out of there and incorporate into a meal is a bonus, too!

Looking around, my jar of red lentils caught my eye . . . and I remembered I had frozen samosas left! Dal on a rainy night it was:

Spinach and tomato dal, (I loosely follow the recipe in Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, although I add WAY more spices than they call for,) over brown Basmati rice, with some samosas and mint chutney on the side. Mmmmmmmmm!

I really didn't NEED to buy brown Basmati rice, since I have the hugest sack of white Basmati rice in the closet, but I feel like I haven't been doing so well with the whole grains lately, so I picked some up today. Silly me. :)

this week's haul

I haven't posted my weekly grocery shop in a while, have I? Lately, I have been "grabbing when I can" -- dashing to the Asian grocery store or Mississippi Market during my break, picking up a few things at Target on my way home, popping into the Wedge for a few essentials sometime over the weekend, etc. This week, however, I returned to my beloved Wedge for my week's haul. The loot:



BREAD:
Rudi's organic 7-Grain Flax bread

BULK:
organic walnuts
Equal Exchange breakfast blend coffee
organic brown basmati rice

CHEESE:
local blue
local habanero jack

DELI:
deluxe burrito (not pictured . . . consumed immediately!)

FROZEN:
local, organic orange juice concentrate
organic mangoes
blueberries (on sale!)
Marion blackberries (on sale!)

GENERAL MERCH:
Preserve razor refills

PACKAGED GROCERY:
organic dark brown sugar
organic refried black beans
harvest whole wheat crackers
Dr. Kracker flatbreads

PRODUCE:
organic bananas
organic pink lady apples
organic avocadoes
organic CaraCara oranges
organic red bartlett pears
organic rainbow chard
organic fennel
organic spinach
organic mixed baby greens
organic Yukon Gold potatoes
local, hydroponic tomatoes
golden raspberries

REFRIGERATED GROCERY:
plain Greek yogurt
local, organic eggs

I might try and start a FLOG tomorrow, even just for one week. We shall see. :)

Saturday night supper

Even though I haven't had much of an appetite lately, (stress, ya know,) I am going to start forcing myself back into my kitchen, preparing healthy meals for myself as much as I can. I managed a gorgeous, healthy, tasty dinner for myself tonight!

Red beans and rice, (using the "Messy Rice" recipe from Veganomicon, adding a chipotle Field Roast sausage and a can of small red beans,) a few leaves of leftover chard, sauteed in garlic and finished with a little lemon juice, and a fig-balsamic marinaded portobello mushroom. Yum! The chipotle sausage is pleasantly spicy, and adding it, with the beans, to the rice recipe made one delicious entree! (With plenty of leftovers. We'll see how well I do with those!!?!?!) The mushrooms are fantastic, of course, and I must confess . . . I think I prefer chard over kale, at least in cooked form. (Gasp! I know!)

Dessert was delightful, too:

Homemade butterscotch pudding! Mmmmmmmm. My coteacher mentioned something about butterscotch pudding the other day, and I've been craving some ever since. I used almond milk in place of regular/dairy milk, and the pudding is a little thinner than usual, but still delicious!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, folks!

bless you, stir fry.

My general rule of thumb at the Asian grocery store is, if I'm sitting there looking at 89 cents a package water-packed tofu, when in doubt, buy an extra package! The tofu is always so fresh, the "use-by" date is always at least a month from the day I'm purchasing it, and really, you never know when you are going to need it!

Like tonight . . . I had planned over a week ago on making a kale and "sausage" soup with white beans, tomatoes, and potatoes. Like Ali said not too long ago -- if I have to face another bowl of soup this winter, I might just throw it at the wall in protest!

So, I decided to re-purpose those ingredients (sausage and kale) in a different way, but found I was missing some of the ingredients for my "new" idea. :) Good thing I work four blocks away from Mississippi Market! BUT . . . what to feed myself tonight?

When in doubt, press that emergency package of tofu, clean out the fridge, and make a stir-fry!

Bless you, stir fry, you saved my dinner! Who needs another friggin' bowl of soup, when you can have a pile of veggies and delicious tofu coated in a spicy, salty sauce, all atop some healthy brown rice? Not me! (At least not this time of year!)

What are some of the ingredients/staples you always keep on hand? I gotta say, that backup package of tofu has saved my ass so many times . . . !!

two weekend meals

I managed to get a little cooking done this weekend! Woo!

First, I made this gorgeous multi-bean soup:

I loosely followed a recipe from Cook's Illustrated for this one, but made a few changes to make it vegetarian. I still have a stash of "calico beans" that I bought in the co-op in Grand Marais last summer, so they worked perfectly for this dish. I also used up the leftover vegetarian ham that I bought to make "Green Eggs and Ham" with the kids last week -- woo! I love repurposing leftovers. Anyhow, the soup was fantastic! Rich and beany. Reminded me of regular ol' ham and bean soup, but with more veggies. Yum! Alongside, I had a slice of Honey Oat Quick Bread, which was delicious, too!

And, a wonderful Thai curry:

I popped in to the Asian grocery store late last week, and grabbed some tofu, coconut milk, and veggies . . . which resulted in a delicious Thai curry, thanks to the huge variety of curry pastes I have on hand. :) I have been trying to use up the huge stash of dry goods I have at my house right now, so I cooked up some Bhutanese red rice to serve the curry over -- fantastic! I love the rice's beautiful color, and that it only takes 20 minutes to make!

Ugh . . . can't believe it's Monday already. That weekend flew by! (Probably because we lost that hour due to Daylight Savings, right?) ;)

Mardi Gras!

Helloooooo Fat Tuesday! Any of you folks out there that took French in high school probably feel the same as I . . . Mardi Gras = crepe day! I don't get so much into the whole party your brains out/wear colorful necklaces/eat red beans and rice part of Mardi Gras, but I can always get behind an excuse to make crepes!

Well . . . after making crepes with the kids for snack today, I still hadn't had enough crepe action for the day. Enter, dinner:

(There's some provolone and asparagus hiding in each . . .)

And dessert!

(Homemade raspberry jam and powdered sugar this time!)

Um, is there such a thing as a "butter coma?" I might be in one. The kitchen is a complete mess, but all I want to do right now is go to sleep! Hm. Conundrum.

crap news

Hey blog friends,

Just wanted to share some crap news from today.

Dan and I have been having problems in our relationship lately, and have not been living together since January. Today, I decided to officially break the relationship off, at least for the time being. The door is still open for us, but I'm not sure what will happen from here on out. I won't go into detail, but I did want to explain why his name won't be popping up any more, at least for the time being.

I will continue to blog, though, because I still love to cook! It's been a while since I've been cooking for myself . . . this is going to be an adjustment, for sure. (In more ways than one!)

See you soon, when I finally get through the piles of cheesy leftovers in my fridge!

pre-church breakfast

Typically, Sunday mornings are a mad rush out the door for me -- and I'm not very good about getting a decent amount of food in my belly pre-church. (I can't tell you how many times I've dashed away, cluthing a slice of bread or an apple. The horror!) No wonder I'm so hungry by the time church is over! :)

Today, however, I woke up earlier than I usually do, and had time to make myself something to sustain me through all of that singing and listening -- French toast!

I had a partial loaf of VERY old homemade bread that was either going to be eaten or tossed today -- I decided to soak it in a simple egg/milk/agave/Penzey's Baking spice custard while I drank my coffee, fried it up in a little butter (gasp!) and drizzled it with syrup. A simple, thrown-together fruit salad on the side complimented things nicely, and I am now full and happy, enjoying my second cup of coffee (double gasp!)

This coffee better kick in quick, because I'm starting to feel like I could go back to bed. Sigh. Sometimes leaving the house in the morning is so hard, isn't it?

a beautiful thing

Melty, toasty cheese is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

I picked up the March issue of Food Network Magazine not too long ago, and although I was sorely disappointed in the magazine overall, (the articles, and I use that term liberally, were 3/4 of a page at most, and the magazine was chock-full of adds, glossy photos of personalities, and plenty of heavy, meaty food,) there was one page I ripped out -- a primer for building your own baked pasta dish. I boiled up a pound of rigatoni, tossed it with browned Field Roast sausages, spinach, kalamata olives, artichokes, their "herb sauce," provolone, and parmesan, and topped with more cheese.

Delicious:

I ended up splitting the recipe into two smaller baking dishes, freezing one for later enjoyment. (I decided to do this mostly because my larger baking dish is still full of barley and cheese. It's been a cheesy week!)

I wonder why I'm craving heavy, cheesy casseroles lately? (Usually I prefer lighter fare!) Oh well -- I should just go with it, right? :)

stress = nesting?

I was reading some article in the Oprah magazine this afternoon, and there was a bit about how men and women handle stress differently. Men release cortisol and testosterone, which are the "fight or flight" hormones, and women do, too -- but we also release another hormone, (I forget the name, and I'm too lazy to look it up -- sorry!) which they call the "nesting" hormone. The article said something like, "men respond 'fight, or flight!' while women respond, 'fight or flight - but is everyone wearing a warm sweater?'"

This is too true, isn't it? The article went on to explain that women often respond to stress by cleaning, re-decorating, cooking, shopping/stocking up on essentials, etc. I can't tell you how many times I've managed stress with a baking project! And I remember listening to one of my friends this summer who, after breaking up with her boyfriend, gut-cleaned her entire apartment top to bottom, went through all of her stuff and made a big purge to the Goodwill, and re-arranged her furniture.

It's been another stressful weekend for me. I respond with pumpkin cinnamon rolls!

Mmmmmmmmmm! Unfortunately, stress also zaps my appetite, so if you happen within 100 yards of my apartment, please stop up for a cinnamon roll! :)

I also gut-cleaned the kitchen this afternoon, and ran a TON of errands today. I'm pooped! If I find myself with a burst of energy later this afternoon, I might make something awesome for dinner . . . if not, it's leftovers, all the way!

In unrelated stuff, I saw a bit about Joe Wirtheim in Martha Stewart Living . . . and can I just say, I want one of EVERYTHING in his Etsy shop? Please? Especially the "Eat Real Food" poster?

What do you get when . . .

. . . you take a big pile of whole grains and veggies, cover them in a gorgeous cheesy bechamel, and then bake the whole thing in the oven?

DINNER! Rachel Ray's recipe for Tex Mex Barley Bake caught my eye not too long ago, and I threw it together for dinner last night.

To start, let's just say that I wasn't sure about this recipe . . . barley? In a cheese sauce? With sugar snap peas? Yeah. It seemed too weird to be good. So I swapped out the sugar snap peas for a couple of chopped bell peppers, and I think this was a good choice. I think the snap peas would have gotten overcooked in the casserole, and the bell peppers fit better with the Tex Mex theme, in my opinion. Eating more barley has been a goal of late, though, so I left that alone, especially since that was what originally caught my eye about the recipe. And cheese? Well, I like cheese. :) (A lot!)

Other things I did? I cooked the barley up ahead of time so I could get the casserole into the oven much more quickly last night, and I also didn't bother pre-sauteing any of the veggies -- just threw everything in a big bowl, combined it with the cheese sauce, and baked away! Simple enough, right? (P.S. I drained a can of diced tomatoes, instead of using fresh ones -- just seemed to make sense, given the season.)

Result? This was FANTASTIC!!!!! I was shocked by how beautifully the barley translated to a cheesy casserole, and Dan loved the crunchy, cheese-n-chips topping. We enjoyed this for dinner last night and for lunches today, and there's still plenty left for at least one more meal for us. (This reheated beautifully, too, which has not been my experience with most cheese-sauce based things.)

What pleasant surprises have you discovered lately? Unusual ingredients that went well together that you wouldn't expect? Recipes that you weren't sure about that were a huge hit? Do tell!

And, happy Friday night to all!

Sunday night soup

Here's a delicious, simple little meal I made for dinner on Sunday night:

Asparagus Potato Soup, from Cooking Light, with grilled swiss cheese sandwiches on the side. This meal could have been even better if I had remembered to pick up a tomato to go on the grilled cheese, but as is, it was pretty lovely! The soup, (prepared with plain yogurt and plain milk, since adding vanilla and all of that sugar to a savory soup just sounded WEIRD to me,) was light, tasty, and satisfying, and has made nice lunches this week, too. :)

Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of the asparagus from last spring that's still in my freezer! :) Any suggestions??

basic chili

I tend to overload my chili with too many ingredients, sometimes -- too many veggies, too many different kinds of beans, cooked grains, TVP, etc. Sometimes this can be too much of a good thing . . . once when I put a bunch of kale in chili, Dan commented, "this tastes really healthy." Uh-oh . . . in my book, healthy food shouldn't "taste healthy," know what I mean?

So, when I set out to make some chili last weekend, I chose NOT to use a recipe -- mostly because many of my chili recipes are complicated enough, without my temptation to add extra things. :) My goals with this chili were as follows:
1. To use up an extra red bell pepper that was starting to get a little "wilty" in my produce drawer
2. To have a basic, "beans-and-tomatoes" flavor

Short story long, I succeeded:

As I was digging around looking for that past-its-prime bell pepper, I found five cremini mushrooms that needed to be used up, so I decided to mince those and toss 'em in, too. (I can't EVER leave well enough alone, can I?) But this addition turned out to be a VERY good thing, because the minced mushrooms mocked ground meat in an almost eerie way -- and from now on, I will add minced mushrooms to my chili!

Here's the recipe:

Saute in a splash of olive or canola oil:
1 cup finely-chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
up to 1 cup of minced cremini or white button mushrooms (I'm guessing a food processor would make quick work of mincing mushrooms . . . I just don't have one)

Add, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20+ minutes:
4 cups cooked beans (I used half black, half kidney)
28 ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with liquid
about 1/3 can water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon veggie broth base
2 tablespoons hot sauce (whatever you like best will work fine)
2 tablespoons tomato paste

I have been eating this almost all week long, topped with a little monterey jack cheese and scooped up with copious amounts of tortilla chips. :) A yummy, filling lunch!

Sometimes simpler really is better. :)

organization for the tea-obsessed

As many of you have read, I recently purchased a load of new teas . . . and subsequently, have long outgrown what used to be my "tea cupboard." Now, keep in mind that I could fit about 12 boxes of tea in my old cupboard, plus a couple of different honeys and a small tin of sugar. Initially, I decided to leave some of my new teas unopened for a while, until I used up some of what was in the cupboard. Today, however, I had a total "a-HA!" moment, and solved my tea storage dilemma:

Yes . . . that is a cheap plastic over-the-door shoe organizer, holding my entire tea collection! Explain to me WHY I have never thought of this before? Each box of tea fits perfectly into its own little pouch, I can see everything I have and can organize it by brand/type, (nighttime teas, fruity teas, spicy teas, teas for sickness, etc.), I am using previously un-used space, (which is always a bonus in a 550 square foot apartment!) AND I freed up an entire kitchen cupboard!

Who knew $7.75 could make a girl so damn happy. :)

Nicoise, anyone?

Having a few steamed potatoes leftover from our Valentine's Day fondue instantly made me think about making salade Nicoise! Isn't it funny how certain things can trigger other things? Anyhow, I made them!

Romaine topped with hard-boiled egg, kalamata olives, steamed green beans, seasoned tempeh, steamed potatoes, and cherry tomatoes, all topped with a homemade vinaigrette. I would have included capers, too, except we're out -- the horror! ;)

I realized this week that I am REALLY ready for spring. I was looking at the berries in the grocery store this week, thinking, "I can't WAIT for the farmer's market!!!!" Anyone else ready for fresh, local food?? I know I am!

new tea!

LOTS of new tea! I went a little overboard the last time friends and I ordered from Vitacost, and ended up with nine different teas in my "shopping cart." But hey, we had free shipping, so I HAD to stock up, right? :) The big boxes arrived today, and I couldn't wait to bust them open and see my purchases!

First, the Celestial Seasonings selections . . .

"Mint Magic" and "Moroccan Pomegranate Red" are both old favorites of mine that I have had trouble finding in my co-op lately; Target seems to carry a wide variety of Celestial Seasonings teas, but truthfully, I'd rather give my money to a business I care more about! I tried the "Tropic of Strawberry" earlier this afternoon, which is fruity, coconutty, and just plain delightful, and am sipping on a cup of "Honey Vanilla Chamomile" as I type. When I first saw that tea I thought, "OH . . . how soothing!" And, I was right! A nice change from plain chamomile, with a slight citrus fragrance and barely sweet taste. Mmmmm!

And now, the Yogi Teas!

"Ginger" is a must-stock at my house at all times, since you never know when you'll have a slight tummy ache, or just want a cup of spicy, gingery goodness! "Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut" is another of my favorites, and randomly, always makes me think of camping. (I think this past summer, TVH was one of the only pre-wrapped bagged teas I had on hand, so I drank a lot of it during camping trips! Funny, eh?) I'm so excited to try the red chai, "Mayan Cocoa Spice," and "Sweet Thai Delight!" I'm especially intrigued by the "butterscotch flavor" included in the Thai one. I think that's going to be my next cup! :)

Have you tried any of these teas before? What are some of your favorite herbal teas?

So, I'm going to keep drinking tea here, because it's STILL snowing, and I'm crossing my fingers school will be closed again tomorrow for Dan and I! Please please pretty please????? We just want to lay around and watch movies all day!!!! Here's hoping!

taking it to the next level

Oh, snow! There's quite a bit on the ground this morning -- and right now, I can't tell you how glad I am that I don't have a car, (don't have to worry about driving/parking in it,) don't own a house, (don't have to shovel,) and don't have to go to work today! Woo!

Since Dan didn't get home until 10:00 last night, (sigh,) we had dinner extremely late. But it was still awesome!

"Chickpea Cutlets" and "Mustard Sauce," both from VCON, with garlic-mashed potatoes and Kale Slaw! Oh kale slaw, how I love you so! I think I could eat an entire plate of this stuff as a meal, it's so good! (I also think I've realized that I prefer kale raw -- if I'm wanting cooked greens, I like chard or spinach or beet greens better. Who knew?) I also chose to bake the chickpea cutlets this time 'round, instead of glopping up my stovetop pan-frying them, and I think I prefer them this way! They get firmer and crispier in the oven, and there's no chance of having a gummy, glutinous center with the oven-baked method. Yummmmmmm!

I had to take an already awesome dinner to the next level, with an extra-awesome dessert:

Blueberry crumble with vanilla ice cream . . . easy and delicious! Even though this used up nearly all of the blueberries left in my freezer, it was totally worth it. Mmmmmmmmmmm!!

Off to enjoy my snow day! Wahoo!

SNOW DAY AGAIN!

I can't believe it . . . it's been snowing since noon, and we're expecting 15 to 20 inches before it stops snowing tomorrow! Holy macaroni! I'm extremely thankful my boss called me earlier this evening to let me know we will NOT be open tomorrow -- whew! I was a little concerned about how I was going to get to work if MetroTransit stops busses again, like they did during the last blizzard!

Anyhow . . . best thing to do when it's pouring snow outside? BAKE!

Delicious, comforting oatmeal cookies, loaded with walnuts and dried cranberries. Yum yum yum! I sent Dan off to the recording studio today with a supply of these . . . I hope they were well received! (And I hope he can get home from St. Paul in one piece!)

UPDATE: I forgot to post the cookie recipe -- sorry! Here it is!

This is a pretty basic recipe, but just goes to show how a few high-quality ingredients can combine to create something other-worldly!

Cream together:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar

Beat in until smooth:
2 eggs

Combine, then stir in to butter mixture:
2 cups regular rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Cool on wire racks, and enjoy!

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I have a wonderful dinner planned for later, whenever Dan's able to roll in, and something else baking away in the oven! Later!

what I've learned from studio yoga

I don't know whether I've really blogged much about my first experiences with studio yoga this year, but I just wrapped up a six-week series today that was titled "Yoga for Back Health."

In case you didn't know, I've had chronic back pain most of my adult life, and started seeing a chiropractor in 2007 to help. After a lengthy "healing" process with the chiro, some flare-ups here and there, and a smattering of yoga done at home to try and keep things loose and aligned, I'm feeling like I'm at a point where I'm pretty much pain-free most days. Weather changes, stress, and doing silly things like carrying three loads of laundry up and down the back stairs at once will cause stiffness and soreness, but overall, I'm feeling pretty good!

SO . . . after that lengthy ramble . . . now you know why I was ready to try a yoga class that focused entirely on keeping my back healthy, strong, and flexible. This also happened to be my first ever studio yoga experience, and it was SUCH a positive one! Let me first wax poetic about the studio I chose . . .

I have been attending One Yoga, a nonprofit yoga studio on 26th and Lyndale. (They used to be located across the street from the Wedge, for you locals that might have seen the studio signs before.) What do I love about this organization?
~ Both studios are gorgeous, calming, and cheerful. I'm partial to the "sky studio," but I think that's just because it gets better light. And I like the color blue.
~ They have complimentary tea available at all times.
~ They are incredibly environmentally-responsible, including having low-flush toilets! (Seriously, they have two buttons on the top, and less water is used for just pee.)
~ The organization offers a sliding fee scale to its students, based on income.
~ Teachers do outreach into the community, including providing free yoga classes for staff and clients of other local nonprofits, and offering free yoga classes for prisoners.
~ Students can sign up to volunteer in exchange for free yoga classes!
~ Mats and props are available to borrow during class, so students don't have to lug around their own equipment (unless they want to.)

After wrapping up this first session, and being several classes into the philosophy class I also signed up for, (we're reading the Bhagavad Gita -- in English, thankfully!), I've learned quite a bit about myself already!
~ If I sign up and pay for yoga in advance, I go! I'm not so good about doing yoga at home, (I always seem to be too tired and/or have excuses in other things I could be doing,) but somehow, having to leave the house to go do yoga is easier! Who knew?
~ I have EXTREMELY tight hamstrings. Like, freakishly tight. This is common in people with back problems, I guess.
~ My torso is slightly longer than my legs. This is really odd to me, since I always thought it was the other way around!
~ I have super-weak arms. Like, floppy-wet-spaghetti-weak. Bianca, my back health teacher, taught me dolphin pose today, which will help me strengthen my arms. I am also supposed to do lots of downward facing dog.
~ My core is stronger than I thought.
~ My general walking/standing posture isn't as bad as I thought, although it could still use some work. :)
~ I am surprised in my level of openness when it comes to meditation. I had an exciting experience in yoga nidra a couple of weeks ago -- I felt like energy was pulsing out from a circle in the middle of my forehead! Neat.
~ Despite being very open to meditation, silly things pop into my head sometimes; for example, "wouldn't it be funny if the fire alarm went off right now?" Good gracious!

So, to put a long story short, let's just say . . . I'll be BACK! I'm considering purchasing a monthly pass and frequenting a couple drop-in classes starting in March, to see how that goes.

Have you done any studio yoga? What have your opininons/experiences been?

belated Valentine's dinner

Due to band practice, Dan and I ended up celebrating Valentine's Day on Tuesday night instead, with brie fondue!

We had homemade baguette, apple slices, steamed broccoli, cremini mushrooms, and steamed potatoes for dipping, and let's just say this meal was a hit . . . Dan ate so much cheese he had to take a little pepto before bed! :)

Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, whether or not yours included fondue!

Happy Valentine's Day!

In honor of the holiday, I made some cutesie cookies yesterday:

I am taking a few to work today for the kidlets as part of our Valentine's Day celebration, (we're also having pajama day!), and the rest will go to church choir practice on Wednesday . . . it's my turn to take treats for our break. I'm thinking about throwing together a pan of brownies too, since I didn't get quite as many cookies as I think 50 or so hungry singers need. :)

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Although I didn't get quite as much cooking done this weekend as I would have liked, I did manage a couple of wonderful, veggie-full meals!

"Indonesian Sweet Potato and Cabbage Soup," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers:

Seriously, this is one of my favorite cookbooks EVER -- the recipes are all so simple, but so dang flavorful! This is a nice change of pace from the usual bean soups, a tasty way to use up half a head of leftover cabbage, and tastes like it's simmered all day, even though it's ready in a half-hour! Mmmmmmm.

And here's a Vegetarian Taco Salad:

I'm certain that adding sour cream (well, sour "lean,") guacamole, and traditional tortilla chips to this otherwise healthy recipe destroys the nutritional profile a bit, but I don't care! This salad is SOOOOOOOOOOOO good -- truly, there's something "magic" in this recipe that just hits the spot every time. I'm so excited to have leftovers for lunch today. :) (And probably tomorrow, too!)

Hope you will have a fun and chocolate-filled Valentine's Day! Dan and I aren't doing anything today since he has band practice, but we will probably have a special dinner tomorrow night (fondue!! Woo!)

Saturday morning project

Stress, at least for me, means that I don't sleep much. I know that I will eventually get back to a place where I'm sleeping 8+ hours a night, but for now, I just don't think that's going to happen. I choose to look on the positive -- waking up early in the morning just means I have more time to work on projects, like making homemade instant oatmeal packets, right? :)



Inspired by this post from Crystal at Cafe Cyan, I picked up a few key ingredients earlier this week, (instant oats, maple sugar, and snack-sized ziploc baggies,) and had plenty of fun being an "oatmeal chef" this morning. :) I ended up with nine packets total, using about 3 1/4 cups instant oats. It was kind of fun, digging through my container full of different bags of dried fruits, assembling the packets and choosing different ingredients that I thought would "go" together. I thought briefly about labelling the packets, but then decided having a "surprise" might just be more fun. (And also qualify as the "lazy person's" approach.)

I did make a few subtle adjustments to her recipe, including omitting the protein powder (since I didn't have any on hand,) and I also reduced the sugar in each packet to two teaspoons. I know I'd LOVE to have a full tablespoon of sugar in my oatmeal, (and I'm sure there's WAY more than that in pre-packaged stuff from the grocery store,) but I also know I don't need it. :) Two teaspoons seemed like a decent compromise!

Weirdly, I discovered that I had purchased dried cherries WITH PITS! What the hell? I didn't know such a thing existed? I ended up using cherries in just one packet, meaning I only had to pit 2 tablespoons of cherries. I ended up just sort of peeling the fruit off the pit with my fingernail . . . messy, but it worked. WHAT should I do with the rest of the cherries? I can't see myself wanting to pit these, for some reason -- usually I'm fine with fussy kitchen projects, but this is a bit over the top. I might try and just snack on them out of hand, but that seems like a lot of work, too. Waa! Suggestions?

cupcakes, stress, and FLOGging

Whoa -- I promised cupcake photos a million years ago, eh? Here are the tasty treats I made last weekend:

Dark chocolate cupcake, topped with a simple coconut buttercream. Nothing too fancy, but sweet, moist, and delicious! Yum!

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I think I have hinted at the level of stress I've been under this year, and I'm starting to see my stress reflected in my diet -- I have been eating way too much processed food, (even though it's mostly been decent processed food,) "junk" food at work, and have also fallen prey to eating out far too many times. I haven't cooked a single thing this week, and have been eating mostly salads, sandwiches, cold cereal, and quesadillas. The horror!

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Why? We don't have much going on, and I will actually have time to COOK! I'm looking forward to making a few nice meals for Dan and I, (including a celebratory pre-Valentine's Day meal,) some cookies to take to work for the kids (for our Valentine's Day celebration,) and homemade instant oatmeal packets. (More on that in a future post!) I'm excited to get my hands (and teeth!) on some gorgeous veggies, healthy whole grains, and quality proteins.

I'm considering starting to FLOG (i.e., "food log") on a daily basis, just to get back on track a bit -- but I'd love input. Have you ever FLOGged? Do you read others' blogs who do? Do you find it interesting, or monotonous?

It's nearly Friday . . . wahoo!

sandwiches and a salad

Normally, I'm not much of a sandwich girl, but I must have been craving 'em today, because I've had two!

I made myself a fried egg sandwich for breakfast . . .

(I also added some pepper jack and local microgreens)

And a hard-boiled egg, "Garden of Vegan" tapenade, cucumber, and microgreens sandwich for dinner:

(The tapenade recipe is from the Tassajara cookbook Lunches, Picnics, and Appetizers.)

All of the sandwich action was interrupted by a salad at lunchtime:

More caesar, but topped with marinated, cast-iron browned tempeh. MMMMMMM!

I made cupcakes tonight, too, but haven't gotten a decent picture. I'll try again in the morning when the light is better!

30 Healthiest Foods

I have been seeing and hearing quite a bit about a recent article from Real Simple -- The 30 Healthiest Foods. Have you read this article? What do you think?

There are some foods suggested in the article that I probably won't be including in my diet any time soon (chicken breasts, sardines, salmon, skim milk,) others that I already eat a lot of (almonds, black beans, broccoli, olive oil, mushrooms, oranges, whole-grain pasta,) and still others that I know I don't pay enough attention to (barley, chard, eggs, kale, lentils, pumpkin, etc.)

How do you feel your diet stacks up to these recommendations? What might you consider changing?

(Personally, I think anyone who tells me to eat more avocadoes makes a lot of sense! :) Yum yum yum avocadoes!)

a very satisfying dinner

I managed to slip out of work a few minutes early tonight, which means I caught a slightly earlier bus and got home about fifteen minutes earlier than usual -- wahoo! Dan had band practice tonight, so I used my extra time to get a few things done in the kitchen, and fix us a delicious Friday night meal!

The first course . . .

Whole-wheat spaghetti topped with homemade marinara and "Nate's Meatless Meatballs." I'm not big on processed foods in general, but we REALLY like these. They are kind of expensive, so I don't really buy them, unless there's a coupon in the co-op circular. (Which reminds me . . . I never got my circular in the mail from the Wedge! I grabbed one at Mississippi Market during my break, though, so I guess I didn't miss out!)

And, the second course . . .

Caesar salad! With homemade dressing! I used the recipe from Veganomicon, (which is AMAZING, by the way,) and then promptly un-veganized it by adding some shaved parmesan and croutons. This was SOOOOOOOOO good, and definitely a big treat for us! Yum yum yum.

I also marinaded some tempeh tonight, to fry up and go on more caesar salad to turn it into work lunches for me this week. Mmmm! Have you ever tried the "Seasoned Tempeh" from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home? It is seriously my favorite tempeh marinade ever, so flavorful yet basic, it seems to go with just about everything. Every cook who likes tempeh should have this recipe in his/her repertoire! Go find the cookbook at a bookstore and jot down the ingredients on the back of a reciept or something . . . be sneaky and enjoy tempeh!

HAPPY WEEKEND! WAHOO!

odds-n-ends stir fry

Last night's dinner was truly an exercise in using up odds-n-ends -- 3/4 of a package of leftover tofu, some broccoli and green onions, and just about every other leftover veggie I had lingering in the fridge, including red onion, ginger, garlic, cabbage, white button and shiitake mushrooms, celery, carrots, and red bell pepper!



Between stir-fry and beans and rice, it has been a week of brown rice for me.

I made my sauce from scratch, too -- here's the recipe:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp chili-garlic sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

I just combined everything, and then added it to the wok at the last second, folding everything together until the sauce thickened and coated the veggies nicely. It didn't seem spicy at first, but it "caught up" with me halfway through the meal. I don't really like commercial stir-fry sauces, since they always seem too sweet and/or too salty for my tastebuds, so I have been playing around with making my own. This one was a super-success! I think I will keep the sticky note I jotted the ingredients on next to the scrap of paper I have written my homemade pasta sauce variations. :) More stir-fry in the future!