Tag Archives: Health

Quinoa and Black Beans on Lemony Kale with a Tangy Spice Sauce

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Holey Moley it’s hot today!   Luckily, the apartment I’m living in this summer is very well ventilated!  It’s always about 15 degrees cooler than my friend’s apartment across the street.  But enough about the weather… Lunch… Remember the three bunches of kale in my CSA this week?

I ate an entire bunch for lunch!

Quinoa and Black Beans on Lemony Kale with a Tangy Spice Sauce

1 tsp olive oil
1 bunch of Kale, washed, stemmed and chopped
1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
1 cup cooked black beans (I boiled mine with an entire onion, a bunch of cilantro and garlic)
1 cup cooked quinoa (boiled with onion powder and garlic powder, or cooked with vegetable broth)
Tangy Spice Sauce (recipe below)

Heat oil in a pan.  Add kale and garlic.  Sautee for a minute.  Add lemon juice, salt and a pepper and sautee for another minute or two.  Serve kale on a plate, top with quinoa and black beans.  Drizzle with tangy spice sauce and enjoy!  Serves  2-3.

Tangy Spice Sauce

1/4 cup greek yogurt
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp paprika
few shakes of cayenne (optional)
Pepper to taste

Just stir it all together!

Sounds like a weird combination right?  But it worked!  Pretty tasty and pretty healthy!

In other news, guess what arrived in the mail yesterday!!

A 50mm f/1.8 lens!!

Woo!  I’ve been taking pictures of random things all day but mostly of my toes and basil.  I’m going to need to find a better subject because my toes aren’t cute and my basil will probably get eaten soon.

Lastly, Sara and I made donut holes using Smitten Kitchen’s recipe, except we were our usual selves  and added cinnamon and cayenne to both the dough and the glaze.  Highly recommended.

Yes, they were deep fried.  That was a first for me.   I won’t lie.  I’m not sure I want to do that again…

Have you ever deep fried something?  What was the last thing you deep fried?

Curried Kale with Lentils and Mango

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Not a whole lot to report over here.  So I’ll just shut up and give you a recipe for tonight’s dinner creation.

Curried Kale with Lentils and Mango

1/2 cup of lentils, dry
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 onion thinly sliced
1 bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup chopped mango chunks

Boil lentils for about 20-25 minutes, until tender.

Heat oil in a big pot (since the kale is so voluminous, it’ll be easier to prevent a mess if you use a pot).  Add onions and shallots and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, kale, salt, pepper  and curry powder.  Cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add lentils and lemon juice, continue to cook until kale is wilted (don’t over cook the kale.  It should still be bright green).  Lastly stir in mango chunks.  Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side.

Fast, healthy and delicious.  My kind of meal (especially when I’m starving).

I have a ton of lentils (among many other things… more on that later…) my friend, Rhoda, left me since she’s moving to Africa!  Good thing they’re delicious!

Any recipe suggestions for lentils, garbanzo beans, rice, or split peas?

Apple-Rhubarb Crisp

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This morning I woke up to a cute e-mail from my friend and future apartment mate, Anna.  She read yesterday’s post on rhubarb and gave me some cooking tips.  The end of her e-mail made me laugh:

It’s high in fiber, and is a good GI tract cleanser – I forget what its’ called but it is good for your colon etc. :)

Okay enough / TMI on rhubarb, hope you’re doing well!

Good to know since we’re all into health! Too cute Anna!

Anyway, little did she know I had made my first rhubarb creation ever the night before!

Apple-Rhubarb Crisp

adapted from Epicurious Apple-Rhubarb Crisp

For Filling:
3 cups peeled and chopped apples (about 3 or 4 apples)
3 cups chopped rhubarb (4 stalks)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp flour

For Topping:

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
6 tablespoons of butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (open doors and windows if it’s summer or (if you’re lucky unlike me) turn on the AC).  Combine all ingredients for filling and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Next make the topping.  Get your fingers nice and dirty by breaking up the butter with your fingers.

Top apple rhubarb mixture with sugar/oat/flour topping.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Once it’s golden and delicious, let it sit for about half an hour.

While you wait for it to bake and cool, hang out with a friend/fellow cook and paint your toes (or something).

Then serve and enjoy the tart, sweet treat!

I’m going to go ahead and say I’m a rhubarb fan!  I love the tartness!  I can’t wait to make new things with the rest of my rhubarb!

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!!

CSA

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Hi Friends!

The past few days I’ve been enjoying summer in Ithaca with some friends.  It really is quite lovely here in summer (at some point I’ll take pictures and share).

This morning I woke up and walked with my friend, Sara, to the farmer’s market.

The exciting thing for the day was that today was the first pick up day for my CSA!

CSA stands for community support agriculture.  They’re an easy way to eat locally and often organically. Basically you buy a “share” which allows you to get a “box” (in my case a bag)

of vegetables (and sometimes fruit) each week.  If you’re curious about getting a CSA share in your area click here.

The farm I chose, Early Morning Farm, allows you to “shop” so you basically take as much as you need.  I got 2 bunches of lettuce, some turnips and a bunch of rhubarb (I skipped the radishes since I’m not a fan).

I’ve never tried rhubarb before!  I’m excited to give it a whirl.  You’ll probably see it here for the next few days.  But before that I had to use my lettuce to make lunch

Went well with some multigrain sourdough I got at the farmer’s market too!

Well I’m off to read for fun!  I’m reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, loving it so far.

Recommend any summer reading books?

Peruvian Ceviche

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Ready for a super simple, super delicious fish recipe?

Here’s another recipe from my sister and her multi-cultural friends: Peruvian Ceviche. Apparently in Peru (according to my sister’s Peruvian friends), this is commonly eaten for breakfast!

If you make this, please make sure you use fresh fish!  But really you should do that anytime you eat fish.

Some of you might question the safety of this for a few reasons, but we made this for my parent’s birthday party, many people ate it and no one got sick.

Instead, everyone was so pleased, the ceviche was gone in less than 10 minutes!

Peruvian Ceviche

3 lbs raw tilapia, cut into small cubes
4 lbs of key limes (or enough juice to cover all the fish)
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 tsp yellow hot pepper paste (aji amarillo o chile guero)
1/2 tsp sazon (this is really just MSG, if it’s a huge issue for you, you can probably just use salt)
1 red onion, thinly sliced

Cut the tilapia into small bite sized pieces and place in a serving bowl with chopped celery.

This recipe requires a ton of key limes

A lemon/lime squeezer makes this a whole lot easier.  Press your key limes, you want enough juice to cover your fish completely.

Pour over fish, then mix in your yellow hot pepper paste (use more if you want it spicier) and sazon.

Lastly, top with thinly sliced red onions.  Refrigerate for half an hour and serve!

The citric acid in the limes cooks the fish!  Then you have a super quick and easy light dish!   I definitely recommend giving it a try.  My mom was apprehensive because she thought it was raw (even though it’s not) but ended up loving it!

Any foods scare you?

Tofu used to freak me out… still not a huge fan.

Switching It Up

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The past few days I’ve been in a little big of a bloggy slump.  I’ve taken pictures of things, but sadly have been unmotivated to write anything.  Perhaps because I wrote a good sized term paper or maybe my current frustrations with health food blogs.  This morning, while watching CNN on the elliptical, I heard a ridiculous news story related to food/dieting.  I started formulating a post in my head and was pretty excited to share it, but then stopped myself.

Will I offend someone?  Might this hurt a reading struggling from an eating disorder?

I don’t want either of those things to be the case.  I want this to be fun, not stressful.

So I’ve decided, at least for now, to post my healthy meals and usual fatty treats that I pawn off to my friends and stop talking about health, weight, fitness, etc.

I like food.  I’m sticking to it.

So without further delay:

Today was rainy, which meant that something warm was in order.

Black Bean “Tamale” Pie

adapted from Eggs on Sunday’s Black Bean Tamale Pie

1-3 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 cup black beans, cooked
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes with liquid
A few shakes of cinnamon
A few shakes of Cayenne
few ounces of cheese (I used 1 or 2 oz)
1 cup cornmeal
2 1/2 cups water
salt to taste
1 egg beaten
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar

In a skilled heat the oil and cook the onions and garlic for a few minutes.  Add peppers, cook for a few more minutes.  Add spices, tomatoes, beans and corn.  Bring to a boil, transfer to baking dish and sprinkle with cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, combine water, salt and cornmeal.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, keep stirring until cornmeal is thick (about 5 minutes).  Turn off heat.  Add beaten egg, baking powder and sugar.  Top the bean mixture with the cornmeal mixture and bake for about 40 minutes.

Pretty tasty.  The “tamale” part formed a weird crust that I wasn’t a fan of, but other than that it was delicious!  It sort of reminded me of the Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake that I’m obsessed with.  I bought a plantain that is taking far too long to ripen.  As soon as that puppy is black, I’m trying to conquer the Mayan Harvest Bake!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Taco Flavored Kisses

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You’re probably all too refined to watch South Park, but my lunch reminded me of that episode.

Taco Salad!  (But way healthier and probably more delicious!)

Started with:

  • Romaine (~ 3 cups)
  • Red Pepper (1/4 of a pepper)
  • Black beans (1/2 cup)
  • Cheddar Cheese (about an ounce)
  • 1 Packet of Wholly Guacamole!

Then topped it with my amazing homemade creamy salsa dressing: 1/4 cup salsa + 1 tbsp greek yogurt! That’s it!

Doesn’t look that tasty but trust me, it is!

Delicious! I considered having it again for dinner but decided I should probably vary my daily nutrient consumption (not that soup and toast was a better option… but oh well).

After lunch, I couldn’t resist a cupcake.  So I had a huge cat mug of tea with a cupcake.

Delightful!

Stress Eating:

So yesterday and today, I’ve been stress eating a bit, okay maybe more than a bit.  Honestly, I’m trying not to worry about it too much.  Everything will be turned in and done by Thursday.  I figure if I overeat a little too much these days, it’s not going to kill me.  I’m not going to let a little bit of overeating stress me out even more.  There are more important things for me to stress about right now.  I’ve realized this month that once my stress levels drop, I eat significantly less.  So the moral of the story is, sometimes stress eating happens and while I do all I can to curb it, sometimes I just have to give in, get my work done and move on to maintain my sanity.  What are your thoughts?

Guess I should get back to paper writing since I won’t be watching Lost :(

Lastly, here’s a link to a hilarious blog post from NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me where they try the KFC Double Down Sandwich. Have a great night!!

Let’s Talk About Weight

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A few days ago, Gracie, wrote a post about being “healthyfully correct,” which I thought was really interesting and got me thinking about the “healthy living” blog world.  Then a few days later, Katie wrote a post about her frustration with women complaining about their bodies.

Let me start by saying that I love healthy living blogs.  For the most part, I find them interesting and inspiring.  I’ve read them for years now.

I have one issue: I feel like I can’t talk about weight.

It’s a taboo topic.  But why?

I was looking at the big, popular blogs (you know the ones…) most of them started as weight loss blogs AND most of them started with calorie counting.  However, now they’re maintaining their weight and seem to be against calorie counting.  But what if you need to lose weight?

I was looking around, and I weigh as much now as most of those blogger weighed when they thought they were overweight (I checked we’re about the same height) and needed to (and started to) lose weight.  Really, go look at some weight loss/about pages…

I’m not trying to compare myself to others, and I don’t think I’m fat, but I’m technically overweight (by about 4 lbs… not a big deal in my opinion).  To some extent though, it’s a question of health.  Yes, you can be healthy but overweight if you exercise and eat right… BMI isn’t everything… Muscle weighs more than fat…, but to another extent I wonder if it’s an excuse to stay slightly overweight?

I’m not saying I want to start complaining about my weight or telling you all everything that’s wrong with my body.  That’s not what I’m saying. I actually like myself, and I think that’s particularly unbecoming of someone to fat talk themselves and so I avoid it in real life as well.

I guess this is an issue for me because I’ve been overweight the majority of my life.  I’m taking large… As in, I probably weighed as much in the 6th grade as I do now… I would love to say that my weight doesn’t matter to me now, but it does. In the back of my mind, there’s always the fear that if I don’t watch what I eat I’ll be severely overweight again and that’s pretty scary.

Sometimes I want to express my frustration about weight (since it is my blog after all) but I feel like I can’t because someone will get angry/offended.

Should I even be worried about this?

What’s your take on the situation?

What are some other blog taboo topics?

Feels Like Spring!

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Ahh another beautiful day here in Ithaca!

Look at that sunshine!  I know it sounds really stupid that I’m so excited about sunshine, but seriously it’s a treat here!  Flowers are blooming!

I spent the morning at the Farmer’s Market for the first time this year, since today was opening day!

I walked around and people/food watched.  Sadly, there wasn’t a whole lot of produce yet.  Mostly potatoes and carrots and such, but plenty of baked good!

Enjoyed a spinach ricotta crepe for brunch

Followed by a cup of unsweetened jasmine iced tea.  Amazing.

Played with my new friend, Koda

Isn’t she adorable!?!?  I met her yesterday on campus and ran into her at the Farmer’s Market.  I want one!

Chatted with friends

Overall had an amazing day! I’m not sure if it’s just the sunshine and warmth but I’m feeling a lot better about life.  It’s crazy how little things can really add up.

Are you having amazing weather?

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

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In the food blogging world, we’re all into the most exciting healthy, “real” foods.  A purple potato gives a sweet potato a run for its money.  A smoothie chalk full of spinach elicits a smile.  Kale is probably the most exciting things since sliced bread.  Outside the healthy food blog world, I don’t think this is particularly common…

This morning, I watched the first episode (or sneak peek, first episode premieres on Friday March 26th) of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.

I was really torn while watching this for one major reason: who is he to go into this town and tell people they need to change?  I don’t disagree that there needs to be a change, but can we really tell people that what they are doing is wrong?    I was so shocked when people in the town were so resistant to Jamie.  It made me question whether people can change.

In my field, we face similar issues all the time.  In all my classes, people spout out recommendations, and I’m always the first one to point out that you can’t change what people do.   Planners want people to live in high density areas, but I know that not everyone wants to do that.  Who am I to tell you that you can’t live in the suburbs?  Planners want people to use their car less, but I know that no everyone is going to take public transit, bike or walk. You can change people’s options, but you can’t make them do something they don’t want to do.

I value people’s right to choose how to live their lives, but obviously based on the field I’m in, I also want people to live better lives.  There’s a fine line between recommendation/suggestion and paternalism.

Is food the exception?  Should we be able to tell people that they are eating terribly because it is detrimental to their health and ultimately harming society?

Honestly, I feel like a little bit of a hypocrite saying food is the exception, but to some extent I see it as a life and death situation.  Although, I understand that for some sprawl and over use of cars is as well in terms of the environment.

Whether or not you’ve seen the show, what do you think is the best way to get people to change their eating habits?  Should we even bother?  Should we let those who choose to eat poorly (for whatever reason… economic, cultural, social, etc.) just eat what they want?  Should we be concerned about the health of others or is health a personal thing that we need not meddle in?

I’m interested to see the next episode this Friday.  It’s definitely a show that’s right up my alley.

Anyone else watch this or interested in watching this show?

Anyway, the fella is here so we’re spending some time together.  Blogging might be a little sparse this week.

Hope the weather is better where ever you are!  Have a great day!