Tag: Health

Apple Mush

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At first it was sorta funny and ironic.  Of course I get sick the day I decide to go on a diet.

But today is day 5 of feeling like death.  I’ll spare you the details of my unfortunate symptoms.  Let’s just say I’m tired of it.

Yesterday, I ate two slices of plain toast, a kiwi, and two bottles of powerade.

Today, I made apple mush.  Apple mush is the weak/lazy lady’s version of apple sauce.

I chopped up two apples (with peel, because I have no energy to peel apples), sliced 1 banana and put them in a small pot, sprinkled them with a dash of cinnamon and added 1/2 cup of water.  Then I let it simmer for 25 minutes.  I mixed it around and broke up the pieces a bit and called it apple mush.

My body hasn’t rejected it yet, but I’m reluctant to even write that.

Hopefully these bottles of gatorade/powerade will help.  Italy has strange flavors…

Green Mango?  It just tasted really sweet, not really like mango.

Arancia Rossa is Blood Orange.  Tastes like a stronger orange flavor. Maybe more like real orange than the regular orange gatorade?

It’s been 5 days of illness now.  Cross your fingers that I’ll be better by tomorrow.  I’m tired of my apartment.  I need some human interaction.

Rough Start

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Countdown to Ibiza started yesterday.  In terms of eating less, it definitely was a success.  In terms of health, not so much.

I had some sort of flu that entailed vomiting, fever, muscle pain.

Therefore, all I ate yesterday was a kiwi.

Source: http://www.giallozafferano.it/images/prodotti/kiwi.jpg

and a cup of juice.

Not exactly what I had in mind to start off a diet but oh well.

Still had a little fever this morning so I’m going to work a little late.

So far today, I’ve had an apple.

I have no real desire to eat anything else.

This is definitely not what I had in mind…

Countdown to Ibiza: Day 18

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Italy has over saturated me with food.  Don’t get me wrong, I love food.  But I can’t do this anymore.  Not only have I gotten a little softer than I would like, I’m just plain tired of eating.

So for the next few weeks, my blog will become a diet blog.

In 18 days, I’m going to Ibiza.

You know what that means?  Bathing suit.

For the next 18 days (and hopefully beyond), I’m stepping it up.

More healthy food and more exercise.  Less carbohydrates.

I can’t wait.

My First Time in an Italian Gym

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After a desperate weekend of not feeling too great about myself, today I went and signed up for the gym.  I was so enthusiastic that after a reception where I stuffed my face with mini sandwiches, I made my way to the gym for my first work out in an Italian gym or palestra as they are called here.

I decided to start out slow after over a month of not exercising any more than simply walking.  So I did 25 minutes on a cardio machine that somewhat resembled an elliptical machine.

Now let me tell you a few things about Italian gyms, based on my first observation.

First off, you need to have a medical certificate to join.  Luckily, I could get one of those at work (they call it a medical certificate of fitness for non-competitive sports, makes me feel like weak sauce but alas I’m not competitive in sports.  So be it.).   It was sort of a waste of time.  The doctor asked me if there was anything wrong with me.  I said no and she promptly signed the form… One of the many markers of Italy’s inefficiency (not that the US isn’t either).

So with my medical certificate, I signed up.  The gym has a rule that you should bring shoes only to wear inside the gym.  I’m not sure how strict this rule is but on the first day, I figured I would follow the rules.

Shoes packed in a Zara bag, because I’m classy like that.

Then for storage… you need to bring a lock.  Italy is not like the US.  You can’t just go to Target and pick up a lock, a pair of socks, sunscreen and some peanut butter.  I had no idea where one goes to buy a lock in Rome.  Luckily, Cornell in Rome saved me and just gave me one to borrow.  They also mentioned I could have gone to a locksmith.  Who knew?

Case in point.  I now have a lock in my possession.  Hooray!

So after locking up my Zara bag that held the green flats I wore to walk to the gym, I jumped on the first familiar-ish looking machine in sight.  After fumbling with the buttons, I figured out how to enter all the information.  I was good to go.  From here, I realized three things:

  1. I am horribly out of shape.
  2. I forgot a towel.
  3. Italian men are ridiculous.

Let me elaborate on the third point.  Italians are really animated when they talk, which I appreciate.  The gesticulation carries on to the gym.  They’re also really obvious about certain things, like wearing short shorts and shamelessly checking out ladies.

I’m sure I’ll have some better observations when I made my way to the weight room tomorrow.  Wish me luck.

Olive Oil Biscuits

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Sometimes I just feel the need to bake.  Can’t help it.  It just needs to happen.

Obviously, I also had to break in my new (to me) oven!  My oven in my previous apartment was the size of an easy bake oven (okay so maybe I’m exaggerating).  This one is even smaller, and it only has ONE RACK!

For my first creation in my new mansion…

Olive Oil Biscuits

adapted from Care 2 Make a Difference

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 2 tsp of white vinegar + enough milk to make 3/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 500F.  Combine all the ingredients.  Turn dough onto a floured surface. Roll to 1/2 inch thick.  Using a biscuit cutter (or a cup like I did) but into 6 circles (or whatever shape you choose).

Bake 7-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Not gonna lie.  I ate 3 for lunch.  Not one of my finer moments but definitely healthier than eating 3 KFC biscuits, right?

I guess that should also tell you how tasty they are 🙂

Tomorrow, I’m going to Empire Farm Days for my internship.  Should be fun!  I hope I get to pet a goat or something.  Have a great night!

Food Snob

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I don’t like to consider myself a food snob.  Some people wear that card proudly.  Not me.  I like fresh, whole foods but would be willing to enjoy some Pillsbury product if someone made me something.

That being said, I’ve had a box of Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancake Mix sitting in the cupboard since August 2009.

Now this pancake mix is supposed to be on the healthier side.

The ingredients are: Whole Wheat Flour, Whole Grain Yellow Corn Meal, Buttermilk solids, Dextrose, Leavening (monocalcium phosphate, baking soda) and salt.

I’ve made pancakes and waffles numerous times, always refusing to use the mix.

Why? I’m not entirely sure.  I guess it was the food snob in me turning my nose up at the box, reassuring myself that my own combination of flour, eggs, milk and baking soda would surely be a million times better.  This morning I decided to get over that silly attitude and use the box mix to make some waffles.

Because I can never keep things simple, I added blueberries to one and a tablespoon each of unsweetened coconut and white chocolate chips to the other.  Obviously they were topped with bananas.

Tasty enough.  I like the grainy texture.

At the risk of sounding like a food snob, I like mine better.  For some reason I always think box mixes taste salty!  When I was little I hated pancakes because my mom used to make them with Bisquick (and it wouldn’t surprise me if that box of Bisquick she used was expired), and they always just tasted REALLY salty.  Then I tasted non-Bisquick pancakes and fell in love.

Oh and I used Wegman’s Butter Flavored Light Syrup.  How’s that for not being a food snob?

What do you think of pancake/waffle/box mix?  Do you use it?  Do you like it?  Is it unhealthy?

Lentil Chili over Sun Dried Tomato Cornmeal Waffles

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Ever since my friend Liz left me her waffle iron for the summer, I’ve had waffles on the brain.

It sits in the living room next to my basil plant and mini rose bush, because there’s no where in the kitchen to put it.

I basically think about waffle ideas all the time. In the shower.  On runs.  During movies.

Today was no exception.  It was kind of cold out today (low 60s), something warm and tasty was in order.

Lentil Chili

1 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 cup lentils
2 cups water or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1 smart dog (or real hot dog if you eat meat), diced, optional
1/2 bunch of kale (about 7 leaves), cleaned, stemmed and finely chopped

Heat oil in a pot.  Add onions and cook for a few minutes.  Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Add can of  tomatoes, spices, lentils, water and corn.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add kale and smart dog and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Serve over savory sun dried tomato cornmeal waffles

Sun Dried Tomato Cornmeal Waffles

1/4-1/3 sun dried tomatoes (about 10 pieces), rehydrated or packed in oil
1 cup buttermilk (or the old trickeroo 1 tbsp of vinegar + enough milk to fill up 1 cup, let sit for 10 mins)
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 egg white
3 tbsp olive oil

Blend together rehydrated sun dried tomato and milk until smooth.  Add eggs pulse.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, parmesan cheese.  Gradually pulse in dry ingredients until just combined and smooth (make sure to scrape the sides of the blender).  Pour into a hot waffle iron, bake for 3 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.  Makes 2 huge belgian waffles and probably a few regular waffles.  Enough for 4 people.

Honestly, this might be one of the best things I’ve ever made.  Sort of like a better version of corn bread and chili, right?

Who knew savory waffles could be so good!

Not only was it ridiculous quick and easy, it’s pretty healthy!  The lentil chili is vegan and all sorts of healthy (because I put kale in everything) and the waffles… well we all need a little bit of carb and fat in our life.  We especially need sun dried tomato!  You could probably blend in some spinach or kale to sneak in some more vegetables.

You can also freeze the waffles if you have leftovers then pop them in the toaster oven when you’re ready to enjoy them again!

Try it.  You won’t regret it.

Well, I’m headed to the middle of nowhere NY to do some stuff for my internship then I’m headed out of town for the weekend!

Have a great 4th of July!!

Lentils, Quinoa and Kale

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I swear the weather in Ithaca has terrible mood swings! It’s cloudy and gross out today.

The day started off with more World Cup and waffles, but I’ll spare you that.  I’m sure your tired of hearing about waffles and the World Cup (not that I’m going to stop talking about it… more on that later).  In between games, I went for a run.  It was great!  5 miles that flew by! It probably helped that it was pretty cool out.

For dinner, I decided I should probably finish up the kale I got last Saturday before it goes bad.  This ensued…

Lentil, Quinoa, Kale Sautee

1 tsp olive oil
1 shallot, sliced
1 bunch of kale, cleaned and chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup cooked lentils
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup tomato sauce (aka pasta sauce, or sautee some fresh tomatoes and herbs with the shallot if you have them instead!)
3 eggs

Heat the oil in a pan, add shallot and cook for 2 minutes.  Add kale and cook down for a few minutes.  Stir in pasta sauce, quinoa and lentils.

While kale is cooking, boil some water to poach eggs.  Once water starts boiling, slowly slide in raw eggs and poach for 3 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon.

Serve quinoa, lentil, kale mixture on a plate, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and top with poached egg, because really everything tastes better with a runny yolk.

I like this because it’s quick, easy and healthy, but also because you can easily adjust the measurements to feed as many or as few people as you need.

Not gonna lie.  I’m a little bummed the US lost today (although I’m not completely surprised).  Sort of put a damper on my night.  Although I will say I’m looking forward to tomorrow!

Germany vs England in the morning.
Mexico vs Argentina in the afternoon.

My guesses:  Germany beats England.  Argentina beats Mexico.

I hope I don’t jinx them!

What do you think?  Not that into it?

I think I might do some baking tonight since 1) I’m a little bummed and 2) it’s not that hot and 3) I really have nothing else to do!

Have a great night!

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?