Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 30 day shred, diet, fitness, goal setting, goals, health, nutrition, pilates, rewards, running, strength training, yoga
As I mentioned before, I view my years from September to September. I set my goals and resolutions around this time each year. Generally, rather that set nebulous goals like “lose weight” or be more thoughtful, I try to make measurable short-term (month to month) mini-goals to help me get there.
Here’s what I’m striving for this September in…
Fitness:
- Do yoga 2x/week (either at home or at the studio)
- Complete regular exercises every weekday morning (push-ups, squats, sit-ups, etc).
- Run 3x/week (2 shorter weekday runs, 1 longer weekend run)
- Strength train (either at the gym or at home with Shred) 2x/week
- Swim weekly
Health/Nutrition:
- Cook fish 1-2x/week
- Try one new recipe from “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” per week
Now, I admit, some of these I already kinda do. I already run 3x/week and I already try at least 1 recipe from HtCEV per week. I think this kind of motivates me though, and helps me develop the others into good habits too.
Whenever I set my goals like this, I also think of some rewards for my success. For example, if I keep up with all of my fitness goals, I’ll treat myself to a new, cute workout outfit after September is over. This tends to work for me.
What do you do to stay motivated?? Do you reward yourself? Set short-term goals? Let me know your thoughts!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bittman, budget, csa, granola, health, Indian, local produce, meals, menu planning, Mexican, planning, recipes, vegetarian, Vegetarian Times
Thursday evening is my CSA pick-up time. I usually come home, prep all the veggies and plan out some meals for the next week. Last night I had a dinner obligation so I couldn’t do the normal routine. So, this morning, I planned out some meals over breakfast.
Perusing How to Cook Everything Vegetarian for ideas over breakfast:
- Berry smoothie: frozen berries, vanilla soymilk, splash of pomegranate juice
- Mug of mint green tea and a glass of water
- Handful of almonds (not pictured). I eat a scant handful… about 12 almonds
This week’s CSA bounty included:
- 6 ears of corn
- bowl full of carrots
- small head of broccoli
- 2 purple peppers
- bunch of basil
- kale
- head of lettuce
Since today’s a rainy day, I’m going to stay in and cook/bake a bunch of meals for the upcoming week so I can fridge/freeze them. Meal-planning is a really great thing: it saves money, time, and can often ensure you are eating more healthy, complete meals. Once I’ve chosen a few meals, I start a grocery list. I check the cabinets to see what I already have and create a list of only the things I need. Then, I create a chart for the next week and, taking serving sizes into account, space them out over the week. Once that’s done, I’ll “fill-in-the-blanks.” I cook and menu plan for my husband and I. Since we have different tastes and nutritional needs, I generally plan separate breakfasts/lunches/snacks for us.
This is what my process may look like…
Here are the items I picked for the next week (note: since my CSA pick-up is on Thursday, I plan my weeks from Thursday to Thursday).
- Black Beans and Corn, enchilada style (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
- Cabbage and Carrot Slaw, Mexican-style (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
- Pesto
- Olive Oil Granola (New York Times)
- Aloo Palak (Vegetarian Times)
Here’s my map of the week. I’ll plug in our meals, taking into account our social schedule. For example, we’ll be at my parents’ house on Saturday and Sunday, so I don’t need to include any Saturday meals or breakfast on Sunday.
Next, I go back and fill in all the blanks. This is where I’ll include any fruits/veggies, snacks that I’ll pick up, yogurt, etc… As I add them to my chart, I’ll add them to my grocery list. Here’s the finished map:
So I’m off with my grocery list, and I’ll post on al of the recipes later today. Happy Friday!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: black beans, cooking, health, Magic Bullet, nutrition, quick meals, recipe, soup
When I’m in a pinch, or just looking to unload some leftovers, this is the meal I go to. It’s fast, easy, versatile, and delicious (not to mention very good for you). It’s an easy three-step process. It may take a whopping 5 minutes to make. Seriously.
There you have it. My black bean soup. All you need are black beans, salsa, and chicken broth in its most basic form. Add all three (no need to use more than 1/3 or so of the salsa with a whole can of beans) to a blender, food processor, or Magic Bullet (my tool of choice). Mix it up. You can eyeball it to see if you’d like it more creamy or more soupy (for more soupy just add more chicken broth). Then heat and eat. It is super tasty in this barebones form. Note: This would also work w/ veggie broth for any vegetarians out there.
On Tuesday I made this for lunch and added chopped onions and leftover shredded chicken on top. Sometimes I add milk to it, a cheddar cheese cube, or a clove of garlic before I toss it in the Bullet.
I’ve even used other bean combos… like a more Italian-style soup using white beans, garlic, onions, rosemary, and chicken broth. This version is great with some crusty bread. No matter how it’s prepared, it’s always fast tasty, and nutritious.
Are there any delicious easy combos that you’ve come up with in a pinch?
Filed under: People/Person, Produce | Tags: cucumber, health, mark bittman, no-cook meals, nutrition, recipe, vegan, vegetarian
I got a few cucumbers from last week’s CSA pick-up. I turned to How to cook Everything Vegetarian (Mark Bittman) for some suggestions. I settled on this one because I thought it seemed fresh and summery, and (more importantly) I already had all of the ingredients.
Cucumber Salad with Soy and Ginger (vegan)
from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
- 1-1.5 cucumbers (about 3)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1-inch piece of ginger, minced or grated
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
The instructions are pretty basic. Chop up the cucumbers (you may need to seed/salt them). Mix everything together and serve.
I made this dish on Friday, and let it hang out in the fridge. I sent it to work with husby on Monday. He reported back on Monday night that it had become quite pickled over those few days (I should have expected this). Despite that, he likes pickled things and thought it was very tasty. I, however, do not like pickled thing so I would eat this immediately.
I may make this dish again, but I think I’ll try other Bittman recipes with cucumbers first. I’ll also remember to take a picture next time!
Filed under: Produce | Tags: diet, easy, health, nutrition, recipe, summer, summer squash, zucchini
After a wonderful July 4th weekend (finally a few beautiful days here in NYC!), I came home very tired and in need of something easy and healthy after a weekend of picnic food.
I rounded up a bunch of leftovers for this one. Earlier this week I had sauteed some summer squash and zucchini in garlic and olive oil. I also found some whole wheat pizza dough from Whole Foods (really cheap and versatile – good to have on hand). I rolled out the whole wheat dough on cornmeal so it wouldn’t stick. I greased a casserole dish and placed the dough in the bottom. I layered the zucchini/summer squash on top, then chopped up some red peppers (I had one floating in the fridge). To round out the meal, I beat 4 eggs in a bowl and poured them on top and added sea salt and freshly-ground pepper.
I baked the dish at 350 for about 20 minutes, then added some shredded parmesan cheese and put it back in for ten more minutes. With a nice salad and some vino, this turned out to be great meal. Even better, the leftovers were delicious cold for lunch.
I’ve been very interested in sugar dependency (namely because I struggle with it). As such, I’ve been reading as much as I can about it, and trying new/different ways to combat cravings. Yesterday on the train back to New York, I was reading my mom’s Woman’s Day, when I found an article about sugar addiction.
In short, the article (“The Sugar Effect” from Volume 72, Issue 9) discussed how sugar dependency has exhibited some similar effects as drug dependency. It also shares some information about why we do (or don’t!) need certain sugars and how our body processes them. Some highlights:
- The US Dietary Guidelines allow 32 grams of sugar per 2,000 calorie/day diet. This is about the equivalent amount of sugar in 1c of sweetened cereal! This really makes me think… especially since my daily caloric intake is closer to 12-1400!
- About sugar being a legitimate addiction: “…research on rats shows that they had withdrawal symptoms, including shaking and teeth chattering, when the effects of the sugar water they’d had for nine days had been blocked.”
- Sugar, or having a sweet-tooth, may be linked to evolution: “Humans likely gravitated away from bitter foods, which might have been poisonous, toward sweet ones, which were probably safe.”
Just some food for thought… My own efforts to drop my sugar dependency have been going quite well recently… I’ll keep you updated!
It seems that every day there’s a new health claim either coming out, or an old one being refuted. What’s a person to believe? Who defines what health is? How does one measure health?
Well, there’s not really one easy answer to these questions. But certainly, as with most things, knowledge is power and the more you know about health (and your own body) the better off you are.
One’s health is determined by a number of factors including, but not limited to: diet, exercise, stress levels, family history, environmental conditions, etc. Many of these we have control over (diet, exercise, stress) and some we don’t (family history, environment).
The USDA has a newer food pyramid that is slightly more personalized than the one most of us remember from middle school health class. Although, to me, getting roughly 4.5-5 servings of fruits and veggies (recommended for me) does not seem to be a high enough recommendation. Granted, I assume that the USDA bases their recommendations on extensive research, whereas I base mine only on personal opinion, ha.
Curious, I explored food “pyramids” from other parts of the world. As our obesity rates continue to rise, I have to think something is wrong with our diet in American culture. As food for thought (sorry, pun intended), here are a few from around the world. I see a few major differences. What do you see?
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- Mediterranean Food Pyramid
Yerba what? It’s tea. And it’s awesome. Even Sara Snow thinks so.
I discovered Sara Snow and yerba mate at the same time. The clip above is from her show, which I happened to stumble upon one day. I love tea, and had never heard of this before. Lo and behold, the next time I went to Whole Foods I saw the same brand that they were hawking on the show. I’ve tried the green tea and the empowermint flavors – both are delicious.
While I can’t say it has the same effect as coffee (I’m not a coffee drinker), I can attest that it is refreshing and does make me feel alert. It’s worth a try!
I’ve been trying to kick my terrible sugar habits for some time now. I get crazy sugar cravings and can binge on a batch of cookies like a ravenous lion descending upon a wounded gazelle (ha, sorry, but true). I’ve tried a number of things to kick the habit. Clearly, none have truly worked since I’m attempting to go cold turkey again.
According to this study from Princeton, sugar dependency does exist. Studies in rats have shown symptoms common to addiction, such as withdrawal, when sugar is removed from their diet. So, at least I know I’m not crazy. This article does a great job of explaining what sugar dependency is, and what happens to our body during cravings, binges, etc.
My path to defeating sugar cravings begins getting rid of processed foods (there are soooo many – check your ingredients it’s eye-opening). I started by reading ingredients in products I eat and giving them away if they have sugar of any sugar derivatives in them. In addition, I’ll be cutting white flour and other white carbohydrates. I’ll be using natural sweeteners when needed. For example, I sweeten my plain yogurt with either fruit or wildflower honey. The idea is that I am the one who determines the amount/type of sweetener I consume.
I’ll check in next week on my progress, and I’ll start to introduce new natural sweeteners like agave nectar… In the meantime, to check for hidden sugars in your foods, you’ll find a list of alternate sugar names here.
