As a teacher, my summer ends when I have to go back into the classroom. That’s today. Officially I don’t start until September 8, but as of today my carefree summer mornings are gone and will be replaced with manual labor in my poorly ventilated classroom.
Breakfast today was the usual summer special: smoothie (soymilk, berries, pomegranate juice), handful of almonds, and some chamomile mint tea.
I haven’t decided what I’ll do for lunch yet. Depending on how productive my morning is, I may come home for lunch to recharge. Workout tonight will be pilates (yes!) and I think I’ll leave it at that since I’ll be working hard in the classroom all day.
I’ll hold up my smoothie and cheers to a great new school year!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chicken, chicken salad, no mayo, quick meals, sandwiches, summer
This is arguably my favorite summer-time meal. I have always hated mayo for some reason, but I loved the flavors and idea of chicken salad – so easy and tasty you just slap it on some bread and done-ski!
This really couldn’t be any easier. I usually use left-over chicken breast or (even faster) the chicken breasts from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. I chop the chicken into small cubes (some people prefer to shred – whatever). I toss them in a bowl, chop some onions (or scallions, what ever you have on hand) for it too. The onions add that necessary crunch. Next, mix a vinaigrette of smooth dijon mustard (like Grey Poupon), red wine vinegar, and olive oil. Toss with the chicken and onions. I top it off with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and herbs de provence (you can use what ever spices you like). I toss it again then put it in the fridge. It gets even better the longer it sits melding flavors in the fridge.
I’m kind of a purist (usually just onions and chicken), but you can add lots of stuff: celery, apples, walnuts, raisins, etc… or even switch up the vinaigrette.
Regardless, it’s super-easy and delicious. It’s a great cool sangie for the summer!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Cooking Light, csa, cucumbers, desserts, granita, recipe, summer
I got 4 cucumbers from my CSA last week. I wanted to try something new and easy. I was thinking of a cold cucumber soup, but I didn’t have any dairy products – which pretty much all the recipes I found called for. So I looked to Cooking Light and found this interesting recipe for granita (and only 2 ingredients)!
A granita is a frozen dessert. Sort of like a slushie, I guess. While ice cream, and sometimes sorbet, contain dairy, a granita is just ice. The Cooking Light recipe is quite simple. First roughly chop the cucumbers. I had to de-seed mine first (see first picture). Next, toss them in a blender or food processor with a little honey to taste. Finally, pour the mixture into cheesecloth and let sit in a bowl in the fridge overnight. Note: I didn’t have cheesecloth. Instead, I put a silicone steamer insert in a bowl, put a paper towel on top, then poured the cucumber on. You can get pretty creative here.
Anyhow, once that has sat overnight, pour the mixture into a container and toss it in the freezer. You can periodically scrape it with a fork so that it does turn into some sort of ice block.
Well, maybe something went horribly wrong… but I wasn’t getting that summery delish dish I was hoping for. I think since I forgot to scrape the mixture every hour or so, it froze a bit too much for that granita consistency that makes it so good. I think I also would have added more sweetener.
I haven’t given up on trying the granita, though. Any tips?
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.
Filed under: Place, Product | Tags: ab workout, bikram, fitness, SELF magazine, summer, training, yoga
In case I haven’t mentioned it, I love summer. I’ve officially kicked off my summer this weekend, and hope to make this a great one. In the past, I’ve used the summer as an excuse to try new things (private pilates sessions, kayaking, etc.) I’ve found it’s been a great way to make summer a little extra special and treat myself to things I may not always have time to do during the year.
This summer, I have some great things planned. Each month (June, July, August) I’m going to try a new fitness program (one part at home, one part at a facility) in addition to my regular run/bike/swim. For the remainder of May and all of June, I will:
- Do ten sessions of bikram yoga at Bikram Yoga Harlem. I’ve done a handful of sessions in the past, but I’m eager to see the results that regular practice yields.
- SELF’s “Effortless Abs” workout. (See video below). I LOVE SELF magazine, but don’t always do the monthly workouts included. I think I will this summer. My goal for this one is to do 3 sessions/week – preferably in the morning before work.
I already have my programs picked out for July and August, and am very excited to get through all of them. I’ll keep you updated on how they go — AND (maybe more importantly) what kinds of results they yield at the end of each month!
Filed under: People/Person, Place, Produce, Product | Tags: Central Park, picnic, restaurant, summer, Whole Foods
Memorial Day weekend has always been my official start of summer. My friends, most of whom get “summer hours,” and I made Friday happy hours in the park a regular thing last year. It was one of my favorite parts of the summer (second only to my wedding and honeymoon, haha). Well, today marked the first Central Park picnic. We each bring our own snacks and stuff. I thought I’d review our spread this week instead of the usual restaurant.
It’s nice that there’s a Whole Foods right at the park. I biked down and stopped at WF to grab some snacks. My go-to strategy for these BYO picnics is:
- bring as many fruit/veggie-laden foods. You never know what else will be there
- bring a nice big bottle of… water. Haha, Pellegrino is my pick. It’s a little more special than tap
- a deck of cards lends itself to endless possibilities
- sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen
This was an excellent kick-off. Enjoy some of my pics below. Happy summer!
