Last night, my sister graduated from social work school. I’m so proud of her and know she’s going to be fantastic at whatever she decides to do. Here’s a photo of mom & dad with the grad. 
In other news, I’m glad it’s Friday. This week has been a whirlwind!
Posted in Uncategorized
…And for his next trick, chef Mario Batali, along with his wife and two teenage sons, is attempting to live on food stamps for a week in protest of potential cuts pending in Congress that could affect the 46 million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits to obtain food.
At about $31 per person per month, he’s making the $1.48 per person meal budget work by forgoing organic foods and turning to lentils, cheaper cuts of meat, and lots of peanut butter and jelly for the kids. When asked how it’s going, Batali, who is on the board of the food relief agency Food Bank for New York City, says he’s “$#&@#!! starving.”
At least he’s being honest. As described in this Washington Post article, the Food Bank for New York City issued the challenge to celebrities such as Batali and others eager to pull a publicity stunt give this ”conversation starter” a go.
While it makes me roll my eyes a bit, at least Batali’s rolling his eyes at himself a little too. He adds, “We, hopefully, aren’t pretending or being like a bunch of yuppies saying, `Oh yeah, this is how you can do it. Look, we can grind our own oats!’ We want people to think about calling and talking to their representation about cuts to the Farm Bill and the food stamp program.”
Cynic I am, I still hope Mr. Batali gets something meaningful out of this exercise.
For one of my nutrition courses a few years ago, we had to do something similar for a week and keep track of how much our food cost us. I remember it being doable but tricky. Yes, there was a lot of peanut butter involved, and a lot of homemade soup. Not that that’s is so hugely different from my typical fare (especially these days), but it was certainly a valuable learning experience.
Do you follow a particular food budget? How do you make it work for you?
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged celebrities, chef, food stamps, Mario Batali, school, SNAP, work
Another week, another Wednesday. You know what that means…another What I Ate Wednesday. As always, thanks to Jenn of Peas & Crayons for hosting the link party! Visit her site to see more WIAW from other bloggers. 
I’m someone who can always make time to eat, but for some reason, lately it’s really easy for me to get absorbed in what I’m doing and not realize I’m hungry until I’ve reached that point of no return. Any notes I attempt to write in that half-hour before lunch, I can pretty much guarantee I’ll have to revise them after. But then I eat and it’s all good. Overall, I have a lot more energy this go-around thanks to a kinder schedule. This 8-4 really works for me.
Monday was kind of a weird day but here goes…
Breakfast: Made-ahead steel-cut oats w/ apple, dried apricot, chia & flax and spices, topped with PB and applesauce 
Lunch: A pretty weak cafeteria salad. Later, I had an orange. Meh. 
Dinner: A “what’s still good in the fridge” concoction of spaghetti squash, lentils, veggies, and goat cheese. Seriously, it was like a page out of a clean-eating stoner-food cookbook. So freaking random. But delicious.
Recycled pic thanks to a camera mess-up, but you get the idea
Snack: Yogurt with cereal, banana and berries
Do you ever forget to eat? What’s the best thing you’ve had recently?
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged dietetic internship, dinner, lunch, school, vegetables, What I Ate Wednesday, work
Yesterday was lovely—I didn’t even know my aunt had a pool, but she does, and it was open, and it was so nice to sit in the sun (wearing sunscreen, of course) and dip my feet in the water. There was plenty of good food, lots to talk about, and most importantly, my mom seemed to have a good time.
me & my beautiful madre
And now it’s back to the Monday grind. I have to say, though, I actually look forward to going in every day for this rotation. That’s not to say my body doesn’t need a little fuel to get going. Making breakfast ahead of time has been a sanity-saver the past few months. This morning I got to enjoy steel cut oats with chia seeds, flax, chopped apple and lots of cinnamon, ginger and cloves, topped with apple sauce and peanut butter. Great way to start the week.
What did you have for breakfast this morning?
It’s true what they say, you know—the crystal really doesn’t fall far from the cluster. 
Happy Mothers’ Day to all the moms out there—I’m spending the day with my family in New Jersey. Last year we did a barbecue at my parents’ house and a brownie bake-off, and this year it’s lunch at my aunt’s.
The year before that, we did Mothers Day on a Saturday, though I can’t remember why. That was also the 50th anniversary of the FDA’s approval of the Pill, interestingly enough.
My mom & me in the beloved igloo, circa 1987
This year I happen to be the age my mother was when she had me, so that kind of adds a layer of WTF to this holiday. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m aware I have a biological clock, though I’m not sure what time zone it’s on anymore. I think it got set back during those twenty minutes my internship partner and I played Food Group Bingo with the manic bipolar kids. I cannot imagine being responsible for a small human at this point in my life. I mean, jeez, sometimes I look at the plants and think, “If only you could just water yourselves…” So yeah.
How are you spending Mothers’ Day?
Posted in Uncategorized
consider the source…
I’m sorry about the silly title, but I just had to go there…
This month, I have an article up about juicing on Food & Nutrition’s website. If you’re interested or even just a little curious, check it out!
I tend to be kind of a germ-phobe. Working in a hospital is, in some ways, perfect for me, since there’s always hand sanitizer or a sink just a few steps away. In fact, it’s policy to sanitize our hands before and after entering a patient’s room, so it’s kind of a relief not to stand out as the hypochondriac I am. Yes, I think there’s something to arguments that our anti-bacterial efforts are going to f*** us over in the long run, but I can’t help it. I see a Purel dispenser, and my eyes light up.
In my personal life, I’m also known to be kind of fussy about not putting my handbag on my bed or shopping bags on the kitchen counter, and I had to give up on keeping a sponge by the sink because it just led to spiraling thoughts about spreading germs. This decision came after a guy tried to be nice by doing the dishes, opting for the pink sponge on the ledge instead of the dishwasher. Was I wrong to find that weird? When he left, I took the glasses and plates out of the cabinet and threw them right into the dishwasher. Yeah…Let’s not talk any more about my dating habits.
One thing I often overlook, though, is the inside of those grocery bags themselves. Like many folks, out of the interest of generating less waste/reducing the plastic bag pile in the closet, I often carry my own cloth shopping bag when I go food shopping. However, if I buy meat or fish, I prefer to just get a plastic bag for it because I’m squeamish about raw, drippy stuff.
Naturally, this article from the Boston Globe and this article about a norovirus outbreak being linked to a reusable grocery bag got me all skeeved out by discussing the potential for cross-contamination and food-borne illness. I guess already throw my lunch bag into the wash, so what’s another piece of laundry? But wow. Ew.
Do you wash your reusable grocery bags? Do you think you’ll start?
Another week, another Wednesday. You know what that means…another What I Ate Wednesday.
As always, thanks to Jenn of Peas & Crayons for hosting the link party!
Aside from almost falling asleep while charting on the floor Monday, this week has been pretty good. I think I’ll get a lot out of this rotation. I also think I’ll be packing my lunch a lot more often—some sites have better cafeterias than others. Besides, sometimes it’s nice to change things up a bit.
Of note: I’ve been making a lot of typos lately, thanks mostly to sleep deprivation. Feel free to laugh at me, but don’t be surprised if you come back later to find an edited version. I think all my grammar skills are going to medical records or something. As long as I don’t start writing blog posts in hospital jargon I think we’re good…
“Pt reports participating in ‘What I Ate Wednesday.’ 3 meals/day plus snacks—vegetables, whole grains, eggs, fish, yogurt, etc. Alcohol in moderation…”
Since I’ve been posting mostly Mondays’ eats, here’s what Tuesday looked like this week.
Breakfast: Steel-cut oats w/ chia seeds and plum, topped with PB & fig butter 
Lunch: Packed a massaged kale salad w/ leftover falafel, roasted veggies, goat cheese and miso-tahini dressing; baba ganoush with crackers and baby carrots 
Snack: Apple w/ PB2 & pumpkin mousse (aka weird-good concoction of the moment) 
Dinner: Pumpkin grits (made in the microwave, of course) with leftover roasted veggies, scrambled egg + white (also made in microwave) and cheddar cheese 
Snacks: at writers’ group, an unpictured drink and cookie; later, yogurt w/ cocoa powder and berries 
Yes, I know I use my microwave to make a lot of things these days…
What foods do you make in the microwave?
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cooking, school, work, What I Ate Wednesday, dietetic internship
Happy Tuesday. Hope your week is off to a good start. Me, I’m just getting Day 2 of this Med/Surg party started. 
Last night, I came home starving after an event, and remembered I had a bunch of random leftover baking experiments in my freezer. A mini chocolate red wine cake found new life as an addition to plain yogurt & cocoa powder.
I feel like I’ve been talking a lot about alcohol on this blog lately, which is funny, given that I haven’t been drinking any more or less than I normally do (3-5 a week is pretty typical). I think I’m just less shy about it now.
So cheers—to a new week, a new rotation, and new life.
This weekend, the New York Times Magazine ran the winning entry in a contest in which participants were asked to discuss the ethics of eating meat in 600 words or less. The winning essay, by Jay Bost, and the essays that ranked as finalists are definitely worth a read.
What do you think about these essays? What are your thoughts on the ethics of eating meat?
