Tag Archives: cooking

Saturday things

Posted on March 30, 2013 | 2 Comments
Oh, the cuteness! And oh, New York...

Oh, the cuteness! And oh, New York…

Good morning and happy weekend! For those of you celebrating Easter and Passover, hope you’re able to enjoy some time with the people who matter to you. I’m sure a lot of you brave folks who gave up chocolate for Lent are really looking forward to biting into a chocolate bunny ear tomorrow!

I’m headed to visit my family later today to mark that time Jesus rose from the dead just because He could. Or however the story goes. I don’t mean to make light—I’m just having fun. As a kid, I remember being confused when Sister Bea told our CCD class that Easter was the most important Catholic holiday because I’d always thought Christmas was the big one (presents, decorations, etc.), but she explained that, well, a dude can’t just walk on water to show he’s the real deal, you know? Okay, that’s not exactly what she said, but that’s how I like to remember it.

If nothing else, I can at least get on board for celebrating the so-called resurrection that springtime brings. This is the first year in a while I’ve felt so in touch with the change in season and the regenerative energy in the air—or at least the hints of it on the breeze, which continues to grow milder. As I spoke about recently, it’s a great time to reexamine our New Years resolutions and evaluate our progress, where we want to go from here and how.  Continue reading →

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What I Ate Wednesday # 103

Posted on March 27, 2013 | 2 Comments

Wednesday snuck up on me, as per usual. Welcome to another What I Ate Wednesday. As always, thanks to Jenn for hosting  the weekly link party. To see more WIAW from other bloggers, visit Peas & Crayons.

Cheers to this being the last WIAW of the month! It seems like March has had way too much fun being a lion, especially weather-wise. Still, the closer we get to April (and May, and June…), the more optimistic I get. This week has been busy so far, but I’ve been staying energized with balanced meals.

Here’s what I ate Monday…Sorry the pictures aren’t so great. It was a crazy day!

Breakfast: Apple spice oats, topped with peanut butter

Lunch: Egg white scramble, sprouted-grain toast with babaganoush; ~1/2 cup frozen berries a couple hours later

Snack: Plain Greek yogurt w/ cereal

Dinner: Baked tilapia, asparagus, sweet potato with tahini; a few squares dark chocolate with ginger

Snack: Sliced banana & blueberries with nonfat ricotta & maple syrup

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On Chickpeas and Perfectionism

Posted on March 22, 2013 | 5 Comments

It’s no secret that the field of dietetics is full of (okay, dominated by) Type A women. I often feel that the food blog world is similar in that respect. Though I’ve tried to deny it in the past, in more recent years, I’ve made peace with some of the Type-A aspects of my personality: my reliance on routine and structure, my need to stay organized, and even my workaholic and overachiever tendencies. Though I may not be super-competitive with others, I can be competitive with myself, which occasionally leads to a bit of the perfectionism blues.

Case in point: several years ago, when my life was a little different (understatement of the century), I made a lot of foods from scratch that I now buy pre-made. One glaring example that nags at me every time I throw it in my shopping basket is hummus. And remember that time I made my own falafel basically just to piss off show my then-boyfriend that he didn’t own me?

Chickpeas 3 ways

Chickpeas 3 ways

Well, the times-a-changed a long time ago. Overall, no complaints, but sometimes I get down on myself about the fact that this blog used to be a lot more recipe-driven. However, part of why I started writing it back in 2009 was to find my “voice,” so to speak, and as we grow and change, so do our voices, but my apologies for any of you out there who are, like, “Jess, can’t you just post a freaking dip or crackers recipe or something?” Continue reading →

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Springing ahead for real

Posted on March 21, 2013 | 4 Comments

Technically, anyway. It’s still a tad blustery in NYC, but spring just happened, so cheers to that…I may or may not have wandered into the makeup aisle when I went to stock up on allergy meds yesterday. Nothing like a seasonal impulse buy. I wish my insurance covered pick-me-ups like lip-stain. IMG_1926

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These boots are worn the f*** out

Even if the temperatures suck, the lighting situation is definitely improved. I love that it’s so much brighter out. While out running errands, I spied a few budding plants. Signs of life!

The start of a new season seems like a good time to check in with those new years resolutions and see which ones are worth keeping with, which ones to chuck, and which ones to get started on already. It’s also a good time to see if there’s anything you need to focus on that didn’t occur to you in January. Not that January 1st is the only time to make resolutions, but since so many of us do, it’s a good jumping-off point.  Continue reading →

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The Adventure Begins

Posted on March 15, 2013 | 2 Comments

Okay, so I don’t know if I’d call a little culinary spring cleaning an adventure, exactly, but hey…I did say it would “get interesting,” did I not?

A few random items from the last couple days:

Totally drank the kool-aid on seaweed as a snack. So good.

Totally drank the kool-aid on seaweed as a snack. So good.

On another note, apparently, whole wheat spaghetti is totally passable with stir-fried veggies and edamame. Furthermore, who needs peanut sauce when you have tahini on hand? IMG_1884

Totally cool if you think I’m crazy. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it, though.

What weird food combinations have you been enjoying lately? Are you doing any culinary spring cleaning? 

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Note to Self…

Posted on March 14, 2013 | 12 Comments

If you have to smell the milk twice whenever it occurs to you to use it, maybe it’s a sign you should just stop buying it altogether.

IMG_1883On a semi-related note, continuing in the spirit of almost-spring cleaning, I’m half-assedly/non-committally challenging myself to use up most of the contents of my cabinets and freezer before buying new stuff.

Once upon a time (when I was 20), my fridge contained vodka, white wine, and guava preserves, maybe a little cheese. Times have definitely changed. People look in my fridge and say, “Whoa. So much…healthy. Stuff.” My cabinets are almost too full of things. Apocalypse dinner party at my place, you know what I’m saying? A few years ago, an impulse buy would have been a diet coke, today it’s an ounce of bee pollen.

So yeah. Edamame stir-fry tossed with whole wheat linguine instead of, like, soda noodles? Why not? Things could get interesting…

Do you ever do any culinary spring-cleaning? 

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What I Ate Wednesday #100

Posted on March 6, 2013 | 13 Comments

Welcome to the 100th Installment of What I Ate Wednesday! It sounds like I’m being hyperbolic, no? It’s true, though. It seems like a whole other lifetime ago that I joined this weekly link party, and man, has the time flown.As always, thanks to Jenn for hosting. To see more WIAW from other bloggers, visit Peas & Crayons.

This week I decided to hop on the Meatless Monday bandwagon, just because. In that past lifetime during which I began these WIAW posts, most of my days were meatless, so I didn’t feel the need to make it a point on one particular day. Though I still have plenty of meat-free days, I definitely eat more animal protein than I did two years ago, and I feel much better for it.

I actually had a nice conversation with someone at the gym the other day—they asked me if I was a trainer, and after I stopped laughing, we got to talking about being active to stay well. I mentioned my experience working with a physical therapist who taught me to focus on staying strong to avoid getting hurt. For better or worse, it was a really crappy arm injury a few years ago that caused me to take a step back and redefine my relationship with exercise and food—and to stop listening to people whose advice/bullying was based solely on their own interests and narrow belief systems.  It was a difficult learning experience, but I’m grateful for it. I joke about being protective of my skeleton, but I’m not f***ing around—it’s the only one I’ve got!

Haha anyway, that’s the short version of the long story of why I eat meat sometimes now, though I still favor eggs, fish, and dairy.  I feel good, my labs are normal, and I couldn’t give a flying f*** what a guy thinks about my eating habits. I think some people do great with vegetarian/vegan diets but I’m not one of them. I’d be a hypocrite for telling people to tune in and listen to their body’s wants and needs if I didn’t do it myself.

Speaking of eating habits, here’s what I ate this past Monday.

Breakfast: zucchini bread oatmeal

Lunch: tortellini soup; side salad; dark chocolate

Snack: yogurt with fruit and cereal

Dinner: tandoori tofu with curried basmati rice, veggies, and avocado

Snack (unpictured): sliced banana with PB2 sauce with cocoa & protein powder mixed in—an experiment gone ok

Do you participate in Meatless Monday? What’s the best thing you’ve eaten recently? Is your diet different than it was 2 years ago? 

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Winter Must Be Cold

Posted on March 5, 2013 | 1 Comment

“Well a ring-a-ding-ding.” (from Clearly Delicious Food Blog)

I think studying for the RD exam is seeping into my brain a little too much. Last night I dreamed I opted out of a second date with a guy because he told weird stories about making chocolate-covered NYC sewer crawfish for his neighbors during Hurricane Sandy and talked a big game about glycogen when he had no idea what he was saying. I also got caught in some kind of race and woke up trying to figure out a route home and worried about dead mice falling from the ceiling and collecting under my bed. Awesome.

A few times during the night I also woke up because my iTunes had opened up on its own and started playing music. I eventually gave up and shut the machine down. What gives? Either Mercury retrograde is totally f***ing with me or I have a ghost buddy who likes the Apples in Stereo song “Winter Must Be Cold.” I hadn’t even thought of that song in roughly seven years, and you’d think that was the first song in my iTunes library, but nope. Not even close. So whatever.

The morning started well, though. I just got back from a free Dancelates class—it wasn’t my favorite thing ever but the instructor was great and it was fun to try something new. Time to start the day for real. Hello Tuesday, let’s do this thing.

Have you had any weird dreams lately? 

 

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Stuff for the Week

Posted on March 4, 2013 | 5 Comments

Some weeks are busy, and some weeks are very busy. This week already seems to be falling under the latter category. Rather than worry about cooking each day, I prefer to just make a bunch of stuff when I have a free few hours and mix & match all week.IMG_1801

In my humble opinion, this method is way better than ordering in every night. This may or may not be because the idea of take-out for one usually makes me feel depressed and uncharacteristically lonely (Sagittarius = bachelor sign), but it might also be because this saves me a lot of money. Besides, I’d rather do something healthy my way in the spirit of National Nutrition Month than fork over big NYC bucks for something eaten out of a plastic container. If I’m going to enjoy the extra fat/salt/sugar I’d rather make it a pleasurable experience out with good company.

Do you like to prep food for the week ahead? Thoughts on take-out? 

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Creative vs Weird

Posted on March 2, 2013 | 3 Comments

Good morning and happy Saturday! Anything good going on this weekend? I’m spending some time with family and planning to do a lot more studying. I am very thankful to no longer be in this kind of mood—and not to have gotten salmonella from freaking tea.

I know the other day I joked about a possible WIAW spin-off about the RD exam, but seriously. I don’t know whether to say I’ve gotten creative or just plain weird. Not that I don’t walk this line all the time as it is, but still. For example, I can’t be the only person ever to add vegetables and egg whites to mac & cheese leftovers in order to use things up, right?IMG_1765

Side note: I was pleased to learn the other day that you can make boxed mac & cheese with a little olive oil instead of butter, skim milk instead of low-fat (not that it matters much), and that mixing in a little nonfat ricotta can be great if you want a little more protein and texture without the saturated fat you’d get from just adding regular cheese. Oh, and truffle salt—also good.

One more conventional thing I enjoyed over the past week was some tandoori tofu. It was great over curried basmati brown rice, steamed greens and roasted veggies, and I added a little goat cheese on top.IMG_1762

I was lazy and just used a jarred marinade, but whatever works.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve eaten recently? 

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