Spicy Vegan/Vegetarian Bean Chili

Football and Autumn scream chili. CHILI. CHILI. CHILI.

I'm always in search of a mouth-watering, irresistible vegan chili recipe. The mouth-watering recipes always seem to be too time consuming with too many ingredients and too much preparation time; we've also all tried that quick-mediocre recipe. (Enough said.) Alas, you have stumbled upon a tasty, spicy, minimal effort (limited ingredients) vegan chili recipe (courtesy of me!) Yay! :) Enjoy!

Spicy Vegan Bean Chili Recipe:

Serves: 6

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cook time: (unsupervised) 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced

1 cup chopped carrots

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 bag frozen corn

1 medium red pepper, chopped

1 small green hot pepper, diced

1 small can of tomato sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp of chili powder

1 tbsp of ground cumin

1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp shredded mozzarella/vegan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in large pot.

2. Add minced garlic. Stir frequently for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

3. Add onions and peppers. Stir frequently and cook for approximately 5 minutes as vegetables begin to soften.

4. Add carrots, tomatoes, beans, corn, tomato sauce, and spices. Stir well.

5. Cover and simmer mixture over low heat for about one hour or until carrots are cooked. Stir occasionally.

6. Remove from heat and serve in mugs with mozzarella or vegan cheese!

Vegan Chili!! (and with a little UConn spirit!)

...don't forget the cheese!!

Tomato Swiss Chard Soup!

Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. Jen, don't you dislike soup?! Yup. I'm not a soup fan. BUT when you have tomato paste, swiss chard, and vegetable broth left over- what do you do with it?! You make soup. This is probably not the fanciest soup ever, but it's super quick and easy. It also warms your blood on these cool days.

Tomato Swiss Chard Soup!

Serves: varies

Time: less than 30 minutes

Ingredients:

anything left over from previous recipes and whatever is lying around inside the fridge!! aka....

1/2 bunch swiss chard, washed and chopped

2 heaping tbsp tomato paste

12 oz vegetable broth

water

baby carrots, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp feta cheese

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan.

2. Sautee garlic until fragrant.

3. Add swiss chard to pan. Stir frequency. Cook greens down approximately 3-5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, pour vegetable broth into a large pot. Add tomato paste stirring until dissolved. Add additional water as needed.

5. Add cooked swiss chard and pre-chopped carrots.

6. Gently mix.

7. Simmer approximately 20 minutes or until carrots are cooked.

Voila! Soup in less than 30 minutes! Serve soup in a soup bowl. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Enjoy with whole grain pita on the side! Of note- I have made this with (leftover) beans before as well, which is also quite tasty! There are many varieties! Enjoy!!

Scrumptious Butternut Barley Bean Pilaf Dish

I sympathize with barely. It seems that barley is misunderstood! (Haha. Who doesn't have those moments?! I think we can all sympathize with barley!!) I personally love barley. I need to start cooking with it more often. (And so should you!!) I (very unfortunately) don't know many people who would scream at the top of their lungs "I LOVE BARLEY!" (However, I might just have to give it a try.) :)

Going with my Autumn theme, I wanted to give my hand at another winter squash recipe. I think you'll also find this a tasty dish- and this one's quick too!!

Butternut Barley Bean Pilaf Recipe:

(Original Recipe found here!)

Serves 7-8

Preparation 15-20 minutes

Cooking time (unsupervised) 45-60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

21oz vegetable broth + 8 oz water

1 cup pearl barley

2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

1 can cannellini beans

1 tbsp dry cilantro

1 tbsp dry parsley

3 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare vegetables. (Hint- buy pre-peeled and cubed butternut squash. Saves so much time and effort!!)

2. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.

3. Add onion. Stir often until onions soften/turn translucent approximately 2-3 minutes.

4. Add broth, water, barely, beans, and squash. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until most of liquid has been absorbed approximately 45-60 minutes.

5. Add parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix gently. Turn off heat. Allow to sit a few minutes.

6. Serve and enjoy!!

Side note: The amount of vegetable broth might seem obscure. I did not use broth from a can (Noooo BPA!!); I used it from a 32oz cardboard container. Therefore, I experimented with the amounts of liquid (broth vs water) to use. Lucky for me, I had extra vegetable broth to put into another recipe!! :) Almost any variation will do! Give it a try! Happy cooking!

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Swiss Chard & White Beans

Autumn just screams winter squash! As the cool weather rolls in (again), I just want warm food. If you're not creative, then those warm choices become boring and repetitive. Lucky for me- lucky for you- we like to tap into our creative minds and produce tasty yummy-ness that swells our bellies to complete satisfaction!!

Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe:

Original Recipe for four and for two!

Serves 2

Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Preparation time: 30-45 minutes

(This recipe is WELL worth the effort and little extra time!!)

Ingredients:

1 medium acorn squash, halved and deseeded

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic

2-4 tbsp water

2 heaping tbsp tomato paste

1/2 bunch swiss chard chopped

1/2 can of white beans

1/4 chopped kalamata olives

feta cheese

Directions:

1. Cut acorn squash in half and deseed

2. Put in a glass dish and fill 1" deep with water

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until a fork goes through

4. Ten minutes before the squash is cooked, begin preparing the filling

5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium heat

6. Add onion. Stir frequently. Cook 2-3 minutes or until onions begin to brown.

7. Add garlic. Stir and cook for about 1 minute. You should begin to smell the garlic fragrence.

8. Stir in tomato paste, salt and pepper, and water. Start with 2 tbsp water and add enough water until you get a liquid, smooth consistency of the tomato paste.

9. Stir in swiss chard. Cook for 3-5 minutes. The swiss chard will become soft and lose volume. Stir often.

10. Stir in white beans and olives. Cook until warm or 2-3 minutes. Stir often. Remove from heat.

11. Remove acorn squash from over. Turn broiler on.

12. Stuff winter squash. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

13. Broil for 1 minute.

14. Remove from oven. Let cool for a few minutes. Enjoy!!

Additional Comments: I did try this recipe with bread crumbs. (That is why you see them in the picture.) I, however, did not enjoy the breadcrumbs in this dish. Of note, I did not use panko breadcrumbs as the original recipe calls for; I used store bought regular bread crumbs. That very well could have simply been the problem. I did try this recipe again sans breadcrumbs (as above) and I thought it was delicious!! If you want to try breadcrumbs, I recommend against store bought ones. I might, in the future, try this recipe with homemade breadcrumbs. We'll see... Enjoy!

Cranberry Sauce Extraordinaire

With November upon us, it's that time of year to start thinking about those family Thanksgiving traditions. My personal favorite dish is actually just a side dish- cranberry sauce. I recently came across a twist to the original cranberry sauce or relish recipe. Surprising, even to me, this recipe held up to the approval of my taste buds! I highly recommend this cranberry sauce recipe if you're looking to spice up your recipes this year!!! (Original recipe can be found here!)

Cranberry Sauce Recipe:

Prep time: 10-20 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

(I promise. This recipe IS really quick and easy!!)

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1 12 oz package fresh cranberries

1 orange, peeled and pureed

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

1 pear, peeled, cored and diced

1 cup dried mixed fruit

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp all spice

1/2 tsp ginger

Directions:

Prepare all fruits initially. Then, in a medium saucepan boil water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium/medium low and mix in all of the ingredients. Cover and allow mixture to simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Additional Comments:

For dried fruit I used cherries, cranberries, and apricots. Of note, I pureed the apricots into tiny bite-size chunks. And I ended up really enjoying the consistency that they added to the dish. I did try to puree the other dried fruit, but it just didn't work for me. In the end, the cherries and cranberries in whole form was also the perfect consistency; I loved it. I used a little more spices and less sugar than the original recipe called for, which I'm very pleased I did so. Also, this dish is great served both warm and cool. Therefore, it's great as leftovers too!! Happy cooking... and enjoy!

Simmering Cranberry Sauce

Roasted Pear and Butternut Squash Soup

I think I just came across the best butternut squash soup recipe EVER! :) For once, I did nothing to change the recipe! It was that good. The only thing I left out was the recommendation to sprinkle cheese on top of the soup. For me, cheese plus butternut squash is just screaming NOOOOOO! Also, this recipe served 8 not 6. (See original recipe here!)

Ingredients:

2 ripe pears, peeled, quartered, cored

2 pounds butternut squash (pre-peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks)

2 medium tomatoes cored and quartered

1 large leek halved length-wise and then sliced

2+ cloves garlic, diced (to taste!)

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper (to taste)

4 cups lower sodium vegetable broth

1 tbsp sliced scallion greens

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine pears, butternut squash, tomatoes, leek, garlic, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

3. Spread evenly onto 2 large rimmed baking sheets.

4. Roast for about 45-50 minutes or until vegetables are soft and tender; be sure to stir occasionally.

5. Puree half the vegetables and 2 cups of broth in a blender until smooth. Pour into a large pot.

6. Repeat with the second bunch.

7. Heat on low heat for about 10 minutes or until the soup is warm and bubbling.

8. Spoon into bowls. Garnish with scallions. Serve and enjoy!

Sliced Pears!

Sliced Tomatoes!

Pre-cubed Butternut Squash!

Sliced Leeks!

Vegetables ready to be roasted!
Somehow, I forgot to take a picture of the final product. Trust me! It was that good! :)

Mediterranean Wanna-be!

Mediterranean food is one of my favorite cuisines! The best part is that it's SO easy to create this meal at home.

Ingredients:

Canned chickpeas

(and/or) Hummus original flavor

Tabouli

Joesph's pita

Sliced tomato(es)

Vegetarian grape leaves

Directions:

-If desired, pre-heat oven to 200 degrees and toast pita for about 5-1o minutes.

-Open containers, dish into individual bowls or saucers.

-Either buy pre-washed and sliced tomatoes or wash and slice your tomato. Better yet, buy cherry tomatoes. Then all that has to be done is a little rinsing (away of the bugs! Just kidding! :))

ENJOY!

(Now if that's not a quick, easy, healthy meal than I have no idea what one is!! :))

One additional tidbit- other than clean hands, don't forget your fork. Although this is mostly finger friendly food, you might appreciate having a fork around! :)

Trader Joe's 100 Calorie Chocolate Bars

I'm not usually a fan of 100 calorie snacks; however, I think Trader Joe's hit the nail on it's head with this one- 100 calorie chocolate bar. It's portion controlled, but more importantly it is visually appealing. Often reduced calorie items are not visually pleasing and the hunger pains set in. That 100 calorie snack too often turns into 200, into 300, into 400, into a meal's worth of calories! Oy ve! Well, give this one a try. Eat slowly. Enjoy the chocolate-y goodness! Be sure to save your next 100 calorie chocolate indulgence for tomorrow! :)

Sweet Potato + Tomato Goodness

With the craving for warm teas and warm meals, I know Autumn is upon us.

The following recipe is an easy dish I recently created. It's not crazy or mind blowing yet tasty, simple, and satisfying. I don't know about you, but sometimes all I want is something comforting and tasty. Don't get me wrong! There are absolutely, positively moments for mouth watering flavor-exploding dishes. Just not today! :) As always, I used what was available in my kitchen to find a way to satisfy that Autumn craving!

Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes
1 medium onion
1 can tomato
1/2 tbsp butter or oil
1 green pepper

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Wash and clean sweet potatoes
3. Bake for about an hour or until done
4. Heat butter or oil in a frying pan
5. Add sliced onion. Let cook for 15 minutes. Stir often.
6. Chop green pepper into small bite-size pieces. Add to frying pan. Let cook for 15 minutes stirring often.
7. Add canned tomatoes. Simmer until liquid is absorbed or about 20-30 minutes. Stir often.
8. Place mixture in a dish. Place sweet potato on top!
9. Enjoy!

Food Myths BUSTED!!

It's always interesting to me how myths and misconceptions of healthy eating are so strongly embedded in people's opinions, thoughts, and actions. A couple of weeks ago Eating Well Magazine published this great article on The 13 Biggest Nutrition and Food Myths Busted. Take a read; it's great. Of course, continue reading for a few of my comments.

1. Eggs are bad for your heart. One moment we hear don't eat eggs and the next we hear it's okay. How does one decipher all of the information? It can be challenging; I agree. However, look at the big picture. An egg is a great source of protein AND the amount of the saturated fat in the yolk is a lot less that all of that butter on your toast, 4 slices of bacon, and the dash of cream in your coffee combined. As for the cholesterol part of it, saturated and trans fats likely are worse for you than cholesterol per se. So I say go ahead, enjoy those eggs (sans bacon, cream, and butter!)

2. HFCS HFCS HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) OY VE! This is a complicated one. When it comes to extra non-nutritional calories, HFCS is the same as sugar as brown sugar as honey as agave nectar. When it comes to the true sense of natural, well, that's where the issue lies. HFCS is man made and there have been traces of mercury found in items containing HFCS (another bag of worms, yes.) If your looking for food that doesn't contain man made items- then skip the HFCS; however, if your cookies and bread and soda are made with sugar- it's still extra non-nutritional calories. Less sugar in your daily diet is the goal, whether it's from honey, conventional sugar, brown sugar, or HFCS.

3. Carbs make you fat. Fat makes you fat. [Insert your taboo food item that] makes you fat. At the end of the day, we gain weight because we consume too many calories than which we burn. Yes sometimes it is a bit more complicated than that BUT it's a great place to start. Too many of anything can make you gain weight!

So those are some of my favorite myth busters. Read the Eating Well article for more. And happy healthy eating!! :)

Tofu Chocolate Pudding

Tofu Chocolate Pudding Recipe
Serves: 8 (1/2 cup each)
Preparation Time: less than 15 minutes
Adapted from original source!
Ingredients:
1 block of tofu
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions:
1. Blend tofu in blender or food processor until smooth
2. Transfer to a pot. Add chocolate chips. Heat over medium heat until chocolate chips are melted. Stir constantly.
3. Remove from heat. Add in maple syrup.
4. Transfer to individual dishes and allow to cool. Serve room temp OR refrigerate and serve cool. You choose!


Of note:
I used a one speed blender instead of a food processor. The end result is tofu that is not as smooth as when a food processor is used; however, if you dont have a food processor than a blender suffices! '

Nutrition Facts
1 serving = 1/2 cup
Calories 200


Okay. Okay. Not what I would call low calorie by any means but all foods in moderation! The tofu provides a thick, creamy texture and the chocolate provides the typical chocolate dessert richness. All in all, a half cup is more than plenty! And you get more protein than if you were consuming cow's milk based chocolate pudding! :) In the end, however, if you want a healthier option (meaning lower calorie), just reduce the portion of chocolate chips used. Start with a half cup and taste product. Increase up to 3/4 cup. (You save 35-70 calories per 1/2 cup with a reduction of 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chocolate chips in entire batch!)

One Stop Farm'ing

Hello Autumn. I missed you. Autumn rings apples, pumpkins, and the last chance to get fresh fruits and vegetables. It also glistens with foliage and calms you with its sweet, crisp fragrance and cool tingling breeze. Hello Autumn. I missed you.

Every year I have the same impulse- I must go apple picking, pumpkin picking, and visit a local farm. Every year I want change; I wanna go somewhere new!!!

With unpredictable weather patterns and the never-ending to-do list, time is always an issue. Sad to admit it, but even I did not have the time to visit more than one farm this year. In my opinion it's fun to farm hop- you know, go from one farm to the next and making it a whole day's adventure.

Last year and in the previous years, I have visited many great farms; however, each one would have a specialty- if you will. Farm A would pride themselves on everything apples- apple picking, homemade apple goodies, apple cider and more. Farm B would pride themselves on the largest pumpkins around and/or the best pumpkins for pies! And Farm C, D, and E would be a vegetable farm, or a dairy farm, or an animal farm. You get my point- farm hopping!

With time- as mentioned above- as the issue, I was in search of one stop farm'ing!! And just lucky for me, I found such a place!! This year I visited the Fairmount Fruit Farm in Franklin, Massachusetts. They have a hay ride available for all! Although the farm appears to be on the smaller side compared to other orchards I've been too, there were still plenty of apples to go around- and more! :) If you didn't want to pick apples, there were pecks sitting and waiting. (FYI a peck is the small bag of apples!) There are a variety of pumpkins waiting to be brought home to be carved or baked into something yummy! The farm also has pears; you can't pick them because the tress are fragile, but they too are ready and waiting to be eaten as is or baked into something yummy! The store also has an array of fresh vegetables (at a fabulous price might I add!) Some vegetables include cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, sweet potatoes, onions and more. Read the website (link above) for their animal product availability. I'm very much pro free range! (Yay!)

And last, but not least, the animals themselves. I was very pleasantly surprised to see my favorite animal among the chickens and sheep! Which animal is that....? MR. LLAMA!!!


Happy Farm'ing!! :)
Oh- and Happy Autumn too!

5 Health Foods That Aren't as Healthy as They Seem!!

Everyday I find myself debunking the truth about "healthy" foods. Although there is sometimes merit to the idea behind the food, more times than not our supersizeme desire for a 'gourmet' meal in ten seconds or less has removed any hope for some foods to actually be healthy.

The following article barely needs an introduction. We think of sushi, rice cakes, bran muffins, yogurt, and pita chips as 'healthy.' We can even throw salads into that mix, but welcome to 2010 and anything we once considered healthy has very unfortunately been thrown 'to the wolves.' Happy reality check! :)

5 Health Foods That Aren't as Healthy as They Seem!!

Take a Stance Against Genetically Engineered Foods

I'm just not a fan of GE foods. I prefer whole foods. Do your own research. Tell me what you think. For me, I don't want to eat something created in a lab. And if that means I'm limited to local, seasonally grown foods- so be it!

Take a stance against GE salmon ending up on your plate!!

Garlic Infused Roasted Vegetables

This is for all you garlic lovers!! Recipe adapted from original!

Garlic Infused Roasted Vegetables
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes (intact with skin)
1 small zucchini
1 head of garlic, peeled and whole
1 tsp dried rosemary
black pepper
salt
olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then, begin by washing and cleaning potatoes and zucchini. Chop potatoes and zucchini into large chunks. Place in a glass baking dish, which has been pre-coated with olive oil to prevent sticking. Place cloves of garlic strategically around dish in between potato and zucchini pieces. Brush olive oil on-top of vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired. Finally sprinkle with rosemary. Stir mixture about every 15-20 minutes to prevent sticking and burning. Vegetables with roast for about 1 hour or until potatoes are soft with a poke of a fork and also light, crispy brown.

This dish should be accompanied by other tapas or should be a side dish to a main fish dish, for example. Although time-wise an hour is not usually considered quick, I consider this a quick meal because the preparation is SO easy and you can go along your merry way for an hour while this dish roasts! Enjoy!

Baked Tofu with Roasted Vegetables

For all you tofu and vegetable lovers, try this recipe!! It is so easy it hurts! :) The best part of this recipe is that it very well can be changed and modified into many similar yet distinct dishes. Adapted from original recipe!!

Baked Tofu with Roasted Vegetables
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1 block of extra/firm tofu
4tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oi
olive oil
salt
black pepper
1.5 peppers (red, yellow, green)
1/3 eggplant
(any vegetable you desire)

Directions:
Begin with your firm block of tofu and drain fluid. Freeze tofu to aid in slicing without it crumbling. Take frozen tofu and slice horizontally into four slabs. Pat with paper towel to absorb any extra liquid. Place in shallow containers and allow tofu to soak in a mixture of reduced sodium soy sauce and sesame oil. Place in refrigerator covered for at least 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice eggplant, sprinkle with salt and let stand in the colander until 45 minutes has passed or you are ready to bake.

Just as the 45 minutes (or more) is coming to an end, dice up your favorite vegetables. I used eggplant and a variety of peppers.

Place all vegetables and tofu on a tinfoil covered baking sheet. (Be sure to coat the tinfoil with a little olive oil to avoid sticking!) Brush olive oil onto vegetables. Sprinkle all with salt and pepper as desired.


Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until tofu is done to your liking!


This dish can be enjoyed as a main dish or as part of a variety of tapas! Happy eating! :)

Dessert Gone Wrong to Breakfast Gone Right!!

One night, I decided that I wanted a 'sweet and light summer-time' dessert. To make a long story short, I failed! I tried to make Raspberry Fool, which is essentially cream and berries. Little did I realize that you can't make cream from 'light cream.' Although the 'dessert' tasted great (you can't really go wrong with any kind of cream, now can you?!), it just wasn't really what I expected nor what I classify as dessert.

As I kept starring at my failed dessert, I wondered what-in-the-world could be done with these ingredients. Drinking the cream wasn't really appealing and tossing it was not an option. Finally, I came up with the perfect idea- french toast topped with cream soaked berries! Voila!

Moral of the story: one failure leads to one success!

Enjoy!

NEW Pretzel M&Ms!!!

As I was standing in the long line at the grocery store waiting to check out and purchase my groceries, out of the corner of my eye something shiny and blue caught my attention!! What could it be?! PRETZEL M&Ms!!! Yes, this is a BIG deal! For one, chocolate covered pretzels are delicious. (Don't be fooled. I think it's an admissions requirement into the dietetics program to love chocolate!!) For two, the package is... PORTION CONTROLLED.

Every time I see the 'snack' bag of peanut M&Ms, my stomach turns. One package (a.k.a. a handful) is 250 calories!!! I just think that's a bit much for a 'junk food!' (And don't be fooled; don't blame the nuts. The milk chocolate package is 240 calories!!) BUT the pretzel M&Ms are 150 calories!!! Love it! Love it! Love it! A little something tasty in the perfect sized package. (I understand the difficulty of only eating half the package...)

So kudos to Mars!

(P.S. Just to be clear- I'm not stating M&Ms in any variety are healthy! I'm just excited about finding portion controlled varieties of not-the-healthiest snacks. I'm realistic and realize people like candy. So, why not INdulge occasionally with the proper portion! I'm okay with that.) (In all honesty, anything with red 50 and yellow 6 is never going to be healthy!!!)

Motivational Inspiration

We have all come across moments when we want to stop and give up, whether this be food and exercise related or not.

An avid runner and cyclist shared a story of motivation during one of our recent hikes. As the never ending seemingly vertical climb continued, the look of excitement of hiking and reaching the top of the mountain was slowly (perhaps quickly) fading. Personally, my legs were tiring and I felt as though they were going to give out at any second. This woman I was hiking with recalled moments during some of her runs when she questioned why she ran and why of all days -today- was she running a longer distance. After realizing her negative stream of thoughts (and also admitting to herself that she still had to run home), she stopped, smiled and thought of something positive such as 'When I finish this run I will have completed...' [insert goal.]

Admittedly, this might seem silly BUT next time you want to give up, don't! Stop! Smile! Think of something positive! It works! And before you even know it, you've reached the end- you're back to running on a flat surface, you've reached the top of the mountain, dinner is made, and life is good!

Happy Tuesday! :)

A Family Affair at Lunch Time!

Sometimes we all seem to get overwhelmed when it comes to 'what do I serve my guests?' Recently, I was visiting my BFF (best friend forever! duh! :)) and she made a small smorgasbord of food; she made it all seem so simple! And really that's the idea, right? A time for family to spend together smiling, laughing, and eating delicious (and quick and healthy) food.

Below was the spread!


Let me break it down for you.

First there was the starch. My BFF (we'll keep her nameless, for now!) offered whole grain bagels, onion bagels, pumpernickel bagels, and whole grain crackers. (Did you see how the bagels are cut in half. Oh how I love portion control!!! :))

Despite many who only eat one food group per meal, there's more to life than starch! (And as it should be.) One of the most important parts of a meal to provide satiety is protein. Our choices were some of my favorite- chickpeas, eggs, and tuna fish! Yum, yum, YUM!


To hit that tempestuous spot, there was a lovely (and I mean lovely) block of cheese awaiting the painless slice from a sharp knife followed by a quick plop onto each of our plates and an even quicker slurp into our mouths descending into our tummies!!


With a melange of ingredients, one could never (yes NEVER) forget the veggies!!!! Bring it on!! (Extra tuna on this plate and low fat cottage cheese!!)


And last but never least, let's not forget the dessert!!


All in all, this meal is fit for EVERYBODY- even kids! (Promise. A five year old tried everything on the table!!! Never forget the two bite rule!) Enjoy!

My New Favorite Adventure- BIKING!!

For the past few years, I have been talking about buying a bike. Yes, you read that correctly- talking and not (sadly and unfortunately) acting! I'm not sure what was holding me back. Maybe the fear of biking alone or the fear of biking on the crazy streets of Boston was the reason for putting off the purchase! This past weekend, however, those fears were put to rest. I went on a 25 mile bike ride and LOVED every second of it! I biked on trails, suburban streets and even on main streets in Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston. To my surprise and delight, biking around Boston isn't so horrible. With my fears put to rest, I quickly turned my talking into actions and bought myself a new bike! (Sadly, I don't think I've owned a bike in 15 years!!) I'm so excited!! Although I don't have any pictures of my own bike yet, here's a generic picture (courtesy of Raleigh!)


I promise there will be stories of my adventures to come! Stay tuned!

Grapes Grapes Grapes and MORE GRAPES

Apparently a common signature of Somerville, MA (or so I learned on a bike tour) is grapes! I went on a group bike tour recently, which included a tour of local farms. There I was able to see grapes around a wooden fence!




I havent done my research to determine the validity of this supposed fact, but either way this is a cool addition to a garden or outdoor space!!

For me, it was kind of ironic, as earlier that day I was taking pictures of grapes (in my kitchen!)





I love fresh grapes. I try my best to buy fruits and vegetables in season. Seasonal Fruit & Vegetable Chart for MA! Learn about the nutrient density of grapes!

Happy healthy eating fresh fruit and healthy snacks! :)

Hiking Mt Chocorua

I have now hiked Mt. Chocorua twice- once last summer and once last weekend. I remember lasts summer's hike to be mild and on the easier side. Well, this year I was in for a big surprise.

To give you a little background, Mt. Chocura is located in the White Mountains in NH. It is at 35oo feet elevation and is about 3-3.5 miles to the top. I learned, after the fact, that the trail we took up to the mountain was called Brooke Trail. And boy was it a challenge. The latter half of the 3.5 miles includes almost a vertical climb. Although the picture below almost does the reality of the scene no justice, I was scaling flat rock practically in a vertical position! YIKES! (Ignore my friend in the picture; he's always getting in the way! ;))



Despite the challenge, it was well worth it. The accomplishment alone of reaching the top of a mountain is a great feeling. What tops that feeling is the breathtaking view.







If you're not an avid hiker, give it a try; it's worth it. And don't worry, all trails are rated. You can choose an easy, more flat trail! Happy hiking!

Food on the Cruise

Earlier this summer I went on my first cruise!! Many of my clients (and friends and family members) have shared with me detail after detail of the wonderfully delicious food upon the ship. So by the time the day arrived to actually board the big ship, I was very curious as to the types of food that would be available.

As expected there was a smorgasbord of food available all day everyday. On the last night there was a mid-night 'snack.' In reality, it was not a snack, it was a mid-night feast; there were tables and tables full of food!

Let me break it down for you.


Breakfast first!

On each of the mornings (four in total), I choose a similar breakfast that included a protein, a starch, and fruit. Of course, I was on vacation too and wanted to INdulge (read INdulge not overindulge!) Instead of my typical whole grain selection I settled for a few (literally a few) tator tots and a slice of raisin/nut bread. I ate scrambled or boiled eggs and/or yogurt or drank milk. YUM! I was content and satisfied.

Next course- Lunch!
Lunch was always quite variable. Two days included lunch on the ship and two days included food on the island. I didn't take any pictures of lunch because it wasn't anything to write home about; HOWEVER, my dear friend who I traveled with thought it would be 'hilarious' to take a picture of a dietitian with fried food and beers in the picture.


No I did not eat the entire plate of fried onion rings in front of me nor did I drink two beers! Oh to be a dietitian! Food jokes are always on us!! :)

Moving on...

Dinner

We ate on the ship every night for diner, which to my pleasant surprise was accompanied by fresh tiger lilies on the table!

As for the food, there was quite an array of choices. For the most part, the kitchen offered vegetarian options and catered to each individual's needs. (I wouldn't say it was the best vegetarian food ever, but I know my friends were happy when they ordered lamb one night and lobster the next!)

Luckily for me, there was always a wide variety of salads (and we all know I love fruits and vegetables.) A few of the many options include:

Cantaloupe and Honeydew Melon Salad
[Keep in mind the term 'salad' was used very loosely!]

?Garden Salad
I'm actually not really sure how this was considered a salad, but, hey, sometimes you just have to go with it!!

Fruit Salad
This dish was great. It included strawberries, leeche, mango, papaya, watermelon, and a spicy mint jello. The picture actually does not give this salad/dessert any justice!


Caesar Salad


The REAL Garden Salad
Okay moving on to the REAL deal (a.k.a dinner!)

Dinner options

Seafood


Pasta


Steak


The Healthy Menu
There was one set of menus that listed brief nutritional facts. You could see calories per meal. Although it's not how I would design it, it was refreshing to me to see some sort of caloric awareness!! :) (And of course the higher calorie meals listed zero nutritional facts! Surprise! Surprise!)

And last, but definitely not least...

Tasty Drinks!!!


But in reality the main beauty of the trip had nothing to do with food at all...



In the end, vacation can be enjoyable on all grounds. You can eat healthfully, indulge, and at the end of the day enjoy the simplicity of nature at it's best! :)