New Fav: Power Foods

I blogged a few days ago about the cookbook "Power Foods" by Whole Living magazine. I tried the Lemon Chicken with Corn Salsa recipe and we all fell in love. Since then, I've tried a few other recipes and found them to be a success, as well. I am so excited about this book that it's ridiculous. It's making me see food from a natural point of view, as we should. Our crazy/busy lives today made convenience a priority over health. It's a sad thing to realize, but we've taken food for granted and have neglected to give our bodies what they need to function properly. When I was shopping for a few of these recipes and my regular weekly foods, I began to notice that most of my list was in the produce section. I went down a few aisles in the rest of the store but only for natural grains and dairy. There are complete aisles that I didn't even need to pass through, including the snack, soda, and boxed dinners aisles. I never noticed just how much processed food we have become used to consuming. I encourage you to find more natural foods to incorporate in your diet and pencil in your calendars time to plan meals. Natural foods expire. If something has been in your kitchen for over two weeks, it's probably not healthy for you.
I've broadened my breakfast horizons with this cookbook, as well. There is a great recipe for Fresh Muesli with Applies and Greek Yogurt. I tried it out this afternoon and it is delicious! I've never tried greek yogurt, but since there is no sugar, you can add anything you want to it. The oats and almonds were toasted in the oven for a bit and put in a container to store for the week. Another great breakfast option is a slice of toasted whole grain bread (I use Nature's Own 12 Grain) with goat cheese, smashed raspberries, and a drizzle of honey. I also bought some chocolate almond milk and put it in my coffee on some days (less fat, more vitamin E).
Runner's World magazine did a small feature on ginger root a few months back (maybe even last summer) and featured a simple recipe for ginger tea.

Ginger Tea
Set a pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, cut a small chunk off a fresh ginger root. Peel and slice in half. When water is at a boil, drop in ginger. Let boil for 5-7 minutes, until water is infused with the ginger. Put a drizzle of honey into a mug. Pour in tea. Enjoy! With the leftover tea, I like to let it cool, pour it into a water bottle, and refrigerate. When I'm ready to drink it, I add some sugar, shake, and drink! :)

And I Set Fire to the Rain

I CANNOT stop listening to Adele's newest: "21". Yes, she's only 21, but completely amazing. Her second album is better than the first, which is also amazingly stellar. How can she capture such emotion in her lyrics and voice? Get it if you haven't!

I'm on a food kick! (Well, when am I not? haha) I checked out a cookbook from Borders called "Power Foods" by the editors of Whole Living magazine. (An employee benefit is that we are able to check out books for two weeks at a time for free, as long as we return it in sellable condition.) I also decided to by my own recipe book. I'm 27 years old I don't have have one yet. I put one together for my sister for Christmas with family favorites and she can keep adding to it. I decided I wanted my own.


The first recipe I tried from "Power Foods" is Lemon Chicken with Corn Salsa. Theresa loves it and has dubbed it Lemon-Ginger Chicken due to the tasty ginger in the salsa. The ginger pulls it all together. The salsa includes corn, black beans, avocado, red onion, tomato, and jalapeno pepper. It's delicious enough to stand on its own, or be thrown onto any number of dishes. I'm going to use the left overs in a tasty taco later this week! Recipe one was a hit! And it was easy to make. The longest thing was cooking the chicken breasts, which, silly me, I bought the thickest ones I've ever seen. Whoops! Tomorrow I'm going to try a brussels sprouts recipe (I know, WHAT?) that includes pears. I want to start liking things I thought I didn't like before. Healthy stuff!


One good thing about the "Power Foods" cookbook is the sections before and after the recipes. They are full of nutritional information on the healthiest foods out there, including which oils, spices, and onions to use. There is even a glossary of scientific terms in case you were wondering what a polysaccharide is. (A carbohydrate compound made up of groups of saccharides, or "sugars." Common polysaccharides with nutritional importance are glycogen [a storage form of carbohydrates], starches, and dietary fiber.) It's a 25 dollar book, though, but I may end up buying it eventually just for the nutritional information.

Happy eating! :)

Good Old Music

A Facebook friend posted a video of Ryan Adams playing one of my very favorite songs from back in the day. I immediately opened iTunes and made a playlist of "Old Goodies" to jam out or be nostalgic to. This is definitely going on CD and in my car in the morning!

1. No One Really Wins- Copeland
2. Uppers Aren't Necessary- Rocky Votolato
3. Cross My Heart- The Rocket Summer
4. Portions For Foxes- Rilo Kiley
5. Way You Make Me Feel- Radiant
6. The Day Forever Died- Matt Wertz
7. Such Great Heights- The Postal Service
8. California- Phantom Planet (The OC, anyone?)
9. Come Pick Me Up- Ryan Adams
10. Paint the Silence- South
11. The Brilliant Dance- Dashboard Confessional
12. Take Cover- Acceptance
13. We Used to Be Friends- The Dandy Warhols
14. Found My Place- Augustana
15. Penny on the Train Track- Ben Kweller
16. Speeding Cars- Imogen Heap
17. Pistachio- Lisa Hannigan
18. Pretend You're Alive- Lovedrug
19. Someone Else's Arms-Mae

I'd like to give a shout out to James Wetz for being awesome and sharing some of this music with me in college! :)

The Diet is going well but I'm tired of being hungry all the time. I was not aware that although I eat healthy for the most part, I was eating all the time! I need to train myself to eat three square meals a day, maybe with room for a small snack. For a woman who loves food, this will be difficult!

My garden is sprouting! I put up some cheap fencing to keep the doggies out so now it can take off! My beans are up, corn is slowly coming up, and cucumbers are growing like crazy! :) So excited for fresh veggies!

Spring Break, at the End

Yet again I fall behind on keeping up with a blog. I thought it would be nice to try to keep up with one, but having two jobs gives me responsibilities elsewhere.

It's the last day of Spring Break, and of course, I'm not tired at all. So I'll sit and type until I can't type anymore.

What's new? I started this blog to write about books and movies I've seen. I'm currently trying to finish the Twilight series, but it's getting too weird. I've put it aside (on my Sony eReader!!) and moved on to reading "Teach Like a Champion". I feel that I should never stop reading about my profession, which is now teaching theatre (technically as a sub but I do all the work of a full time teacher). Over the break I read a few plays that have been on my shelf as well as "Teach Like a Champion". If you know me, you know I want to give it my all, no matter what I'm doing.

That brings me to running/weight/health.

It's been a frustrating year on the weight issue. I've been maintaining, which is nice. However, I still need to lose in order to be in the safe zone of the BMI bracket (and to look better in a bathing suit). Theresa has found an iPhone app that records what you eat, gives you a goal, and shows how well you're consuming other vitamins and minerals. She's been using it for a week and has results already, so I decided to give it a try. Calorie counting is my last option! I LOVE to eat, and restricting that love is not fun at all. I eat healthy, mostly, but I do have my favorite cravings (chips and salsa, ice cream) that have been bogging me down. Honestly, I would rather have all my teeth pulled than count calories and restrict my food. And you know I HATE the dentist. So. It's going to be interesting. If I stay on track, the app told me I can lose 7.5 lbs by the end of April, and make my goal weight before school starts in August. It also told me my goal weight should be lower than what I had set it, but we'll see. I don't so much care about the number as I do about how I feel. I'm at the top of the healthy range, but I'd like a little more breathing room. So here it goes!

On a better note, something kind of neat happened over the break: I sketched for the first time in over two years. I can't find my sketchbook (probably packed away) so I bought a cheap, small one at Borders to start. I forgot how much I love drawing with charcoal. Now I need to find things to draw! :)

Netflix Streamers: Has anyone else gotten addicted to the TV show "Veronica Mars"? Theresa and I are pretty obsessed- she finished the series today, but I'm still a season and a half behind (work gets in the way!). It's a silly high school show, but the mysteries are intriguing. And the drama-filled love interests. :)

Okay, well. I don't know what else to say, so I guess it's time to try to get back into "Breaking Dawn". That should put me to sleep!

The Best of 2010

Another year is coming to a close! I can’t believe how time seems to just fly right on by. Here are some of my favorite things and memories of the past year:

TV
1. “Modern Family”. Nothing beats watching this quirky family. You laugh, you cry (or sigh) and everything wraps up at the end. The best ones were The Earthquake (“I thought you might be thirsty so I brought you some soda. You finished all the wine last night. Oh, and I couldn’t find a straw so you’re gonna have to lap it up like cats.”), the one with the flash mob, and the one where they poke fun at Gloria’s accent. “Baby Jesus” and “Deer in the head lice”!

2. “Biggest Loser”. This show is always so inspiring. Although I technically haven’t lost weight in a while, I have lost inches. I will always love watching people change their lives for the better.

3. The “Grilled Cheesus” episode of “Glee”. I’m not a huge fan of this show. Sometimes it can be brilliant, and other times it’s just awful. Nothing can beat this episode. It was moving, it was funny, and it was deep.

Movies

1. “Inception”. GENIUS. That is all.

2. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”. Duh, it’s Harry Potter! I love how the books and movies grow up with the characters. Everything is so intertwined.

3. “Easy A”. Hilarious! This is one to buy and watch over and over again. It’s on the same level as “Mean Girls”.

Music


1. Band of Horses. I just discovered them, so I love all of it!

2. Sia. Love her voice. Her second album is really pop-like, which, after seeing an interview, is what she wanted from it. It’s a great album to listen to in the morning.

3. Florence and the Machine- “Lungs”. AMAZING. Love this whole album! 4 tracks are on my running playlist. Her voice is so haunting, yet so great.

4. Katy Perry- “Firework”. I know, I know- it’s Katy Perry. BUT, this song will forever remind me of running at mile 7.5 in my first half marathon and it was so moving for me. It was emotional and motivating. “Maybe the reason why so many doors are closed is so you can open one that leads to the perfect road.” (Or something to that effect, I’m paraphrasing.)

Books

1. “The Hunger Games Trilogy” by Suzanne Collins. Thrilling, intriguing, politically charged- what a great read!

2. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J. K. Rowling. This one is my favorite of the series. Harry finally has an adult to look up to. And then… well, you just have to read the series!

3. “Attonement” by Ian McEwan. Beautifully written. This truly is a piece of literature.

4. “The Book Thief” by Zusak. An emotional story of Nazi Germany from a young German girl’s point of view. Touching. Depressing. Great read.

5. “Sarah’s Key”. I forget the author, but this book is worth the read. Another World War II story, but from a different perspective.

Best Accomplishment: First half-marathon, Rock ‘n Roll San Antonio, November 13. Such an amazing experience. I’m afraid that the next half will hurt more now that I’ve run one!

Best Concert: It’s a tie: Dave Matthews Band, September 10, and Mae, November 21. DMB is always great. I’ll miss them next year. Mae was very nostalgic, and they are such great guys! Great night of music and memories.

Best Party: Dad’s 50th last week! :)

Goals for 2011:

Get a full time teaching job. (Become self-sufficient again. New car, new place, etc.)

Run faster! I want to get my 5k closer to 30:00.

2011 is going to be a great year!

A (Running) Reflection

If you hadn't already noticed from my ten other posts, I ran a 10 mile race on Saturday. Last year on 10/11/2009, I ran in my first 5k (about 38:00, I think, but not officially timed). I've come a long way in a year and I'm so proud of it. I never thought I'd become a runner, and now I'm running ten miles and training for more. It's proof that even with asthma, anything is possible.

I started running around August in Arizona last year. I had just graduated with my Masters in theatre history and was discovering that the job market sucks-- even for clerical and retail jobs. I felt like a failure, with no direction or goals in life. I knew that in 5 years or so I wanted to go back and get my PhD, but first I needed money (and preferably teaching experience of some sort). It just wasn't happening, and the summer heat was driving me nuts. After working out on the Wii Active, I finally decided to just run around the neighborhood to see how it felt. It was still 90 degrees at 8 o'clock at night and I was severely out of shape, even considering I was working out on the Wii 20-30 minutes a day. But you know what? I just threw on some old shoes, grabbed my iPod, and ran. I just did it. And I wanted to get better. Even with just a one mile run, I felt tired and my lungs burned. At night, as I lay in bed about to fall asleep, I could feel exhaustion and my lungs felt different. A few weeks into my running, I decided to try a 5k. Lucky for me, we had some family friends living in the area and they were happy to run the Race for the Cure in Phoenix with me. That was my first taste of the racing atmosphere and I fell in love. Although I couldn't run the entire 3.1 miles, I knew I wanted to eventually. Having the goal to be better at my running, and my health, really kept me going through tough times. And it still does. Working retail is not fun most times, and I know if I didn't run to release stress I would be in really bad shape physically and emotionally.

One thing that keeps me running is when I went to the doctor in February, the PA noticed right away after listening to my heart that I'm a runner. Instead of getting a report that I was doing okay for my age, I received a stellar report on my health. I never realized how awesome that feeling is! I don't want to just get by, I want to be awesome! I hope I continue to run all of my life, even if it's only a few miles every few days. There's nothing like a good run, especially on a stressful day! Thank the Lord!

Parenting Skills I've Acquired While Working at Borders

Working retail is no picnic, but it is teaching me a lot of things about life. We get a lot of parents with their kids in the store on a daily basis. We have a great kids section that draws them there. However, I've noticed that it's usually the lazy parents that bring their kids in. Or, on a dark note, most parents are lazy. Either way, here is a list of parenting skills I've learned from these parents.

1. It's completely okay to wheel in a screaming kid in their stroller. It doesn't matter if it's nap time and the poor thing just wants to be at home in bed. What is important is that I'm shopping while the kid is stuck, screaming, in the stroller. Also, no one else cares about the noise.

2. Letting my child wander around the store unattended while I sit in the cafe jabbering on the phone is fine. They can entertain themselves, break stuff, and get kidnapped by some crazy person who walks into the store.

3. If my child breaks something, just put it back on the shelf and walk away. Better yet, just leave it on the floor like it belongs there.

4. To get my child to listen, I just repeat myself over and over again without even looking at them. They'll eventually listen.

5. If my child is throwing a fit while at the register, I just buy them a wind-up toy or candy to shut them up even though I'm positively reinforcing a bad behavior.


Honestly, every time I see things like this happen, it makes me not want kids. I can't deal with a snot-nosed brat. But, then again, those kids are the way they are because their parents made them that way.

"That's all I have to say about that." -Forrest Gump