ramblings along the way.

Earth and Turf

Today I had the pleasure of getting fillings in two teeth. Having no medical benefits since school equals very neglected teeth. Fortunately, now that I am a (supposed) grown up, I have a grown up job with grown up perks. Let’s just say, my dentist has been seeing a lot of me lately. Five years worth of repairs are officially completed as of today.

If there was a World’s Best Dentist award, my dentist would get it, I’m sure. But let’s face it, exposed nerve endings being drilled and needles in the mouth can’t be completely devoid of pain, no matter who is doing it.

The procedure was nothing I couldn’t handle but I left there feeling self-conscious about my freezing-induced, post-stroke appearance, and wanted a simple, carefree evening. Also knowing that this weekend’s weather is going to be comparable to oh, say, the fires of Hell, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to whip up an easy, summery dinner.

Vegetables are my favorite food and I love the idea of main course salads. Because I have trouble eating meals that don’t include all the food groups, main course salads aren’t something I opt for that often because I am not very creative when it comes to covering all the bases in a single, mostly raw dish.

For years, however, I have been wanting to try this recipe from Vegweb, but since I was lacking all the ingredients, I decided to give just the croutons a try.

I am pretty pleased with how dinner turned out today. I took bits and pieces from different recipes and came up with:

BERRIES, BEEF, & BABY GREENS WITH SWEET POTATO CROUTONS

Ingredients:

Baby Greens
Steak
Garlic, minced
Pepper
Canola Oil
Blueberries
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
Cucumber, sliced
Red onion, thinly sliced
Optional: Sliced Almonds, Parmesan Cheese, Salad Dressing of Choice (I used Balsamic Fig)

Sweet Potato Croutons:

Sweet Potato
Spices/herbs of choice (I used basil, oregano, garlic powder, and chili)
Olive oil

I didn’t put any measurements because this really is a recipe you can adapt based on personal preference. Come on, it’s just a salad.

Preheat over to 350. Scrub sweet potato and chop into small cubes, about 1/2 inch. In a bowl, toss cubes with spices and a drizzle of olive oil, just enough to coat. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet at bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just soft. Turn on broiler and cook until lightly brown, 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven, flip, and return to broiler for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Preheat broiler. In a heavy pan (I love cast iron pans) add just enough oil to coat bottom. Turn up heat almost to high, and when pan is very hot, add steak and sear for just a minute or two. Flip meat and sear for another minute. Transfer meat to baking sheet (or keep in pan if it is oven-safe) and top with a few grinds of pepper and half of the garlic. Use the back of your spatula to press the garlic into the meat a little bit. Cook under broiler for 3 minutes, remove from oven, and flip. Top with more pepper and remaining garlic and return to broiler for another 3 minutes. Depending on the thickness of your meat, these instructions should produce a medium-rare steak. If you prefer your beef more cooked, let cook longer, checking for done-ness periodically. When done, cut beef into slices.

On a plate, arrange veggies and berries and top with steak slices and croutons. Sprinkle with sliced almonds, parmesan, and dressing.

¶#weight loss #recipe #salad #dentist

May 27th, 2011

“It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield really hit the nail on the head with that one.
As someone who has a supposed passion for writing, why do I never actually write anything? Five months ago I thought that by now I would be well on my way towards an award winning novel. In five months I have written zip. Zilch. Not so much as a single word. I’m okay with that. A little disappointed, maybe, but I’m not beating myself up about it. Sure writing is something I enjoy (in theory), but it is not crucial for me at this time in my life.
What IS crucial, however, is my lifelong struggle with balance, or lack thereof. Like writing, health and lifestyle is something I often think of, plan on, get over-the-moon excited about, but that eagerness seems to fizzle out as soon as words are expected to be put into action.
Yesterday I stumbled upon the foodie blog Can You Stay For Dinner?, and, after drooling over the recipes, was super-inspired by the author, Andie’s amazing weight loss of 135 lbs. That’s a lot of lbs. Especially considering how much she weighs now: 135 lbs.
I have struggled with my weight for nearly my whole life. Andie’s story, like all successful weight loss stories, is very motivating. What really struck me though, was that this girl writes a FOOD BLOG. To write a food blog, you gotta really love food. To meticulously experiment and photograph the things you make, let alone the whole writing part (which we’ve already agreed is difficult, right?), takes some dedication and passion. So how can this knockout of a former chubby girl still be swooning over sandwiches and sweets? Balance, I’d say. In her story, she writes about “making peace with food” and learning how to indulge and enjoy life without sacrificing all the hard work she put in to get where she is.
That’s what I want.
I eat well. I typically genuinely prefer eating healthy foods (broccoli is my true love). I am overall a pretty active person: I walk to and from work, enjoy biking, have dabbled in dance classes, not to mention hula hooping. Aren’t those, healthy eating and activity, the major keys to optimal health? Why am I such a far cry from being fit?
Ok so, I have a terrible sleep schedule, I eat when I’m bored (and boy, I am bored a lot), and I am completely disorganized, something that could be remedied during those bored phases. I have a somewhat rocky relationship with certain family members, and I come from a broken home.
In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, he writes of Roseto, Pennsylvania, a town made up of Italian immigrants. During the 1950s, Roseto was a mystery to health researchers. While the rest of America was dying of heart disease, the residents of Roseto were dying of old age. The researchers could find no explanation for this based on diet, genetics, exercise…Eventually they concluded that what set this town apart was the sense of community. Close families, friendly neighbours. It’s a wonderful story. You should check it out.
Anyway, maybe that’s my problem. My family baggage, anti-social tendencies…
I’m often perplexed by why I have the struggles that I do. I consider myself pretty educated on nutrition, healthy lifestyle, etc. Sometimes I feel like if I did any more “good health stuff” I’d burn myself out. I HAVE burned myself out. A couple of times. It sucks.
But obviously, SOMETHING is not working.
So I have decided to don my proverbial sleuth’s hat and pipe, marry my passions of food and writing, and blog to my heart’s content about my journey to become a healthier, balanced person. This blog will not be strictly about weight loss, nor about food, or any other single topic. Just a document of my efforts.
Initially I wanted to keep this blog private. I hope to write about some things that are very sensitive issues for me, and I didn’t like the idea of other people reading that. But, if those researchers in Roseto are right, maybe having a more open dialogue with others will be helpful. And if I can ever inspire someone, like Andie inspired me, hey, that would be fantastic. Additionally, if I amass even a single reader, I would love input, advice, recipes, criticisms, jokes, well wishes…anything.
So, here we go…

“It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield really hit the nail on the head with that one.

As someone who has a supposed passion for writing, why do I never actually write anything? Five months ago I thought that by now I would be well on my way towards an award winning novel. In five months I have written zip. Zilch. Not so much as a single word. I’m okay with that. A little disappointed, maybe, but I’m not beating myself up about it. Sure writing is something I enjoy (in theory), but it is not crucial for me at this time in my life.

What IS crucial, however, is my lifelong struggle with balance, or lack thereof. Like writing, health and lifestyle is something I often think of, plan on, get over-the-moon excited about, but that eagerness seems to fizzle out as soon as words are expected to be put into action.

Yesterday I stumbled upon the foodie blog Can You Stay For Dinner?, and, after drooling over the recipes, was super-inspired by the author, Andie’s amazing weight loss of 135 lbs. That’s a lot of lbs. Especially considering how much she weighs now: 135 lbs.

I have struggled with my weight for nearly my whole life. Andie’s story, like all successful weight loss stories, is very motivating. What really struck me though, was that this girl writes a FOOD BLOG. To write a food blog, you gotta really love food. To meticulously experiment and photograph the things you make, let alone the whole writing part (which we’ve already agreed is difficult, right?), takes some dedication and passion. So how can this knockout of a former chubby girl still be swooning over sandwiches and sweets? Balance, I’d say. In her story, she writes about “making peace with food” and learning how to indulge and enjoy life without sacrificing all the hard work she put in to get where she is.

That’s what I want.

I eat well. I typically genuinely prefer eating healthy foods (broccoli is my true love). I am overall a pretty active person: I walk to and from work, enjoy biking, have dabbled in dance classes, not to mention hula hooping. Aren’t those, healthy eating and activity, the major keys to optimal health? Why am I such a far cry from being fit?

Ok so, I have a terrible sleep schedule, I eat when I’m bored (and boy, I am bored a lot), and I am completely disorganized, something that could be remedied during those bored phases. I have a somewhat rocky relationship with certain family members, and I come from a broken home.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, he writes of Roseto, Pennsylvania, a town made up of Italian immigrants. During the 1950s, Roseto was a mystery to health researchers. While the rest of America was dying of heart disease, the residents of Roseto were dying of old age. The researchers could find no explanation for this based on diet, genetics, exercise…Eventually they concluded that what set this town apart was the sense of community. Close families, friendly neighbours. It’s a wonderful story. You should check it out.

Anyway, maybe that’s my problem. My family baggage, anti-social tendencies…

I’m often perplexed by why I have the struggles that I do. I consider myself pretty educated on nutrition, healthy lifestyle, etc. Sometimes I feel like if I did any more “good health stuff” I’d burn myself out. I HAVE burned myself out. A couple of times. It sucks.

But obviously, SOMETHING is not working.

So I have decided to don my proverbial sleuth’s hat and pipe, marry my passions of food and writing, and blog to my heart’s content about my journey to become a healthier, balanced person. This blog will not be strictly about weight loss, nor about food, or any other single topic. Just a document of my efforts.

Initially I wanted to keep this blog private. I hope to write about some things that are very sensitive issues for me, and I didn’t like the idea of other people reading that. But, if those researchers in Roseto are right, maybe having a more open dialogue with others will be helpful. And if I can ever inspire someone, like Andie inspired me, hey, that would be fantastic. Additionally, if I amass even a single reader, I would love input, advice, recipes, criticisms, jokes, well wishes…anything.

So, here we go…

¶#new blog #weight loss #health #balance

May 27th, 2011

Broccoli Is My Bff

Healthy Pina Colada Popsicles

Earth and Turf