Andrea's Wellness Notes

Summer Food and Exercise

2012-06-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

Since I have been keeping track of my food, my diet has definitely improved as my meals are once again centered around produce. That’s what I usually strive for, but somehow when life got really busy a few months ago, I started eating fewer vegetables and fruits.

A typical day of food often looked something like this: oatmeal with Greek yogurt and walnuts for breakfast, a sandwich with lettuce and few tomato slices for lunch, and some pasta with veggie sauce for dinner. I also made sure to eat at least one piece of fruit (since I don’t love fruit, this usually requires a conscious effort). Overall, I ate definitely too many carbs and not enough vegetables and on some days not enough protein.

Lately, I’ve enjoyed going to the Farmers’ Market and bringing home big bags of produce again. And my meals are closer to what I want them to be again. Now my meals look something like this: a slice of wholegrain bread with 1/4 avocado & a big tomato for breakfast, cherries as a snack, a big salad with lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, spring onions, and egg whites for lunch, watermelon slices in the afternoon, and some grilled fish and a salad for dinner. I had seriously neglected eating fish for a few months…

Eating this way makes me feel so much better. I have more energy, and I enjoy the food I am eating again. I love looking at all the colors on my plate before sitting down to eat. Yesterday, I marveled at the color of the (very expensive) organic cherries I shared with hubby. Since the cherries were so expensive, I only bought a few – instant portion control!

Since the weather is nice and not too hot yet around here, I have been hiking more again. Hiking is definitely my favorite form of exercise. A friend and I try to catch up about once a week while going on a hike. We both have busy schedules, so our hikes are shorter than what I used to consider a “real hike.” But we climb up some pretty steep hills and cover a little over five miles in about an hour and a half. It’s definitely a workout, and it’s great to connect with a friend at the same time. I have also continued to take barre classes and lift weights a few times a week.

Getting older and living as healthy a life as possible has been on my mind a lot lately. There are no guarantees in life, but I want to make sure I maximize my chances of being able to live an active life for many years to come. Every day is the opportunity to make healthy choices. It’s not about being “perfect,” and I think there is definitely room for some “treats” and some lazy days. It’s just important not to make them the norm.

Lastly, I have been gradually increasing my coffee intake over the past few months. Do you see how there is a pattern of bad habits creeping back into my life when things get stressful? Last year I wrote a post about how to drink less coffee, and I’ll go ahead and take my own advice!

Questions: Does your diet tend to suffer when life gets busy and/or stressful? If so, what are your strategies to get it “back on track?” What’s your favorite form of exercise? Do you drink coffee? If so, how much?

Be well,
Andrea

Being Mindful

2012-05-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

It is so easy to rush through the day from one task to the next and never really stop and pay attention to the moment. When life gets hectic, I have to make a real, constant effort to pay attention to each task and to be aware of what’s going on.

Being present and mindful is especially important when it comes to food for me as I am an emotional eater. I am certainly a lot more mindful these days then several years ago, but when things get stressful, uncomfortable, overwhelming, and scary, I tend to “forget” about what I am putting into my mouth. I don’t truly look at the food; I don’t really taste the food; and I therefore easily eat a lot more food than I need. I may also “forget” to eat mainly plants.

Planning meals and scheduling time to eat throughout the day helps me a lot to pay more attention to what I am eating. But there are still times when I don’t pay as much attention as I should.

A few weeks ago, I downloaded a new app for my phone to keep track of the food I eat. Since I don’t count calories or points, and really never have, I like that the app is very simple; I simply input whenever I eat something. Writing down everything I eat certainly makes me more aware. There are many apps out there that do very similar things. I chose My Diet Journal because it’s easy to use and free. I don’t really like the word “diet” in the title, and I am looking at the “diet” part as “the things I eat in a day.”

To be completely honest, I started inputting everything I ate about four weeks ago, but after a few days, in the midst of life being unusually hectic, I convinced myself that it took too much time. When I’m really honest with myself, I just didn’t make it enough of a priority. How long does it really take to input a meal into a simple smart phone app? About a minute or two. Did I truly not have an extra minute? I think we all know the answer to this question. I think it was just easier at the time not to acknowledge what I was putting into my mouth (both when it comes to quantity and quality).

So a few days ago, I started again. No more excuses.

How is it going? Well. I like keeping track of what I am eating, and it certainly makes me think if I really need that handful of chips or those pieces of chocolate after lunch (not that there is anything wrong with either, but often it’s just not necessary). Sometimes I also write down how I am feeling. This is especially helpful when I “forget” to write something down (like the late night bowl of ice cream that I added the next morning. It certainly wasn’t necessary, but I wanted something to calm my nerves. I think a cup of herbal tea would have worked much better…). In addition to food, I am also keeping track of my vitamins, which I have been taking very inconsistently.

So for the time being, I will continue to write down what I eat to check in with myself and to help me to become as mindful as I would like to be again.Questions: Do you keep track of what you eat? If so, how? How mindful are you throughout the day? How mindful are you when you eat?
Be well,
Andrea

Hot Lunch: In the Kitchen with the Sous Chef

2012-05-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

The kid has a very interesting relationship with food as he tends to become obsessed with a particular food item; luckily it’s usually something healthy. Whatever food he is obsessed with, he’ll ask to eat any chance he gets before he gets finally tired of it. The problem is that he doesn’t always find a new item to replace the old one with so easily.

For a long time, the kid was eating a sandwich for lunch – more specifically, an organic nitrate/nitrite-free salami cucumber sandwich. I tried to switch things up many times, but he didn’t want to hear anything about it. A few weeks ago, he clearly got tired of his salami cucumber sandwiches, but it was hard to come up with a new lunch, and he often simply didn’t eat lunch and brought the sandwich back home. Yet, he refused to take anything else. He did make up for it by eating a big snack/late lunch when he got home though.

Then, one day, he said that he wanted hot lunch. His school has a good hot lunch program with local, organic food, but since it’s almost the end of the school year, it’s a bit late to sign up. Plus, I prefer making our food myself.

So we brainstormed and decided to make hot lunch ourselves. We bought a new lunch box, a thermos, and went shopping for the ingredients together. We made a simple pasta dish with onions, mushrooms, peas, a few tablespoons of half & half, and Parmesan cheese, and so far it is a hit. Now I’ll just have to find a way to convince him to switch things up…

If you want to check out how our cooking/assembling went, you can check out (parts of) our (long) video (which we made at the end of a looooong day…).

Questions: Growing up, what was your favorite lunch? Did you buy lunch or take it from home? Any funny lunch stories you’d like to share? I don’t remember much about my own lunches as they were pretty boring sandwiches. The kid’s older brother once “collected” sandwiches in his backpack when he was in middle school. At the end of the school year when I cleaned out his backpack, I think I found about ten completely rotten sandwiches…. I still get a visceral reaction when I think about it…

Be well,
Andrea

Rhubarb Strawberry Apple Sauce

2012-05-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

Life continues to be busy, and unfortunately there hasn’t been much time for blogging. But we do make sure to make time for some fun in the kitchen, and the kid and I have been enjoying doing the dishes together. I hope that’s something we’ll enjoy doing together for a long time…

We got some rhubarb in our last CSA box, and I decided to make a sauce out of it. Since rhubarb is quite tart and there were only four stalks in the CSA box, I also used the strawberries and the apple that were in the box.

I remember rhubarb from when I was growing up. My mom grew lots and lots of it, but I never liked it very much, maybe because my mom usually cooked it by itself with very little sugar (which I appreciate now!), and it was just too tart for me.

Over the years, I have sampled various rhubarb pies, which I liked, but I always thought they must contain a ton of sugar because they were usually quite sweet and not tart at all…

I ended up really liking the sauce I made, and I ate it with Greek yogurt and also stirred some in some oatmeal. The strawberries and the apple added natural sweetness and took away some of the tartness of the rhubarb, and I added only a little bit of organic sugar. The sauce was still tart but pleasantly so. Maybe my taste buds are changing as I’m getting older…

Rhubarb Strawberry Apple Sauce
Ingredients

Rhubarb stalks (I used four)
Strawberries (I used one container) – The sweeter and riper the strawberries the better
1 apple
Organic sugar, to taste – I used about 2 teaspoons

Directions

Cut the ends off the rhubarb and peel off the fibrous strings.
Cut the rhubarb into 1 inch pieces.
Cut the strawberries and apple into pieces.
Put the fruit into a pot with a few tablespoons of water.
Cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until the fruit becomes soft.
Smash the fruit with a fork, leaving some bigger pieces.
Add sugar to taste before taking the sauce off the heat.

I’m glad the rhubarb showed up in our CSA box, as it made me give it a second chance. I’ve seen lots of rhubarb at the Farmers’ Market in the last few weeks, but I don’t think I would have picked any up… Trying new fruits and vegetables or giving them a second chance is one of the things I love most about our CSA box!

Questions: Do you like rhubarb? If so, what’s your favorite way to eat it? What’s a fruit/vegetable from your childhood that you didn’t like then but love now? I used to seriously dislike beets and now can’t get enough of them.

Be well,
Andrea

Balance and Living Life

2012-04-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Life has been very busy, and I have been struggling to feel “balanced.” I realize that there really is no such thing as true “balance,” but it’s easy to realize when things are way off balance. I’m determined to focus more on the things I know I need to do to stay healthy and happy, and that includes the following:

enough sleep – I have not been getting enough sleep for about a month now, and it is starting to show. I’m determined to get more sleep. That probably means that the few TV shows I’m currently watching will have to go…
healthy, planned meals – investing a few hours on the weekend to plan and prep meals pays off every time. I’m going to spend some time in the kitchen this weekend.
enough exercise – Some workouts didn’t happen because of meetings and other work obligations. I think it’s time to get back to early morning workouts. That way they will happen!
some fun – It’s so important to have some fun every day. And often it’s simply a matter of perspective…

I haven’t documented our life in photos in a while (partly because my laptop is breaking down little by little and hasn’t let me download any pics from my camera). Here are a few photos I emailed to myself. It's a great reminder that there has been fun in our lives! :)

Questions: How do you make sure to stay “balanced” when life gets hectic? What fun things are you going to do today?

Be well,
Andrea

CSA Veggies & A Meal Plan

2012-04-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since I’ve taken a photo of our CSA box. Getting our box is still one of my favorite parts of the week!

If you are interested in my thoughts on CSAs, here are some previous posts in which I wrote about why I love my CSA and how to make a CSA work for you.

Meal Planning

I haven’t done a very good job planning our meals lately. Life has been a bit busier than I like it. I still plan dinners every week on the white board in my room, but sometimes I don’t plan for all the days of the week, and we have been eating out a few more times than I’d like. So I’m determined to do a better job. Here are the meals for this week (plus some lunch items; we’ll have the same lunch more than once):

Meal 1: Cabbage & veggie soup & brown rice
Meal 2: Grilled salmon & a salad
Meal 3: Quesadillas with black beans, avocado, & salsa
Meal 4: Homemade ramen with eggs, lots of greens, spring onions, & basil
Meal 5: Japchae (we all really enjoy this dish right now)
Lunch: Curried chicken salad (organic chicken breasts, cut into small pieces, with a Greek yogurt/curry dressing)
Lunch: Quinoa & roasted veggie salad
Lunch: Egg salad

Questions: What meals do you have planned for the coming week? What’s your favorite lunch?

Be well,
Andrea

Japchae: Korean Noodles (Korean Banchan Series)

2012-04-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

Japchae is often served as part of the side dishes in Korean restaurants. However, it can also be a meal all of its own when it is served on a bed of rice and is then called japchae bap.

Most japchae recipe include meat, but since we don’t eat very much meat these days, I usually make it without meat. Also, I always change the ingredients in this dish, as I use whatever vegetables I have around.

Japchae (Korean Noodles)

Ingredients (for the noodles)

8 ounces glass noodles (also called sweat potato or mung bean noodles)
2 tbsp soy sauce
Olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
8 ounces oyster mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces spinach (blanch the spinach and squeeze it dry)
oil

Ingredients (for the sauce)

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbps black pepper
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce

Directions

Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package, between 6 – 8 minutes.
Rinse the noodles with cold water. If they are the long kind, cut them into about 5-inch-long pieces.
Pour two tablespoons soy sauce over the noodles and make sure all noodles are coated evenly.
Heat a frying pan and lightly coat it with oil.
Stir fry the noodles for 4-5 minutes.
Set the noodles aside.
Mix the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
Heat a frying pan, add a little oil, and stir fry the vegetables one by one and let them cool. Season each vegetable with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Once the vegetables are cooled, combine them with the spinach and the noodles.
Coat the noodles with the sauce.
Often this dish is served with egg strips. To make the egg strips, make an “egg pancake” and cut it into thin strips.

Of course it’s a lot more fun to make this dish if you have a helper:

Some of the noodles are REALLY long… In the picture on the right, they have already been cut and are being sautéed.

Once all ingredients are at room temperature, they can be mixed together.

Questions: What’s your favorite noodle dish?
Be well,
Andrea

Why I Am Exercising As I Am Getting Older

2012-03-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

When I was young(er), a big motivation for exercising was how it made me look. Sure, I knew that exercising was good for me, but that was really not the main reason I did it.

Over the past 20 years, I have always been active (even through a time when I gained quite a bit of weight due to stress eating; exercise does not prevent weight gain if you eat too much… Duh. I know…). But sometime in my 30s my motivation to exercise gradually shifted from “looks” to “health.”

I started getting little aches and pains that hadn’t been there before, but I found that with regular exercise, including enough stretching and yoga, they pretty much went away. I also suffered from debilitating low back pain on a few occasions in recent years, but luckily I am able to manage my low back with regular barre classes.

Here is my current exercise philosophy. It’s all about keeping my body strong and functioning well. It’s also about injury prevention.

Move every day for at least 30 minutes – this is crucial for me to feel “right;” it is more about my brain than my body.
Take workouts outside whenever possible – I am back to one long(ish), hilly hike per week, and I love it.
Do at least two strength workouts per week – as I’m aging this is becoming more and more important. I can see and feel a real difference when I lift weights consistently.
Do at least two barre workouts per week – barre classes with a focus on proper alignment really help me manage my low back. When I don’t do two barre classes/workouts (I do have several DVDs that I do at home) per week, my low back starts hurting. Barre classes aren’t cheap (but Groupons and other deals make them more affordable), and it’s not always easy to get there. But debilitating low back pain is not fun, so I do what I have to.
Prevent (re)injuries – I injured my ankle 25 years ago, had a complicated surgery, a lengthy recovery (and exercised too soon), and reinjured it numerous times over the years. At one point (I’m not proud of this), I took pain meds to get me through workouts. Now I have learned to listen to my body as I want it to function for many years to come. That sometimes means “getting off my foot” and doing less cardio for a week or so while I let my foot recover. This seems like a “no brainer,” and I can’t believe it took me so long to realize this…

At this stage in my life, I have learned that it is possible to stay strong and healthy, but it definitely takes a bit more time and effort to feel the same way I “naturally” felt 10 or 15 years ago. And I know things will continue to change as I’m getting older. I hope I’m up for the challenges and changes!

Questions: What’s your favorite form of exercise? What’s your exercise philosophy? Has your exercise philosophy changed over the years?

Be well,
Andrea

Radish Sangchae (Korean Side Dish)

2012-03-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

The next dish in my Korean banchan series is another favorite of mine. I realize that I have many, many favorite banchan dishes… The radish, or daikon, used in this dish is naturally spicy, and the red chili powder gives the dish an extra kick. I like to play with the spiciness of this dish and also vary the thickness of the radish pieces. Sometimes I shred it, and sometimes I cut it with a knife. It’s interesting to me how much the size of the radish pieces changes the flavor…

Radish Sangchae

Ingredients

1 daikon radish, shredded (more traditional I believe) or cut into thin strips
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp Korean chili powder (or more)
Sesame seeds

Directions

Mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, lemon juice, and chili powder in a bowl.
Mix the marinade with the daikon and refrigerate.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving the dish.

Several of my online friends are working on projects at the moment, and I’m helping them to spread the word.

I’m sure many of you have heard that Lynn from The Actor’s Diet and her husband Abe have a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for the film the Man’s Guide to Love. It is going to be based on the website by the same name, which Abe has been working on for a couple of years. Hubby and I very much enjoyed hanging out with Lynn and Abe at the Foodbuzz Festival two years ago, and we wish them best of luck with this project! For more information about this cool project, here is a link to Lynn’s post that talks more about the film, who will be working on it, etc.

And Jenn from Slim Shoppin’ is raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through Team in Training in honor of her mother-in-law who passed away of complications from a blood cancer. Here is a link to Jenn’s and her husband’s Team in Training page. My oldest sister passed away from leukemia, and it is a cause dear to my heart.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Question: Do you like radishes? Which kind? What’s your favorite way to eat them? Any exciting plans for the weekend?

Be well,
Andrea

Weekend Fun & Cucumber Sangchae (Korean Banchan Series)

2012-03-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I got to go on a quick date. We had a great time, got some much needed alone time, and enjoyed some treats.

The next dish in my Korean banchan series (previous dishes: Korean Chive Sangchae, Soybean Sprout Namul, and Spinach Namul) is one of my favorite dishes: Korean cucumber salad. It’s nice and refreshing, and I love the heat from the gochujang (chili paste).

Cucumber Sangchae

Ingredients

Cucumbers, 2 salad cucumbers or 12-15 Persian or pickling cucumbers [The advantage of using pickling or Persian cucumbers is that they have less water. If using salad cucumbers, it is a good idea to put them in a colander and sprinkle them with salt to drain some of the water out of them. Otherwise the salad will be too watery.]
Salt, if using salad cucumbers
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 garlic coves, minced
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Korean chili powder
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
1 tsp sugar

Directions

Cut the cucumbers lengthwise into thin slices. [If using salad cucumbers, put them into a colander, sprinkle them with salt, and let them sit for 30 minutes. Then rinse them with water and gently squeeze them dry with a dish towel.]
In a bowl, mix the spring onions, garlic, vinegar, salt, and chili powder. Then add the sesame seeds, sesame oil, chili paste, and sugar.
Coat the cucumber slices with the dressing. Refrigerate before serving.

Questions: Do you like cucumbers? If so, what’s your favorite way to eat them?

Be well,
Andrea

Weekend Fun and Spinach Namul (Banchan: Korean Side Dish)

2012-03-12T14:48:00.001-07:00

We had a nice weekend without anything on the agenda. Since it was a beautiful weekend, we took advantage of the weather and spent quite a bit of time outside.

We also made more banchan over the weekend. I enlisted the help of hubby and the kid to take the ends off the bean sprouts – let’s just say hubby ended up doing most of the work, and it is VERY time-consuming…

On to the next dish in my banchan series. It’s another simple dish that keeps well in the fridge for several days: spinach namul. The spinach is quickly blanched, mixed with seasonings, and then quickly sautéed.

Spinach Namul
Ingredients

1.5 pounds spinach
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
4 tsp sesame seeds
olive oil
1 tsp salt

Directions

Bring some water to a boil and add the salt.
Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds.
Drain the spinach and rinse under cold water. Squeeze out the water
Mix the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and vinegar and coat the spinach with the mixture.
Heat a frying pan and spray it with olive oil.
Sauté the spinach for about 30 seconds.
Sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Questions: Do you like spinach? Yes, and I almost always have some around. If so, what’s your favorite way to eat it? That’s hard to say because I enjoy spinach in so many dishes. I love it as a salad with a warm dressing and topped with a poached egg. I also enjoy it in my kefir/blueberry/spinach smoothies. Plus, mushrooms and spinach scrambles are one of my go-to breakfasts. And there are so many more ways I enjoy it…

Be well,
Andrea

Soybean Sprout Namul (Banchan: Korean Side Dishes)

2012-03-08T05:46:00.001-08:00

This is the next post in my Korean banchan (side dishes) series. The last recipe featured Korean Chive Sangchae, basically a marinated chive salad.

Namul dishes usually refer to steamed or stir-fried vegetables, and the soybean sprouts are quickly boiled and then stir-fried for just a bit. Here is a picture of the washed, untrimmed beansprouts.

Soybean Sprout Namul

Ingredients

2 cups organic soybean sprouts
Olive oil
Korean chili powder, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
2 tsp sesame oil

Directions

Wash the beansprouts and trim off the ends. (That’s the time-consuming part of this dish)
Bring a pot of water to boil and add a little salt, add the beansprouts and boil them for 3 minutes.
Spray a frying pan with vegetable oil and add the drained beansprouts and sauté for about 30 seconds.
Add the chili powder and black pepper and stir well.
Drizzle with a little sesame oil.
Chill before serving.

You can make this dish as spicy or mild as you like. I usually adjust the spiciness depending on how hot the other dishes we are eating are.

Questions: Have you ever had beansprouts? If so, how were they prepared? Did you like them?

Be well,
Andrea

Korean Chive Sangchae (Banchan: Korean Side Dish)

2012-03-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

I talked about the banchan, Korean side dishes, I made over the weekend in my last post, so here is the first recipe: Korean chive salad. I believe the Korean store where I bought my chives actually labeled them “Chinese chives.” Korean or Chinese chives are less round than regular chives and look more like grass.

Korean chives are delicious and one of my favorite side dishes. And they are very simple to make and truly a “no cook” dish. In fact, all the “sangchae” dishes, which can be made in variations with all kinds of vegetables, are really easy as they are simply assembled like a salad. However, usually the longer they marinate, the better they get, so you can make a big batch and keep it in the fridge. [Note: The picture that follows also shows “minari” next to the chives. It is not used in this dish.]

Korean Chive Sangchae

Ingredients

1 bunch Korean or Chinese chives
2 Tbsp soy sauce (I use reduced sodium soy sauce)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp Korean chili powder
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp sesame seeds

Directions

Thoroughly wash the chives and cut off the ends.
Cut into 2 inch long pieces.
Combine the soy sauce, garlic, chili powder, sesame oil, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.
Mix the sauce with the chives and chill.
Before serving, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

[Note: There are many variations of this dish, and I always play with the ingredients as I just “can’t” follow a recipe.]

Questions: Do you like chives? I love regular chives as well as Korean chives. What’s your favorite way to eat them? One of my favorite ways to eat regular chives is on a whole grain bagel with just a bit of cream cheese and tomato slices. The chives look so pretty on top of the tomatoes and taste great. Have you ever had Korean or Chinese chives?

Be well,
Andrea

Weekend Fun and Banchan (Korean Side Dishes)

2012-03-04T19:56:00.001-08:00

The last few weeks have brought many changes for our family, and we have all had some difficulties adjusting. So we are very grateful that we got to enjoy a fabulous day at the beach. And to make things even better, the kid caught up on his sleep on the drive home!

Banchan (Korean Side Dishes)

For many, the favorite part of a Korean meal are the side dishes, called banchan. Often when we go to a Korean restaurant, what I look forward to the most are the side dishes, and it’s also what I eat most of, which is sort of funny as they come free with the meal.

Most banchan dishes are not difficult to prepare, but since there is an expectation to have a wide variety of side dishes at every meal (nine or more is not unusual), planning is important, as making too many dishes in one day can be a bit time consuming. In fact, when I think about making about ten side dishes all at once (in addition to the main course), I get overwhelmed and am likely to make none! Luckily, most of the dishes will keep for several days in the refrigerator, so one can make a few dishes a day and serve them with what’s already in the fridge. Also, a meal with just a few, good side dishes is just fine in my opinion…

Over the weekend, I made some bulgogi (I marinated the meat following my bulgogi recipe) as well as a number of side dishes (bean sprouts, Chinese leeks, and spinach). I will post the recipes over the coming weeks and also plan on making some more side dishes this week as I love eating them for lunch.

We ate the bulgogi and banchan with some “purple rice,” which we all enjoyed a lot. We don’t eat rice that often, so it was a special treat.

Finally, if you are interested, I planned our meals for this week on my Facebook page. And I’m still recording most of my workouts on Daily Mile. Luckily, as the weather is getting nicer, we have been having many “playouts” with the kid, and I have been getting extra workouts, consisting of climbing, running, jumping, etc. The kid is getting fast, so playing tag and having races are actually workouts these days!

Questions: Have you ever had Korean food? If so, did you like it? What was your favorite part of the meal? What was the highlight of your weekend?

Be well,
Andrea

Creamy Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage and Tomatoes

2012-03-01T06:29:00.000-08:00

The ~~teenager~~ young adult reminded me the other day of a pasta dish that I used to make once in a while when he was growing up. I hadn’t made it in years, probably because it’s not the healthiest dish, and we don’t eat a lot of meat anymore. But it is very tasty, and I think it’s okay to eat a more indulgent meal once in awhile. However, I think it’s important to stick to one portion and to pair the dish with plenty of veggies. Also, there are certainly ways to make the dish healthier, but I wanted to make “the real thing.”

Creamy Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage and Tomatoes

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 spicy Italian sausages, taken out of the casing and broken into small pieces
Approximately 13 ounces of diced/chopped tomatoes (I like to buy them in a carton, such as the Pomi brand; in the summer, I use fresh, homegrown tomatoes)
1/4 cup water
1 T organic ketchup
1/2 cup heavy cream
Parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
Spicy red pepper flakes to taste
1 package pasta (16 ounces) – I like to use short shapes such as rigatoni or penne

Directions

Boil the pasta and in the meantime prepare the sauce.
Spray a pan with olive oil and sauté the onion for a few minutes and then add the sausage pieces and cook until the sausage is done.
Add the diced tomatoes, water, and ketchup and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the heavy cream, taste the sauce and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes as desired.
Mix the sauce with the boiled pasta and sprinkle with parsley.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 8

I made the dish when the young adult came over for dinner, and he loved it. I always love how food can bring back so many memories, and I was transported back to a time when he was much younger, and I think so was he…

Question: What’s one of your favorite dishes from your childhood? I have fond memories of my mom’s potato soup as well as long ziti (same length as spaghetti) with tomato sauce. She made the sauce with tomatoes she grew in her garden. In the summer, she always made a big batch of the sauce and bottled it, and we had it all winter long. And I remember when I visited my aunt, we had eggs in mustard sauce (and she hid an egg from me!). Whenever I make the dish, I think of her. It’s been a while, and I think I’ll put it on the menu soon!

Be well,
Andrea

Gardening, Weekly Meals & Workouts

2012-02-27T13:55:00.001-08:00

I did some container planting over the weekend, and it really put me in a good mood. My mom’s favorite flowers are pansies, and I plant some every year.

I also planted some herbs:

I can’t wait for everything to (hopefully) grow and thrive. Of course, there are never any guarantees, and I have had my fair share of disappointments when it comes to growing herbs, flowers, and vegetables. Keeping my fingers crossed…

On to this week’s meals. I am trying to really watch our grocery budget, and I’ll be using quite a few things from the freezer and pantry this week. It’s not the most exciting menu, but I was able to spend a lot less at the grocery store…

Meal 1: Roasted veggies & baked chicken (using some organic chicken that I froze a while ago when it was on sale).
Meal 2: Bok choy/tofu stir fry & brown rice.
Meal 3: Pizza – shortcut with TJ’s whole wheat pizza dough. Toppings: sautéed onions & mushrooms and a little cheese. We’ll also have a salad.
Meal 4: Potstickers – I froze a bunch when I made them last time. I’ll cook them in some vegetable broth with veggies.
Meal 5: Big salad with “refrigerator finds.”

And now on to this week’s workouts.

2 barre classes
1 long(er) cardio session
1 HIIT session
2 weight workouts – I’ve been working on mixing things up, but I’ll be looking at a more formal plan sometime soon.

Questions: How do you keep your grocery budget “under control?” What budget-friendly meals are on your menu this week? What’s your favorite flower?

Be well,
Andrea

Favorite Breakfasts

2012-02-19T16:20:00.000-08:00

When I was young(er), I could never eat breakfast. Honestly, I just couldn’t get any food down until at least 10:00 a.m. But for the past fifteen years or so, I have to eat breakfast!

One of my favorite breakfasts for a long time was oatmeal with Greek yogurt and walnuts. I ate this pretty much every day for two years! Yes, that’s a lot of oatmeal. At the time, I really loved it, but a few weeks ago, I grew somewhat tired of it. I still have it maybe once a week, but certainly not every day anymore.

With less oatmeal in my life, I had to find some new breakfast foods, and here are my current favorites:

Egg Scrambles
My favorite egg scramble combo at the moment is with mushrooms and spinach. I usually use one egg and one egg white per person and tons of veggies. I love adding some blueberries on the side. The scramble isn’t really the prettiest color, but it tastes great, and I love that I start my day with a lot of veggies and some fruit! Costco sells big containers of organic spinach and organic blueberries, and I always buy them…

Kefir Smoothies

Tami recently posted about kefir. I used to drink a lot of kefir but had totally “forgotten” about it. It literally had been years since I bought and drank kefir. I love it plain, but Tami uses it in smoothies, and so I decided to use it in a smoothie, too. I love using fresh blueberries, a couple handfuls of spinach, and kefir. If I feel like making it more “dessert-like,” I also add a few drops of vanilla stevia. My friend Lara recently posted a link to Ellie Krieger’s thoughts on stevia on Facebook, and I think Ellie’s viewpoint makes a lot of sense. One of the things Ellie points out in the article is that stevia products are highly processed. In her Facebook update, Lara pointed out that stevia isn’t all that well researched and that some studies have shown some potentially quite negative side effects, which I think is an important reminder! I actually love the taste of my vanilla stevia drops, but I don’t use them very often. I try not to use any sweetener too much. I think sweetness is really a matter of what one is used to, and if you eat little sugar or other sweeteners, you will want less and less, and you’ll be able to taste the natural sweetness in foods again. Clearly, neither sugar nor other sweeteners are all that healthy, especially in larger quantities. But a little is nice once in a while…

Getting A Bit Stranger: Lettuce, Leftover Roasted Veggies & Over-Easy Eggs

I really think you can eat any food any time of the day, and I don’t think of certain foods as breakfast foods. Lately, I have been eating more greens, leftover veggies (I roasted a lot of veggies at least twice a week), and eggs for breakfast.

I don’t really eat sweet breakfasts very often, but I am thinking about making some banana pancakes with strawberry sauce some time soon as they have been on my mind A LOT lately… And, yes, that’s really more of a dessert than breakfast!

Questions: What’s your favorite breakfast at the moment? Do you prefer savory or sweet breakfasts? What are your thoughts on sugar and sweeteners?

Be well,
Andrea

Weekly Meals and Exercise

2012-02-12T18:21:00.000-08:00

My weekend was filled with lots of work but also lots of playtime. There was a beer walk as well as time at Happy Hollow.

Now on to this week’s meals:

Meal 1: Roasted cabbage with lemon (I saw this on Tami’s blog and it looks delicious; I roast so many veggies, but I have never roasted cabbage for some reason) & salmon salad with lots of lemon juice, a little wasabi mayo and capers on a bed of lettuce
Meal 2: Turkey meatballs with tomato sauce, a salad, & pasta for the boys
Meal 3: Veggie stir fry with tofu & lots of cucumbers and peppers to dip in homemade (by my mother-in-law) doenjang (Korean fermented bean paste)
Meal 4: Salad with roasted veggies and poached eggs
Meal 5: Leftovers and other refrigerator finds

Exercise Thoughts

I’m pretty happy with my workouts overall, and planning helps me to stay focused. During the week, I recently find myself often very short on time, and all I can fit in is a short yoga session or a short DVD (like the 30 Day Shred) at home. I truly believe doing something is better than doing nothing, and I have been able to “make up” for any shortened workouts on the weekends. Looking ahead, I know that I need a more structured plan (to avoid getting stuck in a rut, especially when it comes to lifting weights), and I’ll be looking at various exercise plans over the next few weeks. For now, here is what I have planned for this week:

1 barre class
2 heavy(er) weight sessions
1 long(er) cardio workout
2 HIIT sessions

Questions: What’s on your menu this week? How do you plan your workouts? Do you follow a structured plan (put together by a trainer, from a book, online, etc.), or do you put it together yourself? How do you prevent getting stuck in an “exercise rut?”

Be well,
Andrea

Chicken Cilantro Dumplings

2012-02-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

Hubby convinced me that we should make some chicken cilantro dumplings for the Super Bowl. So we did. And we made a family affair out of it and had a lot of fun. The funny part is that we didn’t even end up watching very much of the Super Bowl… But the dumplings were very tasty nonetheless.

Chicken Cilantro Dumplings

Ingredients

1 pound ground organic chicken (I bought organic chicken breasts and ground them myself in my food processor.)
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onion stalks, sliced
Cilantro (I used one bunch; use less or none if you are not very fond of cilantro), finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 inch round slice of ginger, grated
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
Approximately 5 ounces tofu
About 50-60 dumpling/potsticker skins (we got thick and thin ones; we much preferred the thinner ones)

Directions:

[Note: I chopped all the vegetables in my food processor and then ground the chicken breasts in it as well. It was quick and easy.]
Combine and mix all ingredients, except the dumpling skins, in a bowl for the filling. Don’t overwork the filling.
Spoon a small amount of filling into the middle of the dumpling skins. Don’t use too much, or it will be hard to close the dumplings.
Wet one half of the outside of the skins with water and fold the skins in half.
Firmly press down on the seams and fold them over 2 to 3 times.
Makes approximately 50 - 60 dumplings.

The dumplings can be pan-fried or cooked in a soup.

To panfry: Spray a hot frying pan with oil. Lower the heat to medium high. Add the dumplings and cook on one side for about 3 minutes. Then add a few tablespoons of water to the pan and put a lid on the pan. Let the dumplings cook/steam for about 2-3 minutes. Then take the lid off and continue to cook until both sides are browned.

To cook in soup: Add the dumplings to some gently boiling broth. Make sure the broth doesn’t boil too hard, or the dumplings may open up. Cook for about 5 – 7 minutes.

Note: It’s practically impossible for me to figure out exactly how much filling I need for a certain number of skins, and I rather make a bit more. If you have leftovers (like I always do), you can form little “chicken balls” and cook them in some broth. By adding some vegetables (great to “clean out the fridge!”), they make a very tasty vegetable/chicken ball soup. Alternatively, you can make little “hamburgers,” which I love to add on top of salads. Tip: Make sure the chicken mixture is very cold before forming the “balls/hamburgers,” or they fall easily apart. Finally, I always freeze some uncooked dumplings for later use. When I want to use them, I add them to some broth and cook them a minute longer than fresh ones.

Questions: Did you watch the Super Bowl? Since the 49ers came so close but didn’t make it after all, hubby was still a bit heartbroken, and it was easy to convince him to spend the beautiful afternoon outside instead! If you watched the Super Bowl, what did you eat while watching? If you didn’t watch the Super Bowl, what was the favorite thing you ate over the weekend? What’s on your menu this week?

Be well,
Andrea

Weekend Fun and Weekly Meals and Exercise

2012-01-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

We had some fun at the Children’s Discovery Museum, a place the kid still loves and can’t get enough of.

I had planned to post the recipe for the chicken cilantro dumplings by now, but there were no pictures, so I decided to do it another time. I basically followed this recipe for mandu (that hubby made with the “then still a toddler” last year), but I used ground, organic chicken instead of the beef and pork, and I also added cilantro and adjusted the other ingredients slightly. I didn’t make the dumplings with the kid, but looking at the pics on hubby’s blog made me realize that we’ll have to do it again as a family! Here are three of the many pics he posted last year…

On to this week’s meals:

Meal 1: Black bean quesadillas with guacamole and a salad
Meal 2: Veggie tofu stir fry and brown rice
Meal 3: Quinoa with roasted veggies, topped with poached eggs
Meal 4: Pureed vegetable soup
Meal 5: Leftovers and “refrigerator finds”

Now on to my weekly exercise. I took four barre classes last week, and they were all very tough and great workouts (I had several Groupons, etc., which made them more affordable). But I know that I have to focus a bit more on high intensity cardio. I did an interval workout on the elliptical, and I ended up feeling very nauseous afterward. I definitely want to increase my cardio fitness in the next few weeks. I also want to do some more workouts with heavier free weights. So here are my workout plans:

1 barre class
2 weight sessions
2 HIIT workouts
Longer cardio (hope I’ll be able to fit a long hike into my schedule)

Questions: What was the highlight of your weekend? What was the best thing you ate last week? What’s on your menu this week? What workouts do you have planned?

Be well,
Andrea

Online Workout Websites

2012-01-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all your suggestions in the comments (and via email) on my last post regarding online workout websites. I checked out all the suggestions and thought it would be helpful to list them in a post. So here we go:

http://www.bodyrock.tv/

Bodyrock.tv has a great variety of workouts, and they are short and intense. It’s a great site to explore and get ideas for new and exciting exercise routines. Some of the exercises are clearly beyond the scope of what I’m looking for in my workouts, and I really don’t want to (re)injure myself (having a weak ankle and a lingering lower back injury). It’s a great site to explore, but I think one has to know one’s limits (which is always the case when one exercises).

http://www.yogadownload.com/

I really like yogadownload.com and used it years ago but had sort of forgotten about it. The site has a wide variety of yoga classes as well as audio and (some) video downloads. Some of the shorter classes are even free.

http://www.yogavibes.com/

I hadn’t heard of yogavibes.com before (well maybe I had, but I don’t remember for sure…). The site has an extensive free collection of short videos (each 1-4 minutes in length) demonstrating and explaining individual poses. There are also a wide variety of yoga classes (beginner, prenatal, athletes, kids, etc.) that can be accessed with a paid plan. First-time customers can download a free 15 day trial, and an unlimited monthly pass costs $20.

http://www.crossfit.com/ and http://www.dogtowncrossfit.com/

I always see the “crazy” CrossFit people doing their WOD (workout of the day) at my gym, and I have been intrigued for a long time. The CrossFit site provides lots and lots of information, but if I ever decide to give this (crazy) workout plan a try, I think I’ll start by taking a few classes at a CrossFit gym to make sure I understand the basics. Groupon and similar sites frequently run great deals on CrossFit classes.

Mike Chang videos on YouTube

Some good, basic workouts. I look forward to exploring his YouTube channels a bit more.

Jamie Eason’s LiveFit

Jamie has a 12-week program, consisting of three four-week sessions focusing on training, nutrition, and supplementation. It’s definitely too intense for what I’m looking for at this point, and I wouldn’t want to follow such a strict eating and supplementation plan. But I may explore the exercises more in the future. I also like that the workouts are available as printable logs.

Questions: What’s your favorite workout right now (online, outdoors, indoors, at home, at the gym, anything)? I still love barre classes. They are a great workout, and they have really helped me to manage my lower back pain. However, my favorite workouts are still long, challenging hikes. What’s a workout you want to try but are scared of?

Be well,
Andrea

Veggies, Meals & Workouts

2012-01-22T07:33:00.000-08:00

Bike riding, running, climbing, and soccer are some of the kid’s current favorite activities. It keeps us all very active, which is a good thing!

We got another CSA box. Over the years, I have learned that it’s best to eat the lettuce right away as it quickly wilts, so we had a nice, simple salad with radishes on Friday night. We really enjoyed it.

Now on to this week’s meals:

Meal 1: Chicken cilantro dumplings – some pan fried, some in a veggie broth; steamed veggies
Meal 2: Veggie stir fry with mushrooms over brown rice – I’m really looking forward to using the mushrooms from the CSA box
Meal 3: Mushroom ravioli with pesto and veggies
Meal 4: Grilled salmon with lemon dill sauce and smashed cauliflower
Meal 5: Butternut squash soup, leftovers and other refrigerator finds

My workouts didn’t go at all as planned. I came down with a bad cold and just couldn’t exercise at all on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday I thought I’d give a short workout a try and did 20 minutes on the elliptical. Afterwards, I went into the steam room (which was challenging as I couldn’t really breathe, but I felt better afterwards). Thursday and Friday I rested more. Finally, on Saturday I felt well enough to go to a barre class. In the past, I never took a break from working out even when I was sick, and there were stretches when I was always sick. Looking back, I think it was because I didn’t allow my body to heal properly. Glad I’m older and bit wiser…

Here are my workout plans for this week:

2 barre workouts (I got a couple of questions about barre workouts. I wrote a post about barre workouts last year, but in short barre workouts are a mixture of ballet, yoga, and Pilates; there is lots of thigh work, core work, and push ups; light weights with high repetitions are also used – much harder than it sounds)
1 weights workout
HIIT
Short workout DVDs (The 30 Day Shred, etc.), which I will do before work – I really miss Exercise t.v. on demand (which apparently shut down its on demand channels as well as its website on December 31.) We just got cable t.v. again recently, and Exercise t.v. was one of the things I really liked about it. I know many people like www.bodyrock.tv, and I’ll have to give the site a try soon.

Questions: Do you have any suggestions for online exercise sites? If so, please share in the comments! What workouts do you have planned for this week? What’s on your menu?

Be well,
Andrea

Weekly Meals and Workouts

2012-01-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

We have had a good weekend with lots of playtime and fun so far.

The highlight of last week’s meals was the leek potato soup. Unfortunately there is no photo. In the comments, Mimi asked me for the recipe, and I wrote it down in my reply to her. It’s actually a “no recipe,” but the sweet potatoes made the soup really tasty. Whenever I made leek and potato soup in the past, I used regular potatoes. The sweet potatoes gave it a subtle sweetness, and the soup didn’t taste too “oniony.”

Now on to this week’s meals:

Meal 1: Salmon and a salad.

Meal 2: Veggie chickpea stew – I love this simple stew, especially all the dill in it.

Meal 3: Grilled cheese sandwiches with sautéed onions and mushrooms in the middle. Veggies and hummus.

Meal 4: Spaghetti and meatballs – the ~~toddler~~ kid has asked for this for weeks.

Meal 5: Tofu/veggie stir fry and brown rice.

As far as my workouts go, I did everything except a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout. But I did do two extra barre classes. I purchased several Groupons lately, which have made barre classes much more affordable. And since it’s such an intense workout, it’s really a good idea to do it regularly as otherwise class is all but impossible… Plus, if I do barre workouts regularly my low back pain is completely gone.

Here is what I have planned for this week:

2 barre classes
Jackie Warner Power Circuit Training DVD – I really like this workout. The 40 minute workout is quite challenging and really works your whole body (it’s also broken up into body parts if you want to do only part(s) of it). Since it’s going to be another busy week, an at-home workout is just what I need.
Weights at the gym
HIIT – I’ll really try to do it this week!

Questions: What was the highlight of your weekend? What’s on your menu this week? What workouts do you have planned?

Be well,

Andrea

Back to Planning: Meals and Workouts

2012-01-09T04:29:00.001-08:00

It was a beautiful weekend, and we got plenty of outdoor playtime in and also had some good friends over for dinner. Overall, we had a good, low-key weekend that was unfortunately over way too quickly…

Life is busy again, and it’s more essential than ever to plan our meals:

Meal 1: Leek and potato soup with Greek yogurt.
Meal 2: Ziti pasta with a simple, homemade tomato sauce – I found some long ziti pasta (the length of spaghetti) and it brought back lots of childhood memories as this was one of my favorite meals when I was little. It’s funny to me how much the pasta shape (and length) can influence the taste of a pasta dish (it’s NOT the same with short ziti or penne). Can’t wait for this meal! We’ll also have a salad.
Meal 3: Salmon cakes & a salad.
Meal 4: Pizza – I’ll take a shortcut with Trader Joe’s pizza dough. Toppings: Sautéed onions, mushrooms, & brie cheese. As an appetizer: hummus with carrot sticks and celery for dipping.
Meal 5: Leftovers and other “refrigerator finds.”

And now on to my workouts:

2 Dailey Method workouts (I’ll probably take one class and do the DVD the other time)
HIIT workout
2 weight workouts
Long(er) cardio

I’m still tracking most of my workouts on Daily Mile. I like looking back at my workouts and keeping myself accountable. For those who are looking for a simple way to keep track of workouts (and interact with others if they like), I recommend the site.

Questions: What’s on your menu this week? What meal are you looking forward to the most? What’s your favorite pasta shape? What workouts do you have planned?

Be well,
Andrea

Cleaning Things Up a Bit

2012-01-06T14:34:00.001-08:00

Happy 2012!

I hope the first few days of the new year have been good ones! I have been busy trying to bring some order back into my life and to clean things up a bit. I don’t usually make big resolutions at the beginning of a new year, but it is a nice reminder of how “things should/could be in a perfect world.” I also start teaching new classes next week, and so being especially organized is important. Here are some of the organization projects I tackled over the last few days:

Sorted through clothes and donated anything that didn’t look good and didn’t make me feel good – felt soooo good!
Organized clothes so that I can easily pull outfits together
Organized jewelry and made it more accessible
Sorted through my spices (and noticed that most of them had been expired for many months and some even years – big oops!)
Made hubby install a new spice rack for the spices I use the most
Used up most contents from freezer and pantry for meals – I’m very proud that I was able to cook healthy meals with practically “no groceries” in the house for an entire week

Here is a pic of our new “high frequency spices” rack.

We got another CSA box. I love all the leafy greens, especially since my diet is in need of some “cleaning up,” too. I see quite a few green juices and green smoothies in my future, especially as there are still several frozen bananas in the freezer. I also bought a couple cucumbers for juicing. The tangerines can add some sweetness to the juices and smoothies.

Questions: Did you make New Year’s resolutions? If so, what are they? How often do you sort through your spices? I clearly don’t do it often enough! I’ll be better about it!

Be well,
Andrea