Greenies

Just a quick post to say that my eating plan is going very well this week. I'd forgotten how good Green Monsters taste! I'm currently mixing about 2 cups of fresh spinach, 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, half a banana, 5 strawberries, and 2/3 cup of almond milk in mine (for a total of about 200 calories if anyone is keeping score at home). So good!
Dinners so far have also been awesome. I was blown away by how much I enjoyed the Lentil Bowls. I don't typically cook vegan dishes, but this has encouraged me to branch out and try more because I loved this. (I also didn't get any complaints from the hubby.) I think the key ingredient was nutritional yeast, which was the ingredient that initially put me off of making this dish. I loved its savory flavor (it's the closest thing you can get to vegan cheese) and it's nutritional statistics. 7 grams of protein, 60 calories, and 70% of your daily B12 needs in 2T!
My cod and Brussels sprouts cooked in coconut oil were also excellent. The coconut flavor didn't really come through after cooking, but the sprouts browned nicely and the cod was very tender and flaky. I topped it with sort of a thai chili sauce, but I want to make this again and try different sauces because I think this technique is very versatile. Basically I halved the sprouts and cooked them in virgin coconut oil over medium high heat face down until they were a little brown (8 min.) then stirred them up and cooked them, stirring occasionally for another 2 or 3 minutes.
For the cod, I cooked them in virgin coconut oil for 5 minutes on one side and 3 minutes on the other until they were nice and flaky.
In terms of the sauce, I just simmered about 1/4 cup of light coconut oil with sriracha, and ginger and basil from a squeeze bottle until it thickened up a little, then spooned it over the fish and sprouts.

Eat anything exciting this week?

Fat Tuesday

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all! I'm back from my dual skiing/New Orleans vacation and while I had an absolute blast, I have to say that I am ready for Lent! I typically don't give up anything for Lent, but I find that around this time of year I always feel ready to take a step back and live more calmly and healthily for a while. When I lived in New Orleans, a big part of this was due to my wanting to recover from the madness that is the Mardi Gras season, but in general, I find that I tend to live and eat a little decadently in the fall and winter (hello, holidays!), and by late winter/early spring, I'm ready to clean things up a bit. In the past I was at least running a good bit, but since I hurt my knee in October and have mostly traded in my running shoes for a yoga mat, I haven't been burning as many calories as I normally do.
So let's just say that after several food and fun filled months, it's time clean up my eats, hit the gym a little harder, and recommit to my healthy lifestyle. Of course, that doesn't mean that I won't be having fun as well! I love a chance to try new workouts and new healthy recipes. I also find that my cravings tend to even themselves out. Right now, I'm absolutely craving fresh fruits and veggies. Conversely, if I don't allow myself treats along the way, decadent food is all I can think about. It's all about balance!
I thought I'd share my plan in case anyone is interested. I like to take things a week at a time in terms of meal and exercise planning (and this is a short week since I just got back into town), but in general I'm going to be focusing on eating way more veggies, as little processed carbs and sugar as possible, lean proteins and healthy fats. I'm also going to try to work out five times each week. I'm also not going to be drinking wine on weekdays. (I think that wine in moderation is a healthy thing to enjoy, but it's also a source of calories that don't make me feel full, so it's just water, coffee, and tea for me for a little while.)
For the rest of the week, I'm planning to eat Green Monsters for breakfast. I know a spinach and banana smoothie sounds bizarre, but it tastes really good. Even more importantly, it makes me feel wonderful!
Lunch this week will either be leftovers from dinner, or a variation on this santiago salsa. Basically I'm going to make a big batch of this using more veggies (I love to add green onion and red bell pepper to this), brown rice, and little to no cheese. I'm thinking about trying it with nutritional yeast sprinkled on top, and if I don't like that, I'll melt a little cheese on top when I heat it up instead of baking cheese into it initially.
Dinners for the next few days will be Lentil Bowls, poached salmon with broccoli, Cod cooked in coconut oil with coconut chili sauce (based very loosely on this idea, but with a drizzle of sauce and some chopped cilantro on top) and Brussels sprouts, and baked chicken with kale and barley (all piled up in a bowl and topped with lemon juice, olive oil, and Parmesan). I'm excited to be cooking fish this week b/c I really don't take advantage of the wonderful seafood in Maine as often as I should, especially since fish is such a healthy source of protein.
Potential snacks/treats for the week are overnight oats, protein balls, eggs with salsa, popcorn, chia pudding, and meringues (since I have a freezer full and I've calculated that each of my meringues contains at most 30 calories).
I think I'm going to make the lentil bowls tonight b/c I've been wanting to try that recipe for quite some time. I'm going to have to put the dressing on the side though b/c while I LOVE lemon, the hubby is generally not a fan. I might make some humbeque (hummus + bbq sauce) for him to add to his bowl.

What are your favorite healthy recipes and workouts?

Ski Bunny

Even though we've been having a freakishly mild winter (or so I'm told), I've still managed to ski 4 times this year- twice at Sunday River and twice at Shawnee Peak. It helps that my awesome husband used my birthday and Christmas to give me my own skis and ski boots- I have a very good incentive to tag along whenever people I know are going skiing!
Next week, we're going to Beaver Creek, Co to ski for a few days with my inlaws. After that, we're heading to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. So basically, best two part vacation ever. :)
I'm at a somewhat frustrating stage with my skiing this winter. I'm good enough to tackle blue slopes and some blacks, and I'm good enough not to fall down very often. The problem is that I'm proceeding with an abundance of caution and going pretty slowly. I feel bad when I'm the last person down to the lift and people have to wait on me; and while I enjoy skiing the way I am now, I'd like to get better and faster. It's hard to push myself though because pushing myself and risking falling down a lot is kind of scary. I did pretty well this Sunday at Shawnee Peak (it's a pretty small and uncrowded mountain, so less intimidating overall) and my friends commented that I'm getting much faster. Hopefully I can take what I've been doing and translate that to my skiing in Colorado, even though I think Beaver Creek will be much bigger and tougher. Regardless, I'm excited to go!

As a reward for reading while I agonize over skiing (what a first world problem!), here's a picture of the hubby's magnificent winter beard the last time we skied together. I really want to steal his Nordic sweater.

Man's Best Friend

One of the fire alarms in my house started it's low battery beep at 3am last night. One high pitched beep every 90 seconds or so isn't necessarily enough to wake me up. However, two very concerned dogs pawing at me definitely is. Hereaux, my rescue dog, was particularly insistent on following me around until I found the source of the beeping and made it stop. I was pretty irritated at the time, but in retrospect, it's nice to know that your dogs will wake you up if for any reason a fire alarm goes off in the night. When I woke up this morning I told them that they were very good dogs! :)

The Frozen North

It was 8 this morning. Which was actually an improvement from the low of 5 last night. I'm actually kind of excited to say that 8 is by far the lowest temperature I've been exposed to. I'm pretty sure that when I was out and about last night (I had pizza for dinner) and it was 17, that was also, at the time, the lowest temperature I'd been exposed to.
I'm excited about this because all things considered I've been pretty comfortable. It's not like I've dawdled outside or anything, but I think that the winter wear I own is definitely good enough to keep me warm in this kind of weather. In general, the only part of me that's cold is my knees b/c my coat comes down to the top of my knees and I'm unwilling to wear leggings under my pants if I'm going to be mainly indoors b/c I'm worried I'll be too hot.
So as for shoes and clothes, I've been kind of wearing the same few things over and over again, especially at home. My bean boots are my go-to for when I'm going outside, and inside I'm living in my fleece lined mocs. Outside, my long down coat has been perfect (if not a little too warm- I was sweating while taking down the trash and recycling today, but I needed it when I walked the dogs), and inside I've been living in  an Under Armor hoodie and pair of sweatpants that one of the groomsmen from the wedding sent me for Christmas. (The hubby got a similar pair.) He said it was to preserve my marriage because otherwise I'd leave Maine once it got cold. Haha! Of course I may need to buy a second set so I can disagree when the hubby accuses me of wearing the same thing every day. :)
In honor of the cold snap, I have a nice, warming meal planned this evening. It's based on a recipe for pasta with sausage, tomatoes, and mushrooms from Smitten Kitchen (it's the last recipe on the page) but I'm planning to add some chopped carrots and white beans to the mix to make it a bit healthier and to ensure that I'll have plenty of leftover sauce to freeze.

In other news our NYE party went really well. I ended up serving meringues, baked brie, rotel dip, red pepper jelly dip, smoked salmon deviled eggs, bacon wrapped water chestnuts, chicken salad bites, and a chocolate tart with cinnamon and cayenne, a biscoff cookie crust (ganache loosely based on this recipe and crust loosely based on this one), and Kahlua whipped cream.
For drinks we went with Poinsettia cocktails, Moscow Mules, and Sazeracs.

What are you go-to cold weather coping mechanisms?

Resolute

Well, 2011 is almost over. It's been a pretty stellar year. I ran a marathon, discovered that I love to camp, got married (!), went to Spain, moved to Maine, climbed a mountain, and, this Christmas, saw the desert for the first time (visiting my in-laws in Arizona). 2011 is going to be hard to top!
I'm looking forward to the new year with a sense of gratitude for all my wonderful memories from 2011, and a sense of hope that 2012 will prove to be lovely as well.
Of course, I have a few resolutions:
First, to make the most of the time I have. I think that I waste time in a lot of ways. I sit around watching movies I don't even like. I goof off way too much on the internet. I waste time and energy hating the way I look. I get mad about stupid things and waste time holding onto that anger when I should just let it go. So my first and biggest resolution is to live my life with more intention and to gently remind myself of this goal when I stray off course.
Secondly, I resolve to write fiction (in novel, short story, or play form) or poetry at least 4 days a week. I have several stories floating around in my head and I need to get them down. I'd love to write another novel but that seems restrictive, given that at least one of the stories is in play form. Mind you, it's completely ripping Wes Anderson off in tone so I doubt it will see the light of day, but that's not why I'm resolving to write. I'm always afraid to tell the stories I imagine because I think people will recognize themselves in them and be offended if they ever happen to read them or on the off chance that I were to be published. So I'm telling myself that no one has to see what I write and repeating it over and over until the day when pigs fly and I miraculously stop caring what other people think. I just hate that I have neglected my writing for so long because it's something that I've always loved to do- I've just become too self conscious to let myself do it. I'd like to remedy that this year.
Finally, my last resolution is a carry over from 2010- I resolve to go to the dentist in 2012. I finally met my other 2010 resolution to go to the eye Dr. this year, so there's hope yet.

What are your resolutions this year?

Party Planning

Sadly, the Hubby and I won't be able to host a Christmas party this year. Fortunately, we're having a New Year's Eve Party instead! (The biggest problem, of course, is that the majority of my serving platters are Christmas themed...)

Here's what I'm considering for my menu:
A few favorites from years past: Rotel Dip (I've taken to calling this Cardiology Dip b/c it's sure to keep your Cardiologist in business!), Cranberry and Blue Cheese Stuffed Endives, Meringues, Fig and Prosciutto Crostini, and Baked Brie.
And a few new ideas: Chicken Salad Bites (serving my favorite recipe on crackers or toast), Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs (time to actually use my egg tray!), Ice Box Cream Cakes, and Crack Dip (a favorite from my friend Jon's mom- it's mainly Cheddar and Red Pepper Jelly)

Of course, there's also the drink menu to consider.
New Year's Eve obviously calls for a Champagne Cocktail. I'm debating between the classic, a bellini, my favorite: the Poinsettia Cocktail, or just Champagne + Vanilla Vodka garnished with a strawberry.  I also think Martha's Champagne Punch looks divine.
I think that we should definitely revisit the Brandied Port (recipe for this and lots of other tasty holiday beverages in this post) and Brandy Milk Punch. But I'm still on the lookout for more drink recipes. The Bittercup sounds like something the hubby would LOVE but I tend to hate Campari.
I'm also going to offer some sparkling lemonade for a non-alchoholic option this year.

So, two questions today:
1) Which champagne drink should I serve?
2) What's your favorite NYE cocktail? I need ideas!