The Dis-ease of Being Busy

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Hello! Happy Tuesday! Here's some food for thought as we head into one of the busiest times of the year. xoxo

What's Your Chronotype?

source: Jeremiah Ketner

I'm a hard-core night owl through and through. I have been ever since I was little. Recent studies have tried to prove whether it's nature or nurture when it comes to each person's individual, unique circadian rhythm. I'm happy to report that it seems that our nocturnal preferences, my fellow night-owls, are rooted in our DNA, meaning that our genetic make-up determines our preferred sleeping patterns. While some people I know are bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 6am (I'm looking at you, PGS!) I'm groggy in the morning no matter how much sleep I get. But keep me up at night and I'm a happy camper. Oh well, thank you deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) for the gift of nocturnal preference. My test, quiz and lab report grades thank you. :-) I'm curious to know what type of chronotype you are? I wonder if most of the world are night owls or early birds? I'll have to look into that...

 Sleep tight.

xoxo

For the Love of Juice

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I hope you all are having a great hump day. Only two more sleeps until Friday...woohoo!

I've been meaning to share this post with you for several months. I was so fortunate to receive a Breville Juice Fountain for my birthday. I did a lot of research regarding juicers and found that this model best suited my juicing needs. I didn't need anything fancy and I wanted something that had only a few parts and that was relatively easy to clean. I know that juicers take up a lot of counter and kitchen space, so I wanted it to be an attractive model that could fit in a cabinet, look good on the counter, and whose parts were dishwasher safe. This Breville model fit all of those requirements.

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This beauty is a marvel and I use it every day. I'm not doing anything crazy like drinking juice for a meal or going on a juice-only cleanse, but I have been making myself juice virtually every day when I get home from work, school or the gym. While I'm making dinner, I'll be chopping up my dinner veggies and prepping my juicer fruits and veggies, too, so the timing is perfect. And I can enjoy sipping my juice while I finish making my dinner. It's a great appetizer!

The first juice I ever made was celery + carrot + apple and it was incredible! That's my go-to beverage, but I've become more adventurous lately. My sister shared a mojito recipe with me, which included a cucumber, kale, mint, celery, and lemon and, unfortunately, it was not very tasty. I am definitely not a fan of savory juices. I added a green apple, though, and all was well in the world...it really sweetened things up and made the juice palatable. Those ingredients aren't cheap and there was no way that I was not going to drink that elixir. It ended up being refreshing and I felt great after I drank it!

Another favorite is grapefruit juice. I like to have this either in the morning or after dinner. It's sweet and tangy and refreshing...I love it! All you have to do is peel a grapefruit and toss it into your juicer. One grapefruit yielded over one cup of juice! So yummy!

A few weeks ago, I was reading about juicing, and found out that most juicing experts suggest a 3 to 1 ratio of vegetables to fruits in order to reduce the sugar content of the juice and to keep your insulin levels from spiking after juice consumption. Whole fruit contains fiber, which slows your body's digestion of sugar and naturally prevents your insulin levels from spiking. Fiber is the reason why you can eat an apple and then not experience the sugar high and then crash 10-15 minutes later. When eating whole fruits, your body slowly digests the fruit sugar (fructose) and provides a steady stream of energy over time, due to the presence of fiber. Juicing extracts the liquid from the fruits, but removes the fibrous parts of the fruits and vegetables. By keeping the vegetable quantity high and the fruit quantity low, you're preventing the sugar high and subsequent crash since vegetables contain lower amounts of fructose.

With all of that said, here is my go-to juicing recipe, complete with the recommended 3 to 1 ratio. At the beginning of the week, I'll buy 4-5 green apples, 1-2 bags of celery stalks (not just the hearts), a 1 pound bag of carrots, and 1 to 2 packs of romaine hearts (3 are in a pack). Amazingly, all of these ingredients typically cost me between $8 and $10. Not cheap, but not terrible either. I've been juicing almost every day, and I know that if I have the ingredients, I'll make the juice. If I don't have the ingredients, then I'm out of luck. Note to self: always keep a well-stocked fridge!

Go-to Green Juice
from the kitchen of SMS
September 2013

Ingredients:

 

1 heart of romaine, washed

2 stalks of celery, washed and cut

2 carrots, washed and peeled

1 green apple, washed, cored and sliced

Directions:
Set up your juicer and place the juice jug under the spout. Start the juicer and remove the food pusher. Load head of romaine into feed tube and use the food pusher to move romaine leaves toward the blade. When romaine is cleared and juiced, add celery stalks to the feed tube and use the food pusher to move celery towards the blade. Repeat this process for carrots and finally, the apple.

Remove the lid of the juice jug and give the juice a stir with a spoon, since the juices are not thoroughly mixed. Marvel at all of the juice you've created from your veggies and fruit!

Pour juice into your favorite pint glass and serve immediately.

If you'd like to store this juice for later, or separate it into two servings, pour juice into small mason jars and fill to the top (to prevent oxidation) and secure the jar with the lid. Store in the refrigerator and be sure to consume within 12-24 hours. 

 

Now for the fun part - clean up (a.k.a. the worst part of juicing!). Unplug your juicer. Fill your clean sink with super-hot water and a generous amount of dish soap.  

Allow pieces to sit in the warm water for 3-5 minutes. Drain soapy water and rinse the parts. To clean the blade/sieve, use the brush that was sent to you with your juicer to carefully scrub the blade and mesh wiring clean under running water. This scrubber is a life saver. Trust me. Nothing else will work!

Once all of your parts are clean, lay a dishtowel on your countertop and place all of the juicer parts on the towel to dry. Once they are dry, interlock the pieces and store until you're ready to make some more juice!

 Happy juicing!

xoxo

A Simple Supper

Hello and Happy Tuesday! I hope you all are having a wonderful start to your week! I just wanted to share a quick recipe with you. The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler, and I've been wanting something warm for dinner. Adios summer salads...hello fall stews. Without further ado, here's a recipe that I know you'll love. It only has a few ingredients and it comes together in less than 20 minutes. Happy cooking!

Simple Quinoa Supper
from the kitchen of SMS
September 2013

Ingredients:

1/4 cup red quinoa

1 cup of water 

1/4 cup yellow onion (about 1/4 of a small onion), chopped

1/4 cup fired roasted tomatoes with green chiles

1/4 cup great northern beans 

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

pinch of salt (optional)

Directions:

Rinse quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) in a strainer (or in a glass as I did) with cool water. By nature, quinoa has a bitter coating on its outer layer that protects it from birds and pests. It's great to have in the wild, but not so great to have in the kitchen. Therefore, rinsing your quinoa is essential.

Place rinsed quinoa in a medium-sized pan and pour 1 cup of water over quinoa. Give the quinoa a good stir and allow the mixture to come to a boil.

Once it's boiling, cover the quinoa and turn the heat down to low and let the mixture sit for 15 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking away, saute onion for a minute or two until tender and translucent.

 

Add garam masala, turmeric and salt, if desired. Stir to combine. Set onion mixture aside. 

Add fire-roasted tomatoes and beans to the same pan that you used for your onions. Combine and stir the mixture until it begins to simmer. 

After 15 minutes, the quinoa is ready to go. Add onion and tomato and beans mixtures to quinoa and stir to combine. 

Take a bite to check the flavors. If necessary, add a little bit more salt, turmeric, or garam masala. Let you taste buds be your guide. Spoon quinoa into a bowl and serve. This recipe makes one generous portion.

*Yes, this is a different bowl from my first photo and yes, I did eat this for dinner multiple nights this week ;-).*

Enjoy! xoxo

A quote for you...

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xoxo

Falafel Pitas with Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing

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Hello all and Happy Summer! As you can tell, I've taken a summer blog writing hiatus. It's been wonderful, but I'm so happy to be back! I've had lots of blog posts swirling around in my head and this recipe for falafel is one of them.

My friend just purchased her first home and we wanted to celebrate by making dinner at her new place! We tossed around some dinner ideas and finally ended up deciding to make this recipe! I had first made this recipe back in the summer of 2007. My family had received a subscription for Cooking Light and I loved the monthly magazine and flagging recipes to make. I ended up flagging this one back in January of 2007 and finally got around to making it for my family that August. I loved it then, and I still love it to this day. The ingredient list is short and this meal can be prepared in 15-20 minutes. It's the perfect weeknight meal!

Falafel Pitas with Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing
adapted from the Cooking Light recipe, January 2007
serves 4

for the falafel:
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 slice whole-wheat bread, torn into pieces.
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 whole wheat pitas, split
1 cup spinach

for the cucumber-yogurt dressing:
1 cup plain, nonfat greek yogurt
1/2 cup diced, seedless cucumber
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions: 
Combine onion through egg white in a food processor until well blended (mixture will be wet).

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon about 1/4 cup chickpea mixture per patty into the hot pan (I used this cookie scoop to form uniform patties). Cook 4 minutes and then flip and cook 4 minutes on the other side. 

For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and chill until you're ready to assemble your pitas.

Fill each pita half with 1/4 cup spinach and add two patties to each pita half. Spoon 2 tablespoons of Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing into each pita half.

Serve and enjoy! xoxo

I discovered something really crazy this weekend...

I'm so used to running on my own, that I have to adapt to running with a partner! To say I am happy to have my sister at home is the biggest understatement of the century! We have so much fun hanging out and being in each other's company, that it's so hard to leave her in the morning to go to work. She's my best friend and I love her with all of my heart :). So, naturally, one would think that sisters who love to spend every waking minute together would be the best running partners. Well, it's a little bit of a sensitive subject...

Rewind to August of 2010. My sister and I had talked a lot about running and wanting to start a regimen. I was visiting her in the Emerald City and we headed out to our favorite 3.2 mile loop, Green Lake.  I love this loop SO much and Marisa and I have had the most wonderfully thought-provoking, life-altering conversations while covering this loop. We parked in the neighborhood, and headed over to the path. Once our feet hit the gravel, Marisa asked me "Should we try to run it?" Instead of thinking that it was a crazy idea, I eagerly responded "YES!" I was SO surprised that I was not more sheepish and scared. So, there we were, in our raincoats, running the 3.2 mile loop around Green Lake, with the rain misting our faces as we pounded the pavement. We weren't fast, but we weren't slow. We were temperate and steady the entire way. We never once talked about stopping; we simply talked about how happy we were to be "doing it!" We rounded the final curve and slowed to a walk. We had run the loop. And we were alive. Our cheeks were rosy, but our lungs and heart and legs and minds were thankful. Oh so thankful. And we smiled and took pictures and made a pact to keep running. And we did. The following March (2011), less than seven months after our first run together, we crossed the finish line of our first 5K. Again, we were in our raincoats and instead of misting rain, it was a full-fledged downpour on our run. Despite the weather, we felt strong and happy to be running.

Crossing the finish line of our first 5K!

October of 2012, we ran again, in the rain, and crossed the finish line happy and excited, alongside running chickens, bananas, hot dogs, and waldos (it was a Halloween race after all!). We had shaved more than two and a half minutes off of our 5K time!

a poor quality proof...lo siento! check out the rain!

We're still running, and we're hoping for a sub-30 5K time. It's going to take a lot of work, but it's "totally doable," to quote my smarter and wiser older sister, Marisa. I'm so excited to tackle this challenge and I'm even more excited to embark upon this journey with my sister and best friend.

But, back to the running partner ordeal. I have this weird thing that happens when I race. I become a bear! Marisa is the most loving and nonjudgmental person you will ever meet, but I become a bear once the starting gun goes off. I don't like to talk, I don't want anyone telling me "to push it harder" or "to pick it up," or to "breathe." On our last 5K, we encountered what felt like the world's tallest hill and my legs were killing me! There was Marisa, cheering me on, and coaching me through it, but I was having none of it. I was mad. For no reason! After the race, I felt fine, but during the race, I was so angry. It's bizarre and I hope I grow out of it very soon.

This past Saturday, Marisa and I went out on our first run together since Christmas. We headed to our neighborhood track and we decided to run the 12 laps around the track to hit our 3 mile target. It was 1pm on a hot and humid summer day, and it was my idea to run at this time because I wanted to have the rest of our afternoon free. We walked two times around the track and then started running. My stomach was acting up, so I needed to stop for water and a bathroom break after 1.5 miles (6 laps). After 9 laps, I was feeling the heat and I started to have the chills. I let Marisa go ahead of me and I did the walk half a lap, run half a lap method for two laps, and then ran the final lap at a faster speed than my other laps. It was a challenging run and I was really upset with myself. Some days are better than others, but I couldn't help feeling like I had let my sister down by slowing down.

We all have good (running) days and bad (running) days, but the most important part is that we have running days. I love the sport of running and I'm so eager to get better and faster and stronger. Sometimes, running with a partner shows you that you need to listen to your body and back off when necessary. Sometimes, running with a partner encourages you to push harder and run faster and farther than you would on your own. I'm still figuring out how to stay nice and avoid anger on my partner runs. I'm so blessed to have the world's best running buddy and I want her to feel the same way. I need to clean up my attitude if I want to keep my partner!

I've been voraciously reading articles aimed at running partners and personalities and preferences, but I can only find the most wonderful stories of partner running bliss. Perhaps, I'll have to submit a piece to Runner's World magazine detailing my ordeal. Perhaps, they'd have some positive feedback.

Today, during my lunch break, I went on a 3.2 mile run. It was incredible and I felt super strong. I had my music on and I was happy to be in my own head for 38 minutes. I only had one regret after my run; that my sister wasn't running right beside me...