Tastes of the Season

It's officially Fall. Is anyone other than me secretly sad about this? Don't get me wrong. I love the Fall but my true love is Summer. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I'm a July baby, but I really do love the Summer. Summer means vacations, warm weather (although this year it meant HOT weather), grilling, dining al fresco, fireworks, tans, flip flops, dresses, peaches, berries, smoothies...aaahhh. I could go on and on. It just makes give me the warm fuzzies inside.

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Fall however is my second favorite season for multiple reasons. The beautiful colors of the tree leaves changing, football (GO RAVENS!), sweet potatoes, Halloween (have I expressed my Obsession with candy? It's a real problem), PUMPKIN, apples, and just the feel and smell of the cool, but not too cold air. Did you notice that I mentioned a lot of food? You can tell where my heart really is...my belly!

After opening an e-mail this morning from Real Simple, I came across this quote:

“Growth is the only evidence of life.”

― John Henry Newman

Now I know that I could get deep here and discuss personal growth and how learning and growing your knowledge is the key to life but I'm interpreting this quote in the most literal meaning. Ecological growth. Plant growth is the evidence of life and health on this planet. With that being said, I would like to share a list of the wonderful life that this season produces in the form of Fall crops.

Fall Fruits and Veggies:

• Acorn Squash
• Apples
• Broccoli
• Brussel Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Collards
• Figs
• Garlic
• Grapes
• Kale
• Leeks
• Mushrooms
• Pear
• Pumpkin
• Persimmons
• Sweet Potatoes
• Swiss Chard
• Winter Squash

Look out for these fall crops at your local market or farmers market. To find a farmer's market in your area visit Local Harvest @ http://www.localharvest.org/ . For farmer's markets in Maryland go to http://www.mda.state.md.us/md_products/farmers_market_dir.php.

My plan is to do Feature posts for each, or most, of the Fall produce listed above and discuss nutritional information, how to buy and store, and of course how to prepare them in a meal with recipes included.

What is you favorite thing about the Fall season? What are your favorite foods and recipes for Fall? Please comment and share!!!

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Breakfast:

Chobani Peach Greek Yogurt, Organic Raspberries, Blueberry Almond Granola

(I'm trying to hold on to to peach for as long as possible)

Added chopped almonds and chia seeds

I also had a cup, or two, of Creme Brulee flavored coffee from Wegmans but I drank it before I could take a picture. I was one of those mornings.

Fall Goals

(I started this post yesterday but had a minor freak out when I couldn't find my wallet and so I spent the most of the night after lab searching for it instead of blogging. Good news is that I found it in my car wedged in between the passenger seat and the door. Crisis averted)

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Now that we are past Labor Day weekend and I had my first quiz last night (eeeek) and have my first real lab of the semester tonight, it finally feels like Fall is here, even if it's still 90 degrees outside. Children are back in school, the fundraiser catalogs have started to circulate through the office. Football has begun and Starbucks even has Pumpkin Spice Latte flavor back (mi favorita!), although the grocery store shelves don't have canned pumpkin due to the crop shortage last year :(  For me, these are the signs that the season is changing.

In a previous post I talked about some of the goals that I was setting for myself for this new season but I have to admit I was sort of anxious to just put 'em all out there for every one to see. However, by sharing them with you now I will feel extra accountable and motivated to achieve each goal.

Goals for the Fall:

1. Plan for the week.  

My plan is to sit down on Sunday nights and plan out my week. I want to write/type out my schedule and plan my meals and workouts accordingly. This will be especially beneficial when I am trying to figure out what to pack for lunch or eat for dinner on nights when I have very little time to eat let alone cook before class. This will also help me to figure out time that I'll have for studying and playing ;)

I will also need to plan my meals for Meatless Monday. This past year for my New Year's Resolution I decided to give up meat (except for seafood) for 1 month just to see what it would be like. It actually wasn't as hard a I thought it would be, but I realized that I still like a good steak every now and then and couldn't actually go completely without. Meatless Monday is all about improving personal health and the health of our planet so of course I'm on board.

2. Eat healthy and exercise more.

This one is pretty obvious but it's on the list because it's something that I'm currently working on and improving over time. I don't have any particular weight loss goal but through experience I've learned that healthy diet with exercise essentially leads to weight loss so it will happen along the way. For me this goal is to keep me focused on what makes me happy and feel my best. You are what you eat, and when I eat REAL whole foods I just feel better. When I exercise I not only look good, but I feel good thanks to of the endorphins that are being released. I want to stretch more and get outside and enjoy the weather while it lasts. It's a no brainer for WHY this is a goal but finding time to make healthy meals and get in that physical activity is the real issue for me and I need to make it more of a priority in my life.

3. Make more of an effort to keep in touch with family and friends.

For me this is an issue that I've struggled with for a long time. Coming from divorced parents I now have a HUGE family to keep in touch with. Even though I am truly blessed to have so many amazing and caring people in my life that I can call family or friends, it can be a challenge to keep in touch with everybody and not have somebody feel forgotten or neglected. It's very easy to become wrapped up in your own busy stressful life to the point where you forget that the people that you "don't have enough time for" are the ones whose love will ease you through your struggles, whose ears will listen to you vent, and whose wisdom will provide you with perspective and guidance. My goal is to make more of an effort to keep in touch with the people that mean the most.

4. Take time to meditate and reflect.

It's easy to stress myself out about my responsibilities, commitments, and my overall crazy schedule. I have to worry about school, my job, my love life, family and friends, Rae and anything else that is going on in my life. I find that it is important to take time for myself without any distractions to reflect, regroup, and relax. When life becomes chaotic I feel lost and not myself. When I take time to stop and relax, I am able to get in touch with my true self. It gives me time to make sense of my ideas, feelings, and thoughts. Through meditation I am able to connect mind and body and figure out who I really am. I'm also thinking about taking a yoga class at my gym, but I'm still deciding if group yoga is for me or not.

5. Judge less and smile more.

We are all guilty of judging in one way or another. We are guilty of judging others and we are guilty of judging ourselves. My goal is to not judge others about their eating habits, lack of exercise or motivation, appearance, style, skin color, or choices that they make. What another person chooses to do is their decision to make. Not mine. I can chose whether or not to be witness to those choices but I don't have to agree with them. I am my worst critic. I judge my actions, my appearance, everything! However, I realize that by constantly criticizing and judging myself I am only creating my own anxiety. My goal is to be kind to myself and not worry about what others may think about me. Simply put, only God can judge me.

Smile more. By smiling, even if you are depressed or sad, you can inadvertently change your mood, change how others view you, make you look younger, and make you appear to be more confident and more approachable. Also, smiling is contagious. If you are happy and smiling, those around you will be more likely to be happy in your presence. So spread the happiness and smile

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What goals do you set for yourself? Do you find yourself judging others or being overly critical of yourself? How do you deal with those inner judgements and the anxiety that they create?

    

Meals from Tuesday (not all were pictured):

Natural PB on Multi grain English Muffin and sliced banana

Food Should Taste Good Multi grain chips and guacamole

Fage Greek Yogurt w/peach

Smoothie before class

Peach Mango Dream

1/2 cup Wegmans Vanilla Yogurt

3 oz. Vanilla Rice Dream

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks

1/2 fresh peach

1 Tbs. Twister Power (ground chia seed, brown rice, and flaxseed)

ice cubes

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Goodbye Summer?

The first thing I did when I got to the office yesterday was flip the calendar. Hello September!

but it sure felt like summer!

The weather in Baltimore yesterday was hot, hot, hot. The high was 97 degrees but it felt like it was over 100. It's looking like it's going to be another hot one today. I added a Weather Channel gadget to my sidebar so that you can see just how hot it is in this town. I know that Fall doesn't officially begin until September 22, 2010 at 11:09 pm EDT but since Fall classes have started, it's Fall for me. This means cracking the whip, setting a schedule, and possibly setting some new goals. I have a few in mind and the blog was one of them but I'll post a more organized list soon.

Breakfast in the office was the normal coffee (I think it's Dunkin Donuts), Stonyfield Farm Organic Mango Honey yogurt topped with Blueberry Almond Granola from Whole Foods, a banana, and a large cup of water to stay hydrated in the heat. I usually stick with the vanilla flavor but I loved the Mango and it's only a Limited Edition so try it now if you haven't done so yet. It's a little sweet but worth a try.

Lunch was the same as yesterday so I didn't feel the desire to take pictures. After work I had a Chocolate Coffee Larabar for a pre-gym snack while driving in traffic. I've never had the flavor before but Larabar didn't fail me. It was as delicious as I hoped it would be. I got my chocolate and java fix in one.

The gym workout was simple and sweet because it was my first day of Organic Chemistry lab and I still needed to go home to walk the pup and make dinner. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes on the stationary bike and then bolted out of the door. I thought abut skipping it all together because of all of the things I still needed to do before lab, but even a little bit of exercise helps and I felt better afterwards that I went.

Rae was anxiously awaiting some park time with her mama.

I love this park. Who needs a backyard in the city? Welllll it would be nice but this is a great alternative.

Then a quick dinner before running out of the door for lab. I still needed to stay lean and green for the bf's Medifast plan so I made chicken and broccoli per his request. I opted for the Free Range, Organic Chicken...from Wegmans of course ;)

2 cloves of garlic and a few drops of olive oil

I cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces

and added some rosemary (also per the bf's request). Raw chicken just doesn't look very appealing.

While the chicken was cooking I rinsed the broccoli and dropped them in the steamer basket for a light steam. I put them in the steamer basket to cut down on nutrient loss in the water and only cooked them for a couple of minutes until they turned bright green. There is nothing worse than mushy broccoli. Bleck!

Garnished with a lemon and some fresh ground pepper

I have to admit that this meal was lacking a little in the flavor department due to the use of dried rosemary over fresh but with a little lemon squeeze and a dash of terriyaki from the fridge it wasn't too bad. Gotta use what I have available. It was quick, easy, and healthy which were the main goals for this pre-lab meal.

Speaking of lab it was nothing to write home about. All we did was go over the lab schedule and lab report expectations (which were the exact same handouts from the summer) and checked in our lab drawers and micro kits. It took me about 35 minutes to get there, we stayed for 30 minutes, and then it took me an hour to get home due to road construction traffic. UGH!! I still ended up getting home earlier than normal and was able to hang out with bf while he was awake. I was pretty excited about this because I was able to share some of the goals that I've set for myself for the month. More on this to come later...

What personal goals have you set for the new school year, season, month, or just because?

So Fresh and So Clean Clean

I am feeling super sluggish this morning. Last night was the first class back for the Fall and I am tiiiiiiRed. I am currently taking Organic Chemistry II in the evenings at a nearby community college while also working full time at a law firm. It makes for a super long day but I keep telling myself that "It'll all be worth it someday". I only had about 4 weeks of a break this summer and I was so not ready to go back yet. Class runs from 7:30PM-10:30PM and my professor likes to give us our money's worth and teach up until the last second possible so I don't end up getting home until after 11:00. Since class is so late and I don't have much time to work on the blog between work and class. I'll probably be posting meals the day after especially on the days that I have class and lab. I'm sure I'll figure out a schedule and get in to a groove once the semester and the work really starts.

Breakfast in the office consisted of the other half of my muffin from the day before

 The last South Mountain Creamery yogurt that we got from the Farmer's Market a couple weeks back...

and a banana for some texture. I mashed up half of it and mixed it in and sliced up the other half and put it on top along with the pumpkin muffin crumbles.

Lunch was a combination of whatever I had in my desk and fridge.

Organic Marathon Bread from Wegmans

White nectarine

almonds

Roasted Garlic Hummus

baby carrot snack pack

I've never had white nectarines before but I saw them and decided to give them a go. They were very sweet, almost like a pear but with a mild tang of a nectarine or peach. I was worried that it wasn't going to be enough food but it was actually quite filling which I think I can attribute to the bread. The marathon bread is amazing and the ingredient list looked pretty good. It's soft and chewy and the smell is almost as good as the taste. I highly highly recommend trying it if you are close to a Wegmans. Soooo good.

Ingredients:

Water, Organic Unbleached Unbromated Flour, Flaxseed, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seed, Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Stoneground Whole Rye Flour. Contains 2% or less of the following: Yeast, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Cracked Rye, Organic Wheat Gluten, Organic Carrots, Salt, Organic Malted Barley Flour, Organic Soy Grits, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Honey, Organic Sesame Seeds, Organic Apple Dices, Organic Banana Chips, Organic Sugar, Guar Gum.


I didn't take any pictures of dinner because it was just the leftovers from the Cajun Shrimp Stir-Fry. It was purdy good even for leftovers. I'm usually Terrible with eating leftovers but I've gotten so much better. I started to think about how much food I was throwing away and about how many people are starving in the world. It put things into perspective for me and really motivates me to eat what is in the house. Plus my wallet appreciates me not running to the store every day for more food.

Since class didn't start until 7:30 I had just enough time to give the pup a bath. She's been stratching like crazy so I decided to give her a good scrubbing with the flea and tick shampoo even though I couldn't actually find a single flea on her. As you can see she is quite the princess and is not a fan of getting wet.

Get me outta here

OH NOOOO

ALL CLEAN!

Back-up Plan

After a little break from the blog world and a long weekend in Clemson, SC for a wedding I'm back. I started paying more attention to the other blogs that I read and did some research on Health Blog Helper but even after that I've decided to just go for it and let this blog just be what it's going to be. I have to admit that I'm still not entirely sure what my focus is going to be but I'm sure it will evolve with time.

I'm a planner. I like to know what's ahead of me and I like to be equipped with the tools that I'll need when I get there. The problem with plans are that they don't always work out the way that you imagine. My original plan for this week was to write out a meal plan and a workout schedule for the week while flying back from Charlotte on Sunday and then go grocery shopping to get the ingredients that I need for said meals before the Sunday night HBO shows start at 9:00. Good plan in theory but the main flaw in my plan was that I don't travel well and had to take Dramamine before getting on the plane. I wanted to make sure that the airsick bag stayed in the back of the seat in front of me, however, the problem with taking Dramamine is that it knocks me OUT. So instead of writing out the plan I slept through the whole plan ride and then slept it off with a nap when I got home. Between the weekend festivities, sleeping in a hotel bed, and feeling sleepy from the Dramamine there was no way I was going to leave my bed for the rest of the night. Things don't always go as planned so sometimes you need a back up plan. New plan: Start fresh on Monday.

I'm very lucky because my office is located in Hunt Valley which is home to Maryland's only Wegmans (for now). As you will learn throughout my posts, I am completely obsessed with this store but that's a whole other post for a different day.  I decided to wake up early and make a quick run to the store before work. I just wanted to get breakfast and some staples and snacks to keep at my desk for the week. I ended up with the following in the bag:

• Oikos Greek Yogurt, Vanilla
• white nectarines
• bananas
• whole wheat pumpkin muffin (from the bakery)
• Wegman's marathon bread (bakery)
• a few Larabars
• coffee and creamer for the office
• soy milk (3 pack of individual boxes)
• coconut water
• baby carrots
• garlic hummus (from the mediteranean bar)
• Nature's Market Salad (pre-made from the prepared foods section)

Not too bad for 15 minutes and only a rough plan in my head of what I wanted to eat.

Breakfast Breakdown:

• Oikos
• 1/2 whole wheat pumpkin muffin
• 1/2 banana
• Tbsp. Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (because it was in my desk)
• Wegmans Swiss Almond Mocha coffee w/ a splash of half and half (I'm still working my way off of the cream...one day)

The mix was delish! In college I would literally eat Nutella straight out of the jar but holy sugar. Sweets are a big weakness of mine but not for breakfast. Justin's is similar to the other stuff but for 14 grams less of sugar per serving I'm sold. I'm loving the texture and same yummy taste but with a more pronounced hazelnut flavor.

Lunch was a little less satisfying. This salad was a prime example of why you should read labels carefully. Due to my lack of a plan and rush for time I saw tofu and chickpeas on the container and went with it.  Upon closer examination I was able to see everything that was piled in the heap.

The Concoction:

• field greens
• romaine lettuce
• carrots
• red cabbage
• grape tomatoes
• feta cheese
• tofu
• chickpea/edamame blend
• broccoli
• kalamata olives
• sunflower seeds
• cashews
• almonds
• Curry yogurt dressing

After eating most of the salad I finally discovered that at the very bottom of the label in tiny letters it stated: 660 calories including 140 for the dressing. I could have had a McDonald's hamburger for less calories than this meal and to be honest I like each of the ingredients individually but together there was too much going on for my taste. I had planned on having a slice of the Marathon bread on the side but I was super stuffed by the time I finished the salad so I decided to skip it because I knew I wanted to have a snack before the gym and I still had dinner to figure into the count for the day.

The guy and I planned to meet at the gym after work and after work for him means after 6:00. (which gives me about 2 hours to lose motivation to go) After some e-mailing back and forth we both decided to have Cajun Shrimp with Peppers for dinner and instead of the brown rice, which the recipe suggested, we decided to have a side of salad. Since this was his first day of Medifast he needed to have a lean (the shrimp) and a green (the salad). So I went back to Wegman's after work, grabbed the ingredients for this meal and another one for later in the week. Went home and walked the pup. Mixed up the spices and prepped the shrimp and by the time I was finished it was time for our date at the gym. If I don't sit down I'm good. If I hit the couch and sit for too long. It's over so this means no blogging after work on late gym days. I WILL get sucked in.

I had a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar as a quick snack before the gym and then hit the cardio:

-18 minutes on the elliptical in the cardio theatre

-8 minutes on the treadmill until I decided that I really dislike the treadmill

-25 minutes on the bike

quick stretch and then the tummy was growling which meant time for dinner!

Cajun Shrimp Stir-Fry (from Clean Eating Magazine)

Ingredients:

1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tbsp Cajun spice seasoning (see below)

2 tsp canola oil, divided

2 green peppers, cut into strips

2 red peppers, cut into strips

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup white wine

1 tbsp lemon juice

Cajun Spice Mix: (I pretty much made this up as I went and I didn't measure but the rough estimates were as follows)

3 tbsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp black pepper

2 tbsp white pepper

2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Toss shrimp with Cajun spices and set aside
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in skillet and saute peppers for six minutes over medium high heat
3. Turn down heat and add garlic
4. Remove peppers and garlic from pan and set aside
5. Add remaining oil and shrimp and cook for approximately 3 minutes
6. Add white wine (I used whatever I had open in the fridge), lemon juice, pepper and garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

The recipe called for hot sauce but the spice mix seemed to be just hot enough so we left that out and we served it with a side of salad instead of brown rice. It was pretty perfect for a quick late dinner and we had left overs for tonight. Speaking of, tonight is the first night of Fall classes for me. I'm taking the second part of Organic Chemistry so the schedule should be getting even more hectic in weeks to come. Wish me luck!

What meals do you grab on the fly? What do you do when things don't always go as planned?

Dripping Wet

The only picture I took all day was of breakfast because the newbie blogger than I am forgot to charge up the battery to the camera. Rookie mistake but I promise I'll get better.

I decided to break down and have some coffee this morning especially since I remembered to bring my mugs back into work. I absolutely hate using styrofoam cups, especially for hot liquids. I mean I understand that they are cheap to buy for the office but I think that they are just terrible little environmental demons. They release chemicals into the liquids and foods that they contain and they are produced from petroleum and I'm sure I don't have to explain what the problem is with that. So I'm glad that I was able to remember so I didn't have to resort to using the darn things. I decided to use the rest of the Oikos Vanilla and topped it with another with peach and some chopped up almonds. Yuuuummy. I'm really getting into the white peaches instead of the normal yellow.

Lunch was the exact same that I had yesterday so I didn't feel the need to take a picture. I had turkey, avocado, and red pepper hots on a whole wheat pita with a side of veggies. I used the last of the food that I bought for the office so I'm going to need to wake up early for another trip to Wegmans in the AM. Oh darn ;) I'm always looking for an excuse to take a trip there and since there is still zero edible food in the house it looks like I'm getting up early. Ugh.

Tonight was the first night actually working out with the trainer. We did a total body workout so that she could get a baseline to see what I could lift and what I could do. Let me tell ya, I found muscles that I forgot I had. I'm definitely going to feel it tomorrow but that's why I know that I had a good workout. I was a sweaty sweaty dripping disaster but it felt great to push it hard. I can't wait to see what she has planned for me next.

Dinner ended up being out with friends to a favorite hang out in Canton, JD's Smokehouse. The BF wanted to go out for beer and wings. It was a challenge trying to find something semi-healthy that I could eat but I went with the turkey burger with mushrooms and a side salad with a vinaigrette. The salad ended up being smothered in Parmesan cheese and was on iceberg lettuce, bleh. It wasn't the healthiest salad but it was better than the seasoned fries that usually come with the burgers. I held back and didn't have any alcohol. Instead I drank a lot of water and had an unsweetened iced tea with a slice of lemon. I felt like I needed to rehydrate after the gym and alcohol would NOT help with that.

Welp I'm off to bed because I'm starting to get droopy eyes. Sorry for the lack of photos but I'll try to make up for it tomorrow. BTW tomorrow is FRIDAY :) Until then...