checking in

I cannot believe it’s been almost a month since I stopped by here!!!! Whew. I can’t really pick a good place to start, so I am going to revert to the tried-and-true bullet point method:

• The past two months have been an emotional rollercoaster, but things are hinting at a return to normal. I won’t get into details, but health/nutrition have definitely taken a backseat. I still run, still go to yoga once a week or so, and still eat vegetables, but there was a week where I barely ate anything, then a week where ravenous hunger made up for the foodless week, and now, a return to regular meals, though they often leave much to be desired (dinner last night was a bowl of shredded wheat and a microwaved can of green beans — eaten in separate bowls, to my credit).

• I’ll be starting a new job in two weeks. This came as a big surprise. For the first time since I graduated from college, I will not be someone’s assistant. It’s a welcome change!!!

• I am running a 15K in two weeks, and am a little nervous! I plan to use the Galloway method, running 1 mile and walking 1 minute, and will be sure to report back here when it’s done!!

• I confessed to a friend that I have a secret ambition to run a marathon next fall, and she and her roommate sat me down last night and asked me WHY I want to do it. I told them that I thought it would be an excellent lesson in patience and dedication, and that it’s something I want to do before I die, so why not now? Plus, I already enjoy running longish distances slowly, so I think I’ll enjoy the process. The two of them explained that they had only known would-be marathoners who harbored secret desires — self-punishment, choosing an arbitrary goal to try to escape from a haze of depression, etc.  I told them–and this is true–that I feel pretty calm and unconflicted about it, and really just want to see if I can do it. They don’t believe me! I quizzed them on their relationship to exercise, and both said they hated running, had been unathletic as children/adolescents, and were suspicious of anyone who claimed to enjoy organized activity. So I can’t really expect them to understand, right?

• I’ve been playing with food combining over the past couple months. After some digestive distress over the summer, I started rethinking the kitchen-sink type salads/meals that I normally eat, and combining simpler things (i.e. beans/veggies/grains without nuts added as a topper, or veggies/nuts without grains added, fruit on its own). My stomach feels SO much calmer!! It’s incredible. I experimented yesterday by eating a purposely miscombined lunch: almond butter sandwich + an apple — and my stomach felt bloated/gurgly all afternoon — a feeling that I’d grown used to after years of eating this way. It’s an experiment, and not one that I’m holding myself to strictly, but the benefits so far have made me want to continue.

• I’m toying with the idea of rolling over all these posts into a new blog, and have a few name ideas floating around in my head! My posts have been few-and-far-between since the summer, and I think it reflects a desire to see food and fitness as a habitual part of my life (and less of a focal point). December marks 1 year since I started the blog, so it seems like a good time to reevaluate

 

How are YOU doing!? How has your fall been — foodwise, fitnesswise, blogwise, or otherwise?

 

just stopping by to say…

…that life, travel, and a nasty cold have gotten in the way of posting, but I have a lot of posts to catch up on and will be back soon. Thank you for the little break, and hope you are all staying warm!

 

Nature’s Path Review Part 1 of 2

Nature’s Path was kind enough to send me a few things to review. I’ve been gradually shifting away from all things processed in the last six months or so, and it was a strange change to have multiple boxes of cereal (and a large box of energy bars) in the house, but I have to say, I enjoyed tasting each of these items

The first thing I cracked into was the GRANOLA!

I’m a huge fan of Nature’s Path Hemp Plus granola, but had never tried this variety! I had it atop a delicious mixture of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt, pumpkin, and cinnamon (a combination I haven’t had since last winter — it took me back!).

This stuff tasted so incredibly sweet to my naturalized taste buds. Dessert-like. It’s really hard to believe I used to eat it for breakfast every morning. No wonder my blood sugar always crashed mid-morning at work!!

That being said, it’s delightful, crunchy, and fruity. And will stay in my pantry on reserve for special breakfasts and desserts

Next up . . .

I topped another yogurt bowl with this yummy melange of cereal textures:

At first bite, this cereal tasted cardboardy to me. But I enjoyed the subtle sweet flavor, and staying power (this stuff is packed with protein and fiber and held me over for hours!) I ate it for dinner on a couple busy busy nights, and it did the job.

I even attempted to veggify it further:

Cereal + green hemp milk

A big bowl of Optimum topped with hempseeds+spinach+filtered water+blender = GREEN HEMP MILK! I loved this! I could barely taste the green, but felt good knowing I was sneaking some green veggies into this sweet and crunchy bowl

My lunches and dinners of late have more closely resembled the following, which is, I’d guess, why the cereal was bit of a shock to my taste buds:

kale salad with tempeh, avocado, and sweet potatoes

the same, minus the sweet potatoes, + a prettier bowl

zucchini noodles + sweet potato cubes + homemade tahini dressing

The cold weather definitely hasn’t kept me from lovin’ on the fresh foods I’m finding them very comforting — especially sweet potatoes!!!

In the next post, I’ll reveal the other Nature’s Path products, which, happily, I’d recommend to anyone!

What have you been loving lately?

 

eat seconds if you need them!

I was seriously craving comfort food last night, and after a few days of a busy schedule + haphazard eating (read: bowl of cereal for dinner) I needed VEGETABLES! So I had some.

comfort food at its finest

I massaged 1 bunch of kale with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice, and tossed it with sunflower seeds. On the side, sweet potato fries (microwaved for 5 minutes — I wanted them NOW!) with ketchup, and steamed yucca (which I love — it has such a unique mellow flavor).

The non-comforting part of the meal, however, surfaced when I finished the above plate and was still hungry.

I had no problem finishing off the sweet potato fries, but noticed myself avoiding eating the rest of the kale.

And it hit me: I have a fear of oil! It’s such a nutritious, harmless substance, does not cause your blood sugar to spike or encourage overeating, and helps satisfy hunger. But, perhaps as a holdover of my weight-watcher days, I am scared of it. Even when it’s incorporated into a meal that’s not calorie-dense at all, such as this one.

I’ve reached the point where I notice silly tendencies like this and can conquer them, but they still bother me! I hope someday I will reach the point where, if I’m hungry for more kale salad, I’ll just eat some more kale salad, rather than subconsciously telling myself I “shouldn’t” because it has an oil-based dressing. It will not make me gain weight. It will satisfy my hunger and prevent snacking after dinner. In the long run, eating more healthy food when I need it is good for me. (I will repeat this to myself until I’ve internalized it! ) In the end, I ate the rest of the head of kale, felt perfectly satisfied, and did not snack after dinner. Mission accomplished.

Do you ever have trouble taking seconds when you need them?

 

RAWSTAR, pour la deuxième fois

(But first: in an attempt to pick up my French where I left off in college, I found a language partner on CraigsList. I’m amazed at how much easier it is to learn new vocabulary when you learn it from an actual French person rather than a textbook. I would highly recommend the language partner approach!!)

* * *

Et maintenant, les legumes.

Thank you, Sarah and Diana, for giving me an excuse to enjoy Rawstar a second time! This place is awesome. Such a nice, relaxed vibe, and inventive, tasty food.

We started the evening by splitting an appetizer:

dehydrated eggplant wrapped around nut pate (it totally had a classier name, but I forget what it was!)

(so cute!)

Sarah informed me that you can dehydrate things in a gas oven simply by making sure the pilot light is on and leaving them in there on a baking sheet for around 14 hours. I am SO DEHYDRATING MY OWN EGGPLANT!!!! It is so delicious — I love the dry, tender texture and FLAVOR–pure eggplant, no bitterness

For my main dish, I ordered the nut loaf with kale/fennel/olive salad and sesame cressel:

nut loaf, AMAZING tomato sauce, kale salad with fennel and olives, and sesame cressel!

The nut loaf was super-savory and almost tasted pizza-esque — the flavor definitely grew on me during the course of the dinner! The small portion was perfect, too, since it was so dense and obviously nut/seed-based. The sauce was a little tangy for my taste, but paired well with the loaf!

One thing I love about this place is that for many of the entrees, you’re allowed to choose your own side and salad. Last time, I tried the kale/pear salad and plantains. I have to say that I liked these two much better

Cressel has an awesome unique flavor that paired perfectly with the sesame seeds.

And I LOVE thinly shaved fennel on salads!

mmmm...fennel

And of course, there was raw dessert . . .

banana coconut pie. Delicious, but I think I liked the cheesecake better! I don't like big chunks of banana in things . . . oatmeal, dessert, or otherwise!

Rawstar allegedly has an un-cooking class the first Monday of every month. I may be back

There IS one thing about this restaurant that makes me uncomfortable. It’s in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood, and sort of falls into the category of the Coffee Shops/Yoga Studios/Organic Markets that–to be blunt–are markers of “white takeover” of these neighborhoods. I sort of hate being the 20-something-from-the-suburbs-who-moved-to-Brooklyn-and-likes-raw-restaurants-and-yoga-classes. Ugh.

Do you ever feel like you fit an uncomfortable stereotype?