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Where did Neen and her notes go? (And Mystery Food Week 6!)

16 Jul

Yes, it’s true, I disappeared there for a week. But life happens, right? In short, I had a very important presentation for school, compounded by a Perl assignment I couldn’t seem to get a handle on and then wound up with the stomach flu. It was a rough week. I picked up my CSA share (a delicious basket of potatoes, squash, basil, cabbage, purslane, kohlrabi, and a few other items), but froze most of it because I wasn’t up for eating much or taking a picture. But this week’s is beautiful and is further down in this post…yum!

Fortunately, as of Saturday afternoon things started getting a lot better.

My birthday was Saturday, and it started off with a trip to the farmer’s market and then a group presentation on Elluminate. It was the first time I’d done an online presentation and it went really well. I must attribute some of the success to having a wonderful group to work with and a class that seemed genuinely interested in the topic (biographical reference sources). Want to see our presentation? Go to: http://stuckinthestacks.blogspot.com to view it in its entirety.

After that was done, it was off for a quick run, which was VERY refreshing after being sick all week. (I tried to run on Friday and barely made it down the block).

And then…the culmination of four months of waiting: Billy Joel and Elton John Face to Face!

Pre-concert:

At Nationals Park:

Yes, it was amazing (as always), but even more special that it was the first concert at Nationals Park AND on my birthday. Sometimes the stars really do align. The sustain pedal on Elton’s piano got stuck during the opening set, but it didn’t cause a major problem. Billy’s band came on and he did his set while they took Elton’s piano off for fixing. (It didn’t seem to phase him much—Elton opened his set with Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding and it brought down the house).

Billy Joel was walking on top of pianos, running around throwing microphones, and even dived under Elton’s piano during the technical problem to try and fix it. Very spry and excitable for a man that just turned 60 and is going through divorce #3.

I was really impressed that they went on for 3 and a half hours in the 90 degree heat and very sticky humidity, considering both men were wearing full, dark colored suits. Their bands sounded incredible too. Mark Rivera was dynamite on sax and Crystal Talifiero was her usual “jack-of-all-trades” self, playing everything from bongos to horns.

So, THANK YOU JOE for a wonderful birthday concert experience.

This week has been kinder so far. I finished the impossible Perl assignment and feel like I’m finally starting to get the hang of the language and its syntax. Looking at the CGI book really helped considering I’m a lot more familiar with programming for the web than I am with command-line programming. Oh, but you didn’t come here to listen to me go on about Perl, you came for Mystery Food!

That is a delicious bunch of goodies including zucchini, cucumber, tomatillos, potatoes, garlic, basil, Lodi apples, and (my favorite) peaches. The peaches are like candy. (For breakfast this morning, I had something really delicious: Dice one peach and mix it with 5 oz. of plain greek yogurt, a teaspoon of raw honey, sprinkle of cinnamon, and a 1/2 oz. of chopped mixed nuts. Happy in a bowl. It’s also perfect post-workout recovery food. Vanilla or almond extract might be a nice touch, too.)

Tonight for dinner, we’re having lots of local treats…

Last night, I seasoned, herb rubbed, and seared a bison chuck roast and sautéed onions, garlic, tomatillos, and some heirloom tomatoes. I put everything in the crock pot in the fridge overnight. This morning I added some chopped potatoes, kohlrabi, a cheese rind, and about a 1/2 cup total of broth/red wine to the pot. The crock pot is now making me dinner while I’m at work. Total time/effort? About 10 minutes of chopping and sautéing. (You could do everything the night before, but potatoes can get kind of gray and mealy on you if you cut them too far ahead of cooking.)

I hope that everyone out there is having a great week. I’m really looking forward to getting this summer semester finished so that I can focus on other things (like blogging, my brother’s wedding, Slow Food stuff…etc.) for a little while. It’ll be nice to have a month where I have no required reading. I’ll be getting very friendly with the Kindle!

Oh, and no, I did not indulge in a birthday cake this year, but there was a birthday frittata instead!

Weird, yes. Delicious, definitely.

Ciao for now—stay local, folks!
-Neen

Mystery Food Week 3 and the Glory of “Brinner”

25 Jun

Hello all! Here’s this week’s batch of produce

Included in this week’s bag were mixed greens (mostly purslane), a head of pak choi, garlic scapes, baby onions, lots of sage, lavender, a potted flower, and basil. Leigh also had some eggs for sale, so I grabbed a half-dozen.

All in all, another good week. Some of the salad greens were the base for today’s very clean, very tasty, and mostly local lunch:

Lots of greens and scapes from Bull Run, a boiled egg from Smith Meadows (the yolk was divine in color and texture. Picture does not do it justice), peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots from the farm market, and a few pieces of grilled chicken from a little place near my office. Finished off with a touch of salt and pepper. I guess one fortunate thing about my clean eating journey is that I’ve never really preferred dressing on salad all that much. I like a little bit of oil and vinegar on occasion, but dressing was never really my thing.

After I got home last night I was pondering what to do for dinner and feeling a little lazy. I had an assignment due for class that really needed to be finished, another assignment to work on…etc. Joe’s parents recently gave me their waffle iron, and so I decided that it was definitely a night for Brinner (the glorious combination of breakfast @ dinner, but you Scrubs fans knew that).
Whole Grain High-Protein Waffles
Ingredients
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup graham flour
1/4 cup soy flour
2 tbsp. wheat or oat bran
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. raw honey
1/2 cup non fat greek style yogurt
2 tbsp. low fat milk
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch cream of tartar

Method

Combine the egg whites, a pinch of salt, and cream of tartar in a blender and process until doubled in volume (about a minute).

Add the applesauce, vanilla, milk, yogurt, and honey and process until smooth.

In a separate bowl sift the flours and bran together with the baking powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Then add the dry ingredients to the blender and process until well combined.

Cook in a waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Makes 5 tasty waffles at 103 calories, less than 1g fat, 16g carbs, 7.5g protein, and 3g fiber each.

I had mine with a little bit of raw honey, cinnamon, and a half ounce of chopped mixed nuts. Fruit would have been even better, but I was out.

Now, I obviously wasn’t going to eat 5 of these by myself. They’re really filling. I put one of the extras in the fridge and 2 in the freezer. The one in the fridge took maybe 2 minutes to crisp up in the toaster at work this morning. I imagine that right out of the freezer they’d take about 5-6 minutes on a medium setting.

Other flours that are good in this recipe: spelt, buckwheat, potato, brown rice, garbanzo/fava bean, or finely ground nuts.

For even crispier waffles, add about a tablespoon of sucanat or evaporated palm sugar to the batter. The sugar will caramelize and make nice, toasty edges.
It’s been very busy around here. My boss is retiring at the end of the month, school is back in full swing, and couch to 5k is getting more and more challenging! Joe and I are really looking forward to a nice weekend though. We’re going to a pig roast with the folks at Slow Food DC. I’ll be sure to post a trip report if I don’t enter a pork coma. Mmm.
Stay local, folks!
-Neen

A Bowl of Goodness and a Great Team

29 Aug

Howdy folks! It’s been a very busy week here with school starting, but I’ve still had some time to play in the test kitchen as well as draft another great (in my humble opinion) fantasy football team.

If you liked my Chicken, Greens, and Beans Soup, you’ll probably really like this one too. I really needed to clean out my fridge, so I just used what was hanging around. To be honest, that’s one of the best ways to make a great soup. Leftovers can become something awesome. Without further ado, here’s Shrimp Veggie Bean Soup for your enjoyment.

Cast of Characters

16 oz. peeled, deveined raw shrimp

3 cups baby spinach

8 oz. diced mushrooms

3 slices pre-cooked bacon

1 head of broccoli, chopped

3 green onions, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

4 cups of vegetable broth

16 oz. canned diced tomatoes

16 oz. can of navy beans

16 oz. can of great northern beans

Begin by heating 1-2tbsp. olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat and sautéing the mushrooms and garlic. When the mushrooms have given up some juices, add the green onion, bacon, and broccoli. Sautee everything over medium-high heat until the vegetables are just tender.

Add the vegetable broth, beans, and diced tomatoes and allow the soup to come to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add the spinach one cup at a time, allowing each addition to wilt slightly before adding the next. Allow the soup to simmer for 2-3 minutes and then finally add the shrimp. Once the shrimp turn opaque (2-3 minutes) the soup is done! Serve alongside warm bread or parmesan crackers (for you carb watchers).

The recipe makes nine 1 cup serving with each one containing 133 calories, 2 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbohydrates, and 17 grams of protein. Mangia, mangia!

It’s been a very soup-y week. Between the chicken soup, shrimp soup, and a batch of turkey chili, I’ve been eating comfort food for nearly every meal (not that I’m complaining). It’s really helped to have those dishes frozen and ready to go anytime.

It’s going to sound weird, but I really like to have the chicken soup for breakfast. I really can’t pass up a day-starting meal with so much protein. It energizes me and allows me to work more effectively and efficiently. Sometimes, I stop at a café near my work for a bottle of water in the morning and it can be really hard to ignore all of their delicious looking pastries. It’s less hard when I know I have something that’s tastier to look forward to enjoying.

So other than being a soup-making machine this week, I’ve spent most of my time getting a feel for my classes. Monday night however, we finally got to have our fantasy football draft and I think it went really well. Judge for yourself:

Starters

QB: Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia

WR: Marques Colston, New Orleans

WR: Calvin Johnson, Detroit

WR: Hines Ward, Pittsburgh (I know, a total homer pick.)

RB: Steven Jackson, St. Louis

RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville

TE: Chris Cooley, Washington

K: Nate Kaeding, San Diego

D: Chicago

On the bench:

QB: Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay

WR: Patrick Crayton, Dallas

RB: Selvin Young, Denver

TE: Alge Crumpler, Tennessee

K: Phil Dawson, Cleveland (EW. Cleveland.)

D: Tennessee

I was much more vigilant about watching bye weeks this time around. I won’t have such a huge hole in this league’s team during one week. It looks like it’s going to be a really competitive one this year—everyone seemed really pumped up during the draft. The season opens next Thursday, so it’s about time to get excited!

Alright, well I’m off to watch some preseason football and maybe catch a bit of Sen. Obama’s speech at the DNC later (if our antennae can pick up the local station carrying it). I took tomorrow off, so I’m getting my holiday started early. I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend! I look forward to sharing any delicious creations or fun stories that come out of mine.

Ciao for now, friends!

Classes, Banapples, and Football (oh my!)

21 Aug

Yesterday was a very productive day. I finished the assignments for my first graduate course. Granted, it was a one-credit class to prepare for online learning, but it still brings me one credit closer to being a librarian. I also had an online orientation via the Elluminate platform last night. It just amazes me how far technology has come. Elluminate is as close to being in a real-live classroom as it gets. We had discussions via chat and microphone, and learned how to use all of the application’s functions. Any action you might have in a live classroom (raising your hand, writing on the board, taking a poll, splitting into groups…etc.) is available via on-screen buttons. Applications and presentations can be shared, and moderators can provide “web tours” if they want to explore a website with the class. Some professors also use it to host virtual office hours. Finally, there’s a “drop-in center” where students can chat with one another and practice using the various techniques. I imagine it will really come in handy for meetings when working on group projects. I’m very excited for the coming semester.

Aside from getting a head start on classes and orientation, it was also a successful day of trying new foods and baking. I tried roasted-salted edamame for the first time today. They’re just roasted soybeans, but have a nutty, almost peanut-like flavor. A ¼ cup is 130 calories and 14 grams of protein. They taste like they’d be a fantastic salad topper or trail mix ingredient. I may add some to the leftover steamed shrimp and broccoli I had for dinner and eat it cold for lunch tomorrow

While at the market, I also picked up some apple chips to make a fruity protein bar which I’ve dubbed “the banapple-nut bar.” They came out great and had a texture similar to my apple-cake bars. Here’s the recipe and method for those interested:

Banapple Nut Protein Bars

¼ cup soy flour
¼ cup almond flour (just grind blanched almonds to a cornmeal consistency)
1 packet kashi honey-cinnamon 7 grain hot cereal
2 scoops of vanilla protein powder (or about 60g)
½ tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
2 ½ tbsp. SF cinnamon syrup (hazelnut or caramel would be fine too)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg white
2 tbsp. cashew-macadamia butter
2 tbsp. chopped pecans
¼ cup banana chips, chopped
¼ cup apple chips, chopped
1 tbsp. apple butter (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, soy flour, ½ of the packed of kashi, ½ of the protein powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the cinnamon syrup and mix well until everything is slightly wet. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white and nut butter until smooth. Add that mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. Finally, add the other ½ of the kashi packet, protein powder, pecans, banana chips, and apple chips. Mix well until a sticky batter forms.

Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper or greased aluminum foil. Grease or lightly wet your hands and pat the batter into the pan evenly. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. As soon as the pan comes out of the oven, drizzle on the apple butter and spread it evenly. It will melt slightly and create a thin glaze. When cool, remove the bars from the pan and cut into 6 equal pieces.

Nutrition facts: 172 calories, 11 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbohydrates, and 10 grams of protein.

If you’re concerned about fat, you can replace the nut butter with some applesauce or mashed banana and/or nix the chopped pecans. If you still want a nutty flavor without adding too much fat, try using PB2 in place of the nut butter. Keep in mind, however, that the fats in nuts are monounsaturated and have been shown to lower levels of bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease when eaten in moderate amounts (reference: Mayo Clinic website). Walnuts and flaxseeds in particular contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids which are even better for heart health.

If Little Red Riding Hood’s granny had me for a grandchild, I can assure you that she would have chased that wolf out of her house lickety-split. That’s because I would have brought this:

This is my goody basket. It’s where I keep my protein and vitamin rich snacks so that I can grab one or two and get out the door quickly in the morning. As much as I love making my own protein bars, there are some flavors that I simply haven’t mastered yet. I usually have Kashi Chocolate-Peanut and Cinnamon Coffee Cake Protein-Fiber bars on hand, as well as some of the South Beach Peanut Butter or Cinnamon Raisin Protein Cereal bars. South Beach does make “meal bars,” but they’re high in sugar alcohols which I tend not to tolerate. Also packed in my basket are a batch of my chocolate vita-cupcakes and a batch of my new banapple nut bars. Granny would have been power-packed and ready to lay the beat-down on any nasty wolf that came her way.

Keeping healthy foods in high supply is crucial to balanced eating. Without that basket, I’d be scrambling around the kitchen in the morning trying to find things to throw together that are high protein, high iron, and just all around good for me. Take the time to prepare things for yourself in advance and it’ll make eating well significantly easier. Most soups freeze very well, so I try to make a large pot, let it cool slightly, and then put it in single-serving containers in the freezer. I take one out in the morning, toss it in my bag, and by lunch it’s thawed enough to get nice and toasty after about a minute and a half in the microwave. I’m currently eating my way through a batch of cauliflower-cheese-chicken chowder.

The reason I’m focusing on this so much now is that I know once classes get into full swing, I’ll have a lot of other things on my mind. With a good meal plan in place, there’s one less thing to worry about.

In other news, I have my first fantasy football draft of the season today. Joe and I joined a league with a bunch of people from a forum that we frequent. I’ve got some lists made, but I want to narrow a few more things down and check injury reports one more time. I’ll post my roster here tonight or tomorrow for anyone who’s interested.

That’s all for now. It’s almost the weekend, so “Just keep swimming,” as Dory said so many times in Finding Nemo. Think positive and have a wonderful Thursday everyone. Ciao!

The Happiest Cupcake

20 Aug

This is a very happy cupcake:

I tried some Deep Chocolate Vitamuffins over the weekend and really liked them. The chocolate flavor was neither fakey or overly sweet. I even took them to a get together at a friend’s house and they got rave reviews. Last night I had an epiphany and realized that not only was there a possibility of making them taste even better, I could even improve their nutrition in the process.

Here’s a warm batch of my Vita-Protein Cupcakes with the necessary ingredients in the background.

Cast of Characters:

1 box Deep Chocolate Vitamuffin Mix
2 scoops whey chocolate protein powder (I usedLean Dessert Chocolate Fudge)
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Not pictured: 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 1/4 cups of water as called for in Vitamuffin mix recipe. ***NOTE: To reduce the sugar content of this recipe, use sugar-free chocolate chips or skip them altogether. The cakes still taste great!***

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit

Begin by mixing the egg whites and water together in a large bowl. Add the protein powder, muffin mix, chocolate chips, and baking powder. Mix everything until thoroughly combined. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cups and coat them with non-stick spray. Spoon the batter equally into the cups. It will take about 3.5 tablespoons per muffin. Bake for 23-27 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly poked with a finger. Don’t overcook them or they’ll dry out.

They’ll look like this when they come out:

They’re absolutely wonderful as-is, but if you want frosting (who doesn’t?) here’s an easy recipe for a good frosting that keeps well stored in the fridge.

Combine 1 oz. light cream cheese, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. cocoa powder, and 1/2 of a small package of sugar-free chocolate pudding powder in a food processor. While processing, slowly add milk until the frosting reaches the consistency you like. I used about 1/4 cup of skim milk in mine. If you want a fluffier frosting, fold in a few spoonfuls of cool-whip free. Personally, I like my frosting thick and creamy. Tonight, I also added a pinch of unsweetened coconut to the top of one.

Generally, I leave the frosting in the fridge in a small plastic container and only frost a cake just before eating it (or packing it for a post-lunch dessert!). That way, I can have different flavors if I’m not in the mood for all chocolate. For instance, you could try butterscotch or cheesecake pudding mix instead of the chocolate. Or, nix the pudding mix all together and replace it with some all-fruit preserves. I bet a strawberry-cream cheese frosting would be great!

The final (and very delicious) verdict: Each cupcake is 122 calories (about 130 with frosting), contains 2 grams of fat, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein. They also provide 50% of the recommended allowances for vitamins A, C, D, E, B-6, B-12 and 50% of recommended allowances for iron and zinc.

Now you have an excuse to eat a cupcake for breakfast (or any other time for that matter). How awesome is that? It’s certainly the happiest and healthiest cupcake that’s ever been in MY kitchen. Anyway, I hope you get a chance to try them and that you enjoy them as much as I do.

That’s all for now, friends. Mangia bene!

Two down, six to go! (Boca loaf inside)

11 Aug

What a weekend! Saturday night, we watched as Michael Phelps claimed his first gold medal in the men’s 400 IM. It was the event he said would be his toughest. Well, he blew past his own world record by 2 seconds and made it look easy. Then, last night Jason Lezak pulled of the comeback of all comebacks to bring the men victory in the 4X100 freestyle relay. It was unbelievable. Coming out of the final turn, he was still nearly a full body-length behind the Frenchman Alain Bernard. Suddenly, it just seemed like something changed inside of Lezak. Barnard hadn’t slowed down. If anything, he was exploding during the last 50 meters. Lezak just wanted it a little more, and his determination paid off when he touched the wall first.

So, thanks to Jason Lezak, Phelps’ quest for 8 gold medals continues. Here’s the list of events with their televised times (ET)

400m IM- August 9 @ 10pm- GOLD
4X100m freestyle relay- August 10 @ 11:01pm- GOLD
200m freestyle- August 11 @ 10:13pm
200m butterfly- August 12 @ 10:18pm
4X200m freestyle relay- August 12 @ 11:16pm
4X50m IM- August 14 @ 1o:45pm
100m butterfly- August 15 @ 10:07pm
4X100 medley relay- August 16 @ 10:55pm

In comparison to the feats of athletics I saw this weekend, my accomplishments were rather small. In my own way, I had some good success. Here’s another vegan loaf recipe that’s a bit more “meaty” tasting.

Cast of Characters:

½ cup almonds (ground to a coarse meal)
2 TB olive oil One onion, diced
One large garlic clove, minced
One large carrot, peeled and grated
Two celery ribs, diced
One red or green pepper, diced
One cup baby bella mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 cups Boca Ground “meat”
1 cup cooked whole wheat cous cous
1/4 – 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon mixed seasonings (whatever herbs and spices you like)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp. salt

Use the same method as the lentil-veggie loaf and add only as much vegetable broth as is needed to bring the loaf together. This loaf only takes about 40 minutes to cook, although you can leave it in the oven for 5 extra minutes if you want the top to be very crispy. Divided into 8 slices, it comes out to about 116 calories and 10 grams of protein per slice. It is low in fat and carbohydrates too, but I don’t have the numbers with me right now. I’ll post them in the comments later if anyone shows interest.

Here’s me deciding that a fork won’t be necessary…

In other news, I decided on a chocolate protein powder to experiment with. It’s by BSN and it’s called Lean Dessert (in chocolate fudge pudding flavor). It made really good ice cream—yum! I really like it, but I’m still trying out more samples because as powders go, it comes in a little bit low at 20g protein per scoop. I got a sample of Jay Robb’s whey powder at Vitamin Shoppe. That comes in at 25g protein per scoop and they only use milk from cows that have not been given hormones. To me that seems like a good thing. I have enough hormones of my own, thanks.

Also, looks like it’s back to the drawing board on the iron front. Remember that I mentioned I was due for blood work in August? Well, everything came back looking great with the exception of my ferritin (1), iron (9), iron saturation (2), and hematocrit (25%). It’s really hard not to get discouraged. Pushing more red meat into my diet doesn’t exactly thrill me because of the cholesterol factor, so fixing this issue will be about making good choices and creating new ways to sneak iron into recipes.

Safeway sells giant bags of frozen shrimp and scallops. I can toss those into my stir-fries along with vegetables like broccoli and red peppers that aid in iron absorption. I also plan to buy some bran flakes and molasses to make iron muffins. Another thought that crossed my mind was finding some young, mild calves or chicken livers, chopping them finely, and adding that to one of my protein loaves. Like I said, I’m going to have to get creative. It’ll probably mean giving up my beloved protein bars as snacks in exchange for something that is high protein AND high iron, like some tuna fish or a molasses-bran muffin. At any rate, I spent most of last evening researching high-iron recipes and I will most certainly post anything successful.

Even though I’m discouraged about my iron level, I have to remember that I’ve successfully raised my vitamin D and B vitamins, have normal liver functions, and have maintained proper levels of everything else. My goal now is to keep eating healthy and to raise my hematocrit as much as I can. I’ve said it before, but I truly believe writing down a goal is all the motivation we need sometimes, and this situation is no exception. I will fine tune my eating habits to focus on protein and high iron. Since I’m not a medical expert, I’ve also consulted a hematologist to help me monitor everything.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their week and that the sun is shining wherever you are. Stay motivated and stay positive!

Ciao for now, friends.

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