Slow Cooker

I've never, ever owned a slow cooker. This came up in conversation with my aunt & uncle and they just happened to have 3 in the house and gave one to me - thank you Jay and Sarah!

I've been having fun experimenting - we tried a coconut chicken curry and a pot roast... they were good, but nothing to write home... or blog about. One thing that was really spectacular was our Kitchens of India Butter Chicken made in the slow cooker - I added in spinach, hot pepper, and some diced bell peppers... delicious :) Now I just need to find more recipes from scratch!

New Year's Resolution Update

Well hello!

I've been completely neglectful about updating, but apparently I am in demand... (Hi Brittany!)

You might remember that I made a New Year's resolution to walk 500 miles this year... that's about 1.67 miles each day (which would work with my goal of 2-3 miles, 4-5 times a week).

My goal point (1.67 miles/day) as of 6/5/11: 208.24

My actual miles walked: 94.4 - ouch!

I *do* have some good excuses - back in February I had a cold-turned-sinus infection that put me out for 2 weeks. In April I had surgery that put me off for an entire month - so now I'm starting to get back on track! I don't know if I'm going to be able to make up the difference but I have been kicking up the intensity lately (maybe I'll even start running again?).

It's helping that now I've got the hubby involved (he's up to 70 miles, which is good considering he started later in the year). We've been trying to go on a hike every weekend but it's been difficult because it's been HOT lately!

New recipes soon... if I can find inspiration :)

Confession

I had lofty goals today. I was planning to get off of work at my normal time, go to the grocery store, get gas, put in some laundry, hop on the treadmill, and then whip up a from scratch meal I had been dreaming about all day from the Pioneer Woman.

Instead, I ended up staying late working a 10 hour day then having to run some errands when I'm wanting to go home and I'm hungry! There goes my lofty goals for this afternoon :(

Also, now my confession. Occasionally we will have this for dinner:

That's right. Not exactly a "whole food" but if you get a thin crust with light cheese it's less than 500 calories for half of a medium. I ate some carrots and cranberries too for some nutrients :) And you can get two medium pizzas for $5.99 each. Also, there is a domino's within walking distance to our apartment so that makes up for not getting on the treadmill right? (sigh)

Oh, and I also have to confess that I love the pizza tracker.

Moroccan Couscous

Hello blog,

For Valentine's day, I'm giving you a wonderful present: quite possibly my quickest and easiest recipe that is still extremely healthy and tasty! Usually you have to compromise on at least one of those 4 qualities; this recipe has it all. My readers, I present to you Moroccan Couscous.

I modified this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Culinary in the Desert. Joe, you are amazing!

What you need:

14.5 ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (if you can't find fire-roasted... try harder... or use diced with garlic)
15 ounce can low sodium chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chicken broth... see notes below
4 teaspoons red curry paste (look for it in the Asian part of the grocery store)

"3 shakes" HOT habanero powder... less or more as you like it
10 ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables, thawed - I like cauliflower
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 1/4 cup chicken broth (with the chicken broth above, you should have exactly 1 can's worth)
1 cup whole wheat couscous
salt and fresh ground black pepper
4 ounces or MORE goat cheese. the more the better :)

In a large pot, stir together tomatoes, chickpeas, broth, curry paste, habanero powder and vegetables - bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer just until the vegetables have warmed through. Stir in lime juice.

Make the couscous according to directions. I usually make mine in the microwave by boiling the 1.25 cups broth, putting in the 1 cup WW couscous, cover with a plate for 5 minutes.

Divide couscous between serving plates and evenly spoon the warmed vegetable mixture over the top. Sprinkle each with cheese to serve. The goat cheese adds wonderful tangy, creamy, and cooling qualities. The original recipe called for feta; I'm sticking with the goat cheese!

Makes 4 generous servings! In less than 10 minutes :) I keep all of the ingredients of this recipe on hand when a quick dinner is needed.

It's February!

Hello blog,

I really have no good excuses for not updating you!

I have been in a culinary rut since the new year. Over the holidays you pretty much eat all of the delicacies you desire and then in the new year you're just... bored/sick of food. That's how I've felt for about 2 months now. I really haven't "craved" anything so it's just the standard healthy/easy/quick convenient stuff. For example, we just ate the soup of health for the 2nd day in a row now...

I did try a new recipe a few weeks ago, but it's already been blogged about :) Steak tips with peppered mushroom gravy! My friend Carrie got this recipe from Cooking Light, and it was delicious! I made mine over whole wheat noodles with steamed broccoli on the side. I like to make the whole batch and freeze the leftovers for lunches, and it turned out great.

For a looong time I avoided beef. (I lied a minute ago... maybe I have been craving beef lately.) However, I've been trying to use only organic grassfed beef for health and ethical reasons. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my FAVORITE RESTAURANT, Moe's Southwest Grill, has a healthy/sustainability campaign going on!... they state they use no hormones in their chicken and that their beef is grass fed. I am impressed!! Check it out here: http://www.moes.com/mission/

You might remember my previous post with my goal to walk 500 miles this year (the Excel spreadsheet isn't working, sorry). I was off to a good start! However, this last weekend I got a combination of a stomach bug AND a nasty cold so it has put things to a halt for a bit. As of this point I should have walked 54 miles to be on track; I've only gone 41. If you miss a day or two it adds up. Hopefully I'll be back on track soon!

500 Miles

I've decided to make my goal of 500 miles public.

See my progress here!

Hello 2011!

Hello my blog followers,

Well, it's a new year. Mine got off to a pretty rough stuff - screaming neighbors at 3 am, car problems, dog sitting (which really throws a wrench in my daily plans), starting a new class with about double the amount of regular students. I haven't been too good healthwise either, it's only the 3rd day and already I've gone out to eat 4 times, had fried Mexican food, and ice cream. I have also been feeling a cold coming on so I've been using that as an excuse not to exercise. Ugh!

The good news is that I did not gain one pound over the holiday season :) Dietitian skillz FTW.

Also, in my defense, two of those four going-out-to-eat times were to get breakfast at Bruegger's bagels. The whole wheat bagel has 310 calories, 7 grams fiber, 13 grams protein, no artificial perservatives/flavors/crap. I have them put the light cream cheese on top and scrape at least half of it off (about 50 extra calories). It is tasty and keeps me full til lunch :) And it's only like $2.

Ah, the famous New Year's Resolutions. I told my husband that mine would be to "EAT MORE!.... vegetables." More, and more variety. I tend to get in kind of a rut... broccoli with lunch/dinner, spinach in soup/salads, carrots to snack on and in stews/soups. Green beans to snack on. I'm terrified that sometimes I honestly only get 1-2 servings of veggies a day... eek! So this is my area for improvement in the new year.

And...

I follow a former college classmate's blog and her goal for 2011 is to run 1,000 miles. She is an experienced marathoner. To be honest, I have no desire to be a marathoner, or even really run (my body responds, feels, and looks better when I briskly walk instead of run).

So, I believe my goal for this year will be to walk 500 miles. That's about 1.7 miles a day - I feel that is very realistic. This would meet my goal of walking 2-3 miles 3-4 times a week that I wasn't able to accomplish this year. This walking would only be counted outside of work/errands (where I get plenty of walking). If I can get more, yay!... although I am already behind and it's the 3rd. I also need to get back in the habit of incorporating strength training and stretches. One thing at a time!!