Holiday Highlights

I hope all y'all had a great Christmas and weekend.

It seems all too short.


Let's catch you all up on this foodie's happenings:


The festivities began on Thursday, with an attempt at a couple sweet dessert recipes. What a failure. The molasses crackles I made came out like little hard dog biscuits, and I have no idea why. I think my baking soda has lost its luster. Then I tried to make molasses candy. It never reached the hard state, and came out as a giant gooey molasses-y mess. I tried to fix it by making this gooey mess into truffles, but that made matters worse. Then I had a molasses-y chocolatey mess. I have resided to the fact I am not a baker, never will be. This morning I was reading A Place of My Own by Michael Pollan and he describes his style of approaching the kitchen as "cavalier." Depending on how you view recipes (e.g. follow them to a "T" or find the need to improvise according to your creativity and ingredients on hand) dictates whether you succeed as a cook or baker. I am a cook, never a baker.


After I cleaned up the sugary mess and pitched it into the garbage, we made our way to Tim's parent's house. Everything was beautifully decorated...

including the salt & pepper shakers!

and plates!

Some delicious appetizers, including my all-time favorite party food: low-fat bean dip.

And some crackers and Smith's Country Cheese (local food alert!) gouda with port wine.

We enjoyed mocktails...

by the Christmas tree.

For dessert, I ate an entire plate of these organic chocolate-covered strawberries. The chocolate came from Dean's Beans, another local purveyor of coffee and chocolates.

"Santa" was very generous to us... Check out this personalized Scrabble board from L.L. Bean! Scrabble is my all-time favorite game. Thank you Sally & Ernie for a fabulous Christmas Eve!

We sped to my aunt's house one town over and enjoyed some more appetizers. I momentarily teared up when I saw she used up one of the last rolls of homemade cookie dough from my grandmother's house. We used to go to my grandmother's on Christmas Eve, so this year it felt different. We all miss her. A lot.

We headed to church for the midnight service, then sleepily returned home and let visions of sugar plums dance in our heads.

I woke up early, pounded out a couple miles, and then we opened gifts.

Guess who THAT was for?

Santa was VERY good again. That Santa must have gotten a pay increase or a second job as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Plus, he has an affinity for Mac Books and electronics. :-)

Santa continued to drop off bang-up gifts at my parent's house. The awesome generosity spread, just like that molasses that wouldn't harden into candy. The luck was also in our favor, too. Some lucky duck won $100 on a $1 scratch ticket!


At our next stop, we got to play with Myrtle the Bernese Mountain puppy. Imagine that puppy with a big red bow underneath your tree?





We hurried across town for a delicious turkey dinner and some great laughs. Our bellies were filling up, but we had one more stop to go.


At my aunt's house, we exchanged gifts and nibbled on desserts. I had had enough, and just nibbled on a couple cookies. All went unpictured. I did get my hands on some delicious Trader Joe's tea and gingerbread cookies in the Yankee Swap. I also chatted with my uncle, who recommended I check out Le Petit Robert. Anyone tried out the Needham, Kenmore, or South End locations? This, of course, reminded me of my junior high days in French class.

Le Petit Prince, anyone?

(source)

We also played the Pig game, mentioned in my Christmas Eve post. This year, I was really thankful for my fabulous family, my health, this blog, and my decision to run the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the tiny mallet, so we wrapped the piggy up and smashed it with a hammer. How nice.

After a long but amazing Christmas, we headed home. It was a fabulous holiday and wonderful to get to spend it with those I care about most!

And the holiday weekend continued, but mostly with cleaning up, putting newly acquired items in their new home, and furiously spending gift cards. Oh yes, and running. 5 miles yesterday. 11 miles today.

And, my fundraising page is up and running! You may or may not have received an email about this from me. If you haven't, please click below to check out the newly-rolled out fundraising page.

And now, for the blogger Special of the Month: If you donate through my fundraising page by January 5th, and $1000 is raised, I will be randomly choosing a WINNER for 1) 5 free personal training sessions 2) 5 nutrition coaching sessions or 3) a personal grocery shopper and a cook for a week, courtesy of yours truly. I understand some readers do not live locally, and I will work something out if you win (i.e. workout plans, teleconference sessions, etc.)

Question of the Day: Did you visit my fundraising page? What did you think? How can I make it better? Have you ever run for a charity like this, and what was successful for you?

And check out my latest post on my 2010 Boston Marathon link. It's how I refuel after a long run!

The Christmas Spirit

What puts you in the Christmas spirit?

Family time? Jesus time? Some good ol' sugar cookie coffee?

Yeah, we got that.

Question of the Day: What Christmas or holiday food traditions gets your family in the Christmas spirit?

My family traditions include Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family, Christmas morning is spent opening gifts, and Christmas day we visit with my mom's side of the family. Throughout the last 5 years, we've added some stops along the way. Tim and I are definitely going Santa-style this Christmas by visiting lots of family who live in the area! Two stops tonight, and maybe 5 tomorrow! Giddeyup, Rudolph!

One interesting food-related tradition we do is "passing the pig." My aunt gets this little peppermint candy pink pig that comes in a little bag with a little mallet. The pig gets passed around the circle after dinner, and each person takes a whack at it. The pig breaks apart and that person gets to have a piece of peppermint, but also says what they're thankful for in the past year, and hopes for the new year. It's a nice way to slow down and really appreciate the family time we get to spend together.

Have a Very Merry Christmas Eve!

Roadblock!

A combination of out-of-control vertigo and a jar of bad pesto (unbeknownst to me until the morning after) left me prayin' to the porcelain gods.

This physiological roadblock left me bed-bound and watching the ceiling spin. As a result, I didn't run my scheduled 3 miles, but will make it up later in the week. I know I JUST praised Bikram and pesto to the highest, but something along the way on Monday night went horribly wrong.

Not sure if it was the hot yoga, or the jar of pesto (that I realized had been open and unrefrigerated for about a month before eating) that left me so sick; I'm guessing it was a combination of both.

I'm feeling better now, but realizing that it's so important to move into new exercise routines slowly, check dates and quality of items in the pantry, and take care of yourself...

Happy Wednesday... Christmas is a-coming!

Sunday Night Soup

Last Sunday, I was determined to make a nutrient-packed dish for my post-10-mile meal.

Enter: Sunday Night Soup.

Sunday night is a great time to prepare your meals for the week. Making a big pot of soup that we'd have leftovers of was a perfect decision. I threw all of those freezer-burned, but still-edible-when-cooked vegetables in, along with some diced potatoes.

Did you know I've barely bought any vegetables from a supermarket since June? In October, I decided to sign up for the Stillman's winter CSA, and have had 3 pick-ups of vegetables; each box has provided enough to get me through the month until the next pick-up. Unfortunately, Sunday was the last pick-up until the 2010 CSA gets started again in June. I've done a ton of freezing and have lots of potatoes and squash stored up, so we can probably get through February before we need to hit up the produce aisle again. It feels so good to be able to say that!

Sunday Night Soup can contain whatever your big heart desires. I threw in 3 CSA potatoes, 1/2 bag frozen CSA broccoli, 1 cup CSA carrots, 1/2 CSA onion, 1 carton of vegetable broth + 2 cups water, 1 can cannellini beans, 1 cup chopped CSA kale, 1/2 cup frozen garden green beans, 1 can stewed tomatoes (unfortunately, the canned tomatoes have to be bought at the store because I didn't can any myself), herbs, and, reluctantly, some celery. Finally, I added 1/2 cup of Israeli couscous, covered the pot, and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

About celery: As an RD (and a real person!), I allow clients to have one (or two) vegetable of their choosing that, if given the option, they would never have to eat again. I work with them to keep an open mind about every vegetable other than (fill in the blank.) Some people choose onions. Some choose tomatoes. I choose celery. Ugh, the stuff makes me gag. I'll eat any vegetable, just don't give me ants on a log. But, I always say to parents that even if they don't like it, they should still offer it to their kids.

And... nothing goes to waste around here if I can help it. Instead of pitching a rock-hard, stale loaf of Italian bread, I roughly chopped/chain-sawed it up into pieces and sauteed it in a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Voila! Soup toasts that paired quite well and melted into the hot, steamy soup.

For your entertainment...

Sunday's church service was the Christmas cantata. It was beautiful. Christmas is coming...

Question of the day: What's on your vegetable hate list? What's your favorite that you couldn't live without?

Winter Solstice Bikram

It may have been the shortest day of the year of daylight hours, but I was warm and cozy in a snuggly yoga studio. Okay, scratch the cozy and snuggly part.

As part of my marathon training, I have one day/week where I can play around with a cross-training routine. I've been dying to try Auburn Bikram Yoga for a while now, and since I need the extra emphasis on deep stretching and core strength, I showed up to today's class.

I forgot how much I love it.

In fact, I even wrote a little (horribly elementary) poem for you all to enjoy. I hope it shows you the essence of what Bikram yoga is all about.

MARKIB

Thick matted ponytail

Tattered flattened towel

sop up the sweat, ponytail

sop up the sweat, towel

turn it up

Heat. Hot. Sweat.

move. bend. stretch. melt.

eagle. Drip.

triangle. Drip. Drip.

tree. Drip. Drip. Drip.

breathe

BIKRAM

Unfortunately, not everyone is a lover of the Bikram. In fact, when I called Tim after class in my semi-enlightened yoga state, he asked if I enjoyed my stinky hot sweaty gross yoga class.

Yes, yes I did.

After yoga I jetted home for some leftover spaghetti and squash. I've had basil on the brain, and ever since dining at Sweet Basil in Needham for my sister's birthday (Happy Birthday KK!), I've yearned for pesto. Sweet Basil gives you a good helping of their homemade basil with fresh bread to start you off. Absolutely amazing. The basil has a good dose of salty cheese and delectable fats (EVOO and pine nuts) that I absolutely couldn't get enough of. I was literally spooning it on top of my goat cheese-infused raviolis and then just decided to eat it right from the spoon. How ladylike.

Anyway, I remembered a jar of Mezzetta pesto I received from the Foodbuzz Festival. I cracked open the jar, slathered on a good 1/4 cup, and reheated my pasta and squash. Note: 1/4 cup has 290 calories. Quite high, but that's what you get for a jar of oil, cheese, pine nuts, and some basil. This pesto, although not the same as Sweet Basil's, still made the cut and I literally licked the plate clean. (Apparently I need to work on my manners.)

Oh yes, and visit the Mezzetta website to enter to win a gift basket worth over $100!

Dinnahhhh...

I also have a jar I got from Happy Girl Kitchen, from the San Francisco Farmers' Market. Can't wait to dig into this one as well.

Can you believe I've only had pesto for the first time about a year ago? Growing up, we were more of a red sauce Ragu kind of family.

Speaking of red sauce, can I just say that tomato juice is SO underrated. I have been buying low sodium tomato juice for a few weeks now and don't know WHY this food has not made it onto any Superfoods lists around. I suggest you all start drinking it. SOO good!

Question of the Day: Which side of the Bikram fence are you on? Lover or hater? Which side of the pesto fence are you on? Lover or hater? How about tomato juice? Love it or hate it?

2010 Boston Marathon & Me

I have a big announcement...

On April 19th, I will be running the Boston Marathon!!!

After some serious thought and discussion, I decided to run this monumental race for charity. One of my lifelong goals has been to run the Boston Marathon before I turn 30. After completing the Maple Leaf Half-Marathon in September, I have a renewed confidence in my ability to do things I never thought possible.

My body is healthy.
I need a new goal that challenges me physically.
I get to work with a charity I truly believe in.
Heck, it's the BOSTON MARATHON!

These are the reasons I decided to sign up. I admit it, I've always been a *somewhat* overachiever. But this attitude has taken me to places and put me in situations that have made me grow as a human being. When I called my mom to tell her, this is how the conversation went:

Me: Mom, guess what?

Mom: What? Me: I decided to run the Boston Marathon!

Mom: Really? Wow, that's great.

Me: Do you think that is sort of impulsive?

Mom: (no response at first). No honey, I think it will be a good thing.


Moms know us too well. She totally knew this was a somewhat impulsive decision. Even though I've considered it for 3 or 4 years now, it hasn't felt like the right time until now. I feel that with goals that are lofty and feel almost unachievable, taking that first step to say I'm going to do it can seem crazy and even impulsive, even if you've done your research and are ready to make the committment. It feels like getting onto a roller coaster. You have to take that first step to get onto the ride. Once you're buckled in, you're committed, and it's for real.

With that being said, I have set up a link on the left column for 2010 Boston Marathon training, thoughts, struggles, achievements, fundraising opportunities, etc. (Check out my first post!) I hope you'll follow and support me along this journey to this goal!

Questions of the Day: Have you ever set outrageous goals? How does it feel when you achieve them? Have you ever thought about running the Boston Marathon?

That's the Way the Cookie Crackles!

For my Holiday Recipe Week, here's one of my favorite cookie recipes.

I made these for a cookie swap last year and they barely made it out of the kitchen.

Another great recipe from Eating Well for Molasses Crackles...

The trick to these is to let them firm up in the refrigerator, and then dust them with a bit of sugar. Wow. The cookie monster would approve. Each cookie boasts about 80 calories. And, I substituted half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. The added crystalized ginger really gives these cookies a nice kick!

Holiday Recipe Week - Wednesday: Banana Bran Bread

Here's another bread recipe that's sure to please your guests on Christmas morning:

This tried-and-true healthy version of banana bread really hits the spot. Use up those overripe bananas for this recipe found on the Eating Well website.

Holiday Recipe Week - Tuesday: Ginger Bread

Or is it gingerbread bread? Or just gingerbread?

Ginger is a great item to add to your cooking repertoire. Here are some fun facts on ginger:

• The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine states that studies suggest that the short-term use of ginger can relieve pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting.
• The studies are mixed on whether ginger is effective for nausea caused by motion, chemotherapy, or surgery.
• It is unclear whether ginger is effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, or joint or muscle pain.
• Few side effects are linked to ginger when taken in small amounts; effects are most often associated with powdered ginger.
• The underground stems of the ginger plant, which is an herb, are used in cooking, baking, and for health purposes.
• The official Latin name for ginger is Zingiber officinale.

Ginger. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ginger/index.htm Accessed Dec 13 2009

Whether you call it gingerbread or ginger bread, this following recipe is so delicious. This gingerbread has a great deep brown color on the inside and a crunchy coffee cake topping on the outside, a spicy aroma, and a taste that is a combination of cinnamon, cloves and ginger, but not too overpowering. Definitely a perfect accompaniment to a cup of Gingerbread coffee.

The Gingerbread Coffeecake Muffin recipe I found here on the Eating Well website was perfect.

I also used some real candied ginger I bought at Trader Joe's.

Crunchy, sweet topping.

All whipped up in a festive mini loaf pan.

If you're a lover of all things gingerbread, I suggest you check out this gingerbread coffee, also found at Trader Joe's. This is the true essence of Christmas... in a mug!

Speaking of mugs, here's one of my new insulated Bodum coffee mugs I got for FREE at Open Sky during their Cyber Monday bonanza! Thanks Open Sky!

Question of the day: Are you a fan of gingerbread? If not, what's your "holiday flavor?"

Holiday Recipe Week - Monday: Blueberry Bread

This week, I'm running a healthy holiday bread-baking class at work. So, I'll be posting three quick bread recipes and a great holiday cookie recipe (cookie swap, anyone?) that you can use to bring to your next holiday soiree. I tested them Sunday morning, and they all work very well.

(Check out that muffin in the back. Looks like someone got a hold of that one!)

Up first is a blueberry bread. I received this recipe card at the Healthy Living Summit and have not gotten around to making it yet. It's a shame, because this recipe was AWESOME.

Pictured is a muffin. I made a mini loaf, but during the brunch we had this morning, it magically disappeared. Luckily, I had enough batter left over to make some muffins.

Stonyfield's Very Blueberry Muffins

(recipe can also be found here)

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Stonyfield Organic Low Fat Plain Yogurt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen and lightly thawed)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 12-muffin tin. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a seperate bowl, combine the yogurt with soda; set the mixture aside. Beat the egg in a third bowl, then add the oil, sugar, and vanilla, and stir to combine. Add the flour mixture and the yogurt mixture alternately to the egg mixture and stir just until blended. Gently fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the muffins are golden brown. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Makes a dozen muffins.

Of course, I made mine in a mini loaf pan. Amount of time was the same. This was definitely a recipe I would make again! It may not be completely holiday-ish (where's the cinnamon? where's the molasses? where's the red and green sprinkles?) but it is one I could imagine being served for a Christmas brunch.

And...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LOVELY SISTER!

Tacky Sweaters, Tacos, and Fondue

Amongst the throngs of tacky sweaters and cheap Yankee swap gifts, we had a great office holiday party on Friday, complete with "make your own" Qdoba tacos and a fondue pot. It felt totally retro 80's, but we had a blast. I walked away with a pair of baby blue Warmzz socks and some fabulous, yet incriminating photos of co-workers wearing the sweaters with the most holiday flair I've ever seen!

The taco bar.

My festive taco(s).

Fondue for you.

And for the best part... some sweaters!

Question of the day: How do you celebrate holidays at your job?

Today = Tacky + Tacos

Overnight oats was on the agenda this morning. Basically you put your scoop of oats in a bowl, add milk or water, cover, and set in the refrigerator overnight. This morning, the oats were soft and mushy. Nuke them for 90 seconds and you've got a belly full of breakfast.

I've been struggling with a good, quick way to cook oats. Half of the time I cook them in the microwave, they boil over and leave me with a big mess. I'm usually running late in the morning and don't always have time to stovetop cook them. The overnight oat method is a great way to get that creamy oatiness without all the mess.

Last night, the Grape girl and I went to Noir in Cambridge for a blogger meetup. Let me tell you, Noir makes a mean batch of sangria! We met some fabulous bloggers, including Run Foodie Run and the ladies from We Are Not Martha. Thanks Tina for organizing this!

So today is the office holiday party. As one of the party organizers (no, my name is not Phyllis), we decided to have a tacky sweater-themed party! And a Make Your Own taco bar. AND...

A chocolate and peanut butter fondue with fresh fruit! I'm so excited for this retro holiday party and will be sure to take photos. :-)

Happy Friday!

Question of the Day: What's your best/worst office holiday party story?