Posts from — October 2010

Today I had some crafty fun preparing for the neighborhood kids who will be trick-or-treating next weekend. Originally I had intended just to give away mini Larabars because, well, they are awesome and wholesome and I like the idea of introducing more people to their deliciousness.

However, during discussion of this plan with my husband, he pointed out that it might be nice to provide a little bit of traditional sugar with the Larabars, and spread my oft-repeated message of enjoying all things in moderation. I thought this made sense, so although we are not departing entirely from the candy-distribution tradition, instead of 2 or 3 mini candy bars like we usually give each little ghost or goblin, this year each will receive one Larabar and one traditional treat, along with one of my health coaching business cards!

That’s where the craftiness comes in. I wrote a little message on the back of each card, and punched a hole in the corner. Then I took some ribbon through the hole and stapled one piece of candy and one mini Larabar to the ribbon. The final step was to tie it up and curl the ends—voila! A cute little treat that will spread my message and provide my contact information, just in case anyone in the neighborhood wants to enlist my health coaching services after the sugar-induced Halloween comas wear off.

Speaking of which, there is still room in my upcoming “Sugar Blues” teleclass! This free 1-hour teleclass is on Wednesday, November 3rd at 8 p.m. EST. Visit my website to sign up today!

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When Ashley from Nourishing the Soul contacted me to tell me about the “Self-Discovery, Word by Word” series and asked me to be a part of it, I was thrilled. The monthly series will provide an opportunity for bloggers and blog readers to “reflect on ideas that we may not often consider in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives” and to share our reflections with each other. Each month there will be one word that serves as the theme for reflection, and the first word of the series is one of my favorites these days: gratitude.

Gratitude is something I have felt fairly often throughout my life, but I don’t think I have ever been as expressive about it as I am now (and it’s still a place where I want to continue to grow). I’ve always been a generally happy person, aware of the blessings in my life and grateful for them, but it’s always so much easier to focus on what we don’t have, or what’s not going right.

Now, I start and end each day with thoughts of gratitude. I don’t (yet) keep a gratitude journal as many people do; I tend to express my gratitude in prayer. This has been a deliberate shift for me. Growing up, I said bedtime prayers every night, but they tended to be the same each night, with only a little thanks and a lot of “please.” Don’t get me wrong, I still say “please” fairly often, but now I also say thank you for at least three things that made me grateful that day. Sometimes they are big, life-changing things, and sometimes they are very small things, like warm fuzzy slippers or an email from a friend.

Throughout each day, I also try to feel and express gratitude even when it doesn’t come naturally at all. Even in many frustrating, discouraging situations, there is something to feel grateful for. For instance, a traffic jam may mean you hear your favorite song on the radio on the way to work when otherwise you would have missed it. A rainy day is a chance to wear a raincoat you never get to show off, and means the grass will be pretty and green the next day. Morning sickness is a chance to be grateful for something amazing happening to your body. Missing the bus could lead to a fantastic conversation with your mom who you call while you wait for the next one.

I’m not suggesting that we bottle up or ignore our negative emotions, or that it’s not ok to be bummed out or even downright angry or sad sometimes—it definitely is! But once you’ve acknowledged and felt those feelings, try using gratitude to see your situation from a new perspective and see how your mood improves.

And if you’re really feeling it, try taking this exercise one step further. If you find yourself reaching for your cell phone or computer keyboard to share with the world what a crummy day you are having, so everyone can sympathize with your bad luck, stop yourself. Think about what you feel grateful for instead, and just consider sharing THAT with your network. Sure, people might call you Pollyanna or Miss Mary Sunshine, but hey…wouldn’t you rather be seen that way than as a constant Oscar the Grouch? You just might inspire others to feel a little more gratitude and positivity in their lives, too—and that’s a good thing I just don’t believe we can possibly have too much of.

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While October definitely ushers in a season of fall harvest foods like apples, pumpkins, and winter squash, and increases cravings within many of us for warm soups and ciders, it also signals the start of a very indulgent season for many. First we have Halloween, with its plethora of sugary treats. Then comes Thanksgiving, which has evolved from a one-day family celebration to a week or more of pre-holiday gatherings, the actual event, and then of course, the leftovers…heaven forbid we throw out even a morsel of leftover pie! December brings more indulgence-inviting events like cookie exchanges and cocktail parties. It’s no wonder many of us wake up on January 1 with, well, a (sugar/food/alcohol) hangover!

As I shared in my October newsletter, sugar qualifies as an addictive substance, and its effects are not only physical but emotional as well. I don’t mean to suggest you have to get through the next 3 months abstaining from all sweets, or even all sugar…but the next time you mindlessly dip your hand into the bowl of Halloween candy that a helpful coworker brought to the office, stop to think about the pattern you are establishing and the effect it will have on your day, your week, and, well, your season! Some sweets are worth it, and some just aren’t, but once you start feeding your body and brain refined sugar more and more frequently, your cravings cease to distinguish between worthwhile and not, and next thing you know, things can easily get out of control.

If you’re interested in hearing more about sugar’s effects and tips for conquering your “Sugar Blues,” please join me on Wednesday, November 3rd at 8 p.m. EST for my free teleclass! You can sign up online on my website, and you’ll receive the dial-in information via email. I look forward to your participation!

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I adapted this recipe after seeing it on How To: Simplify, where it was adapted from Cooking Light magazine’s recipe. It’s goeey and cheesy and delicious!

I had a little bit of trouble finding the ingredients in the right quantities. I guess cans of enchilada sauce come bigger at my store than others, for instance. Still, I think being flexible when cooking is important and when it comes to how much sauce or cheese or chiles to include in a casserole, going with what you have on hand what fits your preferences is essential!So if you don’t have the exact variety or amount that I used, or you prefer to use a different type of cheese, go for it, and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1  cup broth—I used bean broth I saved after cooking dried beans earlier in the week for Three-Bean Bake
• 1  (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2  tsp. olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 can black beans (approx. 1.5 cups)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) Monterey Jack cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese
• 1 can red enchilada sauce (10, 12, 14 ounces—whatever you find! I used about 12 oz. from a 14-ounce can)
• 12  (6-inch) corn tortillas—I bought a package of 12 sprouted corn tortillas but only used 10!
• 1 cup (4 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1  ounce tortilla chips, crushed (about 6 chips)—mine were blue…thus the dark spots in the photos!

Directions:

1. Combine broth and chiles in a large skillet and bring to a boil.
2. Add chicken breasts. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken once.
3. Remove chicken from cooking liquid, reserving cooking liquid; cool chicken. Shred meat and set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 350°.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes or until soft.
6. Add reserved cooking liquid, beans, evaporated milk, Monterey Jack, cream cheese, and enchilada sauce and stir well. S
7. Stir in shredded chicken and cook 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
8. Place 3-4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray.
9. Spoon approx 1/3 chicken mixture over tortillas. Repeat layers twice, ending with chicken mixture.
10. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips.
11. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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It’s that time of year…pumpkins on the doorstep, pumpkins as centerpieces, and yes, pumpkin on the menu!

Pumpkin is often referred to as a “superfood” because it’s so incredibly nutritious. Yet I know many people who have carved a pumpkin yearly their entire lives but never actually cooked and eaten one (no, pumpkin pie from the supermarket is not quite the same).

Pumpkin is a low-calorie food that contains protein, fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and beta-carotene. It also contains powerful antioxidants known as carotenoids, which have the ability to reduce the risk of various types of cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and macular degeneration.

Choosing & Storing Pumpkins

Pumpkins come in the big carving variety (which yes, can be eaten if you scoop out the seeds and pulp, then scrap away as much of the flesh as you can while still leaving a shell for carving) and many other smaller varieties which are better for eating, such as the small, orange sugar pie pumpkins, pale beige, ribbed cheese pumpkins, flat, vibrant red French pumpkins, and round, heirloom Winter Luxury pumpkins.

You should choose pumpkins that feel solid and heavy, because they dry out and become lighter as they age. The shells should be hard with no cracks or soft spots. Pumpkins will keep for up to a month if you store them in a cool, dry place. Once you cut them, pumpkins should be wrapped in plastic, refrigerated, and used within 4 days.

This year, don’t miss out! You can enjoy your pumpkin any number of ways. Check out the recipes below, and be sure to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter and receive my new pumpkin muffin recipe in this month’s edition, coming out soon!

• Pumpkin Soup
• Pumpkin Lasagna - Real Simple
• Pumpkin Risotto – Food & Wine
  
• Quinoa and Corn Salad with Pumpkin Seeds – Whole Living
• Black Bean and Roasted Pumpkin Salad - PumpkinRecipes.org
• Creamy Pumpkin with Millet – Hangry Pants
• Primal Almond Butter Pumpkin Brownies – This Primal Life
• Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte - The Kitchn
• Pumpkin and Chicken Chowder – Country Living
  

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This is essentially the same recipe as Winter Squash Stew, but I have updated it a little bit to reflect our taste preferences and my first experience using a sugar pie pumpkin.

I expected the small pumpkin to be easy to carve into pieces, but it wasn’t at all–it was difficult to even split it in half! I decided to steam the pumpkin in large pieces in a steamer basket over boiling water to soften it before trying to peel it, and that did the trick. After about 10 minutes of steaming, I was able to scoop the flesh from the outer peel and add it into the pot with the other ingredients.

I thought about swapping in cinnamon and nutmeg instead of cumin, but after a week of experimenting with pumpkin muffin recipes (the final version will be in my October email newsletter–subscribe now!) I decided that a slightly different pumpkin flavor would be welcome. And it was delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 sugar pie pumpkin, seeded, peeled, and cut into chunks
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• approx. 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp. cumin

Directions:

1. Sauté finely minced onion and minced garlic in a tsp. of olive oil.
2. Place pumpkin in a pot and fill with stock until just covered, then add cumin, garlic, and onion.
3. Boil until tender (if pumpkin is pre-softened, just simmer all together for 5 minutes or so).
4. Move chunks of pumpkin, onion, and garlic to blender, along with some, but not all, of the liquid (save the rest).
5. Blend in blender until smooth, adding more of the cooking liquid to reach desired consistency.
6. If you didn’t use it all, discard remaining cooking liquid.
7. Return blended mixture to the pot to heat through.
8. Serve with cilantro, parsley, pumpkin seeds, and/or grated parmesan cheese on top.

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