Monday, March 23, 2015

Church Cookbookin'

There are many many reasons why my past self would seriously roll her eyes at my present self. For one, I find myself wearing flats, rather than heels, with dresses and skirts. Say whaaaa? Does it help that they’re cute Michael Kors flats?
 
For two, I wake up at 5 a.m. You crazy! Stuff gotta get done ‘round here. Sleeping in? Nope. I did that in my 20s.
 
For three, I shop at thrift stores. GET OUTTA HERE. Used clothing? Ew ew ew ew ew. Except…it’s awesome. Much of the stuff I find still has the original tags on it. So that drives the ish factor down quite a bit. And, there’s nothing (I hope) that two cycles through the wash can’t get rid of (I hope).
 
I’ve noticed that a staple of thrift stores is old cookbooks. That got me thinking- I really don’t have any cookbooks at home, which is maybe odd given I’m a dietitian. When I’m cruising for recipes, I look online. All the time. Google me a hotdish, mmk?
 
There is something kind of cute about cookbooks, especially homemade ones. Growing up we had a big stack of various church cookbooks, complete with recipes ranging from chicken Divan to coffee cake. My mom still has those cookbooks, so I thought it could be fun to find some basic recipes and jazz them up a bit (ok for four, I use phrases like “jazz them up”).
 
 
 
 
Here’s a church cookbook recipe that I grew up with, and has quickly become a potluck staple for me:
 
Veggie Bars
1 tube crescent roll dough
1/2 block (4 oz) Neufchatel cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup olive oil reduced fat mayo
~2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
¼ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon onion powder
2 cups chopped veggies- I typically buy a bag of precut broccoli/cauliflower/carrots, but you could add bell peppers, radishes, celery, etc.
½ cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a nonstick baking sheet, roll out crescent dough, keeping it in one large rectangle. Spray a rolling pin with nonstick cooking spray, and evenly roll out the crescent dough slightly thinner, making sure to close up the seams. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely.
 
Meanwhile, combine cream cheese and mayo in a medium bowl. Beat until fully combined and smooth. Add dill, garlic, and onion powder. Spread on cooled crescent crust.
 
Spread chopped veggies on top, gently pressing them into the cream cheese mixture to prevent them from falling off as you eat them. Sprinkle with cheese. Cut into 1”x2” pieces and refrigerate until ready to serve.





 
You could easily adapt this recipe- perhaps a spicy version by omitting the dill, topping with corn, shredded chicken, and roasted jalapenos. You could make a pastry-ish sweet version too- omit the dill/garlic/onion, beat in a few drops of liquid stevia or white sugar to the cream cheese, and top with sautéed apples, cinnamon, and toasted walnuts.
 
Next week's recipe? Rainbow fluff Jell-O salad!...
 
...or not.  

Monday, March 16, 2015

Light reading

It’s Monday.
 
I hope you’re okay with a superficial fluff post. Think of this as the Us Weekly of blogs.
 
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a post about cool stuff I’ve bought that I like. Have I not yet established that I am a girl who likes cool stuff? 

First up is an actual food related item. When on vacation this past December, we stopped by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) store, where there were all sorts of fun things. Things like artsy cool coffee table books. For $40. Things like safe organic thoughtfully-harvested abstract baby toys. For $30. Things like bendy cutting boards to make dumping your onions into your pan without spilling. For $16. Now we’re talking.
 
A few weeks ago I was at Ulta (because they know that if they send me a 20% coupon, I will show up) and sampled some of Pacifica’s Malibu Lemon Blossom hand lotion and loved the smell. But, at work I gotta keep the good smells to a minimum (uhhh gotta keep the bad smells to a minimum too) being a hospital and all, so I went online and bought the scent in a candle. It came in a super cute box with a sample of CC cream as well. Now I can light the candle and pretend I’m as cool as Yolanda on RHOBH harvesting her bountiful lemons.
 



Tazo Bramblewine tea- the. Best. Tea. Found this at Whole Foods, where I do not go often, because $50 never disappeared so fast as when you’re shopping there. I love a good berry tea. My husband’s drinking up this stuff as well.
 

Fresh Berry tint. I’ve blogged about Fresh’s Rose tint before. I was recently cleaning out an old wallet and found a Sephora gift card that had $50.12 written on it in black Sharpie. Ka-ching! Only when I got there, turns out it had $12 on it. Whomp whomp. Still worth spending it on this lip balm. It has a darker tint to it, but is still super moisturizing and non-sticky. I bet this tube will last me just as long as the rose color does (and that’s a long time).
 
H20 Plus Sea Salt shower gel. Why did I buy this stuff? Not a rhetorical question- I can’t remember why I bought this stuff, but I’m glad I did. It has such a unique scent- very fresh and unique. It makes for great bubble bath too.

Essie "Sag Harbor" nail polish- seems perfect for spring. Don't just reserve the pretty colors for the toes. 


Another Whole Foods item- for $1.99 you can buy a 58 oz bottle of sparkling water. It's similar to LaCroix, which I also love, but this is slightly less bubbly. Very refreshing, and just looks pretty. 


Ok to have to brag about this recent thrift store find- a vintage Gucci pouch for $6. I
swear the thrift stores in the slightly shady 'hoods have the best stuff.


And this guy doesn't really fall into the category of "stuff," but he sure falls into the category of things I love.



Happy Monday!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Speaking of dreaded four-letter words...

No recipe here today- just a dietitian on her soapbox.
 
You know, what the heck does that even mean? Soapbox? Is this some old timey phrase that made a lot more sense in 1923?
 
Ye olde soapbox?
 
When I’m counseling patients, a great deal of time is spent discussing popular diets. Most of my patients have not had sustained weight loss with Weight Watchers, Atkins, Jenny Craig, etc. Weight might come off initially, but then a plateau will occur, the patient will feel discouraged, abandon the diet, and regain all the weight that was lost- sometimes plus extra.
 
So why is dieting so hard? And should we even bother?
 
First point of the soapbox- the word “diet” is just really unpleasant. Like you have to go ON a diet. Going ON a diet implies that at some point you will get OFF the diet. In nutrition land, we let the word “diet” mean simply the foods that you eat. When I ask my patients to describe their diet, I want them to tell me what they eat and drink on a typical basis. We need to resist the temptation to think of food/drink in set periods of time. Any large-scale deviation in the way you eat is bound to only last for a certain period of time, so quit thinking in terms of going ON anything.
 
Second point of the soapbox- quit trying to be an overachiever. I am totally guilty of this. Take a look around my house- I cannot finish one project before starting the next. My bedroom walls are 13.7% painted. My living room floor is covered with photo frames for a wall collage. And don’t get me started on my half finished (or is it half completed?) kitchen. I try to take on too much at one time. I would be better off just focusing on small, manageable tasks. The same applies to modifying your diet (again, “diet” as in what you eat/drink). You might have the motivation to try and do a complete overhaul, but truly, several small sustained changes will work best in the long run- remember, we’re not going ON and OFF of this stuff.
 
Last point of the soapbox- save your money and skip diet foods. Weight Watchers, Atkins, Skinny Cow- they all make a fortune selling food-like products that come with the false promise of “eat me and you’ll be thinner.” Craving some ice cream? Have a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich! Want some pizza for dinner on Sunday night? Try the frozen Smart Ones! Except- do these products even taste all that good? Will they truly be satisfying? A common wish I hear from my patients is the desire to no longer crave chocolate. I’ve heard stories of patients plowing through bags of sugar-free chocolates and 100-calorie snack packs trying to satiate a craving for chocolate. Fakey products just don’t do it. I do believe in choosing real food products. Skip all the altered artificial this-and-that stuff.
 
But…
 
…be real about setting yourself up for potential failure. If I had a craving for brownies, let’s say, then I could be tempted to tell myself “I will just cut a small piece and save the rest for later.” History has proven that approach just does not work for me. I may cut the small piece, but then 10 minutes later I’ll go back for another sliver, but then I’ll need to even that out a little bit, and then well there’s only a bit left in the corner anyway, and before I know it, I’ve eaten way too much and am feeling blah and guilty.
 
So I just have to skip making brownies. A few years ago I started buying squares of dark chocolate. I’ve learned that one of these will do it for me. Unlike brownies, peanut butter M&Ms, Teddy Grahams, cheese puffs, pretzels, etc., I can stop with just one. You need to find the foods that will not lead to overeating. If history has shown that you can’t lay off the chips once that bag is opened, you need to just not buy the chips. No rationalizing. No excuses. No “it’s been so long since I’ve bought a bag and oh look they’re even on sale and well I’d probably have just a few and give the rest to my husband and-“ NO.
 
I’m not perfect, but I’ve certainly learned a lot from my time counseling patients. Just some food for thought when it comes to dieting.
 
Bad pun.
 
Don’t get on your soapbox about that now please.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

What won't this kid eat?

It has been a rough week. You came here to hear me whine, correct? No? Things at home have been fine, but my work life is a different story. It is not all sunshine and roses in the land of clinical dietetics. But, there is always silver lining to be found. I have a job. I am getting paid. And I am making some pretty delicious meals with said income.
 
So baby has been a tremendous eater, and I put myself on a mission to have him taste as many things as possible. He’s chowed down Thai food, so that got me thinking how he might feel about Indian.
 
 
Easy Coconut Curry Chicken- makes 6 servings
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 lbs skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2” chunks
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 jar Korma or other Indian sauce
½ can coconut cream (buy the full fat type and scoop it out- you don’t want the coconut water from the bottom)
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 bag fresh spinach
2 cups brown rice (I ended up using jasmine actually)
 
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken. Saute until it starts to brown, then add onion. Stir and cook until internal temp of chicken chunk is at least 165 degrees. Turn heat down to low.
 
Add korma sauce and your half can of coconut cream. Stir to evenly coat chicken. Add spinach, cover, and when spinach is somewhat wilted, add chopped cilantro.
 
That's it. Serve with rice.
 




 
The verdict?
 
 
Not his fave. But you know what? That means all the more for my husband and me to eat up.