How to not suck at resolutions

I hope you had a lovely snuggly good-gifty tasty-meals Christmas weekends. Does anyone else feel like it’s TOO SOON to now have New Year’s Day upon us? That only gives us one week to take down alllllllll the holiday decorations and get my shyou-know-what together before it’s 2018. I refuse to start the new year with 2017’s leftovers.

A major component of what I do in my job role as a dietitian is help patients set health and wellness goals. Consider this post a tune-up on how we tend to set our goals, and how we SHOULD be setting our goals.

An acronym that I (and all my friendly fellow RDs use) is SMART.

  

S: specific

M: measurable

A: attainable

R: relevant

T: timely

This acronym’s components can help guide us to making the best constructed goal possible. Let’s check it out.

These would be examples of poor goals:

I want to be healthier

I want to lose weight

I want to eat a better diet.

Not that the sentiment behind the goals is bad, but they’re just way too vague. Good luck tackling them, and good luck knowing when you’ve reached success. Applying the SMART model would look like:

S (specific): “I want to lose ten pounds.”

M (measurable): “I will buy a home scale to use every Monday morning after I shower.” If you never weigh yourself, how are you going to know if you are moving towards meeting your goal? Resist the urge to be spontaneous with measuring- pick a timeframe and do your best to not stray.

A (attainable): Ten pounds is likely a lot more realistic than say 30 pounds. It’s ok to revisit a goal throughout the year, so let’s set up this goal to be non-intimidating.

R (relevant): “Losing weight would help me fit in my clothes better. It could also help lower my cholesterol which my doctor told me was creeping up.” It has to be something that you care about, right? What drives you to strive toward this goal?

T (timely): “I want to accomplish this by June 30^th.” Put a time frame parameter to your goal. If it’s left open ended, you may find yourself more likely to blow off all the actions that lead up to the goal.

Making sense? Let’s try another one.

S (specific): “I want to eat at least one serving of fruit AND veggie per day.”

M (measurable): What to you is a serving? I often counsel patients to not really even worry about servings with veggies- a slice of a tomato on a sandwich can count! Some low sodium crunchy pickle spears can count! If you add some finely diced carrots to your chili, it counts! Try keeping a tally sheet or notes page on your phone to jot down the fruit and veggie that you did manage to get in.

A (attainable): With this goal, you’re going to have to be ok with frozen, and even maybe canned options. If the goal were to have fresh or raw, well, January is not exactly the time of year to be rocking fresh produce- at least in Minnesota where I am. Aiming on the low side of intake can be helpful too- maybe there are days where you get in a few different veggies and fruits- that’s awesome! It’s ok to aim realistic and exceed that goal. Better that then to aim high and fall short.

R (relevant): “Increasing my veggies and fruits would help give me more dietary fiber, which might help me make better food choicse all throughout the day.”

T (timely): “I want to have this goal turn into a habit within 30 days.” The actions we do, day in day out, eventually lead to a habit. Habits are maintainable. Remember that when you hit road blocks- maybe some days it’s just a few handfuls of spinach tossed into your turkey wrap, and maybe other days it’s a big beautiful salad. The key is that no matter how much or how little you still got in your veggie.

Set yourself up for success in 2018. And of course, have a happy New Year!

Spices 'n' tunes

Haaaaaaaappy birthday!!

Name that movie!

Er…

…name that kids’ holiday movie with an animated pipe-smokin’ main character!

Are you into Christmas movies? Music? Décor? What gets your jingle bells jolly this time of year?

I’m all for the music, as I’ve referenced before. Let’s do some tunes and some recipes, shall we?

My Favorite Christmas Tunes

1. Coldplay’s cover of 2000 Miles- makes me want to re-learn piano

2. Pentatonix- That’s Christmas to me. Ahhh, harmonies.

3. Stevie Wonder and Andra Day- Someday at Christmas

4. Stevie Wonder- What Christmas means to me

5. Chuck Berry- Run run Rudolph- I can’t *not* picture the McCallisters sprinting through O’Hare airport.

6. John Williams- Somewhere in my memory- and the snow falling! And the old man who turns out to NOT be creepy!

7. Sarah McLachlan- Have yourself a merry little Christmas- dreamy

8. Sarah McLachlan- Song for a winter’s night- dreamy

9. Sarah McLachlan- O little town of Bethlehem- dreamy

10. You should probably just buy Sarah McLachlan’s “Wintersong” album. It’s so mellow and chill and pretty.

11. Josh Groban- O holy night. Because Josh Groban is the nerdiest bestest singer ever.

12. Mairi Campbell- Auld Lang Syne. This is from the Sex and the City movie soundtrack. This song totally takes me back to a pre-Christmas evening years ago when my friends (hi Mariahs!) and I gathered to watch SATC. The scene where SJP dashes over to Miranda’s to comfort her on NYE? SO good.

Eclectic? Yes. Festive? Yes. On repeat in my kitchen as I cook Sunday dinner? You bet.

I’ve been in the groove of doing “big” Sunday dinners- ie roasted meat, veggie, some sort of starchy side dish. This past weekend it was roasted split chicken breasts. It can be a little confusing to try and figure out how to season poultry. I like making a blend and keeping it in a mixed bottle (just reuse an old spice bottle).

Go-to Meat Seasoning Blend (GMSB?)

-2 tablespoons salt

-2 tablespoons ground black pepper

-1 tablespoon garlic powder

-2 teaspoons allspice

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 teaspoon ground cloves

-1 teaspoon ground ginger

For our veggie this past weekend, I took some frozen green beans and jazzed them up. Takes less than 10 min and they turn out WAY more flavorful than plain-from-the-bag.

Garlicky Almond Green Beans

-2 bags steamable green beans

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

-1 tablespoon slivered almonds

-1 tablespoon goat cheese (optional)

Microwave the green beans according to package directions. Meanwhile over medium high heat, heat a large saute pan with olive oil. Add garlic. Stir around and let sizzle for a minute or two. Add slivered almonds. Stir around to lightly toast. Add cooked green beans. Top with crumbled goat cheese. Makes 4 generous servings.

I'll be back again somedaaaaaaay!

Mourning Mode

An important part of our household died this past weekend, and to be honest, I’m not sure I’ll ever get over it.

Our beloved washer.

Why do I care so much about a stinkin’ appliance? 

A few months before my husband and I were married, we found a cute charming rental house. Only catch was that it didn’t have a washer and dryer. Since we knew we weren’t going to stay there for more than a year or two, and since many houses for sale come with existing appliances, we wanted to stay cheap. Where does anyone go when you want cheap? Craigslist, of course. We paid $300 for the pair. We ended up bringing them to our current home and THE WASHER HAS BEEN A TOTAL CHAMP. Five loads in a day? No problem. Cramming in a comforter? BRING IT ON. And, mind you, all in ~20 min time.

Sigh. Life goes on I suppose, and our new washer will arrive next week. Sidenote- I wish it hadn’t died the day I decided it’d be “fun” to decorate sugar cookies with the boys.

Laundry woes aside, I cooked up a new recipe. Well, new to me. Let’s make some….unstuffed pork egg rolls! Who doesn’t like egg rolls? Love ‘em, but I am sure as heck not going to take the time to wrap them and deep fry them. Nope. Let’s keep it easy- get all the delicious filling without the labor.

Unstuffed Pork Egg Rolls

-1 lb ground pork

-1 tablespoon sesame oil

-1 teaspoon minced garlic

-1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root (or dried powder)

-1 teaspoon ground black pepper

-2 tablespoons sesame seeds

-2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

-3 ~10 oz packages cole slaw mix (you could shred your own cabbage or go the easy route!)

-1.5-2 cups shredded carrots

Optional: 1 1/2 cups dried chow mein noodles

In a large pan over medium high heat, cook pork until no longer pink. Soak up any liquid fat with a paper towel. Add sesame oil, ginger, pepper, and sesame seeds. Stir around for 2 minutes. Add soy sauce. Pour in carrots. Saute for 2-3 minutes, or until slightly softened. Add cole slaw mix/cabbage and stir for additional 5 minutes. Serve immediately- optional- top with ¼ cup chow mein noodles if you want a crunch.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving (including chow mein noodles): 370 calories, 20 g protein, 10 g carbs, 18g fat.

So tasty, and honestly comes together in less than 15 minutes. Wish I could say the same about the load of frosting-stained clothes I'm about to hand-wash in my bathtub...

It all hinges upon the push of a button

It’s no secret that I loooooves me some slow cooker recipes. What I don’t loooooooves is when I forget to get everything assembled in the slow cooker ahead of time.

I guess the ultimate worst is when you DO remember to put everything in, but forget to actually turn on the dang thing, and then you leave for work all day. Not that I know what that’s like. Argh.

Anyway last weekend I found myself in the former situation- I had planned on making shredded pork bowls for supper but neglected to get the pork going. I’m a fan of slow cooker pork because I’ve found that’s the only way I know to get the lean pork loin tender and shreddable.  WHAM BAM UNTIL NOW!

Chipotle Shredded Pork

-2 teaspoons vegetable oil

-1 ~2lb lean pork loin

-1 32 oz box low sodium broth (I used vegetable but chicken would also work fine)

-1 can chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce

-1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees. On the stovetop heat a Dutch oven or other lidded oven-proof pot over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil- let heat for a minute- then add pork loin. It’ll sizzle big time. Using a tongs, flip the pork loin every minute or so until all sides have been nicely browned. Pour in box of broth, ground pepper, and ~4-5 of the chipotle peppers and a spoonful or two of the adobo sauce. Heat to boiling. Cover, and transfer to the oven. Cook in the oven for ~45 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from oven, put pork on a cutting board. Use two forks and shred that meat. Return to Dutch oven and cover until ready to serve. Note- I didn’t serve this WITH the chipotles- I used them to infuse spicy smoky flavor into the pork.

You could use this pork for tacos, burritos, a Mexi-bowl (like I did, pictured above) or freeze for future use. Makes about 4 cups shredded pork. Per cup = 270 calories, 10 g fat (much lower than pork butt and other other cuts).

Next time I’ll have to try this with chicken. Sorry slow cooker- you have an on-par substitute on your heels.

The mooooost wonderful tiiiiiiime of the year!

Okay, I'll admit that my love for Thanksgiving hinges mainly upon the fact that it opens up the socially acceptable early decorating for Christmas.

If Thanksgiving was like August 27th, I probably wouldn't give a hoot.

Truth.

One of my favorite foods at the Thanksgiving table is always the cranberry sauce. Growing up we always had the canned Ocean Spray stuff, and honestly that stuff's still good. I do like having the option of a homemade version. My first attempt at this was going to be a no-added-sweetener version- using apples as a sugar substitute. but that was just too dang sour. Lesson learned- a leeeetle bit of added sugar is necessary BUT it really doesn't take much, and the calories are still in check.

Low Sugar Cranberry Sauce
-2 12-oz bags fresh cranberries, rinsed
-2 sweet apples (I used Sweet Tango- honeycrisp would also work), peeled and finely diced
-1 seedless navel orange, cut into 6 wedges
-1/2 cup white granulated sugar
-2 cups water
-1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine all ingredients BUT the vanilla.

Cover and stir occasionally until boiling. Turn heat down to medium low. As the cranberries burst, they'll release their juices and it will turn into sauce.

Let bubble- covered- for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Remove orange peels.

Put into a jar and refrigerate until cooled. Makes 3 1/2 cups or 7 1/2 cup servings. Per serving: 57 calories.

I like to eat this plain or stirred into my Greek yogurt...while hanging the stockings by the chimney with care. Who needs turkey anyway?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Long time, no post

Welp. Saying it’s been awhile is an understatement.

Good news though- I’m not dead. I’m…

…pregnant. 18 weeks in with a belly like this because…

…it’s twins. Both girls. 

In 2013 we did our first round of IVF which yielded 5 embryos. Our initial transfer of two gave us Mac, and then in 2015 we had Fred transferred, and then July of this year we transferred our last two embryos.

Statistically it was a 30% chance of twins. We feel so fortunate (that’s really an understatement) that we’ve been able to have a family through IVF. 

The nausea and sickness of the first trimester have subsided. I’m no longer relying solely on Goldfish crackers (generic WILL NOT DO! MUST BE NAME BRAND) and red Hawaiian Punch (seriously- I could NOT get enough "Fruit Juicy Red"). I’m actually cooking again and eating healthy meals. Whew, feels good!

This is a meal I’ve made a few times now but never posted. It’s SUPER easy to throw together and a great way to get protein without meat. And even if you’re not a kale person, roll with me on this one. 

Roasted Chickpea and Kale Pasta

-2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

-4 cups shredded kale (Aldi sells bagged)

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-1/2 teaspoon paprika

-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/4 teaspoon pepper

-1 box whole wheat spaghetti or linguini

-1.5 cups low sodium chicken broth (or in a pinch, reserve the water that the pasta cooked in)

-8 oz grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a rimmed sheet pan, combine chickpeas with 1 tablespoon olive oil and seasonings. Roast 10 minutes, gently shaking pan halfway through to evenly cook. 

2. While chickpeas are roasting, heat large stockpot with water and cook pasta to package directions. Drain and return to pot.

3. Add roasted chickpeas. Using same sheet pan (I chose to make life harder and use a second one- double the washing!), spread kale and roast for 5-10 minutes, or just until slightly wilted and beginning to crisp. Add kale to pasta mixture.

4. Stir in broth (or 1.5 cups reserved pasta water) and Parmesan cheese. Serve! Eat!

Makes six generous servings of 400 calories (and 8 grams fiber!) each. 

Ta-cchini

You guys! I’m so excited to tell you that the other weekend we actually took the kids to go do something fun!

Hate to spread the truth here, but a lot of Saturday mornings the entertainment for the boys is watching their dad vacuum. They legit love that though!

We drove over to Stillwater, a super charming old town on the St. Croix river.

First stop was Teddy Bear Park. OK whoever planned this totally knew what they were doing. This park is enclosed and there’s only one entrance. That means that as a parent you don’t necessaaaaaaarily have to keep an eagle eye on your kid ‘cause there’s not infinity ways for them to wander off. Both boys had a lot of fun and the only way to get them to leave was the promise of visiting the old timey candy store.

My intention was to let both boys pick out a Dum Dum from the giant barrel, but Mac is no idiot- he spotted the giant lollipops right away.

We walked down to the river to watch the boats for awhile, then headed back home. A perfect easy non-vacuum-related morning.

For the record, he got to lick the sucker on the way home, and then we took it away and he conveniently forgot about it.

*Sigh*

On a note so good note, I’ve realized I’m a pretty marginal gardener. Like, I have a large garden with a decent variety of veggies, but I’m allllllways late to the game with planting.

I’m very hit or miss with the watering.

And I’m definitely behind the curve with harvesting.

Case in point: this is the 3^rd zucchini of this size I’ve pulled from the garden. Bigger is not better when it comes to zucchini. They get super watery and their seeds are huge. Not great for eating.

I’ve already made four batches of overgrown-zucchini bread/muffins this summer, so I wanted to do something different with this guy. Enter taco stuffed zucchini!

It’s  a thing, guys. Google it.

Taco Stuffed Zucchini

-Either one monstrous zucchini, or three regular sized zucchini

-1 lb extra lean ground beef

-1 packet low sodium taco seasoning mix

-1 cup (~1/2 can) fat free refried beans

-1 small can diced tomatoes with chiles

-1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar but Monterey Jack would be awesome)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut zucchini in half length wise. Using a spoon, gently scrape out the middle. Leave ~1/2 in thickness to zucchini.

Saute ground beef over medium high heat. Once crumbled and no longer pink, reduce heat to low. Add ¼ cup water and taco seasoning packet. Pour meat into zucchini shells.

Top with little blobs of refried beans, then diced tomatoes, and lastly sprinkle the cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes if using behemoth zucchini- 20 min for normal size zucchini.

Makes six servings either way. Per serving: 300 calories, 7 grams carbs, 12 g fat, 31 g protein.

Not as exciting as a giant lollipop or anything, but still a great way to use up zucchini. 

Snaaaaack baaaaars

As a dietitian I’ve noticed that people can fall squarely into one of two camps: snackers, or not snackers. I tend to not be a snacker- that’s not necessarily a good thing though, because I can have a tendency to go too long in between meals and get overly hungry. For me, overly hungry can lead to overeating. A planned snack can be super appropriate when done right. I counsel my patients to eat something every 4-5 hours. Low blood sugars and the resulting I’m-so-hungry-I-could-eat-a-horse-so-just-give-me-anything isn’t good, but neither is mindless grazing.

Bars are one of the most popular go-to snacks, and I totally get it- portable, shelf-stable- perfect to keep stashed at work, in your purse, in your car, whatever. What I *don’t* love about bars is that they can be so full of added sugars. The ones that are nutritionally balanced (KIND are one of my fave brands) are a more expensive price point.

I’ve been playing around for awhile with making homemade bars. Most recipes you’ll find online call for gobs of honey or agave. I opted to use dates instead- not lower in calories, but the sugars naturally found in dates are a bit more slowly released into your blood stream than some other types of sugars (lower glycemic index, if you’re familiar with that). One pan comes together pretty quickly and all you need is a food processor for the prep- no baking needed!

Oat & Nut Bars- makes 16 servings

-2.5 cups dry oats (does not matter which kind)

-1 cup unsalted mixed nuts, chopped

-1/2 cup chocolate chips (could omit)

-12 Medjool dates, pitted, and soaked in warm water for 20 minutes

OK so for starters, why are we soaking the dates? Mine were fresh, rather than completely dried, but I still wanted to plump them up so that they puree up better.

While dates soak, combine oats, nuts, and chocolate chips in a LARGE mixing bowl.

In a food processor combine half of the dates with 2 or 3 tablespoons of the water it was soaking in. Add to oats. Repeat with remaining dates.

Stir together well, evenly coating the oats with the date puree.

Press mixture into an 8x8 square pan. Press down HARD- you want these to be nice and dense when you cut them rather than crumbly. Let refrigerate for at least an hour- ideally overnight. I make a batch of these on the weekend and divvy them up between my husband and I throughout the week. Per bar: 174 calories, 28g carbs, 6 g fat, 4 g protein, 4 g fiber.

Yes a serving may seem small when you’re cutting these, but they are so nice and dense and chewy with a little bit of crunch from the nuts. They’re an awesome portable snack made in your own kitchen!

Hints of what's to come

I have a confession to make.

It started last week when I ran to the craft store for some spray paint. There is was- in the middle of the main aisle...

HARVEST STUFF.

Then yesterday morning I checked my junk Gmail account- you know, the address you give stores when you want coupons- and there it was- an email from Bath and Body Works advertising...

PUMPKIN SCENTED CANDLES.

And then last night when I was scrounging through our beastly zucchini patch and I caught a glimpse of a behemoth zucc that should have been picked probably a week and a half ago...I decided to make...

ZUCCHINI BREAD.

Ugh, I'm *this close* to looking forward to fall.

Have I ever shared my zucchini bread recipe? This has become a go-to for me because a good deal of the time I'm 'neglectful with timely picking, and I always have a ton. I like to make mini loaves and freeze them for months to come. We like to have them with breakfast in the fall/winter along with a side of eggs. Truth be told you could easily swap in some overripe bananas for the zucchini if that's what you have on hand.

Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

-1 cup unsweetened applesauce

-1/4 cup vegetable oil

-1/2 cup white sugar

-2 eggs

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-1 cup whole wheat flour

-1 cup all purpose flour (yes, putzy, but I prefer the texture of a blend rather than just all whole wheat flour)

-1 cup dry oats (does not matter what variety- I used quick oats)

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-3 cups shredded zucchini, with excess moisture removed (just give a good squeeze with a paper towel)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray either 1 9x5 loaf pan or 4 mini loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Combine applesauce through eggs in a bowl. Stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients, except for zucchini. Slowly incorporate dry mixture into wet. Lastly stir in zucchini. Pour into pan(s). My mini loaves took about 30 minutes. To check if they're done, insert a sharp knife into the center. If it comes out clean, you're good. Let cool for five minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool.

Per mini loaf: 300 calories (I get about 8 slices out of a mini loaf and we all get two).