Taking hints from others...

On a recent visit from my parents, my Mom was surprised to see my cookbook stand filled with issues of Diabetic Living magazine, and rightfully so - no diabetes here, fortunately! I came across the mags at work, since one of my clients has a sugar-free product and runs advertising in them, so I receive copies of them to track what other types of messaging are running in that environment. As I was perusing a few issues, I noticed how many of the recipes looked really great, and with good reason. For diabetics, it's super important that they get a balance of protein, fiber and complex carbs at every meal, with a minimum of sugar...kind of like how the rest of us should be eating, too! With that realization, I dove right in, devouring several issues from cover to cover, rabbit-earring numerous pages with tantilizing recipe ideas. I've made a bunch and have been really pleased with all of them! Here's one I made recently that makes for a great, light summer lunch:

Egg and Broccoli Slaw Wraps (makes 3 wraps)

• 2 T light sour cream


• 3 t snipped fresh chives (I used green onions)


• 3/4 t shredded lemon peel


• 3 t lemon juice


• 1 1/2 t honey


• 1 C packaged broccoli slaw mix


• 6 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and sliced


• 3 8-9" whole wheat tortillas


• 1/4 C (or to taste) bottled roasted red sweet peppers
  

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, chives, lemon peel and juice, and honey. Add broccoli slaw and toss to coat. (The recipe now says to chill overnight, but of course I read that as I had a hungry crowd waiting for lunch, so that definitely didn't happen - and I got no complaints). Spread slaw mixture evenly on each tortilla, topping each with two sliced eggs and strips of roasted red pepper. Yum!

She's so granola...

...And that's kind of true, in the healthy, whole foods, living in Boulder type of way (less so in the outdoorsy way). And not only am I semi-granola myself, I have been getting into making my own granola! I love mixing it with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit for breakfast, and the flavor combinations are practically endless. The more I learn in my nutrition study, the more I'm thinking about making different varieties of granola with different health benefits, e.g. one with lots of Omega-3s, one with anti-inflammatory properties, another that aids digestion, and so on... So, maybe someday on that, but in the mean time, here's my current favorite (and healthiest):

Christie's Mega Omega-3 Double-Ginger Tropical Granola

4 C old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)

1/2 C wheat germ (or this can be omitted if you want a gluten-free granola)

1/2 C ground flaxseed (omega-3 superstar)

3 T chia seed (another omega-3 hero, can be found at health food stores)

1/2 t salt

4 T brown sugar

1 C walnuts, coarsely chopped (you can use other nuts, but this granola is about omega-3s, so walnuts are the winner every time)

1 C dried banana chips, broken up a little bit

1/2 C unsweetened shredded coconut

1/3 C crystallized ginger, finely chopped

1 C dried pineapple, chopped

1/2 C maple syrup (the real stuff, obviously)

2 T water

1 1/2 t ground ginger

1/2 t ground cinnamon

7 T canola oil (more omega-3s!)

Preheat oven to 275.

Combine the oats, wheat germ, flaxseed, chia seed, salt, brown sugar, walnuts, banana chips, coconut and crystallize ginger in a really big bowl.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine maple syrup, water, ground ginger and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and then pour over the dry mixture. Add canola oil to mixture and stir to be sure all dry ingredients are coated.

Spray 2-3 large cookie sheets with cooking spray and gently pour granola out onto the sheets, allowing for small clusters and but keeping overall depth to about one layer of mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove, add dried pineapple, then bake for another 20 mins or so until golden.

Your abode will smell divine.

Makes great gifts!

Nutrition reasons why this is good - Between the flaxseed, chia seed, walnuts and canola oil, this really is an omega-3 powerhouse, and omega-3s are fantastic for you for many reasons. They are natural anti-inflammatories, and help keep blood vessels and brain tissues happy. Great for cardiovascular and neurological health overall, they are also an essential fatty acid that your body can't produce on its own, so it's important that you take it in through your diet. Pineapple also has an enzyme called bromelain, which helps the body digest protein and is also an anti-inflammatory. In addition, this granola has lots of good dietary fiber, and you could even mix in some of your favorite bran cereal for an added punch. I like Smart Bran because it has a good combination of both insoluble fiber (psyllium) and soluble fiber in the form of oatbran, and oats have lots of magic properties, including maintaining proper blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels. See how much great stuff you can pack into a bowl of granola!?

The Taste Of Spring

Peas just epitomize spring to me...the first little green jewels from the garden. We got some in our CSA box two years ago that were super fresh and still in the pods, so I painstakingly shelled each one, only to be left with a disappointingly small bowl (especially since they were so sweet and fun to eat raw as I was shelling...). But, we made the best of them, gently sauteing them in butter and chopping up a bit of fresh mint to garnish. Yum!

Here's another of my favorite (and super healthy) ways to use peas, and honestly, frozen is fine, and, let's be honest, a heck of a lot more realistic most of the time!

Pearl Barley with Edamame and Peas (courtesy of Health magazine)

1 C pearl barley (not quick cooking)

1 C frozen shelled edamame

1 C peas (frozen are fine, fresh if you're fabulous)

1 C chopped fresh spinach (I also threw in at least 1 C chopped fresh kale because it's a stellar superfood that I try to sneak in lots of stuff)

2 t Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 t lemon zest

1 1/2 t fresh lemon juice (okay, I may have succumbed to the appeal of the jarred garlic and ginger, but I haven't yet turned to the bottled lemon or lime juice...let me know if you think it's at all worthy of consideration or refrigerator space)

1/4 t salt

Following directions on box, boil water and cook barley, usually 30ish minutes, or until most of the water is absorbed. Stir in edamame and peas and cook uncovered until the rest of the water is absorbed, 5-10 mins. Remove from heat and stir in spinach. Whisk Worcestershire, lemon stuff and salt in a small bowl, then pour over barley mixture. This can be served warm or cool, so I really view this is a great year-round staple.

I served this with some roasted beets and asparagus tossed with feta, lemon juice, salt and pepper - yum.

Nutrition reasons why this is great - Barley is definitely a supergrain. It has great dietary fiber (both soluble and insoluble), as well as protein, and helps regulate blood sugar and choleseterol. The edamame in this dish is another great source of protein, and soy protein is some of the best you can get in terms of heart health. The more dark leafy greens you add to this dish, the better, as they're chock-full of healthy phytochemicals and antioxidants.

Hold on to your tastebuds!

I've been using a lot more ethnic and fresh herbs and spices in my cooking recently (antioxidant benefits!), so here are two recipes that I thought were both extreeeemely yummy and also rather special and unique:

Indian Spiced Chicken and Asparagus (courtesy of Eating Well)

1 1/2 t whole cumin seeds

1 1/2 t whole fennel seeds

1 lb or so chicken cut into bite sized pieces

3/4 t salt

2 T canola oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced (or if you're me, 3 t of your awesome time and sanity saving jarred garlic!)

1 small chile pepper, seeded and minced (I very carefully picked this out in the produce section of my beloved King Soopers, and then it never made it into my bags when I checked out, sooo, I subbed about 1/2 t dried red pepper flakes and they worked just fine)

1 T minced fresh ginger (this also comes in jars - hallelujah!!)

1 1/2 lb fresh asparagus, cut into 1" pieces

1/2 C light coconut milk (I used closer to 1 C)

1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro

Toast cumin and fennel seeds in a small saucepan until fragrant and starting to brown - 2-5 mins. Grind 'em up in a clean coffee grinder, or using that mortar and pestle that your Mom got you for Christmas like ten years ago and you've never actually used, but now you're so glad you have it! (thanks Mom!)

Toss chicken in 1/2 of spice mixture. Heat 1 T of the oil in a large skillet over med-high and brown the chicken, until mostly done. Remove to a plate.

Reduce heat to med and add remaining oil, garlic, onion, chile and ginger. Cook for a few minutes until the onion starts to soften. Throw in the asparagus and remaining cumin/fennel mixture, cooking for about 2 mins. Add coconut milk and salt, cooking another 2 mins. Add chicken, cooking until meat is all the way done and asparagus is tender-crisp. Garnish with cilantro and serve over brown rice or quinoa.

Pear Cardamom Upside-Down Cake (courtesy of Cooking Light)

Pear Stuff:

2 T butter

1/4 C packed brown sugar

1/4 t ground cardamom

cooking spray

2 peeled, cored and sliced Barlett pears - you should get about 12 thin slices out of each pear

Cake Part:

1 1/2 C flour (and you KNOW I only use whole wheat!)

2 t baking powder

1/4 t ground cardamom

1/8 t salt

3/4 C sugar

1/4 C butter, softened

2 large eggs

3/4 C milk

1 t vanilla (omg - the same size organic vanilla that I bought at King Soopers was TWICE as much at Wholefoods...highway robbery!)

Preheat oven to 350.

To prepare pears, melt 2T butter in a small saucepan over med heat. Add brown sugar and cardamom and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture into a 9" round cakepan that you've sprayed with cooking spray (I've also successfully used square, and even gotten crazy and done individual ramekin-sized ones, so whatever size you're going for...). Arrange pears in an overlapping circle or overlapping rows (depending on your pan choice).

Stir together flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar in another bowl, then add the eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture and milk, alternating till you've got a nice little batter situation on your hands. Toss in the vanilla.

Spoon the batter over your artfully arranged pears. Bake for about 50 mins if you are making one larger cake, or less if you're doing smaller ones. My ramekin-sized ones took about 30 mins I think. Cake should be golden and firm and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Here's the fun part - when your cake assures you it's done, remove it from the oven. Let it cool on a cooling rack for 10 min. Run a knife around the outside edge. Cover pan with a plate and flip it over, leaving the pan and plate in place for 2 min. Then pray, hold your breath, and gently remove the pan, to reveal your Martha Stewart-worthy upside-down cake. Seriously. I've never been disappointed - it's magic!!

Serve with vanilla bean ice cream and you may become a victim of culinary stalking. It's really that good.

Bon appetit!

Cake photo courtesy of eatliverun.com

Freshly yours...

Well, I've let another year slip through my fingers on this, my little blog endeavor! Few updates to share- ran another marathon, bringing my total now to four. It was a 90+ degree day in Chicago and it was highly not enjoyable or fast. Oh well. Resolving to take this year off of marathoning and instead, focus my efforts towards another goal - getting my nutritionist certification! Yay! I have my textbooks and am reading away, getting ready for my exam. I am learning so much, and am absolutely enthralled with it all. I also fortunately am now in a job that values this kind of knowledge, so they have ever so generously covered my certification expenses and are patiently awaiting my becoming official. Said job also revolves largely around food accounts and new food product innovation AND provides great work/life balance, which my previous job so sorely lacked, so needless to say, I am in HEAVEN! Working with food, having time to make food on my own, and not having every Friday night meal revolve around a perfect balance of carbs and protein in order to fuel a multi-hour 5 am Saturday run. Life is good.

I have also been helping to plan and lead a Food Revolution month at work, so I got to bring in speakers from all over to talk about the issues in the food industry, the merits and drawbacks of things like GMOs and organics, how to eat seasonally, locally, sustainably...all kinds of fun stuff. So perhaps I'll also share some of the newsletters I wrote over the past month for ya'll's reading pleasure.

For starters though, if you haven't read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, go, now (well, not exactly now, but REALLY soon) to your local bookstore or fav online literature merchant and get a copy. This book changed my life. It might take you a chapter or two to get fully absorbed, I'll admit, it took me about four tries over a year to finally get fully immersed, but persevere - it's worth it. Having this foundation in knowledge about how our diets have changed and what we need to do to be our healthiest is sooooo goooooood.

Because of it, I am eating lots less meat (and lots more veggies) - and not missing it! In this and future posts, I will share some of my favorite veg recipes where, I promise, even the most angus-loving amongst you will enjoy the fresh flavors and not feel deprived! I have also joined a CSA again this year (new farm, promises to be much better than 2009's not-so-awesome CSA experience), so I'm sure once that starts in another month or so, it will get my culinary creative juices flowing, as well. Stay tuned...

So, I'm BACK, and ready to share lots of healthy stuff that I'm learning and cooking!

Here's one for starters - cheers!

Lentil and Chickpea salad (courtesy of Health magazine. This and Eating Well are my mainstays these days - reeeally great recipes!)

Heat 1 T of olive oil in a large skillet. Add 2 chopped yellow onions and saute until soft. Add 3 minced garlic cloves (I am now using the jarred kind and thank higher powers every day for this time saver, what was I thinking with that papery clove mess before?) and saute a couple more mins. Then add 6-8 swiss chard leaves, julienned - skip the stems, and saute until tender, a few more minutes. Add 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, then mix in 1 T pomegranate molasses, (can find this at WholeFoods if you must, which I despise, see Monday Night Salmon, but more on that some other time), 1 T lemon juice or white wine vinegar, 2 T olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Bring 6 C of water to a boil and add 3/4 C petite green lentils (oooo I love these...). Simmer 15-20 mins, until tender but not mushy. Add 2 t salt and let sit for 5 mins, then drain.

Mix it all together and YUM - healthy and oh-so-flavorful vegetarian dinner. I served with a small spinach and tomato salad and some Ezekiel raisin toast. Yes, I'm fully hard core and into sprouted grains now, too.

Nutritional reasons why this is good - lentils and chickpeas are fantastic sources of vegetable protein. There is no saturated fat, and lots of good dark greens and healthy fat. Also, makes lots so allows for a healthy lunch the next day!

Enjoy and more soon!

Experimentation

Last month, Rob and I took on a new challenge. Inspired by a friend who was doing a cleanse, we devised a little “cleanse” of our own. Ours didn’t involve cutting calories or relying on any special tonics, shakes or supplements. In fact, we could eat as much as we wanted. It was quite simple really. No meat. No dairy. No gluten. No processed or refined anything. No alcohol. And for me (though not Rob), no caffeine. We were going vegan (plus) for a week.

Why were we doing it? Good question. Mostly I think because we like a healthy challenge. We like a little bit of suffering to make us feel alive. And we were just plain curious. Lots of people swear that even if you’re not technically lactose intolerant or allergic to gluten, that they’re still tough for the body to process and can lead to myriad not-niceties, everything from bloating to acne. So, while neither of us was ever aware of any issues, we were curious to see if we felt any different after a week without.

To kick things off, I did some preparatory cooking. I made a big pot of quinoa porridge, and a big pot of my Antioxidant Bomb Vegetable Soup, (recipes coming soon) and put single servings of each in containers to bring to work. Breakfasts weren’t too bad. I wasn’t feeling very deprived as I ate my quinoa porridge, with a handful of dried fruit and soy milk. It was both filling and tasty. My morning green tea did get somewhat of a downgrade though, as I switched to a decaf green tea kombucha blend, and had to forego the generous squeeze of honey I typically use. Still, not awful.

Lunch was somewhat more challenging. I love my vegetable soup, but missed having a grainy hunk of something glutenous on the side to soak up those last drops of broth. My organic red grapes were good, but not quite as satisfying. Afternoon snacks were rather torturous. No sweets, no baked goods, no treats. Carrots and hummus.

Dinner wasn’t too bad, but definitely required some creativity. Many of the vegetarian recipes I found involved wraps or flour or eggs or yogurt, all things off limits for us. The first night I made a white bean soup with rosemary (and no parmesan, even though the recipe teasingly called for it), and served it with a salad. It was good, but given that Rob and I are both athletes accustomed to a generous intake of protein at each meal, we polished off the whole pot, meant for 4-6 people, in one sitting. The next nights included a black bean chili, vegan burgers with sweet potato fries, tempeh and vegetable stir fry and, most interestingly, a West African Groundnut Stew. I added a package of extra firm tofu for some extra protein power. It was a surprisingly delicious success!

So, overall, how did the week go? How did we feel? Did it change our lives forever? Well, by the end of the first day I was verging on a migraine. I think my daily cup of green tea left me more accustomed to caffeine than I’d realized or hoped, so I’ve since switched to decaf green tea permanently. As for everything else…well…I was kind of miserable. I really did feel deprived and sad and unsatisfied (especially in the first couple days). I could have done the vegetarian bit pretty easily, it was going without dairy and gluten that presented the true hardship. Dairy and/or gluten are in EVERYTHING. Everything good at least… But, I’m glad we did it. I’m glad that, when I wanted to throw in the towel with all of my being on the second day, we didn’t. It proved that it was possible. It made us more aware of alternate options. It broadened our vegan horizons. And at the end of the week I was feeling pretty “streamlined.”

So, what did we do to celebrate our accomplishment? We enjoyed our Valentine’s Day dinner at a fabulous local vegetarian restaurant, Leaf, and capped it off with a well deserved glass of wine.

Wider is better

Looking back, it’s no surprise to me that when I began this little endeavor last November, coming off of my third marathon, there was far more focus on cooking than running. That’s been pretty much the pattern each time I’ve done a marathon; intense, focused build up, training nose to the grindstone, eating simple but balanced carb/protein fare for a few months. Then, with the race over, a comfortable relaxation period, heavy on cooking and sparse on routine. After all, my Friday night-before-long-run meal of udon or soba noodles and a turkey burger patty didn’t leave a lot of room for creativity.

Anyway, it seems the third phase in this progression this year has turned to work, and after November I wasn’t running OR cooking (or blogging) enough! At any rate, I now find myself at the end of March, less than two weeks out from my first half marathon of the year, and with a renewed lust for mileage. Well…maybe “lust” is a little strong, but “commitment” feels about right. I’ve committed to this race, and I’m committed to not failing miserably, thus, I’ve committed myself to some mileage over the past couple months.

Unlike a marathon, in my world, a half marathon doesn’t require much training in the sense of “can I do it?”, but, while I am masochistic enough to sign up for these things, I’m not masochistic enough to want to suffer through them, so I do ramp up enough so that I can complete them comfortably and usually with some goal time in mind. This time around, I’d say I’m ready for the distance, less so for the time.

My running year got off to a bit of a rough start, hindered by my least favorite injury, iliotibial band syndrome. It’s a pain, literally. (The IT band is a thick stretch of tissue that runs down the outside of your thigh, connecting your hip to the outside of your knee. It can get tight and make things hurt anywhere in that vicinity. Yuck.) I’d had a bout of it four years ago, which landed me in five months of intense physical therapy and with some heavy duty prescription orthotics in my running shoes ever since. I’d not had a glimmer of a relapse until this year. After alternating trying to ignore it and trying to fix it myself with some of my old moves from PT with no success, I broke down and saw my Sports Med Guy. I fully expected to have to commit to months of PT or get new orthotics, or both. However, this time, a new approach.

Tim videotaped me running from all angles. He took measurements, watched in slow motion, watched the top half of my body with relation to the bottom, the hips with relation to the knees with relation to the feet with relation to the elbows and on and on… Within minutes he had a diagnosis (and solution!) and was quite excited about it. Turns out, my foot plant was quite narrow, thereby emphasizing the angle of my hips to my feet, and, as a result, putting more stress on the outside of my legs. The fix, he said, was quite simple – run wider. Umm…are we sure I can’t just put something new in my shoes, or do some exercise to fix this? Do I really have to consciously CONCENTRATE on my running form? The form I’ve had for thirteen years? Please tell me no! Yes. I had to change my running form.

The plan was simple. The first two weeks I was supposed to alternate “old” and “new” running forms evenly every thirty seconds during my runs. By the fourth week it should be more like 75% of the time in the new form, and after two months, almost exclusively new form, with just the occasional hit of the old, “to remind my body what it was like,” presumably so the difference remains clear and I don’t revert back into the old. I was skeptical and nervous, but I complied. The hardest part for me was just being cognizant of anything in particular while running. It has always been my mindless time, where I drift through passing thoughts, with the occasional glance at my (beloved) GPS watch. But no more – focus! And to my surprise and delight, it has actually worked. Like, immediately and dramatically. In fact, after a couple weeks of alternating, I was actually MORE comfortable in the new form, and found myself reverting back less and less, until I now try to do my entire run in the new form because it just feels better. It still requires concentration, but it’s feeling more and more natural by the day. Hoorah! Platte River Half Marathon, here I come… And after that, Bolder Boulder, and a handful of summer races and ultimately, this year’s premiere event, the Chicago Marathon. Eek! One at a time…

As for the cooking, I’m getting there, too. But more on that next time.