I’ve Moved!

Hi Everyone!

I’ve moved to:  http://www.journeytobodyzen.com/

Be sure to check me out and enter to win my first giveaway!  I will not longer be posting at this site so be sure to take note of the new web addy .

Thanks!!

Sticky Fingers.

It has been several days since I last posted unfortunately.  While I have been really busy, the main reason for this is that my husband stole my SD card from my camera!  For most people this would be a simple fix….just run to Wal-Mart and buy another.  However, since Wal-Mart is about 40 minutes from my house, and since I have been covered up in work and school, I just haven’t found the time to take the much-needed trip.  So camera-less I am for now, but don’t worry! I plan on going tomorrow so I can get back to my picture-taking self!

I have really missed blogging this week.  There were exciting things happening that I totally wanted to document in pictures!  It’s interesting how much you realize that blogging balances you once you stop doing it.  I need my balance back .

Here’s a recap of my week:

• The husband is sick sick sick with a cold!  He has been in Mass all week, but he comes home today, so I am hoping that I don’t get it!
• Moose was quilled by a porcupine last week and this week the vet discovered that one of the quills is lodged in a tendon of his leg.  Poor guy is having a tough time walking!  But it should dissolve.
• I tried my 1st Green Monster!  Unbelievable.  You can’t even taste the spinach!
• I finished one of my most favorite books.  I really hate finishing good books!
• I started physical therapy for my knees! And the PT said I could run again but had to stick to dirt roads and flat surfaces.  Yessssssssssssss!

Well my friends, that has pretty much been my week.  I can’t wait to upload some pics tomorrow .  Today the husband comes home so I will be hanging out with him all day as he leaves out again tomorrow.  TTYL!

Secrets of Roasting Veggies.

Today has been a great, lazy day.  For lunch, I gave veggies a break and had a nice steaming plate of lasagna.  A little Italian food does the body good!

For dinner, I am making a roasted veggie plate including carrots and potatoes.

Roasting veggies is simple as long as you follow some easy rules.

1.  Always use parchment paper.  Trust me on this one!  I spent too many years scraping away chunks of veggies from my baking sheet!  Parchment paper is magical.  So far, nothing I have ever cooked on it has stuck.

2.  Seasoning is your friend. To me the best veggies are well-seasoned.  For sweet potatoes and carrots I use Italian Seasoning.  For roasted french fries I typically just use Seasoned Salt.  Experiment with seasonings and find what you like best.

3.  Cut ‘em up!  The most successful roasted veggie will be cut into small pieces.  Don’t try to roast veggies whole, except maybe carrots……to be safe, just cut them up!

4.  EVO.  In my opinion, roasted veggies taste best with some extra virgin olive oil brushed over them.  However, at desperate times, I have been known to just spray them down with non-stick spray, which works!

5.  The longer the better.  Most vegetables are very firm, thus it takes time to roast them until they are no longer hard-as-a-rock.  Of course, timing depends on the vegetable and your oven.  I make sure to give my veggies plenty of time to roast (and I admit, I kinda like the slightly charred veggie!).

6.  Heat baby.  I crank my oven up!  Usually to 400 degrees.  I stay away from going any higher than that because parchment paper can only handle up to 420 degrees.  I feel that 400 degrees is the best roasting temperature.

In other news, I start Physical Therapy on my knee tomorrow.  I am anxious to see how it goes and hope that it helps so that I can get back to running.  Every time I see a runner, a pang of jealousy goes through me.  I can’t believe I miss it this much!  I will keep y’all updated

BBQ Tofu.

Today I was craving BBQ!  I miss the mouth-watering pulled pork of the South so much.  Every year when I head home to GA, I have to hit up a bbq stand.  And I chow down on a huge sandwich like there’s no tomorrow .

For lunch, I thought I’d try to make some bbq flavored tofu.

First I gently pressed the tofu cubes with a paper towel to get out any remaining moisture.  Then I added about 4 tablespoons of bbq sauce and gave it a quick stir with my fork.  I don’t have a favorite bbq sauce…..yet.

Then I put the tofu in a pan sprayed with no-stick spray and cooked for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

Mmmm, it was so good!  I paired it with a nice spinach salad which included:

• celery
• onions
• mozzarella
• balsamic vinaigrette

I just walked for 45 minutes on my elliptical.  It really helped to watch some of my favorite shows on TV so that I didn’t get super bored.  Thank god for DVR!

Off to work again!

Gelato.

I love gelato.  It’s much more smooth and tasty than ice cream to me.  In addition, it has some good nutritional value.  Here’s what whygelato.com says:

Gelato is considered a healthy dessert for a variety of reasons. The most obvious is it’s made from natural ingredients. From fresh hazelnuts and pistachios to the milk and water, gelato contains ingredients that are all found in nature. Each ingredient in gelato contributes to its overall nutritional value. While the nutritional content of every cup of gelato consumed isn’t always the same, here are a few health facts about gelato.

• Gelato is both lower in fat and calories compared to traditional American ice cream. In the U.S. ice cream is generally made with cream, and is classified by its butterfat content (10% – 12%). Gelato is made from milk or water, which accounts for a lesser percentage of butterfat (5%-8%) and therefore calories and fat
• Gelato, especially when made with milk and/or nuts, contains a high amount of protein, which is needed daily in the human diet
• Gelato also contains a high number of vitamins. Fruit sorbettos tend to have a higher amount of vitamins in them, but even cream flavors made from milk contain essential vitamins
• Because gelato is made from milk, it a great source of calcium for non-milk drinkers

Mmmm, now I’m craving some!  This is one of my favorite brands/flavors:

Off to go walk on my elliptical!

Self-Care

Hi friends.

Please head over to Voice in Recovery and read about a 21 day challenge for self-care!  I’m loving the Voice in Recovery blog!

I wasn’t too familiar with the term “self-care” until I began working in the mental health field.  However, now, I practice it pretty regularly.  I am excited about this 21 day challenge!  Self-care is a process of taking care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally so that you avoid burnout in life.  As a therapist, it can be very difficult for me to listen to emotional and traumatic experiences from clients for 8 hours a day.  And sometimes, it is hard for me not to feel depressed and mentally drained by the end of the day.  Thus, it is essential that I maintain especially good emotional and mental self-care.

Therapists are not the only ones that need self-care.  We all do.  So many people experience stress on their jobs, financial stress, relationship strains, fatigue…the list goes on and on!  But how often do we take time daily to take care of ourselves?  Most of us are just too dang busy for this.

I encourage you to take part in the 21 day self-care challenge.  You will be amazed at how much more fulfilling your life will be by just spending some time and efforts focused on you each day.

Here are some things that I do to maintain good self-care.  You should make a list of your own!:

• yoga
• hot bath
• resting after a tired day….(really resting & doing nothing else!)
• reading a magazine
• guided imagery (Click here to download an awesome one!)
• drinking hot cocoa (this always makes me feel happy!)
• getting a foot rub by the hubby
• playing with my dog
• being sure to talk to the husband/friend/or family member if I need someone to talk to!

Take care of yourself.  You’re worth it!

Inspiration from Giada + Moose.

I love, love, love the show Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis.  Yesterday I was watching it and couldn’t help but crave some good ole spaghetti.  While I wish I had the time to make the kind she did, I just grabbed some healthy noodles and canned sauce from the store.

I have never had Newman’s Own spaghetti sauce.  I love how they donate to charities, so I bought some at the store on sale for $2.50.  It was fantastic!  Of course, I’m not too terribly picky when it comes to spaghetti sauce but I appreciated how the flavors of garlic and peppers were so prevalent in this sauce.

As you can see I also had some spinach that was sautéed with garlic.  This was a tasty and filling meal.

In other news, my Great Dane got quilled by a porcupine tonight.  It was heartbreaking.    Even harder since the husband is out-of-state all week.  I carefully loaded him into my car, and I drove him to the nearest Emergency Vet (nearest being 45 minutes!).  Good thing I acted so quickly because the quills had already moved about 2″ up his legs (internally) and were headed for his heart and lungs.  $800 later and I have a very sedated 125lb dog!  I really didn’t think I was going to get him out of the car when we got home.  I’m so glad he’s ok!  He is worth every penny.  Here are some of my favorite pics of him:

You would think this pose hurts his neck, but he loves it!

He’s totally knocked out right now!  He had to have several incisions and stitches so he will be feeling lousy for a few days.  But, he should be back to his loving self in about a week.  I’m so glad he’s OK!

Now off to bed I must go.

Lame Peanut Butter Balls.

Sometimes I need a sweet treat.  Other times I need a quick-pick-me-up.  In these desperate circumstances, I make what I call “Lame Peanut Butter Balls”.  And, I love them.

Why are they lame?  Because they do not require any fancy ingredients.  And maybe because it only takes three steps to make them.  Who ever said lame didn’t taste fantastic?

Step 1:  Get a spoonful of peanut butter and plop it on a plate.

Step 2:  Sprinkle peanut butter with rolled oats.  It’s okay to make a mess.

Step 3:  Decorate with chocolate chips.  You have many options here.  I prefer these two:

Option 1:  Eyes & Nose

Option 2:  Random Placement

They are best after sitting in the fridge for about 20 minutes.  Mmmm, an Eyes & Nose is calling my name!

Weekend Recap.

This weekend flew by.  Way too fast!  But, I loved every second of it )

One of the highlights was the open-faced omelet I made for the husband.

It was so full of goodies that I couldn’t get the side to flop over like it should!!

In the omelet:

• extra firm tofu, cubed
• onions
• cheese
• salt and pepper

Super easy to put together!  For the best taste, I sautéed the onions and tofu together in olive oil.

The husband loved, loved, loved this omelet.  I was so pleased that it turned out so well.  We had this on Sunday morning at about 10am and it kept us full until dinner!

I also made a batch of cookies for the husband to take with him this week.  Best Wife Ever.  Lol!

We also got our pumpkins this weekend, and I was able to find a perfectly plump one .  Can’t wait to carve it next weekend!

Later!

French Toast Please.

It’s pretty rare that the husband and I go out for breakfast.  But today we broke the norm and headed to Lazy Susan’s Restaurant.  Thank heaven we did.

Picture a somewhat worn building where all the locals go to feed their stomachs.  They only take cash, and they don’t have a website.  My kinda place.

This was the first time I have eaten any meat all week.  My husband watched in humor as I cleaned my plate.

Tonight we are relaxing, munching on some appetizers, and watching a movie.  He leaves out again tomorrow, so I am enjoying every moment.

Mmmmm, humus and Greek yogurt veggie dip!

This is the best yogurt dip EVER.

Alrighty folks, I’ve gotta get back to my movie.  Night!