weekend

This past week was pretty stressful with long days at my foodservice rotation combined with class every night (vs usual 3 days a week) and my last metabolism exam. Needless to say, yoga was necessary on Saturday [definitely feeling all of those chaturangas today].

After, I stopped for juice + raw rolls with a friend. I thought it was really funny that the woman at the counter kept trying to explain all of the benefits of wheat grass to me. Preachin’ to the choir, there, ma’am.

For some reason, I decided to buy Brussels sprouts at Soulard this weekend even though I don’t really like them. But…I think they might be growing on me. Doesn’t hurt that they have an excellent nutritional profile.

1 cup Brussels sprouts (cooked):

• excellent source of vitamin K & C
• very good source of vitamin A, folate, fiber, potassium, B1, B6
• cruciferous vegetable that may decrease risk of cancer
• contains phytonutrients that signal production of detox enzymes
• supports healthy skin and immune function
• supports colon health
• contains folic acid, which assists in DNA synthesis

Consume at least 3-5 servings (1 cup = 1 serving) of cruciferous vegetables (also including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale…to name a few) per week to decrease cancer risk.

I roasted the Brussels with a little olive oil, salt & pepper, and 1 clove of garlic at 400 F for 10-15 min. Pretty good. Any other fave ways to prepare Brussels sprouts?

  

What did you do this weekend? I have never appreciated weekends as much I do right now. Foodservice is exhausting, and I’m really excited for my pediatric nutrition specialty rotation after this week.

Tomorrow, I’m doing some nutrition counseling with a couple medical students from SLU and also have my last final of the semester!

I’m off to go find some study motivation [or maybe go running instead].

beach therapy + leftovers

What I’ve been craving for the past 3 months…

 

There’s something therapeutic about being close to the water. It’s not like I was at the beach every day when I lived in Michigan, but simply having the option to get away was all I needed. I’m trying to find other little oasis spots in St. Louis, but it’s definitely hard.

Once a gymnast, always a gymnast. My mom used to yell at me for being upside down more than right side up.

Seriously going to miss MI, the fam, and my fave poodle Bayley.

I’m convinced that we all need balance. No matter how much I love nutrition, I still crave the arts. Maybe that’s why a lot of you are students or have other careers in addition to food blogging. I really encourage you to pursue whatever it is that both refreshes and inspires you…it’s definitely the only way I stay sane!

If you’re not a professional blogger, what is your full-time stint or how do you stay balanced?

:: two ways to use turkey leftovers ::

turkey wraps with sharp cheddar cheese and cranberry sauce

  

classic turkey rice soup

 

Others? What are you most creative ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers?

I think the SLU interns are gardening today [don’t quote me on that] and then I have a presentation to give on a local, seasonal, and organic baby food company that the pediatric interns in my class created for our clinical systems management class.

Ok, I should probably be studying for my test on Thursday or something equally productive [sigh]. Happy Monday, all.

cardamom bread saturday

I warned you that we have a lot of holiday traditions in our family. My dad is Swedish [if you’re confused, please see the ::about me:: page], and we’ve been making cardamom bread in preparation for Christmas for as long as I can remember. We started early this morning {meaning coffee = necessary}.

The recipe has been handed down through my dad’s family for years. He grew up making Swedish Cardamom bread, and my parents have made it every year they’ve been married.

We’re kinda hardcore about bread-making. 30 cups of flour later…

 

Let the kneading begin…

 

Cardamom seed pods all the way from India.

More kneading. It’s a workout in itself.

  

There may have been a flour fight [I probably won].

        

After letting the dough rise for a couple of hours, we punched it down, added the cardamom seeds, and braided it into loaves.

 

We made 16 loaves in all. Important points to remember when making yeast breads include correct temperatures when growing the yeast, allowing enough time for the dough to rise, and adequate kneading. Oh, and teamwork is definitely key.

 

[with my brother’s girlfriend & twin sis]

Do you have any holiday family traditions or fave homemade bread recipes?

Back to St. Louis and a ton of work tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

 

thankful

After a long 8-hr drive, I am finally back in Michigan! So happy to see my twin sis, who I haven’t seen since August {we are super close and talk at least every day via phone}.

 

I made black bean burgers for dinner on Wednesday, which were met with mixed reviews. Personally, I’m a huge fan, but you just can’t expect these to taste the same as a regular burger. We also had squash, which is another one of my faves. I like to top mine with a little coconut oil + cinnamon.

We have a lot of traditions in my family, especially around the holidays. One tradition is having guests sign our Thanksgiving tablecloth. My mom then embroiders each name in colored thread. If guests come multiple years, she sews a star in a different color for every Thanksgiving attended next to their names.

 

Another tradition is delivering meals with the Salvation Army to underprivileged areas in our community on Thanksgiving morning. It always makes me more thankful for what I have and humbles me for complaining about what I don’t. My mom usually starts cooking while we deliver food with my dad. Afterward, I got handed mashed potato duty, which is best accomplished with a Kitchen Aid [I swear I’ll own one someday].

Our meal was semi-local. At first, I felt bad for not trying harder to make it even more so, but our famers’ market is small, and [as they teach us in the internship] I think small steps are the key to bigger, lasting changes in the long run.

Our turkey was a 24 pounder from a local Amish farm. I know I haven’t really mentioned it on the blog, but I decided after seeing Food, Inc., that I wasn’t going to eat meat that is not local and hormone-free. For me, it’s more of a political decision. I don’t agree with the way factory farms are run, and I’m choosing not to support them by buying their products.

My aunt’s apple mallow yams were definitely a star among the other dishes. She’s a blog reader, so how could I not include her delish dish?!

Thanksgiving = a lot of starchy foods, but I’m completely okay with that. We had a nice discussion about tryptophan and the effect of eating a high carbohydrate meal on hormone levels at the table…you know, typical meal chatter. :-)

Pumpkin pie made with a coconut oil crust was the perfect ending to our meal. Coconut oil makes one flaky pie crust; you should try it.

I think homemade pumpkin pie is so much better than store-bought pie. Seriously.

I went for a super cold and windy [and pretty much miserable] 5ish mile run between get-togethers. I keep forgetting about Michigan’s lovely windchill. I’m hoping to get in a beach run if the weather clears tomorrow. I’m such a nerd, but I love being back here by the water.

Cliché as it is, I am so thankful for my family and their love, my friends and their support, and even for the hard things that have helped to build character and shape me into a stronger person. I’ve been given so much, and I only hope that I can live my life in a way that reflects gratitude…

Hope everyone had a fantastic day. Fave Thanksgiving dishes, anyone? And how did you celebrate today?

[thanks]giving

  

  I spent the majority of last weekend (Friday and Saturday) sitting in a diabetes conference. It was a challenge because I don’t really enjoy sitting for 8 hrs. It was also a challenge because 95% of the speakers advocated drug use versus dietary modification to treat diabetes and relating complications. I think drugs are beneficial, but I’d rather see them used with lifestyle changes if at all possible. I know that drugs have done a lot of great things for people, and I’m not discounting that at all. Growing up with a dad on a myriad of medications due to a liver transplant, we used to joke that our house was a pharmacy. I just wish that there was a way to improve health without side effects and dependency on pills. [end rant].

Plus, it was so nice outside, making it super hard to be inside! I made up for all the sitting by running 9 miles on Sunday. It was a gorgeous day, and a ton of people were outside enjoying the sun.

I’m going home tomorrow for Thanksgiving! I’m really excited to see the fam (it’s been far too long…August, I think?!) and this furry friend.

 

And visit the beach, which looks more like this as winter sets in. Still beautiful, none the less.

I’ve been trying to keep in mind that Thanksgiving is still about being thankful. Despite all the complaining I do about how stressful life has been since starting my internship, I am really grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to work with so many different people and to learn from those around me.

  

What are you thankful for? [and what are your plans this Thanksgiving?].

My mom just told me that she bought an organic turkey from our local Amish farmers for our semi-local Thanksgiving. My next post will be from Michigan!

Safe travels to all who are heading home!

in the home stretch

Thursday already?! This week is flying by. My food service site is really organized, so that helps make things go a little more smoothly. My preceptor ironically told me that they need someone who knows how to take photos of food for a project they’re working on and asked me if I had any experience doing that. It was kind of funny.

Things I’ve been experimenting with lately…

::pumpkin mini quiches::

Don’t hate me, but I’m sort of an organic baker {meaning I don’t always measure things} and don’t have exact proportions for this recipe.

Crust: coconut oil (or butter), salt, WW pastry flour, ginger, water (mix until pie crust consistency; roll out and press into muffin pan)

Filling: 2 eggs, 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, milk,  dash of nutmeg & cloves & black pepper, thyme

Bake for 20-25 minutes (or until set) at 350°F.

::black bean burgers::

Black beans are one of my fave protein sources, and Kath’s recipe for these simple burgers is really good. Add your fave toppings, and you’re good to go.

::homemade almond butter::

I bought almonds at Whole Foods the other day and just wasn’t a big fan of the taste….which led to my first almond butter making adventure {using HEAB’s methodology}. I roasted the almonds for ~15 minutes at 350°F, then threw them in my tiny food processor until they turned into this.

 

There’s something extremely satisfying about making your own nut butter. Maybe it just tastes better because I know exactly what’s in it. Now I know why it’s so expensive, though…

Converted into an AB + apple {locally grown, of course} wrap.

     

What has everyone else been eating slash cooking lately?

Long weekend ahead because the SLU interns are going to a diabetes symposium all day Friday and Saturday. I’m still hoping to squeeze in a long run on Sunday, especially with the near-perfect running temps we’ve been having lately. I can’t wait until Thanksgiving + MI + being at home with the fam.

Off to another day of food service [with a smile],

i love weekends

The Health Dept. had a carry-in (aka potluck) during the last week of my rotation. I felt weird bringing food into such a germy environment, but don’t worry…that’s why Tupperware was invented. I brought chocolate chip pumpkin cookies {yeah, yeah, I know I’m addicted to this combination}. The secret to the non-cakelike texture? Homemade pumpkin butter.

Working in the community setting was really challenging for me. I saw clients who were motivated to change, but unlike some of the more affluent patients in hospitals, they did not have the financial means to change. I went on a home visit with a nurse, and after she managed to accidentally knock the front door off its hinges, we sat in a smoke-filled, filthy house with a young mother trying to raise a new baby while caring for her very needy toddler. It’s pretty heart-breaking to think about the number of times this same scenario is probably repeated, and I’m definitely motivated to start doing something more to help improve food access in the St. Louis area. My uncle’s church has a homeless shelter, and he’s asked me to help plan meals and provide nutrition education sessions when they open for the winter…so that’s a start.

[weekend adventures]

Yoga was amazing this morning. I felt so much better and completely refreshed afterward. I’m going to try and go every Saturday if I can.

I had lunch with a blog reader [and MD/PhD student at Wash U] at Local Harvest Cafe, which features a seasonal and local menu. I’ll definitely be back there again. I’m always up for making new friends, eating local food, and talking about research and nutrition, so it was definitely a great lunch.

It’s so funny to meet blog friends…you feel like you “know” them even if you haven’t ever met in person. If there are any other readers or bloggers out there from St. Louis, delurking is much appreciated! I had a sandwich with roasted root vegetables on 9 grain bread. It was delicious. I even ate all of the beets, and I really hate beets.

And then the ex-roommate and I went on a thrifting adventure. Laz went crazy when he saw me; maybe he forgot all the times I forced him to be clean and chased him out of my room when we lived together. He’s pretty adorable when he wants to be.

 

The best part about thrifting {besides amazing vintage treasures} is finding obnoxious clothes to try on. Like these capes…caroling anyone? Both stores we went to today were playing Christmas music. Christmas is my fave holiday, and I love Christmas music, but right now it just makes me panic because I have a ton of gifts to make.

 

Tomorrow = church, running {in the rain?!}, and finishing a research paper.

What has been the highlight of your weekend so far?