Holy Cow!

I just put in my resignation at my job! I had a revelation on Friday that this was it, I was done working here. I'm not really motivated to do a good job anymore, and me leaving is best for everyone. My supervisor was really nice and understanding when I told her. So now I just have 3 more weeks left and I'm out!

What comes next?

I am going to be looking for some kind of yoga related job, but until I am actually a certified teacher I can't start teaching. I might just get a part time waitress job, or working  retail, just to tide me over until I get enough teaching gigs. We'll see what I can find. Honestly, I am just excited for a change of scenery. I feel like my life is becoming everything I dreamed it would be.

I fully intend on keeping this blog and updating it as much as possible with my kitchen adventures and other random musings. Don't be surprised if I start quoting ancient Sanskrit texts, because I have been reading lot's of them lately for my YTT ;)

I have a few posts planned for this week, including a garden update, so stay tuned!

Pretzel Turtles...not as weird as it sounds.

Yes, I have to review another recipe from another blogging buddy, Ali from Three Baking Sheets to the Wind.

This Saturday, all the folks in my YTTP got together for a BBQ, except it ended up being more of a dinner party inside due to some completely un-Colorado-y rain that lasted the entire day (our rain usually only lasts 10 minutes!). Well our get together was a pot-luck, and I wanted to bring something snacky and fun. Lucky for me, the day I decided to search for recipes was the day the Ali decided to do this post on Pretzel Turtles.

She found this recipe from Rachael Ray Everyday, but if you are going to try these, you must use Ali's version, because let me tell you, she is one funny gal...just go to the link and see for yourself. Her pictures also make following the recipe extra enjoyable :)

Just so you know what your are getting yourself into: these are basically pretzel nuggets, wrapped in caramel, dipped in chocolate, covered in almonds... I know...YUM! They are easy and fun to make, however, for me, they were time consuming. This is a perfect thing to do on a weekend afternoon, possibly with children (they would have a blast wrapping the caramel!).These little guys are delicious little paradoxes, sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy. Also, since I have been posting so much about eating healthily lately, I feel the need to balance it out with something indulgent.

Enjoy!

=

Disclaimer: These photos were taken as I was rushing out the door, I am sorry for their poor quality, they do not do the pretzel turtles justice, what-so-ever. A better camera is definitely on my list of things I want.

Online calorie tracking

I have been tracking my caloric intake and physical activity for about 4 months now, because I am actively trying to loose a little weight I put on when I started sitting at a desk 40 hours a week. I use the "MyPlate" tool on Livestrong.com.

This is a healthy living website brought to you by the foundation of Lance Armstrong. Basically, the MyPlate tool is an online food and exercise journal, you enter everything you eat, and the amount of physical activity you do, and it shows you your overall caloric intake (minus calories burned). It also shows your intake of basic nutrients like sugar, protein, and fiber versus the recommended daily allowance (from the FDA). It is free to use, but they only keep your journal for something like 40 days, than it is cleared. You can pay for a higher level membership, and they will keep your journal forever and you get more features, but for me, just seeing the calories add up daily is really useful.

I love the MyPlate feature because you can search for specific foods from specific brands or restaurants. I mean, they have everything! My Toufayan whole wheat pita, and Sabra classic hummus? Yep, they have the nutritional info, confirmed from the manufacturer. They have the nutritional content of many dishes from small and large chain restaurants (like Chipotle, Noodles & CO., Pei Wei, etc.) as well as the info for basic foods like fresh fruits and veggies. You can also add in your own recipes and get the nutritional analysis for them, it's pretty amazing.

I have always considered myself a pretty healthy eater, I don't eat fast food, or fried food, I rarely drink soda, and I almost always eat whole foods, rather than pre-made packaged stuff. Still, I was surprised at how quickly the calories add up in the day, and especially shocked at how hard it is for me to keep my sugar intake under the RDA. Seeing my calories add up using this tool has helped me "just say no" to unnecessary snacks, bites, and tastes, because it is just not worth the extra calories. So far, using this tool, and being more active (hello YTTP doing yoga 20 hrs a week!) I have lost about 5 lbs of solid fat (not including water weight fluctuations) in 2 months, but more importantly, I have lost inches. I can fit into pants that wouldn't even button back in February!! That is freaking satisfying!

Disclaimer: I am not paid by any of the companies or services I recommend or review on this blog (unless otherwise stated). I just like to share things that I find interesting or useful!

Cadaver Lab

Last night, I got to participate in something that I will never forget. Last night was one of the best nights of my life, it was one of those nights where I was hit with such a blinding flash of inspiration, and also moved to tears by how amazing life is. I might risk sounding morbid, and maybe even slightly creepy, but last night we did a cadaver lab for my YTTP and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

I want to start this post off by saying that I have a profound sense of respect and gratitude to the people who have decided to donate their bodies to the cadaver programs that make these labs a possibility for students. Once you see what the inside of a human body actually looks like, how everything fits together so perfectly, how intricate it all is, you never look at another person the same again. Through participating in cadaver labs, I have gained an immense respect for human life (and all life forms for that matter).

In college, I took anatomy, and we had a semester long cadaver lab, but those cadavers were dissected by the lab TA, who is by no means a professional, and it was very hard to see the difference between the tissue types, the shapes of the organs, etc. Everything kind of looked the same. The lab we went to last night was completely different. These cadavers were preserved with such great detail that they were infinitely better than looking at a plastic model.

We began with the extremities, and were able to see all the different muscles, ligaments and major nerves of the arm and leg separated out. Then we saw the whole body, the skeleton with the muscles. We were able to see the major muscles used in yoga, and how they are positioned in the body. Then he showed us all the major organs, and where they are positioned in the body, each was accompanied by a lecture and discussion about how that organ is affected while doing yoga. At the end of class, we had a whole body, put together again. It.Was.Amazing. It was very moving for me to hear somebody from a scientific background talk so beautifully about how yoga benefits the body and mind in so many ways. The lab director who gave us the lecture and demonstrated the cadavers (he also does the dissections) really understands that the human body is more than just a bunch of different parts put together. He talked about how the mind and the spirit have a profound effect on the physical state of the body.

The word "Yoga" can be translated to mean "Union". Ultimately, the goal of yoga is to create a union between the body, mind and spirit. In my YTTP we are inspecting each of those things in detail, in order to gain a more intimate understanding of how they can all fit together. I am so grateful to be in this program, I just can't even put into words how much I am growing from this process.

Burger Review!

Burgers on the grill are the harbingers of summer, one fleeting whiff of the burning charcoal and meat can send me into an elaborate day dream involving cute summer dresses, bare feet, beer, fresh fruit salad, strings of pretty garden lights, and of course a deliciously juicy burger, just off the grill.

My blogging buddy Liam at My So-Called Knife, posted his recipe for the Perfect Burgers a few weeks ago, and I got the chance to try them out on Memorial Day. His recipe intrigued me because of its use of interesting and exciting ingredients. Unfortunately, on the big day, I woke up with a terrible cold, and no sense of taste, due to a stuffy nose :( Never-the-less, I forged on and made these for my family to enjoy, and enjoy they did. My mother, grandmother, sister, husband, and brother-in-law all declared them the "best burgers ever!" I think is has something to do with the pork sausage...my family has an unhealthy obsession with pork... Even in my sick state, I thoroughly devoured my burger, and it was juicy and perfect, even though I couldn't taste it as well as I wanted too :)

This recipe is also great because he goes into the subtleties of burger making, a great way to take your burgers to the next level of awesomeness!

From MSCK:

"My perfect burgers call for a mix of ground beef and sausage, at about a 70%/30% ratio. I could probably increase the perfection quotient on the burgers if I started grinding my own meat, but that will have to wait for another day. I also occasionally have been known to use some buffalo meat in the mixture if I can get a good source for it. But for this base recipe, we’ll just go with the beef and sausage.


Perfect ingredients…

- 1 lb ground beef (you can go lean if you want, but I usually don’t)
- 1/3 lb pork sausage (Italian, sage, mild, spicy, whatevers – mix it up)
- 2 heaping spoonfuls of sour cream
- 5-6 splashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 c bread crumbs
- 3 or 4 slices of cheese (I used Swiss in this iteration)
- 1 egg (optional)
- hamburger buns

Perfect toppings…
- 1/4 lb bacon
- lettuce
- caramelized onion
- raw onion
- mushrooms
- tomato
- your favorite ketchup/sauce

AWESOME ALERT! I got to use my own lettuce for this, grown in a container on my back deck. It’s the first non-herb food product of any sort that I’ve eaten that I have grown myself. I had to have a moment.

Anyway.

First thing you want to do is fry up the bacon for topping. Fry it in a skillet (cast iron if possible), and as it’s frying prep your toppings – slice up the tomato, onion and mushrooms to appropriate size pieces.

After the bacon’s finished frying, take it out of the skillet and lay it out on a paper towel so the oil will drain off. Reserve bacon fat in the skillet and set aside, we will be using it later.

Next, set out a large bowl and put in the beef, the pork sausage, the sour cream, the bread crumbs, the Worcestershire sauce, and the cheese. Break the cheese up into small pieces as it’s going to be mixed in with the burger meat.

You can add an egg here into your mix, I occasionally do, but if you do then you probably want to add more bread crumbs – with the sour cream and the sauce in there already, it gets pretty runny if you add an egg. Top off with more bread crumbs if it is too liquidy, until you get a consistency that’s solid enough to stay together on your grill.

Step away from your bowl now and go fire up the grill. If you’re using a charcoal grill, fire it up 20 minutes ago.

Take your hands and mix all the ingredients in the bowl. You will get good and messy here, so just suck it up. You want to make sure all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly but try not to over-work the meat.

When forming your burger patties, go for something a little bit smaller than the size of your fist. Flatten it out a little bit in the center but not too much. You want it to cook evenly so bear that in mind as you are making the patties.

By now your grill should be pretty warm and ready to go.

Cook the patties over a medium-high flame for 7-9 minutes. You should see the meat browning just shy of half way up the patty when it’s ready to flip. Cook the other side another 7-9 minutes.

Whatever you do, do not flatten your burger patties while they are on the grill. I’ve known people to have a tendency to do this, thinking that if you flatten them they will cook more evenly. Well, they might, but in doing so you’re squeezing all the juices out of the meat when they could be cooking into the burger and you’re losing all your flavor.

Optional bonus: sear over high heat for just 1-2 minutes on either side right before they come off the grill.

While the burgers are cooking on the grill, heat the bacon fat in the skillet back up. Sautee the mushrooms and onions in the skillet in the bacon fat. Take them out after the onions have browned slightly and the mushrooms have taken on a semi-transparent quality. Set aside on a towel to drain.

Can’t make a perfect burger without perfect toppings.

Take burgers off grill. Top with awesome toppings. I like to use Bigg Riggs Awesome Sauce instead of ketchup. It’s technically a wing sauce, but I like it on all kinds of stuff.

Eat. Enjoy. "

Liam, my family and I thank you for making our Memorial Day, Memoriable...memorable...you rock!

Liquid Calories

*Quick note: I am currently working on giving my blog a makeover for Spring/Summer, so don't mind me if it gets a little schizophrenic around here while I try out new looks.

Today, I was innocently checking out one of my Favorite blogs, Not Martha, and came across a link to

this article:

Harmful Drinks in America

After reading the whole thing, I feel like my innocence is lost, a part of my soul gone... forever...I have been critical of bottled beverages for a very long time, but I don't think I ever really knew the depths of their wickedness until now.

This article reviews several of our nation's worst beverages, and gives the "sugar equivalent" in junk food. The sugar content is not the only shocking thing about the drinks, MANY of them reach 1000 calories or higher. Here's the thing about liquid calories, they don't really make you feel any more full than before you drank them, but your body processes those calories just the same as the calories from solids. This means you are taking in a crap load of empty, potentially harmful (don't even get me started on the evils of high fructose corn syrup, I will save that for another post) calories on top of your daily food intake. This leads to fat storage, weight gain, and all that goes with it.

Now, I could certainly go off on a tangent about food companies and their questionable ethics in making these beverages (especially the ones marketed to children!), I could go off on the FDA for allowing them to sell us this junk, but I won't. One of the nice things about living in a capitalistic society is that we have the choice to NOT PURCHASE these items, and drink water instead (or at least go for a lower calorie option...c'mon). We are fortunate enough to live in a time where nutritional information is widely available on the Internet, and in most establishments where food and drinks are sold. All you have to do is ask, it's easy, I do it all.the.time. It's not embarrassing, and the person behind the counter doesn't mind, as long as you smile and ask politely.

In this day and age, we finally have the opportunity to empower ourselves, and make to good choices that lead to a happy, healthy diet.

When consumers show whats most important to them by buying the healthier (the real thing, not just something claiming to be healthy on the label) options at restaurants and grocery stores, the people making this crap will listen, and supply us with more of what we want. I am an optimist, and I believe that the movement that some call a "trend" or a "fad" to buy whole (not processed), local, and organic foods is going to change the way our nation relates to what we eat.

OK, I will get off my soap box now. I guess that all there is left to say is "power to the people!"

Source

Goosebumps

I found out last night that two other girls in my YTTP lost their dads in May as well. I used to say that I didn't believe in fate or destiny, but as I slowly move into a more spiritual and emotionally fulfulling part of my life, I might be changing my mind. You know when you first see someone, you can kind of tell you could connect with them. Well, I felt this for both of the girls. I felt sort of drawn to them, like "hm they seem insteresting, I bet we could become good friends."

I was talking with one of them last night before class, and we got on the subject of what we were doing before the program began, and then the subject of loosing our fathers (both in the first week of May) came up, and we both got goosebumps. It was amazing. I think there is a bigger force at work here.

You know what else gives me goosebumps? This song.
 

I know it's old news by now, but I love it. I think I'm a little bit in love with Imogen Heap. I heard an interview with her on NPR about how she makes her music, and it was enthralling to say the least.

Update

I want to thank all of my blogging buddies for the love and support in the last post's comments. My dad passed away last week, and needless to say, I am feeling a lot of complicated emotions, and not really feeling very inspired/motivated to cook, or write about anything. We've been eating a lot of omelets (my go to slacker dinner). We are having a service tomorrow for our Denver friends/family and another in June for people in our home town where my dad (as well as myself and my sister) grew up. Thankfully we have managed to stick together as a family and help each other out through all this. So, thanks friends, even though I've never met some of you, your words of support have meant so much to me.

I started my yoga teacher training program last week as well, and oh, it is everything I imagined and more. I love all of my classmates and teachers, and I have already learned so much, it's hard to believe this is only my second week. When I come home from my classes I feel physically tired and mentally/emotionally invigorated, which is the way it should be, rather than mentally exhausted and physically pent up. My love for yoga is deepening everyday, and I can not wait to share it with the world.

We have also been slowly getting our garden in the ground. So far, we have corn, loose leaf lettuce, rosemary, basil, oregano, cilantro, sugar peas, cucumbers, yellow onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, cayenne peppers, strawberries, tomatoes and broccoli. We still need to cultivate the plot behind the house before we can plant the pumpkins, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and watermelon. I can hardly wait until the little sprouts become a rowdy bunch of green leaves and vines, with bursts of color where the fruit and veggies are growing.

I will leave you with one of my favorite songs. The best version I could find on YouTube is from the Watchmen soundtrack, which is ironically one of my favorite movies. It's like rain washing over me, and taking away all the mud and dirt.

New beginngs, and also an ending.

This is a very special time in my life. This Saturday, I will begin my yoga teacher training program (YTTP), I have been dreaming of being a yoga teacher since I was 16, and have been dreaming of attending this particular program since I moved to the city when I was 18. It will last for 15 weeks, the class is two nights a week, as well as a half day on Saturdays. I don't know if I really believe in destiny, but I have truly felt a calling to teach yoga for a long time, and I feel that I now have the patience and maturity to embark on achieving that goal. I really feel like this is a beginning of a new life for me, one where I am living my dream!

This is also a sad time of goodbyes. I mentioned in my last post that my family is going through a tough time, and in the spirit of being honest, I will explain. My father has had type I (insulin dependant) diabetes his whole life. When I was 17, his kidneys failed, and he has been on dialysis ever since. He has had a multitude of health problems due to his disease, and last Friday, they finally took their toll. He is dying, and while this is not a surprise to us, it is, of course very difficult to go through, especially for my mom. If you wouldn't mind keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, it would be greatly appreciated. All we ask for is that his passing is relatively painless.

So often in my life, big transitions are bittersweet like this, one wonderful thing happening simultaneously with something that is sad. It is a constant reminder that life will never be perfect, but we have to focus on and appreciate the good times, and to support and be supported by our loved ones through the bad times.

Make your granola at home...

...you won't be sorry! It costs about half as much as store bought granola, you get to customize it to your taste/health factor preference, and it tastes better! Not to mention, it makes your house smell amazing all afternoon.
 This weekend, I gardened and made granola. After a very stressful Friday, it was exactly what I needed to feel like myself again. I love making granola because you can start with a base recipe, and just get creative and add whatever your heart desires. I love to go to the bulk section at the local healthy market (Sunflower Market for those of you in CO) and choose my ingredients, it's fun to try different combinations of nuts, seeds and dried fruit to come up with new flavor profiles.

I got my base recipe from none other than Mr. Alton Brown, I just used this as a guide for measurements and cooking time. I had read online that if you mix in an egg white, it will give the granola more clusters, so I decided to give that a try as well.

Toasty Granola with Coconut and Cranberries
3 cups oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup shaved (or shredded) unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp honey extra if too dry
1 egg white
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Combine the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, and brown sugar in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, vanilla and salt. It will become thick, with a honey like consistency. Combine both mixtures and stir in the egg white (if the granola seems too dry, mix in 2 tbsp of honey).

  

Pour into 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color. Remove from oven and transfer all the granola into the same vessel, mix in the cranberries, and enjoy!

This turned out to be so yummy, it is perfect in Greek yogurt with a little honey. Zak actually deemed it "the most delicious food ever." Well, I don't know about that, but it is some of the best granola I've had.

It might get a little quiet around here in the next few weeks, because my family is going through a bit of a tough time, and my energy will be used up supporting them in any way that I can. Please bear with me if my posts are few and far between.