spiralizing!

spiralized zucchini

I love kitchen gadgets.  This is my first time writing about one of my acquired gadgets, but I am sure it won't be my last!

I got a spiralizer from Williams Sonoma just before Christmas.  I was super excited to use it but then of course we went out of town and I was trying to eat all of the perishable food in our fridge before we left and you need fresh veggies for spiralizing so I didn't get to do it last month.

Fast forward to January - hooray!  I got to spiralize.  It was actually fun to do and looks really cool!  It reminds me of my apple peeler, corer, slicer that I have but it comes with different plates that you can attach and make "noodles" of varying width/diameter.

spiralized yellow squash

To make these noodles I used the mid-sized plate and started with the zucchini.  Since the zucchini is generally more straight than the crooked neck yellow squash (hence the name), the zucchini was much easier to spiralize.  I had to hold the yellow squash more carefully and re-adjust it as it spiraled down.

Since I'm a huge food prep fan, I was actually spiralizing my veggies before I needed them during the week (I made it Monday night) on the weekend prior (spiralizing went down Sunday afternoon).  Of course they were placed into my awesome snapware Pyrex glass containers I got from Costco on sale (I don't get commission, but if I did, I would be raking it in!  I have recommended these containers to co-workers, friends and family and have 2 sets myself!  They are excellent and really keep the oxygen out which is what causes browning on lettuce and other food and causes it to go bad.)

I steamed my noodles the next night in pasta sauce with some meat + sausage (I always pre-cook my meats before mixing them into my dishes like chili or pasta/etc.) and threw a little mozzarella cheese on top when it was done.

Here's what we did:
1/2lb ground meat (we usually use venison but you can use any ground meat)
3 yellow squash
2 zucchini
1 12-16oz jar of pasta sauce
1/2 spicy sausage (optional)
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1) Spiralize the squash and zucchini and place into a pot on low to medium, pour sauce over the top
2) Cut up the sausage into bite size pieces.  Cook ground meat and sausage in a pan, breaking up the ground meat into smaller pieces.  If there is any grease, remove it and pour the meat into the pot with the squash and zucchini.
3) Stir as needed and place a lid over the top to make sure the squash & zucchini are cooked through.  They should be soft, but not squishy.
4) Remove from heat, sprinkle a little of the cheese on top, serve and enjoy!

cooked spiralized zucchini + yellow squash

Both my husband and I liked the vegetable "noodles."  They had a little bit of a crunch to them, but actually tasted like pasta which is pretty cool since they are non-starchy/lower carbohydrate vegetables vs. pasta which has 15 grams of carbohydrate for just 1/3 of a cup cooked.  I definitely would recommend spiralizing for anyone who is trying to get more vegetables in, working on reducing excess carbohydrate or just likes fun food gadgets and trying new things.  Spiralizing is no longer just for football quarter backs throwing the ball.  It's healthy, fun and delicious!  :)

It's not really a word, but they definitely should add it to the dictionary: spiralize on friends!

- run for life

yoga pants

I heard on the radio that sales in jeans were going down.  Of course they made it a cliff hanger and said, ‘after this song we will tell you what is replacing them.’  During the whole song I was wondering, what in the world could be replacing jeans sales?  They came back on and said athletic pants were increasing in sales over the years and decreasing jeans sales.  Of course!  Yoga pants!  They are AMAZING.

You can ask anyone that knows me, I love yoga pants.  Comfort > fashion.  When asked about limited budgets, I told my campers “why buy clothes when you could buy food?”  Even during pregnancy, I didn’t buy many maternity clothes (and boy, are those things expensive!).  I got mostly clothes for work like sweaters, work pants and some shirts.  Honestly, I probably didn’t need to buy even that much.  I ended up wearing yoga pants anytime I wasn’t at work or church.  And really, who doesn’t love yoga pants!?

I just started wearing my normal jeans again this last weekend, not because I couldn’t fit them, but because maternity jeans are so stretchy and comfy (closer in comfort to my beloved yoga pants).  All through pregnancy I could still pull my normal jeans on all the way, but couldn’t button them.  My belly was just too big to zip them up comfortably.  So, I turned to maternity jeans.  They are so comfy and if you remember that episode of Friends when Phoebe calls her maternity/Santa pants her Thanksgiving pants: that’s how I felt about maternity pants.  They were so stretchy and regardless of the bump, I could wear them comfortably.  Even if I did decide to eat a lot during a holiday… they would still fit and I wouldn’t need to loosen my belt or undo a button!

I attribute being able to wear them so long and very shortly after delivery to walking so much during pregnancy.  Exercise is so important!  Even with my feet swelling like crazy my legs were normal size.  Toward the last month of pregnancy I ended up wearing Nathan’s flip flops because my feet were so swollen.  How swollen were they?  Well, I went to the doctor wearing Nathan’s flip flops and mentioned my feet were swollen.  She looked down at my feet and she said, “they don’t look too bad in those shoes.”  I must have made a face because she paused and said, “wait, those are your shoes aren’t they?”  I turned my foot to the side and his feet are at least an inch or two bigger than mine so the back was much longer than my foot but they were so swollen they looked like they fit me from the front.  She laughed at me and said, “okay, you’re feet are really swollen.”  Being the nerd I am, I poked them and exclaimed, “it looks like at least 2+ pitting edema!” when the poke mark stayed indented for a while before filling back out.  I’ve heard of women saying their feet stayed bigger after pregnancy, but luckily for me, my feet returned to normal size so I didn’t have to buy new shoes.

Anyway, swelling feet don’t have much to do with my love of yoga pants other than the fact that yoga pants are awesome and comfy.  Depending on what kind of material and color, you can get away with wearing them with a nice shirt for dressier occasions!  For my yoga pants wearing friends, where do you wear your yoga pants?

For all of those moms-to-be or those who are thinking about getting pregnant, if you are worried about your pregnancy wardrobe or post-pregnancy wardrobe and have yoga pants – don’t.  Save some money and try wearing your athletic pants/yoga pants as long as you can instead of spending tons of money on maternity clothes.

For all of those who just want universal comfortable clothes - look into yoga pants!  You can go from grocery store to working out or running without changing.  Yes, it's true.  I'll say it again, I love yoga pants.

I leave you with this hilarious song: 

   

- - run for life

make time, one step at a time

As a dietitian I am always hearing about the latest diets and trends in the food world.  People will ask me questions about them or ask for advice.  Should they take a certain supplement or eat a certain way.  Honestly, not much has changed in the food world.  Granted, I’m not a fan of genetic modification and pesticides, but overall, not much has changed.

I don’t eat perfectly, but I try to make most of what my family eats myself.  I make our dough when we have pizza night (per my husband’s request we have pizza on Fridays but I feel better that I’m making it and we can put more veggies and less greasy meats on it), bread when we want bread and ice cream and waffle cones when we want ice cream.  (I probably eat more ice cream than I should and my excuse is that I am breast feeding right now.)

Often I notice that many people go entire days or even weeks without eating an actual vegetable.  It’s so easy in the American society to eat lots of carbs or meat sandwiched between carbs.  I have people tell me they don’t like vegetables or they don’t have time for them.  I think it’s important to make time.  Whether it’s an hour per week that you get off facebook or another social media site, we have time.  We make time for what is important. 

I am a busy mom myself and food preparation helps me a ton when planning what to eat or if I don’t really plan what we are going to eat, at least I have salads cut up and put into containers and peppers and onions diced for different dishes that I can throw them into.

It takes a little practice and is tough in today’s society to eat well, but it’s definitely possible.  You don’t have to go and buy completely organic or buy all fresh (frozen veggies are awesome and frozen at the peak of ripeness so they have all the nutrients and everything still in them!).  One step at a time, work on making healthier choices for you and your family.

-run for life

just keep swimming

I feel like I am dragging some day since I get up at least twice a night to feed our beautiful baby.  I try not to complain and just continue to work on getting things done, one at a time.  Yesterday I hurriedly got up and put milk into bottles and put her stuff together so my husband could drop her off at the neighbor’s while I was at work since his mom who has been watching her had a doctor’s appointment.  I double checked all of her stuff and made sure she had everything, even her bottle warmer and put the car seat out on the counter next to all of her stuff.

I was so proud of myself for making a crock pot of cranberry oatmeal (cranberries were super cheap this season, I heard there was an overabundance grown this year up north and I got 2lbs for $2.99 at Costco).  I spent some time putting most of it into a container to save for future breakfasts and threw some into a bowl for breakfast this morning.  I had laid out my clothes to wear this morning even with my socks and shoes.  (If you haven’t noticed, I like to prepare things in advance.)

I grabbed all my stuff including my breakfast and hopped into the car.  On my way to the office I ate my delicious crock pot oatmeal (I can post a recipe if you like, I didn’t really follow one and threw stuff into the crock pot but I know what I put into it and approximately how much!)  Upon my arrival my heart sank a bit.  I had forgotten to grab my lunch: a delicious salad I had prepared the other day in a lovely glass Pyrex container that seals well to keep the lettuce from browning.  I was going to have to eat the dehydrated overly processed food I kept at the office for emergencies.  I was disappointed in myself for forgetting it.  It was as if all of the preparation and everything I had done didn’t matter. 

Then 11 o’clock rolled around and the door opened, a catering person arrived!  I had been told there was no lunch today and wasn’t expecting anyone to come.  Last minute someone must have filled the slot!  Jesus provided me with lunch!  Thanks Jesus!  Our Father provides even for little needs.  I had food, it just wasn’t very healthy or tasty and He provided something better for me.

But let’s get back to the heart of the matter, why was I so hard on myself?  Why are we so hard on ourselves when we don’t do everything perfectly, get everything right or doesn’t look like a picture in a magazine or Pintrest?  I think that Satan is trying to attack us and make us feel inadequate.  I actually accomplished quite a bit!  Forgetting one thing doesn’t negate everything else I did.  (Mommy brain is real by the way!  There is a lot to remember and we are constantly multitasking.)

So friends, just remember, don’t get down on yourself if you mess up (or think you messed up, lots of times others don’t even notice and it’s just us beating ourselves up!).  We just need to dust ourselves off and try again or go onto the next task, next meal, or next day.  Or as Dori sings in Finding Nemo (I love Pixar), "just keep swimming" (and it's fun to sing too!).

- run for life