Hummus Fan

Are you a fan of hummus? I am! It's so easy to make, too.

Homemade Hummus
1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (I prefer Eden Foods brand)
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove

Combine ingredients in a food processor and whirl it up until smooth but still a little chunky. Slather on a tortilla, fresh veggies or whatever else your heart desires.

Here's what it looks like:

For my lunch yesterday I put some hummus on a tortilla and added some lettuce, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese and a splash of balsamic vinegar. It was really good. I topped off my lunch with some tangerines and chocolate.

What's your favorite flavor of hummus and what do you put it on?

Pancakes? Yes, Please!

Every couple of weeks or so I'll whip up a batch of pancakes. This is probably one of my husband's favorite meals EVER and he gets so excited when I tell him it's time for pancakes. We've visited a restaurant in the Bay Area that serves pancakes with blueberries and wheat germ. The restaurant calls them Blue Germs.

Here's my version. Oh yes, and they're vegan, too! You gotta serve them with something sweet though because they aren't made with any sugar.

Vegan Blue Germ Pancakes - Serves 2 Hungry People
1 1/2 cups of unsweetened soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 teaspoons toasted wheat germ

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Stir in blueberries so they don't clump. Mix in soy milk and vanilla. Let batter sit for 5 minutes. In the meantime, heat up the griddle. Use a ladle to pour batter onto griddle. Sprinkle wheat germ on pancakes before flipping. Cook on each side about 4-5 minutes. Serve with maple syrup and enjoy the deliciousness.

The Cost of Health?

I do most of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's or the farmer's market. About once a month, I visit my local health food store to stock up on essentials I can't get elsewhere. I keep a list for several weeks until it gets big enough to warrant a trip there. I usually budget to spend over $100 on these trips. Yesterday was no exception. Here's most of what I got:

Not pictured was some wheatgrass for the cats, more soymilk, some white wine vinegar and more cans of beans. It doesn't seem like much for $100, but I did buy a supplement that cost $25 so I guess that's why. I'm pretty good about not buying things on impulse, I pretty much stick to my list.

I don't keep a real close count on my food budget, except for eating out at restaurants which I really try not to do because it's so expensive (among other reasons). From what I can tell from studying public health nutrition so far though, food costs are a big, big concern for many Americans.

I was just doing some research this morning for a project on how to get Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables. The number one reason in one study I found was the prohibitive cost of produce. I didn't start eating fruits and vegetables until I understood how beneficial for my health they are. While the cost and availability isn't a barrier for me, I still struggle with taking the time to prepare vegetables and making them taste good.

If you aren't eating enough fruits and vegetables or haven't in the past, what are or were some of your reasons?

A Good Sign

It has to be a good sign that Michelle Obama is committing herself to fighting childhood obesity, right? I'm hopeful she can make some important changes. She said she wants to use a "ground up" approach and will release details of her plan next week.

Last night for dinner I was craving pizza. I made some whole wheat pizza dough in my bread maker and then made an easy pizza sauce using these ingredients:

2 cans of tomato sauces, 3 cloves garlic, 1 onion, dried oregano, salt and pepper and olive oil (not pictured). I simmered it all together for about 15 minutes and had a really easy, yummy sauce. This recipe made enough sauce for about 6-8 pizzas so I froze the rest for use in the future.

I topped my pizza with the sauce, some parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and thin slices of 1 tomato. Here it is!

The hubby and I were both hungry so we split the pizza with a side salad and called it a night.

What are your favorite non-meat pizza toppings?

Childhood Obesity Summit

I attended a Childhood Obesity Summit in my community yesterday. The focus of the event was to help educate practitioners about what we can do about this problem. It was really informative and furthered my interest in this topic. I didn't take any photos of the event, mainly because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. :)

I did come away with some good factoids about childhood obesity. It's such a complex issue with so many causes, but here's what I learned:

• 44% of adolescents in California are overweight or obese.
• From 2006-2009, the rate of children from ages 3-5 who are overweight increased by 30%.
• In California, 56% of adults are overweight or obese.
• In my county, 67% of adolescents and 42% of children drink one or more sodas a day.
• Soda is the number one source of added sugar in the American diet.

The research on soda was presented as part of a new campaign in my area called "Re-Think Your Drink." It's about educating people about the amount of sugar in sodas, fruit drinks and sports drinks.

Obviously, limiting sugar-sweetened beverages is just one tactic to try and address childhood obesity. There are so many other issues including: physical activity, socioeconomic status, culture, genetics, environment, etc. It's easy to get overwhelmed.

One of the registered dietitians who spoke at the event noted how important it is for adults to model healthy behavior for kids. That includes things like: eating fruits and vegetable, not watching too much tv, exercising, not drinking sodas, etc.

I don't have kids so I'm not around them that much. What are your thoughts on how we can help save our children from this epidemic?

Welcome New Readers!

Just wanted to welcome any new readers from my guest post over at Finding Radiance. You can see it here: Finding Radiance guest post. I really like Lori's blog, she's funny and smart and has great input about living a healthy lifestyle.

So in case anyone thought I was a total earth mama from all of my posts about eating organic and all that, you'll be relieved to know that I spent 3 hours last week at the hair salon getting chemicalized (not a real word). In other words, the grey is gone. I spent another hour the next day getting my face peeled and all that good girl stuff.

I snapped this photo yesterday on my way out to a movie. I usually like my hair blonder, but this is closer to my natural color. I love having short hair, it's so easy to maintain!

After the movie yesterday, I hoofed my way to the chocolate store in San Luis Obispo. This particular store makes and sells organic and fair-trade chocolate. I love this place!!! It's called Sweet Earth Chocolates: Sweet Earth Chocolates. And, no, I'm not sponsored by them; I would eat them out of house and home if you know what I mean.

I bought 3 chocolate bars and this bag of chocolate nibs:

I had some nibs after lunch today and they were okay, not super duper. I guess I really just like the straight chocolate.

In case you're a new reader, rest assured that I don't normally just talk about my looks and my chocolate. If you come back to my blog, you'll (hopefully) find healthy recipes and other ideas I have about healthy living. I also love to get other people's input.

Tomorrow I'm attending a local summit on childhood obesity, I am very excited and hope to learn a lot there.

Feeding the Monster

I love having a good appetite and nothing stirs it up for me quite like a good workout at the gym. This morning I did 45 minutes of an hour-long spinning class and it was a fairly intense workout session for me.

As a rule, I usually try to be active about an hour a day, but I'm not a hard-core athlete or anything. Most of my workouts are walking on the treadmill or doing the elliptical combined with weight machines. I've also started doing yoga for an hour a week and I do spinning once or twice a week.

I satisfied the hunger monster with some chickpea burgers in a whole-wheat pita and a small salad on the side. I got the burger recipe from the Eating Well website: Chickpea Burger recipe. I've never made falafel before, but I think the recipes might be similar. These burgers were amazing and I am constantly surprised by the different flavors and uses of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans).

I topped off my lunch with a serving of homemade chocolate pudding. Finally, I was full!

This afternoon looks to include a movie and maybe some shopping. Hope everyone is enjoying the last of the weekend!

Back to the Market

Yesterday was a beautiful day as the winter storms have passed (for now) and the sun is shining again here in California. I was happy to see that the weekly farmer's market was in full swing and the farmers had plenty of produce to sell in spite of the bad weather last week.

I got to the market about 20 minutes before closing but I was able to find everything I needed and more:

I bought: 12 apples, 3 avocados, 2 tomatoes, bag of kiwi fruit, bunch of kale, scallions, parsley, brussels sprouts and 3 heads of lettuce.

The apples promptly went into the crock pot for applesauce and the sprouts I roasted as a side dish with dinner. Today for lunch I'm planning a salad with the lettuce, and I'll use the rest of my bounty over the next several days.

What have you been cooking lately? Any winter seasonal recipes?

P.S. Did anyone catch Michael Pollan on Oprah yesterday? He was eloquent and insightful as always.

Rainy Day Pizza

We're on our 5th straight day of rain here in California. We need it though so I can't complain. Also, I started my new semester of classes so it's a good excuse for me to buckle down and focus on the work I need to do.

This semester I am taking: Public Health Nutrition and Application of Social and Behavioral Theories in Public Health Interventions. Both classes are very interesting and I'm learning a lot. One thing I learned this week: 7 out of 10 American adults are obese or overweight. Talk about a public health nightmare...we gotta fix this.

The rain has also motivated me to get to the gym every day this week. This morning I went to a spinning class. Wow, does that ever work up an appetite! For lunch I made pizza and a salad (I ate two slices of pizza BTW):

Making pizza dough is easy, especially if you have a bread maker. It's just flour, yeast and water (I use an equal proportion of whole wheat and white flour). I topped mine with sauteed onions, garlic and bell pepper and slices of mozzarella cheese. One of my best pizzas ever.

Are there any other homemade pizza-makers out there? What are some of your favorite toppings?

Snacktime!

I usually need a snack around 3 p.m. I try to pair some protein with carbs so my blood sugar stays steady and I feel satisfied. I'm guessing my snacks usually range in the 200-250 calorie range. 

Today I had some leftover green smoothie from breakfast and a small homemade granola bar. 

I made the granola bars yesterday using the recipe from Barefoot Contessa: Homemade Granola Bar Recipe from Ina Garten. The only substitutions I made were: used the brown sugar SplendaBlend, used Earth Balance fake butter and subbed chocolate chips for the chopped dates.

These were really good. They made a lot but I froze most of them.

Are there any other snackers out there? I just can't NOT eat from lunch until dinner!?!

Alternative to Breakfast Cereal

Sorry for the blurry photo but I didn't want to use the flash. This is my new favorite breakfast! It is oatmeal that is soaked overnight in soymilk. I use about 1/2 cup of oats and 1/2 cup of milk. Just mix together and put in the fridge. Then, in the morning I heat it in the microwave for about 2 minutes with some frozen blueberries. I top it with some agave syrup and almond butter. Soooooo delicious and filling. Additionally, the oats are considered whole grains whereas most cereals contain flours.

Couldn't resist posting this picture of my cat Xena playing in her new $4 tunnel toy from Ikea. She loves it!

Fix It and Forget It

One of the most frequent questions I get when I tell people that I study nutrition is "tell me what I should be eating." It's amazing to me that we don't get better nutrition training in school. I'm no exception; I really didn't know anything about it until I decided to do a career change to this field.

I'm not a registered dietitian though so I'm not qualified to give specific advice to people. Nor do I want that role: it is really hard to tell people how to eat.

What I would say though is that eating right takes preparation. I have found that my meals are a lot healthier and tastier when I have what I need in my pantry as opposed to just throwing something together.

Lately I've been using my crock pot and it works out really well when I have a busy afternoon planned. It's so awesome to walk in the door and smell a lovely, hot dinner all ready for me to serve and eat.

Yesterday I made a simple dessert with the apples I got at the farmer's market. I just chopped them up and mixed them with some Splenda Sugarblend, cinnamon, lemon juice and vanilla. A few hours later and I had a warm, comforting dessert.

Here's a photo of me in action with my applesauce-making:

Do you use a crock pot and, if so, what's your favorite recipe?

Green Machine Smoothie

I was inspired by other blog authors a few months back to start adding greens to my morning smoothie. I started with just a few pieces of raw baby spinach to what I use now: handfuls of steamed spinach and kale. In the words of my mother, "that does not sound very appetizing." I know it sounds gross but I can assure you it's not!

Here's what I put in my smoothie now.

Green Machine Smoothie - Serves 2
1 frozen banana
2 cups vanilla soymilk
1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
6 frozen strawberries
4 chunks frozen mango
2 chunks frozen papaya
1/2 cup oatmeal (uncooked)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 dates
1/4 cup oat bran
3 tablespoons hemp protein powder
large handful of steamed spinach
4-5 steamed kale leaves

Blend all of the ingredients together and enjoy the greenness.

Slow Down

When was the last time you watched a sunrise or sunset? I don't do it often enough, but I find it very relaxing when I do. I think it's the time when nature is the most magical.

Here are a few photos of a sunset I caught this weekend. The weather was changing so a wind picked up and some clouds rolled through.

With so many of us suffering from stress-related conditions, I encourage everyone to slow down at least once a day and enjoy our surroundings. Don't I look less stressed? :)

Back On Track

Do you ever go through phases when you're not eating right and you don't even realize it until later? I've been bad about visiting my local sources for produce and I can't bring myself to buy produce that comes from South America when I know I can get it locally. The result was an overall blah feeling for the past several days and an intense craving for freshness.

Fortunately, today I got my tookus over to the farmers' market and stocked up. It helped that it's in the low 70s now; it feels like summer and it was so nice to walk around (I'm sorry to any readers outside of California reading this but our weather is freakin awesome). I bought:

• 1 bottle of local olive oil
• 12 apples (I'm making applesauce with most of them)
• 4 kiwi fruit
• 1 butternut squash
• 2 yams
• 1 box of blackberries (I was so surprised to find berries at this time of year!)

Now that's a start. I used the olive oil to make hummus that I put in a wrap for lunch:

My wrap consisted of: tortilla, fresh mozzarella slices, hummus, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sun-dried tomatoes and lettuce. I served it with a side of the berries.

I was reminded today of how rewarding it is to make fresh, healthy meals. How do you stay healthy during the winter months?