Monday, November 14, 2011

Make Me Smile Monday

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." 
-George Bernard Shaw
Not homesick but definitely familysick -- only one more week :)

One of my favorite websites is TinyBuddha. If you’ve never checked it out please do! It’s full of inspirational articles and quotes as well as beautiful pictures, a few of which have taken turns as my computer wallpaper (yes I’m one of those people with landscape backgrounds). An article that caught my eye and slowed me down to think was Lori Deschene’s 50 Things to Love about Life that Are Free. Be sure to give yourself a break today and go through this list. It’ll help put things in perspective and give you that inner boost to get through this last week before Thanksgiving.

For today’s Make Me Smile Monday, instead of funny pictures and videos, I decided to do a list of images that bring me happiness or have special meaning in my life. Have a great Monday! 

Conan!

Park by my house back home

Milan Hejduke -- I laced my skates up back-to-back with him

Small mountain town I grew up going to
Mmmm coffee and hot chocolate poured by a very cute coffee guy

Rose at a table in Austria: Completely in love with it
 --Kelli

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Lovin' in the kitchen - Sunday Paper

I found this article and thought it was cute and relevant. Many people who feel strongly about something will forget it in search of other characteristics in a partner..but when it comes down to it they're just not compatible. Food and cooking are at the top of my list. Food is so important that having a bond over it makes a relationship even more special.

Luckily my boyfriend and I share a love for food and cooking..although I don't think I'll ever be at his level with spicy food (Who actually likes jalepenos?) We love spending time in the kitchen together even if we occasionally get in each other's way.
Our food from a trip to the Roxy's Grilled Cheese truck!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Taking on Luna

Energy bars seem to be the latest craze. The supermarket shelves are stocked with millions of different kinds. Clif? Luna? Which to choose? These are great for a quick on-the-go snack and as someone with a crazy schedule I can appreciate that.

But as someone with a soy allergy I can't appreciate their crazy list of ingredients..most energy bars contain some sort of soy, and while my allergy is mild, I prefer to stay away..I don't want to have to bust out the EpiPen.

When I decided that I wanted to try making my own energy bars at home I found tons of recipes for LaraBars (which I love and will probably post about at a later date) and for Clif Bars (which were ok but I wasn't super interested in making). I wanted to try Luna Bars - the ones I've tried tasted great and the just seemed fun to make. I found ONE recipe! In all of the interwebs..only one. Of course it was from the fabulous Chocolate Covered Katie! I eliminated the protein powder and chocolate and used honey as my sweetner. I think I'm going to try again with some maple syrup - yum! The original recipe can be found here.

I stored mine in the fridge after taking them from the freezer and cutting them. They were good! They tasted like healthy peanut butter rice krispy treats..and I was perfectly ok with that!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Fried Rice: More Healthy and Quick than Authentic

Looks like fall is here for another week!

I'm wearing shorts. And it's November. Remember how excited I was that it was snowing two weekends ago? Well I'm almost just as happy to not have to wear jeans right now. As much as I love snow, I hate wearing long pants. Shorts and dresses are just so much more comfortable to be in -- but then again I'm probably one of the few people who prefers to sit cross-legged even on chairs. In addition to the weather being gorgeous, my week has been awesome due to the go-ahead from my physical therapist to start doing walk-jog intervals! I did my first one yesterday and I was in 100% pure bliss. Running past Fenway, along the fens, then down a street I never knew existed, nothing was in my head other than "I'm so happy. Man, this is awesome" repeating over and over again. Unfortunately, on my second jogging interval my knee flared up and I had to stop (may be possibly due to I only did a 1min walking interval instead of the full 5 minutes like I was supposed to. . .). None the less it felt just so refreshing to be out running again. The eliptical is fine, but nothing beats just running without a preplanned route. It keeps me excited energies to pick a random street to go down and explore. I'm going to try again Friday (since tomorrow is supposed to be gross) so hopefully it goes even better!
At my first 10-K this summer. I definitely recommend the Wharf-to-Wharf for a first race!

Recently I've been STARVING at lunch, but with only an hour break I haven't broken out any official recipes. The next couple of weeks are pretty calm for me, so I promise to start getting more interesting stuff up on here, but for now I want to show you a not-so-pretty-yet-indcredibly-filling-healthier version of fried rice that I've been making.

There's no real "ingredient" list, basically as long as you have rice or quinoa and 3 eggs (1 whole egg and 2 egg whites), you can use whatever veggies you ahve in your frdige or freezer.

What I did:

1. In a skillet sautee green pepper slices, garlic, and frozen corn and brocolli with 1 Tbsp of oilve oil. Once the vegetables are tender, add in 1/2 cup (or as much as you're hungry for) of left-over brown rice, tomatoes, and spinach. I added a couple tablespoons of water to soften the rice a bit.
2. Turn the heat down to medium. Make a well in the middle of the rice mixture. Pour 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg into the well. Let cook until the whites start to set then stir it all together. Continue to cook until the yolk is cooked through.
3. Place into your favorite bowl. I added hot sauce to mine, but I'm sure reduced sodium soy sauce would also be really good!

I know the picture is a little scarey, but trust me it's very tasty and gives you a quick protein boost to get you through your last few classes or last half of your work day.



In community nutrition today we learned about various lesson plan ideas for teaching nutrition to school children. Aren't these mice adorable?!

Have a great day -- you're halfway through the week!!

--Kelli

Monday, November 7, 2011

Make Me Smile Monday 11/7



 

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,’ said Piglet at last, ‘what’s the first thing you say to yourself?’ ‘What’s for breakfast?’ said Pooh. ‘What do you say, Piglet?’ ‘I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?’ said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. ‘It’s the same thing,’ he said.”
- A. A. Milne, ‘The House at Pooh Corner’


"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are." -Marianne Williamson


"Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful." -Thich Nhat Hanh


“When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.” -Walt Disney

Have a  beautiful Monday! 

--Kelli