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Thanksgiving 2013 Recap

December 1, 2013

I can’t believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone. I had such a great day. To start it off I made a “Thanks Giving” list of the things that I’m grateful for. On it I included my health, my God given purpose, and definitely this blog. I’m so grateful to have a space where I can express myself, share my interests, and hopefully connect with people. My contribution to the menu was mashed potatoes which turned out to be a delicious, last minute addition. My sister and I tag teamed it! I tried my best not to go crazy but with sweet potato cornbread muffins, sweet potato pie, and peach cobbler it was a challenge to say the least! I’m not even a big peach cobbler person but my sister did an amazing job. All of the food was great. Sorry that I didn’t take more pictures but my focus was on eating and trying not to immediately fall asleep afterwards.

Now I can’t talk about Thanksgiving without mentioning Black Friday. Really though, we should start calling it Black Thursday. Most of the deals I saw including those at Target, Walmart, and Best Buy, started on Thursday. Each year these sales and doorbusters start earlier and earlier. It’s gotten completely out of hand. Pretty soon people will be packing their Thanksgiving meals in lunch boxes and eating while they’re lined up outside (some people probably did that this year). Yes, the deals may be good, and I do love a good deal, but some things should be sacred. I didn’t do any “Black Friday” deals shopping per se but I did do some shopping (and yes it was actually on Friday). I went to two stores and got some beautiful jewelry and a great weekender bag.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you get any good stuff during Black Friday? Tell me about in the comments!

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Food

Culinary Pursuits: Bowlful of Veggie Goodness

November 11, 2013

Despite the name, this one does have meat! However, the veggies are inarguably the star of this dish. It is so good. There’ll be leftovers so this would make a great lunch for the entire week.

Ingredients:

12 ounce bag of green beans (steam in bag, Walmart)

12 ounce bag of broccoli and cauliflower (steam in bag, Walmart)

1 medium sized squash

3 sweet potatoes

8 ounce container of spinach

4 chicken sausage links

Crumbled goat cheese to sprinkle on top

Seasoning: lemon pepper, ground rosemary, and Italian seasoning

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Slice three sweet potatoes (see picture above for how I sliced mine).

Toss with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and ground cinnamon.

Cook sweet potatoes for 40-50 minutes. Check periodically and spray them with extra virgin olive oil spray or non-stick canola oil midway through cooking to keep them from getting dry.

Slice squash and toss in one tablespoon of olive oil (see picture for how I sliced mine).

Season squash with lemon pepper, ground rosemary, and Italian seasoning.

Put squash in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Microwave broccoli and cauliflower according to package instructions.

Microwave green beans according to package instructions.

Season the broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans with the same seasonings used for the squash and add them to the oven on top of the squash to let them finish cooking. The squash had been cooking for ~13 minutes by this time.

Let the vegetables cook for another 10-15 minutes.

While your veggies are in the oven, cook your spinach on medium heat until they wilt (~2-3 minutes). Chop sausage links and add them to the cooked spinach and let cook at medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Once everything is done cooking, assemble.

If you don’t care about presentation, then you can just throw a little bit of everything in the bowl, add some goat cheese on top and enjoy.

If you want to capture this lovely meal for Instagram, then do this: Add your broccoli, cauliflower, and squash first, add sweet potatoes around the rim. Put your sausage and spinach on top and sprinkle on some goat cheese.

You’ve practiced incredible restraint so far…enjoy!

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Food Style

Weekend Chronicles: Back to Atlanta

October 2, 2013

Top: Kohl’s – Rock & Republic, Vest & Ring: Forever 21, Pants, Bag, and Watch: Asos, Shoes: Steve Madden

Cardigan: H&M, Jumpsuit: Forever 21, Shoes: Topshop, Purse: American Threads, Watch: Asos

Cardigan: H&M, Top & Skirt: Forever 21, Shoes: Steve Madden

The Food…

Salmon Salad from Mirko’s

Flaming Joy Roll from Kiku’s

The Park

This past weekend I took a trip to Atlanta to meet up with some friends from school. In the two quick years of my program, I made a home for myself there so it was difficult having to leave after graduation. Going back felt so good. It also didn’t hurt that the weather was gorgeous throughout the entire trip. The first night a group of us had a mini reunion catching each other up on work and life. The next few days involved movies, homecoming, a lovely stroll through a park, and eating at some of our favorite restaurants. One of the highlights for me though was definitely the park. It always takes some people by surprise when they learn that I love nature and being outside. It has such a calming effect on me. The park was breathtaking. It’s the kind of setting you’d expect to see in a Hallmark movie. The pictures certainly don’t do it justice. I was kind of bummed that I didn’t know about it when I was in school. It would have been a nice oasis when I was working on my thesis! Needless to say, having to leave on Sunday was bittersweet. I’m consoled by the fact that I’ll be back for more visits and shenanigans. I hope you all had a great weekend!

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Food

Confessions of a Reformed Picky Eater

August 31, 2013

For the greater part of my life I was the pickiest of picky eaters. If it wasn’t Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Ramen noodles, or buffalo wings I was not interested. As a kid you can kind of get a pass on being a picky eater, but I had long surpassed the age of acceptability for pickiness. Towards the end of my first year in graduate school, a friend of mine suggested sushi for dinner. I gave her my, “I’ll pass” face and quickly suggested other options. I didn’t like sushi and somehow I knew this even though I had never tried it before. Fortunately, my friend was very convincing. She had been to this sushi place and was certain that I’d like it if I gave it a try. Begrudgingly, I went already planning where I’d stop to eat later. After about ten minutes of fumbling with my chopsticks I managed to get a roll in my mouth. There was this crazy explosion of flavors and textures. It was kind of amazing. I had just discovered the awesomeness that is sushi. What else was I missing out on?

These are just a few of the foods I never would have tried before but now love. From top left: blackened tilapia with mashed sweet potatoes and strawberry & poppyseed chicken salad. From bottom left : honey habanero bbq sauce (amazeballs!), quinoa and spinach salad with carrot ginger miso dressing, and apple butter!

The truth is being a picky eater does not serve our bodies well. The human body performs a wide variety of functions so it makes sense that we need to eat a wide variety of foods to help it do so. With all kinds of conflicting diet information swirling around, the one thing that nutrition research has consistently shown is that a healthy diet is a balanced one. There’s nothing wrong with having your staple items, but don’t be afraid to add new foods to the mix. I really enjoy going to places like Trader Joe’s or World Market and picking up new items. Each time I go grocery shopping or out to eat I’m excited by the prospect of trying something new and having that “sushi” moment all over again.

With Labor Day weekend festivities in full effect, now is the perfect time to be adventurous and try some new foods. What are some foods you love now, but never would have touched before? Tell me about it in the comments!

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