Intuitive Eating Webinar

by Caitlyn on January 21, 2012

About one year ago, when I was in my final year of undergraduate studies, one of my assignments was to interview someone who was in a place in their career that I aspired to one day be.  The assignment was for my Business Communications class, and we were being graded (by the interviewee) by how well-prepared we were for the interview and our ability to carry on a conversation.  Everyone in the class, including myself were in the College of Business.  Some were accounting majors (like myself), some were finance majors, and others were business management.  However, like you all know by now, I was already making plans to change my career so I could become a registered dietitian.So, I interviewed a registered dietitian!  (I’m assuming this took my teacher by surprise since I was an accounting major!)  The choice of which dietitian to interview was not hard…I’d was going to interview the lady who worked at the Wellness Center (my gym).  Not only does she work part-time at my gym, but she was works in a doctor’s office as their practicing dietitian and has her own nutrition counseling business.  On top of all this, she is working on earning her master’s.  Her list of accomplishments is amazing, inspiring, and motivating!  I could not have chosen a better person to interview!

We continue to keep in touch, both as friends and as my dietitian.  The other day, I sent her an update on my eating habits.  I told her how much I enjoyed reading Intuitive Eating, a concept I really had never been aware of (especially while gaining weight)!  Her response took by complete surprise…there was an online Intuitive Eating seminar next week!!   You may think me silly for getting so excited about an online seminar, but do you know how much I like this book and the method of practice that advocate?  It’s all about becoming more in tune with your body, respecting its needs with your wants/desires.  It’s ALL about balance and moderation!

The reason I tell you this is because I know a lot of you are nutrition majors, practicing dietitians, aspiring doctors with a huge interest in nutrition, or at least are very interested in health & nutrition.  I wasn’t asked to tell you this nor am I getting paid to tell you this.  I just thought you guys might find this very interesting!  Let me know if you’ll be listening to the webinar!!

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cauliflower and chickpea gratin

by Caitlyn on January 16, 2012

On Friday, I had a life changing experience.

I made a gratin for the first time ever.

The recipe came from The New Sonoma Cookbook, which was a christmas present from my parents.  If you are interested in a  cookbook that is packed with simple, nutritious recipes, this one fits the bill.  Connie Guttersen has compiled an amazing collection of recipes that literally made me want to cook straight through her book.  I have refrained myself, somehow.

I don’t remember how I settled on this recipe- it quite possibly could have been I closed my eyes and chose a page at random.  Whatever the reason, it was fate.  I was in love.   The fresh tomato sauce poured over the steaming cauliflower…all topped with salty feta cheese….

Oh baby!

Cauliflower Gratin with Chickpeas

  • 3 tbsp EVOO (I only needed 1)
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 2  14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1  15-oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced (1 T minced)
  • 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 2 T capers , rinsed and drained
  • 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped(I used 1 tsp dried)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (I omitted because I didn’t have any)
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly group pepper
  • 1 3/4 pounds cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

In a large saucepan, heat EVOO over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.  Add drained tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and garlic.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in parsley, capers, oregano, lemon juice, thyme, kosher salt, and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a covered Dutch oven, cook cauliflower in as mall amount of boiling water about 5 minutes or just until tender.  Drain and keep warm.

Transfer cauliflower to a 2- to 2 1/2-quart baking dish..  Top with hot tomato sauce.  Sprinkle with feta cheese.  Broil 3-4 inches from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.  Serve immediately.

Source:  The New Sonoma Cookbook

I splurged yesterday and bought another cookbook for my collection…Heidi Swanson’s cookbook, super natural every day.  Tonight’s dinner will feature her Black Pepper Tempeh.  It just so happens it calls for cauliflower, too.

What is your favorite cookbook, or place to find recipes?

{ 4 comments }

tree of wisdom

by Caitlyn on January 14, 2012

The other day my uncle sent me a picture with words overlaid.  It said something like this:

Choose a crummy picture.

Add a vintage tint.

Write something on it in Helvetica.

So, I chose a crummy picture.  Added a not-so vintage tint.  And wrote a lot of words on it in who-knows-what font.  I call it Le Tree de Wisdom.

These are words I try to live by everyday.  The key word being “try!”  There are days (most days) when I am lacking in one or more of these qualities.  But it’s the effort that counts, right?  In the few hours I’ve been awake today, I think I’ve accomplished almost every one.

BE ADVENTUROUS:  I tried a new recipe for breakfast…Mama Pea’s French Toast!  Make this!

BE CARING:  I haven’t done anything yet, but I plan on making Coconut GROWnola Bars for my friend who had surgery a week ago.  They are a bit overdue.

BE HAPPY:  It’s Saturday.  I have no class.  And I just finished eating french toast.  How could I not be happy?

BE YOURSELF:  Done and done.  My hairs a mess, I have no make-up on, I’m wearing shorts and an oversized sweat shirt, and by 8am I had looked at 50 recipes.  That’s about as me as it gets.

BE HONEST:  Honestly, I don’t think I can run that Tough Mudder in mid-February.  It was only 32 degrees yesterday, and in the 3 minutes it took for me to walk to my car my fingers went numb and stiff.  Now add to that freezing cold mud and water and I might as well write my eulogy.  I am going to look for a Tough Mudder in the summer or Fall.

BE MOTIVATED:  In 10 minutes, I’m headed to the gym to workout.  Weights + Climber Machine + Abs.  Argh!  And if I stay motivated throughout the day, I may have an awesome recipe to share that I made from THE NEW SONOMA COOKBOOK.

Now it’s your turn!  How have you been adventurous, caring, happy, yourself, honest, and motivated.

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jump start to my day

by Caitlyn on January 6, 2012

I literally had a jump start to my day.We’ll get to the eggs in a minute.

Yesterday morning, I decided to rekindle my youthful spirit by doing a jump rope workout.  After all, what’s more fun than waking up at 4:45am to do 1,500 jumps!  Obviously not sleep.  Actually, my reasoning for pulling out the jump rope was because my legs were sore from running the past few days.  I also need to come up with some intense, 30 minute workouts I can do once class starts next Monday.  I will continue working full-time while taking my class, so my Mondays and Wednesdays will be short on free-time.   In what little time I have in the mornings before heading to work, I plan on doing short HIIT workouts to get my blood flowing and heart pumping (and to keep in shape for the Tough Mudder). 

THE JUMP ROPE WORKOUT 

  • 100 jump ropes
  • 25 regular crunches (or sit ups)
  • 100 jump ropes
  • 15 bicep curls to overhead press *
  • 100 jump ropes
  • 30 lunges with 12 lb weight in each hand
  • 100 jump ropes
  • 20 side kicks per leg (think Karate Kid)
  • 100 jump ropes
  • 15 tricep extensions on exercise ball
  • 200 jump ropes
  • 100 bicycle crunches
  • 200 jump ropes
  • 15 bicep curls to overhead press *
  • 200 jump ropes
  • 30 lunges with 12 lb weight in each hand
  • 200 jump ropes
  • 20 side kicks (each leg)
  • 200 jump ropes
  • 15 tricep extensions on exercise ball

 *Next time I do this workout, I will replace this exercise with 10-15 burpees.

 This workout may look intimidating, but it’s totally doable and very fun.  The inspiration for this workout came from my brother, who did 1,000 continuous jumps for time (I can’t recall how long it took him).  There was no way I was going to get my legs to do 1,000 jumps in a row, so I broke it up by doing exercises after every 100 or 200 jumps.  This workout will go by really quickly if you go through it uninterrupted.  I stopped  twice to take a sip of water.  Next time I plan on doing it for time to see if I can make improvement.  You can adjust this workout as necessary so it is challenging for you fitness level.

The goal is to have fun.

And then to fuel yourself afterwards.Now, savory foods like scrambled eggs are not my preferred morning fare.  But after this workout, that seemed to be what I was in the mood for.    I toasted some minced dried onion on the skillet right before adding the eggs.  Once the eggs were poured on the skillet, I stirred in some McCormick’s Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoning.  I’m not sure if it was the Seasoning or the onion, but these were the best eggs I have made in a long time.  Now if only I could have enough time every morning to have a breakfast like this!

Scrambled eggs

(1 whole egg + 2 egg whites + Dried Minced Onion + McCormick’s Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning)

Toast + Avocado + Oregano

Fruit & Red Peppers

Share your favorite workout!

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Goals for 2012: Fitness

4 January 2012

And my list of goals for 2012 continues!  I wasn’t kidding when I said I was taking this year’s resolutions seriously.  Today I want to share my FITNESS goals for the new year – or more appropriately, my FITNESS challenges.  Exercising has never been a chore for me.  I have always been either running around the house like [...]

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Goals for 2012: Food

3 January 2012

The first time I made New Years Resolutions was last year.  I did not take it very seriously.  In fact, I can’t even remember what my resolutions were for 2011.  I would have to go back to that blog post to remind myself.    This year, I decided to take it seriously.   After all, I enjoy making lists and love [...]

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memories of christmas past

29 December 2011

I love to reminisce on the days when I was young, innocent, and my only worry was whether I would be allowed to play outside after the sun went down.  This christmas, my brother thought it would be funny to make fun of how excited I used to get about Christmas- I was completely and absolutely infatuated [...]

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becoming an intuitive eater

17 December 2011

They say that the best way to reach your goal is by telling other people.  So, after sitting on this post overnight, pondering over what I should write, I have decided to share my goal with you.  My goal for the next forevers is to make and eat less sweets and breads.  Over the past [...]

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sweet potato brownies (or fudge) with coconut and white chocolate

9 December 2011

10 Things I Thought While Making Sweet Potato Brownies 1.  Man I want to stick my face in this bowl of brownie batter. 2.  Oh look, I got brownie batter all over my hand.  Darn! 3.  I hope no one comes into the kitchen right now because it looks like I’m making out with my hand. 4.  [...]

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melted cinnamon chip cookies

8 December 2011

It’s not what it looks like.Or maybe it is, depending on what you’re thinking. If you thought melted cinnamon chips poured on top of addicting cinnamon-and-almond-butter cookie dough, you were right.The only thing I wanted to do tonight was perfect the dough I used in the cinnaBOMB cookies.  As much as I liked the cookies, the dough [...]

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