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Channeling My Inner Domestic Goddess September 26, 2012

Posted by cirellih in Baking, Food, Goals, Health.
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There are some days where I feel as though in order to be productive, I need to create something physical.  When I am finished completing my project, there needs to be something that I can see, feel, or taste as proof that I accomplished something! Today was just one of those days.

Yesterday evening, I had started making apple butter… not realizing that it takes ten hours of baking to finish. Yes, you read that correctly… 10 hours!!! This stuff had better be delicious.  So this morning, I woke up, and immediately turned on the oven and popped in my spiced apple puree to get the process going. Ten hours of low and slow cooking, stirring, and canning later:

In the mean time, as the apple butter was doing its’ thang, I decided to make some raspberry jam… as you do. Raspberries were on sale last week, what could I do? Now, jam and I don’t really get along. I forget this until  I am smack dab in the middle of the process where there is no turning back.  Usually when the jam starts boiling, and I’m supposed to be checking to make sure it is at the perfect temperature. It was at this point that I again remembered that jamming is no fun. As I stirred the boiling jam, it turned angry and violent, splashing ridiculously hot stickyness on me. Not cool, jam, not cool. But the end result seemed to turn out deliciously… can’t really complain!

As the jam jars were cooling, I decided to bottle my brewed kombucha. Fingers crossed that this turns out to be fantastic! This batch took my 21 days to ferment, and I have to wait another 5 days before I can try it! For those of you who may not know, kombucha is a fermented tea that is brewed using a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). Sounds gross, but it is delicious, and supposedly has lots of health benefits. For my kombucha, I decided to have one bottle of original flavor, one bottle of ginger flavor, and one raspberry-lemon-ginger flavor. As I said, hopefully this is delicious stuff, because I have another gallon brewing as I write this.

Doesn’t everything look so pretty? I definitely felt as though I had accomplished a lot! Look at all my goodies!

A Little Hot, A Little Cold May 4, 2012

Posted by cirellih in Food, Health, Lunch.
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I really appreciate my neighborhood. I love that it’s residential with lots of trees, parks and trails nearby. I enjoy the fact that we have a library and shopping center across the street. And I particularly like that the shopping center includes a grocery store.

One of the greatest purchases that I can make in said grocery store is in the produce section. There is a bulk bin of salad greens and baby spinach. I love that I can purchase the perfect amount of flavorful greens for a salad. I don’t always manage to eat a whole head of lettuce before it goes bad, so this is the perfect solution for me.

Recently, I have been on a couscous kick. In salads, I find it particularly delicious to have warm couscous on a bed of cool baby greens. Add in some carrots, peppers, and tomatoes… you’ve got yourself a fantastic salad!

Doesn’t this just scream summer? So refreshing and comforting at the same time. The couscous is garlic and olive oil flavored, so I sprinkled a small amount of olive oil, salt, and pepper over the lettuce for a cohesive flavor.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Pedometer Power January 26, 2012

Posted by cirellih in Exercise, Food, Goals, Health, Lunch, Motivation, Moving.
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I have recently acquired a pedometer. This may seem like a mundane piece of information, but it is shaping up to be a pretty exciting purchase.

The goal: 10,000 steps per day.

The reality: Trying to beat my record of 15,573 steps from the weekend.

Who would have thought a pedometer could be so addicting? It’s a great way to get motivated!

Apparently, I have not changed much since grade school. I was the type of student who lived for stickers. Tell me that I need to get a certain number of stickers on my homework to get a prize… I would do extra credit out the wazoo. A great student pencil for doing well on a test, I was so there.

Now on my pedometer, I have a little animated person who lifts their digital arms in the international symbol of victory:

This, my friends, is all I need to make me want to reach the 10,000 step goal each day. I only have 8,254 steps? Let’s go for a walk Oliver! It might seem silly, but it works.

For lunch today, I needed some power foods to get me through the afternoon. Lentil soup from my co-worker definitely fit the bill for a hearty, stick to you ribs kind of meal.

Curry Lentil Soup:

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp cumin powder or seed
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cube vegetable bouillon
  • 1 lb lentils

Directions:

  1. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil and margarine in a saucepan until tender.
  2. Add the spices and saute for one minute.
  3. Add the water, bouillon, and lentils.
  4. Cook until the lentils are tender. About one hour.

A side of garlic bread, and I definitely was ready to go on that extra-long walk in the afternoon. The soup was perfect. Nice and thick with lots of spices and onions. Great for a cold winter day!

Attempting to Bounce Back September 13, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Food, Health, Lunch.
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Work has been getting steadily busier. This is both a blessing and a difficulty.

I love being busy. Love it! Really, there is nothing I like less than having nothing to do. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like having nothing to do on the weekends and vacation, but at certainly not at work!

Sadly, for the past week a cold has managed to set in and keep me from being my normal chipper self. This means that for the past week, my diet has consisted of nothing but soup. It certainly soothes a sore throat, but when it comes from a can, it doesn’t make for the greatest of posts.

Today was the first day in a while that I felt like eating anything that was in a solid form. Roast beef wrap with horseradish… a good way to clear out the sinuses!

Lettuce, tomato, provolone, horseradish and roast beef. A side of grapes, definitely does the body good! Hopefully this means that I’m on the up and up!

Trying to Beat the Heat August 30, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Breakfast, Health.
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It has been incredibly hot here recently. September is just around the corner. I’m looking forward to fall!

Cool weather, crisp air, leaves changing… it all sounds so lovely!

I decided to pretend that it actually is fall and eat oatmeal for breakfast. This is something that I usually reserve for days that start in 50* or cooler weather.  Today however, I had strawberries, peach preserves that I made, and ripe bananas.

The combined result was delicious:

I’m not so sure if the banana worked in the oatmeal. The strawberries and peaches were so sweet, but the banana seemed a little flat in comparison. Next time, I think that I might leave the banana out the next time I try the mix!