Pearly Vine

We just had a wonderful family vacation.  And I could have made healthier choices but opted for indulgence.  In the moment indulgence is divine - but the aftermath not as fun.  I feel overstuffed, overcrowded, and out of sorts.  But when one is in New Orleans there are many yummy temptations and I tended to fall for everyone.  However we are back home and back on the healthfull track!!! Routines, familiar ground, and cozy comforts are within easy reach!  Our first matter of business was to have healthy produce at the ready which also meant produce of the week!  We spent the afternoon shopping after my son and I had a sleep in morning do to our vacation colds - BOO!  One of our quick purchases of today was pearl tomatoes on the vine from Trader Joe's. (love this place!!!)  For supper my husband baked a beautiful salmon, with roasted brussel sprouts (my fave - honest to goodness one of the best finds of our new produce of the week - definitely a staple around here!!!) and dirty rice.  I am not the biggest fan of dirty rice.  I enjoy it but feel it really doesn't satisfy me as an entree and rarely can think of a good meal where it can play side dish.  Tonight's dinner worked.  And to sweeten up dirty rice which texturally can be a little heavy and "dark" tasting.  I chose to just dice up the tomatoes real quick and threw one into my rice and delicious.  It added a sweetness and a bright note to the heavy side dish.  This is a great find for me.  Because I have an odd palate when it comes to tomatoes.  I like tomato based sauces but not a fan of just the tomato (unless of course it is Bob the Tomato from Veggie Tales in that instance - HUGE FAN!!!) .  I find a lot of tomatoes to be sour, sometimes bitter.  I like them as thin slices on a burger or the sweet little bombs in a salad.  But salsa, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and of course ketchup - delicious!  There are just few tomatoes though that taste yummy out of the gate for me.  These pearl tomatoes on the vine were a great note to the supper.  They added a touch of sweetness, a dash of sour, and just lifted the heavy side dish. 

Also it is nice to add a fruit/vegetable to the mix without too much fuss.  That's when it becomes difficult to broaden our tastes.  If the healthy alternative costs too much, requires too much effort, or just tastes nasty we let the excuses and the negativity turn us off and choose the familiar junk food because its cheap, easy, and we have convinced ourself tasty (which if you turn off the tv, close your eyes and really focus on the choices we eat - you will be shocked how little you like most of those comfort choices.  I have been - (but still am guily of reaching for these items out of simple familiarity)!
However I try to focus on the positive.  I may stall out.  I sometimes even take three steps backward.  But I remind myself every moment I can do better.  If I lose my footing and trail three steps - I need to try to push myself forward at least four steps and take no less than three.  Little by little as the Little Engine that could proved I think I can I think I can eventually will turn into I did it -  I did it!!!

So lets crush these tomatoes and improve our health together.  Don't let the vines tangle you but carry you closer to your goals.  May your HealthFULL journey be full of pearls of wisdom, precious gems, and the occasional irritant that turns beautiful with a little extra effort. 'Til we meet again. . .

A Fruit and a Root

I haven't posted our new produce but we have still been sampling a nutritious variety of yummy treats.  I tried a real exotic fruit last week - an apple.  Stop the crazy train, right?  :)  Yes I have had an apple a time or two in my life but not this variety called Lady Alice apples.  It sounded intriguing - it does have a royal title which must mean its impressive, right?  I thought so.   I really like Golden Delicious apples with its bright yellow skin and not as crisp flesh and a nice mild flavor - a tad sweet, very little tart, and comforting, especially with some peanut butter.  I mentioned all this because the Lady Alice apple shares a few similarities. For instance, if you see a Lady Alice apple it looks like a Golden but with a warm pink blush.  And the size just fits the palm of my hand.  The peel feels firm but not like armor (nor a candle - but sadly I have tried an apple or two that couldn't boast the same :( .  I enjoyed this variety and kept the snack real simple.  I cut it up and ate it with almond butter.  For years I have listened to some family members and friends really talk up the Honeycrisp variety.  This is a good stand - in.  I find some Honeycrisp apples to be quite large - I want a snack not a whole pie from one fruit.  Also some of the apples are REALLY sweet and when I find something REALLY sweet - thats almost scary!  So sweet you pucker your lips kind of sweet.  I also have found near the end of their season that Honeycrisp tends to be near flavorless, almost blah.  What's great about a Lady Alice apple is they take awhile to brown - you can enjoy your whole snack and it still be the white crispy slice you cut thirty minutes prior.  Also this is the perfect season for the Lady Alice to make her royal appearance; where most apples are in season during fall Lad Alice is perfectly right and ripe for Spring.  Easy go to snack at hopefully your grocer's.  I also leaned towards almond butter as peanut butter would compete against the apple's own sweetness.  Yummy!

Now unto the root.  Roots in the produce aisle look scary with their gnarliness and dirty exterior but when peeled and prepared they are so tender and delicious.  So this week we tackled the *pound piano* celery root!  These roots can be quite large and in charge.  But a great addition to a roast.  At least that's how we prepared it and loved it!  I am not a huge celery fan.  But its not really the flavor I mind - its the strings and texture.  Raw celery not a fan! But roasted or sauteed celery - quite enjoyable.  One string or snap and I'm done with it.   So celery root quite a nice find.  We had planned a roast for Monday in the crockpot.  Filling meal without too much hassle.  Monday around here we both had to get up early and work all day.  Who wants to mess with dishes after a long day?  So we were going to prep the veggies Sunday night and in the morning would just toss in the roast and turn the knob.  Simple, right?  Sort of.  We both hit that evening lull where you are just ready for bed.  And cutting vegetables sounded like such a chore.  But in all honesty ten minutes from gathering - rough chop and quick clean-up.  We quartered a couple of potatoes, chunked a big onion, and tackled the celery root.  It looks hard to deal with it.  But really a quick rinse and the peel is not tough at all.  Because the surface area tends to be good size you don't have to worry about nooks and crannies like a sunchoke or the tough exterior of the turban squash (I still get tense about that ordeal!!!) . Quick peel and you can immediately smell the celery aroma.  Its flesh has tinges a spring green that peek through the peel but a creamy white inside (closely resembling a potato).  I did read at www.eattheseasons.com mentioned you could eat it raw - but suggested slicing thin matchsticks and possibly blanching it quickly for a creamier texture. My hubby cut the root into cubes and we were ready for the roast.  I really liked the flavor it lended to the other vegetables and the meat.  It had such a comforting flavor - almost cinnamon like - tish sweet but more a warming spice - think warm apple cider on a chilly day.  It has been two days since we made our tasty roast but I just had yummy leftovers and the flavors only deepened.  And for any other diabetics or those seeking low carb - root vegetable but not loaded with starch (at least according to wikipedia and http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/carbcounts/a/celeriac.htm .  Great way to stretch mashed potatoes or make a creamy soup. 

Thinking spring around here but feel like I was eating autumnish :)  Its beautiful weather and we are four days away from our  Strides for Autism walk Saturday, April 14, 2012. We still would love donations to meat our $500.00 goal.  We are past the half-way point - your donation could help us meet or even surpass the goal!!! Please visit https://scautism.org/strides/team/3/ .

May your HealthFULL Journey keep you grounded to your roots but motivate you to always reach for the highest fruit :)  'Til we meet again. . .

Nothing Like a Sweet Date

Oh have I got a fancy snack for you when you are looking forward to a romantic nibble.  Or just a snack that will impress your friends. It can be a bit pricey but oh so worth it.  Have you ever tried a fresh date?  They are delicious pieces of fruit, especially if you have a sweet tooth.  And once you take a bite you'll have a hard time believing these little treasures actually have a lot of health benefits. 

First what is a date?  They are fruits from certain palm trees that look like an oversized raisin with some plumpness.  At least the Medjool kind do.  The dates tend to run a bit expensive.  I usually have found them close to eight dollars for a pound or a little over a pound (Roughly thirty - forty dates).  However, on one of shopping trips in search of our new produce we found I believe the package is 18 oz for 4.99.  Well for that price we had to try these sweet jewels.  Yum! 

Now  a lot of sites on the web recommended eating them raw.  As long as you remove the pit.  You can keep the dates in a cupboard but if you store them in your fridge they last quite a bit longer.  Don't be scared of depitting these fruits.  Just start to  slit the tip as if you were slicing lengthwise.  But just starting to slice.  And you can open the slit far enough to slip out the pit.  The pit looks like a piece of a pecan.  Don't be tempted to taste it though.  They are inedible.  Most recipes recommending slipping in a nut or a cheese.  As dates are awfully sweet it is good to have a salty component.  Also dates by themselves contain NO sodium.  So if you  like your snacks to have some salt you'll have to add that component. 

However, being it was New Year's Day yesterday and our favorite team was playing we opted for a fancier snack.  Since you already have to remove the pit, you might as well stuff the date.   We bought some Brie cheese. Just a little dab into each date.  Then we chose to wrap the dates with a little prosciutto. Oh so good!  Prosciutto is an Italian ham. But not just deli ham.  There is a special process of curing/drying meat depending on the region and the slices are usually pretty delicate we have found.  Just a little bit of that rich fattiness to cover this sweet date filled with a smooth delicate cheese.  Italy meets the tropics meets France; what a beautiful world.  We put them in the oven on 375 degree F for roughly fifteen minutes.  This allowed the date to gooey its sweetness and allowed the meat to release its saltiness and the cheese to soften.  So delicious for a romantic game snack.  I liked the warmth to allow the flavors to blend and to soften the date.  Just handling the date to pit them you can feel the stickiness.  By wrapping the date, the sweet wasn't overpowering and yet had a luxurious texture. 

Some great benefits of the date include extremely small amounts of fat, obviously no cholesterol, some protein and yes it is mainly carbohydrates but a lot of that is fiber.  Because of other vitamins and minerals it includes dates are actually low on the glycemic index as they help regulate blood sugar.  So for those out there who have a sweet tooth but are worried about blood sugars this might be a snack to try,  especially if you stuff the date fruit with a nut.  Also a date is a good source of potassium, calcium, iron, and copper. (See http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/dates.html and http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/natural-foods/natural-weight-loss-food-dates-ga.htm for more nutritional information.)

This was definitely a thumbs up pick for my hubby and me.  I have a sweet tooth and I was a little worried for how sweet the fruit may be.  But with the way we prepared it, even my hubby who prefers spicy or salty over sweet enjoyed this find. 

May your HealthFULL Journey include fun discoveries and moments worth repeating. 'Til we meet again. . .

Simply taking a Stand

If consistency is key I keep misplacing it.  I didn't get a lot of sleep last night but decided this morning I had to do something for thirty minutes.  And I could have waited until later tonight but that line of reasoning tends to dawdle throughout the day as the hours dwindle down.  I certainly wasn't up for some Brazilian beats, nor the concentration of Tai Chi so I pulled out my trusty Wii Fit.  For the most part I played the balancing games after a couple of yoga poses.  I realize I wasn't burning a gazillion calories but it was something.  For the most part I was standing with a little leaning.  But I was using my mind to focus on movement vs. food.  We've all heard that expression "If you stand for nothing you will fall for anything."  Oh and temptation knows how to make you fall.  Whether it is food (hello dessert *bats eyelashes*), smoking, gambling, the eye of another.  We say it hits us when we're weak.  Here's the truth it is always clamoring for our attention.  It is when we are tired and weary we invite them back into our lives.  We seek their comfort and want to believe the promises of how things have changed and we can make this relationship work.  But you can't.  Addiction can never be your faithful partner because the relationship is all too consuming and jealous.  Addiction forces you to push away family, friends, activities, and adventure.  It grips you and whispers your dirty secrets.  It knows blackmail better than any political ninja and the biggest secret it knows is that you secretly want to chuck your progress and crawl back into a black hole with your addiction and block out all responsibilities.  It was maybe two seasons ago on "So You Think You Can Dance" that they based a contemporary piece on Addiction.  It was beautiful and haunting.  What a visual of something so many people experience.  Each journey is unique but we shouldn't feel alone as we all have hang-ups.  So when your addiction is pulling you into their arms with sweet whispers of lies, stand up.  Perhaps it is the tv that hypnotizes you into a vegetable and you couldn't possibly pick up a dish.  Get out of the comfy chair and you would be amazed how one action can lead to healthier choices.  If you love to gobble food on your couch all curled up with your DVR.  Food no longer allowed in that one spot of the house.  You aren't really handcuffing yourself but you are taking a stand and changing the rules.  One action will change the relationship of addiction.  If you can't drive by your favorite bakery without getting a doughnut.  New route to work.  Oh what a pain.  But when you figure the trigger that weakens your resolve you can choose to stand up to your bully and show both your addiction and yourself that you are strong enough to take a stand.  So I took a stand against laziness and the snacking monster and stepped onto my Wii Fit.  I burned less than 200 calories but saved myself from consuming an extra 700.  That's a Win - Win in so many ways.  Oh there will be days the whispers will be a little louder and me a little more willing but each stand pushes the bully a little bit farther away.  I'll take an inch to avoid the pinch.

May your journey teach you strength and to not fall for false promises or sweet lies.  'Til we meet again. . .