Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Mushroom Haters of the World Unite!

My dear friend Taryn recently posted a mushroom rave preceding her Julia Child recipe.  Sorry to admit it, Tar, but I am one of the mushroom haters against whom you rail.  (Can we still be friends?)

My story is this: as a kid, I loved fruit but hated almost all vegetables (except carrots and cauliflower and artichokes).  My parents (understandably) did not want me to be malnourished, so the rule was, we had to eat all vegetables present...except we could leave out our least favorite.  My choice?  Slimy gross cooked mushrooms.

These days, I am eating (and loving) a huge range of vegetables...never imagined my life would reach this point!  So I decided to give mushrooms another go.  Jared made me this awesome curry with pasta and mushrooms and chicken...and I have to admit, the mushrooms weren't half bad.


To feel jealous that I have someone to cook for me, look at the pictures below and imagine me doing nothing but the dishes afterwards.  To skip feeling jealous and just make this yourself, scroll past the photos to the recipe.

















Mushroom Haters’ Curry
·         2 chicken breasts
·         Olive oil
·         Mushrooms
·         White wine
·         Pasta
·         Peanut butter
·         Curry powder
·         Red pepper flakes
·         Sesame seeds

1.       Chop mushrooms
2.       Combine olive oil, peanut butter, curry powder, and red pepper flakes in a bowl.  Base the amount of each on your preference for texture and spice
3.       Add in sesame seeds for fun
4.       Cook pasta and cook chicken – but not together (you’re on your own for this one, kids)
5.       Drink glass of white wine while waiting (hey, this is an important part of the recipe!)
6.       Saute the mushrooms with some olive oil
7.       Pour the sauce on the mushrooms
8.       Chop up cooked chicken
9.       Combine pasta, chicken, sauce and mushrooms
10.   Shout hooray and eat up

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Recent Random Good Stuff

One of my favorite options for "2nd breakfast": 
Irish steel cut instant oats with walnuts and fresh fruit.

World Market: Amazing Chai Cola and
Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips

An old homeschool friend is the new Seattle Mad Housewife. 
Obviously I support homeschoolers selling wine.  Great berry flavor.

Easy pizza: whole wheat tortillas, red bell pepper,
sausage, and cheese.  Broil for 5-10 minutes. 
Voila.  Or ecco qua, to be Italian.

Bought this used on Amazon. 
I now do yoga for 5-15 minutes almost every day. 
Life changer.
Go buy Tara Stiles' book yourself.  Have a great and super-chill weekend.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Relative-ly Fit/Fitness Face-off Friday



Are you good at anything?

Are you bad at anything?

Do you spend your life pursuing your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses?

Me, too.

Something I am good at:  Singing.  Have been ever since I was two.  Good sense of pitch, rhythm, etc., learn best through hearing, took voice, blah, blah, blah.  When I was in high school a family friend joked that I was like a Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland film: "Hey, we should put on a show!"

Something I am bad at: Absolutely Anything Involving Hand-Eye Coordination.  I played softball for three years as a kid...heaven only knows how I lasted that long.  The only sport I could do was skiing (no ball!) and so I pretty much avoided participating in or watching any sport where a ball might be present.

But lately as I've gotten more fit I've apparently gotten a little braver, too. 

A few weeks ago, I asked my racquetball champ father to come to the gym and teach me some of his moves. 

We had such a blast that we've got a weekly recurring date set up!


Don't let the awesome sense of humor disarm you.
He will run the socks off you.

Dad and Jared



Fitness Face-Off Friday

Challenge - Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Here's my plan this week...I'm going to be leading an informal outdoor fitness class for a bunch of friends.  Yipes! 

This means I'll be digging through all my resources (yes, including trainer hubby) to put together an hour-long session of circuits, core work, and yoga.  I love working out, and I love being with friends, but it can be intimidating to try to put together for other people that will be effective (but not overwhelming) and teach it to other people.

Yes, I have to post photos in order for it to count.  My reward if I succeed?  Hearing that anyone wants to do another class!

Suggestions on how you can Face-Off with me:
  • Take a new class
  • Try a sport you used to hate
  • Try a sport you used to love but haven't done in years
  • Workout with someone who you know will go longer/faster/harder than you usually do
Let me know how you do!  Happy weekend

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Trail Running vs. Diabetes + Bubble Bath Twist

As most of you will probably agree, running on a treadmill for more than about 20 minutes can get a little tedious...particularly because even if you want to read or watch TV or something, you risk getting motion sickness because of the way the treadmill shakes...and if you don't get sick you'll get distracted and fall off.

So you say to yourself, "Self, take a run outside."  This may be all well and good if you live in a quiet town where only 5 people own cars.  But if you live or work in the city, you will find you are kind of screwed. 

Why?  Because you read too much.  You were all gung-ho for running (after years of hating it), and then you read that running near heavy or even mild traffic bumps up your risk of contracting Type II Diabetes.  ???  "I thought running was good for me!!!!"  Apparently the extra oxygen required by running pumps extra car fumes into your lungs.

Now you have three choices: run outside and die of black-exhaust-onset diabetes, go back to boredom and motion sickness (AKA the treadmill), or...take up trail running.

I voted for the trails.

Tropical punch...YUM

Cute running buddy...Double Yum!

Mud and horse poop...not so yum.
After running - or basically any time - I like taking baths.  Here's a twist on baths I read about lately...I think in Real Simple magazine?  (Seriously the downside of reading too much is you can never find any article that interested you because after flipping through 5 different magazines you just give up.) 

Take an orange, a few limes, and some fresh mint.


Cut them up and dump them in the bathtub.


They smell amazing and are good for your skin, too!

Aaahhh...

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Save Your Sanity

Ever feel overwhelmed by everything you have going on in life?

Want to get yourself more organized so you can spend less time stressing about chores and more time working out?


Me, too.


Enter FlyLady.net


Take a deep breath and ignore the poor graphics.  This website may just change your life. 

Containers from IKEA
FlyLady gives all kinds of simple tips (I recommend starting with her "Baby Steps") on how to stop being a perfectionist and start getting a handle on your household. 

Prepping food to bring to work
 Her ideas on setting timers, getting rid of clutter, shining your sink, and putting out your "hotspots" have made a HUGE difference in how I run our household (and brought my constant stress about it WAY down).

Finally organized our crazy junk drawer...whoa.
Do yourself a favor and check it out!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Taco Time

Half the battle of healthy eating is that it's inconvenient - so here's a pretty quick way to give yourself two healthy meals:

TACOS.

Easy dinner with onions from the farmer's market...plus you can take KILLER leftovers to work!!!





When chopping veggies, chop more than you need and save them. 
It'll save time on your next meal.




See?  No boring sandwich!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

More Dots

Jacket: Lauren Conrad for Kohl's

Dress: hand-me-down,
sweater: Old Navy, flats: Target

Met the hubby for coffee.  He was sweet enough to take the pictures, and even asked if I wanted to see how they turned out...but I told him I was sure they were great since all I was thinking about was how cold I felt without my coat.  And they turned out pretty well!