Royal Wedding

The "Countdown to the Kiss" brought back memories of my wedding day:

Even if you claim to not care about the royal wedding. Love is always an interesting topic, and professing one's love through a kiss, hug, slap on the behind, and even a single smile reaches to a broad audience. It is funny how we, as humans, are all connected on that very level. We can appreciate the commonality that we share in regards to our affinity for finding love and celebrating it. So today history is made. What are you doing today?

On an unrelated note, I promised to address a nutrition-specific topic this week. With all of the rain we have had in April, I thought the topic of hydration was timely.

Here are six reasons to make sure you're drinking enough water or other fluids every day:

1. Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.

"Through the posterior pituitary gland, your brain communicates with your kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto for reserves," says Guest, who is also an adjunct professor of medicine at Stanford University.

When you're low on fluids, the brain triggers the body's thirst mechanism. And unless you are taking medications that make you thirsty, Guest says, you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, coffee -- anything but alcohol.

"Alcohol interferes with the brain and kidney communication and causes excess excretion of fluids which can then lead to dehydration," he says.

2. Water Can Help Control Calories. For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn't have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help.

"What works with weight loss is if you choose water or a non-caloric beverage over a caloric beverage and/or eat a diet higher in water-rich foods that are healthier, more filling, and help you trim calorie intake," says Penn State researcher Barbara Rolls, PhD, author of The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan.

Food with high water content tends to look larger, its higher volume requires more chewing, and it is absorbed more slowly by the body, which helps you feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal, and beans.

3. Water Helps Energize Muscles. Cells that don't maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. "When muscle cells don't have adequate fluids, they don't work as well and performance can suffer," says Guest.

Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising. Follow the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for fluid intake before and during physical activity. These guidelines recommend that people drink about 17 ounces of fluid about two hours before exercise. During exercise, they recommend that people start drinking fluids early, and drink them at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating.

4. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good. Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. But don't expect over-hydration to erase wrinkles or fine lines, says Atlanta dermatologist Kenneth Ellner, MD.

"Dehydration makes your skin look more dry and wrinkled, which can be improved with proper hydration," he says. "But once you are adequately hydrated, the kidneys take over and excrete excess fluids."

You can also help "lock" moisture into your skin by using moisturizer, which creates a physical barrier to keep moisture in.

5. Water Helps Your Kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine, explains Guest. "Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate," he says.

When you're getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions.

If you chronically drink too little, you may be at higher risk for kidney stones, especially in warm climates, Guest warns.

6. Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function. Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don't get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration -- and the result is constipation.

"Adequate fluid and fiber is the perfect combination, because the fluid pumps up the fiber and acts like a broom to keep your bowel functioning properly," says Koelemay.

5 Tips to Help You Drink More

If you think you need to be drinking more, here are some tips to increase your fluid intake and reap the benefits of water:

1. Have a beverage with every snack and meal.

2. Choose beverages you enjoy; you're likely to drink more liquids if you like the way they taste.

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Their high water content will add to your hydration. About 20% of our fluid intake comes from foods.

4. Keep a bottle of water with you in your car, at your desk, or in your bag.

5. Choose beverages that meet your individual needs. If you're watching calories, go for non-caloric beverages or water.

Change

Change what you can, accept what you can’t.

Love this quote. And today I changed. Not just out of my gross post-spin workout attire (well, I changed out of those eventually). I changed my attitude. Something I do have control over. Patients cancel. Meetings get moved. Yoga instructors don't show up (again). But instead of always letting those occasions dictate my mood and get the best of me, I decided that today I would move on. I learned that while it is hard to change a habit, it is certainly doable. With a little effort, a purposeful mindset, and a belief in oneself, it really is possible to change for the better. Today I did just that. I'm proud of myself . . .

On a lighter note, here is some eye candy . . . AKA "my happy place!"

I Like Eggs!

Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate!

As my title suggests, I like eggs. Actually, I love eggs. I ate about 6 today, the whites that is. I had a frittata, matzo and eggs, and 2 hard boiled style. I like to think that I am egg-ceptionally concious of my protein intake. Think of this randomness as my contribution to the Easter celebration. No need to hunt eggs in this house, they are in my belly :)

Love my family!!!

Moving on . . . this week is going to be busy. I hope my GPS does not fail me. I hope my car tires hold up for one more week. I hope the weather does not ruin the GOTR practices this week. My blog goals this week (something I hope to continue in future Sunday posts) will include a few new recipes, workout and motivation tips, and a condition-specific nutrition assessment and care plan example (I promise to make these fun and educational!). See you Monday!

Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, I changed my blog design to reflect a healthier garden variety blogspace. Since it poured all day and was quite chilly as well (so much for Spring), I spent the entire day indoors (seems very counter- Earth Day is you ask me). On a happier note, my sister, Megan, is visiting from NYC! She is quite the baker and made homemade macaroons for our second Passover seder tomorrow night (really just a dinner with my mom's side of the family, but it is still Passover so we won't be breaking out the pizza and bagels yet). I went to my parent's for dinner to visit with her and enjoy some delicious food. Ironically, they made salmon (good thing I like fish and am in need of their omega-3 fatty acid, anti-inflammatory properties in preparation for tomorrow's run), hash browns, and spinach:

Of course, it wouldn't be a meal without dessert so I gladly had one of Megan's macaroons:

Time to prep for tomorrow! Good nite.

Funky Monkey!

The title of my post today has nothing to do with smelly circus or zoo animals, but everything to do with yummy freeze-dried fruit snacks! I received a generous package from Jennifer at Funky Monkey Snack Foods. It was brimming with exotic flavors and unique combinations of ingredients:

There were bananamon (banana and cinnamon, my personal favorite), carnaval mix (tropical fruit, seen below), applemon (apple and cinnamon), jiveAlime (lime and pineapple, reminded me of Sprite), mangOJ (mango and orange juice), and pink pineapple (pineapple covered in guava powder, this was a pretty sweet and would work great in bland foods as a natural sweetener, think oatmeal and quinoa). I loved the "fruit that crunches" concept rather than other freeze-dried fruit products that I have tried which merely dissolve in your mouth leaving you wanting to eat way more than a serving. The individual snack packs were perfect and easy to open (great for kids) for on-the-go snacking. I highly recommend you check out these products (with only 35-45 calories per serving, gluten-free/dairy-free/nut-free and mainly organic) by visiting: http://www.funkymonkeysnacks.com.

I wrote the company telling them to incorporate veggies as their next freeze-dried endeavor. We'll see if they take my advice :)

I didn't have a walking buddy today, but I do own an ipod so that would suffice as a "buddy." I also bring my phone along, for safety, and to chat with family members while I am walking. It's like having several walking buddies, really. I do not live in a neighborhood that is conducive to walking so I drove over to one of the shopping strips and parked in the shade. I headed out to explore someone else's nice walkable neighborhood . . .

It was much cooler than yesterday's walk but still sunny. I managed to pick up a few odds and ends at the grocery store where I parked, on my way back (so efficient and productive!). I am making salmon and asparagus for dinner. I am also gonna "play" with my new toys (err, fruit snacks) to see what confections I can concoct (try saying that 3 times fast). See you tomorrow!

Love when it's wrong!

So when the weather channel calls for rain all day, I am nothing but pleasantly surprised when it is sunny all day instead :) So I started the day with Spinning, came home and had my usual frittata, coffee, and the last muffin (boo). I had plans to go to Yoga, but when I got to the studio, rolled out my mat, and proceeded to take my shoes off, I realized I was going to be the sole yogi. I let the manager know (cause clearly I am the only one who didn't get the memo and he put a sign on the door just as I was heading out). I guess no zen for me today. I proceeded to do some work at home since my 10am meeting got cancelled; but, I was easily distracted when my friend, Bree, suggested a power walk on the W&OD trail. Of course, I went and we chatted about everything going on in our live before we realized that we had done about 4 miles and felt great (talk therapy really works!). Meeting up with friends, or family, does not always have to revolve around food. Walking and talking is a healthy way of venting, brainstorming, and getting a simultaneous endorphin boost all while having great company (and getting our vitamin D fix thanks to Mr. Sun).

I spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with/doing work/chatting with my mom at the community college library before heading home to mow the grass. Dinner tonight is matzo meatloaf (I crushed a sheet of matzo as the binder instead of breadcrumbs) and kale chips. I am freezing a cup of Greek yogurt with a scoop of canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and a few walnuts for my dessert. See you tomorrow!

Passover

So for my friends and family who celebrate Passover, I hope you had a nice seder yesterday. Director Doc and I went to my parent's house for a delicious meal. So the challenge this week will be to eat sans wheat, barley, rye, oats, corn, beans, rice, and any product made with any of those ingredients. Luckily, I am RD who specializes in allergen-friendly fare and am pretty knowledgeable when it comes to alternative ingredients and substitutions. Enter, my first fav, almond meal:

With it, I made almond and banana bread and muffins (portion control!)- great nutrition stats and super tasty!

Passover breakfast included fresh fruit salad, egg white omelet, and a slice of banana almond bread. Balanced, filling, and better than anything made with matzo :) I am off to take Director Doc to a meeting at the hospital. I plan on hanging out in his office and getting my own work done. I wonder if his secretary will make some copies for me, haha. Back later for dinner (after our 90-minute massage, SO excited!!).

I am back. So the weather today has been chaotic, to put it nicely. It went from freezing cold to mild and humid, and from torrential downpour to sunny with blue skies and back to cloudy and dreary again. My mood seems to be mimicking the weather as well. I still managed to be productive and get a ton of work done but did not clean out my car or test drive new cars as planned. The massage was amazing (as usual!!). With all of running, lifting, boot camping, and all-around activity I do, a monthly massage is more than necessary to keep me injury-free (knock on wood) and sane. I highly recommend a sports-specific massage for those of you who do some form of exercise more than 4 days a week. I use it as my motivation and reward for sticking with my "program." A great tip is to find something to use as positive reinforcement for maintaining a healthy lifestyle that contributes to your overall goals. For example, stress reduction is a MUST so massage, taking a hot bath (I highly recommend bath salts for muscle relaxation), aromatherapy (I find the smell of pumpkin so warm and calming that I keep incense in our master bathroom and pumpkin-scented candles scattered around the house), pampering (for both men and women, if you look good, you feel good, period.), and even arts and crafts (I keep coloring books and a huge box of Crayolas in my home office as well as enough scrapbooking supplies to start my own art store!). Whatever you choose, make sure that you are providing yourself with desirable incentives that will make you want to reach your goals and stay on track!

Dinner, served graciously by Director Doc, was chix stir fry with spinach, onion, and red pepper medley. I also ate 2 of my banana almond meal muffins (time to make another batch!). See you tomorrow!

Sun, sushi, and shrimp Sunday

What a fun way to end the weekend and start the coming week on the right foot! Today was spent running and lifting chest and back; exploring new neighborhoods (to us) in the sun; eating korean sushi (not sure what all was in this, but it tasted good); and getting ready for the week (work-wise and meal planning), Dinner was prepared by Director Doc and was delish! Shrimp stir-fry with onions, red peppers, and spinach in a light sweet and sour sauce. He even brewed us some homemade iced chai tea with almond milk, yum. It is great to use one of the weekend days to plan for grocery shopping, meals and snack options, and cleaning the house so as to lighten the load during the week. See you Monday!

Leftover protein pancakes for breakfast!

Korean sushi

Shrimp and veggie stir fry with iced chai tea

Half a Day

I am declaring today half a day seeing as how it is half over [since I have been up since 5:30am], ran a half marathon in my basement (thank goodness for my treadmill and AT40 since it is POURING rain all day), lifted legs at the gym (half of my body got some workout today!), and have eaten 4 meals already (ha!). This morning was a break from the usual veggie frittata and hazelnut coffee, and I opted to have protein pancakes (from scratch) with Director Doc (they were banana and walnut) and chose the Strawberry Shortcake DD coffee flavor (not my fav):

The cool thing about these protein-packed pancakes is that there are leftovers that we "doggie-bagged" and froze for quick breakfasts on the go and/or snacks. Great strategy!

The Other Half of the Day:

Rainy drive to Tyson's Corner mall. We hit up Barnes and Noble to check out some new reads. It was packed--the weather and the fact that it is Saturday are to blame. After dodging eager shoppers and playing our version of frogger with the kiosks, we left the mall and headed home.

We rented The Fighter (yes, we are behind the times on movies and trying to catch up) for this evening and will probably be feasting on leftovers to clean out the fridge and make room for more goodies . . .

TGIF!

Happy Friday, everyone!

SO since the weather is absolutely gorgeous out and Director Doc is off today, we are going to hike [walk at a brisk pace on a relatively flat terrain] the W&OD trail! Back later with a dinner recipe and more fun ways to work out when the weather cooperates.

We made it! What a nice walk. We were walking for about 1hr 20 minutes at a decent pace and discussing upcoming plans for vacation spots and our invention ideas (can't discuss those until we have a patent pending, ha). Afterwards, we headed to Starbucks for an iced decaf americano (for me) and iced chai latte (for Director Doc). Hit the spot! Now we are each in our designated "offices" working on various projects. I plan on making us turkey meatballs (per request) served over a mix of broccoli slaw and Barilla Plus rotini (I like a big bowl of "pasta" so this is a great volumetrics trick).

Warm Weather Workouts:

1) create your own "boot camp" style workout using park benches (great for step ups and assisted lunges), fire hydrants (strategically placed so you can use them as bases to run, skip, leap, etc. to), and curbs (triceps dips, push ups, and run ups)

2) use a partner (enlist in a neighbor, friend, or willing spouse) to throw a ball to, race against, and take turns "leading" a workout session (great for learning new moves and challenging each other)

3) use mapmyrun.com to create walking, running, and hiking routes (tip: we love to incorporate a productive aspect to our walks by stopping by a grocery store for a healthy beverage or piece of fruit, picking up a Redbox movie and then returning it, or parking at a lot to do some shopping and then exploring the neighboring areas- plus it is fun to check out houses and landscapes)

4) we can't wait for our pool to open and then you will definitely see swimming sessions as part of the daily activities

Being active is easy- just figure out what needs to be done and then brainstorm ideas to make it a physical activity. It won't feel like exercise, and you will kill 2 birds with one stone by getting an errand (or multiple errands) checked off the to do list while getting some fresh air and letting the endorphins flow . . .see you tomorrow!

Timely Thursday

Today's title refers to the fact that all of my meals were prepared in 16 minutes or less. The turkey hot dogs (all white meat Ball Park, 99% fat free and only 45 calories per link) were sauteed in a pan for 2 minutes on each side and served with ketchup and mustard (I like my condiments) over romaine lettuce and [unpictured] sauteed red pepper, onion, zucchini, and cauliflower (cooked for 5 minutes stovetop).

Dinner was a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids in the form of wild salmon cooked in lemon juice and fresh dill for 16 minutes at 425 degrees in the oven. Absolutely melt-in-my mouth (not in my hand). Served with veggie crudite and hummus.

So the moral of timely Thursday is that it does not take a ton of time [or energy] to prepare your meals at home and eat healthy. Tomorrow is Friday . . . countdown to the weekend!

Hump Day Updates

Do you think we like seafood??? Um, I found these cute organic mini wontons filled with chicken and garlic (a tad spicy but tasty). I cooked them in low sodium chicken broth to serve as our soup appetizer. Then, the piece de resistance was CRAB LEGS!!! Director Doc and I love these-- we get them at Global Foods, an International Food market that has the freshest seafood and a great selection of [cheap] produce. I also cooked up the rest of the broccoli for some much needed greenery. Now it is movie time. We rented The Switch (predictable but hopefully worth a dollar for some laughs). Good night!

Happy Hump Day!

The pics above were last night's dinner. I decided that plain shrimp cocktail was not going to cut it for dinner. Since I was craving something warmer, I decided to add the shrimp to my leftover chicken and broccoli stir fry and add some Barilla Plus rotini, Classico tomato and basil sauce, and shredded mozzarella for a complete meal served with veggie crudite and blackberries. This was easy, delicious, and quite filling!

This morning I got to spend time with Director Doc and catch up on what errands we need to do during the coming week (he works 7 days straight and then has 7 days off- but not really since he ALWAYS has meetings at least half of the time he is off). We headed to the gym for a lifting session and then swung by the bank and got a movie for tonight-- I'm going to figure out what I want for lunch and read up on today's GOTR lesson. See you later!

Tumultuous Tuesday

Yesterday's "work office"

So the title of today's post primarily refers to the current weather conditions. Sideways rain, black sky, and an overall sticky-icky feeling in the air. Yesterday got away from me in terms of blogging in the evening, so in short, here was dinner:Chicken and broccoli stir fry (served over couscous)

I used a reduced sodium teryaki sauce which was delish!

Today's frittata was a little low on veggies since we are planning on doing a major shopping tomorrow (Director Doc will be off!):

I am off to attend Body Pump!

So after showering (though the rain did a pretty good job of pre-soaking), I did some work and decided to be a tad adventurous for lunch. I had some of the chix and broccoli leftover from last night but went with kasha as a side dish.

Cooked in my rice cooker with low sodium chix broth, garlic powder, and a few sesame seeds:

It made a ton (and is so economical as I bought it in the bulk bin section of Whole Paycheck and paid $0.69 for the equivalent of 2 cups of kasha) so of course, I broke out the glass snapware for leftovers. This stuff is even good cold!

I proceeded to work on more recipe development ideas but got distracted with laundry and dirty dishes. I am by no means a neat freak, but I get to a point where I look around and decide- ok, it is time to tidy up a bit. Cleaning always makes me hungry (well pretty much anything that consumes my time for more than 30 minutes makes me hungry). So I started rummaging through the fridge (while drinking a huge glass of water-- this is done to distinguish between actual hunger and emotional eating-- but I WAS hungry!) and realized that as with the cleaning, I was tired of saying" I'll wait to go shopping tomorrow." So off I went--

Costco cart (boy did I get some weird looks when I broke out my camera phone and tried to find adequate lighting for a photo-op):

Since I was on a roll, I switched out my giant Costco cart for a pretty red Target cart and headed inside to drier places. Mission accomplished! I managed to get everything on my list (plus an all-natural facial cleanser and eucalyptus-spearmint bath salts), and am pretty tired. Time to watch The Doctors and get mad at their lack of nutritional science knowledge (at least Travis is easy on the eyes-- what can I say, I have a thing for doctors in scrubs!). Dinner will be the shrimp cocktail I bought at Costco served with sauteed onion, red and yellow pepper, and a zucchini. See you tomorrow!

New Blog Page

So I have decided so move my blog over to a separate webpage (my homepage remains: www.thehealthyhaas.com where you can learn all about me and my current business endeavor) so as not to make you scroll all the way down each time you read my posts. I am currently eating my usual breakfast (with the addition of mushrooms to the frittata and a rice cake with pb to fuel me for Kickboxing!) while reading over the GOTR lesson for today. I am one of 2 head coaches at our local elementary school's Girls on the Run (GOTR) program, and the other coach is away for today's practice. Today's lesson is on peer pressure and strategies to respond. I am also printing the handouts for my patient today . . . I'll be in and out all day but will try to return to show you my eats later.

A Day in the Life of The Healthy Haas

4/7/11: Greetings and welcome to my first blog post. As a Registered Dietitian, I am often asked HOW it is that I eat healthy, exercise daily, get plenty of sleep and water, and manage stress in a productive manner. I am hoping that this blog can help others learn some of my personal tricks of the trade and serve as a way for me to keep track of my meals, moves, and moods. If you have any of your own tips that you would be willing to share with me [and possibly other readers], please e-mail me: jenn.h.haas@gmail.com. We can all learn from one another, and I know I enjoy reading other blogs that encourage healthy lifestyles while also providing unique perspectives on everyday challenges.

So today is a Thursday. I am not into associating particular days with correlating meals, but I do try to figure out 3 days worth of menus for me and Scott, the hubby who I will be referring to as "Director Doc" as he was recently promoted to the Hospitalist Director of his program. That being said, we are lucky to live close to so many grocery stores (we are talking about multiple chains and locations that are no more than a few miles from one another) and a handful of healthy restaurant options that we sometimes improvise and settle for the most convenient dinner choice. Breakfasts are ALWAYS eaten at home, mine post-workout and Director Doc eats before heading to work at 5:30am. We keep yogurts, raw walnuts, bananas (I like mine frozen and dipped in 0% Total Fage pre-workout), cooked veggies (we own a ridiculous amount of glass snapware for this purpose), and egg whites on hand daily. Snacks are a combo of fruit with natural peanut butter or raw nuts and Kashi GoLean cereal (all kept as staples in my car's trunk! ha) as well as raw or roasted veggies and hummus. Lunches are eaten at the Hospital for Director Doc (make sure to choose the veggie with the entree, hun!) and at home or with clients for me. I love soups, salads, turkey sandwiches, and more often than not--LEFTOVERS, yes please! So really the main variant and subject to change meal is dinner.

Which brings us to tonight . . . I forgot to place the 8 frozen single-serve chicken breasts we bought at Costco to thaw in the fridge last night, so no chicken tonight. I have some ground turkey breast in the drawer but just had turkey burgers, turkey tacos, and turkey meatloaf (I was on a kick!) so I am pretty sure that it is time to move on to another protein source or Thanksgiving will not be happening this year. Some pantry staples of canned tuna, canned crab, canned salmon, and every kind of bean you could name that is located on a grocery store shelf are always available as "just in case the Blizzard of 2010 makes a comeback (even though it is April, it is far from Spring here in Northern VA). SO with all of these options, I find it funny that I find myself craving Chinese food. Yes, I am still an RD. Yes, I still LOVE cooking and experimenting in the kitchen (still working on my cookbook which I hope to finish by 2012). BUT, I love how the local joint steams my brown rice, vegetable medley, and shrimp to perfection while offering white and brown sauces on the side for dipping (and can be reused for chicken stir-fry if I ever get around to defrosting the chicken breasts). Talk about double duty dinner :) So unless something miraculous happens, I am going with the take out. On a similar note, try eating ALL of your meals with chopsticks. I bet you will slow down, eat less, and enjoy a game of how many rice kernels can you pick up at a time. Bon appetite!

4/8/11: TGIF! So today is Friday and it is raining. It’s my dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday!!) and since he is a meteorologist he would probably purport that rain is good luck on your birthday. As long as the rain brings May’s flowers and greenery (and some warmer weather), I will not complain about getting wet today.

Breakfast: Veggie Frittata and Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut Coffee (eaten while checking e-mail with my planner to schedule patients and watching The Today Show, per usual)

Dinner (Turkey Burgers planned- prep during breakfast so all I have to do if saute them for 10 minutes and dinner is ready!)

I combined 1# extra lean ground turkey breast (last package of it in the fridge!) and 2 egg whites with ½ cup each: diced Empire apple, celery, and red pepper. I added 2 tbsp of ketchup and 1 tbsp of garlic powder. Mixed and covered with plastic wrap to marinate in the fridge.

I am off to TBC class at the gym. I’ll be back later . . .

Update: So the instructor was absent and the sub happened to be the same instructor who taught Body Pump yesterday, and she taught the same class today. So I had 3 days of Body Pump this week! Go me J

Lunch today was eaten at the mall (which does NOT have a Subway but I got the sandwich after the gym-since Subway is next door to the gym they give a 20% discount to members, love it!):

I was at the mall for 2 reasons: 1) it was crazy raining here so walking outside was not happening and 2) I was hoping to be inspired for Mother’s Day gifts. Missions were both accomplished. The Mall has two floors and has been measured to be 1 mile if walked both levels . I stopped in Kirkland’s (not affiliated with Costco) and found tons of “on sale” merchandise including photo collage frames. Score! I decided to make my mother-in-law a collage of me and Director Doc. How thoughtful of me. Ha! Not sure what I will get my mom yet as I have already made her collages of wedding photos. Still on the hunt . . . guess there will be more mall excursions in my near future.

The rest of the afternoon was spent creating theme menus for my upcoming cooking classes. I like to have these planned out so that if someone needs a last minute class/get-together/bachelorette party, I am ready to go with less stress than if I had not been prepared. I’m gonna cook those turkey burgers over medium heat in a sauté pan for 5 minutes on each side. Served alongside roasted cauliflower for me and atop a Thomas Light English Muffin for Director Doc. There will also be vegetable crudité and hummus (another staple at the Haas’s House). Dessert will be a square (or two) of Lindt 70% cocoa dark chocolate and cup of herbal tea. See you tomorrow!!

4/9/11: Good morning all! I wanted to review a new fav from the kind folks (thanks Jason!) at Love Grown foods:

Anyone who knows me, knows that my weakness is granola. I love chunky, uniquely flavored granola. This granola is super special, because it is gluten-free and minimally processed. Flavors include raisin/almond, apple/walnut, cranberry/pecan, and original. All of them rocked! Huge pieces of nuts and not too sweet, these made a perfect snack eaten solo [and with my fav Greek yogurt in a parfait]. The Love Grown company (whose mission is to "spread the love") was kind enough to send me multiple single-serve packages of granola to disseminate to my patients. The nutrition stats are great with only 120-130 calories per pack and 5-6 grams of fat (all healthy monounsaturated fats from nuts, milled flax, and sunflower seeds!) with about 3 grams of protein. They do not use anything artificial and are sweetened with agave syrup. Love the company and love the products . . .

New outfit bought at Charlotte Russe- gotta love CLEARANCE racks!

4/10/11: Sunday= errand day! So my breakfast today was nothing new, but nonetheless DELISH! Veggie frittata and hazelnut coffee (which BTW, has risen more than 2 dollars at the SuperTarget probably due to increasing gas prices. I justify the expense as “it is still cheaper than buying coffee AT Dunkin Donuts everyday, and I tend to dilute it so I get less caffeine anyway- bigger cup for the buck). I ran 13.1 miles this am (this is not a new phenomenon as I LOVE running- not so much racing anymore- but the pure endorphin-sweat-inducing feel of a good long run. Now the errands shall commence . . .oh, but I want to show you my lunch which was made while prepping my eggs:

I use Kirkland’s canned albacore tuna whisked (makes the best consistency, thanks dad!) prior to adding chopped orange pepper, celery, and carrots as well as 1 Tbsp of veganase (shown to the left), 1 Tbsp yellow mustard, and ½ cup o% Total Fage (yes, by now you have realized I use this stuff in EVERYTHING!). I plopped a serving into Tupperware and added it to my cooler of goodies( including: 1 Jazz apple, 2Tbsp natural, crunchy pb, bag o’ raw veggies, Hannah’s single-serve hummus, and a high-fiber wrap). Should tide me over until about 1pm J Haha. Be back later with an update and dinner!

My morning and early afternoon were spent hangout out with my parents :) I helped spread mulch and walked with my dad, and my mom and I discussed recipes and made kale chips:

Then I headed over to the library to check out some magazines (I LOVE to read during my cardio!) and a few cookbooks to stimulate new recipe ideas for menu planning. There is a walking path that leads down to a pond with benches in the back of the library, so I explored . . .

I decided to hang out and read for a few while soaking up my vitamin D allowance for the day. Since Director Doc is working the late shift, I am on my own for dinner. I baked those chicken breasts that finally defrosted and served them alongside roasted cauliflower that were both dipped in with my ranch-like concoction:

1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp mayo
2 Tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp each black pepper and garlic powder

Blend and serve as salad dressing or dip!

I am off to shower (I smell like mulch) and relax with some dark chocolate, Sombra, and my [freshly cleaned sheets] bed. See you tomorrow!