Tag Archives: food

What I’ve learned so far from Intermittent Fasting

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I was hosting my husband’s 40th birthday party last month when the gf of one of my oldest high school friends told me that said old friend was not drinking that night. He was intermittent fasting to prepare for what I think is now his third marathon.

Intermittent fasting had come across my radar recently in my search for a diet that would help me to shed pounds without feeling like I was starving myself or giving up something I love to eat forever. So I was intrigued to learn that someone I knew was already doing it. It motivated me to learn more about it. There’s quite a bit of really useful simple info about it on the internet. And simplicity is what I think has allowed me to stick with it for almost two weeks straight now.

Continue reading What I’ve learned so far from Intermittent Fasting →

Orange You Glad it’s Winter?

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It’s not lost on me that ever since 2014,  when warm orange became one of my top favorite colors, I began to notice it everywhere. It doesn’t matter where I see it, nature, clothing, culture corporations, fashion, logos, it always makes me feel good. And food of course is no exception.

One of my favorite things to do is get a good sized Butternut squash from the supermarket, peel it’s pale skin and cut it into thick cubes by hand. I enjoy this process because I love to see the deep orange color inside reveal itself. I feel similarly about cutting into avocados, since green was my first favorite color as a young person and I can spot a shade of avocado green anywhere. I’ve been on a Butternut squash craze since the beginning of last year. It’s just such a good winter food, so versatile and filling and comforting. And it’s been scientifically proven that the color of foods affects our well being as well as your cells. So when I cut into butternut squash, I’m aware that the color starts to affect my senses before my taste buds.

Outside of baking and roasting, I haven’t been super creative with butternut squash but this winter I plan on pushing myself into more challenging recipes. Last night I roasted cubes of butternut squash to go along with a Bulgar wheat salad I made from the grain that had soaked overnight. The last time my mom visited us, she left a large bag of Bulgar in the cabinet. She used to prepare this a lot for us a lot for us and it’s also very easy to make. I achieved a taste practically identical to the recipe my mom used and I was really pleased about that. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to try it myself. It’s so simple to make and right now, in terms of improving my intake of real food, simple is what I’m going for.

The other great thing about Butternut squash is how long it keeps. We’re unfortunately notorious for letting vegetables we forgot we had rot in the fridge, particular the green leafy ones (Sad face). But a container of cubed butternut squash will last for days in the fridge. I’ve had squash sit for weeks on the living room table and it’s always perfectly preserved when I decided to cut into it. Winter squash has to be tough on the outside to protect it’s softer center for weeks at a time. Squash is kind of like winter itself. Although it feels and appears barren and unyielding from the outside, all the good stuff is still around, it’s just turned inward, being protected, energizing and preparing…

I hope you’re feeding  own inner and outer warmth during these cold days. We’re all going to need it.

Master Chef Jr. Makes my Ovaries Ache

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My husband and I have been hooked on Master Chef Jr. since its first season last year. It’s one of the few shows we actually watch together and try to never miss. We also watch Master Chef and have viewed all 8 seasons of Cake Boss on Netflix streaming. Obviously we love food but we also love the technique, creativity and science that go into making delicious dishes. But on Master Chef Jr., it’s something extra.

It’s the kids.

They are so full of excitement and ideas and kindness and support for one another, that it just makes my heart melt. They have such discipline, sophistication, manners, confidence and candor, that it fills me with hope. They’ve only aired the first episode and already there’s so much to talk to consider.

Does Oona age 9, wrinkle her nose under pressure because it’s a nervous tick or is it strategic because she’s so gosh darn adorable?

During a pressure cooker challenge, Abby age 8, attempted to lift an appliance that was almost as big as she was. One of the other kids helped her get it to her table. Already, I’m tearing up.

When they ran around the pantry collecting ingredients for the challenge, Sean age 12, could barely carry his basket. Chef Ramsay helped him out there. They should probably get them shopping carts.

When Isabella age 12, started crying because her dish was found to be undercooked and poorly executed, all the kids and I mean all of them rallied around her with words of support and kindness. Even Ramsay was teary eyed.  Oh my God. My heart.

Even grumpy ass Bastianich appears to be a nicer person when he’s judging MCJ. The kids repeatedly disarm him and he actually breaks out in these big uncontrollably genuine smiles. All the ice just melts. All of the judges are continuously blown away at the sophistication, authenticity, innovation, expertise, and killer plating styles of these gifted children and you can see it on their faces.

Occasionally the camera will pan around the room while the judges are explaining something and you’ll see them with their little heads peeping over their counters or with their chins resting on their hands all eager and beaming with anticipation. They complement each other all the time and they own up to their mistakes as well as their strengths.

“I think I have a pretty awesome palette.”

“My dish was too spicy”

“Her dish looks really good”

*Sigh*

I need to pop out a Master Chef. LOL!!