Author: karen

#42: Too Busy for Your Own Good?

Your life is full, but are you happy?

Do you ever sit down to eat dinner and say, “Wow. I think this is the first time I’ve sat down all day!” I do. It can’t be true, but it sure does feel like it sometimes. It is so easy to get caught up in the grind of life—running the kids around, getting some work done, picking up milk at the store, cooking if you’re lucky, more work, emails—to the point that you may have lost touch with your friends, family, or even yourself. If you are someone who says, “I don’t have time to exercise,” this might be describing you.

You might be busy, but are you happy? Think about that for a second. Are you making time for you to be happy? Sometimes when we are too busy, we overlook our own needs; a basic example is how you might be so focused on the presentation you’re writing that you put off getting up to use the bathroom for an hour or more. Caught you, huh? If you neglect yourself, you won’t be able to be the best you you can be.

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Meatless Monday: Fajitas

An Easy Weeknight Dinner

Fajitas

1 T olive oil
Green, red, and/or orange peppers (about 2 cups), sliced
Small onion, sliced
About ½ package Morningstar Farms or Gardein chicken strips
Dashes of each or any of these: cumin, coriander, oregano, chili powder or ancho chili powder, salt
Sour cream, salsa, and/or avocado for toppings
Small flour tortillas

Cook onions and peppers in the oil on medium heat. Add spices and cook about five minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Add the chicken strips and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until chicken is heated through. Warm tortillas in toaster oven or microwave, then add the fajita mixture. Top with suggested toppings, or come up with your own!

#30: Staying Motivated in the Colder Months

When the thought of taking a shower gives you the chills

Lovely fall, magical end to the heat of summer. Smells of burning wood seem to come out of nowhere. And thoughts of warm bowls of chili, oversized sweatshirts, and couch time start sneaking in.

So how can you stay motivated to exercise in the chillier months? Usually when you are leaving for your exercise class the sun is still up, but now it’s getting dark and your sofa is beckoning. It is hard to keep it up! It is! But you must! Here are some ideas to help you make it through the colder months:

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#29: Another Meatless Monday Dish! Pasta e Fagioli

Hearty, easy, and perfect for the fall.

Pasta e Fagioli

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 2 links Tofurkey sausage
  • 1 ½ T bottled minced garlic
  • 1 c water
  • 16 oz vegetable broth
  • 1 8 oz can no-salt tomato sauce
  • 1 c uncooked seashell pasta (about 4 oz)
  • 1 ½ t dried oregano
  • ¼ t salt
  • ¼ t white pepper
  • 2 15-oz cans cannellini (or other white) beans
  • Crushed red pepper (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and garlic and cook till brown. Remove from saucepan and set aside.

Add water, broth, and tomato sauce to saucepan; bring to a boil. Stir in pasta, oregano, salt, pepper, and beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 8 minutes or until pasta is done. Add cooked sausage. Let stand 5 minutes. Garnish with red pepper if desired.

(Adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.)

#28: Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

A kid- and skeptical partner-friendly meatless Monday meal

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 bag Morningstar Farms or Quorn crumbles
  • 1 6-oz can tomato paste
  • 1 ½ t chili powder
  • 1 t cumin
  • 1/8 t cinnamon
  • 1 t kosher salt
  • 1/8 t freshly ground black pepper
  • Burger buns (we love the new sandwich thins)
  • ½ c grated cheddar cheese (Trader Joe’s has great grated soy cheese)
  • ½ c sour cream (try Tofutti!)

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper. Saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the crumbles and brown. Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly. Spoon onto the buns, sprinkle with cheese, and top with a dollop of sour cream. We like to eat ours open-faced!

(Adapted from a recipe in Real Simple eons ago.)

#27: Vegan Pancakes

So good, you’ll never go back to your old pancake recipe!

5 Minute Vegan Pancakes

These are SO GOOD. You seriously may never go back to your old pancake recipe.

  • 1 c flour
  • 1 T sugar (organic cane works for us)
  • 2 T baking powder
  • 1/8 t salt
  • 1 c soy milk
  • 2 T vegetable oil (as you might imagine, I use about half, and even olive sometimes!)

1. Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.
2. Spray a pan with a little Pam if you used less oil in the recipe, then heat on medium high heat.
3. Spoon batter onto pan and flip when the middle gets bubbly.
4. Add chocolate chips, flax seeds, cinnamon, or anything else that touches your fancy!
5. Repeat until batter is gone!

(Adapted from Food.com)

#26: Eggplant Meat(less)balls for Meatless Monday

Grab some locally grown eggplant before it’s gone for the season!

Eggplant Meat(less)balls

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 1/3 c parmesan or romano cheese
  • 1 t mixed Italian herbs
  • 1 t garlic powder
  • 1 t onion powder
  • Black pepper & sea salt to taste
  • 1 c breadcrumbs

1. Slice eggplant and sprinkle with salt.
2. Let sit 10 minutes to draw out water.
3. Rinse and pat dry.
4. Saute with a splash of olive oil and about ¼ cup of water until eggplant is soft.
5. Remove and chop finely. (We used the food processor.)
6. When eggplant has cooled, mix everything but the breadcrumbs.
7. Add breadcrumbs and mix until you get the consistency you want to form the balls.
8. Place in a generously olive-oiled pan (but remembering that less is more) about 1 inch apart and bake at 400 until golden brown, about 40-60 minutes, turning halfway through to ensure even browning.

We added a thick, organic marinara sauce. The combination is perfect—the texture of meatballs without an overwhelming eggplant taste. Serve over linguini for a fancy-looking dish! Even Bella loved it!

Thanks, Food.com!

#25: If You Are What You Eat, Then….

Is your body the temple it should be?

My mom asked me once again if I’m vegetarian because it’s healthier or because of the animal cruelty. I said both, and more. Environmental issues are a huge part of it. But when I simply said, “and yes, the way the animals are treated is horrible—beyond horrible,” her response was, “I just don’t want to think about it.”

That is exactly what the farming industry wants. The whole business depends on people not thinking about it. You pick up your perfect-sized Perdue cutlets and they look nothing like the bird they used to be. They’re all the same size, same color, no mess, no muss, sizzle and serve. And thank goodness for that, because if you saw how it really went down, you would NOT want to eat that chicken.

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#24: How the Garden Grows

Imagine: me, an urban gardener!

I love being an urban gardener. It’s taking a while for us to figure it all out—how to keep out the squirrels, for instance—but we’re getting it, and our dinner plates are feeling the bounty.

We’re growing lots of different things this year, and even rotating “crops” a bit. The most beautiful surprise is the okra plants that tower like small trees and flower the most gorgeous blooms. The biggest surprise in general was the butternut squash, which taught us that seeds never go in the compost. We let some of the squash grow, though if we hadn’t trimmed it back, it would have taken over the whole garden, and maybe a good part of our yard, too. Anyway, we have two stunning squash now. Who knew? And broccoli! It takes its time growing into the huge plant it becomes, but then the crowns begin to form, and voila! We eat broccoli from our own backyard. Amazing!

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#23: Embrace Your (Fleeting) Passions

Work to find the “yes.”

As parents, Mike and I try to say “yes” to our children more often than “no.” We both very much dislike a morning or couple of days when we hear ourselves saying “no” too many times. I start to put myself in the shoes of my child, and imagine hearing “no, no, no.” The kids smile less during these episodes.

So we work to find the “yes” in the situation. Maybe instead of “don’t do that” it’s “do you want to do this?” I guess we aim to have our glasses half full most of the time instead of half empty.

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