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Monday Link & List Love [01.21.2013]

I have found some interesting links lately that I wanted to share:

Monday Link Love

  • The Nitrate & Nitrite Myth: Another Reason not to Fear Bacon: This article “debunks” the idea that nitrates and nitrites can cause serious health problems (cancer, heart disease). Honestly – I want to believe it; I just don’t know if I can. Apparently nitrates and nitrites are found in much higher amounts in natural foods like celery and even in our own saliva than they are in hot dogs, bacon, and other processed meats. Even if they are – aren’t they different? Wouldn’t our bodies treat “natural” (whatever that means) nitrates/nitrites differently than artificial ones? I have no idea. I’m not a food scientist but I would really like to know the truth behind processed meats. (Because I love bacon. Who doesn’t?)
  • Breaking the Cycle of Emotional Eating: Just some goods tips for leading a happy, healthy life. I especially like #5 – Unleash Your Creativity and Do Something You Love Every Single Day.
  • Homemade Lotion Recipe: I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks like it really couldn’t be simpler.
  • Slow-Cooker Squash Stew: Butternut squash, chard, and parmesan? Count me in.
  • 7 Ways You Might Be Inadvertently Sabotaging a Good Night’s Sleep: I may not always agree with him, but Mark Sisson just about always has an intelligent, well-thought-out response to just about every question or problem anyone could possibly have. In this case I do agree with him. The article is from November but particularly applicable now that I’m trying to sleep earlier. He makes good points – 1) are you getting natural light during the day? 2) are you eating too late? 6) do you have a nighttime ritual? and 7) are you simply staying up too late? –> These 4 all right true for me.
  • Vow to Get More Sleep in 2013: Another sleep article. Tips include 3) turn the heat down, 4) unplug (what I should be doing now!), 5) meditate, 6) do yoga (OK!), and 7) stop puttering! (That means no chores after 9pm, yes I am talking to you my fellow type A’s.)

And I also just wanted to share some other random things…

Monday List Love

  • Wanted to share this pic of dinner the other night. I was out of the city all day Saturday and when I got home, Bobby had prepared this beautiful meal! It’s a salad with hard boiled egg, bacon, onion, and homemade dressing. I had no idea he could cook – he totally outdid himself. He also made butternut squash ravioli (from TJ’s) with sauteed veggies and he cooked up a cheesy mushroom flatbread (also courtesy of TJ’s). The salad is served in a really beautiful dish from my mom.
    bobby-dinner-salad-ravioli-wine
  • Bobby used this salad recipe for the dinner salad and dressing. It was supposed to be spinach but I prefer romaine as a salad base.

That’s all I have… I’m off to do some reading and relax before I go to sleep (early). Hope your week is off to a good start.

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Healthy Monday: Semi-Homemade Fried Rice (Vegetarian)

Studies suggest we are more likely to maintain behaviors begun on Monday throughout the week. That makes Monday the perfect day to make a change for your health and the health of our planet.

I (finally) cooked!

Kind of.

Source

It was semi-homemade fried rice, courtesy of Trader Joe’s frozen section.

Semi-Homemade Vegetarian Fried Rice

Ingredients (serves 2 – we have big appetites)

  • 1 bag of frozen veggie fried rice from Trader Joe’s (“4 servings” supposedly)
  • 1 bag of frozen vegetables (medley of beans and carrots)
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add vegetables. Saute for 1-2 minutes.
  2. Beat eggs in a cup. Add to veggies. Scramble the eggs and veggies for 2-3 minutes, or until the eggs are mostly done.
  3. Add in the rice. Continue to cook for 5 minutes or so, or until the rice is heated through.
  4. Serve!

Delicious. Semi-homemade is the way to go when you don’t have much time or motivation to cook. I got the ingredients for this dish from the new Trader Joe’s on the upper west side. It was a nice ~1.5 mile walk each way.

Healthy Monday: healthy-ish home cooking (whether it’s semi-homemade or fully homemade – homecooking is probably better than restaurant-made) and lots of walking.

What is your favorite semi-homemade dish to prepare? What is your favorite Trader Joe’s product?

Some related posts…

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Family, Salads, Documentary, Flowers, Dessert, and Zumba (!)

This post is full of random.

Family Time

Last night after work I headed home and found my brother waiting in the cafe under my apartment. I like being with family; I’m glad that I get to see him a couple times a month. I miss the rest of my family and Bobby’s family too. Luckily we will be hosting Bobby’s parents later this month, which we are both excited for. We want to take them out to all of our favorite places. These are my siblings now (left to right: sis, bro, me, bobby, sis-in-law):

Salad Time

The cafe downstairs was having $1 off salad day yesterday so that is what I had for the first course of my dinner. I said “tofu” but the guy heard “tuna“, so that was my main ingredient. I should accidentally order tuna more often; this was delicious. It also had: egg whites, portobello mushrooms, mandarin oranges, olives, grapes, apples, broccoli, sprouts, roasted peppers, regular peppers, beets, tomatoes, and I can’t even remember what else. It has unlimited toppings so I get pretty much everything. I get the chipotle ranch dressing on the side (but I use the whole thing).

Mind Over Money

I ate my salad while watching a Nova documentary called Mind Over Money. If you are an economist (Coco) or if you just enjoy learning, check it out. It talks about the debate between behavioral and traditional (more rational) economics, and basically says that humans don’t act rationally when it comes to money – we are irrational and very much influenced by our emotions. It talks about the (in)efficiency of markets, why the crash in 2008 might have happened (and why economists didn’t predict it), the housing bubble, the tulip bubble of the 1600s, decision making, and more. I really enjoyed it. I double majored in econ and math so this was right up my alley.

We have Netflix and I watched the documentary streaming on my computer (we can watch Netflix streaming on the TV too using Bobby’s XBox). We don’t get cable and I don’t watch TV aside from Netflix documentaries anymore. And Hoarders.

Flowers for Sanity

I read somewhere that keeping flowers in the house helps keep you happy and healthy. I like them because they are a little bit of nature right in my Manhattan apartment. These are from Trader Joe’s and they were just $3.99. Good deals make me happy too 🙂

Dessert Snack Time

I never have “just a salad” for dinner and tonight was no exception. I don’t usually like nut butter, but I was in a nutty mood last night so I spread a large Trader Joe’s blueberry muffin with probably too much peanut butter and savored it. I don’t have a picture though. It wasn’t that pretty but it sure was toothsome, sapid, and titillating. There are some good vocab words for you!

And… Zumba!

I went to a gym class and I ran into Missy! We chatted and then did class together. I have been to better Zumba classes though – the instructor last night was very repetitive and too fast.

Do you have any random things to share?

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Salad Tuesday and Flat Bread

I added a tab on the blog called “Operation Wedding“. I’ll be tracking my workouts and progress over the next 2.5 months… July 24th is quickly approaching! Operation Wedding is well underway – I am very sore this morning.

In other wedding news, I got a caterer. It’s going to be a secret though. You will just have to wait and see because I feel like being secretive. At least for now.

I wanted to share two yummy salads that I have made recently. I always eat more salads in the summer – I just crave them. And I have decided that $2.99 for a bunch of kale is not so terrible. It’s cheaper than eating out, I suppose.

Salad numero uno:

  • base: romaine; massaged kale with avocado, lemon juice, salt, and bragg’s liquid aminos
  • toppings: tomatoes, cucumbers, uncured organic turkey bologna (nitrate/nitrite-free)
  • dressing: pear-feta dressing from trader joe’s

Salad numero dos:

  • base: romaine; massaged kale with avocado, lemon juice, salt, and bragg’s liquid aminos
  • toppings: beets sauteed in butter + some cilantro, uncured organic turkey bologna (nitrate/nitrite-free), shredded cheddar cheese
  • dressing: annie’s lite honey mustard dressing

They were delicious. Reminds me of doing Leng’s salad challenges last year. I hear RhodeyGirl is doing a salad challenge right now too, and so is Lara. I adore salad, and I probably have a salad almost every day without even trying. Don’t forget, I am The Salad Girl.

In non-salad news, I had this amazing flatbread from Trader Joe’s this weekend:

It was called the “Tarte aux Champignons” – a French style flat bread with mushrooms, emmental, and parmesan (love!) cheese. I ate half and Bobby ate half… but I stole his crust. It was amazing. I actually wish the whole thing was just crust. We’ll definitely be buying this again if we can ever get into Trader Joe’s. I had to get this when I was in New Jersey because the Union Square Trader Joe’s lines are always too long.

What’s your favorite salad dressing? Mine is certainly honey mustard! I get it 99% of the time.