Just a Little More Time

By that I mean studying. There is a part of me that wants to hurry up and get my credits to be an RD but I want to pass. The end of October looks good. I’ll keep hold of the Inman study guide and I might even write a few blogs regarding nutrition information of sorts. If anything I’m tired of test anxiety getting in the way.  But I am pleased to say that Jeff did pass his exam yesterday!!!! I’m so proud!!!

In other news, Jeff picked up this little ditty at the library the other day. 

 For those who are not familiar with this, Tupelo Honey Café is one of those wonderful little finds in the mountains of Asheville. On the weekends the place is packed for brunch. One of my favorite memories when Jeff and I were first dating, we made a trip to Asheville from Sylva on a wintery day in January.  We had planned to leave early that evening but an unexpected snow storm prohibited us from leaving. So we got a room in a newly built hostel in downtown Asheville, had dinner and drinks at the Lexington Avenue Brewing Company (aka the LAB) and the next morning as the snow had become more manageable, Jeff and I walked over to Tupelo Honey where we consumed a brunch feast of freshly brewed coffee, homemade grits, roasted vegetables, locally made sausage and biscuits with honey. Confession this was over 2 years ago but oddly enough I remember thinking how lucky we were to be able to get in for brunch without having to wait in line! 

 My next project will be to create Tupelo Honey’s signature Sweet Potato Pancakes.  Some time ago, before I even moved to the mountains, Rachel Ray had featured this on $40 a day and I mean why not feature this wonderful idea? I mean it’s a pancake, with sweet potato, which means it’s packed with vitamin A and a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Happy Sunday Everyone!

“Howlin’ for You” –Black Keys

How does Your Garden Grow?

For quite some time I have been interested in starting a gardening project of sorts. So when Jeff and I moved to Raleigh and leased an apartment with an amazing porch, we decided to fill some of the space with a hanging window box and a few pots/old containers of seeds. 

 Assembling the hanging box was very easy. We purchased the materials from Walmart and Home Depot. You can find these box and the bedding materials in the gardening department of both these stores. But when it comes to the seeds, I would say that Home Depot has a better array of seeds. 

 We purchased the basil at the farmers market a few weeks ago, so far it has fared well.  In the hanging box we have also included rosemary, a tomato plant and some lettuce. I cannot even begin to start with how happy I am about the lettuce. It makes more since for Jeff and I to grow lettuce at home for salads than to go to the store and buy a box of organic each time. Yeah, I do spend more money on organic lettuce because of two reasons: it tastes better and lasts longer. End of story.

The lettuce has been split into two different places. One in the hanging box and the other in, ironically enough, an old lettuce container we up-cycled.  It feels like Christmas morning every morning I go out to check the plants. I’m just so happy to see it grow and how tall it’s getting. Jeff and I will be having fresh lettuce for dinner and lunch in no time. 

A little lemon tree is also in the process of developing on our porch. Jeff’s dad went to Texas this summer and brought back some lemon seeds in addition to a chili plant. They have both found refuge with us. The tree is growing at a slow pace. Our chili plant is in the hanging box and it too is growing not as fast as I would have intended. But then again we have had rain the past two nights and will continue on for the next few days. 

Come on babies, grow for Mommy.

Much ado about Nothing

I had to work the dinner shift last night, oddly enough it seemed like a typical night, somewhat busy, people being very particular about certain food, gorging on the abnormal concoctions of meal add-ons, when all of a sudden a headache approached out of nowhere. I thought ok no big deal just keep working, drink some water and it will go away. No such luck. It kept getting worse. Then on top of that I felt very weak and queasy.  My first thought was “oh no migraine” so I had to leave work early during the dinner rush (not good=very busy time) then my manager said that if I was sick I shouldn’t work the lunch shift for the next day. So I had today off. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Regardless, I’m not too frazzled about it. After a night of rest and some leftover pho, I do feel way better.

 I did get some review in today as well as some grocery shopping time in. Currently Jeff is slaving away in the kitchen working on an amazing chicken dish. 

 

Oh yeah baby :)

After a few hours of reviewing the Inman study guide on food science it was decided to make a few stops to a few of our favorite places. For the record, yes Jeff and I are food dorks. And we are not ashamed. Our first mission was going to our local European market. Many wonderful Russian, Greek, Hungarian, Bulgarian delicacies. I picked up some Hungarian smoked sausage and a milk chocolate ladybug. Mmmm sausage good, I’ll try the ladybug after dinner tonight.

Next stop was somewhat unexpected. Jeff and I have been talking about getting a cat or dog or perhaps even both when the time is right. So we stopped by the Wake County Animal Shelter to do some looking for a potential best friend. Jeff has his eye on a hound dog for some time now. He has now been adopted. Good and sad at the same time. He would have been such a good dog. We picked up a few kittys too. Oh they were so cute :) 

Aldi, also known as the best grocery store ever, was our next stop for some wine to stock up on. I mean at $4.99 a bottle where can we go wrong? This was truly one of those excursions where we went to pick up one or two things and we leave with 10 items. Guilty. I’m thinking about making some homemade peanut butter cups with the help of a recipe from Mama Pea herself. 

 Our wine rack looks so complete!

Final stop was Big Lots in search of some butchers twine.  I don’t know what it is about this store but I never leave disappointed. I found Bob’s Red Mill products for a very good price!! Unfortunately there wasn’t anything I really needed but none the less I was very pleased to see these products at Big Lots. I was tempted to pick up some granola but I’ve come to the conclusion lately that it’s easier to make granola at home. But who knows, I could change my mind come tomorrow, perhaps.

Take care everyone. Jeff and I are taking prayer/belief requests for the time being before and day of exam.

“Eye of the Tiger”-Survivor

Why Can’t Mornings Last Longer?

Today is one of those days where I wish the morning would never go away. I think it’s one of the little pleasures in life people tend to take for granted. I really wanted to do nothing this morning but for some reason a good ole breakfast seemed to get me out of that funk. My craving this morning consisted of pancakes, crispy apple smoked bacon, coffee and a juice concoction created by Jeff. 

As this bountiful feast was being prepared, I listed to a podcast from Stuff You Should Know. My old roommate from Asheville got me hooked onto these intriguing on-air shows.  Within the Stuff You Should Know podcasts, there’s also Stuff Mom Never Told You (Ashley’s favorite) and Stuff You Missed in History Class. Today’s selected show was Should there be a Fat Tax? Given the field that Jeff and I are in (dietetics) this was somewhat beneficial for us to tone into. Given it was difficult to fully listen in with the pancakes smoking on the griddle and the sound of Jeff’s juicer, we still caught some interesting tid bits. For example, did you know that in recent surveys young people are more willing to have foods higher in saturated fats taxed in comparison to the older population which are less favorable in having these certain foods taxed?  Oxford researchers have also come to the conclusion that a “17.5% Value Added Tax on unhealthy food could save up to 3,200 lives a year” (Silverman, 2012). You can either go on itunes to hear the whole podcast or http://www.howstuffworks.com/fat-tax1.htm for more information.

This brings up an interesting debate/conversation, should we increase the cost of certain fatty foods in hopes of a decline in mortality rates? The first thing I could feel many people saying would be “we have the right to choose which foods we eat.” This is very true. We do have the free will to select whichever foods we choose. Yet, I see it this way, the incidence of disease and various health implications, have escalated dramatically in the past 20 years or so.  At this rate I would assume that these numbers have the possibility of increasing.  During my internship with both WIC and the VA hospital, I counseled many people who fell under two categories. There were those who wanted to change and were making lifestyle changes to do so, then I saw those who would twist my words around or frankly didn’t give a damn but still showed up to meetings because family encouraged them to do so.  The problem that I would hear most often, it’s easier and cheaper to eat junk food and get fast food than it is to eat fresh produce or cook meals at home. So my thought is this, if these fatty food prices did increase would dietitians and medical staff see different results in terms of weight and lipid values or would the habit still be too difficult to break?

I told Jeff that one day I might want to consider teaching at the university level. This would be a very interesting homework, short essay or classroom discussion topic for students to voice their opinions and see where their minds go.

In other news, I have one week until I take the RD exam. Eeeeekkkk!! Ok rule one: don’t stress, it’s just a test. It’s just a test. Ughhhh. I don’t feel as though my anxiety is as bad as it was a few weeks ago yet for the most part I feel tired from studying this material. Everyone who has taken it says it is really hard. Well at least I know that going in.  I will just keep studying for now and see what happens.

I have also been procrastinating on another project. One of Jeff’s friends, who develops web-sites, and I have been discussing the idea of setting up an on-line portfolio of my projects from the internship. I’ve created an outline I just need to finish that and get some work samples for the project. I keep forgetting this so hopefully tomorrow I can send the information out for him to give me a quote! I had heard of this idea during my internship but never really thought more of it. At least not until I stumbled upon a blog from a dietetic intern from Maryland called Mission Dietitian.  Her blog includes her portfolio as well as her resume. Such an awesome idea and cute layout. I can’t wait to get this project up and going!

Well I need to get myself together for work tonight!

Nifty Little Gadgets and Projects

This summer, as I was spending my last days in Asheville, I came to realize the joy of making things at home instead of having to go to the grocery store. Sure Pintrest could be blamed for some of this, but in reality, having seen Jeff and friends around the mountains make their own laundry detergent, bread, jams, biscuits, tomato sauce, stock, all-purpose cleaner and even crayons left me very enthusiastic about starting similar practices.  Not only are these methods more cost effective but provides a more natural/ homestead type touch.

For some time I have tried to make my own bread and I would usually have created something that looked like a crusty pancake. So one day on a whim, I mentioned to Jeff the idea of a bread maker. Yes, yes some of you might think that’s “cheating” or not the way it should be, but as I have come to find out it’s actually a very time effective tool. Back to the whim I got that one day in Durham, so with this thought, Jeff and I went to Goodwill.  After searching for less than 10 minutes Jeff yells from the other side of the store, “Hey hun!  Look what I found!” Jeff found a Black and Decker automatic bread maker for only $6.00!!!!!! Since purchasing this wonderful find, I have made many whole wheat loaves as well as dough for making rolls and pizza. Best purchase I have ever made.  For anyone who is interested in a bread maker, they are everywhere at Goodwill, for an affordable cost. I’ve had mine for over 6 months now and with no problems (knock on wood) to speak of.

Like many people, I do love a good scoop of ice cream. So 2 years ago while on a drive to the Cashiers area of the mountains, Jeff and I stumbled into a Habitat for Humanity store and found an old ice cream maker. I don’t remember the price but I will tell this, it was a delicious (pun) good deal.  Lately we’ve been using it more often. The key ingredient has been sour cream. Low-fat and about a pint each time we make it.  We use a little bit of sugar, about ½ cup or so, vanilla extract and whatever ingredient we have available. The other day Jeff picked up Rose Water from a European market. It tasted soooo good!! We have also made strawberry and vanilla as well. My hope is that we make a peanut butter and jelly or jam :) ice cream soon.

Before leaving Asheville, I took it upon myself to create my own version of one of my favorite food products…..NUTELLA. Yes folks, that’s right, Nutella, the sweet, creamy, hazelnutty goodness.  In order for this project to be made possible, a food processor is highly required. Also a warning, the hazelnuts used for this project are very expensive. I went to Earth Fare and only purchased 1 cup of the nuts for $8.00. The other ingredients were not as bad:

·         ¼ cup dark cocoa powder

·         ½ cup powdered sugar

·         ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         4 tablespoon canola oil

(When I make this again I will add some skim milk to the mix for creamier texture)

I have a confession to make, I am not the most patient person in the world. There were two aspects of this project that got the better of me. First was removing the skin from the outside of the nuts. Some were easy to get off and others… not so much. The other was straining the mixture after all ingredients were placed in the food processor. When the paste comes out it is still quite nutty and chunky. Straining the mixture took quite a bit of time. Again I think I will add some skim milk next time for a smoother consistency or use a medium sized food processor instead of a big one. The final project turned out better than I would have thought.

Another DIY project that struck my mind was the idea of canning strawberries to make jam. Since moving to Raleigh, Jeff and I have found many wonderful flea markets, one of which with affordable produce, say $1.00 for a pint of strawberries kind of good.  My mom would make strawberry jelly every summer while I was at home she would always be somewhat tightly wound up during this time honored tradition. Needless to say I picked up many strawberries, basic canning goods from Target, a container of sugar-free pectin, a recipe from Peas and Thank You and set up to make my own strawberry jam one afternoon. Honestly it was quite a stressful event. You have to sanitize oh and did I mention sanitize some more?  I was so worried about the jam not tasting right or creating some sort of food-borne illness. 4 hours of sanitizing, mixing jam and all while watching the Hunger Games and the bonus material, 4 jars of very tart and sugar-free jam were canned and displayed with joy in the cabinets and fridge of our apartment.

Overall, I do believe that I'm on my way to being a homesteader. Well, a homesteader of sorts. Today shall be a busy day of errands, home projects and studying.
"Jammin" -Bob Marley