Reading Books

As a child, I would spend my summer vacations happily immersed in books for hours. I still got out to play with neighborhood kids, but if a book got my attention – I was out for the week.

While reading, daily life seemed to become somewhat irrelevant. I didn’t register need for food, social activity, or personal hygiene because I wasn’t living in the “real world.” My mind was lost in the “book world.” My dad or mom would occasionally come find me and remind me to come eat with the family or get dressed to go out; and, begrudgingly, I would set the book down and leave to perform my “real life” activities. But, I was always counting the minutes until I could get back to the exciting activities and characters in my books.

Every once and awhile, this will still happen to me as an adult.

Books and Real Life.

I have more responsibilities as an adult. So, I try to follow some basic rules. First, I make sure I have plenteous time outside of work to read before I decide to pick up a good book. Second, I manage to cook and feed myself, but this is usually with book in hand. So, I can’t make anything too elaborate. And third, I make it a point to go to work instead of calling in sick every day to read my book. ;-)

Hours go by; and finally, on the last page of reading, I am released from it’s magical book spell – UNLESS, of course… the book has a sequel. If that’s the case, I’m off to visit the book shelf, library, or nearest book store.

I guess this is my addiction – since it does seem to consume me for awhile.

Heart Healthy Chicken Caesar Salad.

I did manage to get one thing made tonight – Chicken Caesar Salad. Very simple to make. One could even accomplish this with one hand and limited attention spent on actual cooking activities. I know this because I tried it tonight.

The dressing is light and delicious – a great alternative to the traditional calorie laden “Caesar dressing.”

Recipe: Heart Healthy Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

• Romaine Lettuce, chopped
• Parmesan Cheese
• Chicken Breast
• 1 Egg, soft boiled
• 1 1/2 fresh Lemons
• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Directions:

1. Pound out chicken breast to equal thickness (I did this with the butcher paper covering the meat and my hand as a fist – sophisticated tools are optional). Season with salt and garlic powder on both sides of chicken breast.
2. Place small skillet over medium high heat. Once heated, add 1 T olive oil and quickly place chicken breast in pan. Let cook (WITHOUT MOVING) for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 5 minutes or so until chicken is firm to touch and cooked through.
3. Fill saucepan with water to cover one egg. Set timer for 9 minutes after turning on heat to medium high. Once timer goes off. Remove from heat and rinse with cool water.
4. Assemble chopped romaine and toss with lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper.
5. Add Parmesan flakes, sliced chicken breast, soft boiled egg and lemon wedge.
6. Serve immediately.

A Note to the Diabetics: This meal has no carbohydrates. Remember the goal is not to ELIMINATE carbohydrates, but to keep them consistent. For that reason, this salad would be a great paired with a dessert. I didn’t have any dessert at my house… so I ate a bowl of cereal – which is close enough to dessert in my mind.

This is an article I wrote for college. Pretty interesting stuff…

Has anyone ever told you bacon and eggs are bad for your heart? Well, take out the bacon, and you can tell them they are misinformed.

Despite the fact eggs contain all the basic nutrients for life, they have a bad reputation in the heart healthy world. Unfortunately, eggs are known for the undesirable 200-300mg of cholesterol found in egg yolks. Current guidelines for healthy Americans recommend eating 300mg or less cholesterol per day, and less than 200mg a day for individuals with increased heart risk.  Those individuals used to eating a “hearty breakfast,” were suddenly thrown for a loop. After just one egg, recommended cholesterol allowance for the day has been spent! Well, egg lovers, take heart. A recent study from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry demonstrated a decrease in blood pressure from digestion of egg proteins, particularly in fried eggs. Yes! Eggs are healthy again!

High blood pressure is a very common condition in today’s society. Recent national studies show 31% of all U.S. adults are at risk for high blood pressure, or prehypertensive (>120/80mmHg, normal blood pressure is considered to be less than 120/80). High blood pressure is thought to be caused by one of three things: sodium/salt sensitivity, blood vessel constriction causing a rise in pressure, or increased stress causing an excitatory response in the body.  High blood pressure puts undue stress on the vessels and can lead to heart attack, stroke,or heart failure. Most individuals diagnosed with high blood pressure (>140/90mmHg) are on medicine to prevent further medical complications.

ACE inhibitors are the most popular type of blood pressure medication. ACE stands for Angiotensin I Converting enzyme. ACE is the key enzyme which is responsible for regulation of blood pressure through the “rennin – angiotensin system.” ACE is responsible for constriction of the blood vessels causing an overall rise in pressure when needed. Person’s with high blood pressure may have an overactive ACE response, so ACE inhibitors are needed. This is the exact inhibitory enzyme found in protein from fried eggs that helps lower blood pressure. Hence, eggs are suddenly the good for you again.

Professor Gruen, from the Food Chemistry department in the University of Missouri, explains the egg phenomenon like this, “Eggs aren’t likely to contribute to heart disease because of the nature of ACE inhibitors, from the active proteins in eggs, that act like [blood pressure] drugs in our body.”

All proteins are made of smaller molecular structures called amino acids. There can be anywhere from 2,000 to 100,000 amino acids in a chain to make one protein. The active proteins in the study are in the form of a dipeptide, a chain of two amino acids. In order to break the large proteins in the egg, heat must be added to break the bonds between amino acids. The study from the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry compared different cooking methods to the production of the ACE inhibiting proteins. They used very sophisticated measures to single out tiny protein strand and analyze which protein fractions are the most active inhibitors. Eggs were boiled and fried. They found the  boiled eggs had less of the active ingredient for two main reasons. One, the eggs were boiled in water that could only reach 100°C while the fried eggs are not limited by a boiling point and could reach much higher temperatures. The higher the heat source, the easier it was to break apart the protein. The second reason is in the shape of the two cooked eggs. The boiled egg is heated gradually from the outside in; meanwhile, the fried egg has a much greater surface area that is heated more evenly. The heat from cooking helps to breakdown proteins throughout the entire egg. Dr Gruen explains it like this, “Proteins resemble a tight ball of yarn. When you heat a protein it loosens up the ball of yarn. Then, enzymes, a chemical meant to cut the protein, can cut into the yarn ball more effectively. These small clippings of yarn are active proteins that are easily digested and used by the body.”

Even though the study concluded that in vitro (test tube) egg digestion indicates a high absorption of active proteins to lower blood pressures, an in vivo (using human subjects) study is needed to confirm this assumption.  Dr. Gruen says this is quite common to start with in vitro studies in order to apply for large grant money needed for human studies.  When questioned, Dr. Jianping Wu, co-author for the study, confirmed plans for a second study using human subjects. Dr. Gruen believes the next logical step would be to use human subjects to study how many fried eggs would have to be consumed to be equivalent to one ACE inhibitor drug. As new information comes out, cardiac diet guidelines may be changing to include more eggs in the recommendations for heart health.

Bottom line, Dr. Gruen speculates that the bacon and egg breakfast American’s are trying to avoid  “is probably not that bad for you,” and Jianping Wu assures me he eats eggs every morning.

Thoughts?

Every believer goes through ebbs and flows of belief and unbelief.

It happens to me just like it happens to everyone else. For some people, it can happen when something really bad happens. A person might question, “How could God allow this to happen?”

Not me. I’m strong in my belief during bad times.

I tend to slip when everything is going well – a little too well.

That moment when I think I can handle it all on my own and when my pride starts taking over my need, I start to struggle. Of course, I don’t always realize that I’m struggling. There are so many things that can distract me from the lack of faith I have in God.

So many things to do… people to see… and I don’t feel wrong because I’m still going to church. Usually, I don’t notice it’s happening until subtle differences start to kick in:

• During church services, I struggle to sing along. I love to sing. Why would I struggle? I don’t want to engage. I don’t want to participate. I’m not in the movement. I’m apart from the movement (by my own choice).
• My letters to God begin to dwindle – I’m not as concerned about what he would have for my life -I’m busy thinking about what I would have for my life.
• I want to make my own choices. I want to choose my own path. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.

Eventually, the “I have it all in control” or rebellion feeling wears off; and when that happens, I tend to crash. But it’s not over yet…. I look for someone to BLAME.

Instead of looking inside myself for the problem, I have a tendency to start blaming others. YOU are the reason why my relationship with God is fading. The CHURCH is the reason why my relationship with God is fading. My FRIENDS/FAMILY lack of faith is the reason why my relationship with God is fading.

No.

It’s ME.

It’s always been me.

No one can make you walk away from God. And by the same token, we’re not called to only be surrounded by those people that are “good influences” on our life. There is a certain variety to everything in life. When Christians only hang out with Christians – they’re missing the point. We’re called to be among the world. But instead we’re scared of people that believe things differently than our own beliefs.

I realized that no one has pulled me away from God. I let myself wander away from God when I pointed fingers of blame, when I forgot to love, when I focused on being “right,” when I excluded instead of included, and when I allowed other things to take up my time I previously set aside for God.

We can choose differently. I can choose differently.

Next time you think of putting the blame on someone else, think again.  It might be you.

Thank God for loving us even though all we want to do is think of ourselves. There are so many days I do not feel worthy of this grace.

One of my baby sisters turned 20 today!

Note – Before I continue, I have to admit something. I missed my other sister’s birthday on the blog – I love you, Amber.

Reasons I’m glad to be the older sister…

1. Who else was going to to teach me how to tease my hair?
2. You let me into your space. All the time. You always have… even when you were just a little girl.
3. You’re my roomie. While I was sad that you were gone a lot of the time when we lived together, you were still one of the best roommates ever.
4. I love our deep conversations on life – what it is, what it should be, what it could be.
5. I like how people are quick to type cast you and instead of fighting back – like I would- you just keep smiling. Eventually, they realize their error. You let them discover things at their own pace instead of rushing things.
6. You help me find music I’ll like when I can’t remember what any of the songs are called on the radio/CD player/TV.
7. You play along with my silly games, even though some of your accents need work…
8. Anytime I’m stressed out, you make it better. You work miracles for my psyche.
9. You’re smart and talented, but you don’t brag about it. I feel like I learn new things about you all the time, and I’m proud of you.
10. I couldn’t have asked for better sisters to come into my life. You’re perfect for me and I’m so happy to be here for you.

I love you, Bri. Happy Birthday!

Birthday Celebration Dinner

On our birthday, our mom lets us pick what we want to eat and we all get together for a family dinner. I thought I would share what Bri picked for her birthday dinner. I always forget how good it is… until it’s her birthday again and I’m reminded.

Recipe: Heart Healthy Taco Salad

Ingredients:

• Romaine Lettuce
• Mild Cheddar Cheese, small cubes
• Green Onions, diced
• Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 can Kidney Beans, rinsed
• 1-2 Ears of Corn, blackened
• 1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper, sliced
• Crushed Tortilla Chips
• Dressing: 1/2 Ranch, 1/2 Salsa.

Directions:

1. Cook corn over grill or gas stove until blackened on outside. Cut corn off cob.
2. Cut and assemble ingredients.
3. Toss together in a large salad bowl.
4. Top with crushed chips and salad dressing.
5. Recommend serving with grilled chicken breast.

A Note to the Diabetics: I would count this salad as 15 grams of carbohydrate per serving. This easily fed 6 people tonight for dinner with my family. Very yummy. Do try.

This week my boyfriend came into town and I had to impress him with something…

Homemade bread.

Looking back, it’s not probably my smartest idea. My boyfriend tries to avoid gluten.So, knowing what I knew… I made the best decision I could think of… AND I offered him a loaf of gluten.

Bad idea. I know. But, he liked it anyways. And, for the record, he’s not actually gluten intolerant. He’s got “other reasons” for avoiding the gluten monster. (i.e. no gluten is more like a suggestion, rather than a rule)

This bread is very easy to make. 

You could do this at home. In fact, you SHOULD do this at home.

Don’t do it alone though… invite someone to do it with you. Make it a fun activity for your family or your grandchildren. Get back to the basics of life. Cooking has been around forever. I think we’re one of the only generations where cooking is actually at risk for becoming extinct. Eee! Scary.

We need a cooking REVIVAL! This bread is a good start. It’s so light and fluffy that you won’t be upset you spent the time and effort to make it.

Here’s the recipe…

Recipe: Honey Oat Bread

Makes 10 slices of bread or 1 small loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 C Warm Water
• 1 Tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp and 1/4 C Honey, divided
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 C Rolled Oats
• 1 C Bread Flour
• 1/2 C Wheat Flour
• 1/2 C Oat Flour (use food processor)
• 1 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine 1 tsp honey, yeast, and warm water. Stir well and let set for 10 minutes or until mixture begins to foam.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Knead on floured surface for 5 minutes.
4. Let rise in a greased and covered bowl for 1-2 hours. ( I let this happen while I was busy going to church)
5. Punch it down and knead it again for 1-2 minutes. Let rise again for 30 minutes.
6. Bake in oven at 350 for 30 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle poppy seeds and oats on top.
8. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let cool.

A Note to the Diabetics: One slice of homemade bread is usually around 30 grams of carbohydrate. It ends up being higher than normal store bought bread because it’s more DENSE than commercialized bread. It’s okay to eat it, just don’t go hog-wild on it. Budget for your 45 or 60 grams of carbohydrate and enjoy the experience.

It’s hard to eat healthy when you’re eating out… unless you go to the right places.

A good clue that you’ve found somewhere health conscious – when you find edible flowers on the menu.

Organizations that celebrate healthy eating or your body can be great eating experiences. Not to mention they can help  you expand your horizons on eating.

Today I ate at the healthiest restaurant in Jefferson City – Vitality Cafe.

I’m never disappointed when I visit them. The owners are great and make you feel like you’re at home in their restaurant. I was excited to try the “Live Thai Collard Wraps” with collard greens, pineapple, cashew sauce, mint, and cilantro…. AND the “Fresh Beet Ravioli” which was basically two slices of beets with a cheese type mixture in between. The beet ravioli was served with a side salad – including greens, shredded carrots, green onion, shredded beets, radishes, and fresh FLOWERS. I think I ate rose petals and lilac blooms. It was great.

I’m always telling people you can eat flowers, but they never believe me. (Boyfriend included.)

Restaurants can be an opportunity to try new things.

If you’re not sure what the possibilities are for butternut squash or beets then you might be able to try a dish with these at your healthy eating establishment. This way, you can gain not only food for your belly, but also knowledge on how to take care of yourself better at home.

Take some interest in healthy eating establishments in your area.

It may cost more when the check comes; but trust me, you’ll be investing wisely.

These delicious cookies are for my friends in Kentucky… thank you for always reading.

I love making brown butter cookies. You know why? Because they are so much MORE than regular cookies. I like the complexity of the flavors you can only create by adding an ingredient that’s partially burnt.

Here’s how you make brown butter… put butter in a pan and burn it. Once it’s burned, turn off the heat. Strange, right?

Don’t forget to leave out the bits and pieces that are left in the bottom when you add it to the recipe…

Wahlaa! Delicious brown butter. Ready to use in your cookies.

Every once and awhile I get good ideas. I was looking at another popcorn cookie recipe that used regular butter, when I thought of the brown butter.The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

Brown Butter + Chocolate Chip + Oatmeal + Popcorn = ?!?!?!

I was not disappointed. AND, I’ve gotten really great reviews from friends and family. In fact, they are so good that I had them for breakfast this morning. (Not recommended as a lifestyle behavior).

Anyways, point being – you can benefit from my cookie addiction because I only post truly amazing cookies.

Recipe: Brown Butter Popcorn Cookies

Makes 24 medium cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C Butter, browned
• 1/2 C Brown Sugar
• 1/4 C Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 C Flour
• 1/4 C Oat Flour (put oats into a food processor)
• 1 1/4 C Oatmeal
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/3 tsp Salt (or a slightly heaping 1/4 tsp)
• 1 C English Walnuts
• 1/2 C Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 C popped Popcorn

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, add one stick of butter over medium high heat. Cook until browned and remove from heat.
2. In a medium mixing bowl combine brown butter (without dredges), brown sugar, and white sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add flour, oat flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
4. Fold in old fashioned oats, walnuts, chocolate chips, and popcorn.
5. Place on cookie sheets in slightly larger than 1 Tbsp size balls.
6. Cook in preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 8-9 minutes.

A Note to the Diabetics: You, too, can have delicious cookies. It’s okay that they’re made with REAL sugar. You just have to know how much it costs (in carbohydrates) and count them into your budget. These cookies actually ended up being very low in carbohydrates.

1 Medium Cookie = 13 grams of carbohydrate and 130 calories. 

Last but not least… pack up a bag of some of these cookies to send to your friends. These particular cookies made their way to Kentucky yesterday. I hope you all enjoyed them.