Every writer needs to read.

It’s part of how I get inspired. Before I ever dreamed of writing, I read… and read… and read. It’s amazing what you can learn when other people are willing to teach/write.

Sadly, one of the ways I kept up with my favorite writers was through “Google Reader.” This is being discontinued soon, so I thought it made sense to make a list of my favorites and share them with you. These are pretty legit people and I wish I was their friend instead of their reader, but they’re probably a bit to famous for that by now.

” Sorry, my blog is TOO successful. No longer looking for friends. Full.”

In another world, they would be my friends.

But, regardless, they’re people I really admire and look up to. They’re also people I learn from. You can learn from them, too.

1. Joy the Baker – Joy is about to celebrate her 32nd birthday and she wrote a list of things to continue seeking in her life. (^I linked to it. It’s really good. You should read it.) I love reading her blog because she is keeps it real, while still managing to be hilarious and insightful. I’ve also rarely seen food that looks quite as cute as hers. Very, very cute food.
2. Don Miller “Storyline” – I’ve been reading Don Miller’s blog for about 4 years now. He has really good insight into people, God, and a plethora of his own emotions. When I first started reading it, he was always the writer. Now, I think he is more popular and he lets his friends guest write for him. Occasionally, he’ll still write.  I’ll warn you, sometimes he’s a bit of a jerk. But, he admits it often enough that it’s not as offensive. I think he’s genuinely in the pursuit of bettering himself and the world, so I do enjoy reading his blog.
3. Weighty Matters - This blog is written by an actual bariatric physician. I know his life has to be very busy, but I appreciate that he takes time out of his day to share some of his knowledge with the world. Yoni Freedhoff writes on weight loss marketing, nutrition labeling, and ridiculous health claims. He’s a good blog to read if you’re wanting to sort through some nutrition propaganda floating around in your head. This particular blog (linked above) is about how MONSTER FRUIT IS TAKING OVER THE SUPERMARKET. Yikes. That’s a real big pear, folks.
4. Summer Tomato – Fridays are my favorite day to read “Summer Tomato.” The blog is written by Darya Pinyo, a PhD in neuroscience, that writes on basic nutrition and science related topics. On Fridays, however, she gives links to her favorite articles from the week. They’re usually really interesting reads and she always gives you her opinion on them as well. She’s really smart, so it’d be a good idea to check out her site.

I have more favorites, but you don’t have time to be on the computer all day!! Start with these and I’ll give you some more to read before Google Reader closes forever on July 1st…. (sad face)

My first AMAZING experience with BEETS.

Everyone thinks I must love beets because of the name of my blog. The truth is that I really like beets, but I really like A LOT of vegetables. Actually, I didn’t realize how much I liked them until about  5 years ago when I tasted one of the most delicious salads of my life.

I remember it vividly, but I had no real “recipe” per say. I had to try to recreate it.

Here are some tips on how to guess a recipe. I’m good at this… It’s like I told my boyfriend on our first date, I’m a detective.

STEP ONE: Collecting Clues..

1. What ingredients?
2. How are ingredients prepared?
3. In what ratio?
4. Is there a sauce/dressing?
5. Does it taste tangy? Sweet? Salty?
6. What goes on top? What goes on bottom?
7. What does it look like when it’s finished?

I’ve always been a visual learner – so maybe that’s why these clues just seem natural for me. I know the difference between the way a roasted potato looks compared to a boiled potato. I wouldn’t confuse those two things. As you begin to cook more, you’ll be able to pick up on these differences, too.

STEP TWO: Be Bold with Confidence…

What if the recipe calls for something you’ve never done before? Well, why don’t you come up with some basic guidelines and wing it?

This particular recipe called for grilled steak. My cooking companion and I had no experience grilling. I told her a couple of tricks someone told me a long time ago and then I told her to “Do her best.” You know what happened? She did great. You never know what you’re capable of until you try it.

Recipe: Steak and Root Vegetable Spring Salad

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sirloin steak or flank steak
• 1 large sweet potato, cubed with skin
• 2 large beets, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 Large onion, cut into half slices.
• 1/2 C water
• 2 T Cumin
• 1 T Pepper
• 1 T Salt
• Olive Oil
• Spring Mix Salad Greens
• 1/4 C Almonds, toasted
• Salad Dressing: 1/2 C Sherry Vinegar, 1/4 C Beet Juice (from roasting pan), 3 Tbsp Olive Oil.

Directions:

1. Combine cumin, pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Rub steak with spice mixture. Grill over high heat (approximately 5 minutes on each side). Remove from heat and let rest before cutting.
2. Cut tops of beets off, wash, and cube. Place beet cubes in small glass baking dish with 1/2 C water. Roast for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.
3. Cube sweet potato. Place on lined baking sheet with onion slices.  Rub with olive oil and sprinkle salt. Place in oven, alongside beets, and bake for 15-20 minutes.
4. Toast Almonds for last 5 minutes of roasting time.
5. Toss greens with prepared salad dressing.
6. Lay salad greens down in plate and top with roasted vegetables, slices of steak and almonds.

A Note to the Diabetics:  Each serving of salad is approximately 15 grams of carbohydrate (mostly coming from the roasted vegetables). In order to get the rest of my carbohydrates, I served this with grilled asparagus (free) and 3 pieces of grilled pineapple (10g per large chunk or per ring). It was plenty of food and very low in calories!

Big thank you to my brave steak grill master and assistant chef. :)

The Progression of an Athlete

Some of you know that I used to be a hammer thrower in college. Surprisingly, hammer throwing is not very widely known. So, you’ll have to take my word on the fact that I was good at it. As a division one athlete, I was a bit of a prisoner to the athletic department. While other students were free to sign up for intramural sports, I was required to sit out. I had to ask permission to go on long bike rides over the weekend. I was not allowed to untrain or cross train my body. And I certainly wasn’t allowed to put it at risk for injury in any way.

My body belonged to the team. It did not belong to me.

Aerobic, Anaerobic, and Mixed Fiber Athletes

Depending on your sport and the actions required, most athletes fit into one of these three categories.

• Aerobic – endurance athletes, using oxygen well for long periods of time. They might pick a fight and then run away because they know they can go longer and stronger than the next athlete. To train, these athletes run for miles and miles at a time. They do not train as hard in the weight room and they are not allowed to gain weight.
• Anaerobic – sprint or bursts of energy type athletes. These athletes are powerful, but not likely to win in a mile long race. When training, these athletes are not allowed to run over 400 meters at one time. They ARE allowed to run 100 meters ten times. They are encouraged to put on muscle in the weight room and weight is less of an issue, depending on the sport.
• Mixed – athletes like basketball players and certain football players need to have a mixture. Some endurance for running and some power for playing and quick bursts of energy.

As an anaerobic athlete…

• I was barely allowed to ride my bike to and from school.
• I was not allowed to run over 400 meters at one time.
• I threw hammer and drilled for 2-3 hours every day.
• I was required to lift 5x per week for 60-90 minutes.
• On endurance training days, we did not jog, we sprinted.

When I retired after my senior year of college, I wanted to be free of rules when it came to exercise and my body. Since that time…

I stopped lifting to become more girly, and I tried dancing.

I went rock climbing in Colorado…

I tried running half marathons…

I surfed in Hawaii…

I competed and trained for a strong man competition…

Competing in Florida for my first Triathlon…

See, I’ve been doing everything since I finished as a thrower. You know why? BECAUSE I CAN.

The human body is highly adaptable. Most things we want it to endure, we can train it to get there. If exercise seems like something you’re doing as part of your daily torture routine, switch it up! Make it fun again.

Eventually, I know I’ll run out of things to try, but that’s okay. I had fun at each one of these different events. And, it wouldn’t be bad at all to go back and repeat any of them.

If you are a competitive spirit, I warn you of this…

Anytime you can “specialize,” you allow yourself to be more competitive. By switching around from one sport to the next, I am not allowing myself to be very competitive. But, I am past the point of wanting to “win” all the time. I am finally allowed to just have fun.

That’s what I intend to do.

Having fun in Missouri.

The (Extended) Milk Stage.

We Americans really like to pretend like we’re baby cows. Usually the milk drinking infant/child stage passes, but not for us. We love milk.

As a kid, I would critique the taste of each new gallon of milk. I would inform my mom whether it was a good cow or a bad cow that made our milk that day. I think she probably thought I was a little bit crazy, but she went along with it.

Some people just pick up on those subtle taste differences.

European Milk Experience

The first time I tasted milk in Europe, I realized I had been cheated in life. All this time I thought I was drinking really good milk – I had no idea it could get even better. I couldn’t get enough of it. I started asking for milk everywhere. I didn’t realize that this was going to set me up for a variety of different comments from the staff serving me.

“Oh! Are you a little baby? You need to drink the BABY milk?”

“Look at the American! She orders milk like a BABY!”

“I think she’s just going to drink it straight – like a BABY.”

I looked at them in return like they were crazy. I loved the stuff. I wasn’t going to quit just because they thought I was a baby. I did learn something though – they don’t drink milk as adults in Europe. They might use it in cooking, but the majority reserves the drink for infants and young children.

What an idea.

All of this to say that milk doesn’t need to be quite the staple that it has become. I think in America we tout the benefits of calcium in milk a little too much. We encourage people to drink it all the time. But, in truth, there are plenty of other things that you can eat/do to lead to strong bones. Not to mention, as you age – it gets less and less likely that you’ll be able to break down the lactose found in milk. Unfortunately, lactose-intolerance can lead to diarrhea post-milk-consumption… a benefit, only if you’re constipated.

Drinking Less Milk

Since I drink milk less now, I have started only buying half gallons and sometimes it will actually go bad in my fridge.

Luckily, I have found a solution: ORGANIC MILK.

• Stays better longer (Sometimes the expiration is WEEKS past the other milks)
• It tastes better (approaching the quality of European milk)
• The skim milk version tastes like real milk instead of tasting like “milk water.”
• Less antibiotics and growth hormones – healthier cows, healthier humans.

It costs more than the regular milk – but, I think it’s worth it.

A Note to the Diabetics: Milk is a source of carbohydrate. Every cup of milk is about 12 grams of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates do not change from milk to milk – in whole milk, 2%, 1%, and skim the carbohydrates are the same. Excessive milk consumption can raise your blood sugar too high. I would encourage you to drink it as a treat, instead of drinking it as if it were water.

Would I lie to you about peanut butter cookies?

I think not. I’ve been around the block. I’ve had my fair share of different peanut butter cookies. I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t get much better than this…

After all, if you’re going to eat an empty carbohydrate – it might as well be a DELICIOUS, AMAZING, PERFECTLY COOKED empty carbohydrate.

Recipe: The Best Peanut Butter Cookies Ever.

Makes 18 Medium/Large Cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C Butter, softened
• 1/2 C Crunchy Peanut Butter
• 1/2 C Brown Sugar
• 1/3 C Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 C Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 C Oats
• 2/3 C Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine butters, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and oats.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
4. Add peanut butter chips.
5. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes.

A Note to the Diabetics: Each cookie is 17g carbohydrates and 160 calories. If you are interested in learning how to find carbohydrate information for your own cookie recipes… you can do it easily online with a “recipe analyzer tool.” I use http://www.caloriecounter.com. Remember to enter your ingredients in their simplest form so the tool can find them easily.

The Menu for My Grown Up Lunch 4/18/13:

• Grilled Chicken + Beer Can Chicken Seasoning
• Small Baked Potato (30g)
• Broccoli, Cherry Tomatoes, Mini Peppers
• 2 slices Colby Cheese
• Orange, small (15g)
  

Before I get into the business of how to make this meal (very easy), I want to cover the fact that you should have a microwave before attempting this. It’s pretty easy to assemble there, and all the ingredients are very inexpensive to bring.

It’s amazing what you can make work when you have limited groceries in your house for lunch.

Side Note: Know Yourself

One thing I know about myself is that I’m an “eater.” Some people can sit down to a meal and have very little on their plate and still feel satisfied. Not me. When I sit down to eat, I want to eat a lot.

I’ve been able to work with this by incorporating lots of “healthy eating” into my lifestyle. I want to maintain my current weight instead of gain weight and I want to lead a healthy lifestyle. To do these things I have to keep my calories down and make smart choices. These smart choices that are low in calories and high in nutrients help me to be able to eat bigger portions. Bigger portions make me happy.

Now that we’re all happy, let’s get started…

How to Make Your Grown Up Lunch:

Grown Up Lunch Instructions:

1. AT HOME: Dice up one chicken breast, coat in “beer can chicken” seasoning mix from McCormick (or whatever you like best) and cook over high heat in a skillet with 1 Tbsp oil. When chicken is done, remove from heat.
2. Dice up 3-4 mini sweet peppers and add to chicken. Grab one small potato, a crown of broccoli, two slices of cheese, and a handful of cherry tomatoes and head out the door.
3. AT WORK: Poke holes in potato and microwave on high for ~4 minutes.
4. Once this is done, add cheese to potato and assemble broccoli in a microwavable bowl with 1/2 inch of water. Cover with a plate and heat on high for 2 minutes. This will steam the broccoli.
5. Add broccoli to top of potato. Reheat chicken, or add cold to potato mixture. Add tomatoes to potato.
6. Enjoy!

Calorie Breakdown

• 1 small potato = 120 calories, 30g carb
• 2 slices of colby cheese (1 oz) = 110 calories, 0 carb
• 3 mini sweet peppers = 15 calories, 0 carb
• 1 crown of broccoli = 15 calories, 0 carb
• 1/2 chicken breast = 60 calories, 0 carb
• 1 tsp oil = 50 calories, 0 carb
• 1 orange = 60 calories, 15g carb

The whole meal: 430 calories, 45g carb 

Appropriate…and filling. I’m a happy person.

Happy Eating!

Yesterday, I asked my boyfriend if he thought I looked fat.

He said no. He said that I’m beautiful.

Really, I knew that I wasn’t “fat.” I’ve been the same weight +/- 10 pounds since I was 15 years old. Why would I pick yesterday to call myself “fat?”

I think we all do this. I can sit and nit pick all day long on myself – but when you ask me to give a report on someone else, I think they are beautiful. Why can’t I remember that I am beautiful, too?

Fortunately, I was set straight by a great marketing campaign for Dove Beauty Products.

We are more beautiful than we think.

Watch this… it’s real crazy…
http://realbeautysketches.dove.us/

There is a disconnect in what we perceive in ourselves and in what others perceive of us. I think this is due to the comparison game. When I see someone with a beautiful nose, I look at my own nose and wonder – why can’t my nose be like HER nose? Her nose is beautiful. It can be disheartening when we look in the mirror and see something different.

But here’s the BEAUTIFUL truth: We ARE different.

We’re different, but the differences are beautiful. Do something for me… try to embrace the way that you look. For too many years, poor self esteem has been used to “motivate” people to eat better or exercise more.

You are beautiful already.

If you’re not currently eating right and exercising, don’t do it on account of the fact that you think the world doesn’t find you beautiful.

You ARE beautiful already.

Instead of starting healthy behaviors because you feel unattractive, change your mindset. Act differently because you care about the person staring back in the mirror. That person matters today and tomorrow. If you don’t take care of him/her today, you could lose out on him/her being there for you tomorrow. We take care of the things that are valuable.

You are valuable.

Take care of yourself, beautiful reader.