So I designated myself as 'chief cook and bottle washer' for our girls' weekend in NH. You have to love cooking to get it all done - but is all par for the course. A quick trip to the store and I had everything I needed for the festivities!
Friday Dinner:
Brie baked in phyllo dough with rose petal jam (jam was purchased at the Armenian Foods store)
Guacamole with pita chips
Strawberry, Pecan Chicken Salad with balsamic dressing on mixed greens
Baguettes
Saturday Breakfast:
Greek yogurt with homemade maple granola and fresh raspberries and canary melon
Saturday Lunch (which actually turned into early dinner because we were out and about):
Pear and Manchengo on mixed greens with a lemon vinaigrette
Sauteed shrimp with garlic and cumin
(leftover strawberry pecan chicken salad)
Warm Naan
Giant S'mores for dessert
Sunday Breakfast:
bagels with cream cheese
Greek yogurt with granola and strawberries and canary melon
Friday, August 17, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
So you think you are doing a good deed...
Just for fun, because I am in the mood for sarcasm - here is something to put a damper on your happiness about supporting small brands that are good for the environment. Please don't slide into a deep depression after this. And if you just eat what you want because you are an American and it is your right, then skip this post completely.
Seeds of Change: owned by M&M Mars since 1997: in 2010 Mars shut down the Seeds of Change research farm and gardens which was what the company was founded on.
Cascadian Farms: owned by General Mills since 1999: any astute observer has no doubt noticed that the signature "no added sugar" label on their cereal boxes disappeared in 2010, and sugar levels in these cereals has tripled.
Ben & Jerry's: owned by Unilever since 2000: (don't worry both Ben and Jerry will be OK after their $326million payout purchase price): many of the 'all natural' logos on the pints have disappeared since the Center for Science and Public Interest accused Unilever of abusing the term in 2005.
Kashi: became part of Kellogg's in 2000, joining other natural brands BareNaked, Morning Star Farms and Wholesome & Hearty: so the promise of a product sans GMO ingredients is no longer a promise.
Lightlife: owned by ConAgra since 2000: Lightlife was the maker of vegetarian/vegan meat substitutes like Smart Dogs, Smart Bacon etc.
Odwalla: has been part of the Coca-Cola family since 2001 (along with Honest Tea): Shawn Sugarma (Pres. of Odwalla) probably didn't mind his $181million sellout to Coke because in his 2004 words, "Everybody is now chasing nourishment." Apparently so is Coke.
Tom's of Maine: if you watched Food Inc you already knew that they were bought by Colgate-Palmolive in 2006.
Body Shop: many of us wondered why all the Body Shop locations were closing, probably had something to do with L'Oreal buying them in 2006 for $1.1 billion. Wonder if Dame Anita Roddick (founder of Body Shop) cares that customer satisfaction has dropped by about 50% since the deal?
Stacy's Pita Chips: Frito-Lay, the food division of PepsiCo owned since 2006
Burt's Bees: part of the Clorox family since 2007. Maybe the bearded guy used some of that money to get a haircut?
Seeds of Change: owned by M&M Mars since 1997: in 2010 Mars shut down the Seeds of Change research farm and gardens which was what the company was founded on.
Cascadian Farms: owned by General Mills since 1999: any astute observer has no doubt noticed that the signature "no added sugar" label on their cereal boxes disappeared in 2010, and sugar levels in these cereals has tripled.
Ben & Jerry's: owned by Unilever since 2000: (don't worry both Ben and Jerry will be OK after their $326million payout purchase price): many of the 'all natural' logos on the pints have disappeared since the Center for Science and Public Interest accused Unilever of abusing the term in 2005.
Kashi: became part of Kellogg's in 2000, joining other natural brands BareNaked, Morning Star Farms and Wholesome & Hearty: so the promise of a product sans GMO ingredients is no longer a promise.
Lightlife: owned by ConAgra since 2000: Lightlife was the maker of vegetarian/vegan meat substitutes like Smart Dogs, Smart Bacon etc.
Odwalla: has been part of the Coca-Cola family since 2001 (along with Honest Tea): Shawn Sugarma (Pres. of Odwalla) probably didn't mind his $181million sellout to Coke because in his 2004 words, "Everybody is now chasing nourishment." Apparently so is Coke.
Tom's of Maine: if you watched Food Inc you already knew that they were bought by Colgate-Palmolive in 2006.
Body Shop: many of us wondered why all the Body Shop locations were closing, probably had something to do with L'Oreal buying them in 2006 for $1.1 billion. Wonder if Dame Anita Roddick (founder of Body Shop) cares that customer satisfaction has dropped by about 50% since the deal?
Stacy's Pita Chips: Frito-Lay, the food division of PepsiCo owned since 2006
Burt's Bees: part of the Clorox family since 2007. Maybe the bearded guy used some of that money to get a haircut?
Friday, August 3, 2012
ValleyBreeze Article
I think yall will recognize this infamous lentil dish along with a shout out for the Center for Bariatric Surgery at the The Miriam Hospital in this week's edition of the Valley Breeze.
http://valleybreeze.com/2012/07/31/living/planning-is-the-key-to-a-successful-diet
http://valleybreeze.com/2012/07/31/living/planning-is-the-key-to-a-successful-diet
Monday, July 23, 2012
Sweet Potato Frittata
One of my JWU students made this at support group and I am finally getting the recipe up on the blog. Thanks Evangelia!
Ingredients:
1 Large Sweet Potato
1 Package of Provolone cheese, sliced very thin (or about 12 slices)
1 dozen medium eggs
1 small broccoli Crown
1 Large Green Bell Pepper
½ oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Pam Spray (just to coat the pan)
1 can black beans, strained and rinsed (optional)
Method of Preparation:
1) Gather all ingredients and mise en place.
2)Cut the sweet potato-julienne, cut the: green pepper-small dice, broccoli- small dice, green onion-on a bias, and set aside in separate bowls.
3) Sauté the onion for about 1 minute and add your sweet potato, cook until just tender.
4) While the sweet potato is cooking, crack your eggs in a separate bowl, 7 whole eggs and 5 egg whites, stir and set aside.
5) Remove your sweet potatoes from the heat, and spray the new sauté non-stick pan you will cook your frittata in. Evenly arrange the sweet potatoes on the bottom of the pan.
6) Add the pan to the heat, after a moment add some of your egg mixture. Depending on how big of the non-stick pan you have you might have to make 2 or 3 batches of your frittata.
7) Next, add an even amount of your green bell pepper and broccoli. Allow cooking for 3 minutes or so, covering it with a lid to allow it to cook faster; cooking until the egg is barely running.
8) Add 3-4 pieces of cheese to it and let it sit for a moment. Remove from heat and rest.
9) Serve and enjoy with black beans if you wish!
Ingredients:
1 Large Sweet Potato
1 Package of Provolone cheese, sliced very thin (or about 12 slices)
1 dozen medium eggs
1 small broccoli Crown
1 Large Green Bell Pepper
½ oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Pam Spray (just to coat the pan)
1 can black beans, strained and rinsed (optional)
Method of Preparation:
1) Gather all ingredients and mise en place.
2)Cut the sweet potato-julienne, cut the: green pepper-small dice, broccoli- small dice, green onion-on a bias, and set aside in separate bowls.
3) Sauté the onion for about 1 minute and add your sweet potato, cook until just tender.
4) While the sweet potato is cooking, crack your eggs in a separate bowl, 7 whole eggs and 5 egg whites, stir and set aside.
5) Remove your sweet potatoes from the heat, and spray the new sauté non-stick pan you will cook your frittata in. Evenly arrange the sweet potatoes on the bottom of the pan.
6) Add the pan to the heat, after a moment add some of your egg mixture. Depending on how big of the non-stick pan you have you might have to make 2 or 3 batches of your frittata.
7) Next, add an even amount of your green bell pepper and broccoli. Allow cooking for 3 minutes or so, covering it with a lid to allow it to cook faster; cooking until the egg is barely running.
8) Add 3-4 pieces of cheese to it and let it sit for a moment. Remove from heat and rest.
9) Serve and enjoy with black beans if you wish!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Women's Rights Petition
Women's Rights Petition You can sign it too!
"When 14-year-old Julia Bluhm looked through magazines like Seventeen, she saw unrealistic, photoshopped bodies of other teen girls -- it's not how girls like her actually looked.
So she started a petition on Change.org asking Seventeen to publish just one un-retouched photo a month to honor real girls and real beauty. More than 80,000 people signed Julia's petition, and the most widely distributed magazine for teenage girls went above and beyond what Julia called for:
Seventeen vowed to not alter any of the face shapes and body sizes of its teen models, and to feature models with a diversity of body shapes, races and hair textures.
But Seventeen's not the only teen magazine that photoshopped teen girls, and Julia's not the only one who wants to see that change. 16-year-old Carina Cruz and 17-year-old Emma Stydahar have started their own petition on Change.org asking another teen fashion giant, Teen Vogue, to make its own commitment to portraying real girls and real beauty.
Carina and Emma are convinced that if Teen Vogue joins Seventeen, the two magazines (as the two biggest in teen fashion) can create an industry standard all other teen girls' magazines will follow.
Click here to sign Carina and Emma's petition calling on Teen Vogue to join Seventeen in vowing to present real girls in their full un-Photoshopped beauty to its readers
"These photoshopped images are extremely dangerous to girls like us..." Carina and Emma say in their petition, "because they keep telling us: you are not skinny enough, pretty enough or perfect enough. Well, neither are the girls in the pictures! As teen girls, we know first hand how hurtful the photoshopped pictures in these magazines can be for our body image and self-esteem."
Carina and Emma are ecstatic that Julia's campaign won, especially because they really weren't sure the campaign against Seventeen would succeed -- even the small change Julia was asking for was essentially asking Seventeen to buck the conventions of an entire industry.
But now, with the recent victory against Seventeen, Carina and Emma are confident they can fight unrealistic, even dangerously unhealthy, beauty standards being portrayed in this country -- and win.
But they can't win without you. Click here to sign Carina and Emma's petition now, and call on Teen Vogue to join Seventeen in committing to showcase real girls and real beauty.
Thanks for being a change-maker,
- Shelby and the Change.org team"
"When 14-year-old Julia Bluhm looked through magazines like Seventeen, she saw unrealistic, photoshopped bodies of other teen girls -- it's not how girls like her actually looked.
So she started a petition on Change.org asking Seventeen to publish just one un-retouched photo a month to honor real girls and real beauty. More than 80,000 people signed Julia's petition, and the most widely distributed magazine for teenage girls went above and beyond what Julia called for:
Seventeen vowed to not alter any of the face shapes and body sizes of its teen models, and to feature models with a diversity of body shapes, races and hair textures.
But Seventeen's not the only teen magazine that photoshopped teen girls, and Julia's not the only one who wants to see that change. 16-year-old Carina Cruz and 17-year-old Emma Stydahar have started their own petition on Change.org asking another teen fashion giant, Teen Vogue, to make its own commitment to portraying real girls and real beauty.
Carina and Emma are convinced that if Teen Vogue joins Seventeen, the two magazines (as the two biggest in teen fashion) can create an industry standard all other teen girls' magazines will follow.
Click here to sign Carina and Emma's petition calling on Teen Vogue to join Seventeen in vowing to present real girls in their full un-Photoshopped beauty to its readers
"These photoshopped images are extremely dangerous to girls like us..." Carina and Emma say in their petition, "because they keep telling us: you are not skinny enough, pretty enough or perfect enough. Well, neither are the girls in the pictures! As teen girls, we know first hand how hurtful the photoshopped pictures in these magazines can be for our body image and self-esteem."
Carina and Emma are ecstatic that Julia's campaign won, especially because they really weren't sure the campaign against Seventeen would succeed -- even the small change Julia was asking for was essentially asking Seventeen to buck the conventions of an entire industry.
But now, with the recent victory against Seventeen, Carina and Emma are confident they can fight unrealistic, even dangerously unhealthy, beauty standards being portrayed in this country -- and win.
But they can't win without you. Click here to sign Carina and Emma's petition now, and call on Teen Vogue to join Seventeen in committing to showcase real girls and real beauty.
Thanks for being a change-maker,
- Shelby and the Change.org team"
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
WSJ Magazine - Chef Dan Barber
This was a fabulous interview by Megan Conway with Chef Dan Barber of "The Barns Center" in Hudson Valley New York about local eating, vegetarianism and the environmental impact of farming as a whole.
WSJ Magazine - Dan Barber
WSJ Magazine - Dan Barber
Thursday, July 5, 2012
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