Jen Finds Balance

I love grocery shopping!

jenfindsbalance — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:08:21 +0000

I’ve found my new favorite cereal. You know that ah-mazing Yogi Tea? Well, Yogi does cereal! Yogi Cereal – Brilliant. I stopped in the Linden Hills Coop on Sunday and spent a good half-hour meandering through the aisles. Did I mention that I L-O-V-E grocery shopping? I’m just fascinated by all the different items. Mmmhmm. It’s a pretty small store but appeared to have everything on my list (note, it was a short list that included: kale, quinoa, oats, nutritional yeast, and whatever impulse items that intrigued me ….Kombucha, maple cheddar cheese, Crofters spread, Yogi cereal). I think I got out of there for maybe $30. Friendly staff, too. I think I might sign for my CSA through them. They are a ‘drop off’ site.

What is CSA, you ask? Community Supported Agriculture

Here is a blurb from their website:

Thinking about signing up for a CSA but want to learn more about the idea before you commit? Read on.

Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a “membership” or a “subscription”) and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer. In brief…

Advantages for farmers:

Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm’s cash flow
Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Advantages for consumers:

Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
Find that kids typically favor food from “their” farm – even veggies they’ve never been known to eat
Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

This grocery trip was a pit stop after I picked up a nice new pair of Wonder Unders from Lulu (cha-ching).

I can’t leave this post completely photo-less, so how about a lunch photo opp?

Snyders Organic Honey Whole Wheat Sticks
Laughing Cow original cheese triangle with celery

AND …the main event …my sammy!

2 slices of cinnamon raisen Ezekiel 4:9 bread, toasted
1 Boca burger patty
1 slice maple cheedar cheese
1 kale leaf
1tbsp Crofters spread

Sweet + Savory =Loved it!

Question Master: What’s your favorite salty snack? And, have any of y’all done a CSA …can you recommend a good farm?

It’s the weekend, baby!

jenfindsbalance — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:29:22 +0000

I love weekends. There is something so brilliant about not having to get up and out of the house by 7. I get to make my bed, put in a load of laundry, make my coveted OSAL and relax. Sounds like a pretty edgy life, eh? Watch out.

How about some breakfast eats this week?

If anyone ever wants to compete in a grape eat-off, bring it. I’d have no problem kicking your butt kindly beating you. I think I went through 3 bags this week. Eat up.

So, those were just a side I kind of snacked on all morning every day this week. The main course for breakfast this week: almond butter oats, apple oats, and pumpkin oats. Sounds well-balanced already.

This would be the jar that housed my oatmeal. Hello, economical. There was about 1tbsp left, so I dumped my oats, ground flax, water and milk in and viola, almond butter oats. Thick, creamy, and filled me up until almost 2pm!

Next up, apple oats. I had an apple from last week that was looking a little abandoned on my desk at work. The other couple apples I bought on this grocery trip were average tasting at best, so I thought the flavor of this apple would peak while masked in oatmeal. See below. Looked better than it tasted. Almond butter oats win so far.

I returned to an old favorite, pumpkin oats. Sprinkled with some chia seed and shredded coconut. Tried and true. Tasted great, but I think overall, the **Best Breakfast Award** goes to almond butter oats in a jar.

So let’s change gears for a minute to yoga. I’ve mentioned Yogitoes before, and my healthy obsession with these. If I could have an unlimited supply of these, that would be ideal. They’re a necessity at Corepower. They also set you back $50-60 dollars. Did I mention I practice almost everyday and these yogitoes need to be washed after every use? Do you see where I’m going with this? Lots of laundry to keep up with. [Lots of dirty Lulus, too]

Enter, Gaiam ‘travel yoga mat.’ So this guy has rubber on the back and a towel-like front. Similar enough to Yogitoes for me to test it out. And, at less than $20, I was willing to take the risk. Result? Good enough. I still prefer my Yogitoes, but this helps ease the laundry load frequency. Got it at Marshalls. Holler.

Back to food. How’s this look for a well-balanced lunch? I impressed myself even. Grapes [part of the 3 bag weekly consumption, mmhmm], celery with a side of laughing cow cheese, and a sammy of Ezekiel bread, tempeh, spinach and mustard. D-LISH. This was my first time trying tempeh. Not sold. I didn’t do anything to prepare it, so I need to get creative and give it a fair shot.

Ok, and to round out this post, it wouldn’t be right to not include an IMMERSION BLENDER CREATION. It’s a purple monster!

Insert: Kale, spinach, blueberries, almond milk, protein powder. Topped with my homemade granola. I’m loving these things and enjoying the camouflaged greens.

Ready for my first blog-world confession?!? Are you? Before I hit ‘publish’ I’m going to let you in on a little secret. This ‘giving up meat’ thing for lent? Yeah, not going so well. I think I’ve caved about 4 times already! Whoops. Turns out when I’m with friends and family, that’s what’s for dinner. How is it that giving up alcohol (2009) and coffee (2008) was much easier.

Questions Master: Where are you going on your next vacation? I think I’ll be off to Seattle in May …hoping to travel before then, but that’s the only thing on the books between now and then.

My First Green Monster

jenfindsbalance — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:56:55 +0000

I just got home from the most kick-ass yoga class I’ve had in a while.

I know I always rave about my yoga classes and instructors, but this one was really really really good. Thank you Nielle@CPY! Best part of the class besides dripping in sweat? Wheel Pose!

Home and craving a Green Monster. So I’m loving these because they serve a mega-dose of greens and with the sweetness of fruit, you can’t even taste it!

Into my immersion blender cup

Kale
Almond milk
Frozen banana
Protein powder
Sprinkle of oats+flax
Homemade granola on top!

Viola!

After candle light yoga last night I stopped at Rainbow to get some milk. $35 dollars later I got out of the store. How much do you love a good Catalina coupon? FREE SILK ALMOND MILK! Very excited to cash in on this!

Off to watch the trashy mindless entertainment that is The Bachelor. Go Team Tenley!

How old are you?

jenfindsbalance — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:30:05 +0000

I’m 16.8!!! Oh She Glows inspired me to check out my Real Age, and since I’m a huge fan of Dr. Oz, I went for it.

HOLY SMOKES, 16.8? Not to be confused with my real real age of 25.1!

Real Age outlined my life in the below categories and listed pros and cons to what makes up my age.

My Health Plan: Stop worrying
My Habit Plan: Stick with my sleep schedule
My Relationship Plan: My parents have helped make my Real Age younger (Love you M&D)
My Diet Plan: Keep up the diversity
My Fitness Plan: Get stronger, but don’t go nuts

"You are never to old to become young" - Mae Young

Guess what crazy item I threw into my breakfast smoothie? KALE! It wasn’t exactly a Green Monster because of all the blueberries, but it was awesome.

Milk
Blueberries
Kale
Protein Powder
Granola on top

Rounding out my weekend with a 75 minute Candle Light Flow with Ella. Hope to sweat out the rest of those toxins from Chino Latino’s fabulous Sangria Friday night …

QUESTION MASTER: HOW DO YOU DETOX?

Jen Plays Catch-up

jenfindsbalance — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:12:27 +0000

How awesome are tortilla pizzas? And, a made-up quinoa side salad to boot? Well, that’s what Liana and I decided to cook for dinner Thursday night. It was, in fact, very awesome. Usually when I make these tortilla pizzas, my go-to ingredients are pesto and pine nuts. Toppings this time included roasted tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, garlic, and spinach.

[Pizza pictures compliments of Liana]

We forgot to take pictures of the quinoa salad – dangit! Mixed into the Inca Red Quinoa: Cajun roasted almonds, red+green diced pepper, goat cheese, white onion, juice of 1/2 orange. D-lish! Would def make this again.

Other top eats this week:

1. simple snack! homemade granola+almond milk

2. colorful lunch! celery, carrots, spinach salad (lentils, black beans, goat cheese, red and green pepper, red wine vinegar)

3. festive dip! **BEST & EASIEST SALSA/GUAC RECIPE EVER** avocado+feta+pomegranate seeds. Trader Joe’s now carries frozen pomegranate seeds – bonus!

4. smoothie! almond milk, blueberries, spinach, tofu, agave

5. smoothie! almond milk, blueberries, spinach, protein powder, agave, homemade granola, chia seeds

Yoga-ing looked like this:

Wednesday – Day of rest (aka dinner with college girlfriends)
Thursday – HARD CPY C2 class taught by Ella ..she’s got some serious Madonna arms.
Friday – SWEATY CPY C2 class taught by Brigitte ..sore from Ella’s class but happy to get a workout in with my momma. Rocked crow pose.

QUESTION MASTER: How many stores do you get your groceries at? My list includes Trader Joes, SuperTarget, Whole Foods, CUB, and occasional trips to The Wedge and Lunds. That’s just ridiculous.

Eating and Exercising on a Tuesday

jenfindsbalance — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:37:10 +0000

February 23rd – is that right? I can’t believe it. Whadda think, 5 more weeks of winter? Gimme the sun.

Call me crazy, but I can’t wait to start running OUTSIDE again! I’d like to get my bike out of storage, too! Longest. winter. ever.

Breakfast was a Yoatgurt bowl inspired by Holly!

1/4c my oat mix (old-fashioned oats, steel-cut oats, ground flax)
1/3c hot water
sprinkle cinnamon+nutmeg
drop of vanilla extract
1 sliced banana
[microwaved 1 minute]
2 spoonfuls Greek yogurt+pumpkin
topped with some shredded coconut and a side of spa water

I was hungrier than usual this morning and munched on my homemade granola to hold me over before lunch yoga at noon! I took a class from Aleeah again and I’m really liking her style. It is SOoOoOo refreshing to get out of the office for ‘lunch.’ Call it what you want to call it.

I put off lunch until around 1:45.

1/2c Indian quinoa salad (Inca Red Quinoa, Shrimp, Peas, Greek Yogurt, Tiki Masala Paste) I can’t believe the leftovers have lasted me this long *note to self, I don’t like leftovers.
1/2 Sammy wrap (Lentil hummus, tofu, black beans, goat cheese, cumin, red pepper flakes, whole wheat flax wrap) This was a little concoction I made up this morning while making my OSAL
Celery sticks
Swapped the 2 clementines for an orange …I’ll save the clemmys for tomorrow

I fit in a quick Trader Joe’s run after work – it’s official, I love grocery shopping. More to come on some new grocery items! Home, unpacked, off the phone with friends, and it was SIAB time inspired by Kath.

1c Almond Breeze almond milk
Handful organic spinach
1c blueberries
1/4c Silken tofu
2tbsp protein powder (can’t remember the brand, it was left over from when I was training for the Rock ‘n Roll half marathon …I think I ordered it from drugstore.com)
More spa water

Picture is a little blurry, but the smoothie was an *AWESOME* rich dark purple. Holy antioxidants.

Question Master: Does anyone have a Vita-Mix? Do you love it/is it worth it? I’m dying to get one, but yowza they are expensive!

Night – take care

Experiments!

jenfindsbalance — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:12:43 +0000

Music company this evening: “Break Even” by The Script

Breakfast was served around 8am. Oats, per usual.

…and now with a side of spa water+green tea from my batch cooking yesterday.

1/4c my oat mix (Quaker old-fashioned+Quaker steel-cut+Bob’s ground flax)
1/3c hot water
1 medium sliced banana
Sprinkle of cinnamon
[microwaved for 1 minute]
Splash of soymilk
Scoop of pumpkin
Drop of coconut extract (experiment #1; yum-o)
[nuked for another minute]
Stirred and consumed

Lunch around 11:40. On the menu: spa water, celery+pb, orange, leftover indian quinoa dish from last week (inca red quinoa, peas, shrimp, greek yogurt, tiki masala paste)

Late afternoon snackage around 2? Obvi. Homemade granola. Held me over until 5pm yoga. I did C1 tonight because I wanted a workout but wasn’t up for sculpt. C1 is more of a beginners class, so I was feeling pretty good. Didn’t sweat as much as I hoped for, but I like Aleeah’s classes, and I left refreshed. Favorite pose today: Pigeon …really helps stretch out the hips.

Dinner munching around 6:45. Home from yogaing and ready for experiment #2: Lentil hummus. I’ve never even heard of such a thing, but I’m not one for following the rules of recipes, so here gos. (My mom would be so proud frustrated if she was cooking with me!) ha

1c cooked lentils
1/2c broth
1tsp tahini
1tbsp cumin
1/2tbsp chopped garlic
sprinkle salt+pepper
splash lemon juice

Consensus – very comparable to a chickpea hummus! I busted out the Wheat Thins to taste test my favorite Atheenos Roasted Red Pepper hummus vs my made-up Lentil Hummus. I dig it. Could be good on a sammy, too. Or with some celery sticks. Score! Looks kind of gross, huh? How about that trusty immersion blender.

really big sweet tooth lately …enter, chocolate (X3)

I was on autopilot in the kitchen this morning when I was making oats and opened a can of pumpkin (the big can!). I ment to experiment with new grocery items – sweet potato and butternut squash purees. More on that next week once I’m through my pumpkin.

Interestingly enough, after some label-reading, pumpkin wins! Love that.

1/2c Sweet Potatoes: 130 calories, 0g fat, 96mg sodium, 30g carbs, 15g sugar, 3g protein
1/2 Butternut Squash: 50 calories, 0g fat, 5mg sodium, 12g carbs, 4g sugar, 1g protein
1/2 Pumpkin: 40 calories, 0.5g fat, 5mg sodium, 9g carbs, 4g sugar, 2g protein!!!

Enjoy your night – take care!

Batch Cooking+Sunday Funday

jenfindsbalance — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:47:43 +0000

I’m trying out ‘batch cooking’ today. Meaning, I make enough of some staple foods/beverages to last me the week.

1 bag of 365 organic lentils from Whole Foods
1 cup Quinoa Red Inca prepared with stock (more flavorful than water)
1 bag celery stalks cut for snacking
1 jug spa water (lemon-lime-cucumber infused)
1 jug iced green tea

Question Master: Any good recipe concoctions for my quinoa or lentils?

Sunday funday with Paige. Movie, yoga, family dinner, sleepover!

Menage a Trois in Minneapolis

jenfindsbalance — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:56:20 +0000

Music of the moment? Phoenix. Did you know they are from Versailles? That’s brilliant.

Minneapolis is [slowly] warming up. Not too long from now I’ll see that guy running Lake Calhoun shirtless at 40*. Can’t wait.

Currently sipping a generous glass ‘o Menage a Trois. Thanks, Brittany, for introducing us.

I mustered up the strength to go to 6am yoga yesterday. As much as I will myself to be the morning workout type, I am not. I hit a 1pm wall and want to die. I was the only one in class …was everyone out sipping coddies (cocktails) last night or what? Hard to grasp the idea of being in a class solo at CPY, right? That was cool. Went to C2 at CPY today and it was packed. Go figure.

Enter fabulous dinner at Black Sheep Pizza. Followed by an equally delicious Big Ginger at all-time favorite, The Local. Yes, they serve the most Jameson Whiskey in the WORLD. Go Minnesota.

So that was friday. Want to venture back to Thursday? I made an interesting dish with my bestie, Allie.

On the menu:

1c Quinoa Inca Red
1 bag peas
1/2lb shrimp
3-4 dollops Tiki Masala Paste
3 large scoops Oikos greek yogurt

Dished up with sautéed spinach and a glass ‘o red. Dessert? Chocolate (X5).

Ok, now back to Wednesday’s power breakfast. Chocolate soymilk+tofu+naner+protein powder [insert Oster immersion blender]. I don’t think I was hungry the rest of the day.

My Health Magazine arrived today = happy Jen. I paged through half while eating some red grapes and sipping iced tea.

Off to enjoy my Saturday night. And another glass of Menage …

Question Master: What’s your favorite bottle of wine? I want some suggestions.

Do you Lent?

jenfindsbalance — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:58:22 +0000

TGIT, eh? I’ve been back from California for 3 days now and I’m still not quite back into a routine … my work schedule has been really inconsistent which is probably throwing me off. Can’t wait for the weekend to play catch-up.

Question Master: Do you guys give things up for lent? It snuck up on me this year …all of a sudden it was Wednesday and I had already eaten dairy (something I had contemplated giving up) …so I was SOL on that idea. I also thought about alcohol but did that last year and it wasn’t all that fun (not the point, I know) …so, this year ….[drumroll, please] …..I’ll be giving up M-E-A-T! I’m not sure how hard this will be. I don’t eat much meat these days, but not because I’m actively thinking ‘I don’t eat meat’ …so this will be a little 40-day test. I’ll let you know how it goes.

So, this is going to be a hodge-podge of photos from the last couple days …mainly highlights.

Picture deets

1. Tiki Masala/Butter Chicken (Indian). This is a newer family favorite. My momma and I discovered the dish while on vacay in NYC a couple years ago at Devi. We tracked down the recipe and it was like 35 ingredients long, many of which we had never heard of, thus we didn’t succeed on that front. BUT, last summer a family friend found this Tiki Masala paste that lends itself very well to a simplified version. All you need:

Chicken (if you want meat)
Tiki Masala Paste
Greek Yogurt
Naan
Brown Rice

Marinade the chicken in the Tiki Masala paste with greek yogurt (plain works, too) …I think the longer the better because it allows the flavors to develop. Put in a pan when you’re ready [while simultaneously prepping rice+naan] and we’ve got a nice dinnah.

2. Next photo would be an afternoon snack: celery+PB+grapes

3. Then, out of consumption order, would be oatmeal!

1/4c my oat mix (old-fashioned+steel-cut)
sprinkle of ground Bob’s Red Mill flax
1/4c hot water+soymilk
dash ‘o orange extract
[nuked in the microwave for a couple minutes]
topped with my homemade granola from last week

4. Damn, out of eating order AGAIN, would by lunch over one of the last couple days

Orange
Water
Oats (same version as above, EXCEPT: more flax and shredded coconut)

5. How about the next image? That would be a floor full ‘o SWAG. I went to my first food show and holy hell, let me go back! Lots of fun new products. I’ll let you know my ‘love it or hate it’ comments once I start testing.

6-7. Last but not less-tasty than the others: two salads. The first one accompanied my Butter Chicken meal. It was a simple romaine+blueberries+nuts+cranberries+raspberry dressing. Salad #2 was courtesy of Target’s HQ cafeteria. Turns out I like expensive vegetables, because this salad (costed out on weight) was over 7 dollars! How d-lish are goldfish and sunflower seeds on top?

I’m hoping to get some good REM sleep tonight. Still a little sick …trying to push through with exercise [insert yoga sculpt+c2 yoga at corepower]. Does a bod good.

Night Night.