Salmon with Spinach & Artichoke Mac ‘n’ Cheese

This year was the first time that I’ve ever cooked chicken or fish… I’m trying new things and it’s going (pretty) well! I’m not a huge fan of fish, but I hadn’t eaten it in so long that I wanted to try it out again. And I wanted to attempt to cook salmon since it’s uber healthy for you- it relieves stress, boosts your memory, and prevents cancer and diseases. I grilled it with butter, lemon juice, and garlic which I thought might not have been enough flavor, but it turned out really well. However, next time I’m going to try baking it in the oven so it’s more evenly cooked. This pesto salmon with roasted artichoke recipe looks amazing and I definitely want to try it out in the future!

With the salmon, I had spinach and artichoke mac ‘n cheese. I know the picture may not look that appetizing, but it was delicious. I’ve made it homemade before using this recipe, but I simplified it a little bit this week. I used Annie’s Organic White Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese and added in 6 oz. of chopped canned artichoke hearts and 1/2 cup of chopped spinach. It’s super easy to add in a little healthy greens when you’re already making mac ‘n cheese!

Thoughts? Recipes I should try? Let me know!

The Other Seed

I haven’t done as good of a job about trying out new foods as I wanted to in this blog, and today isn’t going to be much better. But I do have some good tips for people who want the easy way out with their food like me! Plus I have grocery shopping and recipes in the works…

So I don’t know if you’ve heard about it, but apparently flax seeds are one of the hot new things in the healthy food world. Maybe less hot than chia seeds, but hot nonetheless. I’ve been trying to find a good, easy way to incorporate them into my diet, and I’ve actually found a few. The first (and admittedly only one that I’ve tried so far) is to buy flax seed tortilla chips. I love these chips, and you can’t taste the flax seed but it adds a good crunch to them. Another easy way is to add them in to something you already eat, like yogurt or smoothies. I’ve read that the best way to get all the health benefits is grinding them up, so adding freshly ground flax to yogurt or smoothies seems like the best option.

Flax seeds are so good for you because they’re a great source of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. I’ve been looking into foods that are good for easing arthritis pain, including foods with omega-3 fats, because it runs on both sides of my family. I haven’t come across a lot of preventative food, but anti-inflammatory foods are a great way to help arthritis inflammation naturally. Next up on my recipe to-do list is to cook salmon, which is also a great source of omega-3 fats. I’m not a huge fan of fish, but fingers crossed that it goes well!

The Sugar Struggle

After tracking what I ate for a week and guessing that I eat a lot of sugary foods, I have to admit that I had no idea I was consuming this much sugar. Even on days when I didn’t eat an actual “dessert,” my sugar limits were still over the recommended amount (this app said my recommended amount was 61 grams). I’m so glad I tracked what I ate, even though it was just for a week, because now I know where the problems areas are (props to the people who always track what they eat – I was definitely glad when the week was over haha). I found out that eating some delicious sweet treat every now and then isn’t really my problem when it comes to sugar. And although I want to limit my sugar intake from here on out, I have to say it’s going to be hard because sugar is loaded in EVERYTHING.

Breakfast is the hardest place for me to limit sugar, surprisingly, because apparently flavored greek yogurt with granola is very sugary. Bummer. I always thought it was the healthier of my breakfast favorites, and it is good for you, but it was still surprising to see the actual amount of sugar I get right at the start of the day… my vanilla coffee creamer probably doesn’t help. Besides that, soda was another problem for me (note the huge spike on 4/03). I went out and had 2 sprites as mixers, which was a whopping 90 grams of sugar right there. The only other time I drink sodas is an occasional Mountain Dew when I’m falling asleep at work, but that also has 45 grams of sugar – 20 grams over what the World Health Organization recommends for women.

The picture on the right emphasizes how terrible sugar is for your well being. Added sugar is the baddest of the bad. However, moderation has got to be the key, because otherwise I have no solution for me or you. I’m going to keep eating the cake that’s in my fridge from my roommates birthday, but I am also going to make limiting sugar more of a priority in the future (after the cake is gone).

My Fitness Pal was great for tracking what you eat, and highlighting the amount of each nutrient you are getting, so I highly recommend it. Let me know how it goes if you try to track what you eat and definitely share any ideas you have on how you limit your sugar.

 

Update: Here’s a great blog about natural vs. added sugar.

Your Personal Bill of Rights

I recently came across a list of “Personal Bill of Rights” – things that every person has a right to. A lot of them are obvious and are things most people would expect. But a lot of these things people forget that they are allowed to do or that they should expect from other people.  It seems like a lot of Carolina students forget they can say no to things (#2) and forget to have personal space and time for themselves (#17), because you can look around and see people who are way too stressed out. One of my favorites (probably because I’m so bad with feels) is #16, which is also repeated at #18 (mistake or emphasis?). Keep these things, or maybe one in particular, in mind as you go through your week 🙂

I have the right to…

1. ask for what I want.
2. say “no” to requests or demands I can’t meet.
3. express all of my feelings, both positive and negative.
4. change my mind.
5. make mistakes and not be perfect.
6. follow my own values and standards.
7. say “no” to anything when I feel I am not ready, it is unsafe, or it violates my values.
8. determine my own priorities.
9. not be responsible for others’ behaviors, actions, feelings, or problems.
10. expect honesty from others.
11. be angry at someone I love.
12. be uniquely myself.
13. feel scared.
14. say “I don’t know.”
15. not give excuses or reasons for my behavior.
16. make decisions based on my feelings.
17. my own needs for personal space and time.
18. make decision based on my feelings.
19. be healthy.
20. be in a non-abusive environment.
21. make friends and be comfortable around people.
22. change and grow.
23. have my needs and wants respected by others.
24. be treated with dignity and respect.
25. be happy.

 

My Sweet Tooth

I hate to be the one to tell you, but sugar is really, really, really bad for you. It broke my heart as well since I have the biggest sweet tooth (and I can’t avoid it because there’s always a variety of baked goods sitting in my kitchen, waiting for me to eat them). Almost every article or blog I’ve read that discusses healthy foods also talks about how bad sugar is for you. Recently, nutrition labels on food have changed and “Added Sugar” is now a category in comparison to the total amount of sugars in the food. This distinction is important because a lot of good foods, like fruit and milk, have natural sugars that are better for you and there usually isn’t as much of it. After reading a lot about it, I was going to write a blog post about all the ways (so many) sugar is bad for people, but I need to practice what I preach first.

So I decided to track what I eat for a week and see how the total amount of sugar I consume stacks up to what it should be. I’m using My Fitness Pal because the app breaks down each category of nutrient by day and by week compared to the “goal” created for you. A lot of the other food tracking apps I looked at were more focused on weight loss and only tracked calories. This app seems to give a better summary of your health and nutrition as opposed to just counting calories. Also, I’ve been debating whether I should start taking a multi-vitamin, and since the app tracks vitamins as well, I’ll be able to see what I’m lacking. Wish me luck! I have to say the first day was a little depressing, but I probably shouldn’t have started doing this on a day that I feasted at Maggiano’s. Whoops.

Now I won’t promise that I’ll quit sugar cold turkey after this, but I think it’ll help be more aware of what’s in the foods I typically eat. I’ll come back to this next week with recap of how sweet my week was!

Why I Relay

UNC’s Relay For Life was this past weekend and it was amazing and inspirational as always. It’s an overnight event put on by the American Cancer Society at colleges throughout the US to fundraise for cancer research, support, and treatments. I’ve done Relay since high school, and as I was getting depressed that this was my last Relay at UNC, I realized I’ll be right down the road next year and can keep participating in Relays long after graduation. I love how chill the 20-hour event always is and how much junk food I eat (popcorn, caramel apples, pasta, cookies, french fries… it’s ok, I can eat whatever I want in support of cancer fundraising). Although the weather didn’t allow it this year, I also love walking the track with my wonderfully supportive teammates and friends.

But my favorite part every year is the Luminary Ceremony which is kicked-off with a speech from someone who has been affected by cancer. This year’s speech by Elizabeth Arditti was definitely my favorite of my Relays at UNC. I can only imagine how hard it is to strike the perfect balance of being uplifting, inspirational, and not depressing, while talking about something as personal as how cancer affected her, but she completely nailed it. Her powerful words were the perfect way to start the Luminary Ceremony, where I lit luminaries with colorful glowsticks in memory of my grandparents.

I Relay for my grandparents, for everyone I know who has battled cancer and everyone who helped someone in their battle with cancer, to create more birthdays, and to prevent anymore cancer diagnoses.

 

 

You can continue to donate to UNC’s Relay For Life and my team through April. The Relay For Life committee did an amazing job this year, especially with the poor weather we had, and I want to thank my team for coming to the event with me!

Chocolate Frogs

No, this post is not about Harry Potter chocolate frogs. It’s about the health benefits of dark chocolate and the little green frog that you might see on the chocolate bag! Did it work… did I pique your interest? Well, when I walked into work one day, I had 2 dark chocolate pieces and a “Go Red for Women” brochure on my desk. It was there to promote awareness about heart disease being the number one killer of women, and as a perk, explain that moderate consumption of dark chocolate can lower the risk of heart failure by almost a third! Since I’ve had a major sweet tooth recently, I bought a whole bag of Dove dark chocolates (maybe not at risk for heart failure, but now for a cavity instead).

On the bag, I saw the Certified Rainforest Alliance frog symbol and remember seeing a hilarious ad for the “Follow the Frog” campaign in class last semester. I still didn’t know much about it, so I looked on their website about what the frog symbol actually means. They strive to “conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.” And by holding farms and businesses to certain standards, there are a lot of positive ripple effects like alleviating poverty, preventing deforestation, and decreasing climate change. I think it’s really awesome that a lot of companies get this certification, and it sounds silly but it’s something that made eating my chocolate a little more enjoyable. So my advice for today is follow the frog and indulge your chocolate cravings!

Appetizer Escapades

As I slowly make my cooking escapades more difficult, the next step up from the smoothie I made is a dip, if I’m not mistaken. I found this Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke dip recipe (even though I was REALLY tempted to make spinach and artichoke dip instead), and decided to try it out since it’s full of nutritious ingredients, some that are cancer-preventing (like UNC’s Relay for Life this weekend). Here’s why the ingredients are so good for you:

• Artichoke has very high levels of salvestrols, which have anti-cancer benefits. Artichokes also help your digestive system break down rich, fatty foods.
• Tomatoes are famous for flavenoid lycopene, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Sun-dried tomatoes have some increased vitamin levels compared to raw tomatoes.
• Garlic is a superfood that inhibits 72 known infectious agents, protects against ulcers, and may help eliminate metals from the body.
• Lemon juice also has anti-cancer benefits, in addition to being full of Vitamin C.

This dip is pretty easy to make and turned out delicious! The flavors are fairly strong, and I suggest using whole-wheat, toasted baguette slices instead of whole-wheat crackers like I did (that’s why you should follow the recipe and not scrape together random ingredients you already have like I did- whoops). I’m still waiting on roomie approval of this dip, but fingers crossed!

Ingredients

• 1 box (9 ounces) frozen artichokes, thawed and chopped
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed), chopped, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, torn
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Whole-wheat baguette slices, for serving

Directions

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine 1/2 cup artichokes, 1/4 cup feta, garlic, lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons water; puree until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, basil, remaining chopped artichokes, remaining 1/4 cup feta, and reserved artichoke puree; season with salt and pepper. Garnish with sun-dried tomatoes, if desired, and serve on baguette slices. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to three days.

Enjoy!

Smoothie of Champions

You’re drooling right? I am too at the memory of this delicious, cereal-coated french toast I ate on my cruise last week. So good. Alas, I’m going to try to counteract my continuous nomming last week with a few recipes full of cancer fighting foods!

I am not a great cook, so I figured I’d start with something that had a very low chance of me messing it up. I made this smoothie for breakfast but it would also be a great snack! The 2 most important ingredients were the frozen blueberries and the pomegranate juice because both fruits are full of antioxidants and have a ton of other health benefits. It’s super easy to make- just blend:

• 3/4 cups of frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• A few ice cubes

The smoothie was pretty small, so if you want it as a more filling snack or meal, I would double the ingredients. Also, I used greek vanilla yogurt instead of regular yogurt, so it adds a little more protein than what the original recipe has. I wasn’t brave enough to add spinach to my smoothie, but my roommate always adds it to her smoothies, and you can’t tell it’s there at all but it makes it even more healthy! Next time Mal, next time.

Please comment if you have any suggestions for recipes you like or are interested in that I could try! A lot of health focused websites have lists of recipes that prevent different types of illnesses if you are interested in trying some of those.

Namaste

Surrender: complete acceptance of what is.

“Surrender” was the theme for the yoga class I went to tonight, and it was exactly how I needed to end my day. My quirky yoga instructor led the class with a mix of serene sayings and abrupt, straightforward musings about life. For instance, while she was talking about the peacefulness of surrendering to things you can’t control, she talked about yoga positions/life as either being a shit-show or making you feel strong- genius right?

I’ve heard several yoga teachers talk about the breath in your yoga practice being the hardest part, and it totally is. It was my focus for this class because I’ve never been able to breathe in sync with how you’re instructed to in yoga. Breathing in and breathing out should be the easiest part though, amidst stretching and contorting your body, shouldn’t it? The same should be true throughout your day. Breathing should just happen. But sometimes I get flustered and hold in all the things I think I should be worrying about, when I should just breathe them out. Taking a breath should be the first thing we do when we feel overwhelmed. So, I hope to remind you to listen to Mat Kearny and breathe in and breathe out… because everything keeps moving on.

Yoga is the perfect slower paced exercise, especially amid this (unrelenting) winter weather. If you haven’t tried it before, I’d encourage you to go a couple times and see how you like it. It helps you reason through things going on in your life (i.e. problems) and completely put your life on pause (i.e. problems) all at the same time. Not to mention there are some amazing health and happiness benefits of doing yoga. For some inspiration, check out my friend Laura’s photoblog of Maggie the yogi.