Eating Eggs- Oops!

@Philsaurus is my good friend K who is has contributed much to this blog at the beginning. What you don't know is she actually has written Even More! that I simply neglected in my inbox and now I feel lame.
So, here is an old lil tid bit from Kelsey:

Eating eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

One of the important dietary things I’ve learned that I must do since (I’m a hypoglycemic: @FIRST BRAVE SOUL, is balance my carbs (which break down into sugars) with proteins (in order to slow
the process. Get this! It’s good for everyone! Here are a few tips.

My fave breakfast as of late is to make some oatmeal, toss in a peach (or blueberries, or whatever
fruit you have on hand), and a dollop of peanut butter (the organic, whole food version is
obviously the best choice). If you need more sweetness, add a bit of honey (organic! organic! no
added sugars) or cinnamon. In addition to this yum yum breakfast, I generally toss an egg or two
in a skillet and serve ‘em up over-easy.

Today I indulged a little bit for lunch and found a sweet sushi joint around the corner. Sushi was
probably the hardest thing about going veg for me. I knew there were options, but really… who
wants to nom an asparagus roll when everyone else gets spicy tuna? So I avoided sushi upon my
return from Istanbul, which is when I stopped cheating (mostly, upcoming blog on my biggest
cheat ever). Then I discovered this wonderful roll at Nori’s in Edwardsville that involves yams
in place of fish. FINALLY! A substantial sushi roll! I think I ate it every other day for a week
until one day, when I was badly craving sushi and Nori’s was closed, I went to Edwardsville’s
other sushi restaurant, Wasabi. I was ready to be disappointed with my asparagus roll, but
frankly my craving was just that bad. And then, suddenly, a bright light shined down on the
menu and I was rewarded for all the good deeds I’ve done in my life: Wasabi had a tamago roll.

Egg + sushi = a combination so delectable it could double as a healthy dinner and dessert

Other egg editions to lunch are, of course, adding one to a salad or, if you have other materials,
slicing one up on a sandwich.

Generally if I’m making dinner (lately I haven’t done much of this since I’ve been on the road),
I’m creating some sort of hodge-podge stir-fry. The one below entails brown rice, some carrots,
green onions, mushrooms, and a hard boiled egg or two. I can’t stress enough how much the egg
adds! In fairness, my mother doesn’t dig it as much, but she’s more of a eggs-for-breakfast kind
of gal.

In addition to establishing the balance, eggs also provide beneficial fats (gasp! the f word! fear
not! when I say beneficial, I mean it!).

Here’s a great recipe for egg salad that I’m dying to try (found via Leoslunchbox.com):

The recipe for the egg salad is simple:
1. Bring one egg to a boil in a saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Cool egg under running water, peel, and chop or mash with a fork.
3. Add 1 tsp Vegenaise and 1 tsp unsweetened pickle relish.

OH! And remember to keep ‘em farm fresh kids!

EFF OFF AUGUST!

Sorry for the slackin, but with 1.work and 2.not having my own crap computer connecting to the internet AND 3.purging my life of the ridiculous amount of internetz I was mentally consuming, I neglected this thing pretty badly.
School is in session and the music computer lab has AMAZING giant new macs, so I will promptly start vegging out on here more often.

FIRST RECIPE OF SEPTEMBER!
Brought to this blog via my friend Ashley. She made this delicious vegan pasta salad for my last party and I ate ALL of it. (Sorry, but I'm not rearranging the way it's typed):

It's pasta (duh), tomatoes, onion, sliced jalapenos, and chickpeas.

The dressing is a combo of tahini (maybe 1/2 c.), 2 Tbsp. vinegar (i used malt vinegar because that's what i had, but red wine or cider vinegar would probably be fine, too), some minced garlic, cumin, sriracha sauce, and salt-n-pepa to taste. You can add a tablespoon or two of water to thin out the dressing if it's too thick to mix well.

This is super yummy and I love the level of spice it had!

Nostalgia II

A few weeks ago my great aunt Monie died. She was well into her nineties and recently had her house struck by lightening (which is a story for another time). She is the inspiration for this blog!

My dad's side of the family has Family Reunion every year on the second sunday in June. We would have a hall rented out for all the food and for an inside spot to do crafts or games, a pavilion rented outside with a faucet that would always lead to impromptu water balloon fights, and when my Grandpa was still alive, there would be treasure hunts and other games.
I LOVED family reunion, I couldn't wait for it every year. Now, it has definitely become smaller in size, we don't rent the hall because they raised the price and there aren't so many games or prizes. The biggest thing I miss though is the food. There would be tables and tables and more tables of food inside and going through that line and picking one of everything was heaven.
BBQ, marshmallow salads, pasta, cookies, baked beans- all delicious, yet there are three distinct items that I will never ever forget. The first is fairly insignificant, but because the prime reunion food years were when I was <13, i used to eat my weight in jello jigglers. Nothing fancy, just plain 'ol orange stars and crescent moons, yet I remember how they used to be be arranged on the plate.
The other two items hold a little more emotional reverence for me, as in I have more vivid memories about these foods than I do about a lot of interactions with relatives.

1. Chex-mix, in gallon ice cream buckets, made and baked by my Grandpa. The best snack in the world. Again, nothing fancy or really diverging from the traditional recipe, but so good. I got to help put it all into buckets (he usually made enough to fill at least 8) and I usually just claimed one all to myself once I got there. Then, after the day was over, all the extra mix would go back with us and we got to snack on it for even longer. I miss this so much. My Grandpa held together a lot of different parts of our family and once he was gone a lot changed (blog for another time). I haven't really eaten chex-mix since then.

2. The fuel for this blog: Aunt Monie's cupcakes. I would hang around inside the hall as relatives would trickle in with their dishes just to be sure I was the First person to get one of Monnie's cupcakes. She would have a tiered cupcake holder and at the very top were all these little tiny cupcakes with pink frosting, covered with sprinkles. These were mine. They were my sugar rush source throughout the whole day. I'd eat a few right as they were unveiled, some more during bingo, grab one on my way back outside from the bathroom, of course a few during lunch and then whatever was left before leaving. So Many Cupcakes!
I miss these almost as much as the Chex mix. These cupcakes were such an integral part of those get-togethers for me.
For the last few years Monie hasn't been at the reunion. Age just got the best of her and like almost all the other older relatives on my dad's side- they will never let anyone see them if they are sick (or simply going slower than they used to). Which is frustrating and understandable at the same time.
Now Monie is gone and I will just have to be satisfied with the memories of her desserts. I've thought of asking for a recipe, but I don't even know if she had one written down. Maybe I'll ask.
Appreciate your food and how it makes you feel.

Nostalgia 1

Today was my first time at the Tower Grove Farmers Market. Today also happened to include the second time I've ridden my bike in the city (lame, but hey, I'm trying!). Being at the market brought on this rejuvenating feeling that really caught my off guard. I've known about it for years, just never went, so it wasn't "surprise". Biking to the park, walking around all the booths, listening to the music and seeing all the cute puppies really made me feel like I was back in Boulder, CO visiting my friend. It was strange, but in a good way. The bike ride was a little more stressful than the Colorado one and St. Louis is Definitely lacking in the sample department, but seeing everyone mill over fresh veggies, fruits, dips and pesto just felt...Good.
I fell in love with Boulder the first time I went there and haven't really had any experience that stirred up those memories and feelings since (other than going back to Boulder one other time). Boulder has fountains, a fancy tea house, music and the whole thing is a little bit bigger-Tower Grove can match just about all of its features. Our fountain is filled with kids, we have the pavilion with music in it, in the mornings it has a yoga class (for free!), no tea house but almost as many goggies and cute girls. It was nice to feel something like that here.

I didn't have much to spend so I bought a few ears of sweet corn and some basil pesto. I haven't had a chance to try anything yet but hopefully I can cook something yummy tomorrow evening. If you get a chance, you should really check out this market, or ANY open air, fresh/local produce market around. It's good for your soul.

NOT FUD!

This is just funny.

http://jezebel.com/5582196/your-sex-fantasies-are-perhaps-a-result-of-your-dying-ovaries

Ga'bye June!

I needed to have at least one official "THANK YOU!!!!" post for everyone that helped with the blog. I hope everyone who has been following will keep checking in! I'm really glad this class motivated me to start this and I guess I shouldn't be ending June on such a lame ass note, but I totally feel gross and lame today.
I've used "I'm moving" as my excuse to do as little physical activity as possible and eat the worst food as possible for, uh, 1.5 months now? Bleh. If you read through the stories and comments, the thing almost all have in common is the level of frustration. Buying smart and eating stupid, getting thrown out of good habits by stupid little things and finding that getting back on track makes you want to punch things.
I have yet to fully get "back into the swing of things" (do people still say that??) since the move and that bothers me. I may be eating relatively well but being a ginormous couch potato cancels all that out. DAMN YOU NETFLIX STREAMING VIA MY WII!!
I told myself after my summer classes I could focus more on being an entirely, well-rounded healthy normal person again, and that is exactly what I intend to do. I guess that is where this blog will be going??? Plus recipes!! Yay!

ANNNNND I will be posting pix and links to Lots of pix from the Naked Bike Ride soon!
Thanks again everyone! <3

Land Lady!

I just moved to an awesome house in St. Louis. My boyfriend has been friends with the owners, Denise and Aaron, for some years now and they are awesome as well. Here Denise's food story!

Most of my childhood memories center around our kitchen or the dinner table. My mom cooked a simple dinner every night, and until I was in high school, we always had dinner as a family. "Helping" my mom cook dinner every night was our chance to talk, just girl to girl. I got so much from that time.

My mom, aunts, grandmothers, etc. are all "good southern women" who show their love through food. Both sets of my grandparents grew up poor, on farms. I have had some of the best meals of my life at their tables. I moved away from home (Chattanooga, Tennessee) in 2002. Every once in a while, when I am feeling a little home sick, I will put Paula Deen on the TV. I don't always watch, sometimes it is just nice to have as background noise. Once I just turned it on to take a nap. She sounds like my Aunt Inez.

I went to church for 3 reasons:
1. My parents made me.
2. I liked to sing in the choir.
3. The potluck suppers were amazing.

I used to steal the salt shaker from my mom's kitchen and go out to the garden, pick a cucumber, and sit and eat it right there. I hated working in that garden, but the food that came out of it was soo good.

I am a good cook. I love to cook. Hosting a dinner party makes me so happy, and Aaron and I have had some winners. However, I cannot cook when I am angry. My food tastes bad. On the flip side, when I am in a good mood, my food tastes better.

I have been adjusting to Celiac disease (gluten allergy) for almost 2 years now. Thank goodness I can cook! There are so many products available, and with a little searching I am enjoying most of my favorite foods. The two big exceptions are sandwich bread and biscuits. If anyone out there has ever tried gluten free bread, you will appreciate this:
Most gluten free bread is sold frozen. At best is is dense, and tastes funny. After moving to Austin, I went to the Whole Foods downtown for some lunch and shopping. The Whole Foods in Austin is HUGE. It is like a small city with several restaurants and lots of prepared foods. Anyway, we were in the bakery section, and I decided to ask someone stocking the baked goods if they had any gluten free bread. She pointed to a display where there were two kinds, white (potato flour) and whole grain (didn't notice, was too distracted by the white bread). I picked up the bread and it was SOFT! I teared up and yelled "OMG it's soft!" to my friend. I couldn't quite squeezing it and saying "it's so soft!" the whole time we were in the checkout. As soon as I got home, I opened the bag and ate a slice. It was amazing!

My mom used to make this really bland baked chicken. She would bake a whole chicken with some veggies and stuff. My brother and I didn't like it, so we barely ate any. The good part of that was that the next night, mom would always make chicken enchiladas with the left over chicken. The enchiladas were awesome. My brother and I never told mom we hated the chicken, so she kept making it. As a matter of fact, when mom announced that dinner was baked chicken, Wes and I would usually get excited. For years, mom never understood why we got so excited over the baked chicken, but barely touched it. We told her when we were both in our 30s. Come to find out, mom would have happily skipped the baked chicken night and just made us some enchiladas.