Sunshine Chips!

Just two weeks ago, the sun started shining it's brightest for the first time in what felt like truly forever. I feel like I was still suffering windburn, frostbite, and soggy socks after the lovely winter we had on Appian Way. So, a few weeks ago, yellow happy rays coaxed me, huggable dogs, too-cute babies, and some of my fellow grad-slaves to bathe in Vitamin D and nosh on some snackies next to the Charles River. It was a necessary excuse to wander out of the library and blink into some happy sunlight! Even though it was a leeeetle windy by the Charles, and there were a few close-calls with the frisbees and our *ahem* heads, the fresh air and warmth was totally cathartic. I packed along some homemade rosemary pita chips & hummus, and they disappeared so fast, I had to share how so incredibly simple & easy it was to throw together such a yumtastic snack. They went so well with fresh-air lounging, I've forever renamed them my "Sunshine Chips". They're awesome alone or with some hummus for dipping. Enjoy, sunshines!

Sunshine Chips

Day-old pita bread
Olive oil
Salt & peps
Dried rosemary

Pre-heat oven to 400.
Mix together olive oil, s+p
Cut pita into triangles, separating at "seam"
Very lightly brush olive oil mixture on top of pita triangles and arrange in a single layer on cookie sheet
Sprinkle on dried rosemary
Bake for about 6-8 min, but watch these chippies carefully so they don't burn

IMO, best enjoyed outside. Pack in a reusable bag with some hummus, and take them into the sunshine.

Photo from janezlifeandtimes.wordpress.com

Gym & Omelets: CONQUERED

Not Your Average Jane has has Not Your Average Amount of SchoolWork to do, so please accept my most sincere apologies for lack of blogging lately. Y'all know I love to blog-it-out.

But let's get past our little silent treatment episode, because I have happy news to share with you on this Valentine's Weekend. After being a member of the Harvard gym for over month, I have considered it CONQUERED. Yes, that's right folks, I have defeated the annoying treadmill sign-up rules. Then, I did a little high-kick and surmounted the impervious, testosterone-soaked nature of the (gasp) weight room. And when I mean soaked with testosterone, I'm not kidding. Those dudes sweat a lot.

But, today, after wrapping up a fabulous run on the treadmill (which was 12 minutes over the time limit for treadmills, *high fives* for beating the system), I felt like a billion bucks (which is more than a million, FYI). So down I went, and sweat along with the best of them. Good feeling!

This effort left me completely ravenous, of course, so when I got home from the gym I set my mind on making a scrumptious, healthy egg white omelet. And... I. Did. It. For someone who is hardly able to deftly maneuver a spatula over medium-high heat, this is indeed a Big Deal. To boot, it was freakin' good, guys. Like eat-at-the-kitchen-counter-so-I-don't-have-to-wait-30-seconds-to-bring-it-to-the-table-good.

Post-Gym Egg White Omelet for Lovers (it's Valentine's Day, dudes)
1/2 cup egg whites (from about 3 large eggs)
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup green peppers, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
handful of shredded cheddar cheese (no orange nastiness, plz)
salsa
1/2 pitted & cubed avocado

heat 1 tsp of olive oil in 8" frying pan on medium-high heat (heat that sucker up good)
whisk eggs, s&p, water
pour into hot pan
let set: scrape sides of pan w/rubber spatula every so often, letting mixture spill under
after ~2 or 3 min, sprinkle cheddar, green pepper, & red onion on top
carefully fold in 1/2 and immediately transfer to plate
top with salsa & avocado

...eat it at the kitchen counter.

My Fave Recipe, Finally!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Whew, I have been such a busy little bee the past two weeks with school starting up again. Yet, my classes are GREAT, so I don't mind filling my days with thought-provoking readings and stimulating, practice-based discussion. And - drumroll please - I joined the Harvard gym. I just simply couldn't take stepping outside and expecting my body to run over 3 miles in 13 degree weather any longer (thanks bunches, groundy-hogger). More on my woes and wins at my impossibly small and awkward new gym in upcoming posts... like my frequent incredulous looks at those who read (and highlight) their textbooks on the elliptical. Thank goodness for yoga classes!

So, it's a wonder I haven't scurried to my Macbook earlier to provide you with one of my absolute most favoritest (I get to invent words, you'll learn to love it), simple, delicious, fulfilling, and WICKED good meals. Especially during the impossibly chilly evenings here in New England, this warm roasted vegetable and goat cheese salad consistently makes my belly happy. Bon Appetit!

Roasted Vegetable & Goat Cheese Salad

You'll Need:
1 head of Boston lettuce
Veggies for Roastin': I like sweet potatoes, carrots, zucchini, & red onions
Crumbled goat cheese
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Prepare:
1. Cut up veggies into bite-sized chunks (I like to quarter the red onion, leaving the layers intact)
2. Toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil, salt & pepper to taste (I like lots of pepper!), throw on baking sheet, and bake at 400 for about ~20 min (they should be a little brown and tender)
3. Whisk up 1 part olive oil, 1 part balsamic vinegar (about a tablespoon each should do it), add salt & pepper
4. Toss lettuce with dressing, add goat cheese.
5. Top with roasted veggies

Enjoy the YUMFEST. You're welcome!

-NYAJ

PS, I apologize for the zero food pics on this blog. I'm usually far too hungry to whip out the powershot while the foodz get cold... but I'll try some self-restraint for next time! =)

The Empty Fridge Dins

So after my revitalizing Exercise TV Pilates workout tonight, I was sta-haaarving. For realz. Of course, I managed to do everything BUT grocery shop this weekend. Luckily, I was ready to try my hand at the infamous "Empty Fridge Dins": finding just a few, random ingredients I still had kickin' around to somehow create a fulfilling, healthy yumfest.

Luckily, I had some pretty good-for-me stuffs to work with, which gave me lesson #1: stocking up on veggies, whole grains, and proteins like beans or veggie burgers when you DO have time to shop is not a bad thing. Unfortunately, I live in New England, which means zero access to fresh produce via farmers markets in January, but this is what I DID have to work with:

From the fridge:
Bag of spinach
Feta
Carrots
Cuke

Kickin' around in the cupboard:
Leftover Great Northern Beans (from some AMAZING Quinoa Burgers I made last week)
Quinoa
Whole-wheat pita bread (toasted, for a little sustenance on the side)
Greek dressing* (see note below)

And I pretty much just threw it together in bowl. I rinsed and "quick soaked" the beans while I got my pilates on and prepared the other ingredients (it takes a little less than an hour - just boil them in some water, then cover and let sit). Now that the salad is sitting my belly, I kind of wish I had replaced the beans with chickpeas - but let's be honest. This chick(pea) hasn't purchased an actual chickpea in her life. Not yet, at least... it's only my third post!

The quinoa (which is actually a seed, who knew?) is just SO good for you and is really easy to prepare. I've just started learning all the fun uses for it - it did taste a little "eh" plopped on top of a salad though, so stay tuned for other ways to incorporate this wonder food into your mealsies.

*Ooohh and the dressing. Sigh. I bought a bottle of Ken's Greek Dressing eons ago and felt just shameful putting it to waste... otherwise, I would have cheerily made a homemade, simple dressing for this salad: balsamic vinegar, olive oil, black pepper, and maybe a little mustard. Yum! And you just need a teensy bit to coat your greens.

Yumfest indeed.

-NYAJ

PS- Ok I confess. I usually have a hard time having ONLY salad, no matter how big & tasty, for a meal. So I grilled up an Amy's Texas Veggie Burger (wicked awesome if you throw some red onion in the pan with it and top with cheddar and some bbq sauce) to get that "yes I am full" feeling. Ohh and it worked.

PPS- I also completely burned the bottom layer of quinoa while getting sucked into The Biggest Loser, which made the house smell like... well, really burnt quinoa. And I didn't even get Jillian Michaels' "answer after the break" health quiz correct: "Does snacking in between meals inhibit weight loss?" (Hint: It does. Darn!)