Random Bits February 10, 2010

Hi Friends, 

I missed you all yesterday.  I really enjoy reading all your post and miss you guys when I don’t get the chance to do so.  Monday was good but busy with a long shift at the coffee shop followed by gym, homework time and class ’til 9:45pm.  I should have brought my laptop with me for the homeworking portion but didn’t feel like lugging it around all day.  Oh well!

Had a great workout today.  I have a small confession to make.  I joined a Jillian Micheals online workout site.  It costs about 4 dollars a week.  I need someone to tell what kind of weights to lift other wise I totally won’t do it.  Guys, I love this site and the workouts.  I’ve been getting noticable results which is kind of fun too !  I felt super rock star as I was going through my circuit today.  The old iPod strung together the following set of tunes.  I swear that the iPod has a brain.  It was good “kick negative thinking in the ass and appreciate you” mix. 

“Bad Romance” Lady Gaga

“I Hate Myself for Lovin You” Joan Jett

“Stronger” Christina Aguilera

“Bootylicious” Destiny’s Child

” I See you Baby” Groove Armada

By the time Groove Armada rolled around, I was going hard and dripping sweat everywhere.  LOVE IT!

Breakfast – plain Stonyfield, blackberries, 1 TB ground flax and Kashi Go Lean

Lunch – unphotographed bowl of veggie chilli topped with goat cheese and Food Should Taste Good Jalapeno Chips.  Totally forgot.  I have plenty of chilli left so you will definitely see this meal again case you were just dying to know what it looks like

Dinner – Roasted broccoli, carrots and portbella on top of broccoli slaw with a blob of Holy Land Jalapeno humus.  The sandwich was glorious.  I grilled an Earth Grains Thin Bun filled with goat cheese, apples, spinach, dried cranberries and mustard.  I love goat cheese like none other.  Oh!  I wonder if the fainting goats produce yummy goat  cheese?!

I’d like to share something from my Spiritual Wellness class last night.  At the end of each class we will be getting an envelope that we are not supposed to open until we have 15 min to just be with it and then write a reflection.  Of corse, I opened mine once I got in the car as I have no patience for stuff like that.   This week I got a portion of Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inaugural speech.  Normally I am kind of turned off by mentions of God (do you really need to name the higher power?) but I really like this and it is a good closing thought.

” We are all mean to shine, as children do.  We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”   Nelson Mandela.

Shine on my friends!

Kate

Braingasm February 7, 2010

Hi friends,

Early post today due to Superbowl festivities later today.

First, want to share some reading that I did on Friday afternoon while I was skipping my scheduled gym session.  My legs were sore and I wasn’t in the mood at all so I decided to bust into some homework.  The following chunk is from Mary Whitehouse in her section from Bone, Breath, and Gesture.  I had a little braingasm as I read it.  I audibly gasped in the coffee shop where I was homeworking.

The physical condition is in some way also the psychological one.  We do not know in what way the psyche is the body and the body is the psyche but we do know that one does not exist without the other.  And I would go so far as to suggest that just as the body changes in the course of working with the psyche, so the psyche changes in the course of working with the body.  We would do well to remember that the two are not separate entities but mysteriously a totality.      p. 242 Mary Whitehouse

What do you think?  I completely agree and need to remind myself of this.  I don’t feel guilty for my gym sessions or my new Authentic Movement practice or my pursuit of the little things that make me happy.  They go together to help make me whole.  Despite the fact that I believe this, it is always helpful to read that a respected professional agrees.

Things I am thankful for/really like

1.  My mom.  We spent the day hanging out on Saturday.  We got massages, shopped and lunched and caught up on each others gossip.  I really admire her.  I never would have thought it possible to have this kind of a relationship with her when I was growing up, but it is great.  I love it and love her.

2.  Live music.  Caught the Haiti benefit concert at First Ave on Saturday.  Mark Mallman and Solid Gold were both fabulous.  I love dancing and being a part of the communal feeling of a concert.  I really like watching stuff at First Ave in particular as it has such a rich musical history.  I like to pretend that maybe I am standing in the exact same spot that Prince once stood.  Such a dork!

3.  Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  Lately, I’ve been meeting the man at Salut in St Paul after he gets done coaching on Fridays.   The bar tender recommended this wine to me about a month ago.  It is so good!  I start tasting it around 5pm on Friday nights and am not satisfied until it hits my lips around 9:30.

4.  Yogurt!  After months of eating oatmeal for breakfast, I’ve started to get major morning yogurt cravings.  Strange how those things come and go.  Regular, greek, plain or flavored, it doesn’t matter.  Just give me some creamy morning goodness

My reading assignment for the afternoon is 100 pages in a book about corruption in the pharmaceutical industry.  Should be interesting.

Kate

Rolling Around on the Floor February 5, 2010

Hi friends,

As a part of my Creative Arts in the Healing Journey class, we are supposed to flex our creative muscle once every day.  I just spent 25 minutes practicing Authentic Movement in my apartment.  We used this quite often in my under grad dance classes.  I start my session by lying on the floor and taking a scan of my body.  Eventually I began moving.  The movement evolved very organically and didn’t look like “dance.”  I was playing with the concept of folding and unfolding, both in the physical and metaphorical sense.  After I was done, I did a bit of journaling to reflect.  It was really nice.  First step in honoring my intuition and being creative. 

Today was Vegan Thursday!

Breakfast – 1 small orange, 1/2 a frozen banana, 1 packet Vanilla Spiru-tein, 1/2 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze, and 4 ice cubes.  Topped with Nature’s Path Flax Flakes.

Lunch – Whole Foods Fiber Pita filled with Holy Land Deli Jalapeno Humus, cucumber, red pepper and spinach.  It has been too long since I’ve enjoyed some Holy Land Deli humus.  If you can find brand near you, buy it now!  The consistency is perfect.

Dinner – I was loving the pita and humus at lunch and was craving more at dinner.  I sautéed broccoli, a medium carrot, red pepper, a portabella and some broccoli slaw.  Topped things off with a generous blob of humus and half a pita.

Am enjoying a little tea and Thursday night television while I blog.  I love Thursday night tv.  The Parks and Rec, Office, and 30 Rock combo is perfection

Later

Kate

So Much to Say February 4, 2010

Hi Friends,

The last few days have been a whirlwind.  I learned my lesson when I realized on Sunday that I had 250 pages to read before my first class on Monday evening.  Yikes!  My head is full after the first meetings of my classes for the semester but I am so excited and energized by what the semester has in store.  There is so much possibility! 

Monday I attended Women in Holistic Health and Tuesday was the first meeting of my group independent study focusing on Creative Arts in the Healing Journey.  My head is a buzz of thoughts about women’s intuition and the spiritual act of creativity.  I don’t know if the paragraph that follows is very clear or well thought out but I wanted to get some of this out and would love hear what others think.

The readings assigned for class on Monday focused on how women used to be the healers and care givers in the community.  The advent of the market and other societal “advancements” much of this ability to heal using natural remedies was taken from women.  This is a really quick and dirty summary of the readings but it gets to the main points.  As I was reading, I was continually struck by how useful intuition and self-care are.  Unfortunately, society does not place a high value on these things. 

Our discussion on creativity last night echoed these same sentiments.  The act of creating requires a deep intuition and sense of self.  I have found that there is no better way to get in touch with what I am feeling by doing something creative, be it blogging, journaling, dancing in my apartment, scribbling on a piece of scratch paper….. Something always surfaces.

So what I am going to do with that info is unclear to me know.  I guess the first step is making time and space to reflect, honor my intuition, and engage in creative behaviors will be my first step.  I think I’ll keep posting the bits of school that are exciting to me over the course of the semester.

Breakfast – I didn’t have to work this morning so I enjoyed a leisurely bowl of oats.  In the mix – 1/4 cut steel-cut oats, 1/2 banana, 1 TB ground flax, cinnamon, and vanilla.  I chopped a pinata apple and tossed half in while cooking.  sprinkled the other half on top with 2 tsp of pb.

Lunch – Stir fried tempeh, broccoli, red pepper and mushrooms on top of spinach with a toasted pita.

Dinner – Brocoli slaw with a sprinkle of craisins and Galeo’s Ginger Wasabi Miso dressing (I am seriously in love with this stuff!).  One egg and one egg white over easy artful slid into a pita so the egg yolk wouldn’t break and topped with green salsa.

So friends, I challenge you to take care of yourselves, be creative and use your intuition!

Kate

Busy! February 2, 2010

Hi friends,

Just a quick post to let you know that I am still alive.  Been very busy between work, school starting and socializing.  Will return tomorrow with a post.

Later

Kate

Friends, Food and Fitness January 30, 2010

Hi friends,

I have had a lovely morning.  Woke up early and enjoyed a green smoothie in a bowl and some coffee to accompany my morning blog reading.

I met up with my favorite Minneapolis blog friends, Melissa and Erika, for a spin class and some lunch at the Whole Foods.  Spinning was awesome!  I love it when the music is loud and you can just get in your zone and sweat it out.  I’m on a mission to find a class that I can stick in my weekly schedule.  Great fun.

After we cleaned up, we headed to the Whole Foods for some lunch.  I got sampled a few different salads from the hot bar and indulged my growing love for Kombucha.  (I wish the Kombucha were like a dollar cheaper!  The benefits are amazing but I feel guilty spending $3.5o on a bottle.)

The best part of the day was catching up with these wonderful ladies.  It is weird to meet someone who you know strictly via blogs for the first time.  It is as if you know them, but you really don’t.  That doesn’t make much sense, but I loved the conversation and the company.  We hope to make this a monthly thing which will be great.

Ok, my plan was to start some homework (yay!) right after I got home but a nap somehow snuck up on me   My friend Kelly is stopping for a girls night in an hour and half so I better get cracking.

Later

Kate

Vegan Fail January 29, 2010

Hi friends,

I totally forgot today was a Vegan Thursday until I turned on the tv tonight.  Whoops!  This week has been a little strange and I spent the day thinking it was Wednesday.  definitely ate animal products all day.  Sorry animal friends!  I shall try and stick another vegan day in sometime next week.

Breakfast – approximately 1/2 cup plain Oikos, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup Natures Path Flax Flakes, 1 TB ground flax, chopped almonds and cinnamon.  Next time I am tempted to be lazy and make breakfast in the actual yogurt container, I will look at this craptastic photo and not do it.

Lunch – An average veggie and humus pita with perhaps the BEST SALAD EVER!  I topped spinach with a blood orange, blueberries, feta and Galeo’s Ginger Wasabi Miso dressing.  The combination of the flavors was outstanding.  The Galeo’s dressing pulled everything together so nicely.  I will definitely repeat this salad.

Dinner – A stir fry of broccoli, eggplant, mushrooms and kale with bulgur, 3/4 cup Classico Spicy Red Pepper Marinara, and feta.  Decent but not outstanding.  I was just pleased that I came up with something to eat that wasn’t eggs or protein pancakes.

So the kiddos in the after school program were talking about goats again.   One of my coworkers grew up in Bangladesh and told tales of seeing giant goats climbing trees while on vacation with his family.  Oh how I love this animal.  Enjoy

The weekend is so close!

Kate

Giggles January 28, 2010

Hi Friends,

Before you start reading, head over to the Bake Sale for Hati ASAP!  There are some super yummy treats and all the proceeds go to the Red Cross to help Hati recovery efforts.  I am baking a batch of uber yummy oatmeal, craisin chocolate chip cookies.  Get your bids in now

Today was another packed day without any breaks.  However, I had the giggles all day long thinking about the fainting goats.  I kept picturing people at the coffee shop failing over randomly.  Kind of enjoyed it   Thankfully my day tomorrow will have a bit more space in it, which is nice.

Breakfast Smoothie – 1/8 a package of extra firm tofu, 1 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze, 1/4 cup papaya, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/4 cup frozen pineapple, 1 TB ground flax, 8 almonds, and a good shake of ground ginger.  Very random.  I woke up feeling like a smoothie and just kind of threw things in the blender that sounded good.  Wasn’t the best combo ever but the tofu gave it a nice, creamy consistency.

Lunch – More left over Chicken Sausage, White Bean and Kale soup!  Topped with feta and sriracha with a side of carrots and mustard.

Dinner – Cheesy oats topped with sautéed mushrooms and spinach and an egg and egg white over easy.  The egg yolk boke all over the oats and made it extra gooey.  YUM!  I am currently enjoying a little peanut butter and chocolate chip pita warmed in the microwave for dessert.  More gooey goodness to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I feel like I am stuck in a bit of a food rut lately.  When I got home tonight the only two things I could think of making were protein pancakes or eggs.  Does anyone else get like that?  How do you break yourself out of it?

Later

Kate

Goats! January 27, 2010

Hi friends,

Today was super long.  I left my house at 5:45am and didn’t make it back until 7pm.  I had time off between jobs to get a work out in, eat and transport myself from across the metro to get to the various job sites.  Didn’t have time to photograph my food that I packed.  Sorry!

I’ve got something way better than food photos for you!  The principal of the school I’ve been working at kissed a goat last Friday as the kids made a food drive fundraising goal.  This made me remember how much I used to love goats.  They are such a goofy animal and I love their little beards.  Check out these guys.  Wouldn’t it be hilarious if that could happen to people too!

Enough of my nonsense! Later

Kate

From Rain to Snow January 26, 2010

Hi friends,

It is snowing today and it is making me crabby!  After two weeks of 30ish degree weather, I was antsy for spring.  No dice.  After living in MN for 27 years, you’d think I would have learned my lesson.  Sigh.

As I mentioned earlier, we discovered that my Grammy has been subsiding on Special K 100 calorie bars (and I’m pretty sure a fair amount of scotch too).  After reading Holly’s post about the crazy preservatives in Special K products, I got a nervous for the state of Grammy’s internal organs.  I didn’t have to work this afternoon so I did a little baking and created a healthier granola bar for my dear Grammy.  I tried a nibble and enjoyed the taste and texture.  Hopefully they will compliment her evening scotch nicely

Grammy Bars

- 1/3 cup canola oil

-1/3 cup honey

-1/2 cup peanut butter

- 1 egg

- splash of vanilla

- 1 3/4 cup rolled oats

- 3 TBS chia seeds

-2 TBS ground flax

- 2 TBS whole wheat flour

- 30 grams Vanilla Spiru-Tein Powder

- 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

- Grease a 9×13 pan and preheat oven to 350.  Microwave canola oil, honey and peanut butter for 30 seconds and stir until combine.  Mix in egg and vanilla.  Stir in remaining ingredients until well combined.  Press mixture into the bottom of the 9×13 pan.  Bake until golden brown, about 10 min.  Package and send to Grammy.

The eats for the day!

Breakfast – 1/2 cup plain Oikos, 1 cup papaya chunks, 1 TB ground flax, 1/2 cup Nature’s Path Flax Flakes, chopped almonds, and a few big shakes of ground ginger.  The photo does not do this combo justice!  Very flavorful.

Lunch – a bowl of Chicken Sausage, White Bean and Kale soup that I made with the BF on Saturday night.  I topped the soup with some feta and sriracha and grabbed a handful of Food Should Taste Good Olive chips to accompany it.  I love a good pot of soup in the winter.  Left overs make me happy

Dinner – A spinach and veggie salad topped with Gaelo’s Ginger Wasabi Miso Dressing.  I made another batch hemp protein pancakes tonight a got a little creative with my topping.  I peeled a blood orange and let it simmer with 1/3 cup of water while I was preparing the rest of my dinner.  When the pancakes were done cooking, I added a few shakes of cinnamon and went to town with my potato masher.  Yum!  And check out that lovely color. 

Alright, hope you all are staying warm!

Kate