Class and Cheerios

Yesterday was my first day of class. Those who know me, know I generally am exceptionally punctual (I am getting better on being late sometimes...) but in general, I HAVE to be early. Sooo... being the first day on campus I left Somerville at 7 am, I made it to Framingham fine, HOWEVER, I did not make it to Framingham State College, so successfully. I somehow got turned around on one road and accidentally wound up back on the Mass Pike and couldn't turn around without going to the next exit and turning around.

Of course, being directionally challenged I was also relying heavily on Dot, my handy GPS. I guess at some point during our journey after I got lost, I hit something on Dot and changed the destination location... soo my GPS sent me all the way back to Worcester (16 miles out of the way...)

Here's the map of what I drove: from Somerville, to Worcester, to Framingham, and then of course back to Somerville.



I finally made it to class 10 minutes late >___<

Thankfully I had planned well the night before and packed lots of snackies for the day.
I brought: 2 tangerines, a banana, some multigrain cheerios, and soymilk



The intent had been to eat the cheerios, milk, and banana together, but the opportune time never came around and they were all eaten seperately throughout class/ running around on campus.

The multigrain Cheerios have been my new thing lately-- namely because they have been on sale at Shaw's for $2.22 the past two times I've gone shopping.

I love cold cereal, but a lot of times I have to swear it off because I can't eat it without binge eating, but these guys don't tend to cause me to overeat. They are lightly sweetened, and more multidimensional than plain cheerios as they are made with five different kinds of whole grain O's. Nutrition Facts wise: 1 cup = 110 calories, 1 gram fat, 2 grams protein, 23 grams carbs , 6 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber.

So, they are not nutritional superstar, but pretty good. I am a fan that there are only 110 calories in 1 cup, and only 1 gram of fat. The sugar could be lower, and the fiber could be higher. But overall, tasty and healthy.

As for class, I had my first Medical Nutrition Therapy Lab, which will be the second part of my internship (Still haven't found out my rotation location), and then my first Human Nutritional Science Class-- which is basically Metabolism/ Nutritional Biochemistry.

I have been really nervous about the Metabolism class, since I was not so stellar at Biochem, but day one wasn't so bad, albeit already boring.

Black Bean Soup

Going on with my bean theme, the other day I made some tasty Black Bean Soup!
I unfortunately packed it all up and froze it before thinking to take a picture, but it looks like a standard black bean soup. Low fat, high protein, high fiber, and no cholesterol :)

Black Bean Soup
1 pound dried black beans (or about 3 normal sized cans, preferably low sodium)
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB olive oil
3 cups water
3 cups vegetable broth
Cumin
Oregano
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper
Thyme

If using dried black beans, soak them over night, then boil until tender.
In a pot, heat olive oil and add onion. Cook for about 3 minutes until becoming translucent. Add in peppers and garlic.
Once the vegetables are softened slightly, add beans, spices and water and broth.
Simmer.
Either using a potato masher, hand blender, food processor, or something else useful for squishing things, mash or blend some of the soup so as to mush up some of the black beans and create a thicker base.
The soup will thicken more and more as you let it simmer. Cover to reduce water loss.
Enjoy alone or topped with sour cream or chili peppers.

Beans, Beans, the magical fruit

Beans are an awesome food. They are high in fiber and protein, and low in fat. They are also ridiculously cheap and very diverse in regards to their culinary role.

So, why are beans so fabulous?

Well, as I mentioned: they are high in fiber, particularily soluble fiber, which means they help to absorb, and then eliminate cholesterol in your body. Thus, lowering your cholesterol and improving you heart health. Also, fiber makes foods more filling, so high fiber foods, like beans, keep you feeling fuller longer, so you are less likely to overeat later on.

Beans, being a plant based food, also contain lots of good phytochemicals and isoflavins, which are basically components of food that are not ESSENTIAL to life, but certainly improve ones health. Different kinds of beans are higher in certain isoflavins and phytochemicals than others, so like all foods, eat a variety! Phytoestrogens in soybeans are probably the most well studied, and have been shown to decrease risk of cancer. (lots of research also shows that eating foods simply made with soy components may not have the same benefit, so as usual, I support eating the whole food or lesser processed versions.- edamame, tofu versus soy protein isolate.)

Beans are also a great source of folate. Folate (aka folic acid, B9) is a nutrient that extremely important to DNA and cell growth and division. This is most noteable during fetal development. If a mother is folate deficient, the baby will be born with neural tube defects which generally result in death to the fetus, or severely mentally and physically disabled. In the Western world, most refined grains are fortified with folate, if you are watching your whole grain intake, you are probably eating a lot of unfortified foods, so watch out for your folate intake by increasing your bean consumption! (leafy greens are also a good source of folate as well.)

So go forth, and get down with your beany self.

NRG Bar

A friend of mine is working with NRG Bars to promote them and get them into more grocery stores. Consequently, I scored myself a free sample :D

The makers of NRG Bars pride themselves in the fact that their bars are 100% wheat and gluten free, which is important as the prevalence of Celiacs disease is on the rise. The bars are also made entirely out of organic ingredients.

There are currently 4 varieties available: Chocolate Chip Coconut, Lemon Flax, Cranberry Almond, and Pumpkin Ginger.

I sample the Cranberry Almond and Chocolate Chip Coconut. I will say I preferred the taste of the Cranberry Almond, but due to my recent nut allergy, I was paranoid about eating it so I only tried a nibble.

Both of the bars had a dense consistency. It kind of reminded me of slightly baked cookie dough. It had a little bit of a powdery after taste, and required drinking some water with it. The bars were very homogeneous - kind of like a Lara Bar- rather than having chunks of the various ingredients speckled throughout the bar. It was tasty, not too sweet, but not horribly bland. I had it for breakfast and it seemed fitting for the meal. The bar was very filling. I a generally a volume person, so I don't persay like eating a bar as a meal, but this filled me up and kept me going all morning at work. It would be great for those short on time, or on the go.

The basic run down of nutrition facts is 240-270 calories, 3-4.5 grams of fat, about 50 grams of carbs, 5 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein.

They market the bars as a snack, but at 240-270 calories a pop I would say that is probably more of a small meal, unless of course you are extremely active and need that kind of a snack between meals.

Upon reviewing their ingredients I was surprised to see the Organic Oats were basically their only whole grain. Their has been a lot of conflicting research in regards to whether or not oats affect individuals with Celiacs disease. Orginally it was though that oats were only a problem when they were contaminated by other grains, which occurs frequently. Thus, Organic oats that were kept free of contamination were considered safe, however, with further research, their has been indications that all oats, even those that are not contaminated may still be a problem... so the jury is still out. At any rate, if you do have a gluten sensitivity, proceed cautiously.

Currently NRG Bars are available at Whole Foods surrounding the Boston Area. Keep an eye out!

Vegan Chili

It's hard for me to post recipes, as I tend to not use them...

I've had a week off before I go back to the grind of working two jobs, starting classes full time, and starting internship again, so I decided with my free time it might be a good idea to make some food and freeze it. Today I made one of my staples: Vegan Chili.

I love making chili and soup type of dishes because they really do not require a recipe at all, you just throw in whatever you have on hand. I pretty much always have dried beans, and canned tomato around, so I generally always have the basic ingredients. the recipe below is what I happened to use today, but definitely feel free to add/ take away anything you like, dislike or just don't feel like buying. This makes a really big batch, but its great for dividing up and freezing for the future.

Vegan Chili
2 large cans whole tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can pumpkin
1 onion (I used red today)
2 hot chili peppers
1 cup/can chickpeas
1 cup kidney beans
2 cup black beans
1 cup corn
1 cup peas
1/2 cup edamame
green and red bell peppers (I just used 1 whole bag of frozen chopped mixed peppers)
2 tb olive oil
garlic
oregano
chili powder
black pepper
red pepper
hot sauce

Prepare any beans by cooking them if they are dried.
chop any raw vegetables (be careful with the hot peppers, getting hot pepper juice underneath your nails is no fun. I usually wear gloves.)

heat oil in a large pot, add garlic and onion, and cook for about 5ish minutes.

Add all other ingredients to pot.

Simmer for an hour or longer. The longer you simmer it the softer all of the ingredients will be and more blended together.

Viola! Vegan Chili!

It makes a great meal on its own, or I personally love to use it as an extra chunky spaghetti sauce. It can be topped with low fat cheese or sour cream/ regular or nondairy versions, to add a little bit of creaminess to it and cool it down if you made it a bit to spicy.

Dalai Lama's 18 Rules to Living

At the start of the new millennium the Dalai Lama apparently issued eighteen rules for living. Since word travels slowly in the digital age these have only just reached me. Here they are.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs:
1. Respect for self
2. Respect for others
3. Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

A New Year

Highlights of 2009

· Graduated from Boston University

· Started (And did not get fired or laid off from) two new jobs in my field, despite the down turned economy

· Moved from Allston to Cambridge to Somerville—experiencing more parts of Boston

· Started Grad School and Dietetic Internship at Framingham State College

· Thus far paid for my graduate education without having to take out any more loans

· Successfully started to address some of my long standing self destructive issues.

· Became an optimist

· Tried out this whole ‘dating’ thing for the first time in my life and met some interesting characters

· Drove 24 hours straight with my best friend from Florida to Massachusetts

· Adopted my new love, Ghreylin

· And of course met lots of great people, maintained old friendships, screwed up a lot, learned a lot, and had a great year.

I do not persay believe in ‘resolutions’ however, here is a list of things I hope to address in life, starting now, in 2010.

· Learn how to accept a compliment

· Work on being healthy, mentally and physically.

· Live in the moment, but make decisions that I will be comfortable with and proud of looking back.

· Continue to work on financial stability, while paying off undergrad loans.

· Prioritize. And make sure I am living accordingly.