I've moved!

I am now using blogging at:
http://rd-tobe.blogspot.com/

Need a reason to try (or get back into) yoga? I found 38!

I will admit that I suffer from the inability to keep up a regular practice of one of my greatest loves-yoga. Sometimes it takes the onset of body aches and pains, or slight feelings of hopelessness, to make me realize that it's time to get back on the mat. Although I know that these things could be prevented if I only kept up a regular practice, I still struggle. For me, it's the fact that my current financial situation and schedule prevents me from attending classes on a regular basis. I crave the motivation of someone telling me what to do, the surprise as to what is coming next, and the energy of practicing with a group. However, the benefits of practicing yoga are undeniable, and are even beginning to be studied for their ability to treat and prevent disease. This article , from Yoga Journal, provides ample proof that yoga really can benefit every body.

Here are some ways I plan to incorporate yoga into my lifestyle:
1. Increase my library of yoga videos
2. Attend the free (donation based) yoga class that is offered through one of my local studios any time I'm off on a Sunday
3. Check out Yogatic.com on a regular basis. Esther always has new, and free, yoga videos on her website. Plus, she's adorable :)

How do you incorporate yoga into your daily lifestyle? What benefits have you experienced that made you a believer?

Vegetarian..for a day

I was recently inspired by an article that I read to look up some vegetarian recipes. Apparently there is a (not so) new movement called "Meatless Mondays" in which people eat vegetarian once a week. I think this is a good idea for several reasons. First off we, as Americans, eat way too much meat. The average (healthy) person requires about five to seven ounces of meat per day (that's the size of about 2 decks of playing cards). However, most of us eat at least twice that much every day. I think we could use a little break, if only once per week.
There are plenty of great substitutes for meat, and I'm not just referring to the soy based products that are made to resemble it visually. Any type of bean is the perfect substitute for meat, including one of my favorite legumes-peanut butter. In addition, nuts and seeds provide enough protein to be considered meat "substitutes" plus they pack on added benefits like vitamins, minerals, and essential (good) fats.
Some might argue that these sources are not good substitutes for meat because they don't provide complete protein, meaning that they do not contain all 9 essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein). However, those that are missing can be easily obtained from other commonly eaten foods-most notably grain products such as bread and cereals. Contrary to former beliefs, these foods do not have to be consumed at the same time to achieve this balance.
Another great reason to give the vegetarian thing a try is to incorporate more variety, which could make for more exciting meals. For example, when I searched for recipes I found several with Greek, Middle-eastern, and Indian flair-things I would not normally think to make.
Finally, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) published an evidence based position paper stating that "appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases." Well, that's definitely enough proof for me!
I decided to have my meatless day on Sunday this week. My breakfast is normally vegetarian, so there was no change there. For lunch, I tried a chickpea taco recipe that I found on the Vegetarian Times website. I did add cheese as a topping (I'm going vegetarian, not vegan here-don't think I could give up the cheese!). They were quite delicious!
For dinner, I made a vegetarian pizza. I used my usual whole wheat pizza dough recipe, and topped with pesto sauce, spinach, broccoli, sliced tomato, mozzarella, and feta cheese. Yum!
I definitely did not miss the meat. I am going to continue this tradition weekly, and try a new recipe every week. Don't worry-I will share the vegetarian recipe love here.
Have you heard of the "Meatless Monday" movement? Are you up to the challenge of giving up meat once a week (or more)?

Match Day

My hand was literally shaking as I clicked refresh over and over again. I watched the seconds count down to when I would know my future. I can't believe it all comes down to this-all the work I have done-just to find out from a website how I will spend the next year of my life. Then I get to the final seconds and, of course, the page hesitates and takes several seconds, which felt like hours, to refresh. And there it was:

I am pleased to inform you that you have been appointed (computer matched) to Bowling Green State University Distance Education.

All I really had to see was the "you have been appointed" part and I could breathe again. At least I had something. But then I realized that I had received my number one choice! Even better!

Why thank you for informing me, D&D digital, that I will be able to move on rather than just sit idle for the next year until there's another chance to apply.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some celebrating to do.

A walk in the park!

My "core and more" class is on break this week, so I am going to have to get motivated to exercise on my own.
The weather is finally nice enough to walk outside again, and I couldn't be happier! I don't know about you, but I get totally bored exercising indoors. There's just so much more to look at outside! I am lucky enough to have a nice park less than a mile from my house, so that's where I usually go. It's not a huge park, but if I circle around a couple of times I figure it's about 3 miles including the walk there and back. There were a lot of other people out for a Tuesday morning, which is always nice to see!
Even walking outside can sometimes get monotonous when you do it often enough. I'd rather walk with a friend, but of course that's not always possible. I really rely on my music to get me through it. Today I started out with some Death Cab for Cutie, which you might think isn't upbeat enough for walking, but somehow it worked. Then for the second half of my walk I rocked Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor album. I grew up on songs like Lucky Star and Borderline (showing my age here) and a lot of her newer stuff doesn't really make the cut for me...but this album totally rocks!

What's your workout "soundtrack"?

The countdown has begun!

In exactly two weeks I will find out the news about my internship! I can't wait-this is going to be the longest 14 days ever. For those of you out there who are not dietetic students, the internship is what stands between me and becoming a registered dietitian and they are extremely competitive to get. In fact, so competitive that last year only half of those who applied got one. So it's really my future I'm waiting to hear about! Scary, huh?

So, I will just have to try to keep my mind off things by trying out new recipes :)

I am a real sucker for would-be sinful foods turned healthier. This pasta carbonara recipe used nonfat Greek yogurt to make a creamy and delicious, but light, sauce. I used half the amount of pasta the recipe calls for, and I still had a ton of leftovers. I also used fat-free half & half since that's what I had on hand. It worked just fine and turned out great. And, it was Matt-approved, even with turkey bacon!

Here's the recipe ,from Self.com.
















I thought it needed a little extra something on the side, so I served with some roasted asparagus. I drizzled a little olive oil, salt and pepper and placed in the oven at 425 degree for about 15 minutes, then sprinkled with a little Parmesan when it came out. Delicious!

Spring Break Wrap Up

I certainly had every intention of posting each and every day during spring break this week. I did, however, remember to take pictures of some of the new dishes I tried out so I can offer those now! Better late than never, right?

Pollo Montecristo From Self.com
This was a really good recipe! Self.com is one of my new favorite sources for recipes. They don't have as many available as Cooking Light, but those I have tried so far have been great.












Spaghetti with Chicken and Thai Peanut Sauce from CookingLight.com
YUM! Ever since I have taken a liking to Thai cuisine, I have wanted to duplicate the chicken pad thai that we get from our favorite restaurant. I have to say, this came pretty darn close! It was also not too difficult to make. I did have to invest in some fresh ginger, but I just bought a tube of the minced that I found in the herb section of the grocery store. Well worth it, because I will definitely be making this again and again.












Baked Goat Cheese and Roasted Winter Squash over Garlicky Fettuccine from CookingLight.com


I honestly wasn't sure about this one-that's why it sat untouched in my "saved recipes" file on Cookinglight.com for so long. I was really glad I finally tried it though, because it was actually quite good. A bit labor intensive-I have to say, one of my least favorite activities is cutting up winter squash-but well worth it. I don't know why I sat on this one for so long...how can you go wrong with goat cheese?!













We also had a couple of excellent dining out experiences. Last Saturday, we went to the new Mai Lee (Vietnamese cuisine) that opened in Brentwood near Hanley/Eager. It is the same restaurant that used to be near Delmar and 170, but boy has it improved! The menu was still very similar, but with a few new options. We have always been a little intimidated by their menu because there are soooo many choices. This time, we asked the waitress for suggestions and the ones she gave were great. Matt had steak with a peppery sauce and I had chicken with vegetables. Yummy!
Here's their website


Last night I was craving Greek food, so I searched for a new restaurant to try. Instead I came up with a great little Russian place (which I never realized is actually very similar to Greek) in Webster Groves called Dvin. It was the most adorable and charming place, run by a mother and daughter. It's so small I have never even noticed it before, but I'm so glad I found it! The food was absolutely wonderful. They don't have a website, but their menu and address is posted here

We got the Armenian dip as an appetizer, I got the meat blinztes and Matt had a pork steak which was served with mashed potatoes. Everything was awesome, and the prices were very reasonable-I can't wait to go back and try more!

Have you had any interesting food adventures this week, either inside our outside of your kitchen?