How Much Do You Weigh?

It's time to address this question.

I was standing in line behind a pair of women yesterday, regular chicks with regular jobs buying regular, American lunches while murmuring regular, American complaints. One of them explained how frustrated she was at her weight gain and said she was "throwing up her hands and walking away" from the whole thang...fatness be damned. She was giving up. The other showed polite concern and asked whether she'd been weighing herself. Well, she almost asked. The words didn't have a chance to fully escape her mouth before her friend's eyes got huge. "No WAY I don't weigh myself! I gave that up a loooooong time ago!" The other woman seemed relieved and nodded her head in agreement, maybe thinking "Well yes. Of course you wouldn't weigh yourself...are you a masochist?" This was all said while they were buying bacon sandwiches and Diet Cokes. For me, hilarity ensued.

This experience was paired, rather serendipitously if you will (ahem), with an article I read yesterday afternoon describing the physical reactions people have when they step on the scale. They ranged from laughing to hysterical sobbing to dancing, something she described as "scale-o-phobia." One woman simply closed her eyes and walked out of the room, like she just couldn't handle the information, the clarity, the beautiful awareness the scale was offering her.

Because, in all honesty, that's what the scale gives you. A big 'ol kick in the ass. A solid dose of brutal truth. Just think how acceptable it's become to completely ignore the scale! It's really shocking, like we're all standing together the say, "Yeah, we know we're unhealthy, fat, and sad, but we're too scared to find out just how unhealthy, fat, and sad we truly are." It's no wonder that people crumple under the pressure when they're at the doctor's office, or that they feel forced to make some clever quip about how heavy their shoes are, laughing nervously while the healthcare professional rolls their eyes.

Suck it up and get your hot booty on the scale, because study after study has shown that you'll be better off because of it...and really, are you surprised? Has denying reality ever done you much good? EVER? Think about it.

And then think about your plan of attack. Will you weigh yourself everyday? Some folks find this helps them stay focused and inspired, and assists them in saying NO to brown sugar cupcakes with maple buttercream. But, others discovered a level of quiet obsession growing slowing in their heads. "OH NO! I WEIGH MORE THAN I DID YESTERDAY!" is not helpful stress. What if you were to weigh yourself once a week? It gives your body enough time to reflect any positive changes and may even cause you to look forward to the weigh-in! However, there is a risk of falling off the wagon if that 3-digit number isn't a daily presence.

Try both ways. Actually, try both weighs. (HA!) What you don't get to do anymore is shove your fists in your ears and sing, "I'm Henry the 8th I am, Hen-er-ry the 8th I am I AM! IGOTMARRIEDTOTHEWDOWNEXTDOORSHE'SBEENMARRIEDSEVENTIMESBEFORE!!" like the scale doesn't exist. It does. That number is important.

If it's too high, do something about it. You're hot. You deserve to live a long, healthy life. Get your butt on that scale and don't be a wimp.

(photo from here)

Golden Beets

I eat so many roasted beets every week, I'm pretty much constantly showing symptoms of beeturia (the medical name associated with that slightly hilarious fuchsia-pink pee situation that beets seem to inspire). Considering that, you can safely assume that I buy another bunch 'o these babies with every trip to the store...so much that, well, occasionally I can run them out. And though I know I'm not the only person in the world who chips away at a store's beet supply with speed and enthusiasm, I did have to chuckle when the guy who fills the beet bin knew who I was.

Beet Guy: "Hey! It's you again!"

Me: Awkward wave followed by, "Yup. It's me!"

Beet Guy: "Looking for beets again?"

Me: "Yup," I say as I look down and stare aghast at the empty container. Where are my beets?!

Beet Guy: "Sorry, we're out of them. But we did just get a shipment of golden beets. Interested in those?"

Me: "Uh, sure." Dammit. I am stodgy in my ways and wish to not have my routine shaken. Oh Shelley, get over yourself.

Beet Guy: "They're really good! Check these out." He proceeds to show me a lovely little root with a bright orange skin, a beet variety called "Burpee's Golden." Burpee. Tee hee.

Me: "Oh wow! Those are pretty. I'll take all of them."

I headed home and put these things to the test, roasting them the way I usually do and pausing for the oooooh aaaaaah moment when I peel away the skins....

I most certainly wasn't disappointed. Thanks, Beet Guy. You're awesome.

Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

Is there a better way to contract a nasty case of garlic breath? I think not! Before you start this soup, get your garlic ready (and do a few extra heads while you're at it...you'll want more).

In your trusty 'ol stockpot, heat a solid dash of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add:
2 onions, diced

Cook the onions down a bit until they're translucent, then add:
2-2 1/2 pounds UNPEELED* potatoes, diced (use yukons or reds, not russets if you can help it)
dash of pepper

Add enough water to cover the vegetables, toss in a couple veggie bouillon cubes, cover the pot and crank the heat. You want it to come to a boil, but it'll take some time. Once it gets there, lower the heat a simmer for a bit, partially covered, until the potatoes are softISH. Not too soft, but able to be pierced by a fork (overly soft potatoes will spell M-U-C-K later on). When it's done, turn off the heat, grab your blender and your wonderfully roasted head of garlic...the fun part is about to begin.

Place a few ladlefuls of soup in the blender till it's about half-full. Be sure there's a good amount of liquid so your blender can really do its job...I mean it, cause you're about to do something you never thought you could do. Trust me on this. Ready? Take your roasted garlic clove and pry off that hard root-covered disk on the bottom. You don't want that, but you DO want everything else! That's right. Toss the entire head of garlic in that blender, skins and all, then push the "puree" button and let your blender work its magic. For real. Have I ever led you astray?

Puree for about 3 minutes, or until you've got a smooth garlicky concoction whirling around like crazy. Then, dump it right back in the soup pot and give it a stir. Run a bit more of the soup through your blender if it's still too watery, or until you reach your desired consistency, then season it up with salt and pepper.

It's amazing. It's so good it makes me mad.

*Don't peel potatoes unless you absolutely have to. The peel is full of nutrients and fiber, not to mention chock full of deliciousness! Wash your potatoes well to avoid chomping down on sand. Then, you eat that peel, baby.

Roasted Garlic

My original plan was simple. I thought, "Boy, wouldn't a giant steaming bowl of Potato Leek soup taste so good tonight?" Wouldn't that be just hunky dory? I'd just need to blast to the store real quick and grab a few leeks...

...but to no avail. Leeks were not to be mine. I thought about driving to another store, but that seemed like a really silly idea. After all, I needed ONE thing! So, instead I picked up some rice cheese and a bag 'o beets and drove home, through the snow, back to my new romantic apartment that I still can't quite get over. Potato soup was still going to happen though. I needed a new spin, a new, leek-less idea.

How about Roasted Garlic Potato?

Intriguing. But first, to roast the garlic. You can use this amazing stuff for anything, even something as simple as schmearing it across a piece of bread! Just be sure you and your spouse/partner/housemate do this together, because when one of you smells real bad the other one will suffer...there needs to be an equal amount of stinkage between the two of you.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a small baking sheet with foil. Plunk a head of garlic down in the middle and pour a good amount of olive oil down over the top, then cover the entire pan TIGHTLY with foil. Make sure there aren't any gaps by running your fingers around the edge. Get a good seal, baby.

Roast that sucker for about 30 minutes, then take off the foil and let it go for another 20. You'll know it's done when the cloves are soft and fragrant. The garlic looks like this when it comes out of the oven:
It's done when you can do this:
Your breath is going to smell terrible.

P.S. My kitty is really cute.
(top picture from here)

The Popcorn Pumper

Take a look, if you dare, at the scary ingredient list on a box of microwave popcorn...the brand name of which shall remain a mystery:

popcorn (at least that's the first one...phew!)
palm oil with TBHQ (what the hell is that?!?!?)
salt
natural flavors (which are unidentified)
milk (ACK!)
color
annatto extract

All of that garbage in a bag of popcorn. Upon further research, I discovered that "TBHQ" stands for "tertiary butylhydroquinone," a compound used as a preservative in foods and also as a stabilizer in varnishes, lacquers, and resins.

Varnishes. Lacquers. And resins. Somehow, an ingredient in a stinky wood treatment is considered food. I'll just let that one sink in for a moment...

...holy crap....

...okay. Let's move on. The other interesting tidbit I discovered was about annatto. I was happy to see that it is, truly, a natural ingredient. Derived from the achiote tree (a pretty little tropical shrub), annatto has a bitter flavor and produces bright orange color in foods. However, it's the only natural food coloring believed to cause as many bad reactions as artificial ones (thanks Food Intolerance Network Factsheet).

Alright then! I decided that popcorn shouldn't need all that stuff to taste good. And so, I set out to make my own natural version that I could eat by the handful without wondering what kind of bizarre outlandish creature may be burgeoning in my intestine. It all started with AJ and I being gifted a classic hot-air popcorn popper called "The Popcorn Pumper." It's an artifact from the depths of AJ's grandmother's laundry room, placed there somewhere around 1954. Having sampled air-popped popcorn at my mother-in-law's house, I grabbed it out of the closet and ran cackling down the street with dreams of mountains of delicious popcorn floating in my head. Oh yeah, baby.

I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I've enjoyed all-natural homemade popcorn every night for 4 days. It's that good. You simply MUST get yourself one of these little gadgets (they're about 20 bucks) and start making amazing popcorn at home!

First thing, start some Earth Balance butter to melting on low heat (that's more than enough for 2 bowls...we were pigs that night):
Then, take your popper, turn it on, and load up the little container on top with kernels. It only takes about 1/2 cup and since humongous bags of popcorn cost only a few bucks, this is way-the-hell-and-gone cheaper than buying the microwave version. Behold:
Once the air gets warm (which takes about 20 seconds), tip the kernels into the center. Soon, they'll start to pop like mad into your waiting bowl:
It's at this point that you start slowly drizzling your melted Earth Balance over the top, turning as you go and aiming for a homogeneous distribution of buttery heaven. Get a buddy and have them sprinkle salt while you turn-and-butter. Turn off the popper when all the kernels are popped (notice how few of them remain unpopped), then take a moment to stare at your beautiful creation:
Buy one of these things. Now.

Vegan Gingerbread

You know how I feel about spicy, gingery goodness in sweet things. This is another representation of that.

Slightly obsessive? Maybe.

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. In a biggish bowl, whisk together:
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp clear vinegar (apple cider is good)
1 cup sugar

Whisk it like crazy, then add your spices and leavening:
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
dash o' nutmeg
dash o' salt

Again, whisk like a madman until it's super smooth...no lumps allowed. Furious whisking after you add flour is a GIANT no-no, so get it just right before you add:
2 cups flour (whole wheat is perfect, but not absolutely necessary)

Stir the batter until it just comes together, then pour it into your pan and bake for about 55 minutes or until a knife/toothpick comes out clean. The smell in your house will be UNFREAKIN'BELIEVABLE. Enjoy.

(recipe inspired by this)

The Paradigm of Produce

There I am, in the grocery store, in Iowa. Strollin' around gazing at the too-shiny red peppers and wishing for a giant pile of beets to manifest themselves on the shelf, being too bashful to simply walk up to the salesperson and say, "Ya got any beets?" I'm just about ready to throw in the towel and ask anyway, despite the knowledge of their likely response (a look that screams, "Why would you want those?") when *POW*...I see something that grabs my attention. My brow furrows, the corners of my mouth turn down, I stare aghast. There, in one of those little produce bins, is something freaky: a "skinny" avocado.

"HALF THE FAT!" the sticker says. "YOU CAN EAT THIS AND NOT BE FAT!" it wants you to think. If there were any truth in advertising, the sticker would read something like this: "THIS IS A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MUTANT STRAIN OF ALMOST-FOOD ABOMINATIONS!" Why do people shy away from avocados? Is it the fat content? Do you instead congratulate yourself when you schmear a palm-sized wad of butter on your cinnamon roll?

Forgive those who forsake the avocado. They know not what they do.

The avocado is one of nature's perfect offerings, amazing in it's simple splendor. They're full of fat (shriek!) but it's the good kind, the kind that helps your bod stay in balance, the kind called "monounsaturated fat" that is also found in tree nuts, seeds, and olives (and all their subsequent oils). You want MORE of this fat, and less of that other crap. As a side note, here's a rough way to tell the difference: if the fat is solid at room temperature, it goes under the nasty column. That goes for bacon, butter, lard, and all types of animal fat. These will all clog your heart and make you fatter (you know this, so stop eating it).

Avocados are wonderful for you, not to mention deeeeeeelicious! My primary use for them is in salads like this one, and for what I like to call "Shelley's Perfect On-The-Run Wacky Snacky" (split an avocado in half and scoop out the flesh with blue corn chips). However, I'm discovering that avocados have a world of other uses...

...wait for it...

That's right. More cake. I told you that recipe went too well...

But instead of using my quick/lazy ganache, why not bust out some avocado buttercream?

Or how about this...

A vegan avocado milkshake with chocolate! Doesn't that look amazing! I'll answer for you...

SHYEAH IT DOES!

Eat more avocados, especially in their pure unadorned state (which means that the shakes and cakes are just for funsies, not for everyday...duh). Buy lots of them when they're cheap, and don't feel bad if you have to pass when they're expensive. Just eat them as often as you can, and watch your body get healthier with every passing day.

Visit Joy the Baker's blog for her Chocolate Avocado Cake topped with Alton Brown's Avocado Buttercream. She takes pretty pictures too, obviously.

(milkshake photo from here)

("Avocado Halves" is by Andrew Rubtstov)

Boxes of Joy

Lately, I'm discovering more and more of the cool things Minneapolis has to offer. Restaurants housed in downtown lairs that serve GIGANTIC 2-dollar plates of spicy black beans and chips, musty-smelling paperback bookstores where you can find copies of books that took you weeks to hunt down in college, and organic coffee shops serving up the most delicious java ever. In the entire world. Ever. Ever. Ever.

And how about this...Minneapolis has a huge array of area farms that offer CSA shares! Seriously, the list is as long as my arm.

CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture" and represents one of the coolest ideas of the modern era (at least to me). Here's how they work:

1. A farm decides that they want to offer a certain number of shares to the public. What they call a "share" is pure joy in a box...a mountain of vegetables and fruits fresh from the garden that you pick up once a week, usually at local drop-off point (that way you don't have to drive all the way out to the farm every 7 days to pick up your box o' heaven).

2. People who want to purchase the shares get in contact with the farm. The price runs between 300 and 900 dollars, depending on how long the CSA's will be delivered, the amount of food received, and the type of stuff they put in there. By the time your CSA runs out, most people find they've paid waaaaay less than even wholesale prices for fresh, organic produce. Sweet.

What's really cool about Minneapolis, aside from the huge number of CSA farms that are operating, is the dizzying array of varieties you can get your hands on! There are long term and short term CSA's, ranging from 3 months of weekly veggies all the way up to an entire year's worth. There are smaller, half-shares available for couples or singles, and there are giant "family packs" that positively overflow with yummies. There are even a multitude of types of CSA's: some have just veggies, some have just fruit, some have both, some come with shares of eggs from happy chickens (if you want 'em), some come with homemade jams and baked goods, and some even come with home-roasted coffee (you KNOW I want that)! Does the goodness ever end?

I've been contemplating investing in a CSA for a few years now, and I think the time is nigh. I don't think there could be a more advantageous situation for both parties involved...farmers get cash flow and marketing opportunities before the growing season even begins, and I get a vegetarian bounty of gleeful plants, some of which I've never had a chance to use (many new recipes need to be scouted). My kitchen is gonna be STOCKED, baby!

Want to know how you can get connected with a local CSA farm? Sure you do! LocalHarvest.org has all the information you could ever want about all this.

PS: In the first paragraph, I was referring to Hell's Kitchen (which is completely unaffiliated with Gordon Ramsey and his antics...in fact, they were here first), Paperback Exchange, and Dragonfly Coffee. Go visit their websites if you want, but beware. You'll probably want to move to Minneapolis. And who could blame you?

(mouth-watering photo from here)

Vegan a Go-Go: Cedar Rapids

Ahhh...Iowa. I've been there more times than I can remember, and each time...well, it's exactly the same. I suppose that's why their state motto "A Good Place to Grow," because nothing changes and everything is constant. (I'm going to skip right over the fact that this stagnation is unhealthy and strange, not to mention instrumental in creating a totally skewed reality for anyone involved in it...but that's for another post.) It's really a nice place in general though, and fraught with opportunities for me to get creative with veganism.

Thus, I became reacquainted with my old pal, Mr. Sweet Potato. "Hello there, you delicious, golden pile of sweet goodness! How ya been?!?!" Firstly, when the fam and I went to a steakhouse for dinner one night (not generally vegetarian-friendly), I enjoyed a fabulous baked sweet potato that was outta this world! The next day I felt inspired to make Sweet Potato French Fries for everyone, and it worked out well. Plain and simple, sweet potatoes are nature's candy. They're also filling and nutritious and in need of no silly accoutrements like fat-ass-causing butter or sugar. Yummy yum yums come around from a sweet potato's beautiful naked form....no crap needed.

Other than that, we ate lots of salads and a shit load of avocados. And though I'm probably done playing word games for awhile, it was in general a good trip! It's always nice to come back to your own routine, and come back I have...to vegan pizzas, roasted beets, and my brand new copy of the complete series of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I'm only slightly excited. Really. That twitching you see is definitely not due to baited breath or anticipation. Certainly not.

(Like that painting? It's by Grant Wood)

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Headed out, baby! We're going to spend some time with AJ's grandma. Lots of board games will ensue, also lots of phrases that sound something like, "Oh no, thank you. I'll pass on those _______ there." (Insert any one of the following: cookies, cakes, pies, breads, muffins, cereal, chocolates, more chocolates, puddings, opportunities to go out for dessert.) Much of our time will be spent eating, preparing to eat, eating again, and planning for the next day's eating activities...so, I'm sure I'll have lots to talk about when we return on Sunday.

How to be vegan in Cedar Rapids?

Let's Eat Cake

You must make this. Now. Inspired by a recipe I found here, this experiment turned out well...a little too well, since now all I want to do is eat cake. You don't have to put sprinkles on it, or make it look pretty in any fashion.

Just eat it.

The concept behind this recipe is really super simple: dump wet ingredients over dry ingredients. Easy peezy lemon squeezy. But first, prepare your pan. I found that a 9x17 worked fairly well, even if the cake was a bit thin. Feel free to go crazy and do a layer cake (2 8"rounds would work) if you're feeling motivated, but I personally was more attracted to the dump-frosting-over-cake-and-schmear method...so I used a 9X17. No matter what pan you choose, be sure to line it with parchment paper.

Preheat your oven to 350 and combine the following in a big bowl:
1 1/4 cups flour (now's not the time for whole wheat)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash o' salt

Stir it all up. Then, in a separate bowl, combine:
1 cup warmish water
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vinegar (any clear kind will do, but apple cider tastes awesome)

Bust out your whisk and stir the wet ingredients furiously until they're emulsified, or until the oil and water no longer separate. Then, when the liquids are ready, dump them over the top of the dry stuff and *gently* combine. No overmixing allowed.

Pour the batter into your prepared pans and bake until a tester in the middle comes out clean...it took mine about 22 minutes. If the cake is pulling away from the side, it's probably ready. Just keep an eye on it, will ya? Sheesh. When it's done, ya gotta let it cool completely. I know...it sucks. Feel free to expedite this process by tossing the whole thang on the porch for awhile.

Later, you get to frost it. Oh yeah, baby...this is gonna be good.

You've got a couple options for frosting. A nice vegan buttercream would taste yummy (Earth Balance, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and soy milk all whipped up), but I wanted to lean toward the simple side of things....and well, the faster I could make frosting, the quicker I could sit down and slowly indulge in bite after bite of delicious heaven. SO, I opted for a beautifully easy ganache. Check it.

In a small saucepan, combine:
1 cup chocolate chips (go to the dark side)
1/2 cup soy milk

Over medium-low heat, stir the chips and milk together until they're nice and smooth BUT BE SURE NOT TO BURN IT. Add more chips if it seems too thin for your taste, more soy milk if it's too thick. When it's all melty and smooth, simply pour it over your cooled cake. Done. (Now you see why I opted for the 9x17 pan).

Let the ganache set up for a bit, then pour yourself your drink of choice slowly devour your artful vegan cake. Shyeah.

Morningstar Goes Organic

Meat replacers are a rare oddity in my world. I've always looked upon them like, "Hmmm. I don't eat meat. Why do I need a replacer?" However, meat replacers can be a WONDERFUL thing for fledgling vegetarians, provided they're used as a bridge, not a crutch. And sometimes, I too find them to be just plain delicious. (Click here for more on meat replacers).

Yesterday morning was one of these such occasions where I simply must have Morningstar veggies sausages with toast, or rolled up in a tortilla with rice and salsa, or smooshed between 2 pieces of bread with faux sour cream and spinach....ahhhh...yum. These little babies are delicious, but have always been a bit of an indulgence. They're highly processed, not organic, and not sustainably created...

...until NOW! Even though they're still not perfect, Morningstar has gone organic and has made a commitment to stay away from freaky GMO garbage vegetables. How refreshing! How delicious! Way to go Morningstar...a decided step in the right direction.

Aimless Musings on Bananas

I love bananas. I eat one a day (at least) and enjoy the affect they have on my muscles. Sore? Tired? Eat a banana or two. Right?

I've been ignoring this nagging notion for awhile now, mostly because I love bananas and don't want to let them go. But I've been rationalizing for too long this simple question, this irritating realization that makes me feel like stomping around the house, brooding for at least an hour:

Bananas don't grow anywhere near me. Aside from the eco-things, the fossil fuel usage and the global climate change problem (all of which are important), I've been wondering...how the hell can my body be adapted to digesting something I could never find in my local environment?

I realize that we don't live off the land like we used to. We're all, in our civilized splendor, entirely detached from the process of growing food, completely removed from the "victory garden" complex, and totally used to eating things from all over the world (figs...how many latitude lines would I have to cross to find those?). And perhaps this is symptomatic of globalization in general, which isn't, necessarily, a bad thing either....hmmmm....

How did my body come to tolerate tropical fruits? And more than that, how come my body LOVES them? I'm stumbling around the "locavore" concept, I know. But what about spices? And coffee? And chocolate? And bananas? How can I digest those things? Is it all a product of environment, or am I simply deluding myself?

(illustration from here)

Ginger Cookie Wrestling Match...I Win

Spicy baked goods make Shelley a happy panda. I love ka *POW* spiciness in the way of ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice, which is why my pumpkin pie brings a tear to your eye...it's just that freakin' spicy. I love it...

...but for some reason, no one else seems to. Every ginger cookie I've ever tried is kinda like, "Well, it's fair." Ho hum. Even the ones that claim to be extra lip-smackin' good tend to let me down. And since eating ginger cookies is so damn wonderful, I've made it my mission to come up with one that'll make your tongue pucker. Many recipes have been tried, many have failed. Recipes have been tweaked and revamped all week long in our swank, new Minneapolis apartment, and there are empty bags of vegan store-bought versions piling up in our garbage can. The good smells abound, and I can't say I mind.

HOWEVER, this recipe is actually somewhat of a failure in the vegan sense. I tried and tried and tried again to shake the egg, but I was always left with a flat, dull, blahsville excuse for ginger goodness. Even my go-to vegan recipe inventors failed me (the gals at Post Punk Kitchen). I tried tofu, I tried flax seeds, I tried bananas...nothing was working. So, ladies and gentlebugs, this recipe is almost vegan save for one silly little egg that makes a world of difference. Eggs are a tough one to steer around, and sometimes it simply ain't gonna happen. So sue me. Remember, being vegan is more about putting good things into your body, not stressing the stupid label. (For more about eggs and why they sometimes appear on The Uprising, click here).

Anyhow, this recipe inspired by the lovely and talented yet irritatingly pretentious Barefoot Contessa. It's got one egg. No butter, though, and lots of molasses. It calls for crystallized ginger, which is the true source of that serious gingerBOMB flavor. It looks like this:
You can get it at any natural food store in the bulk section, and be sure to get some extra cause this stuff is amazing. Soft and sweet, you can use it in baked goods (obviously), dissolve it hot water for a nice tummy-settling tea, or even eat it plain. It needs to be chopped, which I find goes a lot quicker if you give your knife a quick shot of cooking spray.

Preheat your oven to 350. With your handy dandy hand mixer, or your Kitchen Aid if you count yourself among the lucky, cream together:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup molasses (I like a dash more)

Beat until everything is smooth and creamy, then add:
1 hormone-free egg from a VEGETARIAN-FED hen (you don't wanna see what the non-veggies eat)

Mix for one minute more, scrape down the sides of your bowl, then add:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp cloves (I like more)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice (I like more)
dash 'o salt (don't skimp)

Mix on low speed until everything is combined, but don't beat the crap out of it unless you want hard little hockeypuck cookies. Then, finally, add:
1 1/2 cups crystallized ginger, chopped (I like more, surprise, I know)

Mix only until everything is combined. Then take a wad of dough, roll it into a ball, place it on your *parchment-lined* sheet tray and flatten it slightly with your fingers. You could also roll each ball in sugar like Barefoot Contessa does, but I find that's too sweet for me. Do what you will.

Bake for 5 minutes, flip the pan, then for 3-5 minutes more depending on your desired level of softness/crispiness. When you're ready to eat (trust me, you'll be ready), feel free to add to your joy with dippage in soy/rice/nut/hemp milk. OMG.

(cookie photo from here)

A Creature of Habit

The magic of routine. The joy of the same 'ol same 'ol. The simple comforts of daily standardization.

Any teacher will tell you, rightly, that kids thrive on structure. It does their little brains good to know that snack time comes after math, or that art happens every Friday after recess. They begin to learn what to expect, how to respond, and gain major body awareness...like when cinnamon rolls arrive in the lunchline and they suddenly find themselves unable to focus during social studies, reeling and roiling from a heavy sugar rush (which the availability of in school still baffles me...who's idea was it to have cinnamon rolls for lunch?!??!). They'll be able to think, "Man, I really want to put my nose in a book right now. But I'd better finish my science homework first." We could go on and on.

Structure is a good thing. It's a friggin GREAT thing. Not just for kids either, but for grown-up kids as well. Routine in an over-blown sense can lead to a serious reduction in daily awesomeness, but in small portions? Hm, well...it might be the greatest thing ever.

How will you feel if you wake up an hour too late? What about if you skip your workout? Feeling the urge to binge on Oreos? What will that do? Will you wake up with a headache if you don't drink enough water the night before? In times like these, all you need to do to find your answer is consult the been-there-done-that part of your brain, the structured routine center. For me, I know exactly what all those scenarios would do to my daily rhythm, mostly because I am a creature of habit.

This is rollin' around in my head because I've been working to re-establish my patterns here in my new world, Minneapolis. Structure went out the window last week (moving has that effect), and I found myself truly missing it! My routines are heavily ingrained, and I want them when I don't have them, just like a kid. Who knew?

Embrace your structure, baby. It's the best way to know your body and your needs, and it gives you the tools to hand over exactly what life is asking of you (energy, health, prosperity, cavity-free teeth, a voracious mind and one hot ass).

(photo from here)

Happy New Year

Hi again! HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you and yours.

This New Years is different for me than all the others before it, because it actually signifies starting over...for real. We're landed in Minneapolis and slowly beginning our new life here, one step at a time. The wheels of change are turnin', baby, and hopefully for the better!

Until my brain gets settled and my world unfurls itself from the crumpled-up state of chaos it's in, keep yourself occupied with this interesting story from NPR.

They say, "Did you know the brain controls more of your eating habits than the stomach?" Shit YES, you know that! Enjoy.

YEAR IN DIETING: DISTRACTION, NOISE CAUSE OVEREATING

I know. Duh, right? You're so smart.