New Recipes and Fall in DC

For dinner on Wednesday night I wanted risotto but I also wanted to take advantage of the precooked rice in my fridge. Enter - Lazy Risotto:

• roasted butternut squash, mushrooms
• 1/4c kidney beans
• 1/2c brown rice
• 1/3c frozen peas
• ~2-3 T vegetable broth
• splashes of soy sauce
• garlic powder and 21 Seasoning Salute

While I still formulated my plan of attack, I got my veggies roasting in the oven. I roasted up butternut squash, baby portobella mushrooms, and brussel sprouts at *425 for about 45 minutes.

When the veggies had about 5 minutes left, I got to work on the risotto. In a small non-stick sprayed pan I added 1/2c brown rice and frozen peas and let heat for a couple of minutes. Then I added a splash of vegetable broth and spices, stirred it all up, and pulled my vegies out of the oven. I added the kidney beans, ~3/4c butternut squash and mushrooms, and more broth and soy sauce and stirred until slightly creamy. The broth did a great job of hydrating the rice and the soy sauce and spices brought everything together.

Topped with a bit of parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. This was a winner!

A few weeks ago I found this recipe and couldn't get it out of my head.  I used one half to make my own Twice Baked Acorn Squash and it was delicious. I only stuffed mine with frozen spinach, broccoli, and a bit of grated cheddar and it was delicious. I ate the whole thing, skin and all!

As promised, here are the pictures I took on my short little stroll yesterday afternoon. Fall is officially in full swing in DC!

Gluten Free Dinner Party, Part 3

So I feel bad that dessert got lost from my dinner party recap. I mean, I guess I was saving the best for last... really last :) With Halloween coming up this weekend, I thought that now was as good a time as any to share a healthy dessert that is naturally gluten free and easy to prepare!

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then wash, dry, and core your apples. Have fun with your apples if you want ;)

Arrange your apples in a tray that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. This will help your apples not stick to the bottom of the tray.

Top your apples with cinnamon, raisins, agave nectar, maple syrup, and raisins. I don't have any measurements for what was used but you'll be fine eye-balling it. I know I didn't use too much syrup or nectar though.

Bake at 325 for 1 hr 20 minutes or until apples are soft and the skin is wrinkled. Tip: place these in the oven just as you are placing your meal out for your guests. They'll be done by the time you're ready for dessert!

Enjoy!

Weekend in Philly

When I was first invited to be a facilitator for a sorority training over the weekend in Philly I was excited. Not only was I thrilled about the prospect of a weekend away from DC, I also would have the chance to see sorority friends and family as the training was a partnership between my sorority and my dad's fraternity. Even better - he would be facilitating as well!

We agreed to arrive in Philly early so we had some time to explore and hang out. I left work early on Friday and took the train from DC to Philly. The ride was uneventful and I arrived on time. My dad flew into the airport and once he checked into our hotel, met me at the train station where we made our way to dinner.

Not only had Alex recommended the restaurant The Continental to me, but also Fred from her recent trip to the city. We had a great experience that surpassed our expectations!

 

My dad and I started off with cocktails. Can you guess whose is whose?

I had the Perfect Pear: Grey Goose la Poire, Thatcher's organic cucumber liqueur, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon, and soda; my dad got a Cosmo.

We started with a Greek salad sans onion and dressing which was delicious.

My dad wanted his entree's picture taken, which he polished off completely: Seared Tuna with Mushroom Risotto

And I had the Rad Na Thai Chicken with rice noodles, served on a bed of romaine lettuce. This bowl was huge (mixing bowl size) and I left stuffed but felt like I hadn't made a dent in the dish. I loved how the crisp romaine contrasted with the hot chicken and noodles. The dish packed some heat as well which made it taste even better!

After dinner my dad had to tame his sweet tooth with some ice cream from Scoop deVille across the street. I was too full to get anything but his ice cream looked tasty. The only thing we didn't like was that as soon as the clock struck 10pm and the shop was then closed, the staff practically kicked us out of the shop declaring they had places to be. Rude.

The next morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, and made our way to Reading Terminal Market. We loved everything we saw and took our time meandering up and down every aisle, checking out what each vendor had to offer.

We left the market and made our way to Philly's dedicated gluten free bakery, Sweet Freedom. All of their goodies looked delicious yet upon a sample, I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy anything as coconut and I do not get along.

My dad picked up a few things to bring back with him though and I was happy to visit the bakery. It reminded me a lot of Babycakes in NYC - they are gluten, dairy, egg, soy, and corn free!

We grabbed lunch at the market (Dad had pastrami, I had chicken and okra soup from Beck's Cajun Cafe which was gluten free and delicious. Their staff were really patient and accommodating as well.

We headed back to the hotel afterward as my dad had an afternoon of meetings. I spent some quality time in the fitness center and did 4.35 miles in an hour plus some stretching.

The rest of the weekend was consumed by the all-day training and preparation. Sadly I don't have picture from it but it was a success. I love having the opportunity to interact with our undergrads!

I made it back to DC safely last night and loved that I got to spend the weekend with my dad, friends, and doing things that I love to do!

Do you like to travel with your family? Explore new cities? Do your travels often revolve around food like mine do? :)

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

There were a few other titles I had in mind for tonight's post:

•  A first time for everything
• Grateful for Exercise
• Say whaaaa?

But I picked the broadest title so I could fit it all in ;)

The past couple of days have been interesting, but I would say the last 20 minutes of tonight have been most enlightening. More on that in a sec...

The Good:

• My new gym. Today as I was cooling down and stretching the Fitness Manager came over to check in and see how I'm liking it so far. He also followed up on a couple of things and remembered small details from our conversation on Tuesday. #win
• I CAN RUN! This has been no secret but I've committed myself to getting back into running shape. Today I did my second running workout plus 2 miles on the elliptical. I'll slowly rediscover my love for endorphins. I know it!
• Having positive motivation. When I was tired or wanted to cut my workout short, I reminded myself how much being on bed rest and in a boot sucked and wasn't I lucky to be able to be exercising at that moment. 
• Lots of good eats.
• Finally meeting Alex who started her grad school program this fall. We had a great coffee date and I am so thankful she was willing to give me some tips on Philly for the weekened.
• I'm heading to Philly over the weekend to help lead a sorority training. Bonus #1 - we are doing it with a partner fraternity. Bonus #2 - It's my dad's fraternity and he and I get to have some time to see the sights in Philly!!
• I won't be taking accounting for the second module of the semester...
• And, I've eaten a large bunch of kale in 3 days. Mmmmm :)

The Bad:

• I got my Accounting final test and final course grade, hehe
• I feel like I wasted my money on that class since I'll have to retake it once I'm admitted in the MBA program
• The thought of that makes me nauseous
• Getting that grade is laughable and liberating... but I don't think it's for a good reason... does that make sense?

The Ugly:

• "Tomatoes with issues." I guess it could be worse!  Or snowing...
• Type-A Sarah kind of feels like a failure for not acing accounting, even though the class is a butt-kicking for 80% of the people who take it... Bye bye endorphins for the night.

I hope it doesn't seem like I'm having a huge pity party over here. I'm well aware that this stress and whatnot is optional and really a privilege in a weird way. I have a roof over my head, food in my pantry, and my health. I know many people do not even have the gift of an undergraduate college education or even of finishing high school. Yet after devoting a lot of time and energy into something to fall short feels kinda sucky. On the flip side, classes thus far have been really enlightening on a multitude of levels and I feel like I know more of what I like, what I don't, and what my real passions are.

Enough serious stuff for now, onto the food!

Breakfasts the past 2 days have been lovely bowls of hot cereal. Since I have leftover unsweetened applesauce I've been adding a small spoonful to my bowl in the morning. Yesterday's bowl had blueberries and today's had blueberries plus some diced pear. All topped with nut butter!

Lunch yesterday was one of my favorite sandwiches - a grilled "cheese" sandwich: 2 slices of Udi's whole grain bread, red pepper hummus, red pepper spread, and spinach. This combo never disappoints! I had half a serving of tomato soup plus a little salad on the side.

Today's lunch was a result of the intense meat cravings I've been having since yesterday afternoon. I had a drop of chili, beef stew, a side salad, and kale chips. An odd combo but it was filling and delicious.

Snacks have been apples with some peanut butter spread on.

Last night I had a really intense craving for meat which led me to explore my freezer in hopes of finding something buried under all my frozen veggies :) I found this little bit of leftover spaghetti and meat sauce from Maggiano's from March (because I'm Type-A and labeled it with the date) and a big salad with beets, carrots, romaine, and spinach and kale.

Tonight I had a detour to make after the gym to pick up a few things at the White House farmers market and couldn't decide what I wanted to eat. I finally got inspired: roasted veggie salad and Alexia oven fries. On a bed of spinach and romaine I had a mix of roasted veggies: 2 carrots, half an onion, some broccoli, and okra. Topped with some cheese and Amy's Italian dressing.

Last night's snack was half a pear and a toaster waffle and tonight's will be the other half a pear and maybe some toast. We'll see :)

I'm off to pack, maybe write my last paper for my leadership class, and watch Grey's.



 How do you motivate yourself when exercising? Have you ever disappointed your own expectations? Do you have any tips for getting over the "not the grade I was hoping for" blues?