Engagement!

Wow have I been busy!

I was just in Scotland over thanksgiving (and did not have a thanksgiving dinner!) But I did get engaged so I'll take it!!!

Everything has been really exciting!

...but I don't want to turn this into a wedding blog so I will try and stick with food! :)

Let's see..in Scotland we ate lots of meat, seafood, cheese and bread. Not a lot of vegetables floating by plate! You can imagine that by the time I got back my body was pretty mad at me.

I headed straight to the store and loaded up on lots of good things.

Tonight I made the easiest dinner! (thanks to my friend Erin and her recipe)

I actually never knew how easy it was make Curry!

All you need is:

*Chicken breast (2 big peices for 2 people) cut into small peices

*1 can lite coconut milk (you can add a little water if you want it lighter)

*1/4 head cauliflower

*1/2 cup peas

*brown rice

*cayenne pepper

So I actually made the rice this afternoon just to save some time because I was doing things around the house but for the actual curry chicken part you:

*Chop shallot and saute

*add diced chicken and brown

*add can coconut milk

*add cauliflower and peas (you can also add any other veggies you like, maybe some red pepper, potato, mushrooms- whatever)

*Bring to a boil and then turn down to a lite boil for 10-15 mins.

*add salt, pepper and cayenne to taste and serve over brown rice.

It's a real crowd pleaser!!!

I will keep you posted on how things progress! Maybe I'll turn this into a wedding/food blog! ha!

I'm not bored anymore....

I'm not bored at my job anymore so I am actually finding I am eating less because....what do you know...I am actually thinking about life instead of what I am going to eat next to save me from my daily routine that I hated! Funny how that happens!!

...and today was great!

I started the day with a cup of tea and a slice of toast with peanut butter and half a banana sliced on top of it.

I've been thinking about getting my yoga certification so I am scouting some studio's and schools that I like so I headed to a yoga class....which I liked, but not the studio for me I think.
Then I stopped by my friends, said hi and told her about my idea. She thought it was good. That's good.

After I left her I stopped by the farmers market and picked up 1 small butternut squash (really small) 1 small sweet potato, and 1 small acorn squash. - I figured I would make some soup.

I got home and made a quick salad. Here's what I threw in the bowl:
Some lentils, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, sliced swiss chard, some red lettuce, a little basil, olive oil and balsamic vin and then to make it a little creamy i put a tbl of hummus in it.

It was now 3 so I was hungry!- Imagine that, my breakfast lasted me all the way till 3 and I even did a yoga class! If I waited to eat till 3 at my desk job I would have been freaking out. - but because I was living and not thinking, I was fine!

Anyway...Fast forward to dinner..... I admit, dinner tonight was a bit of a pain in the butt. But I don't think it had to be....

Here's what I used- root veggies* from farmer's market peeled and cut into small pieces, 1 clove garlic chopped, 4 slices bacon cut into small pieces, 1 quart chix stock, 1 small granny smith apple, half bunch swiss chard cut into small pieces, goat cheese for garnish (optional).

(**I microwaved root veggies for a minute to soften them before I peeled them.**)
Then I tossed them with olive oil s&p and roasted them until they were soft. About 20 mins on 425.

Meanwhile I added bacon to dutch oven and cooked until crisp.- removed it with slotted spoon and poured out most of bacon fat.
Added garlic for a minute until fragrant. Added veggies when done, tossed for a minute and then added chicken stock. I let that boil and then simmer for about 5 mins.
Then I blended everything with hand held blender until smooth. Add water to change consistency as needed. You may need to add more salt and pepper.

I then grated a granny smith apple because I thought it needed a little sweetness.
Add Swiss chard and cook a little longer until it is wilted. Add the rest of bacon and leave a little out for garnish.

Season to desired taste.

Put in bowl and add a little goat cheese and bacon to garnish.

The burns in my mouth were worth it! Because It was yummy!!!.......

ok...I'm back!

....Boy have I been a real slacker! I am very sorry...

Here's the deal....I lost my job (that I hated...) and wound up getting really sick simultaneously.

You know why? Because stress messes with your body!

I got so stressed/sick that I wound up getting a kidney infection...yikes!!!

But...I am over it now! Time to pick up the pieces and move on! (and drink wine...hence the picture!)

I really believe that in life...things happen for a reason.

Although it is not ideal to be out of work for the moment, I am at least not trapped in something that made me completely miserable.

It's like being in a dysfunctional relationship....you know it's bad, but you can't seem to make your way out....well...I'm OUT!

So let's celebrate!....

Now, food wise I have actually been doing fairly well.

I feel like I have even lost a few pounds because I am not trapped in the "sit at my desk and be tempted by crap all day" mentality.....

As well as I have been able to do yoga which has helped me keep calmer.

I've also been on a "budget" so I made sure to go grocery shopping so I am stocked up and can eat at home.

I've been eating a lot of apples, toast with peanut butter, turkey sandwiches, salads, tortilla chips with hummus...

Basically quick easy things that are satisfying.

Now I just need to figure out what I want to do from here on out!

I will be sure to keep you all posted and I will be sure to continue to be "healthy" and tell you about my adventures!!

I am going to start thinking about ways and recipes to be healthy over the holidays.

If you have any special questions, please be sure to email me at bairhealth@gmail.com.

Chow Healthily!

Eating while stressed....

I figured this would be a good topic to go over....and believe me, I am only touching on it...this is a big issue and stress happens to just about everyone. **(And if it doesn't happen to you, please tell me where you live and what you do so I can copy you!)** - It's all about how you handle it though.

I had something very stressful happen to me Friday night which was pretty much life changing- I thought- how am I going to handle this? (don't worry- nothing to do with Luke and I. More a work thing....)

Well, I went home, had a half a bottle of wine and ranted on the phone to anyone that would listen before I headed out to meet my friends...then realized I hadn't eaten yet while I was on the way to the bar -so I had a slice of pizza.

...so far I was not off to a good start!!!

Determined to not go down that road I woke up this morning and started the day off great. Made the bed, showered and made my self a nice bowl of oatmeal with chopped almonds, some whole grain drink and agave nectar. I also had one egg for protein.
Then I headed off to the 10am yoga class. - I was off to a great start!!!

I then got to do something really cool! A girl at my work is an opera singer and is performing in December and she invited me to sit in on her private singing lesson. It was AMAZING! Her voice was so powerful!!- It was very cool.

After I left her I headed back downtown and started to feel really sick. I had a sore throat, I was sad about the stressful thing that happened, I was missing Luke.....everything started to head downhill quickly! I just wanted to get home and in my Jammie's and watch a movie (...oh yeah...it was only 4pm!)

....Well that's exactly what I did!....And then I ordered Chinese food. Yup, that's right. You heard me. Chinese food. There is something very satisfying about ordering in and watching a movie. I did eat the broccoli first....does that count for anything???

I don't feel bad though. It's what my body needed or wanted I guess. And I have to say, putting the take out box in my fridge (because thankfully I did not eat it all!)- I was really happy to see that it was the only to go box in there and the only thing that was not fresh and colorful!

Besides, tomorrow is a new day and there is plenty of oatmeal, eggs and apples to start the day off right!- and I am booked in for a 2:00 yoga class and a sauna and steam room after. That oughtta make me feel better! :)

Institute of Integrative Nutrition http://www.integrativenutrition.com/

Hi Everyone!
I wanted to post the school that I went to and let you know they are accepting applicants.

It is AMAZING and life changing. You can now sign up for the distant learning program if you cannot make it to NY to take the course. - Although, if you can take it in NY, you should- it is an UNBELIEVABLE experience.

I cannot say enough good things about it. It changed my life (and probably Luke's life!) completely.

...And of course, if you sign up, don't forget to mention my name!!

Lisa Bair
http://www.integrativenutrition.com/

Sicky :(

...Today I am feeling really tired and Flat. I think I finally caught that cold that Luke had!

I have been taking Cold Eeze which the pharmacist said is the best. Apparently the zinc in them kills bacteria.

Other than that I have been drinking a lot of green tea and I had spicy noodle soup for lunch.

I think for dinner what I need is REST!- That's right. Me and the couch are going to become BFF's .....

I will be back to normal soon and will have lots of insightful, witty, inspirational and ridiculously interesting things to talk about!....I'm sure.

For now...it's a snooze fest for me....

Beauty Tip: Sleep! :)

Wednesday...hump day!!

Thank goodness it's closer to the weekend already! Is anyone else with me?? Anyone?? -ugh...ok, just had to get that off my chest.

So....Today I was pretty healthy for the most part!

I did have a green juice to kick the day off (right after I popped my thyroid pill...how sad)
progress not perfection though! I am determined to get off those darn things soon. In fact I just had some blood work done the other day so I am hoping my doctor is going to tell me good news. Especially since I have been so "healthy"! I will def keep you posted....

Anyway- back to the green drink....I didn't have as many things as I normally put in but today it consisted of:
*1 green apple
*2 small carrots
*1/2 cucumber
*and 1/2 a bunch of kale- which probably quite a bit, but I felt like my body needed it.
(yes, it was a little tart- but I didn't mind the taste. I like it)

For breakfast I had 1 slice of whole grain toast with peanut butter and banana on it and.... er....a side of bacon. -protein right! Seriously though, you should watch the amount of bacon you consume because of the nitrates. They are AWFUL and have carcinogens. You can find nitrate free bacon though- I think Applegate Farms makes some (I love them). Let's just pretend that's what I had!!

For lunch I had a Turkey pita with lettuce, tomato and mustard with a little basil dressing and a side salad of just romaine lettuce, spinach, tomato's and red pepper. (I made both at home this morning.)

I haven't gotten to dinner yet. Honestly I'm not that hungry? I sipped on green tea throughout the day, had a little coffee and oh yeah- had some popcorn around 5. Maybe that's why! I will probably just have a little snack before I head out to watch the Yankees game!
Luke picked me up a little side or Orzo pasta with diced vegetables and feta. Sounds good to me.

Besides, I think Guinness has some nutrients in it???
Go Yankees!!

Beauty Tip: I think we all know this, but it's just a reminder to use the old baby powder in the roots trick when your hair is feeling a little oily. It works like a charm! Just make sure you rub it in so you don't see the whiteness.

Where have I been??...

Sorry my people! I have been flat out over the weekend and the last couple of days!

I am back now though...so what do we want to talk about?

Well...lets just jump back into it.

Sunday I was finally able to go grocery shopping and went to old faithful trader joe's.

I found these Edamame crackers which are great for you "glutenly challenged" people! (is that a word??)...I found iced oatmeal cookies! oops... I hate it when they put those things next to the check out...those darn sneaky item placement people!

I also got some:

frozen shrimp, portabella mushroom ravioli's (which I stuck in the freezer), some brown rice pasta, cherry tomatoes, basil, pita pockets, romaine lettuce, carrots, hummus, broccoli, grilled chicken, applegate farms smoked turkey slices, whole grain milk (never tried it!- we'll see how it is) a jar of marinara sauce, some diced tomatoes, lemons and a beef pot roast! (that was already seasoned and it was like $6!)

I figured I armed myself pretty well to be able to prepare a bunch of healthy meals. I was right!

Sunday night I made the pot roast (literally just stuck it in the oven covered with foil for an hour) and served it with steamed broccoli with Lemon.

Monday night Luke was feeling sick so I stopped off at the store and bought a carton of chicken broth and decided to make a quick soup.

I chopped up a little red onion and garlic and sauteed it in my dutch oven. Then added....you guessed it...carrots and celery!! (you're getting the idea:)

We had some left over pot roast so I decided to chop it up into little pieces and add that- I let that heat up for a few minutes and then added a 1/4 cup of red wine. I let that simmer down for a few minutes and then added the stock and some salt and pepper.

I brought it all to a boil and then let it simmer for about 5 mins and added a cup of pasta and some frozen peas and let it simmer for another 10 mins or so. I wound up adding a little bit of a Lipton's onion soup mix packet! I have to say it made it pretty yummy. Oh yeah at the end I also added some shredded spinach. You can use fresh or frozen. I used fresh. - it was really good! You have to season it to your taste though.

For dinner tonight we made turkey sandwiches. Hey- nobody ever said dinner has to be gourmet every night!! :)

I don't know what I am having for lunch tomorrow- but I for see a salad- I'll let you know!!