The Future
March 4th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hi -
How are you? The weekend is almost here!
Today, I thought I’d share another introspective exercise that I learned at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). Did you already work on the Circle of Life exercise? Did you like it?
This exercise is all about the future, goal setting, and creating the life you want to live. As Joshua (the founder and lead teacher of IIN) said during this particular class:
“Be clear about the future and it will happen. Most people are very vague about the future. Stop being a victim.”
Joshua is possibly the wisest, most plain-spoken person I’ve ever met. He says the simplest things in the simplest way. But simple or not, his words usually cause me to have an Aha! moment. This exercise was one of those moments.
Basically, you pick a future date and first write down how old you’ll be, how old your spouse will be, your parents, your siblings, the ages of all the people closest to you. Second, write down what you’ll be doing in your life at that time, professionally and personally. Be specific!
But, let’s first start with a small timeline to get into the swing of things.
1. Write down what you’re going to do before this coming Sunday night.
When I did this exercise back in November 2006 (before I was pregnant), here is what I wrote:
Do before Sunday night:
Take train home, have a glass of wine, eat dinner, do my nails, organize school stuff. Shower, take train to class, go to school, have lunch with MA girls, go to hotel, visit Nathalie.
2. Write down what you’re going to do before next Friday, March 11.
From November 2006:
Do by Friday:
Go to Fast Track on Monday, go to office on Tuesday, have dinner with Deb and Katharine. Have MRI on Wednesday, work, make chocolate cake for Thanksgiving, go to Erin’s and enjoy Thanksgiving. Friday spend time with Pete.
3. Write down what you’re going to do by Easter.
From November 2006
Do by Christmas:
Go to all med appts. to figure out what’s wrong with my feet (ultimately, MS diagnosis), work, shop for Christmas, read for school, go to yoga, go to gym.
4. Write down what you’ll do by Easter 2012
From November 2006
Do by Christmas 2007:
Start a new job in health counseling, get pregnant (accomplished!), buy a new house (accomplished!), pay down credit cards
Okay, now let’s jump into the future. Now is when you should write down your age and the ages of those closest to you.
How old will you be and what will you be doing in:
March 2013?
March 2015?
March 2020?
March 2030?
Here are some of my future projections:
From November 2006
Doing in December 2008:
I’ll be 38, Pete will be 32. Living in CT with Pete and two kids, working as a health counselor, writing, teaching yoga, cooking healthy meals.
Okay – so I actually ended up living in MA with one child, still working in publishing, not writing much, not teaching yoga, cooking somewhat healthy meals! Oh well!
Doing in December 2011:
I’ll be 41, Pete will be 35, Dad will be 65, Mom will be 62, Terry will be 66, Kerry will be 35, Erin will be 34. We will live in CT or PA or Western MA, we will be earning a lot more money because Pete’s company will have taken off and I’ll be working as a successful counselor/author.
Well, I can tell you now that we will still be living in central MA in Dec 2011. We’ve recently come to the realization that we’ll probably be here for another 5 years. That’s actually what made me think about this exercise. I did the math and was shocked, SHOCKED to realize that Peter will be 9 years old in 5 years! It’s mind-boggling. Five years doesn’t seem like a long time when you’re an adult, but when it comes to kids, it is a significant amount of time. He’s going to be in 4th grade in 5 years!
Oh, and my husband closed his business soon after Peter was born in 2007. But he’s very happy working for another great company and is doing well. And I’m working as best I can to be a successful health counselor/author! It looks like we’re on our way to creating my projected December 2011 future 
So that’s it. I hope you find the exercise to be fun and helpful!
BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR FUTURE AND IT WILL HAPPEN.
Coconut-Curry Sweet Potato Stew
March 3rd, 2011 § 2 Comments
Hi -
How are you? I don’t know about you, but I was so freakin’ happy to turn the calendar from February 28 to March 1. While it’s still cold here, the possibility of warm weather is upon us! I’m so beyond excited.
Just this morning, my toes asked me to slide them into a pair of flip flops, but sadly I had to say “no” while stuffing the little guys into gym socks and stinky sneakers. Sigh. Sorry, little dudes. I honestly just want to bring Peter to the park and sit on a bench in the sun while he plays. That’s it. I’m a pretty simple person, with simple wants and needs
So, on Monday night I found myself in a familiar situation: I wanted a healthy, hearty dinner but was faced with a nearly empty fridge and pantry. It was time for another clean-out-the-cabinet creation.
I was in the mood for quinoa, and luckily I had some. I then pulled out a big can of kidney beans, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of light coconut milk, 3 sweet potatoes, an onion, 2 garlic cloves, curry powder, cocoa powder, a bay leaf and red pepper flakes.
And then…I looked at all that stuff on the counter and wondered what the hell I could do with it. It should be noted, if it hasn’t already been noted, that I am not a recipe developer. I often can’t even follow someone else’s recipe. Despite that handicap, I was determined to make something that tasted half-way decent out of these hodge-podge ingredients .
My first thought was some kind of baked quinoa casserole, but then I thought that a curry-type stew would be better, served over the quinoa.
I have to say, this may be the first recipe that I’ve “developed” that is worthy of being called a “recipe.” It turned out really good. But as God likely said after he created Adam: “it’s good, but it could be even better.”
So on Tuesday night, I topped my stew and quinoa leftovers with pan-toasted unsweetened coconut flakes and cashew pieces. And it was awesome.
But, you know what? I think this dish could get even better. The quinoa base was a little bland, and while I haven’t tried it yet to confirm, I think a coconut milk/lime juice/lime zest dressing mixed into the quinoa may be the ticket. Any thoughts?
Coconut-Curry Sweet Potato Stew over (Limey?) Quinoa
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 c. quinoa, cook according to package directions
3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks and roasted (buy organic so you can leave the skin on–just wash thoroughly)
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper
25 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
4-5 tbsp. light coconut milk
1 bay leaf
2.5 tsp. curry powder
1.5 tsp. cocoa powder
pinch of red pepper flakes
Topping Ingredients (per serving)
1-2 tbsp. unsweetened coconut
1-2 tbsp. cashew pieces
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet/roasting pan, toss the sweet potato chunks with 1-2 tbsp. olive oil and salt and pepper, and roast for 20-30 minutes, until they’re browned and soft enough to pierce with a fork.
When potatoes are done, heat 1-2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onions and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in bay leaf, curry powder, cocoa powder, and red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds. Then add diced tomatoes, coconut milk, kidney beans, and roasted sweet potatoes (combine all the ingredients well), reduce heat a bit, and simmer for up to 20 minutes.
Directions for topping:
In a small dry skillet, toast coconut and cashew pieces over medium heat. Remove from heat once the coconut begins to brown (don’t let it burn!).
Assemble to serve:
Place some quinoa in a bowl, top with the sweet potato and kidney bean stew, and top that with the toasted coconut and cashews.
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And that’s it. You may want to kick up the spice amounts. I kept it pretty mild for Peter. Let me know if you try it with “limey” quinoa.
Have a nice Thursday evening!
P.S. Do you watch “Raising Hope“? You should. I can’t get a line from Tuesday’s episode out of my head. When discussing coin toss rules with her husband, the wife said:
“Heads I win, tails you lose.”
the son flipped the coin and it came up tails-
the husband paused and then said:
“Man, I never win coin tosses!”
So funny. I literally cry from laughing during most of the shows. I feel like I’m cheating on “Parks and Recreation” and “30 Rock,” but “Raising Hope” may make me laugh just a little bit more…
Black-Eyed Pea Masala
February 24th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hi there!
How are you? We’re doing well here. We’ve been treated to gorgeous, clear mornings like this all week long:
It’s so bright and sunny, I thought that I could run outside wearing only my pjs and flip-flops to take a picture of the sky. But the second I opened the door, I received a frigid slap in the face and heard Mother Nature cackle and say “PSYCHE!! It’s still winter, dummy!”
In my mind, Mother Nature is Kathy Bates. In Misery. (If you’ve never seen that movie, you should totally put it on your Netflix list. It’s so sick, but I love it.)
So, last night I made Angela’s Black-Eyed Pea Masala, with a few adjustments. It’s similar to the Chana Masala I make, but different enough to warrant a blog post!
Black-Eyed Pea Masala
Adapted from Oh She Glows and Fat Free vegan Kitchen.
Yield: approx 6 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or oil of choice)
- 1 15 oz. can of black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained (this was the major adjustment. Angela used dried peas – pwa)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ginger-root, minced (or more to taste) (I used about a teaspoon of ginger powder – pwa)
- 3 small cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 3 cups canned diced tomato (approx. one 28oz can)
- 1.5-2 teaspoons garam masala, to taste
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste (I didn’t use any sugar – pwa)
- 1.5 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Chopped parsley or cilantro, to garnish (I added leftover baby spinach at the end – pwa)
- Rice or bread, for serving (I served the masala over leftover whole wheat couscous – pwa)
Directions:
In a large skillet, add 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat and add the chopped onions. Cook, stirring, until onions soften, about 6-8 minutes. Add the cumin, ginger, and garlic and stir for about 1-2 minutes.
Add the drained peas and all remaining ingredients. Simmer until the black-eyed peas are tender, about 20 minutes. If desired, add chopped baby spinach and stir until wilted. Check seasonings and add more salt and garam masala if necessary.
Sprinkle with parsley/cilantro and serve with brown rice or fresh bread (or couscous). Makes approx. 6 cups.
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As I mentioned, Angela used dried black-eyed peas in her recipe, while I took the easy way out and used the canned version. Please jump to Oh She Glows if you want the directions for cooking the dried peas.
I thought this masala was great (and quick). I only wished that I had a piece of warm naan to scoop it up with. The couscous was fine, but it wasn’t naan!
Enjoy your Thursday!
The Moon and Venus over Switzerland
February 23rd, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Source via Manhattan Users Guide
This photograph brought tears to my eyes and butterflies to my belly. So unbelievably beautiful.
Mom’s Club Recipe: Tomato-Bean Soup with Pasta
February 23rd, 2011 § 2 Comments
This week’s recipe is from Sarah. Thanks, Sarah!
Tomato-Bean Soup with Pasta
From the Chicago Tribune|Serves 6
Ingredients
1 cup any small soup pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cans veggie broth (I assume 30 oz. – pwa)
2 cans cannellini or black beans
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine
2 tsp Italian herb blend
1 bay leaf, optional
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 kale or Swiss chard leaves, coarsely chopped
grated Parmesan
Directions
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add broth, beans with their liquid, tomatoes with their liquid, wine, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.
Add chard leaves, cook until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls, add pasta. Pass Parmesan at table.
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(The only thing I question about this recipe is not rinsing off the beans. I assume the bean liquid thickens the broth, but still, when I make this I may stick to my habit of rinsing and deal with having a thinner broth. That beany, slimy, salty liquid kind of turns my stomach! That’s only my opinion! – pwa)
The Circle of Life
February 22nd, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hello!
How are you? What a gorgeous, bright morning here! The sun is shining and the sky is pure blue. I know it’s freezing out there, but at least it’s pretty!
I know that school vacation week may not be the best time for introspection, but I thought you might be able to catch a break at night (or during t.v. time. Please tell me you have t.v. time in your house) and work on this Circle of Life activity (see link below. You’ll need to print it out). It’s an exercise that I had to complete while I attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and it’s also a segment of the 6-month wellness program I offer.
I don’t talk about it much in the blog, but as you can read on my “About” page, I’m a health counselor who is accepting clients–virtually (phone/Skype) or in person. The program is really a whole-life program as opposed to a strict nutrition program. We discuss way more than calories and Vitamin D, for sure.
My schedule is a little limited since Peter is with me the majority of, well, the majority of my LIFE (edited to add: and I wouldn’t want it any other way 
), but if you’re interested in improving your health and the health of your family, send me an email at purewellnessamy@gmail.com and we can work something out.
Anyway, I think this little sneak preview of the program is a super-helpful visual representation of where one might be a bit unbalanced in his or her life. I hope you find it useful and enlightening.
Have a nice Tuesday!
Printers Tray Art
February 21st, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hi!
How are you? I hope you had a nice weekend. One thing I learned this weekend: to a 3-year old, the best thing about a trip to an art museum is riding the big, long elevators. Oh well. I’m sure he absorbed a little bit of culture by simply being in the building
Speaking of art, I just opened an email from High Falls Mercantile and saw an adorable piece of art which has inspired me to take on think about taking on a DIY project. (I’m not a DIY-er. I’m the polar opposite of a DIY-er…basically, I’m a “Hire-er” or “Buy-er.”)
"Gentle Earth" Assemblage by Canace
But these Printers Tray Assemblages by Canace, while obviously beautiful and interesting works of art, also inspire a different way to keep–and display–mementos, whether they’re from vacations, weddings, honeymoons, childhood, relationships, or hobbies.
I don’t know about you, but my mementos and souvenirs are scattered. Some are taped into journals, some are in my jewelry box, but most are buried in our basement dwellers: otherwise known as “the large Tupperware bins o’ Amy’s crap.”
I literally lift up one corner of a bin’s lid and toss in whatever trinket I want to save. Kind of pointless since I look through the bins maybe once a year. Unfortunately, I’ve been following the same method for Peter’s mementos. The kid doesn’t even have one cohesive baby book.
I think it would be so cute to find a printers tray in which to group and display small photos, shells, rocks, movie/theater tickets, dried flowers, small notes, pieces of fabric, etc. , all related specific theme. So much cooler and more functional than an album or scrapbook (or Tupperware bin)!
I want to create one after this summer’s Cape Cod vacation and for Peter’s baby/toddlerhood (maybe from birth to age 5 ). Or even better, have Peter collect items from our vacation(s) and he can create his own printers tray art …fun!
The challenge will be finding small printers trays. The ones I’ve found online are huge. I’ll be keeping an eye out for some the next time I’m browsing an antiques store. However, now that I think about it, I suppose a certain recently retired stepfather could be persuaded to build a faux printers tray for me
Enjoy the rest of Presidents’ Day!
Mom’s Club Recipes: Skillet Lasagna and Fennel Salad (and other stuff)
February 14th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hi!
First of all: Happy Valentine’s Day! <3 I hope you’re spending the evening with your honey, your friends, or doing something special for yourself. Personally, I feel like curling up on the couch with a bowl of banana soft serve and watching Eclipse. However, I think I’m legally bound to lavish affection on my husband tonight. My work is never done. I keed, I keed, I hope we both can stay up past 9:00 p.m. to watch “Eclipse” together.
Secondly: I hope you had a nice weekend! We took Peter to the movie theater for the first time to see “Gnomeo and Juliet” (not the best animated movie I’ve ever seen, but it was cute).
Operation Consume Popcorn: Accomplished
After the movie, we came home and I made my Comforting Cabbage dish for dinner. It was just as good as I remembered.
"Comforting Cabbage"
Tonight I’m making Orzo Lentil Pilaf. Apparently, somebody is in need of comfort food! I may need to try a vegan macaroni and cheese recipe this week…(yes, I’m still limiting my cow’s dairy intake!)
Undoubtedly, this week is already better than last week when I remained culinarily (real word?) uninspired. I didn’t cook much at all….well, I did make homemade applesauce, but it was nothing to write home about. I got a little overzealous in Trader Joe’s two weeks ago and bought 8 pounds of apples. I had four pounds sitting on the counter last week getting all kinds of wrinkly, and the mere thought of chewing all those apples within a day or two made my jaw tired.
So many apples, so little time...
I first thought I’d make apple crisp, but realized that most of it would probably go to waste since we’re not big sweet eaters here. My second thought was applesauce since it’s multifunctional. We could eat it plain, put it in oatmeal, over pancakes, freeze some for later, etc.
So, applesauce it was. I followed this recipe, but used brown rice syrup instead of sugar. I did learn that an immersion blender is a perfectly suitable way to mash the apples once they’re cooked (my potato masher is practically useless.)
You're useless. Are you even a potato masher? I've no idea.
Now, here’s what you came for, the Mom’s Club recipe of the week. Nancy provided two great recipes this week, and here they are:
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For this recipe I usually make a huge batch of homemade sauce on the weekend, and then freeze individual bags of sauce to thaw and use as needed. This is great for all those lasagna noodles that have been broken and you don’t know what to do with them.
Skillet Lasagna
prep : 5 minutes cook: 30 minutes
1/2 lb ground beef, pork or turkey (or none at all)
2 tbs of balsamic vinegar (omit if not using meat)
2 tsps of Italian seasonings
4 uncooked lasagna noodles, broken into large pieces
1 (14.5) can diced tomatoes with onions undrained, OR I use same amount of home-made sauce
1 cup of bottled roasted red bell peppers, chopped ( I omit because I put peppers in home-made sauce)
3/4 cup of water
5 tsp pesto
1 cup skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozz and parm shred cheese
Cook meat in a large nonstick deep skillet. Add vinegar (to beef) and Italian seasoning. Dollop ricotta over meat, and add shredded cheese. Top with broken noodles, making one flat layer (noodles will overlap a little bit).
Pour tomatoes and peppers over noodles, making sure that noodles are completely covered (or pour sauce over). Repeat 2-3 layers ( top layer should be noodles, just like regular baked lasagna). Add water. Dollop pesto by half tsp over top ( if I don’t have any I just omit). Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until noodles are cooked through. Uncover and sprinkle shred cheese on top. Cover let stand 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut into wedges, remove with a slotted spatula.
Fennel Salad ( can’t really get the kids to eat this yet, they get a different salad, but us big people like it)
2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulbs ( about 4 small bulbs)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup bottled citrus sections or fresh orange sections
2 tsps olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt (I have used sea salt)
1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
1 tablespoon fennel fronds
Combine first 3 [ingredients] in a large bowl. Add oil and remaining ingredients toss gently to coat.
These recipes have been adapted from CookingLight Superfast suppers.
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(Thanks , Nancy! I cannot wait to try the fennel salad. I actually just bought some at Trader Joe’s – pwa)
Talk to you soon!
Pleasing to the Eye
February 7th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hi!
I hope you had a good weekend! We had a busy, but good one. We were in CT to attend an annual bowling benefit in honor of one of my dear friends, Aedan. He left us too soon, nearly 10 years ago. I still think about him every day.
(2001 was probably THE crappiest year of my life. I was in a wacko and ultimately pretty devastating relationship, Aedan passed away, and then two weeks later 9/11 happened. I had never felt so off-kilter. It was like the kicks just kept on coming. At the end of September 2001, I actually spent a long weekend at a Buddhist Meditation retreat in Vermont just to get my head and life back together. As it usually does, life got better, eventually and thankfully. It’s no joke that time heals.)
But back to this weekend, yesterday we had a birthday party for my step-father and brother-in-law at my Mom’s house, so I got to see a bunch of family including my nieces and nephews, which always makes me happy. (I was ecstatic to meet my 6-week-old niece, Ainsley, for the first time! ) The kids spent hours playing Wii Dance — it was so funny. We think my 8-year-old nephew, Jaedon, broke some kind of Guinness Record for continuous Wii dancing. He takes the game very seriously. So cute.
So, here we are on Monday. I don’t know if it’s the weather or what, but I still feel like I’m in a bit of a funk. Nothing horrible, but I’m just like “blaaahh,” you know? I don’t feel like trying out any new recipes and my body is still feeling a little bloated and just not normal after my vegan experience.
Six months ago I didn’t think that turning 40 was all that bad, but now I’m not so sure! Maybe I had a delayed reaction- lol!
Anyway, I’m not bitching and moaning, I’m just getting my thoughts out. Blogs are funny. Readers (usually strangers) often have more insight into the writer than those closest to the writer!
OK, I clearly have a case of verbal diarrhea today. If you’ve stuck with me, thanks. Here’s what I intended to write about:
On Friday morning, while I was sitting here thinking about what I could write about, my eyes set on the new living room lamp I purchased from One Kings Lane. Now, I know that material things can’t make a person happy, but there is something to be said for how things that are pleasing to our eyes can give us a feeling of happiness. Right? There are some things that I look at in my house that are just random things, but something about them or their placement gives me a feeling of “alrightness” that could also be interpreted as a feeling of happiness
Here are some of those things:
Owls in our bedroom
New lamp
Ugly dolls in Peter's room
Downward dog in living room
Picture (of a picture) of Peter at a beach near my Mom's house
Living room owl
Cloth flower pin in bedroom
My aprons
These things may not do anything for you, but they give me a nice warm feeling! I’m sure I’ll get called materialistic tonight when my husband gets home
Have a nice Monday night! I hope to be back with a recipe or two later this week…
