FARMERS MARKET FAVORITE | No-cook Summer Sauce with Tomato & Mozzarella

Kitchen gadgets can be a lot of fun, but when it comes right down to it, I believe the most important tool to have in a well-stocked kitchen is the best, sharpest knife you can afford. This weekend at the Texas Farmers' Markets, I had the opportunity to partner with Allan Hillegass of Padlock & Co to demonstrate proper knife skills, as Allan discussed the best ways to select, utilize, and care for good knives.

Well, I've been fan-girling on Padlock & Co's hand-forged Damascus steel knives since they joined the market over a year ago. Though I have a few nice, heavy German-made knives hanging on my knife rack, I have a little jar in my kitchen into which I tuck my spare change, saving up for the day when I can purchase my own heirloom quality tool like those from Padlock. So you can imagine how much I enjoyed using Allan's handiwork this weekend to create this No-Cook Summer Sauce with Tomato And Mozzarella. The secret to it's tasty success lies in the blade-- the better the knife, the better the sauce, in that small, uniform cubes of vegetables make this dish as pleasing to eat as it is to prepare. 

A gorgeous bounty of vegetables arrives this month at the market, and there's no better way to showcase their seasonal burst of flavor than to prepare them simply, and without a lot of fuss. This sauce is a great way to approach a meatless meal when tossed with warm pasta, but should you be avoiding wheat or carbs in your diet, it is equally as refreshing tossed with scallops, shrimp, shredded chicken, or any protein of your choice. I've also taken to just tossing the mix with freshly-picked arugula and a squeeze of lemon to make a substantial entree salad as well. 

Break out your best knife, to make preparation a breeze, and head to your local market for the best the seasons offer. You'll have meals from the bounty of the coming summer wrapped up with nary a bead of perspiration for the hot days ahead. 

No-cook Summer Sauce with Tomato & Mozzarella

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds tomatoes, chopped

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cubed

1 small sweet bell pepper (we used a medley of banana and purple bell peppers, but any sweet pepper(s) of your choice will suffice)

1/2 small red onion, cubed 

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 clove elephant garlic, minced

Kosher salt, cracked red pepper, to taste

1T apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Serve tossed with 1 pound prepared pasta, or over protein of your choice

PREPARATION

Combine tomatoes, mozzarella, peppers, basil, parsley and garlic. Season with salt and cracked red pepper to taste. Set aside to let tomatoes release their juices and flavors to meld for about 15-30 minutes. Add apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Mix well. Correct seasonings.

Prepare pasta (or protein of your choice). While still warm, toss with summer sauce, and serve.

NOTE: Sauce can be made ahead, covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before tossing with hot pasta or cooked protein of your choice.

Texas Farmers' Market vendors Johnson's Backyard Garden and Gray Gardens provided vegetables for promotion free of charge for this demo, and new cheese vendor, Full Quiver Farms, their own fresh mozzarella. If you're in the Austin area, stop by and pick up the best local farm and artisan food in Central Texas. If you're outside of the area, I'd love to hear about the sources you find in your region for fresh wholesome food, too. Drop me a line or comment below, and you may just find your name, your blog (if you have one) and favorite market mentioned in an upcoming post.

If you find yourself in the Austin/Cedar Park area in the month of June, please stop by the market on June 10 and/or 11 to discover The Season's Best, and learn tips for maximizing your wholesome market basket haul. I'd love to visit with you!

Super Bowl Superstars Fitness Favorite: Texas Caviar with Honey Habanero Lime Vinaigarette

I love football.  I LOVE football.  I LOVE FOOTBALL.

The Super Bowl, that crowning culmination of a season of the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, is almost bittersweet, as it means no more football. Weekends return to commitments more pressing, less entertaining, often.  Cars get washed. Laundry gets completed. beers remain in the fridge.

The Super Bowl is much like New Year's Day to me in so many ways that I postpone any discussion of resolutions until that day, after, and, I celebrate the event with black-eyed peas.  Like good southerners would any New Year's Day. And now that this southern girl has shifted a bit left, to Texas (I'll let y'all mull the political irony of shifting left to Texas, surely a move that's left me, perhaps neutral?), I'll be, like so many other Texan hosts, serving my peas Texas-style. And there will likely be few Texas big-game celebrations that won't follow suit.  We love our caviar down here, y'all.

Texas Caviar, it is said, was so named by the Driskill Hotel, where Helen Corbitt, who would go on to be food director of Dallas' Neiman Marcus, brought her beloved "Pickled Black-Eyed Pea Salad" to the Lone Star State Capitol, Austin. You can read more about its colorful history in this Dallas Morning News' Try Some Texas Caviar, and Ms. Corbitt, herself, in Texas Monthly's, Tastemaker of the Century: Helen Corbitt

Every traditional Texas cook has her favorite, often signature version of this cowboy-meets-Madison Avenue unlikely hybrid, as uniquely Texan as the New York expatriate, Ms. Corbitt, came to be. Take a peek at Ms. Corbitt's original recipe, and use it, as I have here, as a building block, adding and subtracting as you wish, making your very own signature Texas Caviar.

Dressing

1T Dijon mustard
3T honey
1T apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
3/4 cup grapeseed oil (or any favorite neutral-flavored oil)
1t dried oregano, to taste
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
1-2 Habanero peppers, de-seeded, de-pithed, (how-to's, below, and consider wearing gloves. The capsaicin in peppers is difficult to rinse from skin, and should you rub your eyes, or any other membrane, whoa Nellie  that's going to burn!)

16 oz frozen blackeyed peas, thawed (by running under warm running water in a colander)
About 1/4 cup, each, celery, carrot, red onion, red and/or green bell pepper

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, honey, cider vinegar and lime juice until well-blended. Slowly whisk in oil, in a drizzle, continuing until all is well emulsified. Stir in remaining ingredients, to taste, adjusting for personal preference. Don't forget the salt. It really perks these oil-based dressings right up.

Blanch thawed, frozen black eyed peas in boiling, salted water for roughly 5 minutes, removing to an ice bath to retard cooking and retain crispness, until cooled.  Drain.

To dressing, add peas and chopped vegetables, tossing to blend well.  Correct seasonings. Allow to marinate 8 hours, to overnight.  Serve cold or room temperature.  (And wait to you see what I've done with the leftovers later this week!)

Some tips:

• All vegetables in this salad should be chopped uniformly, in about a 1/4" dice.  
• Many cooks use canned peas, like the original recipe.  I have the fortune of having fresh peas from the summer's garden, preserved by blanching and freezing, and it's time to use last season's peas. Dried peas, cooked, can be used, but certainly this will make an easy, quick prep not so easy, and not so quick.
• Feel free to substitute or add herbs, spices, and seasonings as you desire.  Any citrus, or none at all. Any vinegar, or not. How about cilantro, garlic, lemon, apple cider, wine vinegar, balsamic??  Yes, yes, yes, yes.  Brown sugar instead of honey?  SURE! THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER CAVIAR!
• Scared of that hot chile, the habanero, lime vinaigrette? Heck, omit any or all. Truly, make this one your own. Use your favorite dressing, use mild jalapenos, don't use peppers at all...you're the boss. (Well, not really THE BOSS. I mean you're very cool, but there's only one Bruce Springsteen.)

Behold the much maligned habanero pepper. Unabated, it's assertive heat can be too much to handle, but with a little cautious prep work, the unique flavor profile of the habanero can be enjoyed without the pain usually associated with this bright and robust chile pepper.  Wash pepper, and cautiously slice in half lengthwise. (You may consider wearing gloves if your skin is sensitive to capsaicin, the active ingredient in peppers.) With a sharp, small, paring blade, remove seeds, and white pith along the interior ribs of each half.  Slice into lengthwise strips, and then slice across strips, yielding a mince that enhances, yet does not overpower. 

So, why a fitness favorite?  Well it's the fiber, primarily, an important element of a healthy diet, and one too often lacking from our own, that  makes this little black-specked legume so attractive. One half-cup serving of black eyed peas provides roughly 15% of the recommended dietary intake of fiber, with only 70 calories and that's just the beginning. Discover the additional health and fitness benefits of the south's favorite legume from Fitday's Nutrition of Black Eyed Peas.

And, what, you may ask, just IS this Fitness Favorite? Well, friends, welcome to the newest feature on Notes From Maggie's Farm-- Fitness Favorites. Beyond merely meatless, Fitness Favorites are those go-to deceptively delicious, yet healthy and satisfying options that do their diligent duty to keep the continuing fight for fitness interesting and tasty. I'd love to hear what you think, and how these dishes may fit into your own healthy eating plans.

All that said, let's cut to the chase. Who ya like? The 'Hawks or the Broncos?  Do you have a horse in this race?  A dog in this hunt?  Or will you be skipping the whole thing altogether (GASP!)?  

And what are your snacking plans?  We'll have more, later this week on Notes From Maggie's Farm. 

Y'all, it's great to be back.

Guest Post: Meatless Mondays Readers' Favorites on Notes From Maggie's Farm

You may have heard, or seen, me mention my talented blogging buddy, Lisa Rawlinson of Full and Content.  We've had the pleasure of sharing our admiration for the mostly-local BBQ scene for the City Guide 2013, produced by the Austin Food Blogger Alliance, of which we are both active members.  Lisa's work, exhaustive in scope and detail, covers Austin Barbecue, in town, and can be found here.  You may recall our big BBQ pilgrimage east of Austin, which can be found here.  And today's post, in honor of Meatless Monday, can be found here.

But we girls, we just can't live on meat alone.  And if Lisa's like me, my meatier assignments are usually, and necessarily, followed by weeks of meatless meals.  We celebrate this trend on this blog by sharing our favorites on many, many, Meatless Mondays.

How flattered I was, then, when Lisa asked me to share our readers' Meatless Monday favorites in a guest post.  (and how patient she has been as she's waited for my post!  This move has perhaps been the longest and most demanding relocation in history.  But more, later in the week.).  There have been quite a few recipes that seemed to encourage many of you to hang up your carnivorous habits, if at least for a day, and the following have become the five standout recipes you, (and me, too!), return to again and again.

Follow the links below each snapshot to find recipes for our favorites.  Perhaps you'll find a new approach to Meatless Mondays, too.  Enjoy!

Peanut Pumpkin Bisque

 

A Farm Harvest Lunch

 

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pizza (great for Autumn, Winter, and Spring vegetables, too!)

 

Rustic Savory Peach Gorgonzola Galette 

 

 

Culinary Mathmagic: Three Ingredients-- Kale, Tomatoes, Homemade Queso Blanco, Yield Two Favorite Meals

 

Thanks, again, to Lisa of Full and Content, for the invitation to guest blog on her always impressive site.  Please stop in, often, and see what she's up to--always interesting, informative, and completely and utterly hip, this girl, and I know you'll enjoy her work over and over.

 



meatless monday lessons in weight loss: stay off that scale!

So, it's like this.

I know I'm supposed to avoid obsessive scale watching.  In fact, several years ago during the first leg of this fitness overhaul, I weighed exactly once a month.  And every month, for several months, I lost 8-10 pounds. That significant loss fueled my fitness spirit for an entire month, afterwards.  I didn't even OWN a scale.  I was so smart. I was smart enough to listen to the expert tips, and implement them into my fitness lifestyle. It was great advice, and it worked for me.  I lost 50 pounds in six months and kept all but a pesky 5-10 back-and-forth'ers who just didn't get the memo.

I was so, so good.  

Several years later, I take on this second leg of the fitness journey, and get all cocky, like I know everything, a little too confident, because I'd done it before, and I start taking shortcuts.  I, most cavalierly, don't concern myself with those habits that worked before.

Now, it's not that I'm not taking off the weight.  I am. Though achingly slowly right now.  It's much more about the mental challenges of weight loss.  That's what I'm trying to learn to navigate. Case in point--

Now I own that scale. And I am on that scale WAY TOO OFTEN.  I mean several times a day, sometimes.  And, as you'll see below, I see why I shouldn't.

Okay, so maybe I've not been so, so good.  But, oh, was this ALL so, so good!

Last week, after a particularly robust restaurant review/happy hour invitation week, and in the middle of the day, no less, I hopped on the happy little scale, to find, to my horror, that I'd gained 4 pounds. !!!!!  Of course, I rounded that up in my mind immediately to 5 pounds.  And reasoned that it was likely even more (for what reason, I am completely unaware) than those 4, 5 pounds.  I left for the weekend, believing I was a failure. That I didn't know how to eat. That I wasn't fit. That I couldn't do this. That I would never reach my goal.

That I should give up.

I felt old, fat, and ugly.

I'm sure no one else has ever felt that way, huh?

So, I spend 4 days away from that scale.  I can feel those 4, 5, one million pounds. I am sure I am bloated. Am sure those shorts were looser the week before. I don't walk. I don't practice yoga. I don't lift one single pound. I break into tears more than once. I eat Rocky Road candy bars for dinner, because, really, what's the use?

Time to be so, so good, again!

I get back to that scale 4 days later, and find, yep, you guessed it, that all 4, 5, one million pounds were gone. Did I lose those pounds while perched, inactive, like Jabba the Hutt, and enjoying candy bar dinners in the country? Yeah, um, no.

They were most likely the result of a high sodium meal, or some other unexplained cause of temporary water weight gain. And..... I'm still mad about it!  I still feel like I own those pounds even though they are no longer.  What the heck?  A week later, and my ego is still bruised, my resolve, faltering, my mood, oh heavens my mood-- cranky.  Cranky is a kind word for it.

Add to that mood one less-than-flattering picture that popped up in social media, and, well, I'm ready to turn this boat around. Whatever the impetus, whether real dissatisfaction with fitness, or imagined weight gain, I think the best way to approach this odd fitness frustration is with steadfast, razor-sharp focus, and determination.

It is a little more than half way through the birth year that authored this Springing Into Fitness personal challenge.  And my goal of losing 50 pounds?  Well, 35 pounds down, I'm 15 pounds, and 20 weeks away from....

A Fabulous Fifty

Phase II: Doing What Works

Get Moving:  Keeping the Pep in Your Step

The last time I successfully lost significant weight and kept it off, I maintained a vigorous fitness plan including cardio, strength, and flexibility training.  It helped me build confidence in my own abilities, it helped me have energy, it helped me have greater control over my results. endorphins kept me from running to the candy aisle.  So, again, I'll be returning to a more vigorous fitness plan. I'll incorporate cardio, strength, and flexibility training, and I'll be moving 6 days a week.

Habits: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

The last time I successfully lost significant weight and kept it off, I did not obsess over the scales. I will be taking the scale from the bathroom to my closet.  On a shelf.  Under my boxes of shoes. Lots of boxes.  I will give myself one time per week to weigh in--Sunday morning. If that doesn't work, I'll go back to once a month. The goal is to become fit. The goal is not to become crazy. Um, crazier.

Fueling the Machine: Eating Well for Health and Wellness

The last time I successfully lost significant weight and kept it off, I carefully planned, and kept a 1000-1500kc/day meal plan.  I ate 5 meals a day.  I gave myself weekends to relax, but not much. I didn't keep a food diary--the meal plan was complete, cautious, thorough, and a system from which I did not waver.  So, again, I'll be returning to the meal plan.



I think I can speak for a whole lot of people in my world in saying that I hope this intensified focus turns this cranky mood  around. Have mercy, I can't even stand myself.  

How are your fitness plans working out in this sweltering summer heat?  Find a fabulous new lean dish?  Figure out how to tackle that flagging discipline?  Add some new music to your speed walking playlist?  I'd love to hear what keeps you going, collecting your favorite tips for an upcoming blog post, with credit, of course!  Leave your links, your tips, your secrets, your magic, your favorite personal fitness tips in the comments below, and you'll see it show up soon on Notes From Maggie's Farm.

Well I certainly don't want to be known as a Rocky Road.  I'ma turn this thing around.

meatless monday springing into fitness: week eleven results

A few ups, a few downs....all in eleven week's work.

Yes!  Eleven weeks it has been.  Except for that time when I'm sweating in the sweltering Texas sun, it's gone by rapidly. And the weight loss, though never as rapid as anyone likes, has steadily held.  A little over a pound a week, on average.

That average might be a little higher if Austin and its surrounds wasn't full to the brim with exciting restaurant openings, and festivals, and entertainment districts.  For instance, I celebrated a 5 pound weight loss week while attending the Austin Food and Wine Festival.  And gaining 4 pounds back.  All in a day's work.

If you've just joined this conversation, get an idea what all this Springing Into Fitness stuff is all about, here.  In a nutshell, I'm planning to lose fifty pounds by my fiftieth birthday, and I'm begging your help. 'Cause, like I said, 

It's gonna take a village, y'all.

So, first, an update. Results from last week, and new goals for this week. And afterwards, a few new tools for you, and me, for education and motivation.

Week Eleven: Springing Into Fitness

Results!

I did get moving!
I hiked and hiked and hiked for many weeks.  Some days, rain or life got in the way of my daily 30, and I just tacked that time onto the weekend hike, my catch-up day(s).  I continued gradually, along, but just last week, my ankles and lower back hit the wall.  So I'll rest the back a few days, unearth those ankle braces, lace up my boots a bit more snugly, and get back on the trail. I'm incorporating gym time into my routine this week, too-- three days to add some variety for this ADD-exerciser to keep the boredom from derailing me.  I'll be joining the early morning joggers for 'city hiking' two days a week, and finding the 'off the beaten path' spots on the weekend. Incidentally, the days are becoming warmer which means early rising for me (ugh.) and lots of sunblock.  Be safe out there, y'all!

I did work on a habit!
To heck with that food diary.  I've failed miserably.  Instead of another week of failing that goal, going to skip it.  Oh, I know I'll be back to it, especially as the weight loss stalls and I'll be hungering for a nudge of the needle on the scale.  
So this week?  WATER.  I'm adding the water discipline to my diet.  Sixty-four ounces of liquid.  Can't count coffee.  That's a diuretic.  But other beverages may be added to the day's tally.  How much water are you drinking? 

I did fuel the machine!
I am a rabbit.  I eat what rabbits eat.
A lot of it.
And still working to not deny myself the foods I love, but have them in moderation.  Sometimes, a well-enjoyed bite is just about all I need to satisfy the urges.  That, and a big glass of water.

And the scales proved it a good plan--

Slowly, oh so slowly, I'm down 17 pounds since this spring clean began, and a total of 32 pounds since my last birthday, in December, which means I'm a little over halfway HOME to my goal.  Fifty by Fifty is beginning to look achievable.  I added a little widget to the side bar on the right of the page that tracks my progress.  It displays my weight loss from my last birthday.  (And I still can't believe I was bold enough to tell everyone how old I am!)

And now is the hard part.  Keeping it up, and keeping it off.  Six months, plus a few days, to assure victory. And as I lose, the more slowly the pounds come off.  That's just the way this thing is.  I'll need all the help I can to get, and keep moving.  And don't be surprised at all when that food log comes back out.  I better get smarter with these tools.

I'm pretty okay with these results so far.  I have to remind myself that it didn't creep on overnight, and it's not going away overnight either.  The widget on the side bar to the right tracks my progress, and keeps me accountable to ...YOU GUYS, and it's helpful in keeping me motivated.  It displays my weight loss from my last birthday.  (If you have a blog, and would like to use a similar tool, you can find the one I'm using, here.  I'm a bit of a Luddite where these things are concerned, and I found this to have a very user-friendly interface. I said interface.  teeheehee.  I'm learning.)

This week, I'll start each day with a small bite of protein prior to, and a vegetable smoothie after, the morning workout.  I'll continue to eat a diet high in fiber, based on plants, primarily, around 1200 calories a day.  Unless I'm watching the NBA championship.  There might be beer involved.  And I'll save a few calories for nervous munchies!  

And now, new tools for the second half of this project--

• Get Moving:  How to Not Suck at Working Out, Nerd Fitness
• Habits: Why Drinking Water is Important for Weight Loss, CaloriesPerHour
• Fuel the Machine: Eat Yourself Skinny-- 15 Superfoods for Metabolism, Dr. Oz.

And stop back by tomorrow, on Tips for Tuesday, where we'll being our series on Superfoods for Fitness with the nutritional powerhouse, Kale, share a recipe for Kale And Grape Salad, which we'll be munching on all week,  and offer scads of links to fellow blogger kale goodness.

Kale.  It does a body good.  (yep.  I stole that.)

What were the high, and maybe the low, points of your week, fitness-speaking?  

meatless monday springing into fitness: week one results!

All in all, friends, I'd have to say it was a pretty good week, fitness-wise.

If you've just joined this conversation, get an idea what all this Springing Into Fitness stuff is all about by reading last week's post, here.  In a nutshell, I'm planning to lose fifty pounds by my fiftieth birthday, and I'm begging your help. 'Cause, like I said, 

It's gonna take a village, y'all.

So, first, an update. Results from last week, and new goals for this week. And afterwards, a few new tools for you, and me, for education and motivation.

Week One: Springing Into Fitness

Results!

I did get moving!
I began my program gradually, walking 15-30 minutes 6 days. I met my goal.
Gradually worked well for me, and my body, which with some lower back challenges, made some days more taxing than others. I will build upon last week's progress, ratcheting it up a bit to 20-30 minutes per day. It's slow-going, and, yes, some days I want to walk MORE. I resist the urge, instead, strolling casually after the more strenuous session, which satisfies my need for a little more of the great outdoors.

I did work on a habit!
I began my food diary, and quickly fell off.  I did not meet my goal.
I knew this would be a challenge for me. I set up the diary, wrote one day's worth of meals, then, nada. After writing most of days away, I had a difficult time writing just ONE MORE WORD.  It shouldn't be that hard.  I'm going to work on the food diary this week.  My goal is to record each day's meals, period.  No calorie counts.  Nothing but a cursory description.  I'll learn my lesson from above, that gradually is the best way to go.  Keep you posted!

I did fuel the machine!
I had only nibbles of the foods I knew were less than optimal, and I filled my plate with vegetables at each meal.  I met my goal.
This wasn't difficult at all.  I was inspired by the bounty that spring has given us, and remembered that to keep up with my moving goal, I'd need the proper fuel.  I have no intention of giving up the delicious morsels that pass by me, but one bite was satisfactory, after filling myself with high-fiber, nutrient dense fruits and vegetables.  And the scales proved it a good plan--

I lost 7 pounds!

And I was pretty darned pleased with those results.  I added a little widget to the side bar on the right of the page that tracks my progress.  It displays my weight loss from my last birthday.  If you have a blog, and would like to use a similar tool, you can find the one I'm using, here.  I'm a bit of a Luddite where these things are concerned, and I found this to have a very user-friendly interface. (I said interface.  teeheehee.  I'm learning.)

This week, I'll begin to formally add more fiber to my diet.  I'm aiming for around 1200 calories per day, and about 25 grams of fiber.  With those parameters, fruits and vegetables will continue to be the center-points of each meal.

And now, new tools for Week 2--

• Get Moving:  Your Target Heart Rate, The Walking Site
• Habits: 18 Tricks to Make New Habits Stick,  Lifehacker
• Fuel the Machine: Weight Loss and Diet Plans, Web MD

And stop back by tomorrow, on Tips for Tuesday, where we'll talk about the importance of fiber in the diet, and share a recipe for superfoods-loaded Kale And Grape Salad, which we'll be munching on all week.

Kale.  It does a body good.  (yep.  I stole that.)

What were the high, and maybe the low, points of your week, fitness-speaking?  

meatless monday springing into fitness

April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go.

-- Christopher Morley, John Mistletoe 

Y'all, Spring is upon us!

This year, Spring Cleaning begins not inside my home (which has sorely needed it since Spring, last, but seems to be holding up, bravely) but, rather, with me.

Perhaps it's being surrounded by an abundance of natural life, which relies on the four seasons, rather than a paper calendar, to direct it's life-cycle. Maybe the introspection of a closing year, the shorter days, the sunlight lacking, all combine to make me feel one with the dormant winner, not ready to birth changes that the new year seems to bring forth for others. Possibly, it's linked to the annual retreat in March, just completed, when, along with sharing precious time with precious friends, we take time to examine our lives--considering, and reconsidering, contemplating what might stay, and what might go.

 
Whatever the reason, resolutions, for me, come about not in January, but as the earth awakens. The days are a bit longer. Nature's abloom. It's time for Spring Cleaning.

Let's get personal.  

This precious Spring is the last of my 40's.  Some would consider that a time for letting go.  It feels as if I've something to get started.  Both a letting go, and a getting started.

And just for the sake of staying committed, I'm sharing it here, with you.  I'm going to get started taking better care of this temple I've been assigned.  I'm going to let go of dreading the idea.

I'm Springing Into Fitness, and I'm inviting you along.

In fact, I'm going to do something quite bold for me. I'm going to go as far as to keep a running tally of my progress.  Pounds lost. Inches whittled. Distance gained. Progress made.

And I'm going to do all the 'fessing up on these Meatless Monday features, through the middle of December, when the deed will be done-- I'll have turned fifty.

!!! (insert shark-infested waters theme music)

I welcome you all to do the same, if you'd like. (Not if you'd like to turn 50. You have no choice in that matter. You either have, or you will, so no laughing at me!) Help a sister out, and meet me here next Monday to hold my feet to the fire.

It's gonna take a village, y'all.

Seriously. Fifty is right up the road. It's huge and looming and daring me.  I'm planning to meet it with courage and purpose. I'm planning on fit being the new fifty.

It's a Fabulous Fifty, I'm planning.

++++++++++++++++++

The Plan of Action

Tools!

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
Abraham Lincoln.

Tools are important.  Good tools make good work.Technology is the newest, shiniest fitness tool, and there are scads of (free!) fitness and health management tools available online, as well as apps to carry with you via smartphone.  I'll be sharing all kinds of tools I find, and welcome you to do the same, in the comments below.  We're all in this together!


Tools will help support our focus on three keys to fitness:

• Get Moving: Keeping the Pep in Your Step
• Habits: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
• Fueling the Machine:  Eating Well for Health and Wellness

This week, we begin to...

Get Moving:  Keeping the Pep in Your Step

While working around the farm can be quite physical, there is a lot of sedentary work for a writer, the second part of this life.  The dogs and I enjoy the occasional hike,  but this week, we're going to ADD at least 30 minutes of cumulative, sustained activity to our day, 6 days a week.  We'll gradually increase that time to an hour of additional exercise.  Be sure to start slowly, building your exercise program over a few weeks, to give your body, and mind, time to adjust.  Useful links and tools include

• How to Start a Fitness Program, Web MD.
• Fitness Programs: 5 Steps to Getting Started, Mayo Clinic
• Begin a Fitness Walking Program and Zero to 60 Beginning Walking Schedule from The Walking Site.

Habits: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Studies show that people who use food diaries tend to lose more weight and keep it off longer than those who don’t.  We begin with the basics, simply recording the time and amount of everything we eat or drink.  Additionally, you may find it helpful to record your emotions, thoughts, felonious temptations, whatever you find affects your diet.  We're going to keep it simple for now.  Find templates, apps, and suggestions from

• Starting Your Food Diary, Eating Well Magazine
• Five Best Weight Management Tools, Lifehacker
• Food and Fitness Planner, WebMD

Fueling the Machine: Eating Well for Health and Wellness

Becoming aware of how the foods we consume, by using the tools, above, either promote or inhibit our fitness goals will be ongoing, helping us to develop control over our choices.  This week, we'll concentrate on determining our personal body mass indices, basal metabolic rate, setting weight loss and/or fitness goals, and determining caloric consumption and activity levels necessary to achieve these goals.  Some tools that are helpful include

• Health Calculators, Health Status
• S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting for Fitness and Weight Management, Fitness Mantra
• You, Inc.: A Practical Guide to Setting Fitness Goals, Experience Life

So, really.  I'd love to have you join me.  Researchers contend that it’s easier to stick with a weight loss plan when you have support, can share tips on diet and exercise and have an exercise buddy. I need a buddy!  Or two, or a few, or more! Wherever you are on the path to wellness-- whether beginner, fully engaged in your passionate pursuit, or an absolute swami of health, we could all use your encouragement, your experience, your motivation, your pratfalls, your victories, your example, and your will.  

Where are you along your path to wellness?

meatless monday peanut pumpkin bisque

"The thinnest yellow light of November is more warming and exhilarating than any wine they tell of.  

The mite which November contributes becomes equal in value to the bounty of July."

-   Henry David Thoreau  

Just about my favorite time of year, autumn, it is.  I know it's a favorite of many.  And if the food blogs and  Pinterest boards are any indication, so many of us love to usher in the first cool, crisp, snaps of fall with hearty, warm, soul-nurturing soups.  All kinds of soup.   I love the bright red bowlful of fall's last tomatoes, all whirled into a creamy, tangy treat.  And I delight in the first bowl of dark, smoky broth swimming with seafood, or chicken, and andouille sausage that is my beloved gumbo.  My husband loves a peppery bowl of potato and leek chowder with the occasional chunk of kielbasa.  And at least one weekend will be spent preparing chicken and vegetable soups from the stock we've made of roosters that simply outstayed their welcome. 

But, for both of us, the days after that evening when so many precious princesses, and space creatures, and goblins, and ghosts visit, are traditionally spent preparing a bisque we'll enjoy throughout the chilly days of autumn and winter. It's a favorite among friends and family, too.

And perfect for the cold season, too.  Because this soup—this bowl of goodness—it's our medicine.  It's really quite healthy—full of vitamins and antioxidants that support the immune system, and our favorite feature--a slight slow burn on the back of the tongue as a sort of culinary afterthought—soothing to the throat during the occasional bout of sniffles we're sure to endure.  At the first sign of a tender throat, we're likely to pass the bottle of cough syrup by for a jar of this simple peanut pumpkin bisque.

We start with our own pumpkin, roasted and pureed, then frozen, but don't let the absence of one, or the aversion to that project keep you from tackling this soup.  We've used canned puree, before, too.  If you choose to go that route, you'll want to adjust the seasonings a bit—canned puree tends to have added sugar, but with a little extra salt, spice, or acid, the sweetness can be balanced.   Play around a little with it.  We've also used home-canned tomatoes, which were lightly seasoned with salt and lemon juice, however, in their absence, we've also used Pomi brand chopped tomatoes, and their juices, from a carton.  I'm partial to the carton because those tomatoes do not fall victim to the reactions that commercially canned tomatoes do— that slight metallic taste that spoils many delicate soups, although some canned tomatoes are now packaged in coated cans, to prevent that concern.

 

Yields 6 entrée servings, 8 starters.

Ingredients

• 4 cups pureed pumpkin
• 3 cups chopped tomatoes with their juices
• 1 whole chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce with a tsp of additional sauce
• ½ cup peanut butter—I use chunky because I like the little bits of peanut,  but smooth is fine, too.
• 1-2T apple cider vinegar, to taste
• 1 pint half and half— we use half and half to reduce the fat which heavy whipping cream would add, but if you're watching your fat intake, you can reduce the full amount to 8 ounces.
• Salt, to taste
• Garnish—1T sour cream or crème fraiche (you can even make your own--see this link) for each bowl, chopped roasted peanuts, and fresh thyme

In a medium stock pot, combine pumpkin, tomatoes, chipotle chile in adobo, peanut butter, and apple cider vinegar.  Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring often, for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Run an immersion blender through pot until tomatoes and pepper are well blended and pureed. Press soup through a chinois or sieve. (or, in absence of immersion blender and sieve, puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Soup will remain a bit thicker, but still quite nice).  Return to stock pot, and off the burner, stir in half in half.  Add salt, to taste, and adjust seasonings.

Serve in a soup bowl or soup plate, garnished with a tablespoon of sour cream or crème fraiche gently transferred to the center of the soup, sprinkle with chopped peanuts, and chopped fresh thyme.

"I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its tone is mellower, its colours are richer, and it is tinged with a little sorrow. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and its content."|

-  Lin Yutang