Recipe Roulette: Broccoli Soup And Three Bean Salad

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Coco

Jenn at Peas And Crayons has suggested a “green”  theme for What I Ate Wednesday posts this March, and I have two new recipes to share that fit the bill.

As many of you know, I have given up meat for Lent, and that has me trying new recipes. This broccoli soup recipe was not as good as I hoped, but the three bean salad recipe definitely is a keeper.

Broccoli Soup**
1 10 oz. box frozen broccoli florets (thawed)
1 15 oz. can vegetarian broth
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp peper
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Blend all ingredients except lemon peel and lemon juice until smooth.
Pour into a pot, add lemon peel and lemon juice, and cook over medium heat until hot.

**The original recipe is from the March 2013 isue of Good Housekeeping magazine, and called for chicken broth instead of vegetarian broth.

I think I expected too much from a recipe that is this simple. It tasted fine, but it didn’t taste like much more than pureed broccoli soup–although I love the flavor from the curry powder. Also, my soup didn’t look very green, but I blame the Veggie Stock that I used. I love the short ingredient list on this product, but it has a very dark brown color–probably form the roasted onions. If I make it again, I might try blending the ingredients in my Cuisine Art (instead of using my immersion blender as I did here) to see if that makes a more uniform puree.

 Three Bean Salad**
Dressing
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper

Beans
1 14.5 oz can green beans (rinsed and drained)
1 15 oz. can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1.5 cups frozen shelled edamame (thawed and drained)

Mix the dressing ingredients in a small saucepan and
heat over low heat until sugar is dissolved and it starts to boil.
Cool before using.

Combine beans, 1/2 cup of dressing, and 1 tsp Italian seasoning in a bowl.
Cover and let marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

**The original recipe is from the Cooking Light 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook and called for lima beans instead of edamame.
When I make it again, I will use a bit less sugar in the dressing. 

Three Bean Salad

I really loved the color and flavors of this salad. I served it as a side dish with quiche and over a bed of mixed greens for a heartier salad.

What is your favorite potluck side dish?

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Healither Ways Of Coping With Stress

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Coco

This week at work is very stressful. There is a big deadline on Friday that affects my whole department, because a significant aspect of patent law changes on Saturday, and many clients want to do things this week to be grandfathered in under the current law. As much as we’ve tried to plan ahead and work ahead, there is a lot to be done by midnight local time on Friday.

midnight clockAs I got ready to face the week, I realized how much my ways of coping with stress have changed. In my “before” days–and even in the beginning of my “after” days–a week like this  would have had me abandoning any efforts to keep up with my fitness routine. But now I know that physical exercise is essential to my mental well-being. The hour I spend working out will pay me back with interest in my ability to be productive and handle the stress at work. No amount of Starbucks can wake me up and get me going as much as a good run does!

track runnerI also might have used work deadlines as an excuse to rely on pizza and take-out to get through the week. But now I know that I will perform better at work if I fuel my body with nutritious foods. I made sure to stock up on healthy but quick things I can eat at the office (frozen entrees, pumpkin seeds, fruit) and did some cooking ahead on Sunday night so I will have some “real” food to eat when I get home late.

Case of Chobani

This gift from Chobani could not have come at a better time!

I’m not saying that I won’t be making extra trips to Starbucks, or that I won’t decide that I need a few Do-Si-Dos to get through the day, but I won’t be relying 100% on caffeine and sugar to get through the week!

Wonder Woman Mug

Bring it!

How do you prepare for a stressful week?

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Training Log: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (Week 2)

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Coco

I can’t believe that I am summarizing “week 2” of my Cherry Blossom 10 Miler training program, and the race is less than one month away! I am really counting on my base conditioning to be ready to race in four weeks.

CUCB Logo

Work was closed Wednesday for a blizzard that never materialized and it was in the 60s over the weekend!

Lincoln Memorial

(Scene from my bike ride on Sunday)

Monday
AM Dog Walk: 1 mile
Weights: ITB Rehab Routine, supersets strength routine, planks

Tuesday
Treadmill: 50 min program with two 1 mile repeats:
warm-up: 5 min @ 3.7 mph, 5 min @ 5.7 mph, 5 min @ 6.0 mph, 5 min @ 6.3 mph,
repeats: 10 min @ 6.5 mph, 5 min @ 6.3 mph, 10 min @ 6.7 mph
cool-down: 2 min @ 5.7 mph, 3 min @ 3.7 mph

Wednesday
AM Dog Walk: 1 mile
Weights: ITB Rehab Routine, supersets strength routine, planks

Thursday
Treadmill: 50 min total, Random Program (level 3), mostly at 6.2 or 6.3 mph

Friday
AM Dog Walk: 1 mile
Rodney Yee “Twists” program (25 min)
Cathe “Core” program (10.5 min)
Since I was planning a 10 mile run on Saturday, I decided to take it easy on my legs on Friday. My body always appreciates some time with Rodney Yee and I really like the core segment of my Cathe X-Train DVD. 

Saturday
AM dog walk: 1 mile
Long run: 10.5 miles, 1:33:21 (8:54 pace)

March 9 Garmin
This was a glorious run! When I kept seeing a sub-9:00 pace on my Garmin I wondered, “Whose legs are these?” I did not feel like I was pushing myself, although by mile 9 I decided that I would treat my legs to a warm Espom salt bath when I got home! 

Epsom Salt Bath

(Much more enjoyable than an ice bath!)

Sunday
Bike ride: 13 miles

Now that we’ve changed to Daylight Saving Time, I know it will be harder to get up this week, but I will need the endorphins to get through a stressful week at work.

Do you have a hard time getting out of bed this morning?

Posted in Fitness, Training Log | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Shifting Frames Of Reference

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Coco

My yoga practice is pretty rudimentary. A 25-minute program from Rodney Yee’s A.M. Yoga for Your Week is challenging enough for my inflexible body and long enough for my restless mind.

yoga woman

Still, I have come to appreciate the benefits of holding a pose for longer than my type-A personality would prefer. It usually is in those last moments when I tweak my position just so or breathe just so that I feel an opening, a release, or a shifting that I treasure as an ahhhh moment.

I was reminded of this shifting last Sunday, when our priest preached about the Parable of The Fig Tree from Luke 13: 6-10:

[Jesus] told this parable:
“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

If  you’ve heard this Parable before, and especially if you learned about it in Sunday School or in a Bible study class, you probably understand that God is the owner of the vineyard, we are the fig tree, and Jesus is the gardener, pleading with God to give us a chance to “bear fruit.” Especially when we read this Parable during Lent, the tendency is to focus on the many ways in which we fail to bear fruit, and how we need to strive to earn our place in God’s garden.

Jesus

But Jesus doesn’t explain this Parable, and our Priest challenged us to re-think the cast of characters.

  • What if we are the owner, needing God’s help to see the good (or the hope) in a bad (or hopeless) situation?
  • What if we are the gardener, working hard to turn this barren world into a place that looks more like God’s garden?
  • What if God is the gardener, promising to do what He can to help us barren fig trees bear fruit?

Considering this Parable from these different frames of reference, I felt an opening in my understanding of God, and a deeper understanding of how often we limit Him with our own preconceptions. It was a real aha moment that I am still treasuring.

(If you want to read my priest’s sermon in her own words, you can read it on her blog here.)

Do you enjoy re-telling familiar stories from a different perspective?

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Looking Out The Window

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Coco

I spend way too much time at work.
I usually arrive between 8:00 and 8:30 and leave at 6:30.
That’s 10 hours a day,
most of which are spent sitting on my ass in front of my dual monitors.

Messy Desk

Whenever I visit other offices, I always take the time to take in the views.

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This city girl just loves skylines!

In January, I had an opportunity to move to an office with this view.

20130306-074114.jpg

Although I did think twice about moving
because my assistant would be down the hall and around the corner from me,
I knew that it would be good for my mental health.

And it is.

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It didn’t take me long to realize that the kitchenette near my new office
also has spectacular views.

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Although sometimes I get jealous of the fun I’m not having!

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Do you take time to enjoy looking out the window?

Posted in Life, Work | Tagged , , | 9 Comments