Independence Day is upon us, and I’m feeling quite festive. You probably think there is no way hot dogs can be healthy, and 9 times out of 10 you would be correct. But if you get the low-fat, all-natural, grass-fed, raised-by-nuns-on-a-sunny-pasture-near-a-rolling-creek kind you can still enjoyed those encased meat treats sans guilt.

Frou Frou Franks and Beans

The beans will serve 3-4, and you can make as many hot dogs as mouths that want ‘em
Total time: 10 minutes
Cost per serving: $3-4

1 can white beans (cannellini they are sometimes called)
1 can chunky tomato soup
1 cup frozen spinach
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar

low-fat, all-natural hot dogs
whole wheat hot dog buns
roasted corn and poblano salsa from Whole Foods, or pico de gallo
Lemonaise (I love this stuff. You can get it at Whole Foods or just use regular mayo or even mustard.)

1. Drain and rinse the beans under running water and put in a pot. Add the tomato soup and the spinach and heat over med-high heat.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with a little no-stick spray. Cut the hot dogs lengthwise down the center, but not all the way through. Flatten them out and place cut side down on the skillet. Heat for a few minutes.
3. While the dogs are cooking, open the buns and scoop out some of the bread on one side, like the picture shows. It will look like a boat. Fill the boat with salsa or pico de gallo. By removing some of the bread you can cram more salsa into the sandwich. Scrap a thin layer of lemonaise on the other side.
4. Flip the dogs over and let heat through on the other side. Turn the heat off the beans and add the balsamic vinegar. I like mine tangy so I go for 2 tsp, but you can add one first and see if you want more.
5. Put the dogs in the buns and serve with the beans and a peach for desert.

How’s that for fancy franks and beans? That salsa really makes the dog. It’s spicy and cumin scented and just delicious. If you don’t want to use the salsa or pico that’s cool, my feelings won’t be hurt. You just won’t know what you’re missing

I will take you on yogurt journeys further than you ever imagined.

I read somewhere recently that yogurt was the first ever health food. I feel totally vindicated. So what if you are not a huge fan of dairy, or if you’re vegan or you have an allergy? You can still eat yogurt, as there are plenty of non-dairy options. I rounded up the most popular brands to give you the low down on plant-based yogurts. Since by now I’m sure you’re eating it every day because I told you to (ha!), it will be fun to mix it up a bit even if you don’t have anything against dairy.

SO Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk Blueberry Yogurt

Hello! I saw this and could hardly contain my excitement. I friggin’ love coconut, so I’m thinking this stuff would be the marriage of two things that make me happy. I was willing to neglect that one 6 oz container contains 6 grams of fat just for the novelty. I’m sad to report that at least the blueberry flavor of SO Delicious was SO underwhelming. The consistency was runny, it was way too sweet, and it just didn’t have that coconut milk richness I was hoping for. One positive was the live and active cultures, so if that’s what you’re looking for then give it a shot. At $1.50 a pop, I think I’ll give this a pass next time.

Whole Soy & Co. Blueberry Soy Yogurt

I know what you’re thinking. This sounds about as appetizing as soy cheese. You should give it a chance, because this stuff is delicious. I was expecting more runny blandness, but Whole Soy makes a creamy and rich yogurt that isn’t too sweet and doesn’t have that soy taste I’m not terribly fond of. It’s a nutrition boon at 30% of the recommended daily value for calcium, and only contains 150 calories and 3.5 grams of fat per 6 oz cup. It’s also casein, whey and gluten free (Hey Lauran! I found you a yogurt!). For $1.19 a pop, I think I will be seeing more of this brand in my morning yogurt rotation.

Silk Live! Bluberry Soy Yogurt

With my mind open to soy yogurt, I happily picked up the Silk brand at $0.99 for a 6 ounce cup. They claim 6 live active cultures in their brand, something that wasn’t apparent on the Whole Soy & Co. label. The yogurt was little runnier and tasted like soy to me, but it did have huge whole blueberries mixed in. At 150 calories and only 2 grams of fat the Silk brand weighs in the skinniest so far, which explains why it seemed a little runnier. It’s cheap and not terrible, so I may buy it again.

Yes, that's a stack of work behind the cup

Ricera Blueberry Rice Yogurt

I saw this rice yogurt at Hubbell and Hudson, so for the sake of research I dropped the $1.69 for the 6 ounce cup. Ricera is enriched with vitamins A and D and has only 1 gram of fat in the 180 calorie serving. It also tastes like blueberry flavored Elmer’s glue. This stuff practically coated my tongue and is overly sweetened, probably to cover up the funky chemical taste. I couldn’t even finish the container, it was that nasty. No one should ever, ever eat this stuff, especially because it costs so much.

How cute is this? Xueexueg drew the asanas he can do!

Less than a year ago I started practicing Ashtanga Yoga, and I was hooked. I’m not being dramatic when I say that Ashtanga changed my life. My stress levels went way down, it gave me something to be totally intense about, and my body hadn’t looked that hot in years. I was happily practicing 3-4 times a week for several months when the pain started in my left elbow. I complained about it for a few weeks. It got to the point that it ached all day and was making it difficult to do simple things like type and steer my car.

At the prodding of my boyfriend, who is much health nuttier than me, I went to a physical therapist to get a diagnosis. After some X-rays and a few questions the doctor diagnosed me with epicondylitis, or tennis elbow. I said “Funny, ‘cuz I’ve never played tennis, wocka wocka wocka!” I wasn’t laughing, though, when he told me that I had to stay off the elbow for six weeks. I was crushed. I’d made some breakthroughs in my practice recently, I was on a roll. I knew that taking six weeks off would be like starting over. I went home and cried, out of frustration, anger and sadness.

I went about three weeks without going to class when I finally said to myself “This is bullshit”. So I went back. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Not only did my elbow get worse, but I injured my back and neck to the point that I couldn’t turn my head. I felt like a jackass, and I was totally defeated. I think I went back one more time before just giving up.

Over the next three months I ran through the range of emotions associated with loss: anger, sorrow, acceptance. I reached the point where I was telling myself that my body is just not meant for Ashtanga, that maybe I can do it sporadically but I’ll never go back to 3-4 days a week. Deep inside my head and heart, I could hear a voice saying “Quitter! Excuses are like farts, everyone makes them and they all stink!” Lately I’ve been trying to find a routine that could replace Ashtanga, but nothing has stuck. To boot, I’m getting fat. Boo-hoo, I’m riding this pity train to Fattyville and I’m taking you with me!

But wait! Last night I had the good fortune to meet a hilarious and genuine lady, Liz Bick. She’s visiting for a while from England and has been practicing Ashtanga for 3 years. I soon found out that when she used to live here she went to my old studio,  and has been going since she’s been back. It took some persuasion, but she talked me in to going to class this morning. I was excited about the idea and promised her she would see me in the morning.

Considering that I had about two drinks too many last night, I am amazed I made it to class. If I hadn’t promised to show up I probably would have stayed in bed another hour. Thanks, Liz, for motivating me! I got through about half my regular practice when I decided to stop in the interest of being able to walk out of the studio. Ashtanga is no punk, it WILL kick your ass. As I was lying in my final resting pose I felt a sense of accomplishment and contentment. I decided there that I would start going back to class, slowly at first and with my focus on protecting my elbow. You see, I think I have been hyper-extending in a few of my poses. If I really concentrate I can teach myself to break that bad habit. Instead of focusing on progressing in my practice I’ll have to pay attention to not hurting myself. It’s not as exciting, but I don’t care. I’m just so glad to be back that I’ll take it.

That three months of psychological yoga jail I put myself in has taught me a lot. I was being stubborn and impatient, trying to maintain my focus on pushing forward in my practice when I should have placed my intent on breaking the bad habits I’d fallen into. As our bodies change through exercise, I guess our intentions have to follow suit. And just like any other pursuit, I think it’s reasonable to step back and reassess our fitness goals from time to time. For me, that meant changing my way of thinking about yoga, at least for now.

This won't be my goal, not for a VERY long time

Photo Credits xueexueg, virginiazuluaga, and milopeng

Homemade tomato sauce is one of life’s simple pleasures. Unfortunately, most folks rarely get to indulge because tomato sauce has a reputation for being labor intensive. I have one thing to say about that: PSSSHHH! Summer is the best time of year to do anything with tomatoes, so why not go for it? Follow my boyfriend’s recipe for a plate-licking, going-back-for-thirds-and-fourths tomato sauce. He takes a bit longer to simmer his, but I bastardized his recipe and got it on my plate in under 30 minutes.

Yes, It IS That Easy Tomato Sauce

Look at the steam rising off of this!

4 ripe tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves (or more!) garlic
1 med. onion
2 cups whole wheat rotini or other chunky pasta

salad dressing of your choice
Bagged salad greens
hydroponic sprouts (my new favorite thing)
grape tomatoes

1. Set a pot of water deep enough to cover the tomatoes to boil. Score the bottom end (not the stem end) of the tomatoes with an ‘X’. You don’t have to cut deep, just enough to break the tomato skin. Once the water is boiling, put the tomatoes in for no longer than 60 seconds. Fish the tomatoes out with a spoon and let cool for a minute. Now this is important, turn off the burner but keep the water on the stove. You’ll use it in a sec for the pasta.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Peel and press (or chop) the garlic.
3. You should be able to slip the skins off now the tomatoes are cool. Toss the skins in the rubbish bin, unless you feel like snacking on them (which I totally did). Cut each tomato in half and dig out the seeds (with your fingers) into the sink. This part is fun ‘cuz you get to get messy.
4. Scoot the garlic into the heated oil, stir for a few seconds, then place the tomatoes cut side down into the pan. Bring the heat up a few notches and let simmer for a sec.
5. Now turn the heat back on the tomato water. Add more hot tap water if you need to so that you have enough to boil the pasta. Since it’s still pretty hot it should only take a second to boil.
6. Chop up half the onion in the mean time. My boyfriend likes HUGE chunks in his sauce, but you chop to the size you like. I suggest going no bigger than bite sized since we won’t be simmering as long as he does.
7. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook according to the package.
8. Smush the tomatoes with the back of spoon, hacking them up into large chunks. Let them simmer a bit longer. If the sauce is getting a little dry just add some of the boiling pasta water to it. About a 1/4 cup at at time should do ya.
9. Toss all the ingredients for the salad together. I just love those hydroponic sprouts they sell at whole foods. They are so peppery and pack a big nutrition wallop.
10. Check on the tomato sauce, which by now should look as saucy as Tara Thornton on True Blood. Smush up the tomatoes again and add the chopped onions. Let simmer for a few more minutes, until the onions look translucent. Again, if you need to add water just get some from the boiling pasta water.
11. Check the pasta for done-ness, and drain. Put into a bowl and scrape the tomato sauce on top, tossing to coat. It won’t look like there is a whole lot of sauce because it’s not all thick with preservatives and food additives like that jarred crap. Trust, it’s coating the pasta. Serve along side the salad.

If you are really pressed for time just skip the part where you boil and peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds. My boyfriend doesn’t do it because he’s not as fussy as me, and his sauce comes out fine. You can also add all kinds of crap to this sauce, like olives or chicken or even herbs if you want to get all fancy. I like it simple, but go nuts if that’s your thing.

I’ve been logging a lot of mileage lately, and you’re probably wondering how I keep up the exercise routine while I’m traveling. The simple answer is: I don’t. Until now.

I started jumping rope and using resistance bands the past two weeks in preparation for all the traveling I’m doing this summer. Check out my gear:

I know this will fit in your suitcase

That’s a light resistance band, a jump rope with a built-in counter, and medium resistance band. All three weigh less than a pound total and I can fit them easily into the front pocket of my carry-on roller bag. I’ve been working on a routine where I start off jumping rope for a minute, then I do three sets of resistance training, another round of jumping rope, another 3 sets of resistance exercises and so on. I repeat the intervals until I’ve gotten to each major muscle group (legs, biceps/triceps, back, chest, shoulders). I finish off with 150 crunches in five different flavors (30 reps of each). This routine takes me about 40 minutes to complete.

With so many distractions in Chicago, it will be difficult to stay on my routine. I’m gonna try my best and let you know how I fare. Wish me luck!

That title is for MagsMac, since she likes it when I get silly with the recipe names.

This is a weekend meal for me, mostly because it takes about 30 minutes to prepare. The salmon burgers a little on the expensive side, but they are one of my favorite convenience foods at Whole Foods. Plus, salmon is just so darn good for you. I realized when planning for this dinner that I was gonna dirty up quite a few pots, so I made one pot do double boil duty. Check out the deets below.

Double Boil Pasta Madness!!

Total time: 30 minutes
Cost per serving: about $8 (those salmon burgers aren’t cheap, but they are delicious!)

1/2 cup green lentils
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium sized white onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen spinach
2 cups whole wheat pasta (I like to mix shapes like shells and rotini, but if you want to be all boring then just go for one type)
cooking spray
4 salmon burgers from Whole Foods, any flavor
a few handfuls of fresh spinach
a few spoonfuls of pico de gallo
salad dressing of choice

Fill a large pot with waaaaaay more water than you think you need to boil the lentils. Put the lentils in the pot and bring to a righteous boil. Low the heat and let the pot simmer. Now pay attention here, we’re gonna do some math, HOORAY! Lentils need about 25 minutes to get cooked through. Some people like ‘em way mushier, but I prefer then to hold their shape so 25 minutes is max for me. Look at the pasta package and see how long it will take to cook it al dente. Subtract that from 25 and that is how long you will let the lentils boil before you add the pasta. Por ejemplo:

25 minutes for lentils – 13 minutes for pasta = 12 minutes the lentils boil before you add the pasta to the water

Make sense? This way you only use one pot for both.

While the lentils are boil pre-pasta, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized SAUCE PAN. Not a skillet or a fry pan, but a sauce pan that can hold a few cups of liquid. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add it to the oil. Stir for a few minutes until the onion gets a little translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Dump the entire contents of the canned tomatoes into the pot. Don’t drain them, you want the juice. Let that heat to a simmer, then add the frozen spinach and stir until the spinach is, uh, not frozen. Set the sauce on low heat on the back burner and cover.

By now you can probably dump the pasta into the simmering lentils and crank up the heat again just until it boils, then lower back to a simmer. Keep an eye on the time, because there is no sin less forgivable than overcooked pasta.

While the pasta cooks, heat a pan over medium heat and spray the pan with cooking spray. Add the salmon burgers to the skillet and cook about 6-7 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, make the spinach salad by tossing the spinach, pico de gallo and dressing in a bowl. This is DOUBLE SPINACH MADNESS, too!

When the pasta is done cooking drain the entire pot in a strainer and return the pasta/lentils to the big pot. Add the sauce to the pasta/lentils and stir to combine. Serve along side the salmon burgers and the salad.

When I make something a little more complicated like this, I try to think ahead to how I can reuse pots and pans, like for the pasta and lentils and then again for the sauce. I don’t have a dishwasher so this saves me time when I clean up, too.

If I were ever gonna preach to you about anything, it’s that you need to eat something in the morning within an hour of waking. Read this article for ten reasons why, but I can summarize: how you start your day will affect the decisions you make all day, at least when it comes to food. I’m not talking a big hearty sit down meal. A little breakfast snack is all you need to get the metabolism revving and the neurons firing.

While most nutritionists say whole grains are best, it’s just not practical for us busybodies to sit down with a bowl of cereal before we race out the door. My favorite get-in-my-belly-quick breakfast snack is yogurt, which I’m sure comes as a huge shock to you. I can slurp it down in a minute or eat spoonfuls while I’m doing some other task (usually my makeup). I have a pretty gnarly commute, so if I don’t eat my yogurt by the time I get to my desk I’m ready to bite into my own hand. If you don’t like yogurt, no problem. A hard boiled egg, whole grain toast, even one of those cereal bars is better than nothing. Just go easy on the pastries and donuts.

I want to be clear, I’m not advocating that you ONLY eat a container of yogurt for breakfast. Once you get settled into work you should try to eat another small meal, or “second breakfast” as the Hobbits like to call it. After about an hour of email and the usual morning catch up, I heat up some oatmeal or some other more substantial breakfast treat. This is the part of the day that I shoot for a FIBER BLAST. Oatmeal, flax seeds and prunes are a favorite combo of mine. Let’s just say it keeps things moving.

TMI?

Just to prove to you that you can start eating breakfast, even if you ONLY eat a container of yogurt, I do something kind of gross in the video below. I’m no video expert, so I apologize for the half-assed, half-headed offering. In the interest of not making myself puke, I only had one shot at this today.

My challenge to you is this: if your habit is skipping breakfast, start with a small snack every morning for a week. See how it affects your routine, and better yet, how it makes you feel.

I’ve been buried at work since I got back from ASCO, but I knew this was going to happen so I prepared, yay for me. This week instead of cooking I focused on some healthy convenience foods to get me through meal times without resorting to eating out. By the time I get home I feel pretty flattened and have no brain power to cook, which is why this meal requires little mental circuitry to prepare.

My camera is on the fritz, so I had to use the BlackBerry to take this

Hummus Sandwich and Non-Authentic-But-Still-Delicious Tzatziki

Total time: 10 minutes tops
Total cost per serving: a couple of bucks?

2 cups plain non-fat yogurt
1 small cucumber
1 large tomato
1 small garlic clove
a handful of pita chips
1 piece of whole grain bread (I use Whole Foods Seeduction Loaf here)
about 2 tablespoons of prepared hummus
1-2 tablespoons prepared pico de gallo
a handful of spinach leaves
1-2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
a handful of cherries
1 kiwi fruit

Grate the cucumber on the small holes of a box grater, or if you don’t have a grater then chop the buh-jesus out of it. You want small pieces. Chop the tomato and mince the garlic fine. Mix all of that in a bowl with the yogurt. This is the tzatziki, or at least my version. You can sprinkle a little salt in there if you want, but I don’t think it needs that. Cut the piece of bread in half. I am only making a halvsies sandwich here, you could go for a whole one. I just know that with the tzatziki and the fruit I won’t need a whole sandwich for dinner. Spread the hummus on one piece, then spread the pico de gallo and feta on top. Is it weird to put pico on a sandwich? I think it tastes delicious, and it’s so easy. Top with the spinach and the other piece of bread. Serve the tzatziki with some pita chips, with the cherries and kiwi for dessert. I leave the peel on kiwi fruit and just eat it for the extra vitamins and fiber. Also possibly weird, but that’s how people from New Zealand eat it…or so I heard.

This past week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, I learned a lot about how drug companies are developing cancer therapies aimed at tumor-specific targets. It was fascinating, exciting and a bit sobering. It seems like with every advance made on the disease, cancer finds a way to outsmart us. To be fair, some breakthroughs have been made. I just don’t think there is a simple cure waiting around the corner.

Invest your bling in your health savings

I don’t mean to be all Debbie Downer. What I want to say in this post is that, given the odds of finding a cure, to me it makes a lot of sense to try my best to avoid cancer altogether. I know it’s not a sure bet, but living a healthy lifestyle is the best way to do it. I got to thinking: Why don’t I approach my health like I do my retirement fund? I sock away a portion of my paycheck every month in the hopes that there will be enough to support me when I decide to quit working for good. What if for every vegetable I eat, for every glass of water I drink instead of a soda, for every minute of exercise I endure, I think of it as dropping a few bucks into a health fund? It’s the same principle: take an action today that is intended to pay off in the future. With a health fund, I am “investing” in my golden years, in the quality of life I want to have. When I retire, I want to travel the world and volunteer and garden and write a novel…I better start aggressively investing in MY health fund if I’m going to do all of that.

Photo credit Brooks Elliott

Tomorrow morning I head out to the biggest cancer conference of the year, well at least for me it is. ASCO is in Orlando this year, and starting Saturday morning at 7 AM I will be in back-to-back meetings with pretty much every pharma company under the sun for three straight days. Even under normal health conditions this is a daunting schedule. But Mother Nature, that heartless bitch, thrust upon me a virus that I’ve been fighting an all out war with over the past 48 hours. I’m through the worst of it, though. I saw the doctor today and he said it’s not the flu and that I’m probably no longer contagious. I just feel like I’ve been beat up, that’s all.

How stupid is it that I’m actually taking this trip? Very. This is my point, I guess. As much as I try to live a healthy lifestyle sometimes I’m forced to make decisions that aren’t exactly “healthy”. ASCO is the biggest event of the year for my company, and my counterpart at work has just welcomed a newborn baby boy into his household. Budget cutbacks have limited the participation from the rest of our team. My boss and I are IT this year, plus one of my team mates who graciously offered to pay his own way to attend. My boss told me I could skip it, but I know I’m really needed so I’m just gonna grit my teeth and power through.

Say a little prayer for me that I am 100% better tomorrow. I get the feeling I’m in for a bumpy ride.