Almond Flour Pancakes – No Syrup Required

I’ve been on an almond flour kick lately.

These “kicks” are a good thing in the fact that I learn a lot about one ingredient in a very short amount of time. I have a lot of failures and retrials. Let’s face it, if you’ve never used almond flour before… it doesn’t exactly work the same as your standard wheat flour. You have to get to know it. It’s like being in a new relationship. You like it… but you’re not always putting them in the best light because there’s stuff you have to find out about each other.

Almond flour and I are like that. Basically dating each other for the last month or so.

“Kristin, you up? I have pancakes. You interested?”

One benefit of being friends with a person in a new “food relationship” is that someone has got to help me eat the botched trials. In this case it would be my friends, Kristin and Tommy.

Kristin recently just had a baby and I know her life is busy being a new mom. I also know she’s probably hungry most of the time with all that breastfeeding she’s been doing. So, anytime I make a new recipe, I usually walk three blocks over to their house and leave treats for them to find when she gets home. Normally, I would include Tommy in this… but UNFORTUNATELY for him, he’s allergic to almonds. He’s really gotten the short end of the stick on this one.

That being said, sometimes Tommy eats what I leave for Kristen anyways. HE KNOWS it has almond flour but he wants to try it just to see if he would be able to tolerate it.

This was our most recent exchange when I left these pancakes for them to try.

• Sarah leaves pancakes with Kristin 9am Saturday morning with instructions to make sure Tommy knows they have almond flour. He should not be eating them.
• Saturday 1:53pm – Tommy: Those pancakes are freak ‘n amazing. Slightly slightly raw on the inside. Melted in my mouth. Can I pay you for more?
• 1:54 pm – Tommy: Seriously, like a bunch more. Regularly. I’ll give you cash. In an envelope. In the mailbox. Every weekend. For. The. Rest. Of. My. Life.
• 1:56pm – Tommy: Damn. My throat is actually slight itchy. Damn. Disregard everything I just said. Dammit.
• 2:45pm – Sarah: Loooool.

I know we all care about slightly slightly raw pancakes that just melt in your mouth, so here’s the recipe!

Almond Flour Pancakes – Adapted from King Arthur Flour Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 C Coarse Almond Meal
• 1 C Almond Flour
• 1 C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 2 Large Eggs
• 2 Tbsp Butter, melted
• 1 C Low Fat Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Combine flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine eggs, butter, milk, and vanilla in a smaller mixing bowl. Mix well.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients – stirring until just mixed. (Do not overstir pancakes)
4. Let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Preheat griddle over medium high heat. 1/3 C Batter per pancake makes about 12 pancakes.

Nutrition Information – Recipe makes 12 pancakes. 172 calories per pancake, 11g fat, 6g protein, 11g net carbohydrate, 3g fiber.

Note to Everyone: Almond flour is not necessarily “healthier” than other flours, it’s just an alternative. You’ll find recipes with almond flour to be higher in fat and calories than recipes made with wheat flour that are lower in calories, but higher in carbohydrate.

Note to the Diabetics: When I ate this, I made it with 3 scrambled eggs, 1/2 avocado and 1 C cherry tomatoes (non-carbs) + 2 pancakes (22g carb) and 1/2 banana or 1/2 pear (15g carb) + 1 C milk to drink (12g carb). I prefer to cook the fruit because it makes it more exciting. Honestly though, the pancakes are good with nothing on them just eaten by themselves. If you’re not ready to trust me that these pancakes require no toppings, then keep in mind that 1 Tbsp Syrup is 15g carb. That adds up quick.

 

Paleo Recipe: Spiced Acorn Squash with Bacon

I don’t advertise it… but I am a Crossfit lover.

• I love doing those WODs. (WOD = workout of the day)
• I love having a coach.
• I love not having to decide what my workout will be that day.
• I love lifting and working out beside my friends.
• I love kipping pull ups (although, I still believe in strict pull ups as well…), handstands, and wall balls.
• I love my muscles.

So, why don’t I talk about it more?

1) Mostly, I don’t want to hear people warning me that it’s dangerous.

Crossfit, like any other serious physical pursuit, can be dangerous. But, it’s less dangerous when you’re being smart about it and making safety a number one concern.

What usually gets in the way of safety is the ego/pride. A person thinks – “If they’re doing it, I can do it.” Well… maybe you can’t. There are people at the gym that can do much more than I can because they’ve been doing it longer than I have. If I thought I could do anything they could do… then that would be like me saying that all the hard work they did to get there was unnecessary.

I’m a person at the gym that would be happy to tell you, “This workout is not worth you getting hurt. You’re doing it wrong. Scale down. Stop if you need to.” I’m lucky that I workout at a Crossfit gym where the coaches are willing to say the same thing.

2) There aren’t many pictures of me lifting… because I don’t want to scare/intimidate you.

I’m not one of those girls that can post pretty pictures of me lifting weights and feel normal about it – mostly because I am past the point of my weight being “cute” and more to the point of my weight being scary. I’ve been muscular my entire life. I don’t like to be noticed for my strength/muscles most of the time. I just like to use them. This is probably just my self-esteem and desire to not be constantly on display to be judged publicly.

I also don’t care to post my weights or times on Facebook because the majority of my non-athlete friends probably have no idea what is good or average weight to be lifting anyways and my athletic friends (especially the former throwers) expect me to be strong and are probably crushing my weights in the gym everyday on their own.

3) Crossfitters are known for going Paleo; and people automatically assume I’m “drinking the Kool-Aid.”

As a dietitian, you have to watch what you say and support in the realm of food. I post one thing about paleo acorn squash and I can get a million (<

There’s nothing wrong with being paleo – I just find it more restrictive than necessary. Crossfitters do what they want. By mere association, I have started cooking more paleo recipes so that my favorite cavemen/women would be able to eat with me.

Many of them are eating FAR healthier as a “paleo person” than beforehand (mainly because the diet stresses meat/protein and vegetables with a little fruit/nuts and a lot of fat). So, I guess I am pro-paleo if that’s what it takes for you to get on track.

So, to reiterate – just because I post paleo recipes does not mean I’m telling everyone and their mother to avoid grain, dairy, and legumes.

Sidenote: Since I started eating less dairy with my paleo friends, I do notice I have a lot less acne. It’s a miracle. I am now considering cutting dairy out of my diet or at least severely limiting it.

Recipe: Paleo Spiced Acorn Squash with Bacon

healthy vegetable ideas

This recipe was so good – I decided to post it. It’s almost the shape of a heart… so maybe it’s perfect for your Valentine’s Day dinner???

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 Small/Medium Acorn Squash, cut in half and scooped out seeds
• 1/2 lb of bacon
• 1 C Pecan Halves, raw
• 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/4 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
• 1 tsp olive oil (or bacon fat)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Get the Acorn Squash ready (cut in half and scoop out seeds).
2. In a glass Pyrex dish, place Acorn Squash halves, face down, in 1 inch of water.
3. Bake for 40 minutes or until soft to touch. Remove from oven, drain water from pan, flip acorn squash halves over (face up) and rub with olive oil. Drizzle Maple Syrup (1/2 tsp each) and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice. Place back into oven for an additional 10 minutes.
4. In the meantime, cook bacon and remove from heat. When bacon has cooled, chop into smaller pieces and set aside.
5. In a dry skillet, heat pecans until toasted.
6. Once toasted, add all spices to hot pan with nuts. Then add the maple syrup. Continue cooking in hot pan until nuts are dry again.
7. Once dry, place nuts on cool plate and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.
8.  When acorn squash is finished in oven, fill with cooled pecans and top with bacon. Serve and enjoy!

A Note to the Diabetics: Half of a medium acorn squash is 22g of carbohydrate. With the maple syrup drizzle and pecans – I would estimate this to be around 30g prepared. Plenty of carbohydrates left for adding something else to your meal. This side would count as the majority of your fat for the meal – so I would recommend adding a lean protein, non-starchy vegetable, and 1/2 piece of fruit.

Drugs, Knives, Love and Yoga

A Story: The Yogi Master who did drugs.

I was listening to a health conference on the internet over a year ago when I learned an important lesson as a dietitian/human.

The presenters in the conference had been invited to speak because they accomplished some huge feat in supporting wellness in the world with their profession.

This particular speaker was a sought after yogi master. I was surprised by what she had to say…

“I was into drugs for a lot of my life as a young adult. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t stop using. I did all these things to try to quit – like going to drug rehab, hiring professional hypnotherapists, and getting accountability partners. But it didn’t really help. Because at the end of the day, I was trying so hard to CUT this part of myself away. I wanted to deny myself and be someone different. I wanted to love 70% of myself and hate the other 30%.

The more I tried to hate that part of myself, the less I succeeded.

At my turning point, I realized I am a whole person. Trying to CUT parts of myself away hurts and I can’t do it. I stopped trying to CUT and decided to LOVE that particular part of me. Once I achieved this, I realized I could start to allow it to be EXPRESSED differently.

I’ll explain. The part of me that liked doing drugs was an extremist. I am very passionate; and when I do something, I go all the way. Once I recognized this, I was able to find a new outlet for that part of myself and started nurturing it instead of trying to deny it. I went from being an extreme drug user to an extreme yogi, and I love that part of myself now because it’s presenting in a way that’s healthier for me.

It’s still there. I haven’t changed. I’m all in or nothing – but I can appreciate that part of me now.

Try as hard as you can, you can’t cut out core aspects of your personality. You can’t stop being you. People who think they can be someone else are lying to themselves. They’re hiding or ignoring parts of themselves that they think are unlovable. But, you shouldn’t feel like that.

You can love yourself despite your difficult traits. You can love other people despite their difficulties and weaknesses.

Don’t cut.

Flip it and learn to use those traits in different ways. That’s what I hope to teach the world.”

This is something I see over and over again in our culture.

• This part of you is acceptable. This part of you is not.
• This part of you is good. Talk about it.
• This part of you is bad. Hide it.
• I would love him/her if he/she didn’t…
• You really need to stop being this way…
• Stop overreacting.
• Why don’t you care more?

We’re different. We all cope differently and experience life in different ways.

Yesterday, I made a cheeky comment about people who are grumpy in the morning, but it wasn’t right. The fact that I am a morning person and some people are not does not make it okay for me to shame them or make them feel bad about it. (I do still think you should be eating breakfast… and I think it warrants some introspective thought as to the reason you’re not a morning person. But a non-morning person is not a bad thing).

My patients really struggle with loving their body because it’s not the way they want it to look. But I tell you, it does not work to hate your body. You have to stop punishing yourself and start appreciating yourself – flaws and all. Start trying to understand WHY your personality is presenting in this way and see if you can find another way.

It’s hard to do, but it’s the hard that makes it great.

I’m not a bundle of joy to be around all the time. I try hard to work on my attitude and my coping mechanisms so that I am joyful more often than not. But I fail. And if someone could love me (or if I could love myself) – despite my weaknesses, despite my flaws, despite my differences – then I would be one lucky girl.

My suggestion is to work on accepting yourself as you are RIGHT NOW. If you’re not where you want to be, then work on the presentation of these difficult traits rather than trying to cut yourself in order to fit in or be feel completely loved/accepted.

Who could you be helping to love themselves today?

Breakfast Frittata and Grumpy Morning People

Some of us are morning people.

And some of us wake up ready to crush the happy morning people.

I’m lucky to be in the first category.

It really is a hard thing for a morning person to understand why everyone else would not want to be awake at the best hours of the day. It’s simple. I sleep for 7-9 hours and I wake up feeling re-energized and ready to get moving.

One of the first things I feel like to do in the morning is to eat a yummy breakfast. Some of you think that cereal and milk does the job. I say you can do better.

Unfortunate People with Unfortunate Lives. The non-morning people…

I have some patients that say they “just aren’t hungry in the morning,” and that’s why they “can’t eat breakfast.” I have a very simple solution for that problem. If you aren’t hungry for breakfast – try eating every other day. I guarantee after 24 hours of fasting, you’ll be feeling pretty excited for that breakfast coming your way at 5am. The problem is… they always think I’m joking when I say this.

Not joking.

Some people cannot fathom going to bed hungry though. They say something like, “If I’m hungry, then I can’t sleep. I’ll go get something to eat or a warm glass of milk to drink to help.”

This comes from being an infant and needing comfort in order to sleep. You want to be breastfed by your mother, I get it. But you’re not a baby anymore.

Maybe we can learn self soothing.

Today I had a patient tell me that he’s recently hired a sleep specialist to help him put his 11month old baby on a regular sleeping pattern. People actually get paid for this…

You know what this sleep consultant does? They tell the parents to leave the baby for different intervals when the baby is crying at night. The baby wants to be held, but they’re trying to un-train this. So the baby cries… and cries… and cries.

The parents are told to go in at intervals. The first time the baby cries – they wait 5 minutes before going in. The second time 15 minutes. Each time it gets longer and longer. The idea is that the baby should find ANOTHER WAY TO BE COMFORTED.

After listening to him describe the process, I decided I want to be a sleep consultant for adults who think they should eat all kinds of crap before they go to bed and nothing when they wake up. Maybe they’ll pay me the big bucks for this kind of thing.

200 dollar advice: If you’re using food to help you sleep at night then maybe you should stop using it, cry about it, and figure out a different solution.

Could life be this simple?

^^Things to consider.

For all of you that successfully navigate this problem in life and feel ready to wake up smiling and eager to have breakfast… try this recipe out. It’s a winner.

Recipe: Spinach Tomato Breakfast Frittata

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 8 Cups raw spinach
• 1Tbsp Olive Oil
• 5-6 eggs
• 1/2 C Milk
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 C parmigiano reggiano
• 1 C chopped cherry tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil chopped

Directions:

1. Saute spinach and olive oil in a large skillet until just wilted.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and salt.
3. Add the egg mixture to the skillet. Top with cheese and tomatoes and let cook until bottom is cooked and top is slightly runny (see picture below)
4. Turn on broiling element for oven and place under broiler for 5-7 minutes or until top of frittata is set and cheese is starting to brown.
5. Serve with some type of carbohydrate side and enjoy!

A Note to the Diabetics: This is a non-carbohydrate, high protein entree for breakfast. You can make this ahead and reheat it for the mornings when you wake up grumpy and tired. The nice thing about a frittata is that it only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. That’s about half as much time as a quiche would take. I served this with a couple of small oranges (15g carbohydrate each) and 1/2 glass of milk (12g carbohydrate per 8 ounces).

A Healthy Snack: Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

“Everyone should eat 6 small meals per day…” NOT!

Typically, I urge my patients to eliminate snacks from their day and stick to the three meal structure. Here are my reasons:

1. Unconscious Eating. Snackers almost ALWAYS eat more for their snacks than they realize.
2. Unable to Achieve “Small Meals.” Snackers have a hard time scaling back meals to accommodate the large amount of snacking they did earlier.
3. Junk Food Central. Snacks are low in nutrient density. (In shorter words, typical snacks are usually junk.)
4. Hard to Stop Eating. Snack companies can only make more money if they convince you to eat more snacks. Therefore, they work very hard to create an addict/junkie relationship. Snack food is MEANT to keep you coming back for more.
5. Encouraging Hunger. Snacks made of mostly carbohydrates can actually cause you to be hungrier and overeat later in the day.
6. Never Fasting. Just like it’s important to have time WITH your food. It’s also important to have time AWAY from your food.

But, trust me. I get it. Sometimes you’re hungry and you just need something to eat to “take the edge off” until your next mealtime. Or maybe you’re not a person that needs to worry about losing weight. Maybe you have snacks in case you get stuck in a place where there is no “acceptable food” to eat.

For these situations, let me recommend the following strategies:

1. Remove a Portion. When trying to snack responsibly, it’s important to separate your portion from the box/container straight away. No one does well monitoring intake from an endless bowl of cheese crisps.
2. Daily Limits Help. If you like to snack often, try to limit yourself to a daily limit. This way you can eat as often as you like. But, when your snack is gone… it’s gone. Rationing is key.
3. Keep Your Snacks Simple. The less processing the less likely you are to become addicted. Snack on foods that were available 100 years ago.
4. 200 Calories or Less. Unless you’re a person that works out on a regular basis, you probably should try to keep your snacking to a reasonable calories amount. One bag of popcorn for 500 calories does NOT qualify as a “snack.”

So, with those rules in mind… here is your new amazing snack.

Recipe: Flourless “Oatmeal” Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/4 C Walnut Halves, Roasted or Raw
• 2 Tbsp Raisin (mixed variety for color)
• 1/8 tsp Kosher Salt

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in paper bag for daytime snack.
2. Leave the house.
3. Ration accordingly throughout the day. I recommend a ratio of 1 walnut to 3 raisins. Salt will stick to raisins to make it taste like a cookie.

A Note to the Diabetics: This snack would be considered 15g of carbohydrates because of the raisins. However, I usually only eat 3 raisins at a time – spacing it out over several hours of the day. This ends up being pennies over the span of the day. No big impact to your blood sugar and much better for you than reaching for a real cookie.

Roasted Mediterranean Eggplant

I did not think I loved eggplant until a few days ago. Now, I am sure of it.

One of the perks with moving from one part of the country to an entirely different part is getting to talk to people about their food. It can be sooooo different from the food I became accustomed to in Missouri.

People in Philly are very attached to their food.

Sometimes they swear it’s going to be “a life changing experience,” but it’s just like every other soft pretzel or fruit flavored shaved ice you’ve had before.

A few days ago, a patient was in my office telling me about this eggplant dish she makes for her family. The way she spoke about it made me want to love it – but I was wary that it might be a little underwhelming like all the other times I’ve eaten eggplant before.

It was not underwhelming. It was great – and I’m not the only one that thinks so. As I was taking the eggplant out of the oven to fix, two of my friend from Crossfit were sitting across from me. We had our doubts, but after we all tried it… it was three sets of two thumbs up.

This is one of those really great discoveries.

Thank you to the woman who was so “patient” while she described this recipe to me. Hopefully, this is close to what you were explaining. Either way, it’s delicious.

Recipe: Roasted Mediterranean Eggplant

Ingredients:

• Eggplant, large whole
• 3 T Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 C chopped fresh Parsley
• 1/4 C chopped fresh Mint
• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, roasted
• 3 T Red Wine Vinegar

Directions:

1. Remove the top/stem from eggplant with a paring knife. Place eggplant on a baking sheet and dry roast for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees F. Eggplant should be squishy, but not wrinkled.
2. While eggplant is roasting, cut red bell pepper into big piece and roast over fire from gas oven burner until outside skin is blackened slightly. Chop small and set aside.
3. Chop all other ingredients. Chop Eggplant into bite size pieces while still warm and add other ingredients. Mix well.
4. Eggplant Salad can be served immediately as a warm side, or can be served later as a cold topping for bread or sandwiches.

A Note to the Diabetics: Eggplant is considered a non carbohydrate vegetable. I paired this eggplant salad with Mediterranean Turkey Burgers (non carb), 1 small apple (15g carb), and 1 C succotash (30g carb).

Back to School: How to Eat Vegan with Julie

This past weekend, I was SO LUCKY to have my friend, Julie, visit from Chicago.

I think the most exciting part about hosting is cooking meals for my visitors. However, this time my visitor, Julie, was vegan and I found myself in uncharted waters.

I looked to my fridge in preparation for her arrival. I realized rather quickly that I would need to do a little shopping; and perhaps I would need to defer to her expertise on cooking meals.

Luckily, she was happy to teach.

Presenting… Vegan Cooking with Julie

Here’s a few staples you’ll want to have on hand if you ever have a vegan visitor: Veganaise, Earth Balance (vegan butter), firm tofu, nutritional yeast, vegan cheese, soy or almond milk, vegan sausages, sweet potatoes, granola, and plenty of vegetables/fruit.

There are so many people that consider “vegan diets” to be healthier. I haven’t experienced this to be true. I think there are a lot of different diets that lead to health and this is one possible option. It is definitely not the easiest option as the window of opportunity for eating food away from home gets much narrower- especially if you’re not living in a major US city. No one wants to be stuck eating French fries because there is nothing else “vegan” on the menu.

Also to note… It would be very difficult to follow a diabetic diet while vegan. CARBS are EVERYWHERE! Please check and double check your labels if you are a person with diabetes wanting to follow a vegan lifestyle.

For instance, check out this “cheese”

You see what happens up there? We went from a food that was no carb, half protein and half fat – to a food with no protein, half carbohydrate and half fat.

Am I the only one that finds this interesting? Yes. Okay. Moving on..

Julie and I made dinner on Friday night and it was excellent. Julie’s contribution to the menu was a Sweet Potato and Bean Burrito. I made a Strawberry and Kale Salad.

Our carbohydrate consumption was saved by the fact that we found some really high fiber tortillas (Mission Carb Balance – try them!). Still… our meal was probably 60grams of carbohydrate after subtracting fiber (34g fiber for one burrito).

Recipe: Vegan Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos

Ingredients:

• 6 Carb Balance Wheat Tortillas – 10 inches
• 1 Onion, Chopped
• 1 Zucchini, small dice
• 1 1/2 C Mushrooms, diced
• 1 Can Black Beans, half drained
• 1 1/2 Large Sweet Potatoes, cubed, boiled, and mashed
• 2 Tbsp Cumin
• 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper (or a very light dusting if preferring more mild burrito contents)
• Olive Oil, as needed
• 1 C Cherry Tomatoes, chopped
• Vegan Cheese, as desired

Directions:

1. In a large skillet – combine onion with 1 Tbsp Oil and sauté. Add black beans and seasoning (cumin and cayenne) and let simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
2. In a separate smaller skillet – combine zucchini and mushrooms with 1 tsp olive oil. Sauté over very low heat. Remove when cooked, but still al dente.
3. In a sauce pan, boil water and add chopped sweet potatoes. Boil until soft and then drain water. Mash with electric mixer or masher.
4. Prepare burritos – approximately 1/2-1 C Sweet Potato, 1/2 C Black Bean Mixture, 1/4 C Vegetables, sprinkle of tomatoes and cheese. Wrap tightly and fit into a Pyrex or metal dish.
5. Bake burritos in oven (400 degrees F) for 10 minutes to “set the burrito.”

Enjoy!

A Note to the Diabetics: This is a meal with several high fiber ingredients. You may want to subtract the fiber and count it as ~52g instead of 86g. It would probably be a good idea to test before and 2 hours after a meal like this. If your blood glucose doesn’t jump more than 40 points, then you’re probably good to go. If not, try to scale down your portion for the next time.

Breakfast: Fresh Guacamole with Toasted Cumin

Your Introduction to the Ancient Spice, Cumin.

• What is Cumin? It’s possible some of you are unfamiliar with “cumin” as a spice; but you’d probably recognize it. Cumin is the major seasoning in taco spice!
• What is an Ancient Spice? I call cumin an ancient spice because it’s been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. Several ancient spices like cumin, turmeric, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, garlic, and cayenne have medicinal and health benefits – some known, and some undiscovered. This is part of the reason they were passed down.

Cumin is generally sold as “cumin seed” or as “ground cumin.” I would recommend you try buying the seed. Don’t make the mistake I did and think you should put it in whole. Cumin seed is meant to be toasted and then it’s meant to be ground.

I remember the first time I learned seeds could and should be toasted for the full flavor. I was at a conference in Napa Valley put on by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Culinary Institute of America. A chef at the front of the room was toasting cumin and I could smell it from my seat 100 feet away. It was memorable. I went home and looked at the cumin seed in my spice cabinet with a new interest.

How to Toast Cumin…

These seeds are great. Buy them whole, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat. When they start to put off a really wonderful cumin smell, take them off the heat and grind them up in a spice grinder. Tada! Fresh Toasted Cumin – soooo much more flavorful than buying the cumin the jar that’s already been ground.

The cumin will be great for the guacamole breakfast you’ll be eating in few seconds/hours/days/months. (Come on! You gotta’ try it!)

Here’s the delicious breakfast I sat down to eat this morning:

Pictured Above: Baby Swiss Chard and Spinach with sliced Strawberries, Green Onions, Drizzled Olive Oil and Raspberry Blush Vinegar. 2 Scrambled Eggs with 1 Tbsp Mexican Cheese Blend, 1/4 C Fresh Guacamole, 1 Large Apple (30g carb), 1 C 1% Milk (12g carb). Nutrition Information: 46g carbohydrate, 578 calories.

The first time I made guacamole for Peter (my roommate), he refused to call it guacamole. He called it “avocado salad” because he claims it has too many tomatoes and other things to be “real guacamole.”

However, this morning he walks into the kitchen and asks, “What are you making? Guacamole?”

And I said, “Ah HA! You DO acknowledge this is guacamole!”

He just shook his head, smiled at me, and left for work.

Recipe: Fresh Guacamole with Toasted Cumin

Ingredients:

• 1 soft avocado, cubed
• 1/2 C cherry tomatoes, cut
• 1/4 C chopped red onion
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp fresh ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Juice of 1 Lime (~2 Tbsp)

Directions:

1. Cut Avocado in half and twist it apart. Lodge knife into the pit and remove. Score (crosswise cutting) the avocado in the skin and scoop into a bowl with a spoon.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, cilantro, cumin, red onion, lime juice, and salt.
3. Mix with spoon until ingredients well integrated.
4. Serve immediately. If wanting to save guacamole leftovers for later, place into a zip lock bag with zero air and seal. This will keep it from going brown.

A Note to the Diabetics: Guacamole is considered a vegetable and a healthy fat. This is not a food that will impact your blood glucose. Chips (8-10 tortilla chips = 15g carb) are commonly served with traditional guacamole. I would argue that guacamole is not dependent on a chip to get from the bowl to your mouth successfully. Try them with scrambled eggs. You might like it. :)

Green Bean and Heirloom Tomato Salad

It appears as though it’s that time of year… GREEN BEAN SEASON!

Unfortunately, most people only know how to make green beans one way. But, you won’t be “most people” after this post. You’ll be the “other people.” The other people who look at a green bean and see multiple opportunities for enjoyment. I’m sure that excites you as much as it does me.

Even if you’re not excited. You should pretend. I think the more hyped we get about green beans the better this dish will taste. Not that it needs any help…

I LOVE IT.

Recipe: Green Bean and Heirloom Tomato Salad

 Ingredients:

• 1-2 C Fresh Green Beans, snapped
• 1-2 medium Heirloom Tomatoes, large chop
• 4-5 pieces of Shaved Parmesan
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Recommended Dressing: Toss with 1 tsp Olive Oil  + then add 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

1. Snap stems off of green beans and wash.
2. Cut into 1cm pieces on an angle.
3. Place green bean pieces in microwavable bowl.
4. Add 1 Tbsp Water and microwave on high for 1 minute.
5. Remove from microwave and drain excess water.
6. Add sliced heirloom tomato and toss with dressing.
7. Sprinkle with shaved parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

A Note to the Diabetics: This is a non-carb side. Several times, I get complaints that people don’t have time to cook anything for dinner. This side dish takes only 4-5 minutes to complete from start to finish. I ate this as a side dish with baked herb chicken, 1 C watermelon (15g carb) and a slice of banana bread (30g carb).

Life Isn’t Fair. Get Over It.

If everyone else is breaking rules, why can’t I break the rules?

10pm on a Saturday night, I was walking home from the train station by myself.

My mom and brother told me the week they moved me into my apartment, “I don’t think this would be a good way to walk home at night.” But, I ignored them.

They told me I should wear a shroud, walk with a limp, trail drops of blood, and drag a dollar on a string behind me. I really should have gone with that plan…

“It’s ten PM,” I thought. “What could possibly happen at such an early hour?”

I was about halfway down the walking path (seen above) when a man passed me on a bike wearing dark clothing. I panicked a little, but he passed me and continued on down the trail. I put my head down and told myself, “Seriously, Sarah. Not EVERYONE in dark clothing is trying to rob you. He’s probably just trying to get home – like you.” I kept walking down the trail – getting closer and closer to the locked gate that attaches to my apartment complex.

I was just about 50 feet away from the safety of my gated neighborhood when he rode back towards me from the darkness. This time he was headed straight for me – not choosing to take the opposite side of the walkway. I knew something was wrong before he reached in his jacket to pull out a gun.

You have no idea how you’re going to react to something like that until it actually happens to you. My reaction was a surprise to me. I wasn’t mad. I didn’t cry. I didn’t panic.

I LITERALLY started to mother him with a look of disapproval.

I tilted my head to one side “Are you serious?” I asked with a tired look on my face.

He was serious. “Come on, man. Look at you. You’re young. You’re healthy. You’re good looking. Why do you have to do stuff like this to get by?”

He refused to answer me, but looked surprised. “Just give me your money!”

“Look, I don’t even have much with me. You really could have picked someone better to rob…” He rolled his eyes, growing visibly impatient, “What’s in your purse?!”

We briefly discussed the contents of my purse (that I had pared down to the very minimum earlier that night). He decided he still wanted to rob me, so I handed him my purse. He gestured to my phone.

“Aw! My phone? Let me keep this. You don’t need it.” He must have felt like I wasn’t taking him seriously enough because he spun the revolver and moved closer to my abdomen.

SIDENOTE: He must have known I was a dietitian. I knew exactly where the gun was pointed (my large and small intestine) and considered whether I would want to kill my love of food/eating meals that quickly. Visions of a ruptured bowel from a gun shot wound flashed through my head and my decision was made.

I gave him my phone. He quickly checked my pockets, and then he was off. He was caught, but then escaped after pursuit onto the train tracks of Philadelphia.

I didn’t cry (until three days later when I realized how scary it was). I didn’t get angry. I didn’t blame him. I would say I handled the whole experience… okay. I even attempted to forgive him so that I wouldn’t have to carry the burden of being held at gunpoint for the rest of my life.

But it was hard.

Fast Forward 2 Months…

My friend Sarah and I were driving in a district called Manayunk – a place renowned for the difficulty of finding a parking spot. We’re not having much luck…when suddenly, I see a spot on the opposite side of the street.

I consider my options and decide to do a U-turn – even though I know it’s illegal. A person does what a person has to do in order to get a good parking spot. Right?

Wrong.

In the midst of this maneuver, I waited for oncoming traffic to pass, but forgot to check behind me again. I pulled out to turn and a car slammed into my driver side door.

Luckily, everyone was okay. But, I was pretty upset with myself for weeks afterwards.

I kept asking myself, “What makes you feel so special, Sarah, that you can put other peoples lives in danger to break rules?”

I was thinking about this as I was riding home on my bicycle and realized that I am probably not much different than my robber from two months before. I looked at his situation and thought, “How can you be like that? You have so much going for you. Why do you need to break the rules that keep us safe?”

And, I could say the same for myself.

We could have both taken the life of another person from our decision on those two separate nights. Sure, our intention was SLIGHTLY different (not a lot different – both intentions were born out of selfishness), but the outcome could have been the same.

As it turns out, my robber and I, we’re not that different after all. And you know what? It made forgiving him a whole lot easier.

What did I learn?

It gets easier to justify selfish tendencies (like breaking traffic laws for your own benefit or robbing a girl at night for the money in her purse) when it seems like everyone else around you is doing it too.

But, it’s not okay.

I’m SURE there are things in your life that you’re able to justify with the statement, “But HE/SHE is doing it!”  Don’t let yourself get away with it. I hate to bring it back to my profession, but I see this over and over with bad food choices. “But, so-and-so is doing it! It’s not fair!”

Too bad. Life isn’t always fair.

Anyone that told you otherwise was lying to you.

It’s a little kid lesson come back to be re-learned as an adult. Hopefully, you won’t have to get robbed and wreck a car in order to learn it. :-/