Top Five for Friday

Just a few thoughts rumbling through my brain this morning:

1) Words to live by:  Losing weight is hard.  Being fat is hard. Choose your hard. 

2) A big huge gigantic thanks to everybody who showed up at Carlson this morning for the Minneapolis St. Paul Social Media Breakfast event on tourism and hospitality.  We enjoyed lively conversation, bacon and coffee, and a beautiful sunrise over Lake Carlson.  What could be better?  

3) If you happen to be driving in the Mpls area this week after dark (or before sunrise, like I have been twice this week), make sure you notice the Light The Town Pink campaign.  I definitely feel like the whole breast cancer awareness campaign has gone overboard -- things like this don't make as much of an impact when they are so ubiquitious -- but Target headquarters, the US Bank building, and the Basilica (just to name a few) are all lit up with pink and it looks incredibly cool -- and very peaceful at 5:30 AM. ;-)

4) Just in time for the big boo -- Women's Health sent me this link about the Healthiest Halloween Candy (I typically buy candy at the last minute, which means that all that is left is gross candy, which means I don't eat it.  Bonus!)
5) And some fabulous fall recipes from Cooking Light magazine -- some are sweet, some are savory, all are perfect for the crisp weather and falling leaves!

Fast and Easy: Weekday Gourmet - Chicken Marsala w/ Mushroom Risotto

I cheated today and "made dinner" but from largely pre-packaged foods (sorry, I'm not sorry).  This morning I discovered that my fridge was pretty much bare, with the following exceptions:

• A package of baby bella mushrooms, probably past it's prime
• A defrosted bag of chicken thighs that I'd intended to whip into something spectacular last night, but then got tired and lazy and ate popcorn for dinner instead
• In the freezer, 2 packages of steamfresh vegetables
• A lot of beer, some Pellegrino, parmesan, butter and a billion different condiments, sauces, dressings, etc.

As I mentioned in my previous post, one of three goals for the week was to do a big shop.  Ahem.  Well, I took care of THAT after work when I left early and hit Trader Joe's for a bottle of Marsala wine.

Well, $145 later, I have a very stocked kitchen -- much of it frozen-but-healthy options to get me through lunches and dinners for the next week.  During my week off between jobs I'll probably cook a lot, but next week, forget it.

Anyway -- I did manage to get the Marsala wine, and I came home with a pretty specific idea in my head.  Chicken Marsala w/ Wild Mushroom Risotto.  And this is the cheating -- the risotto was NOT home made, and simply came from an Archer Farms box that I had in the cupboard.  There.  I admitted it.

Moving on.

I assembled the ingredients:
Marsala wine
Defrosted chicken breasts in a ziplock bag soaking in marsala wine
Mushrooms
Risotto
Not pictured: salt, parmesan cheese

I put about 2 cups of water on to boil while I pounded out the chicken breasts with a meat mallet.

Then used a hand chopper to dice up the mushrooms.

Heated up a little bit of olive oil in a saute pan, and added the chicken and about a cup of marsala -- at the same time, I put the risotto mix into the boiling water and set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes.  And then I went and threw off my uncomfortable work clothes and changed into comfy yoga pants, a cozy cami, a big oversized sweatshirt, and some slipper socks!

The chicken was browning up nicely, and I tossed about a 1/2 tsp of kosher salt into the mix...

... before adding the mushrooms.

The risotto had thickened nicely by the time the chicken was done. 

Nuked some veggies, plated it up, and served with a side of pellegrino in a wine glass.

TADA!

20 minutes from start to finish.  Prep and plating included!

(Now if only these dishes would do themselves).

I'm happy to report that after my trip to TJ's, my freezer looks like it belongs on an episode of Hoarders, and I will be celebrating National Chocolate Day with some dark chocolate covered cranberries. 


There were a lot of new products at Trader Joe's that I wasn't familiar with and I think that packaged HEALTHY meals will become a feature on the blog for a while.

Off and running,
~Jessica

Right On Target

Okay okay, so all the big secrets I've been keeping for a few weeks now are out in the open and I can spill my guts.  FINALLY.  I quit my job on Monday.  My last day will be 11/5, and I start my new gig on 11/15.... at Target.  In the Apparel / Accessories marketing department. I am so excited I can't sit still, and although I know it will fly by, I'm really looking forward to a quiet 2 weeks at work + a week off to get my head back in the workout / healthy eating game.

October has been a complete FAIL in terms of exercise -- see my ticker up there?  Yeah, that's NOT wrong.  I really have exercised less than 300 minutes this month.  Sure, I've been busy and active, but my "conscious" exercise (times that I'm consciously gone to the gym or for a run or bike ride for the sole purpose of burning calories), has been tremendously pathetic.

Of course, I kicked off right last night by having a ridiculously unhealthy dinner of red wine, popcorn, and vanilla gelato.  Because I'm fabulous that way. 

I haven't been sleeping great lately - partially from excitement, and partially because of the lack of exercise.  When I'm working out regularly, I'm more tired.  Sleep comes easy and soundly.  Last night, I went to bed around 10, but woke wide awake at about 2 AM, and then was off and on until 6:10 when I finally just gave up and got out of bed.  I've been mainlining coffee and water since, and now it's time to hit the shower and get off to work.  BUT -- in my insomnia, I also managed to clean out the fridge, respond to a billion unanswered emails, and do a load of laundry, so it's not a total loss.

My big exciting news comes with a lot of emotion -- I've only been with Carlson for a year.  I adore my team.  On Monday, we had a huge event at work, hosted by my team, to launch the roll out of our new expanded breakfast at Country Inns & Suites.  I returned to my desk afterward to the news that the promotion I worked on all summer had won a big MarCom award.   I had to walk away several times during the event so that I wouldn't start to cry (my resignation wasn't announced until yesterday), and I'm sure that on Friday morning, when I host ANOTHER event to promote breakfast (this time to about 150 marketing / PR professionals in the Twin Cities), I'll feel like tears as well.  But, onward and upward, right? 

After almost 5 years of working at home, adjusting to office life has been hard for me -- and that's something I talk about a lot on this blog. I've gained weight, I've lost a lot of independence, and made myself crazy trying to figure it all out.  I am not kidding myself that Target will be any less stressful -- in fact, it will probably be more -- but it is another opportunity to take the office skills and tools I've learned at Carlson and start over again with firmly established habits.  I'm going to try to be a little easier on myself this time -- I might not worry about prepping food and bringing lunch every single day -- rather, I'll hit the salad bar from Day One (I did that for years at Best Buy, no problem).  Rather than being the girl who sits on the balance ball in my cube, I'll hit the downtown gym after work.  The new gig is filled with opportunities for change and I'm eager to see what I can pull off... with a little less intensity and a little more self-love.  I've learned that Target offers a 50% discount on Weight Watchers, plus some gym discounts, so this might be just the nudge I need to get back into meetings... in a new location, where I don't know the leaders or the members, and rather than being "the girl who lost 70 lbs and ran a marathon and then gained back 30," I'm just "another person wanting to lose some weight."

My goal for the upcoming week is to do a big grocery shop (fridge is bare other than ingredients for dinner tonight), cook 3 dinners, get in 3 awesome workouts, and catch up on my sleep.

Switching gears for a minute -- 

Marie Claire has done it again and this time it's on The Today Show.  Seriously, that magazine cannot get out of its own way.  A blogger wrote an extremely offensive article for their website, ragging on overweight people... just a few short weeks after they published an article attacking the healthy living bloggers.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't.  Once again, their facebook page is a mess and their readers are outraged.  I'm sorry, but isn't this why we have editors?!  I respect everybody's right to their own opinion and especially their right to share it, but there is a way to do it in a respectful manner and this article did a lot more harm than good.  It's not okay to be a racist or a homophobe, but for some reason it is still acceptable to make fun of fat people -- in fact, I don't even like that Mike and Molly show because even though I like that the characters aren't "Hollywood beautiful," I think that they are there as targets for mocking, when in fact, the show could be a powerful tool in discussion the emotional issues associated with weight and weight loss.

• What do you think about the media's portrayal of overweight people? Does it affect your own body image and how you feel about yourself?
• What are your best tips for aligning your work habits with your health goals?
• What are your 3 goals for the week?

The only reason I'm linking to this article is because I hope you'll go read it and leave a comment if you are offended. 

I was.  In fact, it kinda made me want to cry.

Off and running,
~Jessica

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Just a quick note to ask that you please keep reading, even though I haven't been writing as much lately.  I've got some big changes coming down the pike and I'm excited to tell you more in the next 24 hours... but until then, I leave you in suspense!

Off and running,
~Jessica

We Return To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Well, after the three weeks of madness, life has returned (sort of) to normal.  Have I mentioned how much I dislike having weekday plans?  And naturally, the ONE time I register for a weekly class, it occurs during the 3-4 weeks in which I have 2-3 other weekday plans in the same week.  To say I'm exhausted would be an understatement, and I'm looking forward to getting back to the normal pace of life.  I have an uber-intense work-week, but a light social calendar, which means time for workouts and healthy cooking.

The Manfriend and I headed just over the Iowa / MN border this weekend to play a little craps and roulette at a silly little casino that we'd randomly stopped in back in July -- we didn't walk away winners financially, but had a blast and a day away together was just what the doctor ordered.  Once back in his house, we both immediately fell asleep on the sofa, and then I proceeded to go home around 5 and stay up WAY too late -- doing laundry, catching up on email, dishes, etc.  So the first order of business is to get the sleep schedule normalized -- I'll be hitting the hay, technology-free, at 10 PM and not a moment later (maybe even earlier), after making some sort of healthy dinner.

The bad habit I've gotten into since the entrance into my life of the beloved iPad is that I stay up way too late messing around online -- emails, blogs, Words With Friends, solitaire, reading... I can't seem to put it down.  So tonight baby iPad will sleep in another room and I will disconnect at 9 PM -- after a healthy dinner and a jaunt on the treadmill.

Off and running,
~Jessica

Let Them Eat Steak

Today was a whirlwind day -- I worked from home to put the finishing (well, starting) touches on a quarterly newsletter that I write for work.  I had meetings peppered throughout the day, lunch plans with an old friend, and somehow also managed to pull the superwoman task of about 5 loads of laundry, fresh sheets on the bed, wash a sink full of dishes, and tidy up my cluttered house.  It's 7:12 PM, and I just cleaned up dinner, set the coffee pot for tomorrow, packed my lunch, and "closed the kitchen."

I got home from an intense day of meetings around 4:30 PM and dug back into producing actual work -- at 5:20, I threw a load of laundry in the wash, turned the oven on to 400, peeled two sweet potatoes, threw 'em in the oven, and walked outside to conquer my yard work -- I cut down peony bushes and hosta plants, and started some general fall cleanup.  At about 6 PM, those babies were cooked and ready to MASH.

But first, another load of laundry.

And next, redressing my bed (CLEAN SHEETS tonight -- is there anything better?). 

And now back to the potatoes.

I cut them into chunks and put in the food processor.  I added a few splashes of skim milk, some garlic salt, pepper, and about a TBSP of goat cheese.  I know that many people like their sweet potatoes to be, well, sweet -- but I prefer mine to be savory.  I love a little salt set against the natural sweetness of the vegetable.  After about 5 minutes of prep, I put the mixture in an oven safe dish and put back in the oven.

At the same time, I spritzed some broccolini with a balsamic / olive oil mixture and put THAT in the oven;  heated up some EVOO in a saute pan, and started to sear a very small fillet that was coated in a shallot red wine vinagrette (bottled, I confess -- I didn't make this from scratch).

And at 6:20 I sat down for the very healthy, satisfying, and indulgent-seeming feast pictured above.

It's now 7:20 and I'm just about to put the last load of laundry in the dryer --and then relax with a good book in my fabulous bed.  I have an 8:30 meeting tomorrow, and my goal is to get up and work out before work, despite the early call time.

Tomorrow is the Manfriends birthday, so I need to earn the dessert calories that I'm sure will be consumed!

Off and running.
~Jessica

Mindless Monday: Stop Fighting It!

In lieu of a creative and eloquent post today, I'm linking to this great article I got in my inbox from Women's Health magazine.

101 Greatest Running Tips

Enjoy!  I'm having a marathon-of-a-day myself, but am already looking forward to 5 PM, when I'll be hitting the pavement to put a few of these to the test for myself!  Just another PERFECT fall day in Minneapolis -- wish this weather would never end!

From the article, a tip this gadget girl should probably listen to: 

"Throw away your 10-function chronometer, heart-rate monitor with the computer printout, training log, high-tech underwear, pace charts, and laboratory-rat-tested-air-injected-gel-lined-mo-tion-control-top-of-the-line footwear. Run with your own imagination." --Lorraine Moller, 1992 Olympic marathon bronze medalist

In other words, "Keep It Simple, Stupid."

Off and running,
~Jessica

Fall Into Reality

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."  The Great Gatsby

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I was a junior in high school, I took my one and only AP class -- American Literature, taught by Betsy Cussler, who I still consider one of the best teachers I've ever had in my entire life, including my professors at Lawrence.  That class taught me how to analyze literature, and more importantly, how to write.  One of the concepts that Ms. Cussler taught us was that of the symbolism of the seasons -- that in literature, spring often represents youth and naivete, and follows suit through the seasons until the dark and chill of winter, which represents old age, wisdom, and perhaps even death.

So I guess that would make fall the season of responsibility, routine, and consistency. 

I'm not a huge fan of hot weather -- it drains me.  All I want to do is sit on the sofa in the A/C and watch TV.  I never feel like preparing food because turning the oven on is too hot, and standing over a grill is uncomfortable.  Combine that with the notion of summer being "playtime," filled with parties, BBQs, weekends at the cabin, weddings, half-days on Friday... by the time fall rolls around, I'm ready to be done with it all, and "go back to school", so to speak.

We've had an amazing fall so far in that it has been quite an extension of summer -- several 80+ degree days, bright sun and blue sky.  I literally switched the thermostat from A/C to heat on the same day last week, and my workdays have been horribly depressing simply because we can't all be outside.  

I know I'll miss this in a month when we're living in a world of white, but right now, I'm ready for the crisp mornings... for sweater dresses and knee boots; wool coats and mittens. 

And more significantly than the fashion choices and beef stews, I'm ready to "go back to school."  To get back on track with my diet.  With my exercise routine that involves nights at the gym rather than mornings on the pavement.  With my alcohol-and-social-activity-free weekdays, and -- perhaps -- even going back to Weight Watchers meetings.

I stopped going to meetings last year when I came to the realization that it was like trying stuff more homework in an already heavy backpack -- the changes in my life (new job, Manfriend), made it really hard to consistently "do" meetings the way I like to do them: first thing in the morning, empty stomach, same outfit each week, preferably the lightest-weight clothing I own, after an evening of eating light, drinking a ton of water, and going to bed early. I know that it shouldn't matter, but the routine of meetings is comforting to me, and if I can't do it the way I want to, I psych myself out and start skipping, and that just makes for a waste of money and time.

But now that I'm somewhat settled into my work/ life balance, and now that we're at the super comfortable part of our relationship where our lifestyle no longer consists of multiple restaurant dates a week, it might be time to go back.  To my old center, with my old leader, with the old comfortable routine that worked so well for me for all those years: namely, Saturday morning meetings after a quiet Friday night at home.  Luckily, the Manfriend and I live close enough together that my old meeting is also convenient to get to from his house. 

It was a wonderful weekend -- Friday night was taco and movie night at the Manfriends house, and an early bedtime.  I found it refreshingly easy to make healthy choices and opted for loads of water (and half a diet coke), instead of beer or wine.  I slept in unusually late, and made time for a very quick run before we were off to the evening's activity -- a work-related benefit / concert.  Unfortunately, after an evening of declining hors d'oeuvres and enjoying the company of the Manfriend's co-workers, it was time for a fall of a very different kind: once we got home, my platform shoes and I tripped over a garden hose while rushing around the side of the house to unlock the back door (long story).

I skinned and bruised both knees and definitely wounded my pride.  

By the time the Manfriend drove his car from the street out front to my driveway out back, and walked through the back door, I was on the sofa icing my knee.  It seemed like a perfectly symbolic way to end the summer -- no more shorts or skirts showcasing the banged up knee; no more need for garden hoses, and pretty soon I won't really even need or want or be able to walk around the side of the house, because it will be covered in snow.

I fell into reality -- that rushing and buzzing around, much like I've been doing for the past few months, can have disastrous results.  I'm done with being a summer Gatsby -- this Minnesota girl wants to go back to being an autumn Carraway. 

Today is crisp.  The sun isn't even out -- it is cloudy, with a chance of rain.  I've got football on the TV and chili on the stove.  I've got a solid meal plan in place for the week, and even though I've got social obligations Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week (AGAIN!  When will it end!?), I'm REALLY looking forward to this weekend's "crisp cool date":

With Weight Watchers -- Saturday at 9:30 AM. 

It's time to get back in school -- and sensible footwear -- and that's alright with me.

Off and running,
~Jessica

The Long Run

The smell of the school bus set against the crisp air takes me right back to the Saturdays of my youth, when my friends and I used to load up on a school bus, clad in mittens and hats and neck-gaters, and travel a few hours away to spend the day at various local ski hills.  We'd return home exhausted, wind-chapped, but happy and fulfilled by a day on the slopes.  It was the most athletic endeavor of my youth, and little did I know that it was preparing me for The Long Run.

I woke up really early this morning and just knew I had to run -- even though it was dark, even though I had an 8:30 meeting, and even though I'd had 2 glasses of wine with dinner the night before.

The air felt right -- and the crunch of the leaves beneath my feet didn't lie.

It was the kind of morning where music wasn't even necessary, I just wanted to take in the sounds of my surroundings.  To be honest, I started out thinking I'd just take a walk -- but that quickly gave way to a faster pace.  By the time I smelled the school bus (and watched my neighbor lovingly hug and kiss his son goodbye for the day), I was back on my front steps, panting, stretching, and generally feeling like a superhero, having run 30 minutes on a whim.

It has been a long couple of weeks and the insanity doesn't end anytime soon -- in true Jessica fashion, I've bitten off more than I can chew... but also in true Jessica fashion, I find that these are the times when I perform the best. I was up at 5:45 AM this morning, on the pavement by 6:15, and by 7:45 I was out the door, having run 30 minutes+ walked 30, stretched, eaten a healthy breakfast, unloaded the dishwasher, packed a healthy lunch, prepped dinner... and left in a cute outfit with good hair.  

(Never underestimate the power of good hair).


12 hours later, I'm quickly dashing off this post before jetting off to a photography class where I hope to get to actually take some pictures rather than just talk about it. 



These few weeks are a Long Run of a very different kind -- nonetheless, all the same tools are required to prepare for sanity & success.

Adequate sleep, hydration, and fuel.  A positive attitude.  Focus, dedication, determination, and an eye on the prize.  



Tomorrow?  A day of meetings (two of them off-site), the kick off of a very exciting freelance project, and dinner with my family...

...and then, sleep, blessed sleep.

Off and running,
~Jessica

Minnesota Fried Chicken

Ever since discovering Panko, I've been on a quest to modify as many fried food recipes as possible -- yesterday was no exception!  And since I'm also trying to challenge myself to use everything in my pantry / freezer / fridge before hitting the store again (seriously: I LIVE at the local market), Faux Fried Chicken was definitely on the menu.





Ingredients:
 Chicken breasts
Panko
Buttermilk
Parmesan
Salt, pepper, garlic salt, cayenne pepper, cumin
Honey mustard dressing
EVOO (not pictured)
Sweet potato

First up -- I got out my fancy pants vegetable slicer that makes all sorts of crazy shapes... I'd only ever used the "spaghetti" shaped slicer, so I decided to use all three blades on the sweet potato just to see how they turned out. 

Option 1: the spaghetti noodle / curly fry shape

Option #2: thicker curly fry... also, this one does a better job of making shorter "strings"

Option 3: more like chips

I'd been soaking the chicken breasts in a bag o' buttermilk for about 6 hours... buttermilk is great because 1) It is low in fat, 2) it actually tenderizes the meat, and 3) gives it a bit of a tang that is great against a cool dip like honey, mustard, or honey mustard!

I mixed up some panko, parmesan, and various herbs and spices in a shallow dish and dredged the chicken through it... before placing on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam.

I tossed the sweet potato shapes in a little olive oil, and sprinkled with salt...

Once the oven was preheated, I cooked the chicken for 20 minutes before flipping it over and adding the sweet potato before cooking for another 20 minutes.

And this was the finished product... crispy, healthy, flavorful, and tender.

All plated up, dinner looked like this:

The sweet potato "fries" were a little overcooked around the edges, and definitely didn't look very pretty, but tasted fantastic.  Served with a side of Newman's Own reduced fat honey mustard, this made for a great, simple "summer" meal.   Even though it is October, it feels like summer in MN -- this is the third or fourth day in a row of 80+ degree temps!

Off and running,
~JessiferSeabs

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

No, not Christmas.

So these aren't the best pictures, because they're taken with my phone, but I snapped the top one while I walked to dinner last night.  I had a really good friend in town that I hadn't seen for a few years, and we met with another friend of ours for dinner and catch up at a restaurant about a mile from my house.

The reason I walked?  Explained by the second picture -- that's the temperature reading on my car.  77 degrees yesterday at 6 PM when I was driving home. 

A. Maze. Ing. 

Today?  A predicted high of 82.  I mean, seriously, are we still in Minnesota? 

I want to tell the story of when I was in 9th grade and it snowed 28 inches on Halloween (I am not making that up or exaggerating even slightly).  I want to talk about how everybody thought it was a bad idea not to build a retractable roof on the new Twins stadium. I want to to the stereotypical MN thing and talk about the cold and the snow and the ridiculousness of the fact that IT IS 82 DEGREES IN OCTOBER!

But then I'm reminded of MY marathon Sunday.  When it was... 82 degrees.  And a billion percent humidity.  So I guess this isn't THAT unusual. 

Except, in addition to the great temps, there hasn't been a cloud in the bright blue sky for over a week.  The leaves are ridiculously bright with color: yellows, oranges, and reds so bright that pictures can't do them justice (the picture below is pretty, but I got to frustrated because I couldn't capture it properly), and the temps are brisk in the morning and evening, but beautiful, sunny, and warm during the day.

It is times like this that I want to wrap up everybody I have ever met and bring them to Minnesota -- so that they can experience the wonder of this place, during the best of times.  Of course, the reason I'm here is because of my family and friends -- certainly not the 10 feet of snow and below freezing temps that seem to last 6 months -- but with days like this, it is a wonder anybody ever leaves at all...

And the very best part? 

I absolutely could not motivate this morning to come into the office.  I sat on my sofa until the very last minute, wanting to work from home so badly it hurt.  The Manfriend and I have a function tonight for his work -- a fancy occasion -- and I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy the weather, because stupid me didn't get up early enough to enjoy it, knowing full well that I have to primp after work.  On my drive into the office, I thought "Everybody must be playing hooky, because there is NO traffic."

I walked into my cube, set down my bag, and my boss walked by and said "I'm sending everybody home at noon today."

Guess I'll be getting that run in after all.

Off and running,
~Jessica

Home Made Ravioli

Do you guys ever read Jenna?  If not, you totally should (I keep finding myself saying this exact phrase, with different healthy living bloggers names inserted). Anyway, Jenna is an actual chef who went to culinary school, not because she wanted to work in a kitchen, but because she wanted to be a food writer -- therefore wanted to learn everything possible about food and cooking.

My kinda girl.

I've been reading her blog for a long time -- she's a beautiful person, both inside and out, and her pictures and stories just make me want to come home and put on an apron and heels and cook and listen to Madeleine Peyroux while running a bubble bath and sipping champagne and burning Aveda candles.   She practices my kinda eating and cooking -- whole foods, real foods... all eaten in moderation.  So you might find her eating a plate of fettucine and a gigantic slab of cheesecake for lunch, but then you can bet she's having a green salad for dinner, after going for a nice long walk.

Anyway. 

A month or so ago, she posted about making goat cheese ravioli. 

From scratch!  And it looked so easy!  And they were so cute!  And delicious! 

And I was smitten.

It looked like a little bit of a project, so it took me a while to find a time that would be appropriate for this kitchen adventure.  Tonight was the night.  I had an INSANE day at work and I needed to do something calming... the beauty of my photography class is that you can attend Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday... so I opted to come home, get my ravioli on, and attend class tomorrow instead.

I'd encourage you to read my messy, chaotic account of this recipe, and then read Jenna's, and laugh at how pretty and perfect all of her stuff looks compared to my flour-covered kitchen and messy ravioli.  BUT -- it was delicious (and fun!)

First -- the ingredients:
1 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup of flour
1 egg + 1/2 a yolk
a pinch of salt
3-4 strips of prosciutto
2 TBSP softened goat cheese
1 medium shallot
1 large garlic clove

Measure out about 3/4 a cup of flour and dump it on the counter!  Yep, you heard me -- dump it on the counter and dig a little hole in it.  See?  FUN.

Drop the egg in the hole --  and start sort of "pinching" the flour into the egg.  This part was really hard for me -- I couldn't get the flour moist (ew, hate that word) enough, so I ended up adding about another half of an egg yolk, and kept pinching...

...ultimately forming a ball -- which you want to cover with a moist (ew, again? Really?) paper towel and let it sit for about 45 minutes.  Per Jenna's blog, this is so the gluten relaxes.  Sounds good to me -- I hate an uptight, stressed out gluten.

While the dough ball is resting, chop up some shallots, garlic, and prosicutto... and saute in some extra virgin olive oil.  After just a few minutes (when the garlic just starts to get golden), remove from heat...

 ...and mix with about 2 TBSP of softened goat cheese.  YUM. 

(Totally no judgment if you just scrap the rest of the project and eat this with a spoon -- because it really does smell THAT good)

Set aside... your dough is still resting... and create a little side salad: mine was just a mix of different greens, topped with a little red quinoa that was hangin' out in my fridge, some cucumber slices, tomato, shredded Parmesan, croutons, and spritzed with a bit of balsamic vinagrette.  SWOON.

(Then clean up the messy kitchen because that lazy dough ball is STILL resting.  Bonus -- you'll end this project without a mess to clean up!)

Now comes the fun part -- time to roll out the dough.  This is the part  where my kitchen turned white and I had to change my shirt.  I don't bake much -- so dough is always a bit of a mystery to me.  I sprinkled some flour and got going...

You want to roll this really thin.  Put a lot of muscle into it. Try not to get frustrated if it sticks to the counter.

Next you want to cut into at least 2 long symmetrical strips -- I did a little more than this because I was STARVING by this point, but my eyes were bigger than my tummy and I really only ate a few of the yummy little pillows.  Anyway, I used a pizza cutter to cut into strips. 

Place a little dollop of your mixture of the Gods on the strips, spaced every few inches...

Wet the edges, cover one strip with it's mate....

 ...cut into squares and press the edges down with a fork.  You want to press them together REALLY tightly so that when you dunk in the water, the insides don't leak out (that would be super sad).

Gently put them into some boiling water for about 6 minutes...

While the ravioli's boil, mix up a little olive oil and Parmesan as a sauce....

Remove the guys from the pot with a slotted spoon so that water drains... they are delicate, so you don't want to pour them into a colander....

Plate. Add the olive oil.  Top with a little salt and pepper.  Serve with a-leftover-breadstick-from-this-weekend's-pizza-binge and salad.

Buon appetito!

Off and running,
~Jessica

Queen Bees and Wannabees

As both a blogger and a social media / marketing professional, I would be remiss if I didn't call out the most recent blogosphere scandal -- the complete bashing of healthy living / nutrition bloggers, specifically, "The Big 6," in Marie Claire magazine's article, "The Hunger Diaries."

You can read all about it here -- and here, those are the only links I'll be providing, because the last thing I want to do right now is directly push readership over to Marie Clarie, a magazine I won't likely be buying anytime again in the near future (then again, I never read it before, so no loss there).

Without getting too mission statement'y on this blog, here are my basic thoughts about this:

1) Yeah, if you blog, you have a certain responsibility to your readership.  This is a powerful thing both for you and for them -- when I was training for the marathon, I cannot tell you how many times on race day, I thought to myself, "I could totally quit right now... I WANT to quit right now... but, damnit, then what do I write about when I get home??  I QUIT!?  I don't think so."  You guys have always kept me honest and accountable, and I appreciate that more than you'll ever know.  On the days that I feel like grabbing a big mac and a coke and crawling under the covers, I remember the inspiration I've found here, and I make a better choice.

On that same note, I know that part of the responsibility of blogging and running an online community is that of being accountable TO your audience as well. You'll never see me promoting diet pills or ridiculous weight loss fads.  I mean, I might slip up and TRY one of those things from time to time (though I don't think I have in the history of writing this blog), but I'm certainly not going to encourage YOU to do it, nor am I about to go evangelize the beauty of something I don't know much about.

I'm not a doctor, a nutritionist, a weight loss coach, a dietician, or a personal trainer and I do not claim to be one.  You should always take everything I say as an account of my own personal experiences and feelings, and nothing else.  Bottom line -- as with anything you read ANYWHERE in the mainstream or social media, you should think for yourself.  Personal accountabiltiy trumps everything else.

2)  BUT (hey, this blog always has a big but(t), right?)  Part of the beauty and danger of the blogging community -- and any community really, but especially one semi-shrouded in anonymity -- is the power of groupthink and trend mentality.  Because I work in social media professionally and also have a "home" here personally, I've seen firsthand how powerful that can be -- both in negatively and positively.  The day I ran my marathon, I came home overwhelmed to the point of tears by the supportive comments I'd received... many of you commenting that you were actually following my bib number as I ran.  Conversely, I'm pretty sure Marie Claire is regretting their (thoughtless) decision to publish an article basically lambasting a bunch of bloggers with readership in the 30K's.  Their facebook page is a mess -- I mean, if I worked in crisis communications for MC, I'd proably be looking for the quickest way into a new job while pouring double martinis down my throat.

3) I read every single one of The Big 6's blogs every day, and a few of them I've even met at BlogHer.  I had lunch with Kath Younger on my first day in NYC, and I can tell you that she's darling.  Her plate was filled with food, albeit healthy, and she ate every bite of it... before organizing a group walk around central park.  Comments were made out of context ("I just ran 22 miles - I am so hungry!") rather than understood and explained (Yep, she ran 22 miles -- because she was training for a marathon -- and of course she was hungry (duh), and after that, probably ate a whole bowl of (whole wheat) pasta.). 

There is much more than a fine line between the healthy living blogging community and the Pro-Ana / Pro-Mia (pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia) communities on the internet -- one promotes healthy choices -- the other bastardizes and misconstrues the affliction of eating disorders into choices, rather than severe psychological and physical illnesses.  The writer of The Hunger Diaries seems confused, portraying the "I'm so hungry; I just ran 22 miles!" comments as a prideful statement about exercise bulimia combined with food anorexia. 


Not so. 

Both communities are supportive of each others goals and can be seen as semi anonymous.  That is where the similarities end.

The Manfriend can't stand social media.  He was one of the last people I know to join facebook, has no use for twitter, and thinks that blogging (gasp) is ridiculous (that's fine -- I've got no use for fantasy football).  No, I'm not talking about my little blog, but in general he worries (validly) that as the mainstream media starts to lose power and prevalence, and bloggers (uncredentialized) start to rise, pretty soon you've got a bunch of non-authorities calling the shots, coalescing public opinion, and influencing the masses.  Although the government t has recently tried to intervene, setting some standards for what is required for sponsored posts, blogs that generate revenue, etc -- there is only so much they can do.  There are 200,000,000 blogs on the internet, so the Manfriend's point is a fair one -- especially given the fact that not everybody holds themselves up to as high of an ethical standard as they should.  The lack of regulation is both the downfall and the beauty of social media.  Everybody has a voice.  And if that voice is used for good, think about what a wonderful place this world could be.

I do believe that at the heart of the article, the author was trying to express my boyfriends fear above: that some young, impressionable, body-dysmorphic teenage girl is going to read "I just ran 22 miles; I'm sooooo hungry," not read the rest of the story, miss the details; miss the points... think that this is something they MUST live up to... and stumble into disordered eating and exercise.  And that's a valid fear.

EXCEPT.  The author missed the point of intent.  None of these bloggers have eating disorders.  None of them want YOU to have eating disorders.  And none of them are living even SLIGHTLY unhealthy lives -- on the contrary, they all have jobs, marriages, hobbies, healthy eating habits, fitness goals, etc, nor do they expect their readership to emulate their healthy habits.  They are just sharing their lives.  The article reminded me of the movie Mean Girls (based on the children's book Queen Bees and Wannabees), where a healthy, well-adjusted and gorgeous Lindsay Lohan (gee, how things change) describes "girl world" as a place where people pick on each other, tear each other down; gossip, ridicule, and exaggerate for sport.  Where instead of women supporting other women and their healthy endeavors, they stand in front of a mirror, criticizing their (perfect) bodies, and then gasp in shock when all that confident Lindsay Lohan can come up with about her own flaws is, "Uh, sometimes I have really bad breath when I wake up?"

Girl World doesn't have to be this way -- The Big 6 have cultivated a community where it is not only okay, but REQUIRED -- to love yourself, flaws and all.  One need only take a look at Caitlin's "Operation Beautiful" to see her commitment to changing our thoughts about body image, "one post-it at a time."  They all worked together to create The Healthy Living Summit, an event to celebrate EVERY facet of health.  I've been fortunate my whole live to live in a Girl World filled with laughter, friendship, and support -- certainly junior high wasn't always that easy -- but I've always been surrounded by strong female role models and friends who showed me that the way to happiness and success wasn't to crap all over each other, but to hold up a light that makes each other shine even brighter.  I've found that friendship in real life -- family, friends, co-workers -- and in the blogosphere.  I have no patience or tolerance for Mean Girls, and I feel sorry for the writer from Marie Clarie who has obviously never experienced how great Girl World CAN be.

Off and running,
~Jessica