The Art of Building a Salad

For some reason, I'm still unsure why, I am frequently complimented on my salad making capabilities. Yea, weird I know... but I'm serious. Even in college when EVERYONE was eating from the same salad bar and all the same ingredients, I'd sit down at the table and 90% of the time someone would say something about how "pretty" my salad looks, or I always make them look "so good". A few people started asking me to make their salads too.

Occasionally, I still get this. Not as often... but every now and then.

I always think COLOR while creating a veg-bowl (aka: ensalada). Make your food pretty by adding a punch of color and DON'T cover it up with gobs of creamy dressing. Don't ruin your salad with liquid fat. It's supposed to be GOOD FOR YOU!

So - I found this neat guide on how to "build a tasty salad" on Women's Health. Maybe it will help you create a salad you actually LOVE!

 Happy crunching! :)

PS - Use something OTHER than that bagged shredded mess called "salad". ugh. 

Spicy Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

Okay - The recipe everyone has been waiting for. No, I didn't create it... I modified it, yes, but what cook doesn't?

We looooove peppers! I always have them in our refrigerator for quick salad prep, hummus dippin', sandwich toppings and every now and then, TO STUFF! :)

Word of advice: GO FOR COLOR when picking out peppers. Green one's aren't bad, and they're cheaper... but "if your eyes like what it sees, it's probably BETTER for them" (your eyes).

Peppers are amazing super foods ... I truly believe it is a very underrated and under appreciated veg. These things are LOADED with the quintessential: Vitamin A. True fact - only 1/4th of a pepper contains 40% of your recommended daily allowance (RDA)!  Most people (unless you're pregnant or nursing, the exception to most dietary rules) need about 1500μg of this mega-vitamin a day.

Vitamin A is most known for it's role in our vision and more recently for it's "anti-aging" abilities as an anti-oxidant and it's conversion to retinol.  Vitamin A is absolutely necessary for our vision. As the primary "food source" for our retina's vitamin A consumption can directly impact our night vision as well as our color vision. 

Yes - I love my eyes and I want them to stay healthy forever, but for vanity's sake I also want to look young and amazing forever too. Okay, well... forever is a touch unrealistic, but let's hope? :) I chow down on my veggies to keep my hair and SKIN looking amazing. Yup.... seriously. I'd probably make a facial mask out of pureed peppers if someone said it worked! HA! Vitamin A (and other anti-oxidants) help to keep your skin cells reproducing in tip-top shape! Also a little tid-bit I learned in my research, retinol helps reduce the size of sebaceous glands (your sweat glands-ew!) and eventually the production of sebum (the oil and dirt combo that clogs your pores and causes black heads and nasty pimples!).

Hmmmm.... maybe I'm on to something with the pepper mask?

Until then, let's just keep eating them. Give this recipe a try this weekend. It's awesome. My modifications and Calorie/Fat/Protein/Fiber count is at the end.

Spicy Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4 as a main, 8 as a side

In a large saucepan, over medium-high, heat:

• 2 tbsp canola oil

Add to hot oil and cook until soft (about 5 minutes):

• 1  onion, finely chopped
• 1 large stalk celery, finely chopped

When the onion and celery are soft, add:

• 2 tbsp chili powder (or 1 tbsp chili and 1 1/2 tsp chipotle powder)
  
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced

Saute for 1 minute. Then add:

• 1 10-oz package of cooked spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove moisture
• 1 28-oz tin diced tomatoes, drained

Cook for 5 minutes to remove a bit of the excess moisture. Stir in:

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1 1/2 cups water

Cover and leave on medium-high heat until the ingredients come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the quinoa is done, about 20 minutes.

Stir in:

• 1 cup grated cheese (a spicy jalapeno Jack or TexMex mix is good)
• generous grind of freshly ground pepper
• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 375F. While the oven heats, wash:

• 4 large sweet peppers (any colour)

Cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the ribs and seeds. Fill each half with the hot quinoa mixture. Place stuffed peppers in a baking dish or roasting pan. Cover with foil and bake for 25 to 35 minutes* or until the peppers are beginning to get tender. You want them cooked but not falling apart.

Sprinkle each half pepper with:

• 1 tbsp grated cheese (1/2 cup)

Bake uncovered for another 5 minutes or until the cheese melts and begins to bubble. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Doesn't it just make your mouth water reading it?! AHH! It's so good. 

Modifications: 
- I didn't stir in the cheese (to keep the calories and fat down) but I did sprinkle some on top as directed. I didn't have chili powder - so I used a little red pepper. Next time I'll use more or make sure I've got some chili powder... I like a kick and I didn't quite have one the way I like.
- I also didn't have celery. I think the crunch would be awesome and I'll have it next time, but was still great w/o it.
- I also used fresh spinach vs. the frozen. I would say I used about 4-5 cups? I love spinach so I wasn't stingy.... just add some and when it wilts if you want more, add more. You can't have too much, right?! :)

Nutrition information from my calculations and using EVERYTHING this recipe calls for:
PER PEPPER w/o cheese: 458 Calories/11g Fat/ 20g Protein / 16.3g fiber <--- THAT'S an awesome dinner solution if you ask me!! And between all the fiber from the quinoa, carrots, spinach and peppers, you won't leave the table hungry.

With the cheese: 591 Calories/ 20g+ Fat/ 31.7g Protein/ 16.3g fiber.... Of course this differs based on what cheese you use and if you use EXACTLY what's called for. This calculation is based off of Kraft's 2% Mexican Cheese mix.

God's Pharmacy

An email I got months ago but I love and HAVE to share! After all, you should know by now I believe in being good stewards of our bodies mainly for one reason: God.

Regardless which God or Goddess you worship - if we fail to care for our bodies the way He intended, how are we to do His purpose?

God's Pharmacy is an example of how no detail went unnoticed by our Maker. He created our "Incredible Machine" (our body) and provided us with the knowledge and tools to care for it, most in nature. Enjoy! :)

It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and  fish... All before making a human. He made and  provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw.   We're such slow  learners...

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our  body!God's Pharmacy! Amazing!

A  sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The  pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots  greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A  Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

 A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on  the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

 

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

 Avocadoes,  Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.  Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

The New "Normal"?

My friend Katie posted the link to this article on her Facebook page and I had to share it.

I don't care if this hurts feelings either. It's not meant to - but the point has been made a million times over. We, as Americans, have to change our focus.... OFF of food as a remedy and on to something healthful. I hope that this article says something about the world we live in where "Bigger is Better" has come to bite us in the butt!

As a nurse, yes I'm thankful for some of these larger size adaptions to help keep everyone safer. Larger blood pressure cuffs are nice, but I'm doubting the accuracy of your BP if your already significantly overweight and fluid overloaded. But don't get me started on how difficult it is for ME to take care of you as a patient!!  (and it KILLS me when I can't take care of you the way I want and need to!! Your butt and back are just as important for me to care for as your mouth, face and joints!)

Overweight is the new normal

Products adapt to accommodate the super-sized generation

By Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel

4:17 p.m. EDT, June 12, 2011

Americans are living large. Extra large. As in XXXXL large. As in baby-powdered-thighs large. As in wheezing, heaving, bust-the-car-suspension large.

Overweight has become the new normal, and society is straining to accommodate our ever-expanding waistlines. We plant plush bottoms on wider seats in theaters and toilet stalls, drape ourselves in plus-sized clothing, even go to our eternal rest in broader coffins.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and a third, some 72 million people, are considered obese. From 1980 to 2008, obesity rates doubled for adults and tripled for children, with 17 percent, or 9 million children over 6, classified as obese.

The average American is 23 pounds heavier than the ideal body weight. Experts blame the usual bugaboos: lack of exercise and side-splitting food consumption.

"There's definitely a new norm," said Dr. Robert Kushner, clinical director of the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity at Northwestern University in Illinois. "It's a norm that, 'My entire family and my community is overweight, and that's what I am.' "

Businesses, eyes on the bottom line, are adapting to the physical requirements of the heftier among us.

Revolving doors, for example, have widened from 10 feet to 12 feet in recent years. Scales, which seldom went over 300 pounds, now go up to 400 or 500 pounds.

Here are a few other areas in which the super-sized generation is changing our culture.

Feeding frenzy

Food portions, ever bigger, continue to grow to meet yawning appetites. New York nutritionist Lisa R. Young estimates fast-food servings are two to five times what they were in the 1950s. When it debuted 40 years ago, the Big Mac was but a wee patty of 3-ounce meat. Today, fast-food chains serve up 12-ounce burgers loaded with 1,000 calories.

When it first opened, a McDonald's soda was 7 ounces. Now a small soft drink is 16 ounces, and convenience stores pitch a 64-ounce bucket of soda — a full half-gallon. The result: In the 1970s, an American gulped down an average of 27 gallons of soda a year. Today that figure is 44 gallons.

And sweets? Cookies today, Young says, are 700 percent larger than USDA standards. A brownie recipe from the 1960s called for 30 servings. The same recipe today calls for 16.

Garbing the girth

Clothing outlets have expanded plus-sized inventories. Bulky clothes are available for children as young as 3, and Target and Forever 21 offer plus-sized fashions for teens. Quadruple-extra-large shirts are on the rack for men with 60-inch waists.

"Vanity sizing," in which manufacturers adjust apparel size downward so it's more palatable for women, is spreading. A size 4 today was, 20 years ago, a size 8. Some 62 percent of American women wear a size 14 or larger.

But full-size fashion has its price: Plus-sized clothing, which uses more material, costs 10 to 15 percent more than regular apparel.

High-volume cargo

Federal officials have increased the average passenger weight for buses and commercial boats, from 150 pounds to 175 pounds for bus passengers and from 160 pounds to 185 pounds for boat passengers. Buses must be stronger and bigger to handle folks of amplitude, and boats must trim their passenger lists.

Government regulations for car seat belts, set in the 1960s, require them to fit a 215-pound man with a hip circumference of 47 inches. In 2003, however, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that more than 38 million people, or 19 percent of Americans, were too large for their seat belts. To accommodate heftier drivers, some car manufacturers include seat belts that are 18 to 20 inches longer, or offer seat belt extenders.

Most airlines, where economy-class seat widths range from 17 to 18 inches, make portly passengers buy an extra seat if they can't sit with both armrests down, or can't fasten their seat belts.

Ample seating
Many theme-park rides are featuring larger seats, with sample seats situated so heavier riders can test their capacity. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure near Orlando recently added larger seats to its Forbidden Journey ride.

Also in Orlando, a new downtown arena has installed seats 19 to 24 inches wide, as compared to the 18-inch spread in an older facility. The New York City Center is replacing seats of 17-to-20-inch width with 19 to 22 inches.

The Olive Garden is among restaurants that now provide sturdier, armless chairs for pudgy diners. Movie theater seats have broadened along with their patrons' bottoms. In the 1980s they were around 20 inches wide. Now many movie chains have seats as large as 26 inches wide. More buttered popcorn, anyone?

Hefty health care

Hospitals, committed to treating folks of all sizes, have adjusted to a porkier population with larger, reinforced beds, walkers, examining tables and special lifts to move overweight patients. New magnetic-resonance-imaging machines hold patients of up to 500 pounds. Surgical instruments are extra long to reach into deeper body cavities. Even blood pressure cuffs are larger, to fit around chubby arms.

Wheelchairs, too, are wider. The average wheelchair was designed to hold people of 200 to 300 pounds, but new ones are capable of bearing the approximately 4 million Americans who are heavier than the old weight standard.

Toilets can handle bigger bottoms. Manufacturer Big John is marketing a toilet that is 19 inches wide and 2 inches taller than the average 14-inch-wide seat. They have a weight capacity of 1,200 pounds.

Some manufacturers are shipping 54-inch-wide coffins, broader than the standard 24 inch, which can hold 700 pounds.

Not enough

But such adjustments don't go far enough, said Peggy Howell, public relations director for the Oakland, Calif.-based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, an advocacy group with "fattitude."

"We are, of course, always happy to see when a company tries to make a product that will accommodate people of size," she said. "But we don't feel that this is giving us a place at the table."

Attitudes, not products, need to change, Howell said. "Stopping the discrimination and the bias and the prejudice would make life a lot better for fat people."

rnolin@tribune.com

The closing statement caught my eye (hence the blue highlighting).... I'm not convinced that "stopping the discrimination/bias/prejudice" would make life that much better for "fat people". "Fat people" (and even some skinny people!) need to stop making excuses for the reasons they're overweight and likely (i won't say all, but I'd like someone to introduce me to a TRULY happy fat person!) unhappy/miserable.

Being overweight is not a born to way of life. I firmly believe we shouldn't treat it as such.

Exercise REVAMP

Exercise REVAMP!

Okay – so it's been a while since I had a good workout move or a routine for you guys so I got to thinking. Quite frankly my routine's been anything BUT routine the last couple of months… with one big exception:

STAIRS!

Yea, I've actually been quite obsessed with them lately. Sitting on my ass all night makes me feel as if I'm getting fat by the minute. Really – I can't stand being this idle. STILLNESS=NO CALORIE BURN in my mind…. Sooooo, I'm struggling.

Therefore I've found every single stairway in the hospital. I even had Allyssa running the bleachers at the high school with me while I was home! Haha

I LOVE THEM! I always have, but now that I'm really pinched for time at work to really move around and burn some calories (from all the junk I'm eating while I'm sitting), I always find the steps! Plus, they help me wake up in times of desperation! Haha

So, I'll encourage you to find some stairs in your next workout. While your out walking your two miles or just as you're heading in to work, find the stairs and let your legs and lungs get a little extra work in as you go about your day. Small bursts add up and you can really add to your overall calorie burn!!

Happy Climbing!

Whew!

Hola!

Well… it's been awhile… AGAIN. Sorry! Life has taken another turn for straight up CRAZY in the Delp household. Seriously. We're always used to a moderate amount of chaos but now we've upped the anti!

So here's the skinny:

-Ginger got "fixed" and she's becoming quite the lovely young lady! J

- I've been in orientation working hard and loving every minute of it. I've finally adjusted (sort of) to life on the "dark side" and can actually enjoy being a night-owl while I'm at work now.

- Todd's career hunt continued

- In April, Todd got asked to come in for another interview.

- A few weeks later, he got an offer.

HE ACCEPTED!  We're now going to be moving to our Nation's Capital – Washington, D.C.!

So, in the mean time I have been "tossed" out of orientation and put on the telemetry monitors until I leave… Out of good faith and in doing the morally "right" thing of telling my employer about Todd's new and fabulous job well in advance from our departure I had high hopes of not playing the game of politics with Novant. Instead it's worse: It's straight up TORTURE! Take an active, can't sit still employee and paste their ass to a set in front of two computer screens all night long (yes – 12 hours) and only give them about 45 minutes of "off your ass time" as I call it to eat, move around the unit, run stairs, go to the bathroom and WAKE UP again. It's been a major adjustment for me and it's really starting to impact my exercise routine… I'm so tired when I get home FROM SITTING… that my runs are getting shorter, slower, and no where near the level of intensity I really enjoy (and need!).

I've discovered why people with desk jobs complain that they're so gosh dern tired all the time! It's just ridiculous.

Yes, I'm bitter that of all the flexibility I offered and willingness I showed to be "fair" on my part to Novant and the ICU…. I've received little compassion or concern. If it weren't for the awesome nurses I work with each day/night I'm pretty sure the pressure to "resign" and move on with it would have had me sprinting for the door of FMC. I am sad that this is the result of course. I've LOVED Novant (RRMC and FMC) from the get-go…. And I had really hoped for a little more commitment in return. I am not a "money pit" even if you want to get all technical about it. I'm almost out of orientation here. I'm a hard worker. I'm smart. I'm great with our patients and families. I get a long well with my team and our leadership…. And if we ever come back to this area, the ICU is exactly what door I'll be bustin' down again for a job. I love it.

I'm just so sad the game of politics and crap has to be played…. FMC might loose one of Its future superstars forever now.

But – I'm really excited about our move! I really am sooo proud of Todd and excited about our future that these few weeks of "sitting" are worth it. This change is needed in our life, our careers, and for our future as a family. I know it will be so worth it in the long run. So, I'll continue to sit and "save lives" through a PC screen. HA!

For now – we're lucky to have movers and packers coming the first week of June to help us get out of our half-way-house for GOOD! Yes, I'm going to miss my sweet neighbors and Ginger might miss all her doggie friends… but I'll never be sad about leaving "Smallsbury".

We'll officially be city peeps June 20^th (right after Todd's cousin, Kera's big wedding!!)!!

More will come as it happens. I'll be sure to give everyone our address as well. Which reminds me – if you think I don't have your address, will you send it to me?! Email is always best: amandadelp@gmail.com

Hugs & Lots of Kisses Friends! I've missed you – but I promise to get back on the blog more often. We Need each other now!

-red.

Sudden Goodbyes

Sudden Goodbyes

Sadly, last night my family had to say a sudden goodbye to my "Uncle" Russ. Although not married to our family, Russ had been my Aunt Karen's significant other for as long as I can remember. He found his way in to the hearts of all of my family with his charming smile and his big heart.

Quite literally, his big heart was his problem. Genetically he was doomed for trouble and after his pacemaker was placed in February, he has struggled to get well again. He had a stroke right after his pacemaker was placed and that compounded the issues.

So, last night after a long struggle Russ let God do His work and end his suffering and unhappiness here under the care of his wonderful nurses.

Thank you to all the kind words. Thank you to all the nurses who have touched my family's life over the last few months – you all have made a difference. Thank you to the doctors who kept trying to solve the problem(s) and found themselves still beside him in the end. Keep my family, especially my Aunt Karen, in your prayers, thoughts, and blessings.

Love,

-a.