Updates and Greetings from California!

Hey Burlesquers,

I’m sorry I’ve been absent! But can you blame me? Vacation can be so…….amazing! I’m actually currently writing to you from my local Starbucks. I need to get some work done.

Health Update:

First, I’m happy to report that the million nutritional supplements I’m taking, along with a low gluten, sugar, and caffeine diet, has improved my condition! I look ok, right?! My hives have diminished, and I was able to stop taking antihistamines during the day. I also noticed my neck seems less swollen (this is where your thyroid is located), and my digestion feels a bit better. I am still having a bit of all of these things in my daily diet–I still have one cup of coffee a day, I occasionally have a bran muffin, and I eat low sugar ice cream for a sweet. But just these small changes made a big difference!

In fact, this is a positive learning experience for all of you with auto-immune issues: education is key! I haven’t even seen the endocrinologist yet, and I’ve already improved my condition, even if only a bit! It took days of online research (and even reading medical reports and studies), but I’m so glad I understand my condition that much more. I even bought a new, highly reviewed 5 star Paleo cookbook that I love called Practical Paleo. This book has a specific section dealing with Thyroid issues and diet! Brilliant! Who would have thought that my childhood skin condition vitiligo (that had lasting effects) would be related to, and comorbid with, thyroid issues and gluten sensitivity? I am so glad I made small changes to my lifestyle and eating habits. I don’t test as sensitive to gluten per se, but it’s best to think of an auto-immune issue attacking the thyroid as an overall condition affecting your whole body. The less your body experiences highs and lows (caused by caffeine, sugar, and grain), the less the thyroid has to work to adjust those levels and the better! I’m basically giving my thyroid a break on a daily basis. That’s right—my thyroid is permanently going to be on a mini-vacation! Cheers to that!

Daily Eats and Supplements for BB

If anyone is interested, I’ve started trying to structure my diet. I begin every day with my HBAC cereal  (remember that post? I told you I’d eat it forever!) using different variations of fruit and produce, like grated carrots with pineapple or pumpkin with apples. I also have one cup of coffee with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a little creamer. If I go to a coffee shop like Starbucks to study, I drink only unsweetened hot or iced herbal teas, such as Starbucks’s Iced Passion Tea, mmm. For lunch, I eat, for example, homemade chicken and vegetable soup that I’ve made in advance in my slow cooker. Yesterday I used bone-in chicken thighs, fresh parsley (99 cents at the store!), lemon zest, chicken broth, spices like bay leaves and Mrs. Dash, celery, garlic, carrots, and onions to make a delicious meal! Bone broth is great for digestive issues and has a ton of minerals by the way.

On top of all of this, I’ve started converting my kitchen to a gluten-free, nutritional haven. I just bought a new organic, gluten-free flour that’s fabulous: The Pure Pantry’s All Purpose Baking Mix. I made carrot muffins with this flour, and my muffins baked up high and fluffy like any grain-based flour muffin would! I also just found a yummy gluten-free bread: Udi’s Whole Grain Gluten-Free Bread. (No, seriously, my dad started eating this bread just because he likes it so much!) And I now take a bunch of nutritional supplements (that I bought at Costco, online, and at Target) to help stabilize my sugar levels, boost my metabolism, and keep me healthy. For those of you who have a SEVERE gluten allergy, take note: some supplements can be contaminated with gluten. Be careful when you purchase!

       Supplements:

Women’s One-A-Day Multi-Vitamin

Vitamin A

Vitamin B Complex

Vitamin E

Selenium

Cinnamon

Magnesium

Holy Basil

Milk Thistle

Flax Oil

Blog Update:

Because of all of my lifestyles changes that I am really determined to make stick, I’ve decided to make my blog and recipes loosely based on the Paleo and Primal diets. This means I will be doing mostly gluten-free and low sugar recipes (not counting fruits and stevia). And I will try to exclusively do more savory dishes–soups, lunches, and dinners. I am still tempted by yummy sweets and all of my favorite things (Birthday cake! Smores! Ugh!), and it’s going to be best for me to avoid these foods for awhile. And let me remind everyone that I am not against these sweets at all! I just happened to have an auto-immune condition that requires a specific diet. (And honestly, I hated having hives. No joke: I’d get hot, sometimes itchy red hives on my face, and I’d have to cover them up with makeup! I’d also get hives on my neck, which occasionally looked like hickies. Strangers would constantly give me knowing looks about my apparent vice! (True story.)) It’s all just not worth it.

I’ve also given my blog a makeover with a name change and new design. I’m still the same gal (a graduate student, a burlesque baker, and an avid fan of Bones and Vampire Diaries!), but I decided my blog needed to more accurately reflect its future posts, as well as be a source of inspiration for myself! Talk to you all later then, and we’ll chat soon!

BB

Peppermint Cocoa Energy Bars (adapted from Oh She Glows)

Hey all,

Yes, Ron and I are STILL on the east coast and eagerly awaiting our return to the Best Coast. (Are we there yet? No offense, New Englanders.) We also just finished our summer jobs and have been celebrating by going on a major tv and movie binge: Vampire Diaries! Bones! The Lucky One! In between dissertation work and jobs, we haven’t had much time to break in our new tv and sofa that we bought to outfit our new apartment. As you can see, we now have been firmly planted on our couch for days, and it’s been….glorious. Of course, the lack of exercise isn’t so glorious, and I’ve been trying to eat a little bit healthier after all this sitting (and after a major food fest at a great Italian restaurant for my friend’s birthday!).

This morning I saw that the lovely vegan blogger Angela from Oh She Glows recently posted a No-bake Peppermint Patty Energy Bar made with dates. Considering I had an entire bag of dates to eat before we leave, I became excited! Chocolate mint bars made from healthy, light ingredients? Of course I’m intrigued! Could they be good? Well, in the immortal words of Ron (who snuck a bar when I wasn’t looking), “Mmmmm, these taste like a chewier Mint Chocolate Clif bar!”

I adapted Angela’s Bars by adding a ton more cocoa, peppermint, and almond milk (double the amounts!), using less nuts with a combination of cashew and almond butter instead of walnuts and almonds, implementing plastic wrap instead of parchment paper, and blending vanilla protein powder with fiber powder instead of unflavored protein powder. Considering this recipe has no added sugar, these bars are delicious and guilt-free, friends! They are chewy, chocolatey, and minty–perfect for an after-dinner treat or post workout snack. I love the chocolate chips, too. They make these bars very rich and decadent. To store, wrap each bar with a little plastic wrap, and place all bars into a zip-lock bag into the freezer. (That way, they’re even more cool and minty fresh!) Thank you, Angela, for another delicious treat!

DIY Strawberry-Dark Chocolate Syrup (lots of fruit!)

Hey all,

Remember how I said I’m lowering my sugar intake? Well, I decided to start by making over my recent Homemade Dark Chocolate Syrup. MMMMM, remember how rich and dark it is?

I love this stuff, but I could definitely make it a little healthier–how about blending the syrup with equal parts strawberries to make a Dark Chocolate-Strawberry Syrup?

Image from Alloveralbany.com

I blended the strawberries with the syrup one day just to see how it would taste. The results? Wonderful! I may like this syrup better than the Dark Chocolate Syrup! (It’s actually dinner guest approved, too–I poured some of the syrup on top of a brownie and my guest immediately asked where I got the delicious cocoa berry syrup!) The strawberries cut through the dark chocolate and make it an even sweeter berry chocolate sauce. They also thin the syrup a bit, which makes it more squeezeable and spreadable. In fact, I bought a squeeze bottle just for this syrup! I knew this would be a staple in my house. (A low sugar chocolate syrup that’s half fruit? Yes, please!)

Homemade Dark Chocolate-Strawberry Syrup

1 cup of my Dark Chocolate Syrup

1 tsp cocoa powder

3/4 cup frozen strawberries

Directions:

Blend together. That’s it! Eat with ice cream, greek yogurt, and more!

Quick Cream of Vegetable Soup (using wilted lettuce)

Kitchen Tip: Use old lettuce (and other greens) to make soup.

Have you ever had a bag of wilting greens, lettuce, or coleslaw that you just hate to part with, but it’s getting a little TOO old? Use any old greens to make a quick and light Cream of Vegetable soup! I actually got this tip from a friend of mine who always has more lettuce and kale from her farmshare then she knows what to do with! (Hence, she eats tons of soup made from lettuce and other greens for lunch!)

I know, lettuce in soup sounds a bit strange, but we put greens into smoothies; why can’t we put lettuce into soups, too? When you blend broth, milk, and lettuce (and other greens),  the vegetables break down and blend together to make a wonderful medley of flavors! I especially love to use tons of garlic (3 cloves for a medium sauce pan), olive oil, all purpose seasoning, and a touch of white wine. Because I am trying to be health-conscious, this recipe also uses mostly milk and broth and can be made easily with almond milk or just broth. Why not use up old greens and maintain your figure while you’re at it? I am including the recipe I enjoyed yesterday (from my old greens), which included garlic, white wine, broth, milk, and only a touch of half and half. I ate a bowl of this with a piece of multi-grain toast. Mmmmm! Enjoy!

Quick and Light Cream of Vegetable Soup

1 cup of wilting lettuce

1/2 cup of wilting cole slaw

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup frozen spinach

1/4 cup white wine

4 cloves chopped garlic

1 tsp olive oil

2-3 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp all purpose seasoning

cracked black pepper

optional: 2 tbsp heavy cream or half and half

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, heat one teaspoon of olive oil and garlic for 2 minutes. Add your greens and corn to the pan, and let saute for 5 minutes. Add the broth and seasoning, and let boil for 5-10 minutes. Now, add your milk and half and half and stir. Using an immersion blender or food processor, lightly blend your soup. Time to eat and serve!

Orange Applesauce

Orange you glad it’s the weekend?! (I had to say it!)

Huguet, Meaghan Courtney

from MissWink.blogspot

Burlesquers, I am sitting and drinking some pumpkin coffee this morning! I don’t have a microwave right now, which means I need to heat up my milk for my usual cafe au lait (coffee with milk) in a pan…today I added pumpkin and cinnamon! Fun!

And I am so happy for the weekend! From my weird day in the middle of the week, to a bad case of heat rash (my sensitive, fair Californian skin is not used to this humid weather), I was just itching (no pun intended) to have fun this weekend. I love the weekends to relax, play catch-up, clean, and prep for the week. I work better knowing I have large blocks of time (maybe that’s everyone?). And I already had a wonderful time last night—I had dinner with friends! We grilled, had wine and beer, and the night ended with—wait for it—the group of us putting on old TLC, Salt N Pepa, and other 80s and 90s music videos, singing/dancing along, and then making our own hottest male and female celebrity lists! Yes, we are pretty amazing.  I can’t decide if I liked our “Whatta Man” or “Addicted to Love” rendition the best.

Salt N Pepa and En Vogue

Anyway, as I continue my adventures in eating my leftover/canned/frozen food before we move, I decided to use up some of my apples from a very cheap 3 lb bag I recently bought. I also had a tad over-ripened orange on hand. How about orange applesauce? I actually got this idea when I saw a pin on Pinterest for pumpkin applesauce—hmmm, how about we replace that (orange) pumpkin for an actual orange in the applesauce and add in a tsp of honey, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and orange zest to make it orange and spice and everything nice?!

Orange applesauce…a cool treat for the summer!

I was unsure how this applesauce would come out, but I loved it! I used only a scant amount of sugar to sweeten it (a tsp is no big deal) and it tasted crisp and a tad citrusy. I’ve made applesauce before with a lemon, but Ron said this batch made with oranges is his favorite so far. Yay! This is perfect for the summer because it’s cool, slightly zesty, and healthy. I might eat this with a pork roast soon. Mmmmmm. Honestly, this is good enough to make year round, or even to give as a gift!

Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups by Martha Stewart

Yesterday was……interesting. You know those days when multiple things go wrong, and you can’t wait to go to bed and be able to start fresh? It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either?

I used to love this children’s book! Alexander and the Terrible, No good, Very Bad Day. So cute!

That’s exactly what I experienced, and I was so happy to sleep it off, Burlesquers. (See, I told you the mornings are the best! You are able to start days feeling fresh and lovely!) I had alot of critique throughout that day, and sometimes it’s hard to take it all in. First, someone unwittingly said some remarks that undermined the authority of graduate student instructors. (Annoying, because I am one, but not bad.) Then, I had a dissertation meeting that didn’t go as well as hoped. (By this time, I was becoming upset.) Last, I received great evals about my teaching (hurray), but I noticed that one student anonymously fabricated or bent some “truths” in the comments section of the evaluations to make it seem as though I said and did things I definitely didn’t do (insane!), which of course hurts my feelings. (Now, I am definitely upset and making Funfetti cupcakes and watching the movie Thor to soothe my delicate feelings, LOL.) Chris Hemsworth is kind of dream boat-ish, right?!

Anyway, I unwound this morning with a gym session and a Gchat with my good friend in Chile. She really pepped me up!! (I love my friends!!!) Her response (along with some kind words) was, “BB, even the most popular teachers don’t have all great reviews. You can’t please everyone! Your ability is already established! Listen to some Kanye (West). You’ll stand taller, guaranteed. “And take that…hateeeeers!”" Love her. She makes me laugh. She is right, though. We can’t take seriously all the criticism of ourselves in the world–living your life based on every opinion of others sounds particularly exhausting, right? Not interested. And update: **Since this day, I’ve listened to Kanye, received a lovely email from my professor, and ate Funfetti. All is right in the world!!***

Anyway, I think this calls for some good old fashioned Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups by Martha Stewart, or “Breakfast Cups” (what I like to call them….because it’s a complete breakfast!). These little cups are a must for the person wanting to make multiple breakfasts ahead of time (stick them in the fridge!) or for the baker making a large batch for the lovely weekend breakfast. I actually made these cups for Ron–he started a new job at the school library, and he has to be up and out early! He needed a quick, filling breakfast that’s easy to eat and portable.

Hello, Breakfast cups!

I also like these cups because I am the person who doesn’t want to fuss with making eggs on the weekdays, but loves them nonetheless. How about eggs you can make ahead of time, or eggs you simply crack into a muffin tin and bake? So easy! Basically, you form pieces of bread into a buttered muffin tin, then lay down bacon strips (or whatever meat you like), crack an egg in, and salt and pepper. Voila! Done! I put parmesan on the top of my cups to give it a little extra flavor, and the eggs come out soft boiled, which I really like. You could also use low-carb bread, turkey bacon or Candian bacon, and egg whites, if you’re looking for a healthier “grab ‘n’ go” breakfast or snack. (I used wheat bread, turkey bacon, and whole eggs.)

Anthony Bourdain’s Boeuf Bourguignon

Ron loves all things food. I’ve told you he loves to cook and his family owned a restaurant when he was growing up, right? Well, not only does Ron love all things culinary, but he has a thing for food shows. Particularly, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Bourdain travels the world, sampling different meals at some of the most famous (and most unheard of) restaurants and bars. It’s definitely an interesting show.

From Anthonybourdain.net

Ron loves Bourdain, too. What’s funny, though, is that Ron has somewhat of a similar sense of humor as Bourdain, but the resemblance ends there. Bourdain can be nice, but mostly he is curt, rude, occasionally elitist, and completely unapologetic about it. Ron, on the other hand, is patient, nice, polite, and very sympathetic. And yet, Ron loves Bourdain. I think part of his fascination stems from Bourdain’s antisocial behavior and come-what-may attitude?!

Who knows, but whatever it is, his love for Bourdain dictated our dinner for tonite: Anthony Bourdain’s Boeuf Bourguignon.

Dinner!

Our stew with greens and mashed sweet potatoes!

Bourdain’s recipe is for a classic French beef stew that’s comforting, hearty, and great for a dinner (or even a dinner party). I’ had never made this dish before, but I had frozen stew meat in my freezer and figured this was just the thing. (Factoid: Julia Child made this dish famous in the US! Check out the linked video of her making it, loveeee it!) This is actually a fairly easy dish to make–basically, it’s browning meat and onions and stewing the meat and vegetables in wine for 2-3 hours. It’s that simple! We also had portabella mushrooms, which was a great addition to the stew. Who doesn’t want to make an expensive tasting dish that makes cheap stew meat taste like a million bucks?!

By the way, Ron just bought some new wall art for our apartment. He is SO excited.

Ron’s new wall art (he bought it on Etsy and then framed it himself!)

(Healthy) 5 Layer Enchilada Casserole

Today was a fabulous day, Burlesquers!

I caught up with a friend of mine via Gchat who is working internationally at a law firm in Chile. Love this girl–she is another one of my “kick butt” lawyer friends.  We met, actually, after we both graduated college and were working at a local coffee shop. She was my barista trainer, and my store manager prefaced my meeting her by saying, “You’re either going to love each other or hate each other.” Looks like we loved each other, because we’ve been good friends ever since! I’ve also grown to love her parents. They’ve hosted me at Thanksgiving, invited me over for Christmas, and let me eat them out of house and home. “Have another bowl of soup, BB!” Love you!

Anyway, my friend and I today were talking about vanity, self-deprecation, and insecurities. These topics affect everyone–men, women, young, old. I do think, however, women are particularly affected by this, with social pressures mounting for women of all different races, sexualities, and classes to be “every” woman: the working woman, the mom, the emotional caretaker, the model, the vixen. It’s not the same experience for everyone, but it’s alot of pressure in general, right? And it’s particularly bad when we’re younger, isn’t it? I still remember the awful, insecure, denigrating impulses about my mind and my body that I felt sometimes when I was a teen–I’m not smart enough! My hair isn’t straight or blonde like everyone else! My body is curvy and not super skinny! I don’t feel pretty!

I remember a day (years ago) when a man I briefly dated bullied me–praying on my common insecurities of acceptance–by telling me that men will never date me because of my “feminist viewpoints and strong will”. Honestly, I still don’t even know what that means. I’m not “acceptable” as a heterosexual female because I’m strong-willed? Or because I’m a feminist? At the time I was upset, but I was over that nonsense within a week. Such antiquated statements (who says that??). I hope no one ever falls for bullying that sounds that stupid! I hate to be so clichéd, but you’ve got only one chance here, people. Time to love ourselves! And, in the immortal words of Kelly Clarkson, don’t buy into someone telling you about how it’s going to be!

Speaking of loving yourself, I vote you make some healthy and hearty Enchilada casserole tonite! One night this week, I wanted to make Enchiladas, but I didn’t want to hassle with rolling up the enchiladas and making a mess (which I tend to do). How about making an Enchilada casserole and layering the Enchilada ingredients like you would a lasagna? This dinner was alot of fun to make and too delicious not to post!

a little slice of Enchilada heaven!

the pan of enchiladas

I used low carb wheat tortillas, beans, lowfat cheese, enchilada sauce, spices, vegetables and meat to make this delicious, 5 layer filling meal!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treats

You will never believe it, Burlesquers: I am sick with a slight cold! Who gets a cold in the beginning of a hot, humid summer?! Apparently I do, which explains my sluggishness (remember me attributing my tiredness to the weather in my last post??). It’s not a terrible sickness, but it’s definitely a sore throat and some congestion. Yuck. Glad I was lazy and skipped the gym the past two days. I think that would have made things worse!

Anyway, to remedy the dregs of a summer cold, I decided I wanted a cool, kid-like treat. How about Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treats to chase my blues away?! Yay!

Now, don’t get me wrong: I like rice krispie treats, just like every other kid adult around. But why not do a grown-up spin on a kids dessert, and add lots of cinnamon and chocolate chips? I wanted these to taste like faux churros! And what better way to do that than by adding cinnamon and sweetened condensed milk, which are two popular ingredients in Latin America? I made these treats using Target-brand Cinnamon Cereal, butter, marshmallows, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sweetened condensed milk. And the result is fantastic! I loved this! I hate being self-congratulatory, but these treats are much more fun and tasty than their rice-krispie treat counterpart. The cinnamon, vanilla extract, and sweetened condensed milk really give these depth and make them adult friendly! (Although, if you don’t have sweetened condensed milk, just add a few more marshmallows!). Goodbye, rice krispie treats, heeeello Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treats!

Hip hip hurray! Easter in May! Chocolate Banana Bites

Today is Day 2 of my writing marathon. I have a third draft of my prospectus due this Friday, and my advisor told me that I need to get a basic outline done. In fact, he is convinced I should just turn in a final sketch of something soon…. because my project will probably change later anyway.  He said, “And if the other members of your committee don’t approve your prospectus, I will lay my body down on the table and refuse to leave til they do.” I love my advisor. Who can say no to that? Looks like it’s you, me, and my computer today, everyone.

Yet another Elvgren pin up, “Joan”

To make my loooooong afternoon go by a little quicker, I thought I should do a project of some kind, as a break from work. Hmmm, how about transforming leftover Easter chocolate into something delicious? Ron had gone on a cleaning craze and was going to throw these leftover chocolate Easter bunnies out. They’re not the best quality chocolate, and they’re also milk chocolate (him and I prefer dark chocolate!). But I insisted we use them up—who throws away perfectly good chocolate?? No way!

(I know I know, my breaks always end up being associated with chocolate and sweets! But I can’t help it! I’m a creature of habit! Plus, I’m always looking for healthy, yet decadent, sweet recipes for myself. I want to try to live a fun but healthful lifestyle, which means lots of wholesome, good-tasting fare.)

These bites are super easy and fun to make, especially if you have children. You can dip them in sprinkles or “Jimmies”, as New England folks call them. (I swear, I had NO clue what Jimmies were. I only figured out that Jimmies were sprinkles when I went to a donut shop and saw a Sprinkle-covered donut, which they called  a Frosted Donut with Jimmies.) You could also dip your frozen banana bites into toffee, graham cracker crumbs, granola, coconut, or nuts, like chopped pecans or peanuts, mmmmmm! If you only have milk chocolate on hand, you could try melting that with extra unsweetened cocoa powder and/or add extra dark chocolate (to add more cocoa solids and fats). I did this, and my melted chocolate then became a semi-sweet chocolate (as shown). If you find your melted chocolate clumping (usually lower grade chocolate has less cocoa fats, which means it doesn’t melt as well!), add a half tbsp of butter or cream to thin and smooth out the mixture. Enjoy!

Hello, chocolate banana bites! You’re delicious!