Update (Where I've Been) and some Pearl Barley Salad

Wow, long time no write!

I am so sorry about the almost month-long hiatus. I could give you a detailed list of exactly why I've been lacking in my normal weekly updates, but none of you really want to hear about that! Instead, I'll give you a fun little story: I've been working on a student-body political campaign for the last two weeks.

And guess what?

WE WON!!

So all of the sweat (literally), tears (literally), and blood (ok, maybe just a little of this one) were completely and totally worth it. But helping to run a campaign, even if I was just volunteer coordinator, really sucked up a ton of my time. My eating bills this month skyrocketed, because I was on a tight schedule that left no room for actually making food. I would get up at 5AM, bustle around getting all the campaign stuff ready, be on campus by 7, have classes and work from 8-4, go to campaign meetings from 4-6, and then head to the nearest coffee shop and do all my actual school work until about 1AM. Rinse and repeat.

Needless to say, I ate a lot of pre-made food. Even in Fort Collins, which is super granola and all about fresh/local, I felt so weighed down after about the first week. There's something about making a huge plate of vegetables at home, the way you like it, that is immensely more satisfying than scarfing down a bagel or even a pre-made salad. It just tastes better and lighter and all-around more fantastic.

Today is the first day I've really been able to sit back and get all of my daily routines and chores back on schedule. I ran a 5k this morning with a close friend called The Flying Pig, which was great, and then I came home and cleaned everything (I just get in these obsessive moods sometimes where I have to clean?? Does anyone else experience this?? The kind of mood where I-have-to-clean-before-I-can-even-think-of-anything-else?).

And then I cooked for the first time in two weeks.

When I was looking in my fridge I was trying to figure out what the heck I could do with all the random (almost dying) vegetables, and so I naturally moved to the pantry. The Pearl Barley was found, and voila. Introducing a chilled pearl barley salad with tons of vegetables.

This is totally customizable, y'all. It's wonderful. You can throw in whatever vegetables you like. Personally, I always have mushrooms, carrots, and spinach on hand, and then I grabbed some frozen peas in to add a tiny bit of a pop and some more beautiful green color. When I tasted it initially, it was lacking some salt and zing, so to make it more interesting I added feta cheese and lemon juice (which, I admit, it my go-to. If something isn't perfect, cheese and lemon juice usually fix it). The pearl barley adds some awesome texture. It's so close to being like rice but with a bit more substance, almost chewy but no exactly?

Words are hard.

But yes, feel free to mix it up in any way you want. I made enough to last me the whole week, which is awesome because HOMEMADE FOOD. I've been missing it. Cooking and I used to be tight, but the past two weeks strained our relationship. So, clearly, I just need to make all the delicious things that way we can be friends again.

That's how it works, right?

Chilled Pearl Barley and Vegetable Salad
Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 5 large carrots, sliced into rounds
• 12 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced in half
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 cup cooked pearl barley
• 1 cup spinach, chopped
• juice of one lemon
• 1/2tsp salt
• 1/2tsp pepper
• 1/2c. reduced fat feta cheese

Instructions:

1. Steam the carrots and mushrooms, either by microwaving them with 1 tablespoon of water for approximately five minutes or bringing them to a simmer in a large pot with 1/4cup water and then removing from heat and sitting, covered, for ten minutes. (Or until tender).
2. Meanwhile, combine the peas, barley, and spinach. Add the steamed vegetables, and immediately squeeze the lemon juice over the mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Move to the fridge and allow to chill for at least thirty minutes.
3. Before serving, sprinkle with feta cheese. 

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 383mg
Total Fat: 2g
        Saturated: 1g
        Trans: 0g
Sugar: 5g
Protein: 10g
Calories: 198

Open-Face Breakfast Sandwich

We're continuing with the breakfast theme, branching from 2014 to 2015! It's like Back To The Future, only with chocolate and bread instead of Lea Thompson and Michael J. Fox.

Good times.

Before the recipe, though, and speaking of good times: I completed my first 2015 5k on the third! It was really fun, but I was so nervous. I've run eight 5ks so far, and a 10k, but this was my first 5k since I got sick and developed anemia last summer. I was completely and totally expecting to have a time around 40 min, when I can usually do about 29min, because my body has just been so out of training the past few months.

Buuuuuuuut!

31 minutes and 50 seconds!

It was nice to know that I was starting out the year with health in mind! I don't believe in New Years resolutions, because I figure we should aim to change our lives at any time and for true intrinsic motivation, but I know a lot of people who have resolved to be more healthy this year. The gyms are packed, produce sales are skyrocketing, and people in general are focusing a lot more on healthy recipes.

I figure it's always best to start with breakfast, then, because it's your first meal and kind of sets the tone for the day.

Doesn't this just scream breakfast? It looks like something you would get at a cute little B&B, right? (Side note: I've never been to a B&B because when I sleep in new places I tend to get rather paranoid about someone somehow managing to hear me sleeptalk, which actually tends to make me retreat into a corner and curl up in an attempt to quiet myself-- because my sleeptalking is honestly just so so bad. I used to wake my older brother up with it all the time, and I woke myself up once. But! If I did go to a B&B or if I owned a B&B this would totally be a menu item, am I right?)

The following is something that is easily to make, fast to whip up, and a very nice way to ease into healthy eating. I used to eat breakfast sandwiches all the time before I stopped eating eggs (and now I just use scrambled tofu instead) and I loved loved loved this recipe. This is great if you are just getting into being vegetarian, or are a vegetarian who eats eggs. It's a combination of lightly toasted and nutty whole-wheat bread, fresh spinach, and a perfectly-cooked egg (runny yolk of deliciousness included!). I love adding on some tangy goat cheese, because it totally completes it.

I actually feel kind of bad even calling this a recipe, because it is so simple. Toast bread, cook egg, layer. Seriously. That's it. It's one of those obnoxiously easy breakfasts that make it hard to excuse rushing out the door without some good sustenance in your belly. But I'll basically take any excuse to cook (give me an inch, and I'll stretch it a mile), and this is something simple to fulfill that desire. It's great for new cooks, too-- be they young or old.

Here's to a great 2015!

Open-Faced Breakfast Sandwich

Serves 1     

Ingredients:

• 1 slice whole-wheat bread
• Cooking Spray
• 1 egg
• 1/2c baby spinach
• 3/4oz fresh goat cheese, flavored if wanted

Instructions:

1. Toast bread. While bread is toasting, cook egg in a small pan coated with cooking spray (you can cook it any way you like, but I like over-easy). Place spinach on toasted bread, and top with egg and crumbled goat cheese. Devour!

Nutritional Information (varies depending on bread):
Sodium: 308mg
Total Fat: 11g
      Saturated: 5g
      Trans: 0g
Protein: 13g
Sugar:6g
Calories: 199

Spinach-Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells

There's this silly trend that sometimes rears its ugly head of "Oh my god, carbs are bad, carbs make you fat!!" Um, no. This myth drives dieticians crazy. In every single nutrition class ever (or, at least, the accurate and well-taught ones), my professors have stressed, over and over again: carbohydrates are essential for life. We need carbohydrates like whole wheats, rices, and fruits to keep us moving and to provide us with the energy we need to live. And it's not carbs that make us fat-- it's calories. If you eat more calories than you burn off (whether that be in daily activities, workouts, or body functions), then you will most likely gain weight. Simple as that. If you eat 2000 calories of just protein and you only use up 1400 calories that day, you will have an excess of 600 calories. It's the exact same as eating 2000 calories of just carbohydrates when you only need 1400 calories. So why not eat a balanced diet of carbohydrates, protein, and fat?

Here's a hint: if you ever discover any type of elimination diet (ex: NO sugar EVER, NO carbs EVER, ONLY juices), then it's often not healthy and you shouldn't do it. There is a ton of nutrition information out there that is misleading and is only spread around to make people who aren't certified dieticians money. Don't fall for it. Repeat: everything in moderation. You can have sugar, you can have carbs, hell if you like juice then drink your juice-- but do it in moderation, and keep your diet varied.

I am a carb lover, so I can't go long without having some type of pasta. When I am craving something that is rich and warm with creamy cheesy-goodness, I gravitate towards stuffed pasta. It's pretty simple: blend savory tomato sauce with just the right amount of rich, creamy ricotta and delicate spinach. Baking pasta is a fantastic way to get a bubbly, creamy, warm dish.

Spinach-Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells

Servings: 6           Serving Size: 3 shells (with the sauce)

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 2c. of your favorite low-sodium marinara, divided (my recipe:here)
• 3/4c. yellow onion, diced
• 10 ounces of frozen spinach 
• 2c. low fat ricotta
• 1/2c. skim Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2c grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/2tsp dried oregano
• 1/4tsp salt
• 1/2tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2c. fresh basil, cut into very thin strips. divided 
•  2 garlic cloves, minced
• 24 cooked jumbo pasta shells

Instructions:

1. Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray and evenly spread 3/4c. of the marinara on the bottom. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a small skillet, saute the onion in cooking spray for 3 minutes (until slightly cooked). Place in a large bowl and allow to cool slightly. 
4. Thaw spinach according to package directions, and then squeeze out the moisture. Place in the same bowl as the onion.
5. In the same bowl and the onion and spinach, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan,  oregano, salt, pepper, egg, 1/4c. basil, and garlic. Make sure to thoroughly combine.
6. Stuff about 2 tablespoons of filling into each shell, and place them open-side down in the baking dish from step one. Pour the remaining marinara evenly over the shells, and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
7. Remove and garnish with the remaining 1/4c. basil. Devour!

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 498 mg
Total Fat: 10g
         Saturated: 5g
         Trans: 0g
Sugar: 5g
Protein: 18g
Calories: 319