Let's Fall into Good Habits

With colder weather and shorter days, I find it a little easier to sink back into the couch, a little easier to say no rather than yes, and a little easier to say "it can wait." All the momentum from the summer slows. As much as I love the changing of the leaves and wearing cozy fall clothes, I tend to have this mental shift- almost a resignation that winter is coming and I should hunker down.

But why be so passive, why not seize the day, why not overcome this feeling?  Rather than allowing ourselves to fall into bad habits, let's CHOOSE to fall into good ones.

So each week, let's choose to do something small but meaningful. Something to bring a little light into our days as the days get shorter. Something to bring a little warmth to our days as the days get colder. This is not a challenge so much as it is an invitation. Challenging you implies that I do not think you can do it, but an invitation implies that I hope you can. So, each Monday for the next several autumn weeks, I will invite you to integrate a little something into your days for that week. Now if you choose to keep up with these little somethings into the next week, fabulous! If you choose to let that new little thing slip away the next week, that's fine too. It's about moving in a better direction and doing it with intention. Not just because I said to do this, that, or the other, but because you think this new little habit adds value to your life.

Are you with me? 

I have some ideas for these good habits, but you can always comment below or email me if you have your own suggestions for little changes we can make to bring some value into our lives. 

So without further ado...

Let's Fall into Good Habits #1: Show gratitude to those around you. Send a hand-written letter to someone you do not thank nearly enough. Send an email with the Subject: Thank you to someone you appreciate for just being who they are. Text a friend telling them how awesome they are. Phone a family member or friend just to tell them how much they mean to you. Thank your regular barista, your dry cleaner, your yoga instructor, the guy who always makes your deli sandwiches, or whoever you cross paths with nearly every and tell them just how much you appreciate the work they do.

The notes can be sweet, the conversations can be brief. Just getting the message out is the important part. We rarely take the time to show our appreciation to those who mean the most to us. I remember agonizing over "thank you" notes to graduate program interviewers during the application process. What type of "thank you" note, what color of paper, what tone of note, what color of envelope? How silly it seems in retrospect. I would give anything to take that time back and write my very own grandmother a thank you note for just being an amazingly awesome grandma.

So give this a try, see how it goes. You may feel awkward at first, but just think about how wonderful you will make those other people feel. Think about how you just may put a smile on their faces.

Cheers to fall and to falling into good habits.

Adult Snack Time + 3 Healthy Snacks

Summer is just about over. The calendar may not say it quite yet, but it is back to school, back to real life for most. I have always been an after-school/ after-work snacker. Growing up, I had a snack when I got home before I started homework. In high school, it was to fuel before sports and in college, it was to stave off hunger until the dining hall opened.

I have found that as a grad student and as a working adult, the afternoon snack takes on a bit more significance, and because of this, it is an important part of my daily routine. For one, it keeps hunger at bay while dinner can be prepped. Cooking when I am hungry makes me way too impatient and by the time I eat, I am too ravenous to actually enjoy the meal. But more importantly, an afternoon snack acts as a bit of a "pause" in the day, a way to transition from the hectic work day to time at home.

When work is stressful, I find it challenging to leave work's mental and emotional baggage at the door and not allow it to infiltrate home life. A long commute can certainly help you as it physically distances yourself from work and allows time to elapse. My mother once told me that she and my father had the best dinner conversations when they each had an hour commute from work. When they lost their long commutes, she said that they lost some of those good dinner conversations because they were both mentally and emotionally "at work" even when they got home.

Another way to leave work at work is to STOP, sit down, and take a moment to have a snack. Often, our stress is compounded by fatigue and by hunger, and just sitting down to enjoy a bite can help us hit the reset button on both fronts. Then we can go about our day perhaps a little more at peace, whether the evening involves working out, making dinner, spending time with kids or significant others.

It may be tempting to grab one of those energy bars or a handful of packaged nibbles, but I have three snacks that are way too simple to make to not give them a try. AND all three can be made ahead of time! As much as I love Larabars and some of the other fruit and nut bars that contain simple, whole ingredients, they are also pretty pricey. My suggestions here are affordable, nutritious, and easy options in which you have all of the control over the ingredients. There is a sweet treat, a savory treat, and one that is a little bit of both for those days when you cannot decide.

What were your favorite snacks as a kid and what are your favorite snacks now?

Roasted Sweet Potato with Tahini, Za'atar Roasted Chickpeas, and Sea Salt||  Hard-boiled Egg with Kale and Basil Pesto and Pinenuts||  Stuffed Dates with Toasted Coconut and Almond Butter, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips, and Almond Butter with Cinnamon

• Sweet: Dates Stuffed with Nut Butter + Little Goodies

• Savory: Hard-Boiled Eggs with Pesto

• A Little Bit of Both: Roasted Sweet Potato with Tahini, Za'atar Spiced Chickpeas, and Sea Salt

Nut Butter Stuffed Dates: Make a lengthwise slit into a medjool or other large, plump date and remove the pit. Fill with your favorite nut butter (like my Toasted Coconut and Almond Butter) and maybe a few extras like toasted nuts, chocolate chips, ground cinnamon, or shredded coconut. Gently squeeze and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Hard-boiled Eggs: Place the eggs in a pot and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil, cover with a lid, and remove pot from the heat. Allow eggs to sit 9 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Place eggs in a bowl of ice water and allow to cool. Eggs can be stored in refrigerator for up to a week. To use, peel the eggs carefully. I use a spoon to slip under the thin skin just beneath the shell to slide the shell off. Drizzle with a little homemade pesto like my Kale Pesto or sub half kale and half basil in the recipe for an herby, vitamin-rich drizzle.

Baked Sweet Potatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment to make clean up a bit easier. Scrub small to medium sized sweet potatoes clean. Bake in oven for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the potatoes. Potatoes will be done when a knife slips easily through skin to center. Make a slit lengthwise and stuff with whatever you choose! Some suggestions: roasted chickpeas (like my Crisped Chickpeas), nut butter, tahini, cheese, toasted nuts, yogurt, sea salt, etc.

Zucchini and Manchego Polenta with Saffron Tomato Jam

A piping bowl of cheesy polenta is one of the most comforting foods. I love cooking it in the winter plopped under a lovely stew, the perfect foil to those heartier toppings. For the summer, polenta may seem too heavy, too dense, but I decided to lighten it up a little by tossing in summer vegetables to cook right along with the polenta. My first thought was to throw in some corn to make the corn flavor really pop, but I was late to the farmers' market and none was to be had. Instead, I threw in some finely shredded zucchini, and I dare say this version is even more fun. It dots the polenta with little specks of green and lightens the whole dish. I knew I was going to top the polenta with my Saffron Tomato Jam, so I drew on the Spanish cuisine and sprinkled in some shredded Manchego. Of course, another aged cheese would work, even good ole cheddar.

This is the perfect way to sneak in some vegetables if you have some veggie skeptics. While it is delicious as is, a poached egg could turn this into something really special.

Zucchini and Manchego Polenta with Saffron Tomato Jam

5 1/2 - 6 cups water
1 1/2 cups polenta (cornmeal, not instant)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 large zucchini, grated
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces or 1 1/2 cups grated Manchego cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
Saffron Tomato Jam, for serving
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, for serving

Bring 5 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add polenta and salt and whisk thoroughly. Reduce heat to low and cover and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent polenta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Stir in shredded zucchini, cover, and allow to cook for 10 more minutes. If polenta is rather thick, stir in 1/2 cup more of water and stir to absorb. This can vary depending on how pulpy your zucchini is. Remove pot from heat, stir in olive oil, grated cheese, and adjust for salt and pepper. Top with saffron tomato jam and toasted pine nuts. Enjoy! Serves 6.

Saffron Tomato Jam

Those baskets of cherry tomatoes at the market are almost too pretty to eat. Almost. Still a little warm from the sun, they are summer's best candy. This little number cooks them down so that their juices caramelize just a bit and their natural sweetness comes out. The best part is that you do not even have to turn on the oven to make this magic happen. It is reminiscent of the flavors of a Spanish paella, but in a spread that you can smush on bread or dollop into all sorts of things like your morning eggs or your warm bowl of grains. It is rather addicting so do not be ashamed if you take your fork to it.

Saffron Tomato Jam

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
generous pinch of saffron threads
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, sliced in half or quarters if large
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook 8-10 minutes or until onion is soft and translucent. Stir in spices and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and generous pinch of salt. Stir and when tomatoes start to release some liquid, reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook for 45-55 minutes or until tomatoes have broken down and become jammy. Stir often to prevent sticking. When just 2 minutes remain, stir in 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool. Store in jars for up to two weeks in the fridge. Makes about 2 cups.

Late Summer Minestrone

My favorite soup of all time is my late grandmother's minestrone soup. Studded with everything from cabbage to white beans to potatoes to little pasta, it is a whole meal in a bowl. The best part is always topping it with a sprinkling of super sharp, aged Italian cheese- either pecorino romano or Parmigiano-reggiano. I could eat it anytime of year. It is light enough for summer but hearty enough for winter. It just makes me think of all of those visits to her house as a kid. The only problem is that it requires a whole grocery cart full of ingredients and half of your day. There is a reason it is so delicious and so coveted by my family. When you order a minestrone soup in a restaurant, however, it is always a bit of a surprise what you get. The only somewhat predictable things you can expect when your bowl arrives to the table are a tomato-based broth, some vegetables, beans, and pasta in a tomato-based broth. All the little details are up to the chef. At home, minestrone soup's versatility is what makes it so great for using up odds and ends of vegetables you have left in the fridge. You throw in some beans, some pasta, and some tomatoes and you have got yourself a minestrone.

This is a pretty low maintenance soup. In my version here, I love how the zucchini and macaroni noodles soak up the broth as it cooks. I used Swiss chard, sauteing the stems in with the onions, but any greens could do. The little something that gives this soup some real body and deliciousness is the finely grated cheese thrown in just before serving. In most soups that I am simmering for a long time, I like to throw in a rind from a hunk of Parmiggiano-reggiano, a trick I learned from my Italian host mother several years ago, but I wanted this to be quick. And instead of just sprinkling some on each bowl at the end like my Grandma would do, I mix it all together to create a rich broth flavor in no time. Sprinkle some fresh basil to give it a bright, fresh note at the end, and you have dinner.

My only cautionary note here is that the pasta will continue to soak up all of the broth as it is sits, so be sure to check the doneness of the noodles often to avoid overcooking them. This is a fabulous soup to make ahead of time and in large batches to freeze for those nights when a big bowl of soup is the only thing that will do.

Late Summer Minestrone

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
4 cups water or vegetable broth
2/3 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni
1 bunch of Swiss chard, washed, stems finely chopped and leaves cut in 1/2-inch wide strips
2 medium zucchini, washed and diced into 1-centimeter cubes
1 cup cooked and drained chickpeas (canned are fine although I used ones I had previously cooked and frozen)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
1 large handful of basil, leaves cut in chiffonade
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and chard stems. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute about 8-10 minutes or until vegetables have softened and onions are translucent.

Add diced tomatoes and water to the pot. Bring to a boil and add pasta, chard, zucchini, and chickpeas. Stir to mix and allow to cook at low boil for 7-10 minutes or until vegetables are soft and pasta is al dente. Stir often during this time to ensure even cooking of the vegetables. Remove from heat. Pasta and vegetables will continue to cook a little more.

Add finely grated cheese to pot and stir until thoroughly combined, and broth slightly thickens and cheese has melted completely. Sprinkle soup with basil pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with additional cheese and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil if desired. Enjoy!  Serves 4-6.