Sunday, October 21, 2012

Solo Dining Fears be Damned!


Friday, after my training was over, I drove down to the beach and plopped down in a spot without too much seaweed and dug my toes into the sand. It was surprisingly cool by the beach and the wind never stopped blowing. After my "nap",  I woke up  and realized I knew how sand dunes were formed: the side of my leg facing away from the wind had built up quite an impressive amount of sand carried by the wind. Good thing I had my eyes closed and backpack zipped up! 


I brushed myself off, emptied my pockets of sand and headed back to my car. I decided to eat dinner at True Food Kitchen for dinner and treat myself to a delicious, pricey dinner. 

The decor was nothing less than trendy and modern. It was definitely a Fox Restaurant.  I felt like I should have arrived in stillettos, tight pants and a billowy sparkly top from Express. Oh yeah, and I should have gathered all my ladies. Considering I had none of the above and only a purse from Target (thank you Rebecca) and the third book of the Hunger Games, I happily sat on the patio off to the side. 

Once my primary reading material was taken from me (menu and some spiel about Andy Weil's anti-inflammatory food pyramid), I turned quickly to my book. 

Whenever I see someone eating alone at a restaurant (and it's not a fast food place), I wonder why they would choose to dine solo. What do they think about? What do they look at? Do they eve's drop on people's conversations? Do they try to look interested in the silverware or their reflection in the window? Did they remember to bring a book or piece of paper to write on? Or do they feel connected by fiddling with their cell phone? 

I was afraid of solo dining this past week on travel. I'm not one to worry about what other people think of me so much. Instead, it was the fact that I couldn't enjoy the food I was eating without sharing the experience with someone else. And... where do I look in between bites??  But there I was, soaking up the California sun, sitting alone and enjoying a delicious piece of salmon on a bed of quinoa and beets. 



While the experience made me a bit uncomfortable, I'm glad I chose to treat myself to a delicious dinner even though it meant eating alone. I think it's good to do something every day that makes you a bit uneasy. I don't mean go do something dangerous... Instead choose something today that you wouldn't normally do but you always think about how you wished you had done it once the moment's passed. 



Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The Most Delicious Thing You'll Eat This Month

Z O O D L E S ! ! 

This recipe was introduced to me by my dearest Regina Fitz! She directed me to The Tasty Alternative blog. I have made this recipe over and over and I've decided it's one of the most delicious things I've eaten in a long time.

If you've been lacking on your vegetable intake recently, this dish will surely rock your taste buds and need for those veggies.




Ingredients*

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
Sun dried tomatoes, chopped  (I used about 3/4 of a jar of Italian-herbed sun dried tomatoes) 
2 jars of artichoke hearts in water, chopped
1 package of Bella mushrooms, chopped in half
Handful of Basil, chopped
Handful of spinach
Salt and pepper
1/2 Tbsp Italian Herbs
A couple shakes of Oregano and Parsley 
Red Chili Flakes

1 pound of grilled chicken breasts, sliced into bite sizes

4 zucchinis, SPIRALIZED! 

* This recipe makes a lot! It'll easily feed 4 and then some leftovers. It reheats great, too. 


Directions

1. Heat the oil in a very large skillet and throw in the minced garlic. Saute for a few minutes and get those garlic aromas going! 

2. Add in the diced onion and saute for another minute or so. 

3. Turn up the heat to lowish-medium-high. (Is that confusing?? Let's say about 5 o'clock on the dial.) And add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms. 

4. Sprinkle in all the herbs: Italian herbs, Oregano, and Parsley. Add in the salt and pepper for taste. 

(5. I shook in quite a bit of red chili flakes... I like things spicy!)

6. The contents will be starting to release their juices and things will smell glorious. Add in the chicken (and juices from coming off the grill if you've freshly grilled it!). 

7. Toss in the freshly cut basil and spinach. 

8. While everything is cooking in the pan, get out your spiralizer! and spiralize 4 zucchini's into zoodles!! (I used the smallest hole option on my spiralizer. This makes the most realistic-like noodles.) 

9. Turn the heat up just a bit more and toss in all of the zoodles. Give it a good mixing, making sure all the juices and good stuff get spread all over the zoodles. 

10. Place a lid on the pan and let the whole thing cook for about 5-8 minutes before serving. The zoodles will soften up a bit. 

11. Eat and be amazed this is made from 100% vegetables! 





Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Work Trip Beach Trip


Working out in Santa Ana, CA for the week and decided to take an sunset run along the beach. . . 



It sure would be nice to get to the beach in 15 minutes every day.