Sanity Recap and Winner

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Cheryl Harris

I hope everyone had a wonderful, sane holiday (or wonderfully sane?)  One way or another.  I’m glad so many people opted to join the Sanity challenge and posted or commented.  Here are a bunch:

We were joined by:

JT of Faux Foodie Girl

TPOT of http://nourishingyourself.blogspot.com/

Jonathan of the Canary Files

and his updates, too

I, for one, enjoyed having one more little nudge to slow down, be mindful and focus on what’s most important.

As for 2012, I have 2 resolutions:

  • More kindness.  Kindness to myself, my body, the people I love and the people I don’t.
  • Savoring life.  There are so many beautiful aspects of life already here each day.  I want to marinate longer in them.

And….drumroll please…our Sanity winner is Jonathan of the Canary Files!  Congrats, Jonathan, and I’ll be in touch this week.  And give yourself a gift and stop by Jonathan’s wonderful blog.

Posted in December Sanity Challenge | 4 Comments

Review: Gluten Free Makeovers

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

Better late than never, yes?  I got a copy of Beth Hillson’s Gluten Free Makeovers

I think it was in late October—right before our annual huge baking binge…er…party.  And so I was not really up to cooking!  And then my camera died, and then construction and then…so yes, it’s taken a while.

I was eager to review it, because Beth has such a great reputation.  As usual, I made two recipes: one for royal icing, which you can see decorating the NinjaBread Men, and the other was Quinoa Sesame Wonder Bread.

The Royal Icing was awesome because this was a super easy recipe, and the icing was very easy to work with and stayed firm.  I wouldn’t hesitate to use it again, although I’d totally cut the amount in half.

The Wonder Bread intrigued me because I have a recipe with quinoa, sesame seeds AND one of my co-workers named it wonderbread!  However the similarities stopped there with ingredients, and Beth’s is a much simpler recipe (mine is much higher fiber and I will have to post it sooner or later!)

I struggled to follow Beth’s directions because I’m so set in my ways.  I.e., in my brain, you just always proof yeast and use parchment and….so on.  But since I was supposed to be reviewing, I did my best to follow as written, and indeed, it worked as promised!  I did use parchment anyhow because I’m so lazy about clean up.

The bread rose beautifully, kept well and the recipe was a keeper.  A friend has half in her freezer and I will do my best to update this post when she updates me!

Regarding the book overall:
pros:  The recipes I made were great, I wouldn’t hesitate to make either/both of them again, and many looked wonderful.  I think the Challah will have to be high on my to-make list!  There are also quite a few dairy free subs, which I think is a fantastic plus.

Cons: many of the recipes have very specific flour combos.  I.e. there’s a basic blend, a cake blend, 2 bread blends….since I’m someone who doesn’t cook anymore, I’d hate to make those up each time.  HOWEVER, I have no doubt that those blends are just an extension of the fact that Beth is a great baker!  I do wish, however, there was one blend and some sort of conversion between the two (i.e. add extra cornstarch for the cake flour, or whatever).

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book and it’ll have a happy place on my bookshelf!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Sanity Goals: Week 2

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

Tales from the front lines…

So the December Sanity Challenge is chugging along and I’m loving reading all of the posts/comments!  Our Sanity hostess this week is Valerie of City Life Eats.  She has been doing wonderfully with her exercise goal and has decided that cutting back on blogging was needed as a temporary step.  She also pointed out that I first emailed the Sanity crew on Black Friday.  I’d forgotten that, but it figures.  I was already finding myself pulled into buying things I didn’t need!

This week has been a challenging one for me.  I generally do food gifts, and it’s almost expected.  So I tried to make a batch of toffee and it burnt to a crisp.  Thinking it was because I decided to veganize it, I tried again.  Smoking stinky stenchy goo.  What in the heck was going on?  I tried another recipe.  Same thing.  And then I knocked over the bowl of chopped nuts  that were supposed to go in the toffee, and *poof*, my kitchen was covered in a layer of ground hazelnuts, almonds and cashews.

After saying a few choice words, I sat amidst the nuts and had a good laugh.  Because seriously, what else is there to do in times like those?  I didn’t NEED to make treats, I wanted to.   And of course, I figured out the problem.  My candy thermometer was about 30 degrees off.  That’ll do it!

So overall, the amended goals are doing pretty well.

  • Exercising 3-4 times a week.  Ideally, Mondays, Thurs and Saturdays, and doing my fun PT exercises daily.  Going strong (yippie!)
  • Waiting at least 2 hours before making Internet purchases.  Hopefully by then I’ve figured out that I don’t need whatever wonderous toy they’re selling. I think I’ve done it…still waiting on a shawl to see if I really need it…
  • Meditation twice daily. Yes, and going back to longer meditations, which really helps me.
  • 6 desserts in December.  That’s it. Um, yeah.  that one got totally blown out of the water.  It’s officially amended to only making things when I will enjoy it. 
  • Writing a schedule Tues. I think I’m not really a schedule and list person.  That one hasn’t taken.
  • Heading off on a silent retreat this weekend!  Way to get off to a good start. Completed week one. I can’t do that every week, unfortunately.

And everyone else?

Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl is our next hostess, so watch for her post!  She also has her goals up here.

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge | 2 Comments

Menu Plan Monday: Citrus

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

Having a crazy holiday season?  this is a plug for the December Sanity Challenge!  Find a goal to keep yourself sane, blog about it, and even report back.  Iris of the Daily Dietribe is hosting this week, so go give her some love.

I think it’s helped me stay saner, except for right now when I should be heading to bed, so I need to make this snappy, and I’ll add more tomorrow.

Fun stuff: An article on Immune Boosting foods in the Washingtonian Blog

and my holiday newsletter, too!  It’s got wonderful tips and gobs of recipe goodness, including a slew of naturally gluten-free recipes (or should I say, Gluten Free Easily?  Although the recipe list goes back more years than I’ve known Shirley!)

Fun tasty stuff: Candy Cane Marshmallows, dipped in chocolate.  Mr. Dude risked serious injury when he mentioned last night that he ate a bunch and hoped I didn’t plan to give them to many people.  And yet he is alive and well, and sanity prevails.  If the Christmas treats get eaten early, that’s it.  I’m making what I’m making, and that’s it.

That leads me today’s ingredient: citrus! For the schedule and our new Menu Plan Mama, please see Heather of Celiac Family.  Want to join in on the fun? I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.

If anyone is keeping track, I rarely eat citrus because it doesn’t agree with me (and if you’re keeping track, congrats.)Every year I make Choco covered orange slices because they’re Mr. E’s faves, and I’ll post a recipe this week.

Monday:
Chicken with Celery in Chestnut Sauce

Tues:
Quinoa Italiana, I hope!  I think I have more olives

Weds:
Halibut with Kale Pesto

Thurs:
Classic Beef stew

Friday:
Leftovers!

Sounds like Citrus is popular all around!

Wendy at Celiacs in the House is having an abundance of citrus in the form of Clementines and grapefruits.  She’s got a great lineup including a white bean Cassolet.  Also, don’t miss out on her 4 book giveaway to celebrate her blogniversary!

Heather of Celiac Family has a very cute logo.  And the theme will inspire her to use up the citrus that been around and also to drink more water.  She’s got cilantro lime shrimp on the menu, too.

Renee of Beyond Rice and Tofu intrigues with an Indian Spiced Squash soup.  She generally eats citrus in its native form rather than baking or cooking with it.

Angela of Angela’s Kitchen stops by with a Bison and Sweet Potato Stew and what looks like a very busy week of shuttling around kids to various places!  Hopefully she can find inspiration from other blogs for other yummy meals, too.

I’ve just “met” Samantha of So Simply Good, but anyone who is laundry phobic is clearly a long-lost soulmate of mine.  She’s got a nice paleo menu, and not only that, her grandfather GROWS oranges!  How cool is that.

Posted in menu plan | 15 Comments

Dec Sanity–Update Week 1

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

I just saw Iris’ Dec Sanity Goal, and it’s terrific!  Go check out her plan.  Simple yet elegant.  Heather of Celiac Family posted hers, too.  Anyone whose goal is to get more hugs is a winner in my book.

And I wanted to check in on my goals…ya know, the whole accountability thing–and see how things were rolling along.

  • Exercising 3-4 times a week.  Ideally, Mondays, Weds, Thurs and Saturdays, and doing my fun PT exercises daily. *yay!*  Did M, Th, Sat…forgot all about planning to do Weds.  Hmmm.  I still feel like I did a good job, and 3 is pretty decent.
  • Waiting at least 2 hours before making Internet purchases.  Hopefully by then I’ve figured out that I don’t need whatever wonderous toy they’re selling Even better–didn’t buy anything!
  • Meditation twice daily. Om…..
  • 6 desserts in December.  That’s it. Yeah, about that.  I’ve made less than 6, but I’m up to 3 with 3 weeks to go.  This does not bode well!
  • Writing a schedule Tues. I didn’t specify which Tues….I will write it by SOME Tues, does that count? And I have kept up with work, so I should get points back for that!
  • Heading off on a silent retreat this weekend!  Way to get off to a good start. Even saw an Owl.   The more I google, the less certain I am of the kind–it looked a little like a barn owl and a little like a barred owl.  The one I saw seems bigger than any of the pics I’m seeing on line.  Maybe I should split the difference and cal it a barned owl?  Either way, it’s the first one I’ve  not on a leash in the zoo.  Very cool!

And everyone else?

For more about the Dec Sanity Challenge and how to join, see the initial post.

Posted in cheryl's musings | 8 Comments

Medicare Covers Obesity Counseling (sort of)

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

I generally post on food and my thoughts on health, but I feel like this is important enough to make an exception!  Medicare has decided that only physicians, nurses and physician assistants are qualified to provide people who are very overweight with nutrition counseling services.

Let me start off by saying I don’t really have a horse in the race.  I don’t accept Medicare and obesity has never been my primary area of interest or practice.  But no matter how you look at it, this is a huge problem.

Most doctors receive little to no nutrition education–1/2 a day, tops.  Nurses receive about 20 hours.

That’s it.

Is that who we want supporting weight loss and behavior change?

I’ve had the pleasure to know many fantastic doctors and nurses, and despite their huge among of knowledge and skill in their field, they rarely have the training or experience for intensive, long term nutrition counseling.  Unlike RDs, they didn’t get training for 5 (or more) years on nutrition and behavior change.

And think about it.  How long do you have to wait to see your primary care doc?  Can you see them being available sessions for weekly sessions for weight loss clients?  I’m afraid this just doesn’t compute for me.

To the best of my knowledge, nurses and doctors that accept Medicare are increasingly squeezed and overworked.  So not only do they lack the knowledge, they also lack the time to give quality services or learn more so that they’re able to.

Lots of people stand to lose here.  As far as I see it, the only people who benefit are those selling surgery or diet pills/shakes, and there’s been some question of conflict of interest among those who made this decision.

And this isn’t even a matter of debate over RDs vs CNS vs other nutrition or coaching degrees.  At the end of the day, if the people who can provide this service according to Medicare don’t have the time or training to actually do it, people simply miss out on this benefit.  Or, people will only get support if they can afford to pay for it out of pocket.  It also makes it more likely that people wanting to lose the weight will fail, because they won’t have the support the need.

And this affects pretty much everyone, because either the hundreds of dollars that could go for nutrition counseling will now be tens of thousands for surgery, or increased medical expenses.  So, if you’re so inspired, you can call your government representatives
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml.

And now, we return you to your regularly scheduled program of munchies and stress relief.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

My Goals–Dec Sanity Challenge

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

I am so glad that the December Sanity Challenge is underway!  Since it first came to mind a week or so ago, life has become increasingly INsane.  I left my job at Kaplan Center on Tuesday, which was very sad, but the drive became too long and it was a huge physical drain.  Instead, the plan has been to work at home, and I’ve started working on some nutrition education webinars AND now it seems, am very close to committing to write for a nutrition magazine, too (details to come…) Somehow, just like that, I forgot about my plan to take more time to relax.  How does that happen so quickly??!!?? Also, I was nominated by NDVDA as Emerging RD leader for VA so I’ve been working on pulling together my application and letters and such.

The new things are delightful, but they also require TIME MANAGEMENT, which is not traditionally one of my strengths.  I’m like one of the cats, I get distracted by whatever flits by. (Or for anyone who watches the Daily Show or has seen the movie Up, SQUIRREL!)  So I will need to seriously build some structure in order to meet these deadlines and take care of myself, too.

So my sanity goals this month:

  • Exercising 3-4 times a week.  Ideally, Mondays, Weds, Thurs and Saturdays, and doing my fun PT exercises daily.
  • Waiting at least 2 hours before making Internet purchases.  Hopefully by then I’ve figured out that I don’t need whatever wonderous toy they’re selling
  • Meditation twice daily.
  • 6 desserts in December.  That’s it.
  • Writing a schedule next Tues.
  • Heading off on a silent retreat this weekend!  Way to get off to a good start.

Anyone else?

Posted in cheryl's musings, contest | Tagged | 8 Comments

December Sanity Challenge

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

‘Twas the night after Thanksgiving…and I realized that I had already bought more than I needed, committed more than I intended, and slept less than I wanted.  And it wasn’t even December yet!  So it dawned on me—how about a December Sanity Challenge?  Surely I wasn’t the only one who easily gets swept away in the craziness.

Here’s my confession: I love making candy.  Always have.  I mean, really love it.  Fudge, pralines, chocolate covered orange slices, brittle…you name it.  Yes, I’m a Registered Dietitian, most of it I can’t even eat because of my allergies and intolerances, but that hasn’t stop me from making batch after batch!   Perhaps I owned a bakery in a past life and was used to making food for an army?  I totally get carried away with it and take a fun activity and push it to excess, and that takes so much of the joy out of it, even if it’s just once a year.  I fully believe I can balance my desire (and love) of giving with my need for self-care, even if that means a little moderation.  I’ll be posting more on how I plan to reign in my inner over-baker.

Pictured to the left is the great Zen Master Houdini and Mr. Dude.  Happy Hou, clearly, does not need a sanity challenge.  However, we humans usually do.

So here’s the scoop on the December Sanity Challenge.  It can be on whatever YOU need to work on to stay sane during the holiday season:

  1. Balancing commitments to others with commitments to yourself
  2. Getting in physical activity
  3. Creating a happy balance around food
  4. Getting enough sleep!
  5. Making wise financial choices
  6. Focusing more on living beings than material “stuff”
  7. Whatever else speaks to you along these lines

The challenge—post on what you plan to do to make your holidays sane, happy and healthy.  Make it specific!  Not just “I’ll get more sleep”, but “I’ll get at least 7 hours of sleep, 5 days a week”.  Not just “I won’t go crazy making desserts”, but “I’ll make a maximum of XX desserts, and space them out over XX time”.  You know what you need to do to keep this doable, and writing it down will help you get there!

As a little added incentive, for each post on your intentions and your progress you link back here or one of the other co-hosts, you’ll be entered to receive a $50 gift certificate to Nutsonline.com  (they are not sponsoring, I just wanted something with healthy gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, etc. options)

And so I asked some of my favorite peeps around the web to join me in hosting a December Sanity Challenge, and here’s our line up:

I hope you choose to join us, too.  Grab a badge (many thanks to Valerie!)and we’re good to go!

Posted in cheryl's musings, contest, December Sanity Challenge | 23 Comments

Menu Plan Monday–Monday Nov 28th

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

I hope everyone had a good holiday!  We did.  It was super relaxing and I caught up on work, which was quite needed.  I posted on the abundance of things I’m thankful for, and I have to say this was one of my favorite thanksgivings ever.  Love is really all that matters…and between Mr. Dude and the kitties, we’ve got enough love to go around.

And something fun to look forward to: I’m hosting a December Sanity Challenge!  More details to follow soon.

This weeks’ menu plan is hosted by Our Frugal Life and the theme is twist on pizza.  Hmmm…aside from Alta’s pizza (which is AMAZING, btw) I haven’t done much in the way of pizza.  Ok, twist my arm, Alta’s pizza it is!

Interested in hosting?  I’m sure Heather would love to hear from you!

Monday:
Ginger Lemon Chicken and broccoli

Tues:
Curried beef and cauliflower

Weds
Alta’s Pizza

Thursday:
Salmon on a bed of baby greens

Friday:
Leftovers

Fun Stuff:
Chocolate hazelnut torte (AKA E’s Cake)

Posted in menu plan | 3 Comments

Thanks for Beginnings, Middles and Ends

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Cheryl Harris

Giving thanks is super easy this year because I’ve had so many wonderful things happen just in the past few weeks:

  • Nomination for Emerging Dietetics Leader of the Year from the Northern Virginia Dietetics Association
  • Quotes in the Washington Post
  • A nice mention in the Washingtonian Blog

It’s been a real whirlwind of a November!  And as really amazing as all of those have been, it’s the people in my life that I am most grateful for.

I am beyond grateful to my husband, who is such a wonderful source of support.  I am so grateful to my clients, and it is such a blessing to me to be able to have the privilege to work with and support so many lovely people.  And I am grateful to the two beautiful furrballs (purr-balls?) who make me laugh and light up my life in so many ways.

I’m grateful for new beginnings  (a new project!), and I’m even grateful for the endings (leaving my old job at Kaplan ).  Leaving is sad, and it’s painful but in a normal, natural sort of way when you have to give up something you’ve treasured that’s beautiful, but simply no longer fits.

And, of course, I’m grateful for the mystery of what’s ahead in the new year and beyond.  And the apples from the Farmer’s Market waiting to jump into my pot.

Wishing you and yours many blessings…and ability to savor them, too.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments