Wheat-less Wednesday: Donut Edition!

So being a future Registered Dietician (God-willing), people think we only eat Kale 24/7. While this maybe true for some Nutrition people, most of us enjoy sweets although in moderation and for a treat.

One of the things I crave being gluten-free are donuts! I worked in a bakery during the summers in college and to this day they still call to me every time I am in a grocery store. So to satisfy my craving I ventured to Whole Foods and bought these, not knowing how truly wonderful they would be!

I was very skeptical, as the instructions said to microwave for 15 seconds, I thought there’s no way this is going to be good or warm in this time. I was wrong. Oh my goodness they bring me back to teeny-weeny doughnuts at the fair. All you do is plop them in the microwave and you have warm,  cinnamony deliciousness waiting for you.

 

And they tend to disappear quickly around this girl…

And to stay true to my future occupation I will share with you all not-so-stellar nutrition facts, it is good they are so small with the sugar and fat content. But hey we all need a donut every now and then!

 

**As a side note this brand Kinnikinnik, also makes a gluten-free bread. While I would recommend the donuts I would hold back on the bread. It tended to fall apart easily and had a mushy overall consistency. Udi’s all the way!

If you’re in the market for a special treat look no further,give Kinnikinnick’s cinnamon sugar donuts a try!

~Alyssa

 

 

Cheap Healthy Eating

So living on a budget is pretty crucial when you are in Grad school, planning a wedding, and being gluten-free doesn’t help matters either. So here are 5 staple foods that I alway have that are super affordable and give you the vitamins and minerals to fuel your body properly so you aren’t on the blood sugar roller coaster all day long.

1. Eggs: some would consider them the perfect food. They have fat which will keep you full longer and protein. And let me just say eggs go with EVERYTHING. Lately I have been enjoying them on top of a bed of roasted vegetables (whatever I happen to have at the moment) and the yolk is a great creamy sauce. Yum!

2. Beans: My staple is Bush’s reduced sodium Black beans. Now even though they are reduced sodium you always want to rinse the beans to get all the black gook off of them. Rinsing helps to get rid of a lot of the salt content. You can add beans to salads, eggs, my personal fav: sweet potatoes, etc

3. Frozen Fruits: You all know how much I love my oatmeal, but fresh fruit especially in winter can break the bank so I opt for frozen raspberries. They taste the same and offer the same vitamins as fresh raspberries at a fraction of the cost. They go great on top of overnight oats (which you will soon hear about, I promise).

4. Spinach and sweet potatoes: For some reason these 2 vegetables in my mind are categorized together. Sweet potatoes/yams are usually only 99 cents a pound and they’re huge! I like to roast them whole or cut them to make sweet potato fries. And spinach is just a necessity it can go in eggs, base of salads, in pasta-dishes. It is a superfood that does it all. And bonus is filled with Iron, folate and MANY other vitamins.

5. Oatmeal: So you all know my love of oatmeal and you can get a giant tub for around $4 give or take a little depending on what off brand you get. Start off you day with a filling bowl of deliciousness, instead of sugary cereal that will you leave you hungry in an hour.

Fill your grocery cart with these foods the next time you go shopping and feel your wallet expand while your waist shrinks!

~Alyssa

 

 

Avocado Tuna Salad

Happy drizzly-damp Monday! I chose to forgo the freezing rain and run on a treadmill today= sweaty face. Running on the treadmill just is so much harder because you know exactly how far you are and there aren’t many distractions. Speaking of running I officially broke my running distance record on Saturday. Chris and I went for a run and I hit 6.4 miles (previous record Maggie’s Place 9k 5.6 miles) Woooo.

And this happened on Sunday, BEST THING EVER. The canonization of 2 popes: John Paul II and John XXIII:

He is now a SAINT! St. (Pope) John Paul II pray for us! I’m not exactly sure if you’re supposed to keep the pope in there when you say his name…#newsaintprobs.

Anyway, so in honor of my upcoming Medical Nutrition Therapy Exam on Cardiovascular Disease I made a tuna salad full of MUFAs and omega-3’s. I used avocado for mayo, because it is so creamy and…because it is a MUFA and fit into my themed lunch so I could call it studying (procrastinating at it’s finest).

Heart Healthy Diet 101: As I have mentioned avocado is a MUFA (mono-unsaturated fatty acid). Why are these guys important in our diets? Good question, because they can lower LDL or the “bad” cholesterol in our blood when eaten instead of saturated fats like butter, red meats, and whole milk. LDL cholesterol contributes to the plaque formation in arteries.

Yummm avocado. Now to the omega 3’s…introducing Tuna! Omega-3 fatty acids are called heart healthy because they have anti-inflammatory qualities.

So put avocado and tuna together and you have a winning combination! Ok don’t be scared by the greenish tint to this salad, it is a quite delicious.

Ingredients:

Directions:

First smash half an avocado, and dice 2 green onions and mix them into the avocado. This is pretty much guacamole, (note: store-bought guacamole can definitely be substituted). Then add a can of tuna, diced celery, greek yogurt and mustard. **If you’re making for Chris you must now add pickled jalapeno or banana peppers and garlic.

Mix it all together and enjoy on a sandwich, with a side of crackers, or if you want to be a super over achiever on top of a bed of spinach.

 

Super easy, delicious, and you won’t be able to tell there isn’t mayo in there (pretty sneaky don’t ya think?)!

~Alyssa

Wheat-less Wednesday: Snack Spotlight

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday!

Naturally chips and salsa are both gluten-free (well except for whole grain tortilla chips, how do I know this? answer: I was sick over Christmas and couldn’t figure out why until I looked at the chips I was dipping into my spinach and artichoke dip and what do you know… gluten). Anyway this is not like a shocking discovery but this wheat-less Wednesday does involve a dang good recipe that gives you salsa that is low in sodium, calories and a great healthy option for a snack.

So this weekend my dad made homemade salsa from a recipe that he got from one of his friends while they lived in San Diego. And oh man let me tell you I cannot stop eating it! It’s fresh, light, and full of flavor and really quite perfect for the after holiday feeling when all you want is fresh veggies.

Here is the recipe it is quite simple and easy.

Ingredients:
Large can of whole, peeled tomatoes (28 oz.)
1 tablespoon vinegar
4 or 5 green onions
2 limes
Salt and pepper
10 or so Cilantro sprigs
2 or 3 jalepeño peppers
2 or 3 cloves garlic

Slice onions and peppers. Smash the garlic. In the food processor, mix garlic, onions, and peppers, add other ingredients with the tomatoes last. Do not process too much, as few pulses as possible.

This is what it looks like after it is half eaten, trust me this will probably be what it looks like 2 seconds after you make it!

Last night, I enjoyed the salsa on top of taco salad filled with spinach, black beans, avocado, greek yogurt, and quinoa.

Try it out and thanks for the recipe dad!

~Alyssa

Sweatin out Sugar

HAPPY EASTER!!

Ok Chris sent this to me yesterday and I almost died I was cracking up. The baby is super cute and come on who doesn’t love St. Anthony?

 

I had a great Easter with Chris and both our families! Here we are at Easter Vigil Mass. Chris is looking quite dapper with his fancy suit.

 

Anyway thanks to my grandmother and her house full of jelly beans, candy and specially made (for her whiny gf granddaughter) gluten-free o’henry bars that were even shaped into little nests, I definitely hit my quota of sugar for probably the next decade! Oh my goodness they are so good, Grandmas just are the best!

So after the sugar rush of yesterday this morning I went for a run in Cloquet before returning to Minneapolis, and that is where the sweating out sugar comes into play. I really think my body was  detoxing through my pores. But anyway on my EARLY morning run I was greeted with this view. It just made me smile and stop to thank God for creating such beauty.

 

This picture spurred me to take other pictures of the views I see everyday to focus and marvel at the little things in life.

But first, here is me celebrating chacos and capri and biking weather (mine is the mountain bike on the end with the ghetto lock)! Wooohooo

And back to the scenery. Here is from the Stone Arch bridge on my way to a meeting.

Just a little reminder that there is so much beauty all around us if we just take the time to slow down and appreciate it!

Happy Monday everyone.

~Alyssa

 

 

Faith Friday: THE Friday

Good Afternoon everybody, and welcome to the second day of the Easter Triduum: Good Friday.
Once again Carol leads us this Friday with some inspiring words:

The name “Good Friday” always struck me because nothing seems good about the suffering and death of Jesus. His crucifixion was full of horrific suffering, as that was a incredibly painful way to die. In the fullness of His humanity, Jesus experienced human pain and felt abandoned on the Cross. We hear Him cry out: “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?”

On this day we not only remember the Passion of Christ, but we enter into His suffering and death. This is a Mystery each of us shares in through our own lives. Right now my suffering is a demanding academic load. For one of my friends it is grief over the recent death of a family member. For another it is a stressful work environment. For another an undiagnosed medical condition. What are your sufferings on this Good Friday?

Today we share our sufferings, those great and those small, with the suffering of our Savior. This suffering unites us to Christ because He too knows of our pain of this earthly life. Today there is the Cross. The Cross which we carry each day.

As Christians, we understand the Cross in light of Easter Sunday, in light of our redemption through Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. But today, Good Friday, there is the Cross. But we believe the Easter joy found in the Risen Christ is coming…but we must endure the Cross first before we arrive at the Resurrection.

In faith,
Carol

Long Distance for Life: Part 3 (Alyssa)

Welcome to Part 3, the last part of Long Distance for Life! You can read part 1 here and Part 2 (Chris’s contribution) here.

But now you can read the right my answers to what is necessary to make a long distance relationship work.

1. iPhone: (Texting and face-timing) It is important for our relationship that we talk everyday. And yes sometimes it is a quick 10 minute check in about our days but most of the time its around 30-45 minute lets call it a chat. This has actually been one of the best parts of long distance for me, because you cannot hide behind activities like cooking or watching tv. It forces people who may not be the best at communication (cough…Chris) to open up and to get to know the other person. I always think we have talked about EVERYTHING, but then the next day comes and we talk for another hour.

2. Time: Leaving time for the other person is a necessity. Yes, you might be able to study for one more hour or watch one more hour of tv, but giving up that time is a sacrifice that is needed for long distance. The hour at the end of the day that we spend talking is often what I look forward to the most, especially on bad days. This sounds like an easy one, but when you are apart and your lives and family/friends are pulling you two different directions it can be hard to say no I can’t play video games with my brothers, or no I can’t go out to the bars for the 7th day in a row as part of a challenge my friends cooked up (real-life), because I need to ask my girlfriend how her day was. It may seem like a little thing, but it is totally worth it.

3. Relationship with God: This is important in every relationship, but I think especially in long distance. It’s easy to become lonely when your significant other isn’t by your side 24 hrs a day every day of the week. But I came to realize that first I must rely on my relationship and love of God for total fulfillment and then I will have more love to give back to Chris. Expecting Chris to be able to fulfill my every want and need would be horrible, he is a human and putting that much pressure on him is not fair. I cannot rely on him to make me happy or to make me feel beautiful or feel loved. This must come from my relationship with the Lord and will then allow me to love Chris with a complete and full heart.

4. Love: Now obviously I love Chris and he loves me, but when I say love I mean really getting to know how you love each other. Asking how best can I love Chris? And how would I most like to be loved. To deepen our relationship we used the love languages (words of affirmation, gift-giving, acts of service, quality time, and physical touch). We were already familiar with them but took the fancy quiz just to be official. Not a surprise our results showed that both our love languages is quality time (hopefully Chris put time as one of his top five necessities). So what does this mean? We need to be truly present to each other when we do hangout, no iPhones, no iPads just me and him.

5. Communication of expectations: This is a BIG one. You really have to be on the same page in your relationship to make it work. If one of you is expecting to see each other every weekend and the other is expecting to visit once a month, it won’t work well. And definitely communicate your expectations on how to resolve conflicts, because let me tell you long distance fighting is the worst. It’s like a never-ending battle where you miss them so much but yet you won’t answer their phone call because you have to prove a point and be the most stubborn one.

I definitely feel lucky to have dated Chris for the last 2 years and while our dating may not have been typical, it was the best option for us and we made due with the circumstances. I think long distance has strengthened our relationship, but oh my goodness I cannot wait until Dec 27th so I don’t have to keep saying goodbye (quite as often).

I hope you enjoyed this mini series as much as Chris and I enjoyed reading and writing our parts!

~Alyssa

Long Distance for Life: Part 2 (Chris)

So you have all been waiting and get ready because here it is! Here are Chris’s answers to the 5 things needed for a long distance relationship. You can see Part 1 here.

Christopher’s 5 things necessary in a long distance relationship (and little blurbs about them because Alyssa said that that was the prompt and gave me no further directions). So in no particular order, my 5 key things to make a long distance relationship work:

1. Make time to talk

This one is huge! Alyssa might be pretty quick to say that I have bad communication…which may or may not be true. But at the same time, we always made time to talk with each other. I always ask how her day was and what she has going on for tomorrow, then I talk about the same things. Alyssa will then get kind of crabby and say something along the lines of “I want to have a deep conversation.” I don’t even know what that means, nor do I think I have the ability to have a ‘deep’ conversation every day. So I try to deflect and have her start that convo. But I suppose that is a different story. Either way, every night we talk for at least a half an hour, no distractions, and I know that that can go far in deepening our relationship. And of course we always end with praying with each other.

2. Go to visit when given the opportunity

This is the fun one! When she was in Phoenix for a year I made it down twice to see her during the school year and it was a blast! When the trip is officially planned then you’ve got something to look forward to (we always had countdowns going on). We were able hit up the Grand Canyon (however, no hiking in the Grand Canyon occurred…) as well as do other random things like Flagstaff Extreme (check it out! http://www.flagstaffextreme.com/) Also, when Alyssa was in Ohio at Franny-ville I made it over there a couple times as well and it was fun to see what her ‘college experience’ was like. Oh man, I love the Frannies.

3. Snail mail is a must

Getting letters in the mail is seriously the absolute best! Oh, now that I think about it, getting packages in the mail is the absolute best (with letters being a close second). Besides, Alyssa loves being all mushy gushy and it is a heck of a lot easier for me to write that kind of stuff than to say it. Plus it totally makes your day when you get something in the mail. It is definitely a lost art form.

4. NETFLIX! (or some other online video streaming)

So people might judge this one. Alyssa and I might have judged a couple who said they did this. But then we tried it, and loved it! There are those days when you talk/skype with each other and then you just want to hang out. And really, when you think about it, on a date you are not constantly talking, you’re doing some kind of activity too. So our activity during our long distance days was watching Netflix together. We would pick a movie or some new series to start (press play at the same time) and half of the computer screen would be her face on skype and the other half would be the video playing. It’s basically watching a movie together minus the cuddling! We have passed many a nights doing this (and we still do it) and I tell you what, I would not judge anyone now if they said they did this.

Warning: make sure you have your talking time in before starting the video…there have been times when someone (whose initials start with a C) fell asleep when watching the movie and the other half got a little crabby because then we didn’t talk for the night.

5. Forgiveness (and perhaps the most important)

All relationships are going to have their fair share of arguments. We can definitely attest to that. But we have also noticed that when you are actually in each other’s company, things get resolved so much easier and WAY more quickly. When fighting over the phone or skype it can be quite tempting to just not say anything or even just shut things off. But when that happens, the argument can certainly drag on for much longer than if you were with each other. Make sure to talks things over (which isn’t always easy for me, I tell you what), and to forgive the other person.

PS. Clearly I like to point out when Alyssa gets crabby (see 1, 4, and sort of 5). But to be fair, I promise she’s not the only one in this relationship to get crabby.

Also, my views have changed, but here is what I originally thought about quinoa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TobvW77tuwQ

Come back soon to see what my answers are (and don’t worry I wrote my answers before reading Chris’s)!

~Alyssa

 

Countdown to the Wedding: Long Distance for Life

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I sure did for two BIG reasons. My mom is FINALLY home from Florida and treated me to some Chic Fil-a and Chris came to visit! So I guess maybe that is three, though I feel like chicken and waffle fries should not rank with my mother’s welcome home and Chris.

Let’s back up, on Friday night Chris and I went to see Jim Gaffigan in Minneapolis. He made so many jokes about healthy foods. Chris said his wife is a Nutritionist and I was loving all the jokes about almond, soy, and hemp milk. He even poked fun at Whole Foods, such a great time.

 

On Saturday we met up with my parents and while my dad had to coach Destination Imagination we went out to lunch and a little shopping.

After our fun afternoon, Chris made me guacamole as part of dinner. And then for a treat we went to Izzy’s for ice cream and they had gluten-free cones!!

Now to the heart of the issue. As many of you know Chris and I have been long distance about 90% of our relationship. It started from the very beginning in South Bend, IN and Steubenville, OH (5 hrs apart) then moved to Minneapolis and Phoenix (28 hrs apart)and now to our current situation of Minneapolis and Cloquet (2 hrs). We thought that 2 hrs would be sooo much better and it is, but it is still  hard to say goodbye every weekend. It gives new meaning to the phrase TGIF.

I think because we have been long distance for so long, and now we are engaged, people somehow consider us a success. I get asked all the time, especially from friends who are considering long distance “how did/do you do it?” I don’t think there is one right answer because relationships are all so different, but it sparked some curiosity in me. So I asked Chris what are the 5 things he thought were essential for our long distance relationship. And then I thought about it myself and we both answered separately. Now lets see what we had to say….. Well actually because Chris and I both like to write novels you will have to tune in tomorrow to read the 5 things that make our relationship tick!

~Alyssa

Faith Friday

As always thank you Carol for leading this weeks Faith Friday and writing such a beautiful and though-provoking post on the great gift of Reconciliation.

Dear readers,

It is the Friday before Holy Week begins. Naturally I have been thinking of ways to make Palm Sunday and the entire week a little more holy and God centered. One thing I’m planning on is receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Easter. It is a beautiful gift, that we are forgiven for our sins and reconciled to our God. Nothing can separate us from God’s mercy, but it is important to confess our sins once in awhile through the sacrament!

Several years ago, when I was at Saint Mary’s College, I gave a reflection during a Reconciliation prayer service. I would like to share those thoughts with you today…..

The week before Easter is the holiest time of the entire year.  Holy Week is a time to reflect back on our journey through Lent as well as prepare ourselves for the Triduum and the celebration of Easter Sunday.  I invite you to take a silent moment to think about the past weeks…how have you grown closer to God?  What Lenten commitments allowed you to focus on Christ?  Being faithful to Lenten promises can be challenging especially for college students.  My own commitments for Lent were difficult to meet.  I intended to spend some days volunteering in the South Bend community and commit myself to daily prayer in the chapel, but my academic, social, and extracurricular obligations filled up every spare moment.  In my own reflection on this Lent, I realize how God can become an afterthought in the midst of our everyday lives.  I feel some disappointment in myself for not placing Christ at the center of my heart.

The season of Lent has nearly concluded, but we still have time to grow in relationship with God.  Tonight we come together to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation.  The sacrament invites us not to repent for failing to keep our Lenten promises but for actions that weaken our relationship both to God and one another.  What matters is not if I gave enough money to the Rice Bowl collection, but did my actions show a love and appreciation for all of my neighbors?

In his letter to the Corinthians St. Paul writes: “so whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come”.  The old things pass away, signifying that our sins will be forgiven.  God does not hold our sins against us, but offers a new opportunity as we go forward in our lives.  Our hearts become new as we turn away from sin and devote ourselves to Christ.  When we live fully in Christ, we become a new creation.  The beauty of Reconciliation is that God extends His unconditional love and mercy to each of us.  God overlooks all of humanity’s shortcomings and forgives our sins!  As we make our confessions, let us be made new in Christ and embrace the remainder of this Lenten journey.

Have a blessed Holy Week!

In faith,

Carol