Smoothies for the Sickly

So I basically worked myself into a cold this week.  By last night, I was at three 17 hour or longer days since Monday (and that fourth day I had to wake up at 4am, so let's just say that my sleeping schedule has been less than ideal).  With all that, I'm not surprised that I woke up this morning feeling like I was absolutely dying: my nose running, a wicked cough, sore throat, the whole works.  I'll just say that I'm glad it's Friday so I have the weekend to recover.

I ended up taking the day off of work (that's one thing about working in a kitchen - it's not really like you can come to work "a little sick" and "tough it out"…).  I did a lot of sleeping, and even more laying in bed watching Jeeves and Wooster on Hulu.  (It's here, and you don't even need Hulu plus!!)

I also made a few smoothies, and they were all fantastic, but I thought I'd share one of the recipes with you, inspired by my father's love for those Dole juice blends.  I didn't have any strawberries in my freezer, but I did have raspberries, so here's a delectable raspberry orange banana smoothie, more delicious and more nutritious than spending your hard earned dollars on Dole:

Raspberry Orange Banana Smoothie
serves 1

3/4 c. frozen raspberries
1/2 c. frozen banana (about half a med. banana), cut into slices
enough orange juice to cover the fruit in the blender (I think I used about 1/2 c. or so)

(optional)
1/4 c. plain unsweetened yogurt

Put frozen fruit in blender.  Add orange juice.  Blend until smooth.  If it's too thick, add some more juice, too thin, add some more fruit.  If you want some protein in there, add any kind of unsweetened yogurt.  You should get a sweet and tart beautifully pink smoothie that packs a nutritional punch without any added sugars.

(So, here's the deal: I think it's stupid to focus on things like calories in most recipes.  In this recipe, it's pretty clear that it's something good for humans to eat.  It's fruit.  Whole fruit.  And juice.  100% orange juice.  You shouldn't need a calorie count to tell you that it's good for you, and anyone who is counting calories on a fruit smoothie only made with whole fruits needs different diet advice in my opinion.  THAT SAID, I know that some people just want to know this stuff, so here's some nutritional facts on this recipe):

Calories: 171
Fat: 0.8g
Dietary Fiber: 8.5g
Vitamin C: 224% Recommended Daily Value

Forgive how sickly I look.  Ugh.

HAPPY SMOOTHIE-ING!!

-Bethy

Chemicals vs animals

BuzzFeed posted a video on the site entitled Disturbing Facts About What You're Drinking.
I encourage you to watch it, and let me know what you think.

I saw this video, and it neither surprised me, nor disgusted me.  Clearly, it was designed to gross out everyone who saw it, and that simple fact made me think about the priorities that we hold in our food choices.  (In fact, I took an entire class on food values this last summer with Ellen Messer, one of the best professors I've had.)

It occurred to me that I don't have a problem with using animal products in foods in place of chemicals that will do the same job.  I would rather have little bugs crushed into my red flavored beverages than a chemical mixture that would never occur in nature.  Dried fish bladder doesn't super bother me either... Obviously, fecal matter in the tubes of fountain soda machines is gross...so I'm not going to agree that everything in the video is ok, but it's interesting how we are supposed to be disgusted by some things that are more "natural" than the commonly used alternatives.

What do you guys think?  Would you rather inject chemicals or animals?  How does the size or type of the animal change your thoughts?

-Bethy

Acorn Squash Deliciousness

I know.  I need to catch up my blogs to my life.

But, for now, a placeholder.


Has fall gotten to you?  Did you pick up a squash at the grocery store because you were caught up with the explosions of fall that happened as soon as you walked in through those doors?  Or did you get an acorn squash in your CSA box, and not have a super good idea on what to do with it?  Are you intimidated by something that has such a thick skin that you don't eat raw?

Well, do I have the recipe for you...

Now, bear in mind, when I say "recipe," I don't mean 1/2 tsp of this and 2 cups of that.  This is what I mean:

1.  Wash off the squash.
2.  Cut in half (I cut mine lengthwise, but I don't see any reason why you shouldn't cut yours the other way if that's your jam.)
3.  Scoop out the seeds and stuff on the inside so you you have a fun indentation to put things in!
4.  Make cuts into the squash - 3 or 4 lines diagonally across.  (You'll see what I mean when you see the picture).  This helps the flavor to seep into the squash, and makes it easier to eat later!  You don't have to cut all the way down to the rind, just a shallow cut is fine.
4.  Add flavor!  I put a little pat of butter, some maple syrup, a sprinkle of raw sugar, and some salt in mine.  You can add that, OR, whatever the hell you want.  Seriously.  Want a sweeter snack?  Put some brown sugar in there.  Want something savory?  Try some of your favorite herbs.  I personally think that curry powder makes most things delicious, so maybe next time, I'll try some of that.  Do what makes you feel good!  I would make sure that you've got some sort of fat (butter, oil, etc) in there, as that is what will make the liquid in the middle that you'll dip the squash into.
5.  Put in a pan.  Add a cup or two of water in the pan (so the squash halves are sitting in just a little bit of water.)
6.  Cover with tin foil.  Bake at 400 degrees.  I baked mine for maybe 30 minutes?  This is definitely something that you can put in the oven and forget about.  Do something else.  Then after you remember about it, take a look.  Poke at the edge with a spoon.  Is it getting a little bit soft?  If yes, proceed.  If no, do some more dishes or whatever, and check a little bit later.
7.  Take the tin foil off.  Whatever you put in the middle of the squash should be a delicious looking, delicious smelling soup of flavor goodness.  Check after 10 minutes or so.  Are the edges starting to get a little bit brown?
8.  Remove from oven.
9.  Procure a spoon.
10.  EAT.  SWOON.  REPEAT.  (I mean, I guess you can put it on a plate or something, but let's be honest, I ate mine right off the baking pan.)

You're welcome.

-Bethy

Calories vs Everything Else

So, I'm still around.  And I was pretty good at writing up the daily adventures I had while on my roadtrip with James, BUT I was not as good at having adequate internet connection to post said blogs.

SO, while you wait with bated breath for pictures of all the things I ate in several states and countries, and while I actually finish putting all those pictures up, I give you this:

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/mcdonalds-veggie-wrap/521f4f3a02a760133c000059

A conversation from Huffington Post about fast food, calorie counting, "healthy" options vs actually healthy options, and the marketing of it all.  It's a fascinating subject, spurred on by McDonald's new veggie wraps that they are selling in Canada.

If you eat fast food more than once...(a week? a month? a year?).  No.  Just once.  Ever eaten fast food? (Your answer is probably yes)  Ever thought about how what you eat at that restaurant is sold to you?  Marketing is EVERYTHING to fast food places, so I'm not reprimanding anyone for eating fast food, only for eating fast food without considering the implications of eating it - health wise, environment wise, labor wise.  Fast food is complicated.

The video here is a little bit long - it's 25 minutes.  But for the most part, there's not a whole lot to see in the video, so what I did was turn it on so I could listen to it while did some dishes.  It's worth it to check it out.

...and I'll keep trucking on those road trip blogs, promise :)

-Bethy