Hectic Holiday (Eating) Season is Upon Us

This holiday season is particularly hectic at our household. Not only are we gearing up for time spent with our family, but we are also hitting the end of Semester (ahh, I remember it well). In a household with one graduate student and one college instructor, we're getting double whamied with Finals (both the taking and the grading). With heads spinning, we can barely think about what to have for dinner tonight, much less holiday gift giving, and I don't know when the last time the dishes were done.

Tempting as it is to bring home fast food, or even $4 frozen meals from the grocery store - we've opted for the healthier, less expensive, easy meal at home (and I'm not talking about a bowl of cereal here folks-- c'mon, we've all done it). No, I'm talking about deliciously easy meals, with easy leftovers:

PARMESAN ENCRUSTED TILAPIA

Ingredients:

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspooons paprika
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total)
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400º. In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the fish with the lemon wedges.


Source: Everyday | Rachel Ray

TUNA PUTANESCA & PENNE

Ingredients:

Salt
1 pound penne
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Two 6-ounce cans olive oil–packed tuna, lightly drained
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
Calamata olives, pitted and chopped (a handful) - optional
One 28-ounce can diced Italian tomatoes
Flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped (a generous handful)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water, add the pasta and cook until al dente.
   
2. While the pasta is working, heat a deep skillet over medium heat with the Olive oil. Add the tuna, flaking it with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the capers and olives and heat until warmed through, 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and parsley, lower the heat a little and simmer for 5 minutes.
   
3. Add a ladle of the pasta cooking liquid to the sauce. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce and toss.
   

   Source: Everyday | Rachel Ray

PASTA FRITTATA

Ingredients:

12 ounces cooked spaghetti
3 ounces sliced green onions (& any other vegetables you want to add)
3 ounces bacon, cooked and chopped
1 cup Grated Parmesan cheese
Vegetable spray or margarine
3 heaping tablespoons shredded Fontina -optional
6 medium eggs
2-1/2 cups half and half
5 teaspoons cornstarch
Dash nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
   
2. Beat eggs, half and half, cornstarch, salt and nutmeg thoroughly until all ingredients are completely blended.
   
3. Blend the spaghetti, green onion, parmesan, and bacon in a bowl until evenly mixed.
   
4. Coat a 1-1/2-quart round baking dish, including walls, with spray or margarine. Empty the spaghetti mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly.
   
5. Add the frittata batter to cover the fillling mix.
   
6. Bake in a 350-degree F oven for about 25 minutes until center is set. When center is set, cover the frittata evenly with the Fontina and bake until cheese is golden. Turn off the heat and open oven door. Let the frittata set in the open oven for 15 minutes for the batter to set more firmly and make removing from the dish easy.
   Yield: 4 servings
   

   Source: About.com

GREEK TUNA SALAD

Ingredients:

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup pitted Calamata olives
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
One 10-ounce bag mixed salad greens, such as Mediterranean or European mix
Two 6-ounce cans olive oil-packed solid light tuna, drained and flaked

Directions:

1. Put the lemon zest and juice into a screw-top jar. Press the garlic and salt together with the side of a knife until the garlic is mashed; scrape it into the jar. Add pepper to taste and the olive oil. Screw on the lid and shake well until blended.
   
2. Put the tomatoes, olives and onion in a large salad bowl. Shake the dressing again and stir about half into the salad. Add the greens and toss. Gently stir in the tuna, then taste the salad and add a bit more dressing if needed.
   

   Source: Everyday | Rachel Ray

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Discipline, Shmiscipline - Make it EASY & you'll do it!

Photo by Miss_Emmeline.

When I was in college I used to run every morning before class. I'd wake up at an ungodly hour (for a college student), pull on my clothes, trek over to the gym, run, shower, and make it back to the dorms in time to have breakfast with my friends by 7am.

I look back on this now and wonder how the hell I ever had the discipline to do this. And I seem to recall that every morning, I just dreaded the idea of getting out of my nice warm bed. I hated getting up early, walking in the dark, cold hours of the morning to the gym. I hated the stretching. I even hated running the first couple of laps. But I kept doing it, because when I was finished, I felt amazing. I was strong, and powerful, and disciplined (for all the whining). And it didn't hurt that the endorphines had kicked in by then. So, for the rest of the day, I would be on a high. I would only begin to dread the running when my alarm would go off at 5:30 in the morning. As long as I could get through those first 30 minutes, I was good as gold.

I managed to keep doing this until I moved off of campus and away from the gymnasium. What I discovered about myself was that the easier I could make those more difficult tasks, the more likely I was to actually be disciplined enough to do them. It wasn't that I was more disciplined then than I am now - it's that it was easier to do it then than it is now. It cost me less than $5/month to be able to workout at a gym that was a block from my living space. These days, the cost and the distance is much greater.

The easier and more fun it is, the more likely you are to do it. This goes for everything, not just exercise.

Yes, but, how do you make it easy? You have to know how you work, and cater to your "limitations" in such a way that they won't hinder you.

For me, this means making sure I have all the tools/equipment I need to make x, y, or z at any given moment. It means having a designated space in which to create, and it means dedicating time to be in that space on a daily basis (even if I'm not creating while I'm there).

Challenge: Make it Easy for yourself

This is a bigger challenge than you might think, because there are always going to be things that hinder you: Space, money, time, priorities. What you have to realize is, those hinderances will always be there. You have to make YOU your priority - even if you have kids, even if you have a demanding job... ESPECIALLY if you have kids, or a demanding job -- remember we're trying to find balance.

Some ways to make it easier on yourself:

• Focus on what you want (the Positive), rather than the things keeping you from it (the Negative)
  
• Make a list - a wish list, or a set of goals that help you get to where you want to be. Pick one and start working toward it.
  
• Don't think, just do.
  
  If you're at all like me, you have the tendency to think something to death & in all that time spent on thinking about it, you could've actually done it, or done something that gets you closer to the "it" you want to do.

Challenge: Designate a Space

Designate a space in which you can be creative on a daily basis. This can be your kitchen table, your garden, your sewing room (or the corner of the bedroom where you store your sewing machine). It can be your attic, your basement, an actual studio space that you've rented.... where ever it is - make sure that you spend time there every day. You don't have to be creative while you're there - but you do have to be open to the possibility of being creative while you're in that space.

Whatever space you choose, when you are there, BE THERE.