German Success, Indian failure

Today was my day off and a pretty good day it was. It is getting alot warmer here and temps reached 80 degrees although the wind almost blew me across town as I walked around. I'm not light as a feather either so imagine what would have happened if Mary Kate Olson was in town. Yikes! Anyway, I went to my weekly German lesson and assured myself that it was a good decision to keep on learning the language while I am here even though it is a little expensive and I may rarely use it. If I was in Germany it would be easier but my tutor is great and I feel like I am understanding more and more each time. It will still be a while before I'm fluent but I definitely feel a sense of success. The remainder of the day was spent at the book store and the library first, looking for a couple reference books for "the project" and then I came home to expend my creative energy and write. I have decided that I will be taking a little sabbatical on my newpaper column articles so I can focus on my new project. I feel bad but I am finding that I am struggling to do it all right now. Perhaps I will be able to squeeze out more articles here and there but after the next one I write (hopefully this week), I am going to take a break. Tonight I then experimented with a few indian masala recipes and totally failed. It wasn't very good. Too bad I have a big pot of it :( I tried to fix it and make it something else and it is edible but not ver satisfying to my tastebuds. Better luck next time and perhaps I will find a food recipe and actually follow it the first time :) Oh, well, failures make better cooks of us all. I am thinking about pulling out my German cookbook this week and trying something from there soon. The hard part is I have to sometimes put my nutrition education stuff aside in my head and use ingredients that supposable aren't the healthiest BUT it is still better to use whole ingredients and make something from scratch than eat processed chemical laden foods. My mind sometimes has a little war about whole food flavor versus whether it is fully healthy. Guess that is the price I pay for being a foodie :)

Roasted Carrot Spread

This week at work I'm sampling some of our oil free, no sugar, sprouted grain breads from the bakery . They are delicious but I wanted to offer another quick easy tasty recipe for the customers as well. So I did a little searching, modified a couple recipes and came up with a tasty spread that you just might enjoy. You can play around with the spices a little bit yourself but here is what I did.

2 Large Carrots

2 1/2 T Tahini (Sesame paste)

1/2 T Agave, Brown Rice Syrup, or 100% Maple syrup

1/4 t salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

pinch of chili powder

Chop and roast the carrots in the oven for about 30 minutes on 375. Then put all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Season to taste. (I also steamed carrots one of the days and used a little bit of the water from steaming to make it creamier - I really like it this way. I added the steamed spread to the roasted spread I had from the day before. Either way it was good)

P.S. I would like you to note my picture as I'm think I am getting better at my food photography. What a great setup :)

Oh Man-o....

I'm already getting antzy. Chicago is cool, work is good, Sari is a great roommate, lots to do but still something itchin' at me. I'm such a traveling soul. It is hard for me to believe this is it for me right now. Don't worry....I'm not gonna just pick up and leave...I'm just sayin I think there is still more to come for me whether it be here or there. I have a little project up my sleeve that I'm SUPER excited about. Can't reveal it just yet but if it gets to going anywhere (which it will) I will reveal it in time. All I can say is I'm pretty confident about it and it is gonna be fun. Just wait and see. I have a pretty good feeling about this one and I've been pretty on with my predictions lately. To be continued...

Weekend Visitor

This weekend I had great time with my cousin's teenage daughter. Alexa came in on Friday to spend the night with me and have a little field trip in the city. We went to dinner at a well known Chicago Pizza place which was pretty taste. The pizza here is pretty crazy cause the crust is HUGE. All that cheese is definitely an artery clogger too but it must be experienced if you are in Chicago. So far though I think Lou Martineli's takes the trophy. After dinner we walked around downtown and strolled through the rain. Saturday was a shopping day. You should be proud of me. I actually went clothes shopping and wasn't crabby and annoyed about it :) If you know me at all you know I am not a shopper. It actually causes a little anxiety for me. BUT it had to be done and I told Lex she needed to be my little personal shopper and help me out. Well, she got me started and then I actually surpised myself a little bit. We took a little break to enjoy a little Greek cuisine for lunch and introduce Lex to another cultures food. It was ok but nothing compared to my fave Greek place with some of my fave people in Karlsruhl, Germany. I believe the tzatziki sauce is a good indicator of the rest of the food. This one was not real good. Afterward we did a little more shopping before making our way back out to the suburbs. We had a great visit on the long drive and made it to the house in time for dinner with her family and two of my other cousins. I love being able to spend time with all of them since I didn't know them that well growing up. They are great and it is great to have family near by. Today was back to work. Another week and should be busy.

Back on Solid Food

Ha ha....I feel like that is a song....Back on solid food...hmmmm...I guess you can't hear me singing that. Anyway...yesterday I finally ate some solid food, not to mention some other things are finally solid again too. Ha :) It was definitely about time I was able to put in more calories cause I must say, yesterday morning my energy was extremely low. The last two days on OJ weren't quite enough so I guess I needed more than I thought. Thankfully I was able to eat to get feelin better yesterday but I didn't do it quite right. oops...guess I got a little ahead of myself. I had my juice and a little fruit for breakfast, then I had a cooking class for a high school and we made black bean burgers and sweet potatoe fries. So I had one without a bun with some guacomole and some fries (baked, no oil so really just a sweet potatoe). Well it was way to heavy. Then in the evening I had some beans and rice and steamed broccoli. Ugggghhh...I felt like I extremely overate afterward but really didn't. My stomach isn't as big right now so I just overestimated what I could do. Lesson learned. Today I will take it easy. Overall results though.....I definitely feel better, lighter and ready to eat cool light foods for the summer. Also ready to build up some good healthy eating for my marathon training. I went on my 4 mile pre-training run this morning and felt GREAT! So glad to have my almost full energy back and be able to run again. I didn't weigh myself before cause I didn't want to make this detox about that but I probably lost around 10lbs of which a few of those pounds will come right back on once I get back to solid foods more but it feels good to lighten up. Running is always easier too with a little less weight to carry. So my task is complete. I am pretty proud that I was able to complete it and would definitely do it again, next spring of course.

On another note...last night I went to the House of Blues to see my friend, Daniel's band, Stars of Track and Field play. They were opening for Blue October. It was really cool show and I hung out backstage for a while just visiting. I felt like a cool little group with my Stars of Track and Field little T shirt on and my jean mini skirt and leggins, only I was drinkin water and I wasn't hangin allover the band members and crying cause I got to touch their hands :) Very chill and great to see Daniel. Thankfully I don't work till 11 today since it was a long night. Good times though. Chicago really is a great city with so much to do.

Am I done yet?

Day 10! WAHOO; ready to be done. I am just being stubborn now. You know I really could have started easing out a couple days ago but when I set my mind to something I have to complete it. So one more day of the Lemonade Diet and then I begin the ease out tomorrow but that means still two more days of liquid after the Lemonade. Sooooo over it :) On the other side though, I do feel pretty good. My body feels lighter; I feel cleaner; I feel ready to get back to a better healthy eating regime with of course a little unhealthy indulgences here and there but not over indulging. That is the hard part for me sometimes but then again, I am an American :) I am excited to get more energy back so I can start running again. AND...I miss cooking....I miss cooking alot...in fact I realized that I am even missing it in my job. Hmmmmm....it gets me thinking....I need to incorporate it more somehow...perhaps I should take a cooking class...but which one....or I need some sort of cooking project. Well, I watched the movie Julie and Julia last night. It was great. My heart wrenched because I loved seeing them in the kitchen, going to the markets, cooking, tasting, and enjoying each of the prepared foods and meals. I gotta do it...I need to be doing that more. So I was inspired once again. At the moment I am brainstorming a little bit on my interests in cooking, my interests in travel, my interests in culture and my interests in good food. I have a pretty good idea for a little project that I am bouncing around in my head. A little more thought and research and I will reveal it. At that time...my blog just may change for a little bit and a "cooking monster" may be created :) Wish me luck!

uuuughhh.....

Ok, so I'm totally over it. Day 7 and I'm bored. I feel pretty good, I'm not really hungry, my energy level is ok but I'm just bored. Food is what I do so it is kinda hard taking all of that away right? BUT...I committed to the 10 days (which actually turns into about 15 if you count the ease in and ease out) so I am going to stick to it. I'm ready to eat good healthy food again. I guess the good part is still that I'm cravin the good stuff and have plans to "get my good-eats on". You know some good whole food. Anyway, just a little update into the cleanse...still glad I am doing it to detox and lighten up but definitly can't wait to be done :) Plus I gotta get some good strength and energy back to "get my run on". Looking forward to it and I think this will actually get me off to a good start.

Cleansing Update

Well, first off, I don’t recommend going on a fasting cleanse while working at a grocery store. BUT I am doing well. I am nearing the end of Day 6. I still have energy to work out each day although I may have to back off on that just a little bit. Day 4 was definitely my hardest. The evening before that day I didn’t sleep well and was a bit uncomfortable. My stomach was definitely off so I went to the bathroom quite often in the night and ever since then I usually have the same issue in the afternoons. Day 4 was low energy and I had the chills and a little achy but didn’t feel sick although my stomach cramped here and there. I just went home after work, took a bath and laid on the couch relaxing and drinking tea. Only three more Lemonade days and then a few ease out days before getting back to a normal healthy diet. Going strong and gonna keep it up. Today was the first real day thinking about eating really food again. BUT I can say the things I am craving are all the beautiful in-season veggies, grains, beans, and nuts. Can’t wait to eat some good healthy stuff again. I also miss cooking too! I must say though that I would miss it a lot more if I wasn’t keeping myself pretty busy. Looking forward to starting my marathon training on Saturday. The weather is warming up and it is gonna be a great spring and summer. Lots going on! Stay tuned :)

Good day in Chicago

So, yes, I am still doing my cleanse and actually am still surprisingly pretty active and feeling pretty good. It is nearing the end of day 3 and I'm still going strong. Observation as I cleanse....It is interesting to see how much time we spend everyday eating, preparing to eat, cooking, planning meals, grocery shopping, planning to meet up with others for something to eat etc...so when all you have to do is make a jug of lemonade everyday, you end up with alot of extra time on your hands to get things done or just chill out.

I had a really good day today. I suppose it helped that it was 73 degrees, sunny and beautiful here. I woke up and got a few odds and ends organized before heading off to meet up with a possible private German language tutor at 11. I gave myself plenty of time to go outside and walk for about an hour before meeting up with her. She was great. Very sweet and kind. She is actually from Armenia but lived for quite a while in Germany and just finished her PhD in Teaching German as a 2nd Language. I'm really excited to work with her and plan to start taking some lessons once a week. Hopefully I will be able to keep it up. I was really nervous and a little resistant to meet up with her cause I haven't been speaking or hearing the language since I left Heidelberg a month and a 1/2 ago. I felt so slow in our first trial lesson. It's really amazing how fast you can start to lose something like that. BUT afterward I was very motivated and am looking forward to learning more. After the lesson I walked to the downtown Library and looked around and picked up a libary card just incases I might want a book or something one day. I left there and walked all around downtown just enjoying the weather before heading home to rest at relax as my energy level was slowly diminishing. At 5 I attended my church's Saturday evening service. I love going in there. It is so peaceful, comforting and calming. Something I definitley need as I tend to get worked up about things easily and don't really have many people here to talk to and help ground me again. We all can get soooo caught up in our daily lives and everything else that we tend to forget about why we are here and why we do the things we do. This brings me to the message tonight which was about really living your life for Christ in EVERY part of the culture you are in; Touching the lives of all those you come in contact with. On the other end it goes to show how everyone in your life truely helps to shape the person that you are. I know I can definitely name a few of those people for me but know that there are soooo many that I may not even know or remember. If you know someone that has positively impacted you, don't be afraid to tell them, let them know that what they do is really incredible and does make a difference. Provide them with this encouragement. And remember, the things you say and every action you do is observed and you never know how it may impact someone else for good or bad. I know that I have to constantly remind myself of this. Sorry I will get out of lecture mode but this is something I feel pretty passionate about and will admit I am definitely not perfect at. I will say though that I strive to be a positive part of as many lives as much as possible without praise but with grace from above.

During the service they also announced that they were putting a group of runners (and nonrunners) to join with Team World Vision and run the Chicago Marathon in October to raise money for the people in Haiti....WELL.....I couldn't turn it down and before I left tonight I found myself registered to run 26.1 miles in Chicago on October 10th. WHOA! I think this cleanse is making me more spontaneous than I already am :) At least I will have lots of people to train with and I'm looking forward to doing it for a great cause and making a few new friends along the way. In closing...Good day in Chicago :)

P.S. I'm not sure who Gabriel Iglesias is but apparently the show is sold out. I just loved the "CHICAGO" Theatre sign.

Spring Cleaning

It's that time again when the winter and heavy foods are drifiting away and in comes the warmer weather and along with it the desire for lighter, cooler foods. Spring is a great time to do a detox fast of some sort. ONLY if you know what you are doing and ease in and out of it. THis year I decided to experiment with The Master Cleanse or as some of you may have heard of as the Lemonade Diet. I decided on this one because sooooo many customers have come into the store for the three main ingredients hoping to have a miracle happen but yet still eat the junk they used to eat after completeing the cleanse. (My Top Secret Response: "NOT GONNA HAPPEN") BUT if you do it correctly it could actually help clean you out, clear away the toxins, give you revitilizing energy, and get you back on track for a healthier diet. So....I actually started two days ago with an easy-in diet. My first day was just fruit and veg, followed by a day of just fruit and veg juice. Today I started the Lemonade. It is made of purified water, grade B maple syrup (provides vitamins and minerals as well as positive/negative sugars), Fresh squeezed Lemon Juice for cleansing and rebuilding, and cayenne pepper for stomach heat and the clearing of mucus in the digestive tract. It actually tastes really good. Not sure I will be saying that in a few days but at least I like it now. I took a jug of it to work with me and on I was on my way :) I did great today. I worked out this morning, stayed energized at work and felt fine this evening. People I have talked to say that Day 4 is the hardest so I'm just gonna push on through. 10 days is my goal. I will update my progress as I go.

Fun Times with Old Friends

Yesterday, two of my great friends from back in my college days left after 4 days of visiting Chicago. We had such a great time exploring Chicago, eating at several Chicago favorites, and walking down memory lane from back in day when we were a little younger and crazier :) They arrived on Friday afternoon and we hit up the town for a little dinner and Chicago walking in the beautiful weather. Saturday, I surprised Kristi with tickets to The Oprah Winfrey Show. After telling her that we were actually in line for just a little museum display of a bunch of Oprah's things, I had her "going" up until we were walking through security before I had to tell her we were actually going to the show. Although the show subject itself was a little boring, the experience and spending the time together was really great. It airs on April 15th, so we get to see if we get our 15 seconds of fame. After the show we went to dinner at a great "hole-in-the-wall" resturant and had amazing crab legs for cheap. Sari filled us in on the little secret place in a below ground space with wobbly tables and Pabst on tap :) Definitely not your typical swanky seafood joint....more like a small town local bar feel. Just like home for us :)

Sunday we went to church and had brunch at my store before I had to work and the last horrah was on Monday night when we went to dinner and then drinks at the top of the Hancock building. There is an amazing view of the city up there. It was so great to have some familiar faces, close relationships, many laughs and genuine love around again. Monday night we got a few hours of sleeps before I brought them to the train for the airport early the next morning. Then it was back to work. Tuesday was a very long day at work especially with minimal sleep and I was so exhausted but my friend Jamie drug me to the Lincoln Hall to go to a concert. I was really glad she did though cause the band was really great and the venue was super cool. Any one should check out Low Anthem...they are amazing musicians. Not much exciting coming up the next week or so....until then.

My Chicago Home

The front door entrance

Coming in the front door

My cute little bathroom

Living, Dining, and Part of Kitchen

Dining

Living, Dining and Kitchen Island from other

Kitchen...which I guess is kinda "my" room too :)

My Room

View from my room

Here is the beautiful place that I was so blessed to move into with an amazing roommate, Sari. She owns the condo and is nice enough to share it with me :) The view is amazing as two of the walls are entirely windows, as you can see. I couldn't have asked for better living arrangements here. Come visit!

A lil bitta Chicago

Me, Sari, and Yvette

The BEAN

Sari and I

By the River

So I haven't posted much about any outings in Chicago or sightseeing yet. Probably cause I hadn't done much except work and unpacking. Now it is time to explore. The weather is getting beautiful and it is soooo nice to get outside again. The last two nights I have been out for drinks with my roommate, Sari (pronounced like Sarah but ending in eeee instead of ah) and her co-workers. We have gone to a couple bars with outdoor seating and on Wednesday we walked around downtown afterward and took a few pics. We walked by the river that runs right through the city and passed by Millenium Park where there is a giant reflextive "bean". Not sure what the meaning behind the bean is but it is pretty cool.

Looking forward to much more exploring especially this weekend when one of my bestest buds, Kristi and her husband Matt get here TODAY!!! She doesn't know yet but we are going to Oprah tomorrow. SHHHHHH.....It's a secret ;)