food – Superhero Living

August 2, 2017August 2, 2017

10 products I’m loving for August

Hi, my superheroes!

I’m sorry to have gone radio silent on you. To be honest, I felt like a fraud posting about being a superhero… because I just don’t feel like on recently.

But it’s August first, so let’s talk about some products for the end of our summer!

You know the drill- I’m not getting any money from anyone for this! Enjoy!

Rhinegeist bubbles. Y’all Rose beer. In a can. Ned I say more?
This ELF BB cream: Super lightweight, natural coverage, and a little bit of SPF. It’s excellent. It’s also about $4. Pretty hard to beat that.
On that note, I’m also loving this Burt’s Bees balm in Plum: It’s actually a pretty good match for my cover girl almost lipstick that I was loving last month…. but it’s WAY cheaper at about $6.
Sharpie Pens. Seriously, I got hooked on these in college and will hardly use anything else. Perfect for back to school! Bold lines, writes like a marker, doesn’t bleed through, works if you have to label clothes (like me!) How can you go wrong?
my Foam roller! I’m working my way back into weight lifting (post soon!) and I’ve had some pretty sore days! If you don’t have one, I got mine for about $3 at a store called Five Below, but also check secondhand sports stores if you’re trying to find one for cheap!
Panera’s Chai Tea Latte. If you know me, you know I don’t do much caffeine anymore. I just can’t! But when I need something, I grab a chai tea latte. Whether hot or cold, it’s creamy and comforting like coffee, but without the mega caffeine burst that makes me a little unstable. Panera’s are good- but one of my goals is to make my own this month- look for a post soon!
Not Your Mother’s Dry Shampoo. Y’all. If you are not dry shampooing, you should be. I was an every day shampoo girl. Well, apparently that’s super bad for your hair. So I got some of this and I’m not going back. Honestly, sometimes I’m on day 4 before I wash with this stuff. It’s amazing. My hair is also pretty fine, so this works great if I need to add some texture to my hair.
Secret Outlast deodorant. This stuff is legit. I’m not kidding I can work out hard for an hour and not stink afterwards. The completely clean scent is what I get and it has a very light but pleasant perfume, it doesn’t get white stuff on my clothes, and it doesn’t feel weird in my armpits.
Santa Cruz Organics Lemonade: I love juice. It’s the only calorie filled drink I keep in the house anymore (ok, barring alcohol!) But so much of it has a ton of sugar and other weird stuff in it. So when I can, I stock up on these juices and lemonades. They’re great on their own, but I especially love to put a little in with my seltzer water to make a delicious Summer mocktail. I love the lemonade, strawberry lemonade and mango lemonades.
Quantico: If you love suspense filled TV, this one is for you. First, Alex Parrish trained to become FBI. Then someone framed her. This excellent ABC show will definitely keep you pressing “Still Watching” on Netflix!

So there you have it! 10 products I’m loving for August! And I promise I’ll try to post more this month- this is harder than I thought it would be!

Superhero Action of the Day: it’s a new month! What are you going to do with it?

July 18, 2017July 18, 2017

How to Grocery Shop like Supergirl

Hi Superheroes! Happy Tuesday!

Today, we’re going to take a spin around my favorite grocery stores and see how we can make this regular task a little less… boring and awful.

To be fair, I don’t mind the grocery store. But I have a system (surprise!) that makes it pretty painless.

So let’s dig in!

First of all, make a plan. We’ve already talked about meal planning. That’s definitely how I make my grocery list. If I’m really on top of my game, I even organize my list by type of item, if not by department of the store. Once you’ve got your list, you can feel confident in what you need to get, and it’s easier to keep interlopers out of your cart!

Choose a time that doesn’t suck. There are times when the grocery store is more crowded. My recommendation is to avoid the store at those times. For me, that means I avoid the store like the plague from 5-7 pm on weekdays and completely on Saturdays. It just isn’t worth it. My favorite times are mid afternoon weekdays, evenings or Sunday afternoons. Really, the less people in the store, the happier you’ll be. That also means you avoid upcoming holidays if at all possible, in case that wasn’t obvious.

Eat a snack before you go. You ever go to the grocery store hungry? And then you get to the checkout and you’ve spent $50 more than you intended and you get home and you just can’t understand how those donuts, cheetos or beer ended up in your kitchen. This is solved by eating before you go! Grab a kind bar or some beef jerky and get your shop on. On that same note, take a drink with you! I usually have water or club soda, but I’ve been known to pick up a drink at that super handy Starbucks kiosk in the front of my store when I need a pick me up.

Use headphones. My distraction of choice is almost always audiobooks, but good upbeat music works well too! Not so loud that people can’t get your attention if they need it- but enough to put you in a good mood!

Shop the outside of the store. This is an oldie but a goodie: nothing good happens in the inner aisles of the Grocery Store. Stick to the outer edges and avoid the treacherous ice cream and cookie aisles.

And as a bonus tip, find a grocery store you really like, but also one that is convenient for you. For example, I love Trader Joe’s… but the nearest one is a full 20 minute drive in the opposite direction of anything else I do. So I mostly shop at Kroger, which I like better than Meijer, and is more in my price range than Whole Foods.

And there you have it! 6 tips to make grocery store trips less painful! I hope this helps you out there!

Superhero Action of the Day: What’s your favorite Grocery Store? Why?Leave me a comment or let me know by using #Superheroliving on social media!

July 17, 2017July 17, 2017

OMP: Super food Tacos

Hi Superheroes! I took the weekend off to unplug a little bit- thank you for that luxury!

But it’s Monday… and YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS: Tomorrow is Taco Tuesday. So, in honor of everyone’s favorite midweek party, here’s a recipe for 5 minute tacos that are even pretty good for you.

No, it is not too good to be true. Fair, you have to either prep the ingredients or have them on hand.

But full disclosure, I bought all of these ingredients at the grocery store. And all I had to do tonight was assemble my tacos and chow down.

The crux of this recipe is my favorite deli find: Superfood salad. I get it by the pound at my local Kroger store, but just in case you can’t find it, I have a couple of links to recipes so you can make your own.

If you just don’t want to make your own, any kind of slaw will taste great on this. Trust me, though, it’s worth it.

Superfood salad options: one two (this second one is Pin, but the recipe is in the caption!

If you’re stuck between those two recipes, my personal preference would be the dressings from the first and the ingredients from the second. I think.

Ok, now that you’ve got your superfoods, we can make some tacos.

Superfood Tacos:

flour tortillas

carnitas (I got some in the meat department at the store, but I’ve made my own in the crockpot, too)

queso cheese

guacamole

your favorite salsa (I’m really into fruit salsas, but savory would be good too!)

and of course, Superfood Salad!

Instructions:

Arrange flour tortillas on a plate or platter. Add a couple of Tablespoons of carnitas, a couple Tablespoons of Superfood Salad, a spoonful of guacamole, a spoonful of salsa, and a sprinkle of cheese to each tortilla. Fold or roll. Eat and live long and healthy.

Superhero Action of the Day: I want to hear about your weekend! What superhero adventures did you get into? Share them to my page on Facebook or #Superheroliving on Instagram!

July 9, 2017

OMP: 4 ingredient pineapple smoothie

Happy Sunday, superheroes! I hope you’ve had amazing, refreshing, restful, adventurous, SUPER weekends.

And now it’s Sunday! If you’re back to the grind tomorrow, YOU CAN DO IT! If you’re less scheduled right now, like me, let’s try to do some productive, healthy stuff this week! Ok? OK! Go team!

This afternoon, Penelope and I went for a long walk. It’s a route we do fairly regularly, but usually first thing in the morning, not at 5 pm. Anyway, when we got about 2/3 of the way home, I started dreaming of something cool and refreshing to drink when I got home. Milkshake…nah. Ice cream run? I really don’t need to do that… Water? Let’s be real, only as a last resort. (I’m not a good water drinker, unfortunately!)

But! I had frozen pineapple, and I just new I could do something with that. And sure enough, it worked out exactly right for a cold refreshing drink. I started with a cup of water in my blender, and added about 2 cups of frozen pineapple. I started blending that together and then added about 1/2 cup of milk. I’m out of almond milk currently, but I think if I were going to recreate it, I would use 1 1/2 cups of almond milk instead of water and dairy milk. Once I got it all blended together, I added about 2 tsp. of honey, and about a TB of lemon juice. I blended that in a little bit, poured it in a glass and drank up.

It’s sweet, a little tangy, bursting with pineapple flavor, and best of all, really pretty healthy and low calorie! Enjoy!

4 ingredient pineapple smoothie:

1 1/2 cups of almond milk (or milk of your choice!)

2 cups frozen pineapple chunks

2 tsp. honey

1 TB lemon juice (to taste)

Blend together all ingredients until smooth. Pour into tall glass and enjoy! Makes about 24 ounces.

Superhero Action of the Day: What’s your favorite summer beverage? Let me know so I can try it out!

June 20, 2017June 20, 2017

Balance

There are so many different kinds of balance, aren’t there?

There’s physical balance, of course. The kind that allows us to walk, stand on one foot, or, with practice and focus, pull off some crazy cool yoga poses.

There’s mental balance- the kind that comes with clear, logical, sound thinking.

There’s emotional balance. The kind that keeps us from getting too involved in situations that are beyond our control. From diving too deep off the rabbit hole of emotions, good or bad, honestly.

There’s spiritual balance. This one comes deep within ourselves, from knowing that we’re living lives that are good, that are on track with our life’s purpose.

They’re all important. Balance of all kinds is so important.

Tonight, I’m struggling with balance of the food and exercise kind.

I am finally to the place in my journey where I love my body. I do. I’m proud of it. It works so hard. It is so strong. It is capable of some truly amazing things.

But I also… I want to improve it. I still have areas that I look in the mirror and wish were different. I long for a slimmer stomach, and more toned arms. A perky behind. Some days, it is hard to, well, balance, those two things. They are such opposite ideals.

One of my major hobbies is exercise. I love the endorphin rush. I love the feeling of doing something I couldn’t have done two weeks ago. I love the sweat and, yes, even the pain of it. I workout hard. My favorite form of exercise right now is boxing. In the winter, I like hot yoga, in the summer, I lean more towards weight training. I like to hike, and I am looking for ways to get more involved in water sports- paddle boarding and kayaking, specifically.

But you know what my other major hobby is? Food. You guys, I love, love, love to eat food. And my tastes are very broad. Sometimes, like when I’m on a Whole30, I eat great. And I really do like it! I love finding new recipes, cooking and eating healthy food, the pride of eating clean. And then there are days where I make a special trip to the store just to buy ice cream and hot fudge sauce. Balance, right?

But how do we rectify that? The truth is, I don’t know. I’m still figuring it out. One day at a time, right? Sometimes, it feels like an endless cycle. Workout, eat good food, have an ice cream or pizza attack… workout again.

Does the ice cream contribute to my emotional and spiritual balance? Sometimes. Do I sometimes self medicate with it? Absolutely.

I’m not sure there is an answer. If there is, I don’t know it. What I know is that both working out and eating ice cream make me happy. And sometimes, that’s enough.

Superhero action of the day: how do you keep your life in balance? Where are the places you can improve that balance?

June 13, 2017June 13, 2017

Paleo (ish)

In 2015, I did my first Whole30. I was trying to really reset my nutrition, jump start some weight loss and in general, feel more in control without being unhealthy about it (You can read more about my journey with food and fitness here

The Whole30, if you aren’t familiar, is a nutritional reset. For 30 days, participants eat no grains, no sugar, no dairy, and no beans or legumes, as well as some food additives and stuff. There is a ton of information about how and why to do a whole30, so I won’t get into all of that here. Check the website if you want to, and I would encourage you to do so.

I have had very solid, steady results with my whole30s. I now do one every spring. I sleep better, I have more energy, I’m less bloated, my menstrual cycle is less annoying, my skin clears up like magic, I usually lose a little weight (8-11 pounds over the month), and overall, I just feel… better. It’s difficult, sure. But that’s another point in its favor, for me. I tend to be a very easy going person. I’m an astoundingly unpicky eater, so I very rarely express firm opinions when people ask me where we should go for dinner. If my food isn’t exactly what I ordered, I’ll eat it anyway. Even when I’m cooking for myself, I find that I will eat something even if I don’t love it. So it is very, very good for me, one month of the year, to say “I can’t eat this and I need you to accommodate me.” It isn’t easy, but it’s a good exercise for me.

The hardest thing, then, is the period following my annual whole30. All of a sudden, I can eat all these foods I love, and so I often overdo it, and end up at the beginning of June, frustrated and off balance nutritionally.

Here’s what I do to help with that: I eat paleo at home, and then, when I’m out, I make a decision that works for me in the moment.

What do I mean I “eat paleo”?

I avoid grains: no sandwiches, pastas, rice, etc.

I avoid added sugars: this one is pretty obvious, but also really hard! I try to limit and avoid adding sugar to recipes but I also try to avoid eating things with a lot of sugar in them.

I avoid dairy: I use almond milk, I tend to cook without cheese, etc.

So what do I eat?

I eat lots of vegetables. Leafy greens, broccoli, sweet potatoes, peppers, carrots, you name it, I eat it, when it comes to veggies.

I eat lots of meat. Almost all of my meals have at least one serving of animal based protein, from eggs to seafood to steaks. When I can afford it, I try to eat meat that has fewer chemicals, and that was raised and slaughtered humanely. Someday, when I win the lottery, I’ll eat all local meat. But for now, I have to make due sometimes.

I eat lots of fruit! A lot of people think I don’t eat fruit, but I LOVE fruit. Yes, fruit has sugar in it, but you know, a banana is better for us than a snickers bar. And fruit is PACKED with vitamins and nutrients. So too bad, I love it.

I eat nuts and seeds. Almonds, cashews, walnuts- and anything made from them- are fair game! Almond milk and almond butter are staples in my fridge.

So, why do I eat this way? Well, eating paleo acts as a road map for me. It helps me avoid foods that i know don’t help me feel my best. I have a lot of trouble counting calories without it turning unhealthy, and so eating paleo is a way for me to eat without counting and still feel like I’m on top of my nutrition.

But I’m far from perfect about it, and that’s ok. I love ice cream. I love ice cream so much I’ve been known to eat it for meals, eat it twice a day, eat my own and then finish someone else’s. And I refuse to live in a world where I deprive myself of something I love- and for what reason? So it isn’t “good” for my body. Ice cream is good for the soul. The same is true of pizza. Pizza is a wonderful invention.

But I know I can’t eat like that all the time. It’s all about balance. And for me, I try to find that balance by eating paleo (ish)

Superhero action of the day: where do you need to add balance in your life? Is there something you can make into a “not all the time” food without feeling miserable about it all the time?

June 8, 2017June 8, 2017

OMP: Baked sweet potato chips

Hey superheroes!

It’s Summer time! And you know what I love about Summer? Yes, other than the long days of sunlight, endless sundresses, perfect outdoor weather (especially early Summer), and a respite from the school year? Summer food. There’s something so… lovely about grilling out, corn on the cob, watermelon, and lemonade. Maybe it’s my inner midwesterner coming out, but cookout food is the best food.

At my apartment, I don’t have any outdoor space, so I don’t have a grill, which is a bummer. So if I’m craving cookout food on a random Thursday evening, I have to get a little more creative than that. Thankfully, it has been very cool here this week (60-70 f) so it isn’t too hot to cook (I also don’t have AC, so I often eat cold food all Summer!). Anyway, gotta take advantage when I can to turn the oven on.

The other day, I bought 3 pork chops on sale at my grocery so I could make one of my go to week night meals: oven baked paleo BBQ pork chops. It’s the easiest entree ever- dry rub some of Popular Paleo’s BBQ spice rub recipe (I got it in her EXCELLENT book, The Frugal Paleo Cookbook.) Seriously, I make this recipe all the time. It’s excellent, takes a half hour, including prep and goes with a lot of things.

But that brings me to my next point: what to eat as a side dish? I quickly settled on sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes. I can eat them prepared a thousand ways, for any meal or snack, and never get tired of them. They’re one of my pantry staples.

So, that was easy. But how did I want them fixed? Let’s try something new.

I’ve made sweet potato fries before, and i know the drill. Cut them, add oil, pop them in the oven and they turn out soggy. Cut them thinner, it helps, but… hm.

So I decided on a kind of sweet potato kettle chip. A couple of notes, and we’ll get on to the recipe

-The more uniformly you cut your potato, the more evenly it will cook. If you have a mandolin slicer, use it! If not, do your best, but don’t be surprised if you’ve got a few that are burnt and a few that are soggy.

-DO NOT skip the parchment paper. It makes a LOT of difference.

Ok? Cool. Here we go.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Serves: 1, maybe 2

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato

2 TB olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

-dash of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut sweet potato in thin disks. The thinner the better, but no blood, ok? Blood doesn’t go well with potatoes. Again, the more uniformly thick the slices, the better. The thinner they are, the less cook time you’ll have.
In a ziploc, mix together oil and spices. Add sweet potato slices to bag, seal, and shake, squish or wiggle to coat each disk in the oil mixture.
Lay the disks out on the parchment paper covered baking sheet. Lay them out in one layer, not touching. The more space you can leave, the shorter the cook time! (I never leave much space, but I also like them a little soft)
Bake for 20-30 minutes. Check regularly after 15 minutes to judge your chips according to preferred level of crunch and thickness.

Remove from oven, serve immediately! Enjoy!

Superhero action of the day: what’s your favorite cookout food? Is there a way to make it a little more healthy for yourself?

June 6, 2017June 6, 2017

On my plate: spaghetti squash and meat sauce

About three years ago, I pretty much gave up wheat based foods. Not always, I love pizza beyond any reasonable person’s reaction. However, I feel better when I don’t eat very much of it. So, I try not to cook it, and I limit it when I go out.

However, that left me trying to find other ways of eating some foods that I really love and find comforting.

Especially pasta.

Enter the spaghetti squash.

Vegetable noodles are becoming more common. You can make them out of lots of different things- zucchini, sweet potatoes, even carrots. That is, if you have a zoodler. If you don’t have the fancy tool, you can still try vegetable noodles. In the form of spaghetti squash.

Spaghetti squash are the bright yellow oblong shaped ones. They’re pretty inexpensive, but they’re a little intimidating. They look like this:

Here’s how you cook them:

cut in half long ways. This is a little tricky- they’re super hard skinned, but you can do it, Superhero!
. Place cut side down in a baking dish, and add water to cover the bottom of the plan.
Cook for 30-45 minutes at 400.
When the meat of the squash is nice and soft, use a fork and gently scrape the strands out of the skin and serve immediately. Be careful of those fingers- the halves are hot.

While that’s happening, make you some sauce!

For the sauce, you’ll need:

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 large onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

32 ounces of crushed tomatoes (canned)

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 TB pepper

1 TB oregano

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 bay leaves

Brown ground beef. When it is just a little pink, add onion and garlic and cook together until onion pieces stat to turn translucent.
Add seasonings, and stir to combine well.
Drain at least some of the grease from the meat off, or use a slotted spoon and start on a new pan.
Add crushed tomatoes to beef mixture, and stir together.
Let simmer together for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, and place over cooked spaghetti squash strands. Top with cheese, if you like! Enjoy!

June 4, 2017June 2, 2017

How I meal plan for the week ahead

I have found meal planning and prepping to be an invaluable resource to me. I work three + jobs, work out regularly and maintain at least a semblance of a social life. If I’m not going to eat out every meal (or eat food that makes me feel yucky) I HAVE to meal plan.

I’ve developed my own way to do this fairly organically, and I’ve adapted it over the last six or so years. It works fairly well for me. It worked fairly well for me when I was cooking for the household too, although granted it’s a little less work intensive as a single person. However, it’s a fairly adaptable system, and you should feel free to adapt it to suit your needs!

Why I meal prep:

Well, for starters, I’m really, really, really busy. There are plenty of days where I eat all of my food on the go. This is why I bought a nice (and kind of expensive) cooler/lunchbag. (I have this one) Because I always have to take food with me. So I meal prep because I’m busy.

It also saves me money. If I go to the store one time during the week, with a very comprehensive list of what I need, I save money over multiple trips, browsing and eating out a lot. Also I live in a food desert, and going to the grocery is not ever on my way home.

It provides some structure and form to my week. Because my schedule is so nuts, it’s nice not to have to make decisions as I go about what I’m going to eat that day.

It helps keep me away from disordered eating. Due to my past history, I have a tendency towards disordered eating when I get stressed or too busy. Having a plan in place as I head into a busy week helps ensure that I will eat enough to keep me moving.

Ok, so that’s why. But HOW, Charis??

Fair.

If you don’t know this about me, I use a 9×12 sketchbook for everything. Work, personal, all of it, right in my book. So I start with that.

As you can see, I’ve written the dates for the week across the top, and then listed the days out down the sides, with a slot for each meal. At the end of the week, I’ve listed a spot for snacks.

Next, once I’ve got my form set up, I go through and write in any meetings or events I have that week that will have provided food. So, for example, if I’m having dinner with Dad on Thursday, I write down “dinner with Dad”. Then I know I don’t have to plan a meal for that time slot.

Once those are all filled in, I count how many total meals I have left. Usually it’s about 16 for me, it might be more or less for you. That usually includes 7 breakfasts, and the rest are (obviously) lunch and dinner. So first, I decide what I want to have for breakfast.

I tend towards mostly paleo meal prep- in fact, my goal is to eat paleo at home so that when I’m out and about I don’t worry about it as much. That does extend to breakfast (sometimes unfortunately, breakfast is my struggle meal!) When I decide what I want to have for breakfast, I fill it in in as many of the blank spaces as possible, and then I either decide to make something else and fill that in, or get some “convenience” breakfast items (post forthcoming) to fill me in.

Then I do the same with lunch and dinner. But how do I know what I want to make? And where do I find recipes? Also fair questions.

First, I think about what I’m in the mood for. Just in general. Mexican? Salads? Fish? Steaks? Chicken? Sweet potatoes? Stretch my cooking wings? Play it safe? Then I take a look for recipes that fit that desire. Some things I can do now without a recipe. If I want fajitas, for example, I can do that without a recipe. But if I want this amazing enchilada crockpot casserole that I only let myself make about twice a year, well, I need the recipe for that. Or if I want to try something new, I’ll definitely want the recipe!

The first place I look for recipes is Pinterest. I tap a few keywords into the search bar and we’re off. I do have a couple of cookbooks and I like them. My favorite right now is the Frugal Paleo Cookbook. She’s amazing.

If I’m using Pinterest, I pin the recipe to the proper board, and then I write the name of the recipe and that I pinned it into the slot on my meal plan chart. At the same time, I start a grocery list on the bottom of my meal plan. Frequently at this stage, I just write down everything the recipe calls for (except spices).

I’m also a really good leftover eater, so even though I’m only cooking for myself, I make family portions regularly and eat the same two or three meals for a week.

Once I’ve chosen all my meals, written in all the times I’m going to eat which recipe and made a composite list of ingredients, I double check my pantry to see what I’m out of or what I already have. I don’t keep very many pantry staples on hand, but it’s always a good idea to check. I also double check things like paper towels, dog food, etc at this point, and add anything I need to my list.

Then, if I’m feeling really crazy, I rewrite the grocery list and group like items together (produce, meat, canned goods) to make it easier to shop.

Lastly, I go through my grocery store’s flyer and the coupons in the app and double check if there’s anything I’m already buying on sale or that I can use a coupon on. I do this last because it keeps me from adding things I don’t need to my list. Oh, I’m eating Italian and American comfort food this week, but corn chips are on sale… this helps with that instinct for me.

And there you have it! Meal planning 101. It takes me less time to do it than it did to write this post at this point. I know it seems overwhelming! But you can do it.

I tend to do my grocery shopping on Sunday afternoon (although I’m thinking of shifting to Monday morning), so I try to do my meal planning on Saturdays. Frequently I’ll schedule a meal I call “grocery surprise” on Saturday- and I let myself get whatever I want at the store to cook and eat that night- usually it’s fresh fish or a small steak.

When I’m really on top of my game, I then spend some time meal prepping for the week- post forthcoming about how I do that!

Superhero action of the day: do some meal planning today! Maybe it’s just planning your lunches for the remainder of the work week. Or maybe, you go wild and plan out the whole week. Be sure to let me know how that worked for you!