Into Healthy Living

How long does it take you to slap together some peanut-butter & jelly into 2-slices of bread?   By the time you find the jars in your pantry/refrigerator, unscrew the lids, find a clean knife for spreading, and cut off the crusts, I’m going to predict one-and-a-half minutes. Oh wait–you also need to wash the knife and put away the bread, so total process is roughly 2 minutes, max.  Well, the nice people at Smuckers realized the impact, distraction, and workload of making a PB&J, and now sell the famous frozen sandwich they term “Uncrustables” in your frozen food aisle.  Is this really a sign of the times?  Are people too busy and/or lazy to take 2 minutes out of their day to pull together the simplest of foods?  My top 5 laziest frozen foods are listed below, but I’m especially curious to hear about what you’d add to the list.

(1) Gold Medal in Laziest Frozen Food: Smuckers Uncrustables

Traditionally: Spend 2 minutes assembling sandwich.

Frozen Directions: Per the instructions, “Let frozen sandwich defrost for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.”

(2) Silver Medal in Laziest Frozen Food: Cheese Quesadilla

Traditionally: Place tortilla on warm skillet with cheese.  Wait 2 minutes until cheese melts.

Frozen Directions: Place frozen quesadilla in microwave for 2 minutes.

(3) Bronze Medal in Laziest Frozen Food: Scrambled Eggs

Traditionally: Crack egg in warm skillet and push around pan for 2 minutes until eggs are done.

Frozen Directions: Place frozen eggs in microwave for 2 minutes.

(4) Honorable Mention: Angel Hair Pasta with Marinara Sauce

Traditionally:  Cook pasta in boiling water for 3-4 minutes and top with canned marinara sauce.

Frozen Directions: Place frozen meal in microwave for 3-4 minutes.

(5) Honorable Mention: Garlic Toast

Traditionally: Spread bread with butter and garlic salt and place in broiler for 2-3 minutes.

Frozen Directions: Microwave frozen garlic toast for 1-2 minutes.

Technorati Tags: frozen food, lazy, healthy living

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48 hours until election day…  what last efforts will you make to put Obama in office?  I made cookies.  Yup, I baked homemade chocolate chip cookies for the hundreds of volunteers at the ‘San Francisco for Obama‘ Headquarters who spent their Sunday dedicated to phonebanking.  Since I’m not too keen on cold calling myself, I decided to participate and give to the campaign “Cindy style” by energizing the volunteers with my warm, sugary cookies.

What is your style of contributing to the campaign in these last 48 hours?   There is no time like the present to step-up and donate to the Obama/Biden campaign in your own personal style!  More cookies and homemade goodies are always welcome at the volunteer sites:

(1) SF Obama Headquarters: 939 Market Street

(2) Mission Location: 375 Valencia Street

(3) Western Addition Location: 1290 Fillmore Street

Technorati Tags: Obama, election, volunteer, cookies, San Francisco, donate, donation

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My job keeps me traveling quite a bit and I’ve subsequently adopted a variety of strategies to incorporate healthy living when on the road.  Below are my techniques– please add your favorite tip by commenting on this post.

(1) Visit a local grocery store. 

Before you depart, research the location of a high-quality grocery store within walking distance to your hotel (e.g. local organic grocery store, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, etc).  As soon as you arrive at your destination, stock-up on healthy snacks and portable items for your bag/purse.  I always pick-up granny-smith apples, bananas, and odwalla bars (strawberry pomegranate is my favorite odwalla bar).  Another useful tip is to either bring/buy sandwich-size ziplock bags and create your own healthy snack bags (great idea if you have kids).  Fill up the bags with a mixture of foods such as cereal, peanut-butter pretzels, dried fruit, and nuts.

(2) ALWAYS Bring your walking/running shoes.

This sounds so simple, but can be such a challenge from women who want to be fashionable with they travel!  FORGET the cute ballet flats/flip-flops/sandals and wear your walking/running shoes!  You will NOT be able to walk all-day in unsupportive shoes and  you can even injure your feet walking around in flats.  While your running shoes may not make your outfit look as cute—you will be setting yourself up for success for an active day that is ultimately so much more important than matching shoes.

(3) Choose a hotel near a large University or college.

A student environment is filled with alternatives to cars; students use bikes, skateboards, and their own two-feet as their primary mode of transportation.  You will fit into this environment the old fashioned way by exploring the terrain with your walking shoes or by renting a bike for the day.

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4) Say “no” to Vitamin Water.

Say “yes” to plain water and stay hydrated without consuming extra calories from beverages that add sugar.  My favorite example of this is Vitamin Water—it looks so appealing, but the bottle has between 100 and 125 calories, which all comes from sugar!    In addition, unless you are running in a race or sweating profusely, you do not need to buy Gatoride that also supplies plenty of sugar calories.  My advice is to stick with plain old fashioned water.  At a restaurant, ask for water with a fresh lemon or lime wedges.  Besides, wouldn’t you rather indulge in a treat during your vacation than consume excess calories in your water?

(5) Stay at a hotel with healthy options.

Pick a hotel that provides healthy options.  My favorite for travel is Starwood Hotels (e.g. The Westin, the W).  The Starwood brand is consistent in providing up-to-date gyms, healthy food options on their room service menus, and will even provide a map of outdoor jogging routes.

(6) Research on yelp.com

Research healthy restaurant options as part of your trip planning.  One of my favorite resources to find restaurants is through the web site yelp, an online forum that provides an easy way to find and recommend local businesses.  I find it very helpful to read the recent reviews and comments.  Some of the search terms I use are: ‘organic,’ ‘vegetarian,’ and ‘vegan.’

(7) Register for a local athletic event.
Sign-up for a 5K/10K race or another athletic event during your vacation.  To search for athletic events and races all over the United States, visit active.com.

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I attended the San Francisco ‘Slow Food Nation’ this Labor Day weekend and came away with a bag full of my new favorite fruit: the elephant heart plum. One main goal of ‘Slow Food’ is to improve access and encourage the enjoyment of foods that are local, seasonal and sustainable. Slow Food is the idea that food is created with care from healthy plants and animals. For more information on this organization or to find out events in your neighborhood, visit the Slow Food USA web site. A large Farmer’s Market was featured during the San Francisco event; each vendor was allowed to showcase just one product. The result: each farm picked their best tasting item for the season for everyone to sample. Blossom Bluff Orchards brought the best tasting fruit I have ever tasted in my life–the elephant heart plum.

In appearance, the plum is a mottled variation of green/purple and is comes off the tree somewhat dusty.  These plums will most likely NOT be carried by any supermarket because they do not ship well (they bruise easy and are very delicate).  Did I mention the fantastic taste of the plum yet?  They are much more tart than your average plum, but still bursting with sweet juice.   Perfect as a healthy snack… or if you are me– have a few and call it lunch!  Trust me– the elephant heart plums are simply divine!

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I received a wonderful surprise package from my sister-in-law last week: homemade strawberry preserves. I found a perfect recipe from Cooking Light magazine to highlight the sweet jam: Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins.You can also find this recipe through their online web site: www.cookinglight.com These would be a nutritious afternoon snack as each muffin is under 200 calories (see nutrition below). For a very nutritious kids snack, pair the muffin with some frozen sliced-up bananas.

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My words of advice on this recipe Read more… »

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It is with great pleasure that I begin my first blog on healthy living. While I’m not quitting my day-job as an oncology pharmacist, I do hope to bring to this medium an awareness of eco-friendly products and lifestyle decisions for a healthier self and a more sustainable environment.

Who am I? A 30-something California girl currently living in San Francisco, a vegetarian, an animal lover, a devout dog owner, and a runner when not injured. My husband describes me as a constant state of action-a “go-go-go” lifestyle. My on-paper qualifications: I received my BS in biochemistry from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and my doctorate in pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of California San Francisco.

Why a blog? I am driven by my determination to never be idle on topics that drive my passion. John Sawhill, former president/CEO of The Nature Conservancy exemplifies my feelings perfectly with his statement: “A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy.”

Let the blogging begin…

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