Month: June 2017

Vegetarian Wild Rice Salad

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, eating, Health and wellness, Recipes2 Comments

wild rice

Last week when I went with my 12 year old “up north” I had a wild rice salad at the lodge that I thought was pretty good. I liked the textures, with the chewy wild rice and the crunchy water chestnuts. I wasn’t crazy about the honey mustard dressing, but I loved the addition of grapes. This was a true “midwestern salad”, I’m not afraid to admit. I decided I would try to remake it but with a different dressing and the addition of some other favorite add-ins.

One thing I love about wild rice (which actually isn’t rice at all) is that it has far more nutrients than white rice. In one cup of cooked wild rice, there are 7 grams of protein and 35 grams of carbohydrate, including 3 grams of fiber. It’s lower in calories than white rice and the protein it contains is higher quality because it has more of the essential amino acids.

Here is the recipe I came up with, with the help of a different recipe from my local grocery store chain.

VEGETARIAN WILD RICE SALAD

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked wild rice (about 1 cup uncooked). I like to put some Better Than Bouillon in the water to create more flavor.

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Fine Herbs (or your choice of favorite dried herbs)

1/3 cup sliced green onion

1 (8 oz can) sliced water chestnuts, drained

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups sliced red seedless grapes

1 cup nuts of your choice (I used a mixture of cashews and sliced almonds)

Instructions:

Make the dressing by mixing the mayonnaise, milk, lemon juice and herbs together in a small bowl.

In a larger bowl, combine In larger bowl, combine wild rice, green onion, water chestnuts, salt and pepper. Stir in mayonnaise mixture until blended. Refrigerate, until cooled. Before serving, fold in grapes and nuts. Take to your next potluck. 

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Good, better, best.

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, health, Health and wellness, wellness1 Comment

I have an insatiable need to better myself. I get excited by new opportunities to make positive changes, whether in nutrition, fitness, personal growth, or simply how to help our home life run more smoothly. I share this with my friend KC over at WordSavvy. She and I spend a lot of our time comparing ways we are working on improvements.  She has a much better handle on her side of things, and she even has a notebook to keep track. Me, I write little lists and post them in places I think I will spot them, like where I eat breakfast, and in the little nook in our mudroom. I think her way is better because I know she is 100% more on top of it than I am. But being around her helps reinvigorate my passion for this. I sort of consider her my improvement mentor.

Speaking of improvements, I’ve decided this summer that if I want to munch on something, I must start with a fruit or a veggie first (if it’s available). The fridge is stocked with sugar snap peas, blueberries, apples, clementines, baby carrots, mini sweet peppers,  and more. Veggies in particular are wonderful because they are full of vitamins and minerals with very few calories. So you can snack on a cup of sugar snap peas and if you decide you’re still hungry, then proceed to a heartier snack. There seems to be no downside to this. Did you know only 10% of American adults get the recommended amount of fruits and veggies each day? If I sometimes struggle, even knowing how good they are for me, I imagine it’s really difficult for most people. So try this approach maybe? And let me know how it goes. (A good portion of our fellow citizens can’t afford healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, or they live in an area called a nutritional desert, where it’s nearly impossible to shop for such items. If you find yourself with extra fresh produce, or a little extra cash, please consider donating it to your local food shelf.)

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My Summer Fitness Plan

 

 

My Summer Fitness Plan

On By Cultivate WellnessIn exercise, health, Health and wellness, summer, wellness5 Comments

Last Thursday was the last day of school for Reese, and on Friday we booked it up north for a couple of days of R&R in a 100+ year old lodge where we binge watched Anne With An E and puttered around looking at pretty stuff and eating banana splits and blueberry pie. So today starts the first full week of summer break. It was also the first day of my Summer Fitness Plan®. You see, a few weeks ago I approached my next door neighbor and good friend Catherine and asked if she’d like to work out with me three times a week in the wee hours of the morning before our kids were awake. She immediately said yes, and we both agreed that it was going to be amazing and awesome.

Fast forward to this morning when I woke up at 4:00, 4:50, and 5:00 (excitement) and then for real at 6:00 to begin our Summer Fitness Plan®. This is the gist: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we will meet in our shared driveway at 6:15 and run/walk a couple of miles. Then we will use the Aaptiv app I’ve told you about before to do a strength workout. This morning we did our workout at the park in the wet grass while being feasted on by our state bird, the mosquito. There was also a for real boot camp happening and I felt like we were acting out that scene in Bridesmaids. We decided next time we will throw down yoga mats in the driveway instead.

Catherine proclaimed that by the end of the summer we will be bosses in every sense of the word (she didn’t really say it this way but it’s what I inferred so…). The first day was a success, in my book.

A couple of notes: I was worried that I would bonk if I didn’t eat anything beforehand, so I choked down a half of a banana. It’s almost two hours later and I’m still not hungry, so maybe working out on an empty stomach will work for me. Read about the research here. Also, next time I will spritz myself with bug spray. Thirdly, I have to say that if I’m awake everyday at 6:00 anyway, I might as well be exercising instead of laying in bed reading Twitter and stressing about the state of affairs. Who needs all that cortisol? I’m still 100% going to read the news, but an hour away from it isn’t a bad thing. Lastly, I will also be playing golf quite a bit, walking the dog, and doing some yoga and/or barre, but I think the bulk of my actual structured exercise will be from this plan.

What are your fitness plans for the summer?  Please comment and tell me!

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