Resolution Revolution

Well, its that time of year again: the time to reflect on the past 365 days and decide what in your life needs updating and changing; then resolving to do better for the next 365 days.  But doesn't it seem as though every year most of us make the same resolution?  I resolve to lose weight!  I resolve to eat better!  I resolve to spend less money!  How about this New Year, you  revolutionize that resolution!  Think up different resolutions that will actually be something you can achieve and maybe even find they can enhance your every day life.  This year I am making a resolution revolution and going outside the box!

Perfection Isn't Reality
As some of you may know, I am a bit of a perfectionist.  I straighten my hair about 45 times per day, all plated food I prepare must contain the entire rainbow, people that don't use their blinker while driving make me crazy, and God help you if your around me and I find I have received a grade that is anything less than an A.  My name is Jackie and I am a perfectionist.  I hope you all know how difficult that was for me to admit...as a perfectionist, I am now admitting I am less than perfect.

But why take so much time stressing over being less than perfect?  I will never get there, no one can.  One of my best friends in my class, Mariana, said to me one day, "Why does it matter so much to get a grade of an A rather than an AB?  Will you get a better job?  Will you get paid more money?  No.  Its just not worth killing yourself over being perfect in school."  When she first said that I scoffed in my mind.  I will know if I get a less-than-perfect grade!!  It will be on my transcript.  It will ruin my 4.0 GPA at Mount Mary.  But then I got to thinking: if I didn't kill myself to be perfect, think about how much more time I would have.  Think about how much less stress I would be under.  And most importantly, think about what a much better mood I would be in.  So next year, I resolve to understand that perfection isn't reality and not worry so much about being perfect...at least, I'll try.

Quality Over Quantity
This last year was a big wake-up call to me.  My fiance began his career as an attorney and because of that fact, he worked quite a bit.  Most weeks, he would work 7 days a week and bring work home with him.  I'm not going to lie, it was a big adjustment for me.  I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished in his career and I have tried so hard to adjust to his lifestyle and the responsibility that he has to his law firm.  That being said, I still got a bit jealous that on Saturday mornings, it seemed that he would rather hang out in his office than with me.

When I stop to think about my feelings on this I came to a conclusion: I would get upset that he was spending so much time working.  But so what?  What else would we be doing if he wasn't working so much?  Cleaning? Watching TV?  Reading?  Maybe I should be more concerned with using the time we do have together and doing something meaningful and fun.  Make a date night once a week.  Use that time to visit family.  Or use it for something else altogether, that we both love to do and make great memories.  Next year, I resolve to remember that quality time is favored over just quantity time.

Learn To Have Fun By Yourself
Over the course of the last year, I think I have covered more miles than I have the rest of my life combined.  Driving miles, that is.  I was finishing my Dietetics degree at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, living with my grandma in Port Washington during the week, and commuting back to Madison on the weekends.  I easily drove about 250 miles each week.  And that doesn't even count when I would have to travel to shadowing opportunities through my classes that, of course, where about an hour and a half out of my way.  That being said, I spent a lot of time in the car by myself. 

When I transferred to Mount Mary and began the long commutes every day, I hated it.  Long spans of being in the car, left with my radio and my thoughts.  I would get bored so easily and resent the fact that I was sacrificing my time to see Tyler and my family.  The same songs would play over and over again on the radio.  I would see the same sucky drivers every morning (note: Milwaukee drivers are out to kill every driver on the road, except themselves).  But about halfway through the year, I began to notice a change in myself: I actually started to look forward to my time alone in the car.  It was almost therapeutic in a way.  During the middle of the semesters I found myself so stressed, so having this time to just be silent and reflect and breathe really helped me.  If I needed silence I would turn the radio off, if I needed cheering up I would give myself a pep talk, if I needed to study I would go through study guides.  I learned to have fun with myself, and honestly, I learned a lot more about myself.  Next year, I resolve to continue learning about myself and having fun by myself.

Its the time of year to start new and wipe the slate clean.  This year, do something a little different and make a resolution revolution!!

 

Happy New Year!!

Snow Day!

Thursday, December 20th was the "Blizzard of 2012".  Madison was lucky enough to get over 15 inches of snow from Wednesday evening to early Friday morning (lucky is being used sarcastically in this sentence).  I am not a huge fan of the snow.


As I was sitting on the couch looking at the white-out going on outside, I felt a bit antsy.  As I mentioned, I don't particularly like the snow.  I can't go anywhere; usually if I try to drive somewhere, I hit everything in sight.  You know how people always complain about those drivers who can't seem to get it together in the snow, even though they live in Wisconsin and should be used to it?  Well, I am that person.  And I can't even really walk anywhere in the snow, especially the deep snow, because I am too cheap to buy snow boots.  That's right, I have lived in Wisconsin my entire life and can't seem to drive in the snow or buy snow boots.  Did I mention I really despise snow?

So, that brings me back to last Thursday.  Most people who know me pretty well understand the fact that if I don't have a project or something to keep me busy, I go a little crazy.  I was sitting on the couch trying not to clean the bathroom one more time (I think I would have scrubbed a hole right through the floor), I racked my brain for something to do.  What did I come up with?  Cooking!  I decided to make a healthy home-cooked snow day dinner for my fiance (who, of course, went into the office today...had to get those billable hours, you know!)

Since Tyler and his whole family are big hunters, we have a freezer full of venison.  I decided to make a venison roast in the crock pot, with some great spices and flavors and add some great veggies to roast along with the meat.

1 boneless venison roast (frozen or thawed)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
3-5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp pepper
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
3 tsp chili garlic sauce (or any hot sauce)
1 medium red onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bell pepper, cut in strips
2 carrots, chopped
3 tbsp butter

1.) Put roast in the crock pot.  Pour chicken broth, water, and Worcestershire sauce over the roast.  Sprinkle each spice on top of the roast and in the liquid around the roast.  Throw all the veggies into the roast pan.  Lastly, add butter on top of the roast.
2.)  Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.

Along with a protein, I always make some type of side dish as well.  I went grocery shopping the day before and picked up some couscous.  Its one of my favorite grains and so I decided to boil some of that to go with the venison.
 
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup fresh spinach
1 small red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tomato, chopped and seeded

1.) Saute spinach, red onion, and garlic in olive oil until fragrant.  Add red and yellow peppers, saute for about 5 mins.
2.) Add couscous and tomato, and mix for about 2 mins.  Add 2 cups of water and bring to boil.  Let couscous soak up the water.  Once all water is soaked up, remove from heat and serve.

Usually, I also add a veggie with every dinner that I make.  However, because there are veggies in the crock pot with the venison, I decided to omit extra veggies for the night.  That being said, there always has to be dessert - Brandied Cherry Balls!

1/2 cup dried cherries, finely chopped
1/2 cup cherry brandy
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
6 ounces dark chocolate candy coating, chopped
1 tablespoon shortening
White candy coating, chopped
Pink paste food coloring

1.)  Place cherries in a small bowl. Cover with brandy; refrigerate at least 6 hours.
2.)  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar; beat until crumbly. Drain cherries, reserving 2 teaspoons brandy. Add cherries and reserved brandy to cream cheese mixture.
3.)  Roll into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place balls on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4.)  In a microwave, melt dark chocolate candy coating and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip balls in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Return to the baking sheet.
5.)  For drizzle, melt a small amount of white candy coating in a microwave; stir in food coloring until smooth. Drizzle over candies. Chill until set. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.

So, next time there is a snow storm that keeps you home bound, try out some new recipes for the ones you love!  Or, do the alternative, watch sappy movies with a bottle of wine (that was my backup plan for the day!)

Merry Christmas!!

Holiday Tips: Taste Everything, Eat Nothing

Recently, I was getting fitted for my wedding dress.  The young woman who was taking my measurements (and helped me pick out the wedding dress of my dreams) was chatting with me about holiday eating.  I had mentioned that I will very soon be a Registered Dietitian, she asked me a question that I'm sure everyone thinks about and ponders this time of year: "How do you eat what you want and still keep your figure over the holidays?"

What a great question!  And is certainly one that is on most everyone's mind.  Even sometimes I struggle with this.  But I would like to share some things that I do over the holidays that make me feel a bit better about what I eat and the choices I make.

Usually this situation comes up when you are attending a party or get-together.  The first thing I do when I get to a party, is grab something to drink.  I know what your all thinking..."what a lush!"  But this doesn't have to be an alcoholic drink.  Most of the time people get to a party and immediately start filling up on whatever food is sitting out without even looking at it.  This can be a big mistake!  What if the food isn't even that good?  Or what if its something you don't even like?  But because you were starving yourself all day for the party and were so hungry when you got there, you just gorged on empty calories from a food that you wish you hadn't even seen.  So, step one: get a drink!  Take a few sips, chat with some people, take a look at the spread and make a good decision.

My favorite motto for a party or for anytime during the holiday season is: taste everything, eat nothing.  Now, I know that sounds pretty harsh, but hear me out.  There are so many choices of different foods at parties over the holiday season and I know most people want to try it ALL.  But that doesn't mean you need to have a plateful of each food.  First of all, check out the spread.  If there is something on the table you absolutely don't want to eat, or doesn't look good, then don't!  But if there are multiple foods you would like to try, take a small bite (and I mean ONE BITE) of each and just taste them.  This way, you can taste everything you really want, but you don't actually "eat" all of it.

Okay, so now that you've tasted all that you really wanted to taste, you are really craving more of those amazing cheesecake bites that were absolutely scrumptious.  You know that if you walk over there to grab a couple more of them, you will end up taking five cheesecake bites plus two platefuls of dips, cheeses, and salty treats.  So, take a moment.  Usually when you have a craving for something, distracting yourself can make you forget the circling thoughts of those cheesecake bites.  Grab another glass of wine or water, find someone to chat with, and after a few minutes you may not even remember those sugary sweets.  But what if you still are?  Well, then it may be the best to go grab another one.  Otherwise, you may not be able to stop thinking or obsessing over those little cheesecakes, and it may be best to quench that true craving. 

This is what I usually do to try to curb the calories during the holiday season.  Maybe you already have your own system that works for you, and thats great!  Just remember, that even if you do overindulge a few days during the holiday season, it won't kill you!  Usually the weight fluctuations of a pound or two over a couple of days isn't true fat pounds, it is water weight.  One pound of weight gain is equal to an extra 3500 kilocalories.  That would equate to an extra 500 kilocalories a day for a week to gain that one true pound of fat. 

So, don't get overly stressed about eating over the holidays, and let yourself have fun.  Enjoy this holiday season!!