Coffee Talk

I’ve seen numerous blogs do these “vitual coffee dates” and I love the concept, so I thought I would attempt to do the same thing here. There’s a lot to catch up on – it’s only been what, five months?!

If we sat down to coffee today, the first thing I would do is ask that we meet at Starbucks, because their eggnog chai lattes are out-of-this-world-delicious. I had my first over the Holidays and can still find the occasional location that has eggnog to make it. Though, I bet that's ending soon...

After ordering my grande three pump eggnog chai latte, I would tell you about the biggest news in my life – that Chris and I are expecting our first baby this May! We are expecting a little girl on May 8th and are beyond thrilled! We are so looking forward to moving into this new stage of our lives.

I would tell you about my pregnancy thus far, how it’s been incredible – no morning sickness, nausea, fatigue, or any other negative side effect you hear about so often during pregnancies. But I may only tell you all this if you either haven’t been pregnant yourself, or have experienced an equally wonderful pregnancy. Because I would imagine myself talking about how easy and wonderful this phase has been would be especially annoying if you were propping yourself up over a toilet most mornings and unable to keep any food down.

If we were having coffee this afternoon, I would tell you that Chris and I recently returned from our “Babymoon” to the Virgin Islands. We escaped at the perfect time, just when the weather here was starting to get really cold. We spent nine days soaking in the Caribbean sun, swimming in the ocean and drinking virgin painkillers (which, for the record, are not nearly as good without the rum).

If we were having coffee this afternoon, I would tell you about this little gem of a shop. I've ordered several custom items for our nursery, and love all her adorable banners and bunting. I also just discovered Urban Outfitters Apartment and ordered all our other nursery items from their website. So many adorable curtains, duvets, and pillows! I must have been living under a rock to not have known about this sooner!

That's all for now, but looking forward to popping in here on a more regular basis!

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Money Saving Travel Tips

I love to travel as often as possible. One reason I've been able to see as much as I have is because I'm pretty savvy when it comes to how I spend my money. Here are my tips for how to save yourself some bucks when planning your next vacation.

1. Set aside money each month for traveling. Since I was 18, I have an automatic amount transferred from my checking account to my travel savings account monthly. I've kept the amount pretty consistent - about $300-400 a month. This may seem like a lot, but I've always been pretty frugal and had the ability to put aside this much, even as a student. Even if you can only set aside $50/month, it all adds up. (Of course, I realize paying off debt and other circumstances may not make this feasible, especially as a student. But, starting a savings goal and contribute to it monthly, no matter the amount.)

2. Consider alternative times of the year. The first time I paid for my own international trip was when I was 21 and traveled around Ireland and Italy for 24 days with a girlfriend. We couldn't have afforded the trip if we went in the summer. Prices drastically increase during the peak season. We were both students, so we only had two options; travel over Christmas break, or during the summer. Because of the price difference, we choose Christmas break. We got round-trip tickets for $400! I know the experience is totally different in the winter, but the crowds were almost non-existent, and it was still warm enough to spend all day outside touring.

3. Shop around for hotels, B&B's, etc. I've done hostels, condo rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotels, and anything else in between. Where I choose to stay all depended upon the price. Condo/house rentals are great options, I love www.airbrb.com. Hotwire.com is also another great option. I saved 50% on a hotel I was going to book for our recent trip to California by booking through Hotwire!

4. Consider eating out less. This is one I'm often bad at. I love to eat out when vacationing. But, if you're really trying to stretch your dollar, stop by grocery stores and stock up on foods you can eat on the go, or in your hotel. Fruit, granola bars, bagels, yogurt, or nuts are great, healthy alternatives to eating out. I love buying cheese, crackers and fruit and picnicking on the beach or in a park at least once a trip.

Pizza and beer picnic on the beach in Florida.

5. Use budge airline sites. Two sites you should utilize frequently are kayak.com and bing.com/travel. Kayak is great for searching numerous airlines to find the best price, I always find the best priced tickets through Kayak. I always search early and watch prices for a while. I'll set up flexible dates and figure out what day is cheapest to fly out and come back (if I have that flexibility). Then, I'll check back daily. I heard more than once that Tuesdays are the cheapest time to book airline tickets. Not sure how true that is, but I do tend to find tickets are cheaper in the middle of the week. Even still, how do you know it's the best price? How do you know if the tickets will double in price, or be cut in half the next day? Enter bing.com/travel. This site predicts that for you, with a certain level of confidence. After searching for your tickets, at the top of the results, it tells you if you should buy now or wait. For instance, it will say, "Tip: Buy. Fares rising $50+. 80% confidence".  Genius!

6. Use any reward programs you can. Many companies offer travel discounts on hotels, rental cars, etc. I always use my corporate discount code for rental cars. It saves me about 20% on the total cost of the rental. Also, if you get reward points through your credit card, cash them in! I always cash mine in for a Visa gift card before traveling to use for expenses. Of course, other reward programs like frequent flier miles or Hilton reward points are great rewards to use.

7. Research modes of transportation. Sometimes you need a car, and sometimes this is the cheapest mode of transportation, but other times it's worthwhile to look into other options. Buses, trains, taxis and even short flights have been cheaper than renting a car and driving from my past experiences. Research all options before committing.

8. Take advantage of time changes. This one may be be a stretch, but it's actually been quite useful. When traveling West, your hunger is often early for normal dining hours, but in a good way. I've often stumbled into a restaurant at 4pm starving for dinner because my body is registering 6pm, and I fall into happy hour specials! Wahoo, half price drinks and food! When your on vacation, there is no schedule, so take advantage of specials and odd dining hours.

9. Don't buy souvenirs. After years of buying knickknacks at every travel destination, I finally found that I don't need or even enjoy the souvenirs I bring home. I found that keeping a thorough journal and taking lots of pictures was the only souvenir I really enjoyed. When I get back home, I make a photo book with all the details I wrote in my journal - the best kind of souvenir!

10. Budget and choose where to spend your money. If you have limited funds for a trip (and let's face it, most of us do!), then choose what you want your money to go towards. If your one who enjoys amusement parks over dining out, then plan accordingly. You don't have to do it all to enjoy your vacation. In fact, some of my most memorable trips are when I was on the tightest budget. You appreciate what you choose to spend your hard earned money on even more.

Do you have any money saving travel tips?

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Corn & Avocado Salad

I tend to have a couple "cooking genres" I gravitate towards at any given time. For a long time, I did a lot of Mediterranean cooking - adding feta, Kalamata olives, lemon and capers to just about everything I ate. I still adore Mediterranean cuisine, but found I'm using a lot of southwestern influencing in my cooking recently. Chili powder, cayenne pepper, corn, and limes make an appearance a lot these days. 

This dish is a great representation of how these southwestern ingredients come together flawlessly. The cool avocado, the sweet corn, and the hot cayenne complement each other perfectly. I made this for lunch one Saturday afternoon, and it kept me full well through dinner hour - lots of healthy fats in the avocado!

I've seen many modifications of this salad on the web - adding cilantro or tomato are great sounding options. This would be great as a side dish, as well as a main meal. Make this while the sweet corn is at its peak and plentiful, though I'm sure you could use frozen corn on the off season.

Corn & Avocado Salad

Serves: 3 as a main meal

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

5 ears of corn

1 Tbsp olive oil

Juice from 1/2 lime

1 avocado

Seasoning Blend:

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne (more or less depending on desired heat level)

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Husk and clean corn, ensuring all silk is removed from cob. Heat skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-low heat. Cut corn kernels from cob and place in skillet once heated. Cook corn until lightly browned, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix seasoning blend together. Once corn is browned, turn off heat and sprinkle seasoning blend over corn, stirring to coat evenly. You may not want to use the entire seasoning blend - I used about 75%. Cut avocado in half, remove pit and slice into cubes while in the skin. Take a large spoon and scoop out flesh, add to skillet. Stir to combine, and squeeze lime juice over salad. Serve warm or cold.

Nutrition per Serving (3 servings per recipe): Calories 285 | Total Fat 16 | Sat Fat 2.3g | Sodium 250 g | Potassium 820 mg | Carbohydrates 38 g | Fiber 10 g | Sugars 6 g | Protein 7 g

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7/6 WOD

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I've been doing Crossfit workouts at my gym, and I wanted to share one I did a couple weeks ago. My legs were so sore the two days following, it was a lot more challenging than I anticipated!

The weights listed in parenthesis are the prescribed weights for men and women (i.e. 55 lb for men and 35 lb for women on goblet squats), but you will probably want to start with something lighter. Your biggest concern should be form over strength until you've done it enough to know your doing it properly.

I used 30 pounds for goblet squats, 10 lb for walking lunges and 30 lb for thrusters. My time was 11:15 (including the rests).

Do 3 Rounds of:

7 Goblet Squats (55/35)

15 Overhead Walking Lunges Each Leg (45/35)

15 Thrusters (65/45)

300m Row

Rest: 60 Seconds

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Nutrition Spotlight: High-Fructose Corn Syrup

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High-fructose corn syrup is found in everything from bread to soft drinks, and is a large contributor to our daily sugar intake. According to the USDA, Americans consume 156 pounds of added sugar each year! That's more than 20 extra pounds the average American is carrying due to sugar consumption.

High-fructose corn syrup is made up of a combination of glucose and fructose. Both are monosaccharides (mono = one, sacchar = sugar) and make up the most basic form of carbohydrates. By combining monosaccharides in different combinations and amounts, you can build disaccharides and polysaccharides.

High-fructose corn syrup starts as corn syrup, which is also known as glucose syrup, because it is made primarily of glucose. By processing the corn syrup, some of the glucose is turned into fructose. There are different ratios of glucose and fructose in high-fructose corn syrup to produce the desired amount of sweetness. Soft drinks use 55% fructose and 42% glucose (the rest being water), while 42% fructose and 53% glucose solutions are used in baked goods and processed foods.

The reason for its use is primarily cost. Several factors have caused the cost of table sugar (sucrose) to increase in price. Since then, there has been a lot of criticism against HFCS. Many believe that it's the cause of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, among other ailments. What's difficult to interpret is if these negative health effects are a result of new, processed ingredients in foods, or if it's because most of the population consumes too much of them. I believe if you consume 156 pounds of table sugar or HFCS annually, the results will be the same. Table sugar is 50% fructose and 50% glucose, while HFCS is 42-55% fructose and 42-53% glucose, as mentioned above. Do these small differences really make significant health differences?

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I searched study after study and it seems that there are as many publications out there that have found that HFCS causes health problems as there are those that say it's processed no differently in the body than any other sugars. One thing is for certain though - HFCS is found in processed foods, and the more processed foods you consume, the more likely you are to not be eating a healthy diet. Thus, resulting in higher prevalence of obesity, diabetes, stroke, etc.

My personal belief is that high-fructose corn syrup is fine in moderation, just like any other sugar. You don't want to be eating tons of honey, agave or maple syrup, so why would you treat high-fructose corn syrup any differently? I also believe that our nation’s obesity and health problems are not the result of one single component. High-fructose corn syrup isn't making us obese. Consuming too many calories and making poor dietary choices on top of lack of exercise is what's causing health problems to rise.

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Here are some articles I came across while researching that you may enjoy reading...
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
CBS News Investigates Sweetener Controversy
Corn Refiners Association Myths vs. Facts
MSNBC Video
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A Crossfit Review

Like many people, I've been intrigued with Crossfit. I hear so many good things about it and have seen people experience so many fantastic results from joining Crossfit, so I really wanted to check it out for myself. Each box (what they call their gyms) offers a free introductory class, so Chris and I took advantage of one a couple weeks ago.

The introduction class started with a description of what Crossfit is and a description of what a typical workout looks like. Crossfit is a strength and conditioning system that uses high intensity movements that  constantly change. You move from one exercise to another, which keeps your heart rate elevated and results in an amazing workout in less than 20 minutes. But you typically spend more than 20 minutes at your box. The intent is that you spend some time before the WOD (workout of the day) to stretch, then participate with a small group in the WOD, afterwards work on skills and form, and finally stretch again before calling it a day.

The WOD is posted on a whiteboard when you walk into the box, with the prescribed weights for men and women for each exercise. You can adjust these weights or make other modifications to accommodate your fitness level, that way everyone at any fitness level can participate. Once you complete the WOD, you write your name and time on the board.

After our instructor walked us through all this, she lead us through a modified WOD - a less intense version of what you would typically experience. We started with a warm up which included sit ups, supermans, and a 400 meter run (among other things I can't recall at this time). Then we were ready for our WOD, which looked like this:

10-8-6-4-2
Push Press
Renegade Rows
Squats

If your anything like I was, you have no idea how to read the workout above. The numbers (10-8-6-4-2) represent the number of reps you do for each set. So, you will do 10 repetitions of push press, 10 repetitions of renegade rows and 10 squats. Without resting, you will start over with push press, doing 8 repetitions, 8 renegade rows, 8 squats, and so on. You continue through until you have completed all the exercises and record your time - mine was 7:29 - and I was literally dripping in sweat. It's no joke!

I spent a few minutes before starting the workout to determine what my weights for the push press and renegade rows should be. I used a 45lb weighted bar for the push press and 10 lb dumbbells for the renegade rows, and squats I did without any weights.

After the WOD, I asked to see how they modify exercises that don't use weight, like pull ups. She demonstrated how they use bands, and how to work your way up to a kipping pull-up. I practiced a few with modifications, and then we headed out to cool down with a 400 meter jog.

My impressions of Crossfit? I loved it! I could totally see myself joining and loving every workout. It has a great sense of community and a lot of variety, which would keep boredom at bay. But.... it's super expensive! Each box is independently owned, so the cost varies, but the one we visited was $155/month/person. Ouch! Not only that, but you can't come and workout any time you like. You have to participate in the WOD classes, which are offered throughout the day, but 6:30 pm is often the last class of the day. Being that Chris and I both work full time, we need the flexibility to be able to workout whenever we have time. If it's 8:30 pm or 7:00 am, we fit it in where we are able.

So for those reasons, we decided that we are going to keep our current gym membership, but still participate in Crossfit WOD. Most boxes post the WOD on-line daily. I'm able to pull up the workout and head to our local gym and do the same thing I would at a Crossfit box. It's not the same though, I realize that. You don't have the attention of a trainer that helps you with form, and a group working through it with you. Maybe someday down the road we'll decide to join our local box, but for now this works.

What do you think of Crossfit? Have you tried it before?

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My Wanderlist

I have a huge passion for travel, and find I spend an obscure amount of time daydreaming about it. I'm often replaying the memories from past trips in my head, and planning ahead for the next. Here's what's on my travel wish list at the moment...

1. Mediterranean. I would love to do a cruise along Croatia, Greece, Italy, and Spain, spending extra time exploring Italy, since Chris has never been there. I've been to Rome, Florence and Venice, and seen a small portion of Tuscany countryside, but I would love to spend several days exploring the small cities on the West coast, like Cinque Terre.

2. Scotland. My parents took a trip two years ago to England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and after seeing their pictures, I started researching Scotland tourism. I would love to see the Scotland Highlands - I picture it to be like the scenery in Braveheart.

3. Hawaii. I know I'm in the minority when I say this, but tropical beach vacations are not typically the kinds of vacations I gravitate towards. I don't like to sit still and do nothing on a beach all day, I feel like there is so much to explore and see! Hawaii would keep me busy, I imagine - island hopping, water sports, shopping, whale watching, etc.

4. Alaska. Alaska seems under-rated me. There is so much to explore, I don't know how I would decide what area to concentrate on. I think a cruise would be the best way to go, since there is so much to see.

5. Dogsledding in the Boundary Waters. The Boundary Waters are in Northern Minnesota and is a region of wilderness popular with campers and hikers. It's a series of lakes and islands, full of wildlife, waterfalls and trails. In the winter, these lakes freeze, which is when dogsledding becomes popular in this area. My work offers a dogsledding trip where you sled over the ice going from one island to the next all day, then set up camp with the dogs, and are given the option of sleeping in a cabin, or digging a tunnel into the snow that you can sleep in. A coworker who transferred to MN from South America did it his first winter in Minnesota, and he said it was one of the coolest experiences he has ever had. Have to try to convince Chris of this now...

6. Northern California. I have wanted to see wine country and San Francisco for so long. I would love to see Sonoma, Napa and spend at least 2-3 days eating my way through San Francisco. I need at least a week to explore the region, though, and would love to extend it to go up North along the Oregon and Washington coast.

7. The Great Barrier Reef, Australia. I don't often explore the possibility of traveling in Australia. Simply because flights are so ridiculously expensive. But, if I ever had the opportunity to go, I would love to see the Great Barrier Reef... and the Outback...

8. Zermatt, Switzerland. Chris and I loved every minute of our honeymoon, and we felt like we had enough time to explore all the regions we visited, except Zermatt. The owner of a restaurant we frequent here in town heard we went to Switzerland for our honeymoon, and asked if we went to Zermatt. We told him we did, and his eyes lit up and he said he has gone every year to hike the Matterhorn for the last eight years. He has traveled the world and he said it is the only place he enjoys enough to revisit every year. We agree. Our stay was too short, and I personally would love to make it there in the summer when their biking trails are open. Can you imagine biking up the Matterhorn??

9. The Black Forest, Germany. I tried to find time to see The Black Forest on our honeymoon, but at some point you have to say there just isn't time to do it all. I didn't want to cut our time short in other cities in order to do it, but after reading about it, it really intrigues me.

10. Bora Bora. Like I said above, beach vacations aren't typically my thing, but Bora Bora looks too pretty to not put on my travel bucket list! I see a vacation at Bora Bora looking like this... sleeping in a private bungalow over the ocean, sipping fruity rum drinks, and snorkeling. Yes, please!

I'm cutting myself off at 10, because I could go to 50. The Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Prague, Iceland, Thailand, Vancouver, Charleston... there is so much to explore!

So, tell me, what is on your travel wish list? What has been your absolute favorite travel destination, and why?

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Nutrition Spotlight: Trans-Fats

Trans-fats have developed quite the reputation, especially since the mandatory labeling in 2006 by the FDA, which required trans-fat be included on the nutrition label. At that time, the public was well aware that trans fats have negative health consequences. So what is the purpose of trans fats, and how are they created?

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Back up to the early 1900's. This is when trans fats were first discovered. Scientists found that by pumping hydrogen in liquid vegetable oil, a process called "hydrogenation", that they could turn a liquid fat into a solid fat.

Why were they concerned with doing this, you may ask? There are many reasons. For one, they extend the shelf life of foods. This is important to food manufactures today, but was also important during times of war, when shipping foods to troops. American households love it for other reasons, however. Margarine (high in trans-fat) stays soft when refrigerated, making it easy to store, then grab to spread on toast, or work into a batter. Butter goes rancid if left on the counter too long, and is too hard to work with when stored in the refrigerator. Margarine is also much cheaper than butter. These are just a few reasons why trans fats entered the market and were so well accepted.  But, in the 1950's, research began discovering the negative health effects that came with trans-fat consumption.

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Researchers knew that saturated fats increase your total cholesterol, as well as your LDL (bad) cholesterol. It was found that trans fats do this as well, but it also lowers your HDL (good) cholesterol! A double whammy.

In 2006, the FDA mandated that trans-fat be included on the nutrition label of all foods. If less than 0.5g per serving, however, it does not need to be labeled. So, trans fats could still be present in your foods and not labeled. How then, can you identify if trans fats are found in your food? Look at the ingredient deck. If you find the words "partially hydrogenated" in the label, you know it contains trans fats. If "fully hydrogenated" or "completely hydrogenated" oils are listed in the ingredient deck, they do not include trans fats. You may find some labels that say "hydrogenated oil", and in this case, you can probably assume that there is some trans-fat in the product.

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If you have any requests for future Nutrition Spotlight posts, please shoot me an email at thesaltedkitchen@gmail.com!



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Spinach, Avocado and Goat Cheese Panini

Every Saturday I sit down and create a weeks worth of menu items and a grocery list before Chris and I head out to the farmer's market. I tend to have some regular themes - salmon, eggs, and panini's once a week. The other days vary. Panini's are so simple, take just minutes to assemble and cook, and taste amazing. I've come up with some awesome combinations, but this one - made with avocado, goat cheese and spinach - may just have risen to the top.

Use good bread, it makes all the difference in the world. I got this sourdough from Patisserie 46 and it creates an amazing crispy crust around the gooey center fillings. An herbed goat cheese would also taste fantastic. If you don't have a panini press, you can make this on a skillet like you would a grilled cheese. That's what I did in this case, and it turned out just as good.

Spinach, Avocado and Goat Cheese Panini
Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 slices artisian bread
handful fresh baby spinach
¼ avocado, sliced
2 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled
olive oil (and butter if you’re so inclined)

Directions:

Coat one side of bread slices with olive oil or butter. Place oiled/buttered side down, and on one slice of bread add sliced avocado, spinach, then sprinkle on goat cheese. Place second slice of bread on top and press together gently.

Place in panini griddle or on a frying pan over medium heat until bread is golden brown on both sides. Pin It

Orange County, California

I disappeared on you for a while there. Oops. Truthfully, there were a lot of things I was neglecting over the last six plus weeks, this blog included. I'm finally back to my old self now and am looking forward to sharing some great workouts and recipes! But first, I wanted to share some pictures from our trip to Southern California.

We had a great trip, absolutely nothing on the agenda except making it to Catalina Island for a day. We spent a ton of time on the beach, eating great food, drinking coffee, reading, and exploring Orange County. It was my first time in California, I was especially eager to go to Northern Cali, but we didn't have the time to explore it to the extent that I wanted, so we choose something else. This ended up being perfect for a five day vacation.

Other than Catalina, we didn't venture far from Laguna Beach. We spent a lot of time there, as well as Dana's Point, Newport Beach and Balboa Island. Beautiful scenery, and such a relaxed way of life.

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