My Food Revolution: Easy Caprese

There are times when nothing sounds better than sitting down in front of the television and popping a snack while mindlessly watching whatever is on at the moment. But snacking doesn't have to be filled with processed foods that are bad for you, so here's another new and incredibly simple snack to try. The same friend who introduced me to the 'Italian Style Salad' made these for the appetizer. So have at it, and don't tell me you didn't try it because it was too difficult to make!

Easy Caprese:

1 toothpick

1 Cherry Tomato
1 Basil leaf
1 Mozzarella ball

*Repeat
**If you're feeling adventuresome drizzle a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a dash of salt and pepper.

My Food Revolution: Three Month Anniversary

When I first started down the road to eat healthy and live better I didn't know what I was embarking on was a 'Clean Food' diet. Well this isn't a fad for me, this is a lifestyle change, meant for the long haul. I stand here before you three months into my journey with new perspective, tidbits and even more recipes to share. I've read interesting books, watched startling documentaries and ultimately changed the way I view the world, food, and my health. I've lost weight, both emotional and physical and feel content for the first time in a long time. I'm taking care of me, cooking, cleaning, working out all because I made one decision: eat healthy.

Every day it gets easier to eat healthy, not to say there aren't days where I just want to order take out and veg out, but if I do it's a special occasion and I better be hitting the gym extra hard the following day. Finding a balance for you is the most important thing. I've always been an 'all or nothing' type of personality, when I work out, I work out hard. When I get off the exercise train I don't think you could motivate me to just go for a walk. If I do, the next thing you know I'm running the following day, expecting to do a 5k effortlessly. It's who I am. So when I made the change to 'slowly remove processed foods from my life and document that journey' I should have known better. I threw out fast food and soda in the first week. Processed foods the following week. I never do anything the easy way, but it was my way and I have found balance along the way.

Finding motivation in others, in the media is easy if you know where to look. Watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution as well as NBC's The Biggest Loser and ABC's Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition are constant reminders to me that every time I take a bite of food I am making a decision about my health. Every time I purchase organic, locally grown food I am spending money to support them and money against the giants like Monsanto who care more about profit than consumer health. Every Tuesday I watch Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition before heading down to the gym. There doesn't seem to be an excuse in the world that can stop me after watching how eating your emotions and being sedentary can destroy your life. It's pretty easy to stay motivated while eating at home or being in control of where I go out to eat, but life isn't always that easy.

Last month I went out to Happy Hour (HH) with my coworkers. Many of my coworkers know that I've radically changed my diet and thus were giving me a hard time when I showed up, had one cocktail (well half of one) and ate some of the food that was there. I talked about it with my Mom beforehand, and I figured it would be my one treat as it was for socializing purposes and not a daily occurrence. The food didn't have the same hold on me, I wasn't mindlessly eating it and the following day my stomach hurt. Not to mention that after I got home I was hungry again, I forgot how unsatisfying garbage is for you. Now whenever I'm tempted to eat something on my old diet I know without a doubt that I'd be much happier with making my own meal. What a difference three months makes.

Word of the Day

Every day I receive a made up 'Word of the Day' abbreviated WOTD on Twitter from my friend Mark Willoughby over at The View From 111 blog. I asked him if I could catalog them, as I wanted to keep track of them. he gave me the go ahead so please enjoy the genius that is my friend Mark. And if you are on Twitter, be sure to follow Mark here.


If you use these WOTD in a post or whatever else, please credit Mark as they are his intellectual property. Thank you!

My Food Revolution: Grilled Stuffed Zucchini Rolls

I find my inspiration for new recipes from many places, most of which do not come from the internet. Childhood meals, digging through my cabinet for anything that could be thrown together and most recently celebrity inspired. In an issue of US Weekly they showed what 'diets' certain celebrities partake in and two of which I was most intrigued with used food services to cook and send their fresh food so they never had to lift a finger. Certainly makes dieting easier.

As a source of inspiration I turned Sunfare and checked out what they had on their menu. Several items caught my attention, and here is one of them. From Sunfare's 'Signature Diet' menu the Grilled Stuffed Zucchini Rolls.

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini Rolls

Slice Zucchini about 1 cm thick the long way

Grill on both sides until fully cooked

Place a small scoop of herbed Goat Cheese in the middle

Roll up - use toothpicks to hold the ends together if necessary

My Food Revolution: Traditional Caprese

When my parents came back from Italy they could not stop talking about how they loved Caprese and ate it everywhere they went. When they came to visit they made the dish as an appetizer and I too fell in love with its rich flavor. It's easy to make and the ingredients are all great for you. We may not be in Rome, but let's do as the Romans do!

Traditional Caprese:Ripe Tomatoes
Fresh Mozzerella
Fresh Basil diced
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Slice the tomatoes and the cheese. Please the tomato on the bottom topped by the slice of fresh mozzerella. Stick in the oven until warm. Sprinkle fresh diced basil on top and pour Balsmic Vinaigrette over. I recommend eating with a fork and knife.

Rue La La ;)

Many of you have received an email from me inviting you to this site. A coworker invited me and I'm sharing the wealth. Basically, they have these great sales on awesome items for two days only. Super trendy, super expensive stuff goes quickly, so you'll need to have the credit card ready to buy if what you want is on sale for a great discount. Hopefully you take a look and consider joining. :)

Click here to receive an invitation to Rue La La (membership is by invitation only.)

YPOTC: July Get Together

YPOTC is excited to officially introduce our newest supporting sponsor, The Columns Resource Group -Northwestern Mutual


Grab your friends and join us July 12th from 5:30-9PM as we conquer the professional world one pint at a time at Brit's Pub! With scotch eggs, Guinness, and with an amazing view of downtown you're guaranteed to enjoy this Second Tuesday event! Brit's has reserved the Veranda for our group and is offering YPOTC appetizer and drink specials until 9pm.
 
Brit's Pub and Eating Establishment.
Who: You
What: Networking
Where: Brit's (check out the Google Map) 1110 Nicollet Mall  Minneapolis, MN 55403  
When: July 12th, 2011 from 5:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Why: Why not?