vacation a.k.a holiday travel wardrobe – part 1

Every year we contemplate a handful of destinations to travel to, but end up rediscovering different parts of  Europe. We don’t mind it, in fact when we go down the list, at the end of it, we smile to one another because we know deep down Europe will always win.

Anyway, I have actually become an expert traveller, in the sense that I know exactly  what I need to take and what should be left behind for a 2 week trip in most any predictable and unpredictable weather.

For this year’s trip I have selected the following travel wardrobe from here and here:

Colorful tops in different styles from here

Jeans, Khakis and shorts and capri pants from here

Comfortable dresses which do not take up too much space from here

Sweaters for the evenings and chilly weather and 1 all-weather jacket just in case from here

Comfortable all-day walking shoes and sandals and beach wear from here and here, since heels don’t work well on cobblestoned streets

Conservative yet sexy swim or in my case beachwear (for the woman over 40) from here

healthy eating: protein shakes

I must admit I live by protein shakes, almost on a daily basis. But buying one made from Starbucks, Jamba Juice and other healthy drink bars can be expensive, even though they are delicious and hastle-free.

Just recently I decided to purchase my very first industrial strength blender and some good old fashioned Whey protein powder from a health food store, as well as found some recipes here which I think are pretty easy to follow in order to make my very own shakes at home.

The wonderful thing about making shakes at home is that, you can actually add fresh fruits rather than the frozen ones from the specialty stores. Not to mention the fact, Springtime  is also the best time of the year to mix and match different fruits as they are in season and more available in your local supermarket.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Wild Berry Boost
Ingredients:
2 scoops Vanilla Whey Powder
8 raspberries
4 strawberries
15 blueberries
16 ounces nonfat milk
1/2 cup ice cubes

Pineapple Power
Ingredients:
1 cup of pineapple juice
3 strawberries
1 banana
1 teaspoon of yogurt
1 scoop of your choice of protein

Mango Madness
2-3 scoops Vanilla Whey Powder
1/2 to 1 cup mango pieces frozen or freshly sliced natural mango
1 cup Brown Cow Vanilla cream top yogurt
1 Tbsp Flax seed oil
6-8 oz water

a nostalgic holiday experience in san francisco

I am a sucker for nostalgia and usually get very sentimental during the holiday season, like (I am sure) most people do. I miss the past and long for when life seemed a little simpler and less demanding, when families where closer and holidays really meant something and  Christmas shopping was truly a creative and rewarding experience rather than a search for the trends and holiday sales.

In light of this topic, I can honestly say that although I cannot change what has happened to family and tradition, I can suggest  finding a piece of a reminder from the past and escaping there, if only for a day.

I personally do this by taking a day  in San Francisco to go downtown and walk only through historic ( iconic)  retail stores  encompassing Union Square,  so that I can detox myself from the demands of modern-day shopping frenzy through  a “Westfield Mall”.

I walk through Macy (no 4) and then cross the street over to Neiman Marcus (no 6) . Afterwards,  I cut through Union Square towards Saks Fifth Avenue (no 7), in order to avoid anything modern and new along the way.

For lunch I  dine at  Scala’s Bistro on Powell Street (near no 7) and then walk down Post Street towards  Gump’s Department Store (no  9) to continue my escape into the past.   Avoiding Juicy Couture and Nike Department Stores along the way.

This is the place I always purchase small traditional gifts  for the most meaningful people in my life and head back towards  Union Square, while walking in and out of several small local boutiques from the past.  Again avoiding Juicy Couture at all cost.

Before heading home, I go into the  Westin St. Francis Hotel (no 2) and have myself a “traditional” cup of coffee with a seasonal dessert, while I watch the passers-bys hurrying about Union Square.

Believe it or not, this (insignificant to some)  escape from the modern-day holiday shopping craze, is  not only rewarding but also therapeutic in my opinion and should be considered by most anyone,longing to reconnect with the past.

healthy thanksgiving recipes – stuffing

Not a shocker to anyone in the U.S. trying to make it through the holidays without over eating or avoiding eating things that are not good for you.

Although if you think about it, the Thanksgiving meal in itself is pretty healthy, based on today’s healthy eating standards.  But just in case you are thinking about how to add more to the healthy Turkey, Cranberry, sweet potato or green beans dishes, I have included a recipe for  stuffing which  I have found  here, that I plan to incorporate to my menu this year.

Pear, prosciutto and Hazelnut stuffing

INGREDIENTS

• 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced, cut into ribbons
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 2 cups diced fennel bulb
• 1/4 cup minced shallot
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 8 cups stale baguette, preferably multi-grain (not sourdough), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 Bosc pears, ripe but firm, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add prosciutto; cook, stirring, until crispy, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.
3. Wipe out the pan and heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel and shallot and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add sage, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Transfer everything to a large bowl and gently stir in bread, pears, parsley, hazelnuts and the prosciutto. Add broth; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the stuffing into the prepared baking dish; cover with foil.
4. Bake for 40 minutes; remove the foil and bake until the top is beginning to crisp, 25 to 30 minutes more.

TIPS & NOTES

• Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 3 and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

• Note: If you don’t have stale bread ready to use, spread the baguette cubes on a baking sheet and toast at 250°F until crisped and dry, about 15 minutes.
• Tip: To toast chopped nuts & seeds: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 176 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 8 mg cholesterol; 29 g carbohydrates; 9 g protein; 6 g fiber; 489 mg sodium; 283 mg potassium.

1 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat

french women diet plan, take 2

I had written an entry back on June 22, 2010 here about how I planned to follow the recipes in the book French Women Don’t Get Fat to see if I am able to shed a few pounds and improve my  somewhat healthy  eating habits.

Now, I consider myself a pretty disciplined individuals and when I put my mind to something I normally or usually do it. But in the case of this “diet” plan, I somewhat put it on the back burner for more reasons than one.  So, as I began to strategize for the Fall to Winter season meal plans for myself to avoid gaining the holiday pounds, I decided to check out the website for French Women Don’t Get Fat  as well as flip through my copy of the book in order to chart my meals for the next few months.

So, here is one that I will use over and over again, I guarantee it. My favorite soup,  Buttersquash. I have included the recipe here just in case you are a fan. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1⁄2 pound red-skinned boiling potatoes (about 2 or 3), peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes
6 cups water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper 

Yield: 4 servings

RECIPE

Put the squash, onion, and potatoes in a large pot. Add the water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cover. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. 

Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon, and purée in a food mill or food processor, using the cooking water to thin it out to the consistency desired. (If you’re preparing soup ahead of time, use all the cooking water, since the soup will thicken as it stands.)

Just before serving, add to the heated soup the butter, and season with salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes more, and serve.

Note: Just before serving, you can add fresh parsley for color, or ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg, or both. A swirl of crème fraiche or sour cream would be nice, too.

in search of fall colors in san francisco

One of my favorite activities is walking. Of course I do it mostly for exercise but when I am walking in a more leisurely pace, it is so I can just take in the outdoors.

Fall is especially a wonderful time to take a leisurely walk, because if you happen to live in a city where the leaves turn color, it is probably one of the most rewarding walks you will experience (at least for me).  However, in San Francisco we are not fortunate enough to experience the fall colors because, outside of the parks, we are mostly treeless and the type of trees we do have, they do not change colors.

When I worked at Stanford University six years ago, I had the pleasure of walking the campus every morning before work and in the Fall, I was able to enjoy the colors while I shuffled through the fallen leaves.  As a matter of fact, there are benches strategically placed along tree-lined pathways and if you are bold enough to sit on one of them on a brisk Fall morning, you can actually hear the leaves break from the trees and fall unto the ground.  I really miss that.

So, until I can take a trip outside of the city in search of the Fall colors, I have included some photos for my viewing pleasure. Also, if you are a local, please let me know of any place “in your neck of the woods” I can go  to experience the Fall colors.

oh stop it halle berry

I am not a jealous woman nor envious but sometimes I just want to say, STOP IT “celebrity” you’re making me look and feel bad about myself. Yes, you might think this is childish but reality is that most women in their 40s have as much insecurities as teenage and girls in their 20′s.

It’s that whole, body deciding what shape it should be, sometimes no matter how much you exercise or diet, and then there are the wrinkles and the gray hairs sneaking up on you and the pre-menopausal state taking over. Shall I go on?

So, when we pick up a magazine or look online and see, in this case, Halle Berry, in all her beauty, we tend to second guess ourselves, physically that is because God knows what her personal life is like, and suddenly become sad (at least in my case).

I am not sure if she has had plastic surgery or a nip tuck or whatever and frankly I don’t care. I do appreciate the end result and in my own twisted way, use her physical appearance as my gage to try and look better, so that I could feel better about myself.

In the meantime, I always wonder why some women look their age and others don’t, and I also wonder why some women who have had children look like mothers and others don’t. I know its part genetic and no matter how many makeover shows and guidelines there are on TV or in magazines, the division is forever obvious between motherly women and the Halle Berry’s of the world.

So, I have no idea why I wrote this entry but I suppose a recent photo of hers online triggered it and I would love to hear your thoughts on this, if you have a few minutes to yourself today between taking kids to soccer or ballet and juggling laundry and grocery shopping while your husbands golf or watch sports on TV.

books i added to my to-read list

Here is a list of books I saw at Barnes and Nobles which I added to my to-read list for 2010.

1. Good To A Fault by Marina Endicott

2. Purge by Sofi Oksanen

3. A Happy Marriage by Rafael Iglesias

4. Lonely: A Memoir by Emily White

I would love to hear from anyone who has read any of the books. Are they a good read or not.

megapixel and hd nightmare

I understand advancement, enhancement, upgrades, more, much more, sharper, deeper, 3-D and all the jazz associated with making photos and film more appealing to the eye, but for heaven’s sake, these enhacement are really not good for the aging man and woman. It not only makes the photos clearer and sharper, but it also makes every wrinkle, blemish, scar, unwanted hair and other scary facial and bodily defects more visible and troubling, to the point where any person over  40 and some under 40, should probably avoid being photographed or filmed EVER.

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So what now? How do the inventors plan to address this MAJOR problem? Even celebrities are beginning to look scary on the screen. There is only so much that can be done to edit a film, or touch up a photo shoot before the person begins to look like something out of a wax museum display instead of a their natural self. What went wrong? Is more truly better than less? I mean I for one am probably going to retire from having my photos taken and will for sure hide behind a curtain when a family member decides to film a get together.

I am serious, I do wonder if this problem will ever be addressed, but for now, can we please stop enhancing the megapixel on the cameras and while we are at it turn down the HD on that television set will you, I am starting to have nightmares.

naomi watts makeover

Although naturally beautiful, Naomi Watts, in my opinion, was in a much-needed makeover, so I was really happy to come across recent photos of her where it seems she has a new look (I hope) and  not just a one time look for the SALT premiere a couple of weeks ago in LA.

Watts, who is 41 has two kids with her long time love Liev Schriever and in the recent years has looked particularly tired (understandably so) and I suppose hasn’t really focused much on herself as a result of her family life. I am not saying that is a bad thing, but I always want to see women make an effort to take care of themselves no matter what, just to keep themselves psychologically motivated to endure life’s *** on a daily basis.

I especially appreciate coming across a positive makeover and feel more inclined to push myself harder as a result of it. I do believe that the first step to feeling good is looking good no matter what the body makeup is, there is always a way to look good. (I will make it a point to address different ways throughout my blog) but for now, see for yourself.

What do you think, is Naomi’s look a refreshing change or not?  And by the way she has landed herself a contract with Ann Taylor to become their next clothing line model. Check her out in Ann Taylor’s fall catalog and window displays coming your way soon.