Oh and remember that 30 by 30 list I made when I turned 29? It was one hefty list and I got through most of it (and I’m ok with whatever I didn’t get to – I’m sure in my thirties I’ll learn even more about prioritizing in life and letting go of perfection). Check the link to the original post for updates on my progress.

Last but not least – what’s a birthday celebration without something sweet? It’s spring so I’m sharing this light strawberry lemon shortcake dessert. I made it a few weeks ago for a spring-themed dinner with Shannon and Kerstin. It was light and refreshing and everyone really enjoyed it (including myself). Strawberry shortcake is actually one of Adam’s favorites so I know I’ll be making it again this summer with local strawberries.

Happy birthday to me!!

How have you guys been? Any fun desserts consumed lately? I need to know!

When it comes to losing weight, I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s rarely as easy as knowing what to do and just following through. Our lives get in the way, our emotions get the best of us, and then there are these cravings that seem to come out of no where (you haven’t had pizza in years and all of a sudden that’s all you can think of, now that it’s “off limits.” <– this is of course hypothetical because I eat pizza at least once a month ) So yes, it’s a journey. Sometimes on a long and winding road. We, I,  may fall and backtrack but it’s important to get back up and keep moving forward. My favorite way to do that is by preparing something crazy delicious that tastes completely sinful but is actually quite good for you!  And of course I believe that no matter your health goals, it’s really important to satisfy cravings! Always and forever. No carrot sticks for dinner in this household (although I am having carrot fries with oven fried chicken tonight)!!

This (chicken) sausage and veggie stuffed manicotti was Italian comfort food at its best without the artery clogging or calorie busting properties (by the way, I’m back to calorie counting to get into tip top summer… or 30th birthday… shape). I started following the above linked recipe from Cooking Light but decided to cut the amount of sausage down by 1/3, and then ramped up the veggies. Italian food is good like that – once you cover it in cheese and sauce, it will all be gobbled up in no time!

So after browning the sausage for a few minutes, in went a whole container of chopped mushrooms, one yellow bell pepper and a few minutes later – 2 cups of baby spinach. The hardest part was not eating this whole mixture before stuffing it into manicotti! I persevered (even though it was a bit time consuming) and eventually dinner was on the table. Man, this was goooood!

My changes created even lighter manicotti (220 cals/pop) full of delicious nutrients. Between the spicy sausage, loads of veggies, tangy tomato sauce, creamy bechamel (made with skim milk!) and cheese, it definitely felt like a treat. Adam said this was the best meal I’ve made in a while (although he says it often ). This dish would be a great contender for my cooking parties because it would be fun to make as a team while chatting away (perhaps with a glass of red wine!). I’m thinking an easier and quicker version may be coming next though for those of us that don’t find an hour+ of hands-on cooking relaxing.

Oh and did I mention this meal is freezer friendly and reheats beautifully? All that time paid off for sure!

How much time do you usually spend making a meal?

PS- There is just one day left of the thinkThin giveaway – make sure you enter it!

Anyways, the marathon was the highlight of my week so far but the rest of the week as always revolved around food.  Since I do a lot of recipe testing for my express lunch time lessons, I wanted to share one of my favorite quick and cheap recipes that’s perfect for lunch or a casual dinner – an egg salad BLT. This recipe was originally featured in Best of Cooking Light and it was love at first bite. I adore how light yet creamy the egg salad is, and the addition of lemon zest really brightens it up. Also, I’ve used nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream on many occasions and it works wonderfully.

Side note: Martha Stewart’s method for hard-boiled eggs creates perfect eggs every time.

The best part? The contrast between creamy eggs, juicy tomatoes and crispy, salty, smoky bacon. Oh yes!

What are your favorite quick and cheap recipes? Please share with all of us in the comments!

I’m back on the dieting bandwagon. At least for a little while. I know I said I was done with dieting for good and maybe I forgot the struggles and ups and downs associated with restrictive measures (and need to relearn this lesson), but honestly – I got tired of the mental capacity intuitive eating requires. I still believe it should be everyone’s (including mine!) ultimate goal. I want to have the freedom to eat what my body and mind desire, drama-free. But in order to get “there,” you need to do a lot of digging and self-evaluation and discipline (yes, intuitive eating requires a lot of discipline… at least while you are learning the ropes of it) and at a time where I’m dealing with so many changes and emotions in my life, I just need a little break from all of this work.

Leaving my job created a lot of possibilities, but also a lot of old and new emotions. I still struggle with unrealistic expectations about how much I can accomplish in one day (which bring about anxiety and disappointment), perfectionism (in every aspect of my life… which turns into a lot of discomfort when I can’t completely control everything that’s happening… even myself), laziness (yup, I said it… that carries a lot of guilt too) and loneliness (that’s a new one from being at home alone during the weekdays…hoping to change that when my business launches!). Guess what? To cope with it all, I found comfort in food. Followed by shame. Here I was, finally pursuing my dreams and still dealing with my shit in the same old ways.

I tried pep talks and inspirational books, but like I said – it was all just too much for me right now. My weight gain was making me uncomfortable and I just wanted to get rid of it first and deal with my issues later. I know a diet is a band aid, but I feel like that is what I require right now. I own this decision. I think some of you may relate.

So anyways, I tried going back to calorie counting. I couldn’t do it this time. It was too flexible. I was good for a few days, then I would totally blow it the next day (of course stopping tracking once I was over my daily allowance)… and starting over seemed harder and harder each time until it gave me so much anxiety I would start overeating right away (this is why I decided that I was done with the diets in the first place – it created this vicious cycle!). So I’m now doing something that’s a lot more restrictive just to shock my body a little and take certain trigger foods (chocolate, I’m looking at you!) out of the equation. On Monday, I started the 2-week phase I of the South Beach Diet. For the next 2 weeks, I am restricting my sugar intake and eliminating most starches from my diet (basically, it’s a low carb diet for the first 2 weeks) and then I can bring back some whole grains, fruit and booze back. This first phase is the one I’m most excited about because it is already teaching me that discipline I’ve lost (and the scale has finally reversed direction!). Because the foods I normally would turn to in my discomfort are not available to me right now, I am forced to find solutions that don’t involve food. And that’s the best “side effect.” I really am feeling better already! By the way, Adam is doing it with me so I’ve been extra motivated. There will be no cheating here!! We are in it together.

PS – Even on a diet, I refuse to eat “diet food.” This chicken cacciatore recipe from Cooking Light was incredibly delicious, diet or not. Skinless chicken thighs are well seasoned and beautifully seared, then baked over a medley of peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms. I omitted the shaved parmesan topping because I was lazy and the meal was fantastic without it, but I think the cheese could add a nice sharp bite to the dish. Highly recommended!

Are you an effortless healthy eater or do you sometimes need the kick your own butt and get a little more “serious?”

enjoyed in the past – but with better pictures

“Old” tomato goat cheese strata (yikes!). Visually improved tomato goat cheese strata:

Same delicious recipe from Cooking Light. Now hopefully you’d actually want to make it

How is your week going so far?? Mine is flying by and I’m not too happy about it. I have things to accomplish!! Although now that I think about it, this weekend I’m going to NY to go wedding dress shopping with my sister (and hopefully celebrating my best friend’s 30th birthday… if I can get a hold of her!) so it’s going to be a good one. So I guess it’s ok that it’s coming so soon.

As I mentioned in the my previous post, my sister’s wedding is definitely motivating me to get a little more serious about healthy eating. I’m not going on any crazy diets but I am being a little more mindful about what I’m eating. I put up a big calendar on the fridge reminding me of the “big day” (sort of funny saying that since it’s not my wedding) and a few pictures of myself at a lower weight for motivation. It’s only been 1 day, but I feel like I’m approaching this in the right way and feel good about weight loss results that are sure to follow!

The best part? I have a few old favorites to ensure I’m eating satisfying healthy meals. Like this strata. It comes together quite quickly, uses ingredients I always have on hand (well, I happened to have fresh sage on hand this time, but I’d just use dried if I didn’t) and it’s so warm and comforting. It has (whole wheat) sourdough bread and goat cheese. You can eat it for breakfast or dinner. And one quarter of the pan is a serving. Really, what’s not to love?!

Diets, shmiets. I’ll stick to this!

What are your favorite healthy and satisfying recipes? Please share with me in the comments!

I wonder how many people really wake up on January 1 and find themselves with a list of resolutions that require immediate action. Do they have a clear plan? Are they overwhelmed? Do they have a good support system to help them? I hope so!

I’m the kind of person that attacks goals with intensity. I research, I plan, I write out mile-long to-do lists and schedules and then I go at it. This is how I’m approaching my new business (I promise to share the details with you – very soon!) and it’s been exhilarating (so exhilarating in fact that I am having trouble falling asleep thinking of a million different things I could offer and cute little touches that would make me unique). The best part? I get to eat my “research.” [Ok some of it, unfortunately my extensive research in the logo design process has been inedible, and more expensive than originally anticipated. If only I could pay designers in cookies… or mussels. Ha!]

Coconut and basil steamed mussels is a Cooking Light recipe I’ve had bookmarked since June 2009. Mussels are such a fun protein to make and healthy to boot! It’s high in protein, low in fat and calories and when made right – so juicy, plump and delicious. I also love how these little guys absorb whatever broth you cook them in. They turn into little sponges of flavor. Yum!!

I doubled the amount of mussels the recipe called for (they normally come in 2lb bags – why not cook the whole thing?) and added a few good handfuls of fresh baby spinach (together with the basil) for good measure. Adding baby spinach to pretty much everything is one of my favorite ways to sneak extra veggies in! The spinach soaked up some of the yummy broth as well. Awesome!

This broth was creamy and slightly spicy and had a bit of Thai flare. We loved it with big hunks of bread to soak up more broth. A quick, restaurant-worthy, healthy meal right at home!

Those white dots, by the way, are salt. I guess I got really up close and personal with the mussels

Do you feel the effects of the new year? Are you overwhelmed, excited or just indifferent?

Now onto more relevant things…

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you host this year or traveled to see family or friends? Did you make anything delicious? I stuck to my plan and made an apple pie and roasted brussels sprouts with pomegranates and vanilla-pecan butter. I popped the pie out of the oven right before heading on a drive to my sister-in-law’s for dinner… the hot pie smelled SO incredible the whole way there. I looked pretty ridiculous sitting there with oven mitts and hugging a pie but I’d do it all over again just for the smell.

The pie recipe came from the Joy of Cookingcookbook – I made the flaky pie dough recipe using 100% butter (shortening freaks me out) and “Apple Pie II” recipe to be able to do a lattice top. I just think it looks prettier and it gives the apples a chance to steam through the holes. Oh and since I made this pie last week as well I learned that I didn’t like their recommendation of refrigerating the strips first. They became too hard to maneuver. Just cut them up right before topping the pie. Worked for me!

Looks better than my first pie, right? I’m happy to say I’m pretty comfortable making a pie now… and just like the recipe said – the dough was nice and flaky. Very exciting! The recipe happens to pre-cook the apples as well so you can make the dough and apples the day before and then assemble and bake the whole thing the day of your party. Nice and easy!

Bobby Flay’s brussels sprouts recipe was also a hit with everyone, including brussels sprouts haters. Yay! Although Adam and I preferred the more savory version with capers and anchovies.

Ok, ok, so this post actually has a point (more Thanksgiving pictures of all the fair and puppies and kids will go up today on the Healthy and Sane Facebook page, so check it out if you want more!). I wanted to share a quick and cheap recipe with you that may utilize ingredients you already have at home. Maybe you’re too tired to cook anything elaborate after last week’s feast. Maybe you just got home from your travels and haven’t gone grocery shopping yet…or maybe – like me- you try to avoid all stores at all cost during this holiday weekend so now that your Thanksgiving leftovers are gone, your fridge is looking a little bare. This recipe from Cooking Light for loaded potato soup is for you then! It’s creamy, hearty, healthy; it comes together in a cinch… and it’s delicious. Very delicious!

I made this soup a few weeks ago. It was supposed to be a quick dinner. I had no plans of blogging about it… until I had the first sip. I knew it was a winner and I just had to share. The potatoes are “baked” in the microwave while the bacon is fried. I of course omitted the onions but instead of adding oil, I left a little bacon grease in the pan before adding the broth, milk and the rest of the ingredients. I think this is what gave it that extra smoky flavor that provided a lot of depth to an otherwise simple dish. Seriously, make this soup this winter. I promise you’ll love it!

What other healthy, quick, cheap and delicious recipes would you recommend? I’d like to make it a regular feature on Healthy and Sane.

I am, however, very much aware of the fact that summer is going to end very soon (partially because I keep seeing everything-fall). I wish it was summer all year long (clearly I should have thought of that before buying a condo in New England!)… but since it won’t be the case, I’m savoring every last moment of it. I try to spend as much time as possible outside when things like rain and/or hurricane don’t get in the way. And I’m eating fresh summer produce like it’s going out of style… err season.

I save hundreds of new recipes every week and it’s always so exciting when I finally make one of them (instead of finding a brand new one right before grocery shopping… I know, that’s just silly yet I do it far too often). This recipe from the July 2009 issue of Cooking Light for berry-peach cobbler with sugared almonds I’ve had saved since… well, July 2009. I’m sorry I’ve waited this long because I’m honestly obsessed. It’s the best summer dessert a girl could ask for. And it’s easy. And light. I don’t even want chocolate after eating it. Yes, that good!

I made this last night, right before getting an email from my girl Kelsey at Stonyfield, reminding me to host a giveaway for you guys since summer is about to end (here we go again…). And what do you know, I just happened to be eating this cobbler with Stonyfield fat free frozen yogurt…

It’s good stuff. Super creamy. Honestly I would have never guessed it was fat free (I actually hesitated before buying it because I saw that it was fat free, but decided to give it a god anyway because I love Stonyfield products). Of course I did have it with this sick cobbler… mmm.

So quickly about this recipe. I used half the sugar the recipe called for and it was still very sweet (my fruit was incredibly sweet – so that was probably why)… I would even use less sugar next time if my fruit is at its prime again. I also used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose. I would do this again – the topping was buttery and flawless. Loved the candied almonds too. Seriously, I need to stop talking about this cobbler before I go back to the kitchen for more…

Mmm, I love when the ice cream froyo gets all melty…

I’m drooling over my own pictures right now. Hope you don’t mind

Now on to the giveaway! Stonyfield recently launched their organic frozen yogurt bars – (vanilla or chocolate, covered in chocolate) – just in time for the summer. Unfortunately I was unable to find them near me (supposedly they should be available at Whole Foods now) but I still enjoyed the rest of the loot in my “summer in a box.”

One lucky winner can have a box just like this!

Here is what’s in it:

• Two coupons for Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt Bars in two delicious flavors: Gotta Have Vanilla, and After Dark Chocolate.  These bars, made with organic milk, are dipped in rich dark chocolate, and contain four live and active cultures.
• Badger After-Sun Balm: A certified organic treat for sun-parched skin. Made with moisturizing plant butters and infused with soothing Blue Tansy and Lavender to make your skin feel smooth and leave you feeling calm.
• Dr. Hauschka Melissa Day Cream: This new 100% natural moisturizer is perfect for combination skin.  Formulated with extracts of melissa (lemon balm), it smells like fresh squeezed lemonade.  Additionally, extracts of anthyllis, carrot, witch hazel and English daisy soothe, soften and even the complexion so shine is controlled and skin is moisturized.
• Tom’s of Maine: Simply White, the first and only clinically proven natural whitening toothpaste to earn an ADA seal, helps bring back the natural beauty of your smile.  The Daily Moisture Body Bar has an ultra-rich bar soap formula that contains premium moisturizing olive oil, natural vitamin E and leaves your skin clean and fresh. Beautiful Earth Deodorant works to inhibit the growth of odor-causing bacteria and its natural, refreshing fragrance helps mask odor
• Uncle Matt’s Organic Lemonade and Juices: By buying Uncle Matt’s fresh fruit and juice you’re helping more than 20 small growers that make up their family of farms. That’s one of the reasons they’re proud to be family owned and organically grown. Use this free coupon to pick up your choice of organic juice or lemonade and quench your thirst for summer!

I was waiting to review the products until I found the froyo bars, but since summer is ending – I’m hosting this giveaway now. I’ve only tried the deodorant so far and I LOVE it. It smells incredible; it’s clear and natural. What more can you want? I will be buying it again and again after I run out of this one. Can’t wait to try the rest of the products and of course the froyo bars once I find them.

Ready to win? Here are the rules: there are 7 ways to enter.

1) Leave a comment on this post – I would love to hear about way you’re savoring summer or about natural/organic products or foods you’ve been enjoying lately.

2) Follow me on Twitter (please include your twitter handle in the comments section so that I can confirm your entry).

3) For an additional entry, you can also tweet about this giveaway (my twitter handle @elinaholbrook and a link to this post must be included to qualify)

4) Subscribe to Healthy and Sane by email

5) Like Healthy and Sane on Facebook.

6) Add Healthy and Sane to your blogroll.

7) Link to this post on your blog, if you have one. If you don’t, let someone else know about this giveaway and tell me so in the comments section after they’ve entered the giveaway.

Please leave a separate comment on this post for each entry. This giveaway ends at 8am EST on August 31 (just in a little over 24 hours!). I will randomly choose 1 winner using random.org and announce him/her that morning. Good luck!

My favorite thing about the final product (which I guess is not even final yet) is that all the pretty food pictures of recipes that look appealing to me are right there, in the format that’s enjoyable to browse through (as opposed to before, where a few nice recipes were either buried between useless articles or worse – shoved into a big folder also known as the black hole for recipes).

So the other day, I was doing my thing, gluing away, and Adam spotted a picture of the spicy chicken shawarma recipe from Cooking Light… and said: “You need to make this asap!” The good wife that I am, I put it on next week’s menu… and decided to take it up a notch by making my own whole wheat pitas. Why not!

I used the whole wheat pita bread recipe from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook, which looked easy enough.

I  my Kitchen Aid.

My dough was seriously sticky. I think I added a bit more flour and definitely let the mixer go for longer than the book specified.

Eventually I stopped it and hoped that once the yeast does it’s thing, everything will turn out fine

Why hello, Mr. Yeast… looks like you’ve been hungry!

The dough was still slightly goopy (see top right in the picture above) but a slight toss in some flour produced perfect little dough balls.

Hi cuties! [Ok, I really need to stop this whole talking-to-my-food thing.]

Roll ‘em out…

And into the oven (on a pizza stone) they go!

OMG, OMG, OMG – they’re actually ballooning up!!!! [Yes, I was that excited.]

Actually, most of them looked like the ones below – at best. Spraying some water into the oven seemed to help a bit (thanks, Emily for this tip on twitter… Btw, I changed my twitter handle to @elinaholbrook… follow me if you love me!!)

Dinner time!

My first pita opened up so easily and perfectly, I was excited about “nailing it”!

The ones that followed definitely put up a fight (after this dinner I pretty much used them as flatbreads). They were really pillowy and doughy though so I enjoyed the texture.

I hate how store bought whole wheat pitas taste like cardboard so I’d love to find the perfect homemade (fool-proof) recipe that I can make over and over. It’d be cheaper too!

Have you ever made pitas? Any tips for me on technique, or maybe a link to a better recipe? Thanks!

PS – The chicken recipe was quick and easy but nothing earth shattering taste-wise. The pitas were definitely the highlight of the meal for me!

SO, if you’ve seen my post on Russian Bites, or my facebook/twitter you may have known that I had my parents and parents in law over for dinner last night. It’s been long overdue and I’m really excited that we finally had a change to do it. It was really fun! So fun, in fact, that I totally forgot to take pictures of all the food (namely the appetizers) so I’ll you’ll have to use your imagination if you’d like to pretend you were at the Healthy and Sane household last night.

This was the smoothest and least stressful dinner party I’ve ever had. Here is why!

• I took shortcuts! Pre-dinner nibbles included green olives marinated with lemons and garlic (purchased from the Whole Foods deli department), aged gouda (just cut up), mozzarella/grape tomato skewers (super simple – Adam assembled them!) and hummus with baby carrots and crackers (hummus was the only thing I made from scratch for the apps).
• I made dessert the night before (I had to given the recipe, but I just LOVED not worrying about that course at all the day of the dinner).
• Despite my overambitious self, I stuck to “just” one main course (which I’ve made before <- I knew what to expect!!). I did make a side of greens, although I accepted help (my mom washed the escarole and helped me with dessert the night prior; Adam made the mozzarella/tomato skewers). Thanks guys!
• I invited guests a few hours prior to dinner being served. This gave everyone time to chat, drink and munch… and gave me more time to prep (I always stress about having everything ready when people arrive! No need this time!!).

With all the wine our guests brought in and additional desserts (see below), we certainly had no shortage of food and drinks. So here we go, last night’s (pictured) eats!

My father in law LOVES Italian and happens to be the pickiest eater of the bunch (although I think my mom sometimes tries to give him a run for his money ) so choosing an Italian main entrée was the easy choice. I decided that spinach, artichoke and feta stuffed shells was a fun and impressive enough dish for a family dinner. It fed a crowd too! I made 1.5 times the recipe and it made two large pans (we hardly finished one of them so there were plenty of leftovers… not complaining here ).

This was carby, cheesy and comforting. A simple side dish of escarole and pine nuts (doubled) nicely broke out the richness of the main course.

There was also garlic bread which apparently broils within seconds (ok, more like 2 minutes… but still) – hey, fire and smoke with the price of admission

My mom saved the day (scrapes them off and I reapplied the garlic/EVOO paste – crisis averted!).

See, all good!

I think I can safely say everyone really enjoyed the main course!!

I left plenty of room for DESSERT!

My mom brought granny smith apples wrapped in puff pastry dough (like a lazy apple pie) – yum!

Jane, my mother in law, made chocolate covered strawberries. Just in time for Valentine’s day!

And I, with the help of my mom, made my very first gorka cake!!!! Check out Russian Bites for the recipe. You’ve been asking me for it for years, so now it’s your turn to make it. SOOOOOO good.

Happy bellies = happy guests… and a happy hostess.

Do you have any dinner party tricks? I’m really happy with how smoothly everything went last night. And now, if you excuse me, I have gorka leftovers to devour (ok, that’s a joke… I already had some after breakfast )