The Damage Eraser

Speaking of healthy…

When you have had a weekend where your whiskey intake far surpassed that of water, where you were positively forced (pull my arm and leg!!) to eat approximately a million and one snacks in order to keep warm, where you did not go to bed before 4 one night and where nothing you ate had a color other than “off-white” except for those blue M & M’s; yes, I mean the kind of weekend that extracts every ounce of juice from your camera battery and brain and leaves you completely neglecting to charge it [camera battery and brain] as you luxuriate deep in blissful reverie of the weekend fun, you should stop, take a breathah, as we Bostonians say, and do this, STAT.:

1.  Cook up some Black Quinoa

2. Saute chopped snap peas in a little oil, minced ginger and salt until cooked but still crisp.

3. Add cubed oranges and saute a bit to add the orange flavor and bring to room temp (I used Cara Cara Oranges for the deep coral color).

4. Make a vinaigrette with 1 T Sesame Oil, 1 T Rice Wine Vinegar and a splash of soy sauce.

5. Layer in a bowl– quinoa, veggie mix, vinaigrette, add some sesame cashews if you have them, and a few squirts of Sriracha, to taste.

6. Serve warm or room temp.

 

This was quite delicious and the bright colors made it feel just as special as all the treats I had this weekend.  I think this could become  staple,  swapping out various fruits depending on the time of year.  Can you imagine how tasty it would be with ripe peaches in July?

 

~a

Crazy Healthy Foods That Actually Taste Amazing

Happy (very belated) New Year All! Along with everyone else in the world, this year I vow to lose weight, get in shape, eat better, drink less, yoga more, be nicer blah blah blah. Yeah… somehow I just don’t see that all happening. At least not just by saying it, wiggling my nose and blinking my eyes.

Here is something I vow to actually do – really try at the few goals I have set out for myself. If I want to get in shape I better be doing more than just taking the stairs to my 3rd floor apartment.

For example – One of my goals is to treat treats like treats. Newsflash for Caitlin! If you have beer, pizza, chocolate, wine,  pumpkin spice lattes etc every. single. day. – those aren’t treats! Those are just your eating habits!

Now I’m not saying that I am always unhealthy or that I plan to give up beer or pizza entirely, but I’ve allowed myself to get into a fitness and food funk (that I’m totally blaming on the holidays) and with a clean slate of 2012 right at my finger tips, I’ve figured now is the time to make a few changes.

So, to kick off 2012 here are my top 12 incredibly, super healthy tricks I’ve learned from some of my favorite blogs and websites that I SWEAR taste amazing.

Green Monster from Oh She Glows

1. Green Monsters – Add spinach to your smoothie and you’ll get a morning salad kick-in-the-pants without tasting it at all.
2. Mmmm Sauce – A vegan sauce you can add to almost anything. My favorite is millet, roasted butternut squash, chickpeas and Mmm (mmm good) sauce.
3. Peanut Butter Oatmeal – Didn’t think stick to your ribs oatmeal could get anymore stick to your ribs? Add a spoonful of nut butter on the side!
   

   Peanut Butter Pumpking Oatmeal from Kath Eats Real Food

4. Pumpkin Puree in Oatmeal – Another awesome addition to add to your bowl of oatmeal. 1/4 cup per bowl gives it nice bulk without overpowering the taste.
5. Black Beans & Sweet Potatoes –  Black beans, salsa and greek yogurt. SO good.
6. Baked Beans & Sweet Potatoes– Vegetarian (or regular) baked beans warmed up and poured on top.
   

   Kale Chips from Kath Eats Real Food

7.  Kale Chips – Crispy. Salty. Great with ketchup. Do you need more?
8. The Breakfast Cookie– With plain greek yogurt and fruit on top. I find it to be too sweet without the plain yogurt, but it really does taste like a cookie for breakfast!
   

   Blueberry-Flax Smoothie from Whole Living

9. Every Smoothie Under the Sun – Smoothies rock.
10. Clean Foods – Dr. Junger’s Clean Food recipes are generally awesome. I am in love with the Tabboulah (page 20) and the Almond Sauce (page 23).
    

    Chocolate Amazing Grass

11. Amazing Grass – The original wheatgrass is kind of hard to swallow, but the chocolate tastes really amazing in a peanut butter, banana, almond milk smoothie and it really does give you an energy boost in the morning.
12. Chia Seeds – Completely tasteless, you can add these seeds to anything. Smoothies, on top of toast, oatmeal, salads, chicken… literally anything.

Happy Holidays!

A Merry and Happy Christmas and/or Holiday to you all!

 

A few merry links to inspire your holiday cheer:

Holiday Flash Mob that sounds amaaaaazing

Puppies!

Christmas Angels… in KMart

Bad presents for kids… hilarious or really mean?

Brussel Sprouts 3 Ways

Roasted Brussel Spouts

• Half brussel sprouts
• Toss in 2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper
• At 375 degrees, roast for 30 minutes
• Move sprouts around with a spatula and roast for 5 – 10 more minutes
• Enjoy! (Especially the crispy leaves that fall off..)

 

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Brown Sugar

• Cook bacon until crispy.  Remove from pan, retaining bacon fat
• Add Brussels sprouts, S+P  and brown sugar to pan and cook 2 – 4 minutes until the sprouts begin to cook and sugar is melted
• Transfer sprouts to baking pan and roast for 30 minutes at 375 or until crispy
• In the meantime, cook onions in the same pan on low heat until caramelized
• Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and cook 5 minutes more
•  Serve Brussels sprouts in a bowl with crumbled bacon and onions
• Enjoy!

Maple Mustard Brussel Sprouts

• Saute 1/4 cup of onions in olive oil until softened 3 – 5 minutes
• Add Brussel Sprouts (cut into halves or quarters depending on size) and saute together for 3 – 5 minutes
• Add 1/4 cup of water and close cover for 6 – 8 minutes
• Meanwhile whisk together 1/4 cup of dijon mustard and 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
• Add maple/mustard mix, steam for an extra few minutes if necessary (you should be able to stick a fork in them easily)
• Enjoy!

Party Hair Tutorials

Most of the time my hair goes straight up into a bun every morning, except when I have a big meeting or a fun engagement that night and then I spend the time to straighten and maybe even put my hair in curlers (my fiance can never understand why someone with naturally curly hair would straighten and then recurl their hair… he doesn’t undestand the idea of bouncy cascading curls verse kinky uncontrollable curls…).

But for those specialty events when I want to stand out, I turn to the trusty internet for hair help. Here are my favorite 4 hair tutorials that I have pretty much successfully  mastered:

The Martha Stewart Side Chignon 
(Note: This is the most difficult, but after trying a few times it looks fantastic. Don’t forget to curl your hair because when the pieces stick out of the chignon you want to make sure they look purposeful, not like you just can’t get your hair to behave.)

Cup of Jo Gibson Roll
(Note: Make sure to give yourself a little volume on the top with a fine tooth comb so that you don’t look too “Heidi”. Also messy is okay here! It’s a “Oh I just threw my hair up as I ran out the door and oh, does it look fantastic? Well thank you so very much” hair do.)

 

Cupcakes and Cashmere Beachy Waves 
(Note: This one is great because it is hard to mess up. Just make sure that you curl in different directions and that you mainly curl from your ear down. We’re not going for Shirley Temple here!)

Joan Holloway Inspired Mad Men Do 
(Note: Okay, this was for a Mad Men party.. but had I not gone so crazy with the teasing, this could have been an awesome regular party updo)

P.S. The number one advice I can give you as the secret to awesome updos is: Make sure your hair is a day or two dirty. Might be gross, but I swear it helps!

~ c

Cranberry Cocktail

I have a great friend, Tyler, who is amazing with ingredients. I mean I love to cook, but Tyler loves to cook and isn’t afraid of anything. Pig’s belly? Sure! Lobster tails? Why not!

So, whenever I get to see him I grill him with questions about what he’s concocted last. Last weekend he  was telling me about a cocktail he made for his family at Thanksgiving that sounded so fabulous I had to try it myself.  This cocktail doesn’t use crazy ingredients, but it is crazy good.

Cranberry Simple Syrup

• 1 Cup of Water
• 1 Cup of Sugar
• 2 Cups of Cranberries

Simmer all ingredients together for 15 minutes. Let cool. Put all ingredients in a container in the fridge overnight and strain in the morning. You will have a bright red delicious syrup perfect for cocktail experimenting.

Ty’s Cranberry Cocktail

• Cranberry Simple Syrup
• Vodka
• Ginger Ale
• Sparkling Water
• Orange, Lemon or Lime Slices (I chose lime to get the red/green theme)

The “skinny” Version

• Cranberry Simple Syrup
• Vodka
• Sparkling Water
• Orange, Lemon or Lime Slices

Pour. Cheers. Drink. Enjoy. Happy Holiday-ing!

P.S. Lucky for us Tyler has a blog, tyskitchen.com, where he documents the meals he’s made during the week. Check it out!

~c

Peppermint Oreo Truffles

‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through DC

Tiny lights were strung among streets lamps, windows and trees

The shops were all buzzing with a last minute rush

I even saw a caroler (or perhaps a mid-day lush)

With three holiday parties and only hours to spare

I needed something quick, but with holiday flair

Away to the market I ran like the wind

White chocolate, cream cheese and Oreos (peppermint!)

I crushed up the oreos and mixed in the cream cheese

(I left a few oreos on the counter as a tease)

I rolled them into balls (smaller than a quarter you’ll see)

With my budget double boiler I melted with glee

With a dip and some sprinkles my hostess gift was all done

Super easy, delicious and festive and fun!

With these cute oreo pops I could pull any fella,

Merry Christmas to all and THANK YOU Bakerella!

Bakerella’s Oreo Truffle Recipe: http://www.bakerella.com/grocery-item-goes-gourmet/

* My budge double boiler is pan with water, a colander and a bowl that is microwave safe, but not stovetop (whoops!)

* When you realize that you can’t let these dry top down, you can dump all your eggs into tupperware (and break 2) and then use the styrofoam egg carton to hold up the sticks

* I used Trader Joes peppermint Joe Joes, Wilton white chocolate disks, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and CakeMate Peppermint Sprinkles I found when I couldn’t find regular candy canes anywhere

* The truffles melt easily in heat, so my advice is to freeze them prior to setting them out so that they melt slower

~ c

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: For your sister who has the same (awesome) taste as you, but unfortunately a different shoe size

1. Kate Spade Earrings Gumdrop Earrings  (Studs that are anything but understated)

2. Ikea Milk Frother for at home lattes

3. Anthropologie Hobnail Tumbler set for chic entertaining

4. Ad Hoc Cookbook (Because you really want to try making Thomas Keller’s fried chicken)

5. A skinny belt that can be worn with a million and one outfits

6. An everyday Leopard Scarf so that she stops stealing mine

7. A massage, because wedding planning is no joke

 

1 – 4 ~ c and 5 – 7 ~ a

Red Pants

I really want a pair of red pants for upcoming holiday parties, but I’m having trouble deciding which ones I want. I do however know that I would like them to be work appropriate and warm enough to wear at Christmas and for Valentine’s Day. Here’s what I have so far:

#1. JCrew Wool Cafe Capris. Definitely my favorite, but also the most expensive. Why oh why does JCrew have to be so expensive??

#2. Ann Taylor Modern Cropped Pants. I haven’t seen them in person yet, but hopefully they are wool and lined like the Jcrew ones. I mean it’s winter time… unlined pants just don’t work.

#3. JCrew Minnies. I have these in a very dark purple and I love them. Allie has them in black and loves them. But they are tight… very tight (and a size up looks too big). Are tight red pants sort of like tight white jeans? Just not good on anyone? (Plus they are more of an orangy red, not a holiday red).

#4. Express Ultimate Double Weave Columnist. I haven’t bought anything from Express in years and I think that there’s a reason for that – thin, stretchy, low quality material. But I have to admit, this model looks pretty hot in these…

Has anyone tried any of these on? I need help!

~ c

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: For your dad who loves chocolate chip cookies, life advice, speaking in parables and his family

1. Lobsta dinner for two (We once snagged this deal off of Ruelala, but you can also just order it straight from the restaurant)

2. New Tevas (If he insists on footwear that screams 1992, at least let them be not actually from 1992!)

3. Cashmere Lined Leather Gloves (For driving, cutting wood and generally looking good)

4. New Wine Opener (Because with family parties like ours, we don’t have time to struggle for each bottle)

5. Smooth as silk bourbon (Because the Irish Whiskey you tasted at Thanksgiving burned a hole through your stomach)

6. Homemade Cookies (and the promise of surprise cookie packages throughout the year)

7. “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adeiu”— John Updike’s account of Ted Williams’ last at-bat in Fenway.  “The best piece of sports writing of all time,” my dad once stated.  Cue tears…