Quinoa Salad - Take One

I love how versatile quinoa is - you can do almost anything with it. I've even used it as a breakfast cereal. Anyway, I've been collecting new quinoa recipes and finally tried one that I came across on the FamilyFun.com website, which I would like to share with you today.

It's fruity and crunchy all at the same time. Some quinoa salad recipes can stand on their own as a meal, but this one I think is better suited as a side salad or an accompaniment. Try it - you'll love it!

Quinoa Salad with Apples and Almonds

(Adapted from FamilyFun.com: by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley)

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1 cup peeled, diced apple
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 original craisins
• 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds, toasted
• Coarse salt and pepper

Instructions

1. In a medium-size saucepan, combine the quinoa and water, then bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the quinoa is tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl, stir, and let it cool completely.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, lemon juice, and salt. Gradually whisk in the oil until blended.
3. Add the apple, celery, craisins, parsley, and almonds to the quinoa and toss the ingredients well. Add the dressing and toss once more to coat the salad. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. 
   
   

Lucky and Feeling Great

Lately, I have been hearing myself say (far too often for my liking) that I am tired. Sure, there are some obvious reasons for it (work, being a mom, maintaining a house with a couple of dogs, getting up early to exercise, trying to balance life), but I’m relatively young, in good health and don’t have too many real stressors in my life. Why then do I find myself both saying and feeling this?

For the most part, I am a happy and energetic person. But I’m also a very goal oriented person…Sometimes I feel like I am just rushing through my day – my “to-do” list – my goal list – the next “thing”, and I am totally missing out on the journey. What result is a feeling of “overwhelm” by the sheer number of things to do, and with that feeling of overwhelm comes fatigue.

So two things essentially need to happen now: A simple attitude adjustment and a little exercise in prioritization.

A goal oriented A-Type personality such as myself always has goals and timelines. The biggest challenge (especially to a woman) with this personality most definitely has to be having a child. Children are simply on their own timeline, and quite frankly don’t give a hoot about what time it may be and if you’re late. (Another day we’ll talk more about just how much a child teaches you about yourself, but suffice to say for now: it’s a lot).

So tonight, (even though I’m “tired” as a write this) – two things are going to happen.

1)      I am changing my vocabulary since words are so powerful. And these two words that need to change are: “busy” and “tired”. Let’s face it – everyone is busy these days (especially moms!) and everyone has some degree of lethargy at any given point during the day. Because I am not the mom of a newborn, running the country or training for the Olympics, “tired” is not going to be acceptable anymore.

Tired – is officially being changed to “lucky”. That’s right – when someone asks me how I am and my inclination is to say tired – the new answer is that I am lucky – lucky to have so many great things on the go – so many great people to keep in touch with and so many exciting things to look forward to. Am I saying that I will never actually BE tired?! Come on, I’m not an idiot.

Busy – is officially being replaced by “great”! Of course I’m busy – I am a lucky girl with lots of exciting things on the go! ;) But I’m also feeling great and grateful.

2)      I am doing a quick priority reality checklist – taking a quick look at where I am currently spending my time and where I want to be spending my time. Being the aforementioned A-type personality who enjoys setting goals, this is a good exercise. It’s an opportunity to ask myself if I am placing importance where I say it should be.

And that means it’s time to say goodbye…I've got some work to do ;)

Rules of Dinner

During the process of contemplating actually starting my own blog, I have really enjoyed reading a handful of other blogs out there. (Who knew there were sooooo many!?) One of these blogs is called "Dinner: A Love Story" http://www.dinneralovestory.com/

Anyway, there was a guest post by Brooke Reynolds not too long ago, about The Rules of Dinner. Growing up, my family always ate dinner together and I too, think that it's such an important thing for families to do. I'd like to share this post with you today: http://www.dinneralovestory.com/r-o-d/#more-16455

The Rules of Dinner (as outlined in the post) are as follows:

1)      Everyone eats together

2)      The table is a safe place

3)      No distractions

4)      Say please and thank you

5)      All four on the floor

6)      Try a bit of everything

7)      Use an inside voice

8)      Play “high and low”

9)      Only compliments to the chef

10)  Everyone helps clean up

Amazing.

First Post!

Welcome to "Shut up n'eat". It's a blog about a number of things....namely real-life mommy-hood; food and cooking; health and well being; positive living; and my (sometimes sad and failed) attempts at finding balance in my life.

Do I really need another "project" or to-do in my life right now? Of course not.

I am crazy? Possibly.

Do I actually have anything to say that's print-worthy? I guess we'll see.

If nothing else, this new little project of mine will be a great tool for journaling (something I have wanted to get back into) and for my continuous attempts to find and appreciate happiness in my life.

So happy to have you here.