Tag Archives: food

Feb 04 2013
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basics, food

Time is Money

Well, maybe in business.  But my theory is that the less I take care of my body with food and exercise, the more money I’ll spend on trying to fix it with medications and doctor visits.  Just my theory – take it or go to another blog.

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how I “find time” to cook for myself at every meal. Apparently, this is an issue for a lot of people so I thought I would touch on it a bit.

Let me just make something clear first.  I don’t cook at every meal.  I am a big advocate of cooking food in bulk.  I probably learned this from my mom considering she only knows how to cook for 7 or more.  Not to mention, it is hard to cook for one person.  No recipe on the planet is designed for one serving and I definitely can not be bothered to do long division when I’m elbow deep in ground beef.  I usually set aside about 2-3 hours during one day of the week to get my cooking done.  It will take a little practice, but eventually you will be able to bust out a week’s worth of dinners in about 2 hours.  Here’s a little insight to what those 2 hours might look like for me in order of how I complete them:

  1. I pre-heat the oven to desired temperature (I cook everything on 400 degrees to save time).  While it’s heating up, I go ahead and season, cut, and prep my meat.  This whole process takes about 10 minutes
  2. Once I throw the meat in the oven, I know I have about 30 minutes or so (depending on what I’m cooking) before it will be done.  During this time, I chop all my veggies.  I like to dice up raw onions and peppers so I can throw them in my omelets even when I’m sleep cooking or slice cucumbers ready for munching.
  3. I toss all the veggies I want to keep raw into tupperwares and throw it in the fridge (put the veggies you will use together in the same container to save space and time).  Anything I am prepping for cooking goes to the side.  Once the meat is done cooking, it definitely needs to cool off before storing.  While it’s cooling, I go ahead and cook my veggies.  Good thing the oven is already hot so this will take no time at all!
  4. The last thing I prep while my meat is cooling and my veggies are cooking are any snacks or condiments I might need for my meals – my “quick foods.”  This includes little snack bags of homemade dressings to throw in my lunch box with my salads, portioned out bags of almonds, or anything else I plan on having ready to go when I am running short on time.  (By the way, tuna salad is an amazingly quick protein source you can whip up in bulk and have ready to eat).
  5. Usually when I am done with that, my veggies are ready to come out of the oven.  I pack up my meat, my veggies, and all my quick foods and throw them in the fridge!  Only thing left to do is clean up the tornado that just came through your kitchen.

For me, this multitasking in the kitchen seems very natural, but I understand it isn’t for others.  Hopefully this helps you with your time management and can make your healthy lifestyle simpler and easier to manage.

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Jan 23 2013
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food, paleo Video

Fat Head Revisited

I feel like I am having a bit of déjà vu as I write this, but If I haven’t mentioned it already, you all need to watch the documentary “Fat Head.”  The basic premise of the low-budget film is the health benefits one can attain from reducing their daily refined carbohydrate intake.    Despite the narrator’s monotonous voice and cheesy graphics, I absolutely loved this film when I watched it a couple years ago - not just because a “low-carb” diet is something I have always believed in, but because I felt like he made a complicated subject very easy for people to understand.  I think a lot of the reason why people struggle with nutrition is because they don’t really understand what they are supposed to do or why they are doing it.  This film made the low-carb case extremely user-friendly.

Fast forward about three years to today and the “Fat Head” documentary has been revisited!  Tom Naughton, the original director of the film, found it necessary to revamp his original stance.  After the filming of “Fat Head”, Tom continued to live the lifestyle he preached to the masses but unfortunately was a sucker to anything with a “low-carb” label, including all sorts of processed breads,  ice-creams, and snacks. 

(By the way, in my opinion, marketing gimmicks are the biggest reason why people fail to achieve their goals.  100 Calorie Packs ring a bell?  There is nothing healthy about 100 calories of processed Oreos or low-carb sandwich bread.) 

 If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know my nutritional mantra:

AVOID PROCESSED FOODS AT ALL COST!!!!

Needless to say, Tom has revamped his life and has since eliminated all processed foods from his diet.  This may seem like a small change to some people but is incredibly difficult in this day and age.  And it should be noted that this change in Tom’s life must have been significant enough for him to re-film a documentary that was already successful.  I hope this short clip leads to a full-length documentary because I would love to compare it to the original.  Take a few minutes to watch and definitely check out the original documentary, “Fat Head”, if you haven’t already!

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Nov 20 2012
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food, weight loss

this type A goes overboard

I would consider myself a Type-A personality.

Type A

The theory describes a Type A individual as ambitious, rigidly organized, highly status conscious, can be sensitive, care for other people, are truthful, impatient, always try to help others, take on more than they can handle, want other people to get to the point, proactive, and obsessed with time management. People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving “workaholics” who multi-task, push themselves with deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence.

That’s a lot of words.

Let’s just say I’m obsessed with structure.

I like to plan my day in time increments.  I like to organize things.  I like to make lists.  I like to count … anything (especially money).

usually what i look like

So when I experimented with diets that involved counting my macronutrients (things like protein, carbs, fats, etc.), I instantly latched on to that sense of structure and …

became completely and utterly OBSESSED.

I’d like to go ahead and add in that, not only was I counting my macros, this diet also included a time structure for when I would eat.  I won’t get into the details.  That would probably bore you to death.

Regardless of the plan I was on, I find that counting your macros has a huge place in the health and fitness community.  Everywhere I turn for information, I see the same things.

Count your calories

Pay attention to your macronutrient ratios

blah blah blah more counting

Frankly, all this counting made me absolutely obsessive over my diet.  And don’t get me wrong.  I love to obsess about things.  I’m obsessed with flossing my teeth, for example (but that is probably a good thing).  I am also obsessed with anything Justin Bieber comes out with.  Also not harmful in any way.  (HE’S OVER 18 NOW, OK?!)

hey you! don’t even deny singing ‘boyfriend’ in the car.

But it was all I thought about during the day.  I was so worried that my carb/protein/fat ratios were going to be skewed for some reason and I would dive head-first into a metabolic meltdown toward the muffin-top abyss.  Every day was spent weighing and measuring my food followed by logging it into a program to determine my exact macronutrient counts.  I just couldn’t take it anymore.

I don’t know how those health and fitness people live like that.  It’s exhausting.  No wonder people hate the idea of dieting or getting healthy.  No one wants to look at their meal and feel anxious not knowing if it will blow their calorie count for the day.  The entire situation made eating a stressful event and it wasn’t even worth it.  The results I was getting were so slow and practically unnoticeable.

Anyways, I just wrote a ton of nonsense just to tell you that I am back to my paleo ways.  I enjoy the intuitive eating style that I seem to fall into when I eat this way.  I am able to be more productive during my day because I am not constantly thinking about the next meal.  It just works for my lifestyle and my body and I seem to get great results from it.  And anyways, I have plenty of other things in my life to obsess over.  I don’t need to take the enjoyment out of my favorite pastimes – cooking and eating.

Sorry for the anticlimactic ending to this extremely late blog post.  Just thought you should know what I’ve been up to.

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Aug 04 2012
4 Comments
food, recipes

Recipe: Fresco Quinoa Salad

I had a few dinner parties during my last few days in Madrid and I was on the hunt for an easy and quick dish to bring.  With the scorching temperatures in Spain, I knew I wanted to bring some sort of cold salad that my meat loving and vegetarian friends could all enjoy together.  Trying to use up the remaining items in my cupboard, I came up with this refreshing quinoa salad that makes an amazing side dish at your summer parties!

Fresco Quinoa Salad

This recipe makes a large batch, perfect for serving at a party of 10-20 people

Ingredients for Salad:
2 cups quinoa
1/2 of one large white onion
4-6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/2 of one red bell pepper
1/2 of one green bell pepper
1/2 of one yellow bell pepper
1 can of black beans
1 can of sweet corn
1/2 cup of cilantro, minced (you can increase or decrease based on your liking but I love cilantro!)

Ingredients for Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
juice from 2-3 limes (I like extra lime juice so 3 for me!)
1 Tablespoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of salt
dash of hot sauce

To cook the quinoa:
Combine 2 cups of quinoa with 3 cups of water into a pot.  Bring water to a simmer and cover with a lid.  Allow quinoa to simmer until all of the water has been absorbed (about 20 minutes).

While the quinoa is cooking, you can prepare the other ingredients in a large serving bowl.
Chop the onions and peppers and combine in the bowl with the minced garlic and chopped cilantro.  Drain the corn and beans in a strainer and rinse thoroughly.  After rinsing, add corn and beans to the bowl.

Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small separate bowl making sure to mix thoroughly.

When the quinoa is finished cooking, set aside for it to cool before adding it to the other ingredients.  Once cooled, add the quinoa and dressing to the pepper mixture and mix thoroughly.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving.

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The great thing about this recipe is you can change it every time.  I don’t like tomatoes but my roommate loves them so he could substitute tomatoes for some peppers.  Or add more corn or more beans.  Whatever you like!!  Experiment in the kitchen and make this recipe your own!

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Jul 04 2012
2 Comments
food, friends and fun, life, living in madrid, random things i eat, restaurants

Pride and Pig

So this has been quite the eventful weekend here in Madrid.  Some big things took place during the past few days:

1.  Spain won the European Cup title

2.  Madrid hosted one of the largest gay pride festivals in the world

3.  And I experienced a whole new way of enjoying pork

There is not much to be said about the Euro Cup Championship other than Spain proved, once again, to be the best football team in the world, and in my opinion, also the best looking.

hello boys

The big win was only the conclusion to a wild and crazy weekend in Madrid.  Every year the city is flooded with men and women from around the world to participate in the Orgullo celebration (orgullo means “pride” in Spanish).  While the celebration lasts about 3 days, the main attraction is the parade on Saturday which hosts ….. pretty much all walks of life.  One thing I loved about this celebration was that even though it is advertised as a gay pride celebration, the entire city got involved to show their support.  It was a really fun event and definitely brought an exciting energy to the city!

Orgullo 2012 – gay pride weekend in Madrid

Lastly, the weekend was made complete by a visit from a few American friends.  As they were ending their European tour, I was excited to show them around the city during the last few days of their month-long excursion.  While completely unnecessary, the boys were kind enough to invite me to dinner with them to Sobrino de Botín as a thank you for the unofficial tour.  In case you didn’t know, Sobrino de Botín is also known as the oldest restaurant in the WORLD.  The specialty at this restaurant is cochinillo,or suckling pig.  And even though it is a six person requirement, the four of us ordered not just a portion, but the entire pig.  I will say that it was a bit odd to have my dinner looking at me while I ate, but the taste of the pork was unlike any I have ever had before.  The skin was super crispy and the meat was tender and juicy and the entire restaurant smelled like bacon sizzling on the stove.  I also took a taste of a couple more unusual parts of the animal that were considered delicacies, specifically the brains and the tongue.  I don’t necessarily recommend getting as adventurous as I did, but I definitely recommend visiting this restaurant if you ever find yourself in Madrid.  Reservations are easily made (we made our Friday reservations for the same night) and the price point is extremely reasonable considering the restaurant’s fame.

cochinillo at Sobrino de Botín

It was a great weekend in Madrid and I hope you enjoyed a little peek at it!!

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Jun 18 2012
7 Comments
food, friends and fun, random things i eat, recipes

Recipe: Meatloaf

I never thought I would write this post.

I never even thought I would like meatloaf.  It just sounds disgusting, doesn’t it?

But after years of cooking for myself, meatloaf has become a bit of a staple in my house mainly due to its convenience, ease of preparation, and price point.  And the fact that it makes great leftovers.

When I decided to host a potluck dinner at my house, my strategy for providing the main dishes for nearly 20 people was this: make it delicious….but more importantly make it cheap.  Have ya’ll heard about the euro lately?  My point exactly.

Enter meatloaf and broccoli casserole.

Little did I know what a huge hit this would be.  So much of a surprise that the only pictures that were taken weren’t even of my poor little loaf.  He was just a mere extra to the main attractions.

….in the photographs that is.  This recipe will definitely be well-loved by your family and friends as it was mine.  I hope you will try it out and let me know how you like it.

Meatloaf

The moisture in this dish comes from the use of mushrooms.  There is no need to add any breadcrumbs to this meal making my version grain-free and gluten-free.

2 pounds of Ground Beef
1 cup fresh mushrooms, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
4-5 cloved of garlic, minced
1/2 cup frozen spinach, chopped
1/2 cup canned pureed tomatoes
2 whole eggs
1 Tbsp Salt
1 Tbsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Oregano

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  In a bowl, combine all ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup of the pureed tomatoes for later.  Make sure to thaw your spinach and squeeeeeeeze out all the water before chopping and adding to the bowl.  It is best to combine these ingredients by hand as to avoid over-mixing (tough meat. sick.).  Once thoroughly combined, add mixture to a metal loaf pan.  Make sure to leave about 1 inch of space from the top of the pan since the meat will extract a lot of liquid.  Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes to 1 hour (or until the edges are beginning to look crispy.  At that point, pour the remaining 1/4 cup pureed tomatoes on top and broil for about 10 minutes.  Once finished, the edges should be nice and crispy, the tomato puree should be slightly reduced, and the loaf should feel firm.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and please let me know how it turns out for you!!

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*Disclaimer: I never measure ingredients when I am cooking.  I know that this annoys people so I did my best at estimating the amounts.  I encourage you to tweak the recipe as you see fit!

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May 24 2012
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basics, food, life, paleo, random things i eat, weight loss

Your Best Body: Part 4 – Diet

I can almost guarantee that if I were to approach you on the street and say

HEY! I am doing this series on my website about how you can achieve your best body!  You should read it!

You’d probably think I was a lunatic.

Who approaches random people in the street and tells them about their blog?

Freaks, that’s who.

But let’s assume you don’t instinctively punch me across the face and you actually give it a second thought.  Furthermore, let’s imagine that you actually want to achieve your best body.  I can almost guarantee the first thing you’ll say to me is

OMG! What foods do I have to cut out?  Because I will die without chocolate – absolutely die.  Is bread OK? Because I can’t live without sandwiches either.  I eat one everyday for lunch.  Oh, what about pasta?  Can I eat pasta?  Because my Great Grandmother was Italian and so pasta just a staple in my house.  And do I have to cook every night?  Because I don’t have much time to cook.  I mean, I have kids.  And a husband.  And a job.  And I just don’t have time to do all that.

Whoa, buddy.  Calm the hell down.  Who’s the freak now?

If this sounds like something you would say, then you miiiight want to lay off the coffee. 

I’m hoping some of you have noticed that I am putting the posts for this series in order of importance.  Acceptance of your body, finding your motivation, and building a support group are like foundations of a house.  Without those, the house won’t withstand even the smallest gust of wind.

Your diet is what will turn that pile of cement and 2×4′s into something that actually resembles a livable space.  The bricks, if you will.  This piece of the puzzle is absolutely crucial to your overall health and well-being.  I am no nutritionist, but I can guarantee that you won’t be able to reach your fullest potential if you are eating shit all day long.  You can take that piece of advice to the bank.

So, here is the secret…..EAT REAL FOOD.

Put a stamp on it with a fancy diet name, I don’t care.  It doesn’t matter that I am not a nutritionist or an expert.  I’m pretty sure anyone will agree that eating unprocessed, real and natural foods are optimal choices for your health.  But what does this include?

Vegetables
Fruits
Meats
Fish
Nuts & Seeds
Eggs
Dairy

That’s a TON of options right there!  There are literally millions of combinations you can make for dinner with that list of foods.  The most important thing to note about that list though, however, is that I must stress the importance of those foods being unprocessed.  That means saying no to hot dogs as a protein source.  Or fat-free cheese.  Or little flavored yogurts in convenient little packages.  Or fruit snacks.  These are not real foods, people.

We are starting from square one here.  I am not going to tell you what ratios of proteins to carbohydrates to fats you need.  I am not certified to do that and every person is different.  What I want you to focus on is choosing real sources of food over all else.

But you forgot to list whole grains! We all need whole grains in our diet.

Well, then go out into the field and get you some whole grains, baby!  Because what you see in the stores is not natural and unprocessed so I suggest you stay away from it.  Yep, you heard me.  That whole grain bread and oatmeal is a processed food.  It doesn’t grow out of the earth in that form.  Contrary to popular belief, you can’t just pour boiling water into a field of avena sativa and have yourself a Guiness World Record size bowl of oatmeal.  In it’s natural, unprocessed form, oats look a little something like this…

So if you want to eat it like that, by all means go for it.  And honestly, who likes oatmeal anyways without adding all kinds of sugary shit to it?  Not me, that’s for sure.

Just start there my friends.  As I always say, your health is a process that will last a lifetime.  Don’t get too crazy.  Just make better choices.  Yes, you will have to cook.  And yes, this will be very different from what you are accustomed to right now.  It might seem hard.  I totally understand.  Driving next to a little window where a smiling teen hands you a bag of food is definitely much easier than cooking up a well-balanced dinner.  But it will become part of your daily routine, just like flossing your teeth (which you should all be doing if you aren’t).  Make small changes that will stick with you forever.  Overloading yourself with new patterns and habits will most likely bring you back to where you are right now.  Trust me, I still struggle with that concept in other areas of my life.

One of these days I’ll give you a breakdown of what I think should be filling your plate.  For now, I want you to focus your choices on natural and unprocessed foods.  Your body will thank you for it!

For your viewing pleasure, I have put a slideshow of random pictures from different meals I’ve had.  I love to take pictures of my food.  It doesn’t actually look very pretty most of the time, but it tastes delicious.  Follow me on Instagram for more food photos: @saadatch

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Apr 21 2012
4 Comments
friends and fun, life, living in madrid

It’s all in the Name

In case you missed the massive lettering at the top of the page, the name of my blog is Life with a Fork.  I chose this name for a number of reasons.  First, I knew I wanted my blog to be somewhat food related (hence, “Fork“).  Secondly, I knew my blog would be more than just food.  I am no chef and I honestly don’t like to compile recipes so there was no way I would have enough material to have a food blog.  Enter “Life“.  I mean, I did move across the world as you know so surely you’d like to hear a bit about that, right?  Last, and most certainly not least, by including the word “Life” it allowed me the perfect excuse for those times when I would go days…err weeks….without posting.  Because you know what?  I was out living my life.

Bad excuse, I know.  Honestly, it was a bit about living my life, but more lack of creativity, inspiration, motivation, and wit.  So sorry friends.

Anyways, as I mentioned before, I am no chef in the kitchen so I don’t have any excited food-related updates for you.  Still eating the same ol’ meat, veggies, and my weight in avocados.

I will, however, update you on my life by broadcasting a series of pictures from the past few weeks!  These pictures will include multiple evenings out in the city which inherently also include alcohol.  Here is my rule, people:  any clear liquor of your choice, on the rocks, add a lime.  I promise you that you can not suck it down fast enough to get drunk. Why?  Because it tastes like shit, that’s why.  No one actually likes the taste of straight vodka.  This has saved me from fitting the “American girls come to Madrid to get drunk every night” stereotype on numerous occasions. You will also avoid the “ohmygodddddddd why aren’t you drinkingggggggg” questions from your not-so-receptive friends that seem to become increasingly less comprehensible as the night conspires.  I hope you enjoy.

I also hope I will gain a little more creativity in the coming weeks.

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Mar 17 2012
3 Comments
food, living in madrid, paleo in madrid, travel

La Mejor Frutería

One of the best things about living in Madrid is the availability of seasonal fruits and vegetables. I’ve talked about this before but I just felt the need to write about it again after my visit to one of the best local markets in town. This little frutería will probably never be visited by tourists or even most Madrileñas.  Hidden away in Barrio Lavapies, this little market sells some of the most delicious and fresh produce I have tasted to date. They also stock their shop with amazing seasoned Spanish olives and other sorts of pickled vegetables. However, despite the lush racks of vibrant fruits and vegetables, the real reason I visit this little stand is for the eggs. No, they aren’t anything special, but they come in bulk – a concept that is practically unheard of here. For only €2.40, I can buy myself 30 eggs as opposed to the dozen in the normal market for one Euro less. Such a steal!!! Located on Calle Santa Isabela near Aton Martín metro, this market deserves a visit if you ever make your way into Madrid.

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Mar 09 2012
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blogs i'm loving, challenge yourself, paleo

Girl Crush

I have a girl crush.

You probably already know it by now because I talk about her all the time.

She is just so cool and I want to be like her and hang out with her and cook food together and just be friends.  BFFs if you will.

If you don’t already know who my girl crush is by now then you clearly need to stop everything you are doing and start reading all my posts prior to this one.  No, seriously.  Get a move on.

For those of you who have read all of my posts (thanks, mom), you will already know that I adore Diane Sanfilippo from Balanced Bites.

Anyways, since I always love testing the waters and conducting an experiment, I have been doing a lot of research on figure competitions.  I’ll be honest:  It has always been a dream of mine to compete in a figure competition.  Some people have aspirations to run a marathon … and some people want to get completely shredded, slather on a fake tan, primp, wax, and flex their way to 1st place.  I happen to prefer the latter.  No big deal (minus the walking-on-stage-in-barely-there-bikini thing).  From the hours upon hours of research I had been doing, I couldn’t find any information on competing while following a Paleo approach.  All of the sample meal plans included things like oatmeal, rice cakes, protein shakes, and many other stereotypical diet foods that we all hate.  If you haven’t noticed, bacon is usually the deal-maker to get people to try Paleo (just sayin’) so rice cakes never stood a chance.

“Where is this post going, Sarah?” Stick with me here.  There is a method to my madness.

Anyways, Diane and her friend Liz (Cavegirl Eats) have this really cool podcast where they answer questions people submit on their websites.  Usually lasting about an hour, these podcasts are amazing for when you are going on walks, sitting in traffic, or just listening to on your iPod while you go about your normal day.  So obviously I decided to submit a question about competition diets to the podcast in hopes that mayyyyybe it would get answered.

And it did!

You can listen to Diane’s response by visiting the podcast episode here.  You can also read the exact question I submitted among others from the podcast.  She gave some great feedback and it was very helpful information!  Even though she repeatedly advised against it, I will be honest and say that I am still researching the possibilities of competing in the future.  It is not as realistic right now living here in Madrid, but I am still very curious about the approach to nutrition.  I might even test out a version of this competition style diet more tailored to my body and the Paleo lifestyle.  There will be more on that later once I have done enough research to make a decision for myself.

As for my girl crush, it’s still going strong.

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