Wednesday Lunch Date #3: Fontina Frittatas, Sesame Street Celery, & Workouts for the Overworked

Hi! So glad you could make our Wednesday lunch date this week. (If you’re on the West Coast like me, I’ll “see” you for lunch in a few hours!)

I have a lot to catch you up on! Please feel welcome to share any of  your favorite health news and recipes in the comments below.

Here’s what I’ve been up to this past week:

What I’ve Cooked Lately That Was AWESOME:

• Spinach, Mushroom, and Fontina Frittata – The Fountain Avenue Kitchen (Adam made this for dinner with Italian chicken sausage, and I contributed a farmer’s market fresh salad. Are there enough words to express how good this frittata is? No. No, there are not)
• Whole-Wheat Date Nut Bread – Whole Living (I tore this recipe out of the now-defunct <tear> Whole Living years ago and finally got around to making it. So awesome. Topped with whipped cream cheese? Perfection! Baking note: Don’t drain the dates. Keep them in the water and stir in the ingredients as directed. The instructions are a little unclear)

What I’m Reading:

Food Trends:

• Maple Water Is The New Coconut Water – To Live And Diet In LA
• Me No Want Cookie! Sesame Street Puts the Junk Food Industry on Notice – Good (Fruit and vegetable companies can now use Sesame Street characters to market produce, free of charge)

Healthy Eating:

• Debunk the Junk: 10 red flags to help you sort specious nutrition advice from the good stuff – TuftsNow
• Did You Know That There Are New Guidelines for Canning? – The Kitchn
• In Plastics and Cans, a Threat to Women – The New York Times
• A Call for a Low-Carb Diet – The New York Times (I’m not advocating this, but it’s news so staying on top of it)
  • Read a response to the study: Diet Research, Stuck in the Stone Age – David Katz

Exercise:

• Body by Smartphone: There are thousands of mobile apps on the market aimed at diet and fitness. Can they really make us healthier? – TuftsNow
• Workouts for the Overworked – Wall Street Journal

Lifestyle (Home, Relationships, Organization, Psychology, Happiness, Art, DIY Crafts):

• The Decisive Marriage – The New York Times
• The Psychology of Clutter – Wall Street Journal (requires subscription)
• More Hospitals Use The Healing Power of Art – Wall Street Journal
• 9 Decluttering Secrets from Professional Organizers – Real Simple
• DIY Fabric Mail Organizer (to get mail off the counter) – Make It & Love It
• Set Up Your Kitchen for Weight-Loss Success – EatingWell via Chicago Tribune

What I’m Salivating Over:

Breakfast

• Chunky Homemade Granola – The Fountain Avenue Kitchen (Pin It)
• Instant Baked Oatmeal– The Fountain Avenue Kitchen (Pin It)
• Quickie Cookie Baked Oatmeal – The Fountain Avenue Kitchen (Pin It)
• Simple Poached Egg and Avocado Toast – Pinch of Yum (Pin It)
• Banana Corn Muffins – Weelicious (Pin It)
• Cranberry-Apricot Almond Bar – Confessions of a Bright-Eyed Baker (Pin It)

Main Course

• Baked Zucchini Sticks – hellohealthy, excerpt from the soon-to-be-released The Skinnytaste Cookbook (which I contributed to!) (Pin It)
• 10 Tips for a Healthy Tailgate (the post is LOADED with recipes) – Love & Zest (Pin It)
• Pulled Chicken and Avocado Sliders – Love & Zest (Pin It)
• Asian Farro Medley with Salmon – Skinnytaste (Pin It)
• Easy Homemade Burrito Bowls – Iowa Girl Eats (Pin It)
• Key Lime Melon Spritzer – Sweet and Savory by Shinee (Pin It)
• Sesame Soy Salmon – The Foundation Avenue Kitchen (Pin It)
• Lemon Chicken 2 Ways – The Fountain Avenue Kitchen (Pin It)

Dessert

• Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars – Running with Spoons (Pin It)
• Chocolate Covered Raspberry Oat Bars – Running with Spoons (Pin It)
• Chocolate Zucchini Cake – Food Network Kitchen (Pin It)
• Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Pecan Streusel Topping (I looove streusel) – Joyful Healthy Eats (Pin It)
• DIY Brown Sugar Candied Walnuts – Confessions of a Bright-Eyed Baker (Pin It)

Fun Food Quiz!

What Food Matches Your Personality? – BuzzFeed (I got pizza!)

The Week in Photos:

CDA’s Fall Leadership Meeting in LA

Since I couldn’t upload photos last week, I’m including some shots from the California Dietetic Association’s Fall Leadership Meeting two weeks ago. The photo on the left is of me and National Spokesperson Vandana Sheth and the one on the right is with the two women I work most closely with on public policy (Ashley Rosales and Lorri Holzberg). I love promoting my profession and getting to work with – and learn from – so many talented dietitians.

A few photos from my trip to California’s Almond Orchards (Top: Goodie bag goodies; Bottom Left: A selfie right before cocktails and dinner the first night; Bottom Right: Almonds that had been harvested the day before – hard to get much fresher!

Last week, I attended a sponsored trip with the California Almond Board and visited almond orchards in California’s Central Valley. I’ll have a whole blog post recapping the trip with photos and a few fun videos soon.

One more photo from the Almond Tour (with my Boston Red Sox hat of course). Hanging out with almonds that were JUST shaken down from the tree.

Clockwise from top left: Whole wheat date nut bread; date nut bread slathered with whipped cream cheese; prepping healthy snacks; inside my fridge

I had a craving for date nut bread so I dug through my tear-out recipe book (some of those recipes go wayyy back – pre-Pinterest back), and found a whole wheat version from Whole Living magazine. It came out perfectly. I promptly gave half to my date-nut bread-loving sister, and kept the rest for my greedy little self. 🙂 I scooped up the last of the season’s stone fruit from the farmer’s market, and cut it up for a fruit bowl which we finished relatively quickly…I also cut up some celery for weekly snacking. I find keeping them upright in jars filled halfway with water keep them crisp for the next few days.

Adam made a crazy good dinner. We started talking about what to have for dinner in the afternoon, and for some reason I thought “frittata!” And then “with mushrooms…and…fontina.” So I went online and tracked down a simple cream-less recipe from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen, which he made perfectly. Along with Italian chicken sausage. I was in charge of the salad, with ingredients I picked up at the farmer’s market that morning (cucumber, mixed greens, and heirloom tomatoes). A-MAZING. And for dessert, we shared a mug of Trader Joe’s chocolate-vanilla caramel swirl ice cream. Sunday? We owned it.

Be well! See you for another mid-week lunch date next Wednesday!

Any favorite recipes, new products, articles, or quizes you’d like to share?