Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Leftovers

I've never liked eating leftovers. There was something about food sitting around for an extended period of time that fed the hypochondriac in me. In fact, I've been known to simply throw out the tupperware, rather than identify and eat the leftovers in it. Even from a fancy restaurant, leftovers just sat in fridge. Basically, I was a food waster. My worries about eating leftovers, in context, made sense. I also had my med school roommate check every piece of meat I cooked to make to sure I wouldn't get sick from it.
Thanks, Loan! (Photo someecards.com)
Honestly, med school makes you a hypochondriac. I wasn't born this way.

Okay, maybe I was. But this is common problem during the first two years where you are taught the details of every single rare and deadly illness. Many times during a lecture you would see a student look up from their notes, pale and terrified and hear the wheels in their head turning, putting together the symptoms they just learned about, thinking, "I've got that!"

I can thank my med school roommate for many things. She and I kept each other sane through a mentally and emotionally challenging time. She may have thought the dishwasher should be used for storage of pots and pans, but she taught me that food wasting was inexcusable.

My Med School Roommate, Loan. 
You've heard, "Clean your plate, there are hungry kids in INSERT THIRD WORLD COUNTRY HERE." Well, she believed you should use all your resources in eating and in cooking and not waste a thing.

Recently, I've been on a pretty strict budget and have been channeling Loan with my eating habits.

Last week, I made that delicious roasted vegetable dish with fresh veggies from the Farmer's Market in neighborhood.
The Farmer's Market in my neighborhood. (Photo City of Chicago, CBS)
When you buy directly from the farmers (support local!), you get the ENTIRE vegetable, which left me with a HUGE bunch of green from the tops of my beets. They are full of nutrients, but I didn't know what to do with them. Until I had a day off and cooked up a huge batch of stuffed beet greens to eat throughout the week.

This is a variation of stuffed grape leaves or Dolma. But I made them without rice, and of course, with extra "hidden" carrots.
Beet greens, carrots, onion and garlic...yum!

Stuffed Beet Leaves


Hands on time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

What you need:

  • Leftover beet greens (or grape leaves)
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots (I used the food processor)
  • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 8 oz of lean ground turkey (half of a package)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive Oil
  • Red Pepper flakes
  • Sprigs of fresh rosemary (I'm still using it)
Browning the onions, garlic, carrots and turkey
All the leaves covered with water and simmering
Start with a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet, cook the garlic, carrots and onions until they become soft. While that is going, start boiling water in a big pot. When the water is boiling, drop the beet leaves in 2 at a time for just a few seconds. Then submerge them in a bowl of cold water for a minute, remove and set aside. Repeat this step for all of your leaves, it makes them pliable and easy to work with. When the onions are translucent add in your ground turkey, rosemary, salt and pepper. I also added some crushed red pepper flakes for a little bit of heat. Brown this mixture up and set aside. 

Now you're ready to roll! Literally. Put some of the meat mixture into the beet leaf and roll just like a burrito (fold the ends in first). As you finish rolling the leaves, sit them in a sauce pan coated with olive oil. Put the rolls as close together as possible, so they don't fall apart. When you pan is full, cover with a cup of water and add some sea salt. Allow this to come to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 25 minutes. 

There you go! You can eat them hot, or cold. You can eat them now, or all week!

What you get:

A healthy meal that travels easily and lasts all week. The star of this show is the beet leaves. Beet leaves have fiber and protein both of which help keep you full. You get 220% of your recommended vitamin A and 60% of vitamin C from a single serving of beet leaves! They also have 15% of your daily iron, necessary for the red blood cells that carry oxygen to your cells, and 15% calcium for strong bones and teeth.

You can also make these vegetarian by using rice instead of meat, but be sure to not overfill your leaves, the rice expands in the pot!


Running the Hot Chocolate 5K this weekend, check back next week for how it went! 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Brought to you by the letter "F"

A few of my favorite F words... 


Fall, Food, Friends! 


Dressed for dinner at Carnivale (I'm in the middle).
I am lucky enough to have a great group of friends in Chicago who are big foodies! We are always discovering great restaurants around town. If you're ever in the city, we all agreed Carnivale was incredible, even for dietary restrictions, the vegetarian dishes were out of this world! Megan, a friend and fellow food blogger (domesticdivamd.com) said her steak was literally the best she had ever eaten. And it truly looks like a carnival inside, bright colors, huge glass lighting fixtures, and a knowledgeable, attentive waitstaff.  Do not wait. Make a reservation now. Try the guac. 

Dinner at Carnivale... Braised short rib, cheese polenta, carrots and candied pepitas.



Last night, we were all able to get together to celebrate my favorite F words... fall, food and friends. We had a potluck! But...potlucks are always challenging when you are trying to eat healthy.

In my friend Ashley's words, "I am bringing a pumpkin roll, hope that's not too many carbs for you, I personally don't think there is such a thing." 


And there were carbs and pumpkin galore. It was Fall themed after all! Eight busy doctors, who all love their food, make for a potluck combination of pies, cookies, cakes, breads (all of which were pumpkin and delicious!)...and a veggie tray.  We rarely have time to get together, let alone cook.

My potluck plate! 
Getting the food ready















Don't fear! I have the perfect set it and forget it veggie recipe for your next potluck (or any meal). There is nothing undercover about these carrots though. The best part of this recipe is letting the veggies speak for themselves! And a secret finishing ingredient that makes these the best roasted veggies you've ever tasted!





Roasted Fall Veggies

Recipe adapted from Health magazine



Hands on time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 

What you need:

  • 1 lb each: carrots and parsnips peeled
  • 1 red onion cut into wedges
  • 1 bunch of beets peeled and cut into wedges
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 head of cauliflower (changes your life) cut into florets
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive Oil
  • One half of a fresh orange --- SECRET INGREDIENT! DON'T LEAVE IT OUT! 
  • Sprigs of fresh rosemary (I brought mine home from Michigan, my boyfriend's mom grows it and I've used it in every meal this week!)
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel all your veggies and slice them up. Put them into a large bowl with about 3 Tbs of Olive Oil, a few good twists of your pepper mill and about one tsp of salt. Toss everything together. Spread your veggies out onto two cookie sheets. Mine were pretty crowded but you want one layer of veggies with as much space in between as possible. Place the garlic cloves throughout the trays and top with your sprigs of rosemary. Put the trays in the oven for 30 minutes.


During this 30 minute break -- I took a nap. I was up before the sun to get some gym time in! Good Morning America on the treadmill during a rainy morning. A pretty nice way to start the day.

After 30 minutes, flip the veggies over and put them back in for another 20 minutes. This time, I folded my laundry. Multitasking at it's finest!

The most important step: Take the veggies out of the oven when they are tender but have a nice brown to the edges... Juice half an orange over both trays! 

The secret to juicing is holding the orange with the flesh side UP (not down, it's counter intuitive). That way no seeds get lost in your food.


What you get:

An easy, delicious, no carb potluck dish! PACKED with vitamins! A few we haven't talked about yet...Beets contain a compound that may help to lower Homocysteine in your blood. Homocysteine promotes clotting and plaque build up in arteries. Heart healthy (and we've got garlic in this recipe, SUPER heart healthy)! Beets also have lots of vitamin C, vitamin B and folate. Carrots, everyone knows, are good for eyesight. This is because the beta carotene is broken down into a vitamin A derivative, retinal, that is used in your...yup retina! Parsnips, in my opinion, are an undervalued vegetable. They have a rooty, hearty flavor, all the health benefits of vitamin C and B, and they are a great source of fiber. Eat up!

The whole group at our fall potluck!


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Let them eat CAKE!

Even during their 2 week Paleo challenge! 


Luckily, it is the last day of my (successful!) Paleo challenge. Just in time to go home to Michigan to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday. Which, no doubt, will be full of delicious carbs. Like, I said he can BAKE.
His Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake, my personal favorite, the picture doesn't do it justice. I'm salivating looking it.

BUT a girl just needs her cake! A no flour, no dairy cake? Sounds gross to me. NOT SO FAST! I promised you some single serving desserts and I won't let my crazy 2 weeks of Paleo stop that. Tonight, I made this delicious, dark chocolate, walnut and strawberry mug cake. And it fit right in with my Paleo challenge.

One quality I look for in my friends, I'm not kidding, is that they appreciate dessert as much as I do. My med school roommate and I joke that we have a second stomach for dessert. My best friend from college, Rachel , and I can always count on each other to finish off a decadent dessert at the end of a dinner date. Luckily, Rachel is also a kick butt runner, so we influence each other in healthy ways too!
How my med school roommate and I celebrated Match Day. 
 Every once in a while, it's okay to go (a little) overboard. 

With Rachel at the Bayshore Races May 2012. Where I ran my first 10K and she PR'ed her half marathon!

So here is how I satisfied my sweet tooth tonight, all Paleo, and all delicious.
Again, the pictures don't do it justice. This may be the post that convinces me to use a real camera instead of my phone.

Chocolate Strawberry Walnut PaleOH MY GOODNESS mugcake

original recipe adapted from The Wannabe Chef

Hands on time: 3 minutes

Total Time: Less than 5 minutes!

What you need:

  • 1 small banana
  • 1.5 Tbs nut butter, almond or peanut are my favorites
  • 2 Tbs cocoa powder
  • 1 Tbs sweetener (if you want it, I like my chocolate dark and kind of bitter, so I don't use it)
  • 1.5 Tbs egg substitute or one real egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbs mini chocolate chips (or walnuts, or dried fruit, any combination, go anywhere you want here!)
Mash up the banana and mix in the nut butter until you get a batter consistency. Add in the egg and vanilla, blend completely. Next, stir in the cocoa and the sweeter. Finish with your "mix-ins". This is even tastier if you blend the batter together in a food processor, no lumps! Microwave for about a minute and a half, until the edges look cooked but the middle is still a little wet. Be careful not to overcook, you want a moist, delicious cake!

I topped my cake with homemade strawberry jam! Yes, I also make jam. SO good. 

Feel free to change the proportions a little bit until you get the consistency you like, I played around with the amount of egg substitute until I got it just how I liked it. 

What you get:

The way I make it... a no sugar, no flour, satisfying chocolate dessert. If you add sugar (which you should NOT feel bad about, gotta make it worth it, just go sparingly), you still get lots of benefits. One, it's a single serving cake, instant portion control. Bananas have potassium, vitamin C and fiber. And of course, chocolate makes people happy (it also may lower blood pressure and decrease your bad cholesterol, LDL).

Note: This is NOT low calorie, I'd approximate the whole cake at around, 300 calories, depending on what you put in it, but it is packed with nutrients and way healthier than any other cake you could get for 300 calories. You could even separate the recipe into two ramekins and make two cakes (watch your microwave time though), now only 150 ish calories a piece! And you can share...that would be nice of you.

Let them eat cake! 


Monday, October 15, 2012

Cauliflower will change your life

No, really it will.

When I was a kid, I had what my mom called, "The Dorothy Hamil cut". It was basically, a blonde bowl cut. That hair cut, among other reasons, provided me with many choice nicknames growing up.
My family and my epic bowl cut. I can't lie, I actually like this picture.

My close friends called me Col, they still do. As this caught on, it sometimes turned into Col-iflower. A nickname that I absolutely hated! My parents once told me part of why they chose the name, Colleen, was so that I wouldn't have a nickname. That didn't quite turn out as planned. Needless to say, I've never really liked the bland, boring vegetable, cauliflower.

Boy, was I wrong!

I am over a week (thank goodness) into a two week Paleo challenge. Let me just say. I love carbs. But I also wanted to know what the hype was all about. I've tried Crossfit. I wanted to die. But it was AMAZING to have a total body workout done in 20 minutes. But the diet phenomenon that goes along with Crossfit? I wasn't so intrigued. Until someone told me they didn't think I could make it on a Paleo diet for two weeks. BAM! It's on! And here I am!

SO what is Paleo... Essentially, it is eating the way our hunter gather ancestors would eat. No packaged foods (okay I cheat and buy my figs packaged and my nuts shelled, but really? that's too much). The diet includes lots of fruits and veggies, nuts, and proteins. It excludes dairy (the horror! please don't take away my cheese, this was my one concession, I ate dairy, growing girl, bone health, you know...) and grains, pasta, flour etc.

What I have learned from my Paleo challenge and all I will take away from such a restricted diet...Cauliflower will change your life!

It helps you to sneak some healthy additions into favorite foods! One example is mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes... I am probably the worst Irish girl in the world, I don't like potatoes, so this substitution meant nothing to me.

BUT I LOVE PIZZA, and the crust is the least nutritious part. Cauliflower to the rescue!

I made my favorite pizza, barbecue chicken, using Sweet Baby Ray's sauce and fresh cilantro (which is third on my favorite food items list - let's review 1. Gingerbread 2. Coffee 3. Cilantro)! BUT I made a Cauliflower pizza crust!

Cauliflower can also be used as a rice substitute. It makes a great fried rice or risotto!

Cauliflower Risotto...maybe a future post, still need to perfect it.


Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Original recipe adapted from The Secret Life of Cauliflower
My BBQ Chicken Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Total Prep Time: 10 minutes hands on

Start to Finish: 45 minutes for the crust, 5 minutes in the broiler for the toppings = 50 minutes

What you need:

  • 2 cups grated Cauliflower - pulsed in a food processor until it looks like rice
  • 1/4 c egg whites or egg substitute
  • 1 cup low fat cottage cheese
  • 1 tsp Oregano
  • 1 tsp Parsley
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees while you are grating your Cauliflower. Immediately put the Cauliflower rice in a large skillet and allow to cook with a tsp of water while you combine the other ingredients. In the food processor add all the other yummy stuff and pulse them to combine. By now, the Cauliflower rice should be almost translucent. Mix the Cauliflower rice with the wet ingredients in a big bowl. You can use a pizza stone, or a cookie sheet covered in parchment for the next step. Evenly spread the "dough" over the parchment. Bake 25-35 minutes, until lightly brown. Top with sauce and cheese and whatever other goodies you like on your pizza. Put it back in the oven until the cheese is bubbly and delicious! Enjoy!

What you get:

A delicious, no carb pizza crust! Extra protein from the cottage cheese! Cauliflower is an excellent source of Vitamin C (an antioxidant and essential in the building of collagen, which is part of all your connective tissues) and Vitamin A (great for vision), well as choline (it's a B Vitamin in cell membranes, especially in your Central Nervous System). Eat up!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

De-stressing and De-hydrating

I promised you FAST recipes. 

But, some things just take time. 

And are more than worth the wait. 

Last fall was full of questions and answers. 

I was interviewing for residency positions, sometimes with 8 interviews in one day! I was still trying to  figure out what field of medicine, if any at all, was right for me. I was learning from and reflecting on the end of many relationships. And I was participating in a yoga teacher training program! 

Teacher training was a deeply emotional, physically and mentally challenging experience. I was blessed to meet some of the most incredible and inspiring women, and Dave. :-) We began the 6 month, every weekend, all day, course, with an exercise where you sit with a partner and they ask, "Tell me who you are." Knees physically connecting you to this person and eyes looking right into you, we all began spewing our life stories. What brought us here, what we wanted and ultimately who we THOUGHT we were.

At the end of this journey, the exercise, which we practiced each time we met, became one of silence. We were so fulfilled and at peace in ourselves, that we could let our spiritual connection speak for itself. I'm not a highly emotional person (except at weddings, I'm pretty much a fountain at weddings), but these experiences with this special group of women, often moved me to tears.

House of Yoga Teacher Training Class Fall 2011

And by Spring, I was matched in the perfect residency program in Chicago. I had found a field of medicine that fit my personality and my health care beliefs. I had left behind some relationships that no longer served me and rekindled some that filled me with love and warmth. AND I was a certified yoga instructor. After three seasons of self discovery, I can very easily and confidently tell you who I am. 

Some things you can't search for, or force to happen. They come with patience, and trust that in each moment, you are exactly where you need to be.

Man, listen to me. I SOUND like a yogi. 

The past few months have been so busy, and although I know that I am where I need to be in this new city, I have yet to find a new yoga home. Tonight, I returned to my mat, to my practice and to myself. It had been 4 months since I had a regular, daily yoga practice.

I spent a grueling blissful hour and half this Sunday evening in a Vinyasa class at my gym.

My mind wandered, my body shook, I'm sure I will be sore tomorrow in places I had forgotten muscles existed. But it was incredible, and it time, with practice, my body will once again be able to gracefully move through a 90 minute class.
This isn't my picture...but I can't seem to remember where I found it


Speaking of things that take time, but are well worth the wait...

These Apple and Zucchini chips rock! I make a huge batch of both on Sundays. They are an awesome, healthy, crunchy snack during the week...if they last that long!

Remember that old infomercial, "Set it and Forget it!" That is how I describe these.

I wouldn't lie to you, the hands on time is very very short, especially if you have a mandolin. BUT the two hours until they are done and ready to eat is excruciatingly long. 

Apple and Zucchini Chips: no dehydrator required!

Salty, crunchy and delicious. But, I love zucchini to begin with!

Fall is the perfect time for apple chips!

Hands On Time: 5-10 minutes, depending on how large your batch is

Total Time: 2-2.5 hours WORTH THE WAIT

What you need:

Apple Chips
  • Gala Apples (I used 2 which takes up about 2 cookie sheets and that's all I can fit in my oven)
  • Cinnamon 
  • 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
Zucchini Chips
  • 1 large zucchini (again it took up 2 cookie sheets for me)
  • Kosher salt -- use sparingly, you can always add more
  • Garlic Powder
Preheat your oven to 225 degrees. Using a mandolin set at 1/16, or a very VERY steady hand, slice your produce into thin rounds. Put them in a bowl and toss in your seasonings. Arrange in one layer, not touching, on the cookie sheets. Bake for 1 hour. Flip 'em over, and bake at least another hour. You make want to sneak a few during the baking process...just to see if they're the right texture, of course!

What you get: 

An easy, tasty snack, that you can literally set and forget and then eat all week. They stay crunchiest if you don't put them in an airtight container. I just leave the lids of my tupperware loose...makes it way easier to pop one in my mouth as I walk by too! Apples are FULL of nutrients. An apple a day keeps the doctor away right?! Zucchini is a great source of folate  (a B Vitamin essential for a healthy brain and functioning red blood cells), potassium and manganese (which helps fight free radicals that can damage DNA). 


Saturday, October 13, 2012

I've always been a morning person


Not sure quite how many 20 somethings can say that. But I say it and I mean it.


I love the morning.


When you are waking up to this face:
Our family dog, Ruger, as a puppy

Or this face:
My boyfriend, who also happens to be an incredible baker.

Nothing is better than a lazy morning. 


In college, thriving on my new found freedom and health kick, I would be at the gym at 5:30am. I'd walk there in the dark, and stroll back as the sun came up. Of course, back then, I had no responsibilities and going to the gym may or may not have been the only time I left the house.

(I may have gone to the University of Michigan, but that doesn't mean I always went to class. Hey! I graduated medical school, I did okay!)
I've also seen one that says, "Exercise in the morning, before your brain wakes up with reasons to stop you."

In medical school, I lived for early Sunday mornings at a local Starbucks, when it was still quiet and calm. I'd lay out all my text books and settle in for a day of studying and caffeinating.

Now, with a real job, and ridiculous work hours, I'm lucky if I can peel my eyes open with enough time to shower and drive the 3 miles to the hospital.

I figured I should start with one of my favorite recipes. Just because mornings are now rushed, hectic and starting way too early, doesn't mean you can't eat well. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all!

Truthfully - Breakfast starts your metabolism and sets the food tone for your entire day. These breakfast bars are SUPER easy, as much as I like to cook, none of us have time to spend all day in the kitchen. They are delicious warm, right out of the oven. AND they are also wonderful straight from the freezer, 45 seconds in the microwave as you put on your shoes, or defrosting in your bag during your commute to work!

Grab it fast, soft granola bars

Original recipe adapted from Kath Eats Real Food

Hey, maybe if this blogging thing takes off, I will get a real camera. Until then, thank you smart phone!

Total Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Start to Finish: 45 minutes plus cooling

What you need:

  • 1.5 cups rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans (you can use all walnuts or all pecans but I like lots of texture)
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup coconut
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1.25 cups skim milk
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute (or one real egg if you have them)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray it with some Bake Ease. Mix all of your wet ingredients in a large bowl, then stir in all of your dry. Combine thoroughly. Bake in a 9x9 dish for 40 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Makes 9 bars. Approximately 150 calories each (changes if you change up the recipe, which you should definitely get creative and try, I love throwing some chocolate chips in there). 

What you get:

An easy breakfast with no added sugar! Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory properties (I add it to everything I can). Oatmeal may help to reduce your cholesterol. And walnuts were recently proven to help boost memory! Wooh! So many reasons to eat breakfast...now if I just could get to the gym before work...

A Blog? Really?


Hi There! 


How do you start writing a blog? I've always been pretty outgoing, but never very good at introductions...Well, here we go...

I'm Colleen. I'm a twenty-something, Michigan-made, foodie, doctor (holy cow, yes that is for real), baker and yoga teacher, who is now living in Chicago. I'm trying to eat my way through a new city, while balancing my crazy busy life with my desire to stay fit and healthy!


Me enjoying what is possibly my favorite food, second only to gingerbread: Coffee 


What you can expect from me: A mash-up of delicious healthy recipes to share, often with hidden vegetables, exercise motivation, sarcasm, and of course, single-serving desserts, because sometimes a girl just needs dessert. And by sometimes, I mean, often...okay, practically every night.

Now for a bit more juicy material...



My family likes to eat. We're half German, half Irish, and all the homemade, hearty, heavy meals that go with it. We pass down a trait I have come to love, or rather accept and will learn to love, the Schafer bottom. All the women in family have been blessed with this pear shape, it's a running family joke, and the scapegoat for why I can't (YET) hold a plank for more than a minute. We also have passed down a love of baking, eating, and sharing. My Grandmother, queen of the kitchen, has taught me many things about proper preparation of food. Some of which, I throw out the window...eggs? room temperature before baking? who has TIME for that! My career, I'm a brand new doctor at one of Chicago's top hospitals, has taught me how to eat and exercise to protect my health. Do as I say, not as I do, is not a motto I ascribe to with my patients. My yoga practice, which was recently deepened as a graduate of the teacher training program at an amazing independent studio back in Michigan, House of Yoga, has taught me to be mindful and balanced, and to thoroughly enjoy life in its simplicity. Blogging has taught me to actually use correct punctuation online... Oh wait. Whoops.


Some of the Schafer women with the Schafer bottom (hips don't lie), running a 5K! The entire family is in on the healthy lifestyle changes!


Here I am with my little cousin, baking of course, with the Queen of Kitchen, who truthfully, taught us everything we know about food, cleaning up after us. 


Now I'm putting it all together, here for you! And if I get my Dad to secretly eat more vegetables and less potato chips, I will consider this entire blog a little victory!

My Daddy

Stay tuned for some of my favorite recipes, places, exercises, and stories!





Disclaimer: I may be A doctor, but I am (probably) not YOUR doctor. I will not be giving medical advice over my blog, just sharing my stories along with healthy tips and tricks. If you have any questions about your personal health, please make an appointment to see your primary care physician.