Makeover May 2013

Hey friends! May 2013 starts in a little over a week. Why am I pointing out the obvious, you ask? Because I have big plans for May. I'm calling it Makeover May and here is what I'm making over:

1. My Eating
Why? I went 70/30 paleo for a while about a year ago and it worked well, but then I got mono or something and fell off the wagon. Since then, I've only been around 50/50 paleo or less. And I'm sick of looking in the mirror and thinking "meh" about how I look. I've done quite a bit of reading about being paleo/primal, and have even been attending an on-going lecture series called, My Boyfriend Is A Personal Trainer And Talks About It A Lot.
How? I'm doing a Whole30. Strict paleo, 30 days, no cheating. I've already identified what will be the hardest for me (caffeine and "social eating"), and have started working on ways to avoid the temptation. For example, Justin is doing it with me, because I made him promise not to try to talk me into getting pizza on weekends because I know I'll cave. Who doesn't cave for pizza?

2. My Spending
Why? I've been noticing lately how many bags I carry into my apartment. Maybe it's because they feel heavier when you have to walk up 20 stairs, or maybe it's because I've just accumulated a lot of stuff. Either way, I know I buy more stuff than I actually need. I bought three bottles of nail polish in the last two weeks; obviously not because I needed it.
How? Well, obviously, I'm just not going to buy unnecessary stuff. I'm still going to pay my bills and go to the doctor if I get sick, but I'm definitely not buying clothes or cosmetics. This applies to junk food like chips and alcohol too, but since I'll already be not-eating that stuff on the Whole30, I obviously won't be spending money on it.

3. My Downtime
Why? I do a lot of pointless sitting. I sit all day at work, and it seems like the minute I sit on the couch to eat dinner at home, I am glued there for the rest of the evening. I don't have cable or anything, but I rent a lot of movies from the library and have the TV on pretty much all the time. I love to read, but I think I've only read one book so far this year. Also, I have a hard time getting up early because I stay up too late, but I'm staying up late just to watch movies I literally have memorized. Lame.
How? Well, for starters, I'll have more free time from not aimlessly wandering around Target or Walmart. I've got my "to read" list split based on which library branch has which books, so I know what to look for when I'm there. I'm going to go for more walks, play with my nephews, basically anything that isn't just sitting in front of the TV like a potato every day. And if I do want to watch a movie, I'm going to do something else at the same time, like finish some of those previously-mentioned craft projects!

What does all this have to do with you? Well, technically, nothing. Unless of course, you'd be interested in joining me in this challenge. :) I am a big believer in having other people to help keep you on track, because I know I do better that way. That is why I'm putting this out there; because I know it's not going to be easy for me, so I'd appreciate some help staying accountable. If you want to follow along, I'll be attempting to share at least one aspect of the challenge every day via Twitter, either what I'm cooking, reading, or doing in my free time.

So you have about a week to decide: are you going to join me and Makeover May? If your answer is yes, I definitely want to know what you want to makeover! Your basement? Your bad habits? Your skin-care regimen? Tell me in the comments and follow me on Twitter for my #makeovermay updates, starting bright and early on May 1st!

Food: Cheesecake Dippers

Let's say it's Friday afternoon and your friends are having a party later. Your only instructions were, "bring some food." You don't have time to cook/bake/etc, so what do you do?! Well people, I have your answer: I call them Cheesecake Dippers (as of just now, when I needed something to call them.)

Philadelphia makes this Cheesecake Filling which is actually pretty delicious! Pick up a tub of that at your grocery store and a couple kinds of Graham crackers for dipping. As you can see, I still enjoy Teddy Grahams. I also grabbed a couple kinds of berries to go with them. After I left the store, it occurred to me that I should've gotten some mini chocolate chips too. Nom nom.

My favorite combination was the regular graham sticks and raspberries. But since there are about a million kinds of cheesecake, the possibilities are pretty much endless. Caramel sauce and chopped pecans? Oreos and hot fudge? I have to stop suggesting things now because I'm getting hungry. So there you go: a quick and easy dessert for all your last-minute party needs!

SOTD - 01.24.13

Are you up to the challenge of making today's Smoothie of the Day?!
Fun Fact: it's not really a challenge. I just want to remember how to make this again sometime.

1 small banana
1/2 (ish) c. frozen blueberries
2 kale ice cubes (method found here)
spoonful (virgin) coconut oil
almond milk

You know your smoothie? It's all bluuue.

Aside from being tasty, this smoothie was a success because:
1. Those kale cubes blended in better than straight up, raw kale.
2. It is dairy free, if you like that sort of thing.
3. I bought a giant bucket of frozen blueberries last fall, so anything with blueberries wins.

So there you have it! What are you drinking this snowy Thursday morning? Yes, it's 11 degrees outside, I brushed an inch of snow off my car, and I had a smoothie for breakfast. Don't worry though, I've now moved on to one of my favorite teas.

Things I Like to Smell - Vol. I

Do you have certain scents that trigger memories for you? Or, conversely, when you reflect on some time, place, or person that was special to you, does a smell come with that memory? It does for me. For example, freshly baked bread smells like being home because my mom is the best at making bread. Even though my first boyfriend was over a decade ago, I can still tell when I walk by someone wearing the same cologne. And after my grandma passed away, I considered buying some vintage Avon talc powder at a flea market  because she had it in her bathroom for as long as I can remember.

photo credit

Anyone who spends a significant amount of time around me will quickly learn how much I like to smell things. Justin and I almost always spend some time smelling seasonal candles wherever we find them. Teavana and Penzeys both endeared themselves to me from my first visits, simply because you're allowed to smell all the things. And sometimes when I am sad or bored, I will go to a grocery store and stand around smelling the different body washes or fabric softeners. I'm well aware that it's things like this that make me obviously normal and not weird at all.

Without further ado, here are some things I am currently fond of smelling. This volume of Things I Like to Smell was inspired by my friend Kerry's post on beating the winter blues. Even though we had a freakishly nice weekend (high five, global warming!) it is back to feeling wintery here in Ohio and these are the smells that cheer me up despite the weather.

photo credit

1. Sea Spray from Lush Cosmetics
My friend Vicky gave me some of this and it has gradually become my new BFF. I like it for all its intended reasons (like making me not look as if I'm trying to cosplay Hermione Granger in my daily life) but the most surprising thing for me was the scent. This product is the perfect reminder of sunny, windy, sea-salty days. I don't know how they do it, but I've found it a pleasant surprise to catch a whiff of summer when it's all of 12 degrees outside.

2. Orange & Cranberry Scones
Whether it's because this is the first flavor I ever made, or just the fact that citrus is such a happy smell, baking off a batch of these scones always smells the best to me. Find a recipe, make yourself some tea, and and eat one while they're still warm from the oven. Trust me on this.

3. Stauf's Market Spice Tea
Speaking of tea, this one is amazing. It tends to get cold before I can finish it because I'm always torn between wanting to keep smelling it and wanting to drink it. If you like orange-y cinnamon teas, this is the best one I've had yet.

4. Woodsmoke
My parents have a wood-burning stove in their house, so this is another smell that always reminds me of home. The combination of clean, cold air and the drifting smoke never fails to take me back to the days of bundling up and going out to play in the snow with my brothers.

5. Homemade Yujacha
I found this post on Pinterest about a Korean concoction of honey and lemons that you add to hot water to make a drink that's good for fighting colds. Since I love honey and lemons, I had to try it. I also added slices of fresh ginger to mine, and sweet merciful heavens it could not possibly smell any better than it does. It also tastes good, which I was concerned about with leaving the pith of the lemon in there. I am almost through my first jar of it, and I haven't even been sick.

So am I the only one who just wanders though life smelling things? Or could I run into you in the laundry aisle the next time I'm lurking in a grocery store? Either way, I hope you get to smell some of your favorite things today too! As for me, I think I'll be making some tea shortly!

PSA: Crimes Against Nature

Hello. This is your local, neighborhood Jordan, here to remind you that some items in your grocery store are crimes against nature and that you should avoid them at all costs. If I never saw one of these "foods" again, it would be light-years too soon. Most of these things are the mutated counterpart to something delicious, and it should be known that my hate for these wretches stems from human meddling. Except for the last one. I'm convinced it's an alien.

1. Canned Mushrooms
They don't taste like mushrooms. That rubbery, soggy texture is disgusting. They are slimy and evil.

2. Turkey Bacon
Don't even start with me. Anything not made of bacon will never be bacon. NEVER.

3. Canned Pineapple Juice
It tastes like metal and citric acid. It's probably made of pineapple tears because it reeks of sadness.

4. Jarred Albino Asparagus
There's no way it's not over-cooked, but mostly that crap looks like fingers. Scary as all get-out.

5. Baby Corn
Also terrifying. Like it comes from an alien planet where they have hands and teeth that are also that tiny and equally creepy. In the immortal words of Nadia G, "You suck, baby corn!"

Are there any foods for which you harbor an irrational and probably unhealthy hatered? Please share!

A Conversation & An Alot

Me: Of the two Theory of a Deadman songs I've heard before, I thought 'Bad Girlfriend' was by Seether and 'Not Meant To Be' was by Nickelback, haha.

Justin: Alot of modern rock sounds similar.

Me:

If you're not familiar with it (i.e. don't understand why this is funny), you can find the original Alot at Hyperbole And A Half. And shame on you for not knowing about it already!

Review: Sophie's & Ajumama

Part II of  The Happy Day I Got to Try Lots of New Food

On the same day Karla and I had brunch at Skillet, there was a food truck party at a new-ish little brewery in Columbus. The place is called Zauber Brewing, and they occasionally have these events where you can try their beers by the pint and they bring in a rotating cast of food trucks while they're at it. I, like many other self-proclaimed foodie-types, am a big fan of the food truck scene, added to which, not one but two of the trucks I've been wanting to hunt down were both scheduled to be there! So of course, I had to go.

Justin and I headed down around dinner time, and probably would've missed the brewery if it weren't for the food trucks out front because it's so small. We then walked all the way around the trucks because there was a cord around them, not realizing until we got to the other side that we had to duck under it to get in. Ha. It didn't occur to me they were making an enclosed space until I saw people with pints of beer in hand.

Once we finally managed to get inside, we started at one end of the line and perused the menus of all the food trucks they had circled up like a caravan of conestoga wagons. According to the Zauber Brewing website, the line up that night was: Hungry Monkey, Mojo TaGO, Tatoheads, Ajumama, Blu Olive, Sophie's Gourmet Pierogi, Short North Bagel, and Street Thyme. Every truck had something (or several somethings) that sounded good, so it would've been hard to decide where to go if I hadn't already been following a couple of them on Twitter and getting hungry from their updates. Plus, Justin wanted pierogi too. So now, on to the food:

What We Ordered:

From Sophie's: Justin - The Vintage, Me - The Soph

From Ajumama: Traditional Hodduk 

Definitions (just in case): 

Pierogi - Similar to a big fat ravioli, but usually filled with mashed potatoes and cheese or onion. Origin: Poland.

Hodduk - Kind of like a chewy pancake, but filled with cinnamon, brown sugar, and walnuts. Origin: Korea.

Why I ate two filled-dough-type things for dinner - They were delicious.

Photographic Evidence:

Me and my delightfully-international, truck-made dinner.

Verdict of the Noms:

All very good! I don't know how Justin's pierogi tasted because he ate them so fast, but he said he liked them. I liked my pierogi a lot too and the pork belly that came with it was super tasty. The flavor of the vegetables reminded me of when my grandma would make stuffed cabbage when I was younger.

As for the hodduk? Just typing that word makes me want another one, if that tells you anything. I've had the make-at-home kind from a box and didn't like them at all. The real thing is so much better. You have to wait a while for the sweet, molten insides to not burn your mouth off, but believe me, it's definitely worth it.

Final Words:

I would get food from both these places again in a heartbeat. I think I would pick something new at Sophie's and definitely get some of their Italian ice next time because that looked really good too. From Ajumama, I would obviously order hodduk again, but it might take me a while to get brave enough to try some of their other menu items. I've never had much Korean food, so I really don't know what I would or wouldn't like. That's the nice thing about these food truck events though; you can sample a couple different things when they're all together like this.

For me, the other good thing about this event was that Karla told me she was jealous we were going and she had to work, so I was able to repay my brunch debt to her by taking her some dinner from the trucks. We got her an orzo pasta salad from Blu Olive (since I figured it would travel well) and took her a hodduk also. And the next time Andrea and I are both in Cbus, we'll have to go find Ajumama, since she's the one who introduced me to hodduk; otherwise, I might never have tried it!