Nutty Greek Quinoa Toss

It's amazing how easily one can gain a few pounds when your metabolism takes a nose dive in your late thirties. I mean honestly, can't a girl go on a nice relaxing cruise and sit around all day long on the back of a ship's deck looking out at the cold, serene Alaskan waters with her feet up on a wicker chair and be surrounded constantly with pastries, cheeses and berry filled crepes at all hours of the day without gaining 8 stupid pounds?

Apparently not. *Sigh.






Well, if that weren't a bad enough set back on my never ending fight against belly bulge then the 12 hour road trip we took this last weekend to Utah with 4 kids certainly put the nail on the diet coffin. While we did bring along apples and healthy trail mix, they went so well with Twizzlers and chocolate covered raisins that we decided to buy some cookies to top it off. Perfectly reasonable right?


Now, how to lose those 10 pounds gained in 2 short weeks after I've been fighting to lose 20 since who the hell knows when?    *Double sigh, big fat pout.

Here's the back of the ship where my sweetie and I  loved to sit and relax..... and snack.... a lot.

Can you blame us? I mean really. Look at the view. And the weather was just so unbelievably cool and perfect compared to the miserable heat we are used to here in Phoenix.

We didn't spend  ALL  of our time on our butts stuffing our mouths.
We had some pretty amazing adventures too.
Here we are zip lining through the 200 foot tall trees in Ketchikan, AK.  

Me and my baby sister Rachel.

Did I mention that due to the glaciers that swept over the land many years ago, the soil is only 4-6" deep?
Did you catch that? That's INCHES, not feet.


We were swinging from super tall trees that are hanging on for their dear lives in soil that is too shallow to plant carrots in!


Smart.

And we took one frieking amazing, hold onto your hats fast bike ride 32 mies from Canada back to Skagway, AK. This was by far the highlight of my trip! The scenery was breath taking. 

So, how to fit back into my pants?




It's a good thing I discovered quinoa some time ago and shortly after figured out how to make it unbelievable delicious.

It's the feta. No, it's the toasted pine nuts. NO! It's the white balsamic vinaigrette.

O.K., all of these things plus the squeeze of lemon, freshness of the parsley and zip of the sweet peppers make this quinoa toss very addictive and satisfyng. My tummy thanks me.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 big handful grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 big handful sweet peppers minced
1 big handful parsley, minced
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinaigrette
freshly cracked white pepper
squeeze fresh lemon juice



Put quinoa into a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly to remove natural 'soapy' film.  Cook according to package directions, usually 1:1 parts quinoa-water, bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
If you please, toast pine nuts on a dry cast iron skillet until golden brown to bring out flavor.
Using a small food processor or knife, finely dice sweet peppers, garlic and parsley.
In a large bowl, toss together still warm quinoa, feta, peppers, parsley, pine nuts and tomatoes.
Drizzle in oil and vinaigrette. Toss to combine. Add lemon and pepper to taste.

Serve warm or chilled.

For dinner, we prefer the warm version where the feta is just slightly creamy and the flavors melt together.

Summer (In) Sanity: How to Keep Busy this Summer and A Family Activity Calendar

It's 4 whole days in to summer break and already the kids are bored out of their skulls. By 9:00 a.m. we've already had breakfast, gotten dressed, gone to the park or for a 'nature walk', been swimming and made a craft.   Now what do we do for the remaining 12 hours of the day?!!   Cue me to exit the house and go to work where I find dealing with demanding and pretentious spine surgeons and taking care of sick patients a relaxing getaway. Normal thing for a mom to feel on occasion, right?

In fact, when my husband came home from work tonight and asked if I would mind running to the store to grab a couple of things if he did the dishes and put the kids to bed in exchange I was out the door so fast I don't think he knew what happened.

If that doesn't sound depressing enough I found myself joking with some friends who were complaining about jury duty about how nice of a break it could be if they just looked at it with the right attitude, one of a mom of 4 for instance. I mean really, sitting around all day long reading a good book, how often do I get that sort of deal?

Don't get me wrong, I loooooveee my children, the little darlings, the lambs. But it is constant commotion around this joint even when everyone is behaving and by the end of a normal day of feeding, clothing, playing and basically just keeping 4 mischievous children alive and unscathed I'm  exhausted  by ALL means of the word.


So, this summer I am taking matters into my own creative little hands. It gets pretty damn hot here in Phoenix, so hot that when it is below 110F in July, we celebrate with glee and talk about the weather with each other like it's a new phenomenon. And when it actually rains in July, well, we run around half naked outside laughing out loud like crazy people. So being cooped up inside with 4 cranky, hot kids means you need a plan.


Plan A:
Stay inside all day and watch t.v. and eat ice cream.

Plan B:
Swim all morning. Watch t.v. Swim in the evening. Watch t.v.

Plan C:
Keep the kids busy and active while saving my sanity.




First, make a list of places in your neighborhood that might have things to do for kids or as a family.

• Library: Get signed up for the summer reading program to win cool prizes and discover new books. Libraries also have many free summer games and activities like Lego Building contest and visitors from the local Zoo and Puppet Theatres.
• Schools: Check your local schools for summer programs like Karate, art classes and sports programs.
• City Parks and Rec.  Besides an assortment of activities your city may have a rec center, free evening movies and concerts in the park and classes to attend.
• Many Churches offer activities for kids whether you belong to the church or not
• YMCA
• Google "free things to do with kids insert name of your city  I found a FREE 3 week long clinic at the Ice Arena near our home offered by the Phoenix Coyotes
• Visit "MeetUp.com" or a similar organization for tons of meet up groups in your area
• Splash Pads are wonderful fun and usually free. There are several in my neighborhood, ask around or Google where they are in your area.
• If there aren't any Splash Pads in your area, sprinklers, water toys and squirt guns make for a fun and cool afternoon.
• Museums. I have lived here in Phoenix my entire life and didn't know there was a Science and Aircraft museum in Peoria, just a few miles away from our house! In fact, many museums offer discounts and fun summer camps/packages. Also, many libraries have FREE passes to local museums!

Many resorts offer discounts during the summer and have amazing swimming pools

photo source: Arizona Foothills

Next, create a calendar of your activities so your summer is stress free fun!

I created this simple calendar at  Keep and Share.

(note this is just an example of our summer activities)

When all else fails, MAKE HOME MADE ICE CREAM!!!

What are you doing this summer???