Baby It's Cold Outside

The weeks have just been flying by since Christmas!  I blink and it is another Monday!  My daughter Ashley is heading back to Swarthmore today to begin her second semester of Sophomore year.  I loved having my girls home for such a long break - Cailyn will be home for a few more days but back to school they must go... 


Eat. Live. Be. for a Better 2011 Challenge Week 3

How do I stay motivated to keep up healthy habits when the weather is so cold? 

• Healthy Recipes using pantry staples and winter produce
• Exercise Indoors
• Countdown to spring 
• Good support system

Winter food doesn't necessarily have to be unhealthy.  Think dark leafy greens like kale, spinach, collard greens, escarole and Swiss chard.  They are so good for you and readily available during the winter months.  They are fabulous in soups and stews which are perfect when the weather is frigid.   I used the tip I gave last week to find this fabulous and super easy recipe from foodandwine.com.  I searched under "soups and stews", selected winter as the season, checked "healthy" and "staff favorite".  The search resulted in 13 great sounding recipes.  I selected the Quick White Bean Stew with Swiss Chard and Tomatoes by Joe Bastianich.  The fact that it's quick and vegetarian (not to mention positively delicious) make this a keeper that I can't wait to make again.  Canned beans and tomatoes make it the perfect pantry meal.  In the spirit of using what was in the pantry I used Great Northern beans instead of Cannelini.  All I needed was the chard.  I served it with some toasted Ciabatta rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil - so good!  My whole family loved it - no leftovers!   If you don't like meatless meals a few shrimp or some Italian chicken sausage would make a nice addition.

I just bought a Mobia by Nautilus exercise machine.  It is a cross between a treadmill, an incline, and stair stepper.  I try to walk daily or at least several times a week at the boardwalk or the local reservoir but the weather has officially done me in!  Three feet of snow and freezing cold weather has kept me indoors.  Well the cash outlay will keep me motivated so I will definitely be using the machine.  I really like it so far.  I watched cooking shows while on it this morning.  Is that wrong?!   

Countdown to spring!  Scroll all the way down to the bottom of my page to see my new widget and see how many days until spring. 

Lastly a good support system helps to keep you on track!  Thank you all! 

Quick White Bean Stew with Swiss Chard and Tomatoes
Courtesy:  Joe Bastianich

Ingredients

2 pounds Swiss chard, large stems discarded and leaves cut crosswise into 2-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped
One 16-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Salt

Directions

1.Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the chard and simmer over moderate heat until tender, 8 minutes. Drain the greens and gently press out excess water.

2.In the saucepan, heat the oil. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook over moderate heat until the garlic is golden, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the beans and simmer over moderately high heat for 3 minutes. Add the chard and simmer over moderate heat until the flavors meld, 5 minutes. Season the stew with salt and serve