Things My Kids Say

As all four year olds do, Alexis says a lot of funny things, most of which I, unfortunately, quickly forget.   Before I forget what she said in the last couple of weeks, here is a quick (albeit incomplete) list:

-- Mommy, can I have a couple more chocolate-covered pretzels?  ….  A couple means eight or five!

-- I am worried about becoming a grown up.   …. I don't know how to wear heels.

-- Mommy,  it's your miracle, I mean, surprise, I mean, it's what you've been waiting for!   I finally DO need to go potty!

And Emily, now in third grade, brought home her book report from school, in which she wrote:

--  Something I noticed about the writing was … it used spicy writing and never once did it say something lame.

Running Is My Friend

At least that's what I keep telling myself to get myself on the treadmill.   Today was quite busy with housework.   We are still "new" in the house and lots of things require attention.   There was also a piano lesson and a two-hour library outing for Emily and lots of quality TV time for Alexis.   Since I am not a morning person and usually can't get myself to workout first thing in the morning, I have to fit it somewhere in the middle of the day.  The earlier the better, though, since otherwise, it keeps nagging at me, yet afterward I have a great sense of accomplishment.   

All I did today (so far, anyway) was walk 2.5 minutes, run continuously for 10 (with a lot of help from Selena and J. Lo.), and walk another 2.5.   

All in all 15 minutes, which seems to be not that much, yet feels like it helped pay for yesterday's indulgences at McCormick's.

Cashew Latte

It's the weekend again!  And that means lattes on Saturday mornings at our house.  This one, as usual, was made with the help of a Nespresso machine and Nespresso Aeroccino machine, which are essential items in my kitchen due to my caffeine addiction.  To make this one interesting, I grated a couple of raw cashews on top of the foam.  Cashews are powerhouses of all sorts of nutrients, as you can see here, particularly copper, manganese, magnesium, and Vitamin K.  They also have a nice content of protein.  But I added them mainly for their deliciousness.  

Strike a Power Pose

About five years ago I attended through work one of those seminars that focus on helping women to better fit into the male-dominated work environment and to make up for the deficiencies of being, well, women.  (I know, it's the twenty-first century out there and this is sad.)  The speaker told a ballroom full of women that men and women, not surprisingly, have a different body language.   Men take up space and assume power poses.   Think sitting in a chair, taking up as much physical space as you can:   feet far apart, legs wide open, shoulders back, one arm on the neighboring chair, chin up.  Women tend to try to shrink in space.  We cross our legs or ankles, cross our arms, slouch, and generally try not to look physically overpowering.  Otherwise, we look aggressive.  And being perceived as aggressive at work serves men only.  

Having identified the issue, the speaker then told us that we should try to be more like men, go for the power poses -- stand and sit tall, nothing crossed, don't apologize for taking up your space.   I agreed in principle but still couldn't quite imagine sitting in a chair in that king-of-the-jungle pose, especially when wearing a dress or a skirt.   I think it would look quite odd.  Since that really didn't seem to be a real solution, I put it out of my mind, along with other  similarly helpful advice, such as become an avid football fan just so you can intelligently discuss Sunday night games during Monday morning conference calls to impress all your male colleagues (surely, they will then accept you as one of them).

Fortunately, the real solution is out there.  Turns out you don't need to sit like an alpha male in a meeting, raising eye brows, you just need to strike one of the "power poses" before the meeting, in the privacy of your office or in the office restroom.

In this TED video (now watched almost ten million times), Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist from Harvard Business School, explains that leaders, both male and female, have higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisone (the stress hormone) than average.  Assuming a "wonder woman" pose (stand tall, feet shoulder width apart, hands on hips) for just two minutes will significantly increase testosterone and reduce cortisone, so you can walk into that meeting feeling powerful, strong, confident, and self-assured.  

Moreover, research shows that not only other people judge us by our body language, but we judge ourselves by our own body language.   If you do not feel powerful enough to strike a power pose, strike a power pose and you will feel powerful.  Your body language shapes who you are.  The video talks about compelling experiments using this technique and the simplicity of it is quite brilliant.  (And, honestly, if nothing else, a reduction in stress level is a great result all by itself.)

Millionaire's Shortbread

Since I don't have much time to spend in the kitchen but still like to cook and bake, I have a big appreciation for quick and simple recipes.  Of course, they must be delicious.   Claire Robinson's 5-ingredient ideas take the prize in that category.  I enjoyed her show and bought her 5 Ingredient Fix book as soon as it came out.   Her recipes are easy to execute and require only five ingredients each, not counting what she calls "free" ingredients:  water, salt, and pepper.  

One recipe from this book that I have on repeat in my kitchen is the Millionaire's Shortbread.   You can also find this recipe here on foodnetwork.com   The shortbread itself requires only butter, sugar, flour, and salt.

I made it this weekend again, omitting the caramel layer this time.  When I do add caramel, I usually just buy dulche de leche in a can and spread it over the warm shortbread, then add melted chocolate on top.   And, since I can never simply follow a recipe without adding something, I also like to add a dusting of cashew, walnut, or hazelnut on top, with the help of a microplane grater.   When this shortbread's warm, it goes well with ice cream.

Latte & Croissant (Which I Earned)

I started this morning with a twenty-minute run followed by a ten minute walk.  I know a lot of people prefer to measure workouts by miles, but I usually do it by time.   

I don't enjoy running all that much, but Trainer says its really important to get your heart rate up and to spend at least a few minutes a day in your Zone 2.   My Zone 2 right now is quite high and I don't like being in it.  Jogging at 4 percent incline and 4.5 mph just gets me to the top of my Zone 1, which I feel is better than sitting on the couch.   Perhaps 10 years ago I would say that if I can't do it perfectly, I shouldn't do it at all, but the older I get the less black-and-white life and working out seems.   

I can also only run with the anesthetic help of music.  It distracts me from the pain.   I either use iPod + book on Kindle or I play music videos on iPad.   Without this, I am too aware of the utter uncomfortableness of it all.  Trainer says it gets better.  He is probably right.  After spending 10 years being relatively aerobically inactive, it takes time to get to a point where you jog for fun.  I am sure the extra 20 pounds I am carrying now since law school and two children are not helping either.

After the workout it was time for some serious rewards.  Otherwise, what's the point of it all, right?  

I love making lattes on weekend mornings.   I use this Nespresso frother to make foam from unsweetened almond milk.  I then use a microplane grater to add a tiny amount of chocolate on top of the foam on my espresso.   Adding a chocolate croissant from Trader Joe's just makes it all come together.

Probiotic Smoothie

I find it quite a challenge to get all the fruits and veggies into my kids that I want them to eat.   They just don't want to sit and patiently chew their way through salads.  When I bought a Vita-Mix three years ago I began making all sorts of smoothies and that all changed.   For the kids, I make my smoothies mostly fruit based, but I often add spinach to the mix (although, not today).   I have several smoothie books and there are lots of smoothie recipes online, but the truth is, you can make a smoothie out of pretty much anything in your fridge.   For extra credit, I like to add probiotics.   Sometimes in powdered form, sometimes from probiotic drinks, like this one.

Into this afternoon's smoothie went:  1 cup chunks of cantaloupe, several frozen strawberries, 1 banana, 2 tangerines, several grapes, 1 cup Siggi's blueberry yogurt, and 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder.  This made 4 glasses of smoothie, so everyone got one.   Alexis was not excited when she saw her smoothie glass but I talked her into drinking half.  After she accomplished that and I tried to take it away from her, honoring my end of the deal, she clutched it with both hands and exclaimed:  "No, this one I like a lot!"