Fuel Up Wednesday: Hearty miso soup

This weekend, I was temporarily knocked flat by a weird one-day flu. Although it was short, it was bad enough to make my body incapable of consuming anything but orange juice, crackers, and soup.

We have a huge tub of miso in our fridge from a previous recipe, so I decided to try making miso soup instead the usual chicken-noodle remedy. I always prefer chunky soups to bowls of broth, so I set out to find a recipe for a hearty miso soup.

That's exactly what I found! This recipe is delicious, comforting, healthy, and filling.

My grocery store didn't have dried shitake mushrooms, so I used these intriguing (and delicious!) wood ear mushrooms instead. I also used more bok choy in place of the seaweed.

This recipe is definitely a permanent addition to the list of "get well" soups! What recipes do you use as wintertime flu remedies?

Fuel Up Wednesday: Overnight oatmeal

It's amazing what a mason jar and a few hours can do.

Andy and I have discovered a treasure trove of DIY food delights using mason jars, from escabeche to yogurt. On winter mornings, however, my favorite mason jar recipe is a working-woman's lifesaver: overnight oatmeal.

Whole oats are much more filling (and arguably more healthy) than most instant oatmeal, but who has time to slave over the stove in the morning? Instead, before going to bed, just toss a 1/2 cup of whole rolled oats into a jar, add 1 cup of water, cover, and place the jar in the fridge overnight. 

In the morning, heat the jar in the microwave on high for 1 minute, or until oats are thoroughly heated. Drain off any excess water, and then add honey, cinnamon, fruit, or any topping of your choosing.

It's a quick and filling breakfast for both work mornings and dawn patrol — and if you're running late, just throw the jar in your bag and go!

Fuel Up Wednesday: My favorite food blogs

A tiny New York kitchen

Let's be honest. The "Local Wednesday" post idea never worked very well. While the theme was initiated with good intentions, I am too  spontaneous (or too disorganized) to successfully post on local outdoorsy events before they happen. Heck, after they happen.

Instead, let's turn to the other passion in my life: food. 

I'm not a health nut and I'm not a master chef. I do love to cook, though, and the food I put in my body changes with the seasons and the activities of my life. In all its delicious and complex glory, food is fuel.

A number of fantastic food bloggers inspire my cooking, and I'm looking forward to featuring them on Wednesdays. After all, what better way to get through a rough week than a comforting meal? 

Emily Bites

This healthy blog features American-style Italian and Tex-Mex cooking, perfect for feeding families and husbands. Think buffalo sauces, pasta casseroles, chicken bakes, and football food -- but with a Weight Watcher's twist.

Green Kitchen Stories

When I want to challenge myself with an elaborate and time-consuming dish, I go here. These elegant vegetarian recipes, crafted by two young artistic parents in Stockholm, are not for the timid or unadventurous. I am in love with their beet bourguignon (yes, beet with a 't') and no-rice risotto with chard.

Love and Lemons

Now that I'm writing about this blog, I don't think I've actually made any of their recipes yet! But the pictures are absolutely beautiful, and I read every post.

Oh She Glows

Monstrously green but oh so yummy!

My inner vegan has a crush on this blogger. Although I'm not faithful vegan myself, I love experimenting with her recipes. They are delicious, refreshing, and fun. This blog is also the source of my dangerous Green Monster addiction.

Peas and Thank You

This was the the first food blog I ever followed religiously. Try her Summer Succotash Quesadillas with Nacho Mmmm Sauce or her Noodle Salad with Peanut Mmmm Sauce, and you'll understand how she wooed me.

Pioneer Woman Cooks

With a wonderfully organized labeling system that includes categories like "Cowboy Meals," "16-minute meals," and "canning," this blog offers awesome down-home do-it-yourself resources.

Santa Fe chicken a la Skinny Taste

Skinny Taste

Gina's recipes always hit the spot. From breakfasts and smoothies to slow cooker meals and easy weeknight dinners, Skinny Taste has an amazing range of delicious recipes.

Two Peas and Their Pod

I can't remember how I stumbled across this blog, but I was very excited when I re-discovered that this family lives in Utah! It's fun to cook along with someone who also shops at Utah farmer's markets — our veggie seasons are in sync! Their corn chowder recipe inspired a slow cooker spin off of my own.

What food blogs do you follow? Where do you find your cooking inspiration?

Survival Monday: For Your Health

After spending eight years in cities that had great walking and public transit infrastructures, I have a hard time picturing myself in a residential suburb. I prefer being able to walk or bike or bus for work, errands, and fun.

Where we live in Salt Lake City, I can get away with doing most of my commuting and small errands on the bus. Even still, there are some nights when I find myself spitting and cursing because the bus only runs at 8 and 9 p.m. before stopping completely. 

The limited accessibility to public transportation is particularly frustrating on days like—well, any day last week. With the exception of a few weekend snow storms, Salt Lake City had been trapped under a layer of thick polluted haze since the beginning of January. 

The pollution stays in our bowl-shaped valley during a weather phenomenon called an inversion, as illustrated by the graphic below. 

Inversion Smog Episodes by Salt Lake Tribune

For two locations just 45 minutes from each other, you end up with a weather forecast that looks something like this:

(And really, the mountains were closer to 40 degrees by midday.) 

A significant portion of this pollution comes from vehicle emissions, from the things you and I do every day. 

The Utah Division of Air Quality offers a great list of "things you can do" to help, and I plan on adding a few to my own routine. However, many of the transportation suggestions are either truly unrealistic or psychologically daunting for the majority of the population. 

Kennecott Copper Mine recently donated 2,500 free transit passes to the public. That's an amazing start, but it just scratches the surface. Local businesses and local governments both need to focus on active infrastructure change and sustainable consumer incentives. Public transportation needs to be more convenient than driving. Industry needs to invest in longterm upgrades and cleaner technology. Most importantly, the public needs to demand change. 

The Utah Physicians for Healthy Environment highlight key issues. Are you on board?

Update 29 Jan. 2013: Governor Herbert and transportation officials met today to discuss the air quality issue. Read more. 

Survival by bicycle

Remember when A. moved to Salt Lake City and we weren't sure whether it would be long-term? Well, almost one year later, it's long-term.

The past year has been, for both of us, one of those periods in life that test you far beyond your comfort zone.

A. had moved across country in the hopes that an exciting but risky internship would jumpstart his non-existant career. I was balancing a full-time position with an intense search for a new job. My mother—who has forever been my rock and confidant—continued her two-year battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Months of hard work, sleepless nights, and emotional strain dragged on. 

Then, in one surreal week, my mom landed in the ICU in a Connecticut hospital and I received an amazing job offer in Utah. My life seemed to be screeching to a halt and just beginning at the same exact time. The months that followed faded into a blur.

I remember riding a lot. 

I remember taking the train to Connecticut a lot. My bike, of course, came with me.

I remember bursting into tears while biking to work one morning, and being unable to stop crying until I ordered and ate a side of bacon.

I remember packing boxes and moving furniture at all hours of the hot, humid night. I remember the friends and family who helped me.

Now, I live in Salt Lake City with A. I love my new job, and A's internship has turned into a full-time position. I still ride my bike to work, and we hike together on the weekends. I miss my family, and while my mom's struggle has continued along a roller coaster track, her doctors are working hard to move her out of the hospital and into a physical therapy rehab facility. 

Things aren't perfect. The journey is far from over. There are many times when I wonder, à la Monday Morning Mantra, "What the f**k have I done?" But this past year has taught me that determination can reap amazing rewards; that a loving and supportive family is an invaluable gift; and that a bicycle is one amazing piece of survival equipment. 

Blogspiration: Ride, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

 Found at Bike Commute News. Design by Karl Rosengarth: www.wearehold.com

I start my day on a bicycle and end my day on a bicycle, and that is an undying source of joy for me right now. 'Nuff said.

Blogspiration is a meme hosted jointly by GrowingUp YA and saz101.

Adventure Fridays: Experimenting with food

When eating for your adventures, experimentation is key. Everyone experiences different cravings — sweet treat or salty snack; cold drink or hot meal —as well as different levels of hunger. 

Lately, I've been experimenting with the amount of food I need to pack for a bicycle commute. Packing my own lunches and snacks is healthy, cheap, fun, and a lot easier than running out of the office every other hour to buy a granola bar. 

Planning your meals for a bicycle commute depends on the length of your commute and your body type. A relaxed 15-minute commute may not require a significant change in eating habits, but a fast-paced 45-minute commute may leave you feeling ravenous. While I am a fan of using instinct to tune into your body's needs, a basic calorie counter can help you identify your target range for losing, maintaining, or gaining weight while cycling.

The food I eat changes with the weather and seasons (lighter meals during a heat wave and more oatmeal on cold mornings), but I think I've nailed down a basic pattern that works for me.

Morning

• Before hopping on the bike, I eat a small bowl of oatmeal with honey and ground flaxseed, or homemade granola with plain yogurt.
• I drink water with breakfast, and water on my ride.
• Within 30 minutes of getting off my bike, I follow up with a snack: banana with peanut butter, or a hardboiled egg and a slice of toast with honey. Don't forget coffee! 

Afternoon

• For lunch, I bring a home-cooked meal to reheat in the office microwave. Hearty fibers and proteins keep me full. I drink water instead of soda or juice.
• To stave off my inevitable afternoon craving for chocolate, I finish off my lunch with sweet fruit like grapes or homemade applesauce. Or, I go straight for the chocolate.
• Later in the afternoon, I munch on homemade popcorn—not from a buttery microwave bag, but popped on the stovetop with some olive oil and sea salt.

Evening

• I always pack an emergency granola bar or energy gel for my ride home, just in case my body can't wait until dinner. 
• I'm still drinking water. Really, the only beverages I consume are water, coffee, and the occasional beer. 

What foods do you eat to fuel your outdoor fun? What's your favorite meal of the day?

Saddle discomfort in women's cycling

I am not someone who puts form before function.

In New York City, surrounded by women who can expertly walk for miles in high-heeled shoes, I pound the sidewalk with every part of my feet planted firmly on the ground. (With arch support, please.)

In New York City, surrounded by female cyclists who ride in dresses without breaking a sweat, I don sports clothes and pack a change of outfit. (I really like riding fast.)

And in New York City, where vintage road bikes and Brooks saddles are all the rage, I recently put my coolest-looking bike under the knife. (It isn't pretty.)

Meet Quickbeam, so named for his "woodgrain" paint job and my nerdy love for Tolkien:

Quickbeam is my cheap city bike: single speed, steel frame, few valuable parts to steal. Still, he's a handsome gent.

 To match the woodgrain pattern, Quickbeam came with a beautiful saddle.

Although the saddle isn't actually made from wood, it's pretty darn uncomfortable on lady parts. And unless you're experiencing muscle burn from a tough workout or the initial saddle sores of a long trip, there is absolutely no reason to feel pain while riding a bicycle.

No reason.

After two years of putting up with saddle discomfort (an unusually long period of time for me), I finally decided that the beautiful seat just had to go.

This thin road bike saddle—meant for an aggressive, forward-leaning posture—boasts a cutout for the female anatomy. Quickbeam may look a little awkward now, but the new saddle is so much kinder. I'm already dreaming of long, comfortable rides that won't do damage to my womanhood.

That's how it should be, ladies.

Not all female cycling problems are the same. For an in-depth discussion of women and saddle discomfort, and how to find the right solution for your ride, check out this post by Lovely Bicycle.

Blogspiration: Companionship of bicycles

The trouble with having an outdoor-themed blog is that the subject-at-hand too often serves as a convenient distraction from writing.

Encouraged in part by the sheer joy of exercising and in part by the recent and unfortunate loss of my 30-day subway card, I have been cycling a lot lately.

When I stumbled across this article in my Twitter feed, the following line caught my eye:

"Bicycles will refuse to do anything for you, but [they] will gladly do anything with you."

Oh, how wonderfully true.

Bicycling eases feelings of stress. It inspires some of my most productive and creative days. It carries me through my city and to new places. It sparks conversation with complete strangers. It encourages confidence, health, and joy.

It's not the bicycle, though, that causes these things to happen. It is I. The bicycle is just along for the ride.

Blogspiration is a meme hosted jointly by GrowingUp YA and saz101.

How to prevent knee pain when cycling

Ouch! www.scody.com.au

Recently, a friend triumphantly announced: "Biked 18 miles yesterday. Today my knees hurt a lot. Still think it's a win, though!"

Yes, girl, that is definitely a win. But your knees don't have to hurt. In fact, it's a good idea to avoid knee pain altogether. Try these five easy adjustments to keep your knees healthy when you ride.



1. Pedal in a lower gear. "High gears" use the large chainring at your pedals and the small cogs on your back wheel. These gears allow you to pedal slowly while covering more ground. They're ideal for pedaling downhill or riding with the wind at your back. However, because these gears put more resistance on the pedals, they also put more resistance on your knees. Try spinning a lower, easier gear. Experiment with different combinations. At first, it may feel awkward to pedal more quickly, but your knees will thank you.

2. Perfect your form. The next time you ride, take a look at the movement of your legs. Are your knees pointing in toward the bike? Are they pointing away from the bike? Both of these angles require sideways movements that irritate the cartilage in your knee socket. Focus on pedaling with your knees forward, so that your legs move straight up and down like pistons.

utilitycycling.com

3. Consider getting baskets or toe clips. Pedaling freely encourages one simple motion for your feet: down. Fastening your feet to the pedals with toe clips allows for a greater range of pedaling strength. Now you can move in a smooth, circular motion, pulling up as well as pushing down, and taking even more pressure off of your knees.

4. Decrease the weight in your bag. This follows from #2. Last summer, I rode my bike to and from work with a messenger bag that held my laptop, lunch, coffee, and clothes—among other things. The bag hung from my left shoulder. While I wasn't surprised by the pain that developed in my shoulder, it did take some time to recognize the connection to the pain in my left knee. When I rode with the bag, my body overcompensated for the weight by shifting my balance on the bike. Leaning just slightly to the left placed more pressure on my knee and altered the movements of my leg. Ride light, or put your load directly on your bike.

5. Adjust your seat height. A seat that's too low can also do damage to your knees. For an easy fix, visit your local bike shop and ask them to help you find the right fit. This method is not foolproof, however. I like Sheldon Brown's do-it-yourself approach:

"I suggest gradually raising your saddle, perhaps half an inch (1 cm) at a time. Each time you raise it, ride the bike. If it doesn't feel noticeably worse to ride, ride it for at least a couple of miles/km.

"If it had been too low before, your bike will feel lighter and faster with the new riding position. If raising the saddle improved things, raise it again, and ride some more. Keep doing this until the saddle is finally too high, then lower it just a bit."

Insatiably curious, like me? Check out SheldonBrown.com for an amazing encyclopedia of everything you wanted to know about cycling—and more.

Survival Monday: How to protect yourself against ticks

"Dan, there's a spider on your hat."

Dan threw his baseball cap to the ground, and Katie bent down to pick it up. There, on the underside of the brim, was a small black-and-red bug. It wasn't a spider. It was a deer tick.

For all my outdoor adventuring on the east coast, I never encountered a tick until I spent a week in Shenandoah National Park last summer. In one day, we brushed a lone-star tick off my hiking pants and pulled a deer tick off of ARA's shin. 

Now, on this St. Patrick's Day hike near Garrison, N.Y., my friends and I suddenly realized that we should be checking for ticks. In fact, we should do this after spending time in any wooded or grassy area, as ticks have been reported in many Manhattan and outer borough parks. 

Only deer ticks (picture) are known to carry the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, but lone-star (picture) and dog ticks (picture) can pose other health risks.

To protect yourself against ticks, the New York Department of Health recommends the following:

• Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.
• Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants.
• Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors and check again once indoors.
• Consider using insect repellent. Follow label directions.
• Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails. Avoid contacting vegetation.
• Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stone walls.
• Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening.
• Bathe or shower as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.
• Do a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day (of yourself, children, and pets), and remove ticks promptly.

If you find a tick, don't panic. Do familiarize yourself with the tips in the graphic at the top of this post.

Blogspiration: 5 Reasons to Go for a Walk

"Walking is life at its most immediate. The combination of people and places changes constantly and never repeats." Joseph Scher


That line stuck out to me while reading this New York Times "Opinionator" piece three years ago. The author is referring to the experience of walking on a crowded New York City sidewalk, but I think it describes small-town strolls or quiet hikes equally well. While cycling gives me the rush of moving fast, walking helps me feel rooted and connected.

So why should you go for a walk, right now? Use these five reasons to get on your feet and out the door:

1. Improve your mood. We've heard it from the experts for years—regular exercise can help relieve anxiety and stress. While you'll only get that "runner's high" from an intensive cardio workout, a brisk walk around the block can do wonders to relax your muscles, improve your energy level, and boost your confidence. 
2. Love your body. There are few things more satisfying than feeling a gentle ache in your muscles after a long city walk or a challenging outdoor hike. You're making yourself stronger and healthier, and that's something to be proud of.
3. See something new. I've discovered some of my favorite stores, cafés, and parks by taking a new path. If you need to escape your thoughts for a while, new sights can provide a good distraction. 
4. Take a break. Step away from that bad day at work, that fight with a loved one, or that horrendous case of writer's block. Walk it off, listening to music or taking in the sounds around you. I find that some of my best work comes after a long walk around New York City.
5. Go alone or with a friend. Connect with your friends, family, or partner. Relish your alone time by setting your own pace and path. Walking fits almost any situation.

Need a bit more convincing? Check out Every Body Walk, a "campaign to get America moving."

Blogspiration is a new meme hosted jointly by GrowingUp YA and saz101.