Growing up, whenever a new neighbor moved onto our street, my mom always stopped by to welcome the new family to the neighborhood. She typically brought a basket of goodies with her – usually her famous apple chocolate chip cake.

However, when I lived in a huge apartment building in NYC with a few hundred other New Yorkers, I didn’t really expect to meet many neighbors, given the reputation of New Yorkers. And I didn’t. And that was ok. That was “normal” for New York.

I was a little surprised though, when I didn’t meet any neighbors in Cincinnati either. May be times have changed since I was a kid? May be it’s just me? I’m not sure. Either way, it’s ok. Hopefully we won’t be moving anytime soon and there’s plenty of time to meet the neighbors. I can say though, that having been the “new kid” a number of times in the last three years, I will always try my best to be the Welcoming Committee for any new neighbors that move into my ‘hood.

Anyway, the other day I noticed a bottle balloon flying in front of our next-door neighbor’s house so I decided to break the silence and introduce myself, say congratulations and drop off a plate of something tasty.

I had planned on making something nourishing, wholesome and nursing-friendly. But when I ran my idea by my fiancé he thought it might be a little too “adventurous” for people we’ve never met. He was probably right on some level, but I was still a little bummed.

So out came these chocolate cinnamon cookies instead. Yes, they are still tasty and made with real ingredients, but not as baby-weight or nursing-friendly as my original idea. Oh well. Still better than the prepackaged stuff at the grocery store. I hope the new parents enjoy them and that I have successfully broken the silence. That was the point after all.

Ingredients:

1 cup teff flour

1 cup almond flour

2 eggs

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sucanat

1/4 – 1/2 cup honey

1 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks (I like to chop up a 70% dark chocolate bar into big chunks)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Add wet ingredients (eggs, coconut milk) in small mixing bowl and use fork to mix well

Add dry ingredients, except chocolate chips, to medium mixing bowl and mix well

Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients – except chocolate chips

Use electric mixer to blend batter well

Use spoon to mix in chocolate chips

Use 2 spoons to scoop batter onto greased cookie sheets

Bake until cooked – about 20 to 25 minutes

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before moving to cooling rack

To switch things up this weekend I decided to purchase my weekly supply of local goodies at the Findlay Market yesterday instead of the usual Hyde Park Farmer’s Market. I love the HP market, but Ryan and I were in the neighborhood on Saturday morning and wanted to see what all the hype was about.

Although the market had several local vendors with delicious sustainable-grown produce, the extra 15 minutes in the car, difficulty parking and large crowds are not my ideal shopping experience. I found it stressful, even though I came home with some great stuff. I was also happy to recognize many of the vendors from my Sunday mornings at the Hyde Park Farmer’s Market.

So while I think it is absolutely wonderful that there is a growing support of local businesses here in Cincinnati, I prefer the smaller and more relaxing experience in Hyde Park on Sundays. But that’s just me. I don’t need 10 different vendors selling tomatoes at Findlay if all 3 at Hyde Park are equally priced and the same quality.

I guess part of moving to a new city is keeping an open mind and trying new things. Now I have an even stronger appreciation for the market in Hyde Park.

I have to admit that there were some great deals. Like these blueberries from Michigan – not super local, but more local than what Whole Foods sells from California. And you can’t beat the price – 1 pound for 6 bucks! I loaded up and will keep a stash in the freezer.

I also picked up a seedless watermelon – it was huge and was also 6 bucks. Without a doubt, it is the best one of the season so far.

I also had to stop and admire all of the beautiful flowers being sold at the market. Absolutely exquisite.

What do you like or dislike about your local Farmer’s Market? Anyone go to Findlay? May be I just caught it on a super crowded day and should give it another try? I’m still the “new girl” here so any recommendations are appreciated!

Making changes – big and small – to diet and lifestyle is tough. I’ll be the first to admit it.

It can be difficult for many reasons, but I think one of the most common is the potential impact a healthier way of living can have on said individual’s social life. Concerns of isolation, relapse and judgment are very real.

It took quite a few months for me to be comfortable in public with my dietary restrictions. I remember how guilty I felt asking my waiter about ingredients in a dish I wanted to order, or placing an order but with a bunch of substitutes so that by the end of the order the dish barely resembled the original item on the menu. Picture the famous restaurant scene from “When Harry Met Sally”, but worse. Yea, that was me. And I hated it. I went on dates and was so worried my date would think I “high maintenance” and had “food issues” so I ordered food that I knew was going to make me sick. Because the real me was easy going and orders a dish as-is off the menu. The real me wasn’t obsessed with weight or body image. This “other girl” wasn’t the real me.

A close friend of mine also had medical issues that required her to have somewhat similar dietary restrictions. She helped me feel more comfortable with eating in restaurants, talking about my dietary restrictions and most importantly, accepting my new reality. Thanks, Jules.

For many of you, my experience is extreme. I get that.

What I hear a lot from my clients, friends and family members is that they want to make a change but are worried about two things more than anything else; (1) the social implications and (2) the time it takes to prepare a healthy meal for themselves and their family.

My suggestion – ask your friends if they would be interested in a weekly recipe swap and/or alternate hosting a weeknight dinner each week. This way you get at least one night off of menu planning, preparing and cooking OR you’re just making double the amount you’d be making anyway. Your friends come over for dinner on the designated night or you go there. Agree ahead of time that dinner is casual, with a focus on eating whole nutrient-dense foods and catching-up with friends. There’s no need to pull out the fine china or prepare a three-course meal.

I am lucky enough to have friends like this in Cincinnati. We alternate one dinner each week. I get to try new recipes I might not have come up with on my own an so do they. Last night was my turn to host.

I kept things really simple – sautéed kale and onions, a stir-fry of quinoa, onions, peppers, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes and black beans with a ginger teriyaki sauce and baked patty pan squash.

I saw the patty pan squash at the farmer’s market earlier that week and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. It was the first time I’d even heard of a “patty pan squash”. The woman who sold it to me said it’s great in the oven with some butter and parmesan cheese.  Well, that wasn’t going to work well for my dinner guests or me so this is what I did instead.

Ingredients:

1 summer squash – cut into half inch slices

cumin – to taste

pepper – to taste

nutritional yeast – to taste

extra virgin olive oil – enough to lightly coat each side of the squash slices

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray or lightly coat olive oil on each slice of squash (both sides) and place onto bottom of baking dish. Squash may overlap slightly.

Sprinkle cumin and pepper.

Lightly coat with nutritional yeast.

Bake until slices are tender – about 15 minutes.

I was a little skeptical at first, since nutritional yeast doesn’t melt like cheese, but the reviews were very positive so I will definitely be making it again this summer.

So last night not only was I able to socialize, but I also had a healthy home cooked stress-free meal! Win, win all around.

Technology is a funny thing. I don’t remember how I ever lived without a cell phone, wireless internet or Skype. Growing up and learning to drive, I obviously drove around without the security blanket of a cell phone in my bag. I can honestly say that I never ran into an incident on the road where having a cell phone would have really changed the outcome. However, by today’s standard, the whole town would be gossiping if a parent allowed their teenager to drive on the “open road” without their cell phone. Man, I feel old.

My blackberry allows me to stay in touch when I’m on the go. Living far away from home, I am so grateful for Skype and the ability to see my friends and family face-to-face. I’ve even used Skype to give walking tours of my new home to my family and friends that haven’t been able to visit – not quite the same thing as being together in person, but it usually fills the void and makes me feel closer to them.

Technology makes life easier. Or does it?

There was a time when I felt obligated to respond to emails immediately and always answer incoming calls. It was exhausting!

And you know what else? I noticed that I was never completely engaged with what I was doing or who I was actually with because out of the corner of my eye I was constantly looking at my blackberry – ready to jump into action if it rang or made my personalized alert sound indicating that I had a new email or Facebook update. I was missing out on the present.

Over time I established boundaries between my technology gadgets and me. And it feels so liberating!

I have no problem leaving my phone in my bedroom while I am in the living room reading and unwinding at the end of a long day. Or putting my phone on silent when I’m having dinner with my fiance. Or ignoring the ringing sound of my phone when I’m studying or trying to get through a to-do list. If I answer, I get distracted, I lose my momentum and my productivity goes downhill. I don’t have time or energy to be that inefficient.

It’s not personal, I just need to stay focused and on track. For me, answering my phone does not let me do that. I promise to call you back when I’m taking a break from the books or finish whatever it is I am working on or leave whoever I am with.

Does this make me crazy, rude or selfish? I don’t think so. I think we have so many distractions in our culture today and we are constantly moving on to the next thing without taking a moment to appreciate whatever it is we are doing or who we are with in the present.

As far as I’m concerned, mobile phones are absolute genius. But they have also created a lot of gray areas surrounding the etiquette of how and when we communicate.

I’ve never been unreachable for the important stuff – like when my brother was rushed into emergency surgery. I don’t believe that a good friendship is defined by how many times you speak a day or week. I think quality, not quantity, is important. So overall my stress is lower, my focus and attention on my loved ones is stronger and my productivity is higher. I’d say creating boundaries has been a healthy change for me.

How do you balance being accessible remotely with staying on task, being engaged with who you’re physically with and keeping stress levels manageable? Do you have boundaries or guidelines you like to follow for phone calls and answering emails?

This past weekend I was in Maryland for a close friend’s wedding. It was a beautiful and memorable weekend – perfect weather, delicious food and the kind of music at the reception that keeps you moving on the dance floor. Despite the perfection of the entire weekend celebration, my favorite part was the time I got to spend with my camp friends. I’ve known these girls since the very beginning of my time at sleep-away camp – long before the days of SAT scores, job interviews, financial independence, proposals and weddings. Today we are scattered all over the country so it is very rare that the 6 of us are all under the same roof at the same time.

The wedding weekend in Maryland got me thinking a lot about relationships. They come in all different shapes and sizes – romantic, platonic, workplace, family, etc., but what they all have in common is that they all require work in order to exist. With a little (or probably a lot of) hard work, they feed and nourish us. Our relationships are the fuel we need to get us through the really shitty lows, help us celebrate the life changing highs, and keep us company through the mundane.

I am fortunate to have so many nourish relationships. Sure, sometimes they take more work than others, but at the end of the day, they are all totally worth it.

The weekend flew by and before we knew it Sunday afternoon had arrived and it was time to say good-bye. I’ve been home for about 40 hours and I still feel like I’m on a high. I’ve looked through my pictures countless times reliving the weekend through the images on the screen. I can’t wait to see them all again, although I’m not quite sure when that will be.

That’s the thing about my nourishing relationships – they do more than just make me smile, log minutes on my cell phone, and keep me boarding planes – they feed my soul and keep me feeling alive. They satisfy me in ways that paychecks, vacations, and jewelry can’t.

What are your most nourishing relationships? Do you have relationships in your life that are more draining than nourishing?

Ryan and I just hit our four-month anniversary as Cincinnati residents. I have to admit that the time has really flown and I am much happier here than I originally anticipated. It just goes to show you – some things are never what you expect them to be.

Since the farmer’s markets have opened for the season Ryan and I have fallen into a very comfortable pattern on Sunday mornings. We head over to the Hyde Park farmer’s market, which on a Sunday morning takes less than 10 minutes and usually arrive shortly after it opens. Although there is a good selection and wide variety of vendors, the market doesn’t take too long to walk through and by now we’re familiar with the general landscape and know which vendors we like to go to for each item on our list.

We’re home a little after 10 and whip up breakfast, using some of the local goodies we brought home in our reusable grocery bags.

Today we made omelets with eggs, garlic scapes and onions from the farmer’s markets. Organic red peppers were on sale last week at Kroger so we added that to the mix as well. Adding sautéed dark leafy greens on the side is a great and easy way to kick up the nutrient-density of any meal. Like most of our homemade meals, this breakfast is nothing fancy, but boy was it good. The flavor from the onion and garlic scapes really made the meal.

Do you have a Sunday morning ritual? How do you like to spend your Sundays?

I love to read for leisure, but to honest I have had limited “free time” lately to curl up with a book that isn’t a textbook. But really, who hasn’t been busy lately? I was grateful that when I emailed a handful of ladies in my new community asking if they would be interested in starting a book club, they were totally into it. We are all busy gals so we gave ourselves plenty of time to finish the first book (Bossypants by Tina Fey in case you were curious – hysterical and I highly recommend.) and our first meeting is tomorrow evening.

There are so many times that I finish a book and just want to talk about it with someone! I think it will be great to have this group to read books with – not only is it fun to gab after we’ve finished, but our differences will definitely introduce me to new books that I might not have opened on my own. The meetings are my deadlines – I have to finish the book before the scheduled meeting. Of course this isn’t exactly the same kind of deadline as a journalist at a newspaper, this book club is for fun after all, but being held accountable to the group is an effective way for me to stay on track and make sure that I am taking time for myself on a regular basis in order to finish the book according to our meeting schedule.

Accountability is essential in order to reach any goal – whether it’s finishing a book on time, losing weight, cooking more meals at home, or saving up for that big vacation. Just saying you’re going to do something in your mind makes it easy for your big plans to stay just like that – just as plans. They never materialize into action and results. When you are held accountable then you stay motivated and your plans turn into actions. This is exactly why I love health coaching – it’s effective! My clients are successful because I help them stay motivated and on track to reach their goals. When I started this post I wasn’t expecting to make a connection between book club and health coaching – I just wanted to share a recipe!

So back to book club – the other awesome thing is that everyone pitches in and brings something to eat or drink. I’m bringing a summer three bean salad. I can’t wait to see how the ladies like it!

Ingredients:

1.5 cups pinto beans, cooked or canned

1.5 cups chickpeas, cooked or canned

1.5 cups black beans, cooked or canned

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 large leaves kale, chopped

juice from 1 lemon

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1.5 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon mint, chopped

Directions:

Combine beans and onion in medium bowl.

Steam kale. This should only take a few minutes. The kale is done as soon as it begins to wilt.

Combine lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, honey and mint in small bowl and mix well.

Add kale to beans and onions.

Pour sauce over beans and onions and mix well.

Serve chilled or at room temperature. OR if you have extra time, you can put the bowl in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the flavors marinade, drain any extra fluid and serve. I made this dish a day in advance, let it sit in the refrigerator over night. Just before book club I pulled it out, drained the extra fluid and put it in a serving bowl. I think it tasted even better then the day I made it.

In mid-April the farmer’s markets opened in Asheville, NC. In case you hadn’t heard, Asheville is notorious for their cuisines and sustainable lifestyle. Needless to say, I was spoiled rotten in the food department when I lived there for two and a half years. As much as I love Cincinnati and have been enjoying this new adventure, I miss the food in Asheville – the grocery stores, restaurants and farmer’s markets…unbelievable and so affordable! Talk about a win-win!

Anyways, imagine my surprise when I learned that the farmer’s market closest to my new home wasn’t scheduled to open until mid June! Spring is the best season to eat seasonally, in my opinion anyway, so I am thrilled that the market is finally open.

A trip to the Hyde Park Farmer’s Market makes for a really wonderful Sunday morning. From speaking to the vendors I learned that this is the first year the market is in the Hyde Park square – previously the market took place in a nearby parking lot. So it’s a good sign that this market is growing. Yea Cincinnati!

The market is small enough that you can walk through it fairly quickly, but large enough that you have enough options of local vegetables. There are a few booths for baked goods, one booth for coffee, another booth for crepes and waffles, kumbucha and other fermented goodies, and lots of vegetables.

At the market I was introduced to garlic scapes, which are part of garlic plants. Garlic grows underground and the bulb starts out soft. When it gets harder, this is the garlic that we recognize in the grocery stores. A shoot pokes through the ground, which is long, green, thin and curls. As growth continues, the scape hardens and transforms from green to the white color of a garlic peel. Here is some more information if you are curious.

The flavor is incredible. It’s not as sharp as garlic, and has a softer but richer garlic flavor. We cut them up and put them in a stir-fry with other local veggies from the market and it was delicious. The farmer had a sample of garlic scapes on display with sautéed onions, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which I imagine tasted pretty awesome.

If you’ve tried this delicious vegetable before and know what I’m talking about, I would love to hear about your experience.

Here are some other goodies that we got at the farmers market. Do you see the dirt on the lettuce and how different the eggs look from what you find in your grocery store?

Shopping for food in a farmer’s market is such a different experience from the grocery store. I love farmer’s markets for many reasons, but one of the most important reasons is that I have learned how to reconnect with my food – I am reminded of how many hands are involved in this process and I am grateful.

Some days call for dining out. Typically, most of my meals are homemade, but when my mom drove 11 hours from my hometown in New York all the way down to Asheville, I thought it would be fun to introduce her to the local bakery around the corner from my house.

With an emphasis on locally grown produce and organic products, the West End Bakery and Café is hardly your traditional bakery. For starters, there are plenty of options for customers avoiding gluten or dairy. Everything is made from scratch and made with the freshest ingredients available.

This local neighborhood spot is perfect for brunch with friends or warming up with a cup of tea and a good book. The bakery has an unpretentious and very relaxed vibe, just like the rest of West Asheville! The staff is friendly and very helpful.

So next time your in West Asheville, check out the local bakery at 757 Haywood Avenue. There is a lot to choose from!

We picked up a gluten free blueberry muffin, a spelt blueberry and almond muffin and a local favorite (and their specialty) – cinnamon buns!

It’s the holiday season and I want to thank all of my readers for your loyalty, so for my first time ever, I am giving away a free goodie to one lucky reader (US only, sorry!). By leaving a comment on this post you will automatically be entered to win.

So what am I giving away? The Earthbound Cook: 250 Recipes for Delicious Food and a Healthy Planet by Myra Goodman. As you may have read in my previous posts, I am making a conscious effort to buy and eat local products as much as possible and make other changes to my lifestyle that are more green and environmentally friendly. Not only is it important for our health, but also for the environment. This cookbook with a conscious is an excellent introduction into the world of responsible eating.

The Earthbound Cook contains 250 creative and appetizing recipes (in full color) and valuable information on how to make greener and smarter choices. Information on topics like eco-friendly meat choices, decoding labels on poultry and eggs, water conservation and reducing packaging and container waste. Important stuff! There are plenty of vegetarian recipes too. This is more than just a cookbook, it’s an educational tool on how to make better choices as a conscious consumer.

You can earn extra entries by doing any or all of the following, but be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry to make sure it counts!

1. Blog about this giveaway and link back to this page on your blog. Comment below with the link.

2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about the giveaway with a link back to this page. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling me that you did.

3. Stumble this post and tell me that you did.

4. Sign up for my newsletter.

5. Become a fan of Feed Your Roots on Facebook.

6. Leave comments on other Feed Your Roots posts or the Feed Your Roots Facebook page (maximum 5 comments).

7. If you have a blog, add Feed Your Roots to your Blog list (earn 5 extra entries!).

The more entries you make the greater your chance of winning! Contest ends December 31, 2010, and I will announce the winner shortly after!

For those of you linking back to this page the url is: http://www.peninabareket.com/feedyourrroots/2010/12/first-ever-giveaway/