Week 8: Catch up with friends

Guys, I'm just gonna say it: I have the BEST family and friends.

Yup, it's true. You can argue with me and try to convince me that yours are better, but I'll always know the truth. Mine win, hands down, every day of the week. As evidence, here's exhibit A:

By the time I arrived at my house in Arizona at the end of my cross-country road trip with Elle, I already had a huge stack of mail waiting to greet me. I decided to put some of my cards on display, so I turned the curtain rod into a clothesline and hung up all of my mail. Well, not even 5 weeks in, it was full! I've already had to start switching out old cards for new ones because I ran out of hooks. I feel so very loved.

...Which is totally undeserved, at least in this case. How many of these cards had I answered at the start of week 8? A big fat zero. To make matters worse better, I had a birthday in week 7 of this year and got tons of amazing gifts that I needed to write thank-you notes for! The need to write letters was getting dire, and I decided that week 8 would be dedicated to writing letters, chatting on the phone, and generally being a better communicator than I have been since my move to Phoenix.

It's crazy to me that I even needed to make this a mini-resolution. I absolutely love writing letters. I have an unhealthy obsession with paper products and a hugely sentimental appreciation for the written word. When I consider all of the normal, everyday things that have fallen by the wayside in the last few months, I realize that adjusting to a new job, a new city, and new friends has taken a lot more energy than I thought it would. I wanted to get back into a routine and do some things that were comforting and gave me a sense of stability. Writing letters was perfect. It would be enjoyable, calming, and make me feel connected to the people that I miss being with every day.

Photo via

So, did you do it? Yes! As soon as I could! I studied all day on the first day of week 8, and when I was burnt out on that, I sat down with some stationery and a pen and got busy. I wrote a total of 8 letters*, which I like to think of as one for each week of this year that has passed. Super success!

*And if I haven't written you back yet, I definitely will soon - it was such a nice way to spend my Sunday evening and I'm hoping that I can follow in Nutritionella's shoes and participate in Snail Mail Sunday every week!

Week 7: Support local agriculture

One thing that I miss about North Carolina is the food culture. At least in the Research Triangle, where I lived, it seems like everyone is into food - eating it, growing it, buying it locally, cooking it, taking pictures of it, writing about it, and talking about it. I frequented the Durham Farmers' Market myself, but there are plenty of great markets in the area. Carrboro's market is famous all around the country, and Raleigh's State Farmers' Market is open every single day.

Photo via

Although I've always loved farmers' markets for the bountiful fresh produce, the connection with my growers, the distance from farm to fork, and the ability to ask questions about how the food was produced, they became even more important to me this past fall. For starters, I had a kick-ass internship with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Health Bucks program, which aims to help low-income NYC residents purchase fresh fruits and vegetables with $2 coupons that can be used at every one of the 130+ farmers' markets within the 5 boroughs. Working for this program was such a wonderful experience and gave me a much deeper appreciation for the people who produce our food. A second reason for my increased interest in local produce is the result of this book, which M picked up for me on a whim while she was visiting me in New York:

Photo via

Move over, Michael Pollan: this might be the best book that I have ever read about food production and the many ways that it affects our global economy, our culture, and our health. Raj Patel takes an in-depth look at the ripples produced by the global food system and how they affect much, much more than even I ever realized - and I think about this stuff a lot. Highly recommended reading, if you're into that sort of thing.

Anyway, the point of all this is to say that ever since I've been in Phoenix, I've been wanting to find some great local produce. Because the weather is so beautiful for so much of the year, and because I know that there is farmland just outside of the city, I figured that there must be at least one absolutely amazing farmers' market here to frequent. I decided that my goal for week 7 would be to find a farmers' market that I love.

So, did you do it? Sigh... no. I tried one here in town, and there were only TWO stalls of fresh fruits and vegetables. There were at least as many - maybe more - hawking dog treats, for Pete's sake! I should say that the two produce stalls there did have a lot to offer, but I think I've been spoiled by my experiences in North Carolina and New York, and I was pretty unimpressed. I went hiking on Saturday with a new friend here, and she said the same thing about the farmers' market she had visited the previous weekend. What's up with this, Phoenicians? Any recommendations?

To end on a happy note, here's the view from my hike up South Mountain!

Couldn't resist

My sister K posted this on Facebook via Lululemon, and I was instantly in love.

Happy Monday, y'all!

Week 6: Study

Remember my first post, where I talked about how I had just finished graduate school? What I didn't mention in that post is that there is one final academic hurdle to go. Pretty soon, I'll be sitting for the Registered Dietitian (RD) exam, a beast of a test that I have to pass in order to call myself a dietitian. I think that I'm one of the last in my class to take the exam, what with the minor interruption of moving across the country and starting work while most of my classmates were studying. My job requires me to have the certification within 6 months of my start date, but I definitely don't want to wait that long. The more time that goes by, the harder it will be to take the test. I just want to get it over with so that I can focus on my new, wonderful career!

Obviously, the goal for week 6 was to study for my RD exam. I got the test materials that it seems like most of my classmates have been using, the Jean Inman CDs and study guide. (As an aside, let me just say that dropping $375 on study materials from a website that looks like this was a tad bit disconcerting to me at first...) Ms. Inman covers the four domains of dietetics practice on 7 CDs, along with a printed manual of the information. This little baby will be my best friend for the next few weeks.

So, did you do it? Well, kind of. I got some studying done and then came down with what must have been the flu. I was out of commission for a few days and unable to do much of anything. But rest easy, dear readers - I am mostly recovered, and studying is back in full swing!

Week 5: Eat well

I learned a very important lesson in my first week at work, which is that 10 hour days don't leave a lot of time for working out, cooking, or almost anything else. I also discovered that a 30 minute lunch break means that if I want anything even remotely healthy, I'm going to have to bring it myself. In my first week, I found myself scrounging for things to take to lunch because I hadn't planned ahead for the week and didn't have the energy to prepare great meals after work. I vowed that week 2 of my new job would not be a repeat of week 1. Instead, I would cook on the weekend and have a bunch of food ready to go for my lunches throughout the week!

On Sunday afternoon, I got busy and prepared four great dishes. One was a green-packed stir-fry (recipe here) from Heidi Swanson's awesome cookbook Super Natural Cooking. This cookbook is seriously amazing. Everything is healthy, relatively easy, and completely delicious. As an added bonus, Swanson is an accomplished photographer, so the pictures of the food are drool-worthy to say the least. This stir-fry was definitely a winner, and I will be making it again (and again, and again). Also from this cookbook, I made a new granola recipe. I love granola in the morning, and I think that homemade is always better than store-bought. I have a tried-and true recipe, but I figured I'd try a new one. This recipe was packed with awesome stuff like coconut and macadamia nuts, but I think next time I make it, I'll dial back the sweetness by a lot.

For my next few recipes, I turned to a new cookbook that M got me for Christmas. This one is called Vegan Eats World and it is by one of the authors of Veganomicon, one of my favorite cookbooks. (FYI, I'm not vegan, but I do enjoy a meal full of veggies!) I tried the brown basmati biryani and also whipped up the Coconut Black-Eyed Pea Curry (Lobia). The rice was good but a little dry - next time, I'll add some veggie stock while it's cooking. The Lobia was utterly delicious. It was quite spicy, but I think I liked it that way. If you don't like spice, cut the cayenne back by about half. (Recipe here.)

Having these things ready to go made a huge difference in how well I ate this week. Hopefully this is one resolution I can keep up with all year!