Thursday, November 1, 2012

DASH Diet: Broccoli Cheddar Bake (slightly modified)

I like the DASH Diet because of its sensibility. Because my husband has hypertension, it’s very important for us to eat sensible meals. However, because we loooove food that tastes good, it’s also important for us to eat yummy foods in moderation. We don’t obsess over being healthy, but we like to integrate healthiness into our meals as often as we can.

The DASH Diet is an interesting dietary concept. When I first heard about it, it was presented to me as a hypertension-friendly diet. When I attended the Five Day Comprehensive Diabetes and Management Program (for medical professionals) at the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute (an *EXCELLENT* program about diabetes management for medical professionals from all levels of patient care—outpatient, inpatient, home health, you name it… well worth the time and money you invest into it, if you’re looking for a great and useful CEU program to take), it was also mentioned as a great well-rounded dietary practice.

The Mayo Clinic has a DASH Diet recipe collection online that we love to peruse every once in awhile. The recipes are not only delicious: they’re easy and affordable to make, which means they make a great addition to any busy family’s arsenal of homemade meals.

One favorite is the broccoli cheddar bake. My parents love it so much that sometimes they leave the ingredients out on the kitchen table for me to see whenever we visit—their not-so-subtle way of suggesting I make it while I’m at their house (then again, they were never known for being subtle… haha!).

We modify it from time to time by adding cauliflower to the mix (and substituting it for half of the broccoli). We also tend to make it with more broccoli than called for.

Broccoli Cheddar Bake

Ingredients

  • 4 cups chopped fresh broccoli (we often do 1/2 broccoli and 1/2 cauliflower if you want to mix it up)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 1/2 cups egg substitute (or substitute 6 eggs)
  • 1 cup fat-free milk
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a baking dish with cooking spray.

In a nonstick skillet, combine the broccoli, onion and water. Saute over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Keep adding water to prevent the vegetables from drying out, but use as little water as possible. Drain and set aside when the broccoli is done.

In a bowl, combine the egg substitute, milk and 3/4 cup cheese. Add in the broccoli mixture and pepper. Stir to mix well.

Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Set the baking dish into a large pan filled with about 1 inch of water. Bake uncovered until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

2012.08.01 outside #photoadayaug

Outside @ Buccy's before a short but fun surf. :)

Friday, April 27, 2012

My (First) Nursing Apron... a study in progress :)

Being a nurse, it's always handy to have certain items on hand at work to minimize time and effort wasted on walking back and forth between a patient's room and [insert any room holding hospital or personal equipment here]. My pockets are almost always stuffed with several kinds of pens, alcohol swabs, saline flushes, tape, paper, and several other things a med surg nurse finds useful in her day-to-day activities.

This potentially leads to very full, messy pockets. Yuck. I hate rummaging through filled pockets in hopes that what I need is in my pockets at any given time. I hate even more walking back and forth to get things I should have on hand in my pocket.

Once upon a time, nurses wore aprons at work. Then came the advent of scrubs... which eventually brought us to the "apron" you can usually buy at a nursing uniform store. It's tiny, and it typically is worn on one side of the body.

Having been pregnant twice in the past three years, I can testify to the fact that it's very uncomfortable to hold an assymetrical/uneven amount of weight on either side of the body, especially when you have so many pounds of baby hanging out the front of you.

Add the itty bitty apron, and you find yourself with more uneven hip pain-- in my case, on the right hip. Yuck. Granted, it was a good practice in transferring from supine/side lying to sitting to standing from the bed so I could tell the patients that the methods we're giving them really do work... haha.

That brings me to the new thing I've been trialing: using a small half apron with multiple pockets for work as my new "nursing apron".

Check it out:


I'll have to post updates on this study soon. So far, so good... using a half apron has allowed me to store my items in a more organized manner. Added bonus: it prevents me from putting scrubs in the washer/dryer with pens in them, saving my family's clothes from unecessary ink blots. Haha ;)

Friday, April 13, 2012

Monday, March 26, 2012

Sunday, March 25, 2012

What a day!

Gotta say it was a pretty good day. ;)

Backtrack: Thurs, 22 March

We love our little local spot. :)

Monday, March 12, 2012

Squeeeeeee!

I almost cried when they closed the little purikura in Clairemont by the Tap Ex... But now there's a phone app that mimics the last part of the experience. Yes, it's barebones, and no, it's not as impulsively fun, but it's the closest thing I have these days, and I'll take it.

On another note, it's a shame the shop closed down. I wanted to do birth announcements, thank you cards, Christmas cards, and the like there (the machines are so much fun, and it's more affordable than getting professional photography done). Poopoo on this economy and its propensity to put all the little places I love out of business. :(

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Flashback: Creations from (civilian) Dorm Life

Once upon a time (during nursing school and after military life), I was an RA tasked with the all-important task of decorating my floor. I decided to have fun with it. Pretty much everything was made from scratch by hand with cardstock, wrapping paper, construction paper, pens, scissors, and (most important of all) my imagination. Haha!

It's amazing how much creativity can happen when you're single and have all the time in the world...

...but I wouldn't trade my mommyhood in for anything at all. Life's so much more meaningful now that it isn't all about me. ;)

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Beach excursion (sun, mar 4)



It was such a beautiful day that we couldn't help visiting our favorite little local beach spot. C loves the beach-- he goes into a zen state of calm when he runs his toys over the sand and makes ditches and mountains with them.

It's difficult to imagine living anywhere further inland than we already live (it's a good 5 minute drive to the beach on a not-so-busy day)... especially since my husband and I are surfers. In fact, a few hours after writing my uncle to inquire about jobs at the VA where he works, my heart sunk at the thought of living more inland. On that note, it's depressing that it's practically impossible for a veteran who has NO connections to current staff at our local VA to get a job there. *sigh*

Oh well... I like the hospital I work at now, and I work with a lot of great nurses. I especially love the older nurses on my floor. I love the mentorship they provide me, both as nurses and as mothers. I have always cherished the ability to have more mature and experienced women around me to give me guidance and advice when I needed it, especially at times that I (in my own stubbornness) didn't think I needed help at all.