Today's interview at Noodles went exceptionally well. The general manager informed me that the district manager came in after I dropped by yesterday and wanted to hire me on the spot just for having an amazing résumé. I'll have to admit, I did a great job organizing and writing a cover letter and contemporary résumé. I also attached a letter of recommendation that my previous manager from Circuit City wrote for me... and put it all in a special résumé folder. Anyway, the GM was impressed with me and wants to hire me as the assistant manager. I have a second interview with the district manager later this week. If all goes well, I will have to travel to Denver a few times a week for about 3 months for training. I could start as a shift leader and work my way up, but she wants me to train at the district's training store to speed up the process. I'm happy because they're willing to work around my current job at Yankee Candle so I don't have to leave. I'm also happy that I'll be working 40-50 hours a week and making a descent salary... and my uniform shirt will say "Noodles" on it. How freaking cool is that?
Anyway, today was my 2nd day of the raw eating diet. This morning didn't start out too well, as I woke up with noro-like symptoms (probably just from all of the crazy organic herbs I've been taking), but it wore off in a couple of hours and I was able to eat a salad for lunch. I've also been making fruit smoothies with this amazing blender that my awesome friends, Lynn and Megan got Adam and I for a wedding gift. Last night, I made a green smoothie with spinach, banana, apple, orange and ice (full recipe later this week). I used 2 cups of spinach in a 16 oz portion and you couldn't even taste it. Today, I made a smoothie with fresh pineapple, frozen banana and canned coconut milk. I don't think I'm supposed to have coconut milk, but it is a fruit and if I only eat leaves for 2 weeks, I might go insane. Especially cooking for Adam everyday. The hardest part is not knowing what I'm serving him tastes like. I rarely use recipes when cooking, I just taste as I go. He hasn't complained about anything so far, so I'm good.
Thanks for reading, everyone! I know quite a few people read my blog because of the view counter, but not many are subscribed. So if you have a gmail account, you should subscribe! Wish me luck on my second interview!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Bean Sprouts!
Hello all. Today was my first day on the raw diet. Not too bad. Because I had the day off, there wasn't a whole lot to keep me distracted from being hungry. Cooking every meal for Adam didn't help, especially the bacon, grits and eggs this morning. However, I was a good girl and started the day off with some fresh fruit, was too busy to eat lunch, then had a big salad for dinner.
I spent the afternoon driving around applying for jobs. I know I already have a job, but I'm not making enough money or getting enough hours. So, I'm getting a second job. I applied to be the assistant general manager at a restaurant here called Noodles. I have an interview tomorrow with the manager, hopefully it goes well. It looks like a fun restaurant to be a part of. I also applied for the graveyard shift at Planet Fitness. I saw an ad on Craigs List for the position today, so I dropped off my resume. The manager will be back in on Monday, so hopefully I can catch her. That would be perfect for me because it wouldn't effect my hours at Yankee Candle and it would give me a free gym membership. We'll see what happens.
Anyway, I promised you directions on how to make your own bean sprouts. Sprouting is super easy, I promise. I always use green lentils when making homemade bean sprouts. Lentils help cleanse and stimulate the kidneys and adrenal system, strengthen the heart and circulation and increase energy and vitality. When lentils are sprouted, their nutrients become more easily digestible, and after just 3-4 days of sprouting, their soluble fiber, which helps lower LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar and regulate insulin levels, increases 300 percent!
I'm lucky enough to have a farmers market right down the road from our apartment, so whenever I stop by, I always dig into the bulk food section. I get about a pound of whole organic green lentils for $1.99 and that makes about 4 to 5 jars packed full of bean sprouts. If you don't shop at a farmers market, check the organic section at your local grocery store. It is very important that you get whole lentils though.
What you'll need:
- Large Mason jar (about 24 ounces)
-Cheese cloth
-tight rubber bands (I used a thick hair tie, see below)
-1/2 cup of organic WHOLE (not split or dahl) lentils
1. First step is to rinse your dry beans (1/2 cup) thoroughly and soak them in a large bowl over night (8-12 hours). Be sure to only use about half a cup of dry beans, you need a lot of room in your jar to allow your beans to sprout. After soaking them over night, they'll be nice and plump in the morning.
2. On day 2, rinse your beans again and pour them into the mason jar. Place enough cheese cloth over the jar to allow you to tie rubber bands around the opening. This cheese cloth will allow you to rinse your beans without having to pour them out every time. Once your cheese cloth is secure, rinse them again and give them a good shake to get all of the water out. You don't want a puddle of water at the bottom of your jar, it will make your beans slimy (If it does happen, though, just rinse and shake them until all of the slime is out). Set your jar in a window or just on the counter. I don't have a window in my kitchen, so my sprouts never get any sunlight. They turn out just fine.
(This isn't what day 2 is going to look like, it's just an example of how the cheese cloth is supposed to cover the jar.)
3. On days 3-6 rinse your beans through the cheesecloth 2- 3 times per day. You want your beans to remain moist, but remember to shake the excess water out so you don't get slimy sprouts. This is what my day 3 looks like:
You'll see the the beans splitting and little white tails start to poke out around day 3. You know they're ready when you see a little green leaf bloom from the tail (like in the first bean sprout photo I posted above). When they're finished sprouting, they're going to be super packed into that mason jar. I just shove a pair of tongs down into the jar and pull out what I can. I usually leave them in the jar so that I can rinse them easily. I also put some in little sandwich bags and give to people at work because 1/2 a cup makes so many. They're amazing on sandwiches, salads, in hummus, soup, stir fry or just by themselves. My cat loves to play with them when I accidentally drop them on the floor. He's a little turd most of the time, but I love him.
Enjoy your sprouts and have a great weekend!
I spent the afternoon driving around applying for jobs. I know I already have a job, but I'm not making enough money or getting enough hours. So, I'm getting a second job. I applied to be the assistant general manager at a restaurant here called Noodles. I have an interview tomorrow with the manager, hopefully it goes well. It looks like a fun restaurant to be a part of. I also applied for the graveyard shift at Planet Fitness. I saw an ad on Craigs List for the position today, so I dropped off my resume. The manager will be back in on Monday, so hopefully I can catch her. That would be perfect for me because it wouldn't effect my hours at Yankee Candle and it would give me a free gym membership. We'll see what happens.
Anyway, I promised you directions on how to make your own bean sprouts. Sprouting is super easy, I promise. I always use green lentils when making homemade bean sprouts. Lentils help cleanse and stimulate the kidneys and adrenal system, strengthen the heart and circulation and increase energy and vitality. When lentils are sprouted, their nutrients become more easily digestible, and after just 3-4 days of sprouting, their soluble fiber, which helps lower LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar and regulate insulin levels, increases 300 percent!
I'm lucky enough to have a farmers market right down the road from our apartment, so whenever I stop by, I always dig into the bulk food section. I get about a pound of whole organic green lentils for $1.99 and that makes about 4 to 5 jars packed full of bean sprouts. If you don't shop at a farmers market, check the organic section at your local grocery store. It is very important that you get whole lentils though.
What you'll need:
- Large Mason jar (about 24 ounces)
-Cheese cloth
-tight rubber bands (I used a thick hair tie, see below)
-1/2 cup of organic WHOLE (not split or dahl) lentils
1. First step is to rinse your dry beans (1/2 cup) thoroughly and soak them in a large bowl over night (8-12 hours). Be sure to only use about half a cup of dry beans, you need a lot of room in your jar to allow your beans to sprout. After soaking them over night, they'll be nice and plump in the morning.
2. On day 2, rinse your beans again and pour them into the mason jar. Place enough cheese cloth over the jar to allow you to tie rubber bands around the opening. This cheese cloth will allow you to rinse your beans without having to pour them out every time. Once your cheese cloth is secure, rinse them again and give them a good shake to get all of the water out. You don't want a puddle of water at the bottom of your jar, it will make your beans slimy (If it does happen, though, just rinse and shake them until all of the slime is out). Set your jar in a window or just on the counter. I don't have a window in my kitchen, so my sprouts never get any sunlight. They turn out just fine.
3. On days 3-6 rinse your beans through the cheesecloth 2- 3 times per day. You want your beans to remain moist, but remember to shake the excess water out so you don't get slimy sprouts. This is what my day 3 looks like:
You'll see the the beans splitting and little white tails start to poke out around day 3. You know they're ready when you see a little green leaf bloom from the tail (like in the first bean sprout photo I posted above). When they're finished sprouting, they're going to be super packed into that mason jar. I just shove a pair of tongs down into the jar and pull out what I can. I usually leave them in the jar so that I can rinse them easily. I also put some in little sandwich bags and give to people at work because 1/2 a cup makes so many. They're amazing on sandwiches, salads, in hummus, soup, stir fry or just by themselves. My cat loves to play with them when I accidentally drop them on the floor. He's a little turd most of the time, but I love him.
Enjoy your sprouts and have a great weekend!
Friday, January 13, 2012
90 Day Challenge
As you might know from my previous blog entries, one of the things on my priority list is getting into shape. I purchased and received Metamorphosis by Tracy Anderson and my 90 day challenge will begin tomorrow. These 90 days will not only be filled with workouts, but also extreme dieting. Tomorrow, I will start my 2 week total body cleanse by eating only raw foods and taking organic herbal pills. This raw food thing is probably going to be the hardest part, but having a great goal and support from my wonderful husband will get me through it all. Yesterday after work, I stopped by the local farmers market to pick up items for my raw diet and this morning, I prepared all of it by washing and chopping to make things easier. I got organic [raw] sunflower seeds, mixed nuts, green lentils for making bean sprouts [directions to make your own sprouts will be in tomorrow's post!], spinach, romaine, green bell peppers, cauliflower, tomatoes, avocados, oranges, bananas, apples, grapes, pineapples, blackberries, nectarines and raspberries. I also boiled a dozen eggs to make breakfast on the go a bit easier. I know the boiled eggs aren't raw, but they're not processed, so I guess it's okay. No dairy, no meat, no cooked food, no caffeine... this will be a true challenge. Until tomorrow...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Only 11 Days Late...
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm so glad 2011 is finally over. A lot of great memories, but a lot of bad ones too. Let's see... In 2011, I moved four times, was a chef at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, got married at the most famous dog race in the world [Iditarod] to my best friend in the world, sent him off to the Army and didn't see him for a total of 7 months [except for a week in July], worked my second year on the train as a tour sales representative and chef, gave over 250 speeches in 5 months, became vegetarian for 4 months, flew over Denali State Park in a helicopter, flew around the tallest mountain in North America in a fixed-wing airplane, kayaked Prince William Sound, hiked Flat Top mountain, touched the North Pole, learned more about Alaska than I know about the state I'm originally from, pet a moose, saw hundreds of wild animals, fell down a set of stairs... twice, stood at the front of the locomotive going over Hurricane Gulch [highest bridge on the Alaska Railroad], saw the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) in Fairbanks, went halibut fishing on a charter in Seward, saw humpback whales breech, survived my first winter driving in the snow with no accidents, shook hands with a real biker gang, made perfect pancakes going 65 mph on a train, lost a majority of my friends due to the drama of living with 13 people, felt true hatred for the first time, turned 21 [which wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be], got my 5th tattoo, met the mayor of Ferry, became a brunette, went to 5 different zoos, drove the Alcan Highway for the second time, almost hit a wood bison, moved into my first apartment with no roommates except for my husband, got a management position at one of my favorite stores, got licked in the face by a giraffe, adopted a cat from the Humane Society and traveled over 41,000 miles [yeah, fourty-one thousand miles] between working on the train, camping/fishing trips, going to Kentucky for Adam's graduation and moving from Alaska to Colorado.
Now, it's time for the next chapter (and a new scrapbook)...
Now, it's time for the next chapter (and a new scrapbook)...
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