lemon.

nutritionista:

I was searching for casserole recipes (the soup alternative to make-ahead winter meals!), when I came across this yum-inducing recipe. Check it out and make it soon! I know I will.

You’ll need:

• 1 3-pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 15-ounce container ricotta
• 1 large egg
• 4 cups baby spinach, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 cups grated mozzarella (1/2 pound)

Make it:

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Place the squash on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle the cut sides with the oil, place cut-side down, and roast until tender, 40 to 50 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, spinach, garlic, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper.
3. With a fork, gently scrape out the strands of flesh and add to the ricotta mixture. Mix gently to combine.
4. Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish, sprinkle with the mozzarella, and bake until browned and bubbling, 18 to 22 minutes.

(via)

Yes please.

fullcredit:

I have to say, you guys, that I have a really big problem with the fact that Animal Planet airs their annual Puppy Bowl at the same time as the Super Bowl. I get why Animal Planet does this; Animal Planet executives wanted to create an adorable, popular, and, most importantly, profitable alternative to the Super Bowl, for that ever so important marketing group known as “people who don’t watch football.” (By “people who don’t watch football,” I imagine that they were probably thinking of “women who don’t watch football,” but that’s not really important to my complaint. I mean, it’s ANNOYING, but not important.) But in making this decision, Animal Planet is assuming that the people who would want to watch a group of cute puppies do tricks and race and all sorts of adorable shit during a several hour long competition are not the same group of people who want to watch a championship football game. I think that this assumption is MAJORLY flawed, given not just my own proclivities but those held by many football fans across the country.  

I mean, look at them.

They’re puppies.

PUPPIES.

Who DOESN’T want to watch puppies? The Dude is not particularly a dog person, but even he loves looking at and playing with puppies. You can’t NOT love puppies. It’s inhuman. It’s amoral. It’s UN-AMERICAN. 

So who says that loving puppies and loving the National Football League are mutually exclusive? Lots of people enjoy both puppies and football, and would watch programs dedicated to both if they were available. For example, guess how many football fans hate Michael Vick? I conducted a highly scientific study and found out that the answer is: a lot of them!* And not just because he plays for the morally corrupt group of savages known as the Philadelphia Eagles,** but ALSO and potentially MORE SO because he ran a dog fighting ring! Where he did a lot of really terrible things to pit bulls! I mean, people hate him so much, they sometimes compare him to Ben Roethlisberger as two football players who are also criminals. But Ben Roethlisberger is not an animal abuser.*** Instead, he’s a rapist!**** Of women! Like, of human women! As reprehensible and disgusting as dogfighting is, it is DECIDEDLY NOT the same thing as raping a person. But tons of football fans hate Michael Vick for engaging in dogfighting SO MUCH that they think of him in the same way as they do a man who RAPED people.***** 

So CLEARLY Animal Planet is missing out on a huge chunk of advertising revenue by airing the Puppy Bowl during the Super Bowl. In fact, they should probably air it during halftime, or during the commercials of the Superbowl. Remember the Bud Bowl? Do you remember how awesome that was? I sure do. It was perfect, and I bet it would still be on the air if not for that pesky little making-cartoon-characters-that-look-like-alcoholic-beverages-that-appeal-to-children thing. So why not replace the Budweiser QB with an adorable Golden Retriever puppy? THE PUPPY BOWL SHOULD BE THE NEW BUD BOWL. Do you hear me, Animal Planet? This is television GENIUS right here!******  

In sum, I think that what the American people really want is not an attempt of distinguishing puppy lovers from football lovers, as such a designation cannot actually be made. But instead, we should create SYNERGY between puppy and football fans. We should be united as one football AND puppy loving nation. With liberty and dog tricks for all.  

*This study involved me emailing four of my coworkers whom I already knew likeboth football and dogs. I’m a lawyer. I manipulate evidence in such a way so that it supports my conclusion. THAT’S WHAT I DO.  

**To all of the Eagles fans that I’m friends with: I stand by it. 

***Or so we have been led to believe.

****”Allegedly”

*****Ugh, god damn it. “ALLEGEDLY”

******Or, you know, you could always air it during the Pro Bowl. No one watches that shit. 

nyminute:

According to Real Simple Magazine, the following are 30 super-foods to incorporate into your diet.

1. almonds
2. avocados
3. barley
4. black beans
5. blueberries
6. broccoli
7. bulgur
8. chard
9. chicken breasts
10. edamame
11. eggs
12. extra virgin olive oil
13. kale
14. kidney beans
15. kiwi
16. lentils
17. mushrooms
18. oatmeal
19. oranges
20. peanut and almond butters
21. pumpkin (good news, tumblr!)
22. quinoa
23. sardines
24. skim milk
25. spinach
26. sweet potatoes
27. walnuts
28. whole-grain pasta
29. wild salmon
30. yogurt (nonfat Greek)

Servicey and superb! Just like Jenny. :)

Fair… but I don’t get them every time! (And yes, I climb the stairs every time.)

block

Grrreat. Thanks!

One of my favorite things about being a “blogger” (air quotes because, really, I mostly reblog stuff and sometimes post cute pictures of puppies) is how friends of mine use it as a means of keeping up on my life and occasionally email me in response to something I’ve written.

College bestie Katy is the best about this. She’ll catch up weekly (between her very busy life as a med student) and send me emails or leave me questions commenting on what I’ve posted - articles I’ve forgotten, pictures, advice on my consistent health issues. Katy and I don’t really have a phone relationship (talking on the phone is so passe), so this is a good way for us to keep in touch. I only wish I had a way to know what’s going on in her life (AHEM)…

On the other end of the spectrum is Matt. Matt and I used to be work neighbors and he was a frequent feature on my tumblr. Since we’re apart a little more, he occasionally emails me about things he sees here, like today:

Subject: Sorry you’re making Aliyah

That’s the term when Jewish people go to Israel - it’s a mitzvah. Anyway, they don’t make cards for “Sorry your company is sending you to the Middle East” so you’re getting only an email. I see from your blog that you’re doing the following:- Ripping on [trapeze friend]- Buying lingerieBoth are good. Anyway Hi. 

I feel loved. AND he used the right spelling for your/you’re!!
(And yes, I am going back to Israel. Next week.)

One of my favorite things about being a “blogger” (air quotes because, really, I mostly reblog stuff and sometimes post cute pictures of puppies) is how friends of mine use it as a means of keeping up on my life and occasionally email me in response to something I’ve written.

College bestie Katy is the best about this. She’ll catch up weekly (between her very busy life as a med student) and send me emails or leave me questions commenting on what I’ve posted - articles I’ve forgotten, pictures, advice on my consistent health issues. Katy and I don’t really have a phone relationship (talking on the phone is so passe), so this is a good way for us to keep in touch. I only wish I had a way to know what’s going on in her life (AHEM)…

On the other end of the spectrum is Matt. Matt and I used to be work neighbors and he was a frequent feature on my tumblr. Since we’re apart a little more, he occasionally emails me about things he sees here, like today:

Subject: Sorry you’re making Aliyah

That’s the term when Jewish people go to Israel - it’s a mitzvah. Anyway, they don’t make cards for “Sorry your company is sending you to the Middle East” so you’re getting only an email. I see from your blog that you’re doing the following:- Ripping on [trapeze friend]- Buying lingerieBoth are good. Anyway Hi. 

I feel loved. AND he used the right spelling for your/you’re!!
(And yes, I am going back to Israel. Next week.)

…all for your advice, encouragement, and thoughts on my running conundrum. I really appreciate them and promise to keep you all updated on occasion. Already, this one and I are contemplating signing up for a 5k!

So tumblr, something that I haven’t been telling you is that in December, I downloaded the highly acclaimed “Couch to 5k” app on my Droid. And eventually, I actually got up the nerve to.. use it.

Sometimes I don’t feel like I can tell you everything because you’ll judge me for not being able to run a 5k without dying right now. I also can’t speak French; so feel free to unfollow.

(Actually, that’s something I feel about most people in my life. Sometimes people are judgey. I mean, also in December, I went with two friends to trapeze school. Afterwards, we went to a bar (natch) and I was talking about my Couch to 5k thingy and the friend who was too scared to jump off the platform and had to be coaxed by all of the trapeze school employees made fun of it. Like, laughed in my face about downloading such an app. I was like, “what. ever. At least I could jump off the platform.” Small victories, right?)

Anyhow, the point is we all have something we hate/suck at/may never like and running is [one of] mine. Actually, all forms of exercise pretty much fall into that. I used to not hate yoga till it started giving me horrible migraines. But now the only form of exercise I at all enjoy is disguised as athletic competition. It’s like when you try to get kids to eat vegetables by smothering them in cheese. But healthier. And while I normally wouldn’t care and would continue to play football once a week and call that plus walking my “exercise,” this whole climbing Mount Rainier thingy makes me nervous and I figure if I have 7.5 months (ahh!), I should probably use them to get in better shape, no?

So before I go too long on y’all, there is a question in this randomness. See, I’m not HATING Couch to 5k, mostly cause there are TVs on the treadmill, but anyway I am occasionally having an issue with side cramping. As in I sometimes (not always! wahoo!) get major cramps in my righthand side. I googled this and came to no real conclusion and so I turn to you, runners and geniuses. Any idea what causes this? Anything I can do about them (other than never run again, cause I’ve thought of that one, kthanks)? Help?

Y’all, today on RueLaLa is honestly one of the best sales I’ve seen, even though it’s a little weird to buy lingerie online: Elle MacPherson Intimates. Seriously - her stuff is suuuper cute and (only on RueLaLa) affordable! Get thee an invite and shop away!