Interview with Coleen

Coleen was so much fun to talk to! She had tons of great ideas (seriously, green eggs!!) and I'm so excited to have her interview posted today. Coleen is opening her own preschool this fall--you can tell by her video that she's got the perfect personality to be a great pre-K teacher. Fun!

Healthy Road Trip Snacks

You are not leaving for your road trip with that can of uniformly stacked Stepford chips. Who eats canned chips anyway? So, before you print your Google map directions to Hoosierville, watch this short clip to get ideas on what to pack on your road trip.

Banish the Wenches: Sweats and Big Bum Syndrome

We'll tend to fill whatever space we're given, whether that's a big ol' storage unit filled with grannie's junk or our Big Bum Sweats that we like to lounge around in until noon on Saturday.

Too much time wearing your big bum sweats can actually have an effect on your weight. Why? We like to fill space. If you have baggy clothes, now is a good time to Banish those Wenches and send them off to a used clothing store.

Fortify Your Castle: Enduring Nation

Tomorrow our little state will be holding their primary elections. While each candidate is blah blah blahing about new jobs, healthcare reform and spending, I think this quote says it all:

The breakfast slimes, angel food cake, doughnuts and coffee, white bread and gravy cannot build an enduring nation.
~Martin H. Fischer

Curtsy, Bow, Wave: Get Outdoors

Today in my little town we're having an Outdoors Festival. They're having classes on how to keep a nature journal, how to fix your bike, how to catch a fish, how to put together a wilderness first aid kit and lots more.

Some outdoor stuff might not sound all that appealing to you. But try it anyway.

Camping wasn't really something I enjoyed until I decided to conquer it. I whipped it last summer and made it work for my style. For me that meant I needed things as simple as pillows, a sleeping pad, fresh fruit, pioneering activities and books to read. After I figured out my "perfect camping trip", I loved camping.

Try something new--even something that doesn't sound that appealing at first. Make it yours. Conquer it. Master it. Then enjoy being in the great outdoors.

Dine With Grace: Presentation

My mother was a professional food stylist. Even oatmeal was served with grace--she never brought the pot to the table. It was served into bowls with a bowl of brown sugar and a creamer of milk on the side.

Her meals were served and presented, usually with a garnish of parsley or a sprinkling of cheese. She loved bringing food to the table on a platter or serving it out of special dishes. She cared about how food looked on the table.

While I don't have the same flair she does for producing photo worthy meals, we still have some basic "rules" for how food is presented at the table:

• No bags on the table. If you're serving bagged spinach, it goes into a bowl with tongs. If you're enjoying some chips with salsa, the chips go in a bowl (and then in the microwave for 15 seconds to make 'em hot and toasty!)
  
• No previous meal evidence. If you're sitting down to a meal, make sure you don't have traces above or below the table of the last meal you ate.
  
• Serve each plate. If there are parts of the meal that you can serve onto each plate, it makes the table less cluttered. It's also a gentle method of portion control.

So, tonight as you serve your meals, think about what you can do to Dine with Grace.

Eat Like a Peasant: Magical Pot of Beans

Beans. Jack was right, they are magical. But if you want beans to be a part of your diet, you're gonna have to figure out a faster, simpler way to cook up a batch without all the babysitting.

[Enter crockpot]

The humble crockpot is the secret to making a magical pot of plain old cooked beans. After they're soft and cooked you can do anything with them. You can make chili, stick the beans in the freezer for later use (so convenient!), mash them up for a bean dip, or toss them onto a salad.

Magical Pot of Beans

1. Put several cups of beans in a crockpot and cover with double the water.
2. Let sit overnight (12+ hours).
3. Drain off water (you'll be glad you did--that water contains complex sugars your body has trouble digesting!) and cover with double the water again.
4. Turn crockpot to high and cook for five hours.

Depending on the size of the bean it may take more or less time, so take a bean or two out and taste test it for doneness.

Cooking beans in the crockpot means you'll have beans ready when you are. That's the ideal convenience food! When foods are easy to prepare, we eat more of them.

Beans are a perfect choice for eating like a peasant.

Put Your Trust in the King: Start Your Day With Prayer

Even before breakfast, take time this morning to pray. Ask for help, pray for strength, and express gratitude. A prayer is the best way to start your morning. Keep it heartfelt and say what you mean. That's the best way to Put Your Trust in the King.

Banish the Wenches: Happy Talk

As you Banish the Wenches from Skinnyville, think of positive thoughts to replace the negative ones. Happy talk is powerful medicine and has less calories than even water. (True!)

Happy talk can be phrases like:

"Today is a great day!"
"I'm doing really well today!"
"Wow! I'm awesome!"
"I'm right on track!"

The cool thing is that all of those phrases are absolutely true. Instead of cluttering your mind with the negative, use your Queen of Skinnyville superpowers and give yourself some happy talk.

Fortify Your Castle: Book Review of Mindless Eating

If you're looking for a book that will revolutionize the way you look at food, eating and social cues, check out Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink.

Wansink runs the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University where he and his students test out different food theories. Will people eat more if they're given a bigger plate? A bottomless plate? More selections? Does food placement or name matter? Does any of this affect the way I eat?

I've always considered myself to be a clever consumer--you know, smarter than those tricky ad execs. This book smacked me 'cross the rear end with Grandma's wooden spoon of humility. I wasn't as clever as I thought I was.

We all need to be aware of the tools that restaurants, food marketers, and Uncle Sam use to manipulate the way we eat. Armed with this book, you'll be able to truly Fortify Your Castle.

Curtsy, Bow, Wave: Looking Stupid

Women-only gyms have popped up all over the country. Why?

"I'm intimidated by weight-lifters"
"I don't want to sweat in front of all those guys."
"I need a gym that has pink treadmills and lavender weights"

It's time to stop worrying about what other people think, and start sweating. That means doing your sit-ups, push-ups and squats at the gym or at home--even if your kids' friends are whispering "What's your mom doing?"

Technically, yes. Exercising will make you look stupid, ('specially the squats) but only for about 20 minutes. What happens after that?

You get to feel the glow and let it burn. You're on your way to Skinnyville!

Dine With Grace: Tablecloths

Before I was the Queen of Skinnyville, I didn't believe in tablecloths. "They're just for Thanksgiving and Christmas," I thought.

As the Queen of Skinnyville I Dine with Grace, that means that my dining experience must reflect who I am. I use a tablecloth now. A simple one--no lace or crazy fruit basket embroidery. It's washable, beautiful and makes my meals more enjoyable.

Do you use a tablecloth? How does it affect the way you Dine with Grace?

Eat Like a Peasant: Queen of Skinnyville Whole Wheat Bread

The essence of a healthy diet is eating real foods with real ingredients. Look on any loaf of bread in the grocery store and you're likely to see ingredients that your super-hot (now super-old) 8th grade science teacher doesn't even know how to pronounce.

This recipe makes two ever-lovin' whole wheat loaves of goodness.

Queen of Skinnyville Whole Wheat Bread
2 3/4 cup warm water (110-120 F)
1 Tbs. yeast
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs. salt
1/2 cup potato flakes
2 Tbs vital wheat gluten (optional, but makes the bread chewy and soft)
6-7 cups whole wheat flour

Mix everything but the whole wheat flour in a stand mixer. Add the flour one cup at a time until it's incorporated. Stop adding flour when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Divide and shape the dough (you don't have to get all fancy with rolling and massaging the dough). Put the dough into two pans that have been oiled or sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Let it rise one hour. Preheat the oven to 350 F while the bread is rising. Bake for 25 minutes.

Let it cool. Give one loaf to a friend or neighbor and keep your other loaf wrapped up and ready to eat. Remember, a slice of bread is about 100-150 calories, so just because it's homemade and whole wheat doesn't mean that it has magical invisible calories.

Queen of Skinnyville

Welcome to the Official Blog of the Queen of Skinnyville!

The Queen wishes to address her subjects:

"Welcome to my blog! I'm delighted that you are here. Please return to my blog often as I will be posting recipes, challenges, decrees, encouragement, speaking dates, and other very royal stuff!"

-The Queen of Skinnyville