August’s fitness goal isn’t a fitness-goal per-se – it’s less about exercise and weight loss than it is about overall health. Despite my concerns about backsliding in July, I managed to keep the scale slowly moving downwards, getting in a solid but not stellar 4 workouts a week. I stuck to my 8 different kinds of exercise commitment too: running, strength training, ballet, hiking, swimming, cardio kickboxing, jump rope, and rock climbing. It’s fun to use your body in so many different ways. What I have not been so good about in recent weeks is keeping my stress levels in check. Work has been busy and time has been short, and I found myself teetering on the edge of illness three times in July. I know what works for my body – sleep, hydration, and mental down-time – but sometimes I fail to prioritize those things. So for August, I’m focusing on taking care of myself and giving myself room to breathe. Partly this involves 10-minute morning yoga sessions at least once or twice a week, partly it involves stretching and turning all the electronics off before bed, and partly it involves toting around big thermoses of herbal tea. I’ve also been toying with the idea of learning to meditate – I’ve never tried it, but like the idea. All together, these things do not make a goal, just a focus area: relax. In a way I’m giving myself a month off from rules – and that’s part of the point.

This same mentality explains the quietness around here in the past few weeks. I love blogging, but some weeks it’s just too much to cook, shoot, edit, and write on top of everything else going on. This month I’m actively cutting myself some slack on the blogging front: certainly not giving it up, but also not beating myself up for delaying a post 1 or 3 or even 5 days from when I had originally planned it (this post being a prime example). That said, we have a gorgeous haul of garden produce this week, and I’m really excited to crank things up in the kitchen again – I’m currently experiencing a refreshing burst of creativity, and I can’t stop writing down recipe ideas. Most of these ideas seem to center around zucchini and summer squash, which are practically rolling out of our fridge every time we open the door. Zucchini noodles are a popular way of using up the abundant vegetable, but I find a bowl of raw zucchini strings a bit unappetizing. Mixed half and half with green tea soba noodles, though, I could eat a whole lot of it. I tossed this easy combination with an Asian-inspired honey-ginger-soy sauce and a few handfuls of sliced herbs, and Trevor and I gobbled it up. You could get creative and add sliced carrot, bell pepper, and scallions for additional flavor and crunch, but I wanted to keep this version all green. However you decide to spin it, it’s a healthy and refreshing summer lunch.

In September we’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming – both on the fitness goals and blogging frequency front. Despite the fact that I’ve been out of school for three years, September still feels most like the time for new beginnings, and so August feels like the ramp-up period for that. Alternatively you might think of August as the last month of sunshine and lazy summer weekends before diving back into the meat of the year – so take the time to stop, breathe, and enjoy it. That’s what I’m doing.

Past Fitness Challenges

January: 10 Visits to the YMCA; Recipe: Gluten-Free Olive-and-Feta Corn Muffins
February: One vegan meal every day; Recipe: Pakistani Chickpea Pulao with Sweet-Hot Date-Onion Chutney
March: Run 40  miles in 20 days; Recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookie Bites
April: Walk 8,000 steps a day; Recipe: Herb-Flecked Spring Couscous
May: 180 minutes of Nike Training Club; Recipe: Warm Arugula Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing
June: Fresh fruit/veggies at every meal; Recipe: Chickpea Crepes with Grilled Curried Chicken and Mango Salsa
July: 8 different types of exercise; Recipe: Homemade Spinach Wraps with Chopped Greek Salad Filling

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Monthly Fitness Goals: August // Green Tea and Zucchini Noodles with Honey-Ginger Sauce

Zucchini noodles are a great way to eat lots of veg, but I can’t quite get over the feeling that I’m being tricked out of eating pasta, so I like to mix them 50/50 with other noodles. This quick recipes mixes zucchini noodles with green tea soba, honey-ginger sauce, and lots of basil and mint.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 2-3

Ingredients

• 8 oz. green tea soba noodles (or regular soba noodles)
• 1 large or 2 medium zucchini
• sea salt
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS grated fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and grated
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 TBS honey
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• juice from 1 Meyer lemon
• 15–20 leaves fresh basil
• 15–20 leaves fresh mint

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the soba noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Use a julienne peeler to cut the zucchini into long noodles. Place zucchini noodles in a colander and salt liberally. Place colander over a bowl and let drain for at least 15 minutes.
3. Heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the grated ginger and grated garlic and fry until golden brown and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil, honey, soy, and Meyer lemon juice until a smooth sauce is formed. Add the sauce to the soba noodles and toss to coat.

The post Monthly Fitness Goals: August // Green Tea and Zucchini Noodles with Honey-Ginger Sauce appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I was planning to post this last night, but for some reason when I got home from my run in the 35° weather, I just didn’t feel like a cold veggie smoothie. I felt a lot more like this pumpkin, black bean, and chorizo soup (delicious, we added half a jar of tomato jam for sweetness and it was perfect). But this morning when I woke up, carrot-grapefruit-mango smoothies were the first order of business.

Some of you who follow me on twitter or instagram may have heard that I recently became the owner of a Vitamix. And a pretty fancy one at that. It was a bonus of sorts from my real job (I love the thing, but I can’t ever see paying $600 for a blender), and perhaps it’s just because it’s new, but I’ve been blending up a storm. Green smoothies (or orange ones as it may be), have become a daily treat, and I love starting my day with them – they’re so immediately energizing, I feel like I should make a video game powering-up noise when I drink them. I know a lot of people who think drinking green smoothies is a completely frou-frou thing to do, but I’ve been trying to convert them one sip at a time. Seriously, green smoothies taste like mangoes or bananas or apples, not spinach. The spinach is just a bonus.

Since I made drinks for both rhubarb week and pea week, I figured it was only logical to whip up a carrot based drink as well. Carrot juice and booze did not strike me as a stellar combination (although I think this could change my mind), so I decided to go the healthy route and turn my stubby little garden carrots into a frothy smoothie. The trick to making a smooth drink from whole, raw carrots is to peel and grate them first – a little time consuming, but worth it for the creamy texture you’ll get (and much cheaper than buying carrot juice!). The Vitamix could probably handle them just cut up into chunks, but I’m still getting the hang of the correct ratios for using it, so I grated them this time around as well. The result was a thick, vibrant, tangy breakfast full of beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber. Drink your vegetables!

Carrot-Grapefruit-Mango Smoothie

Serves 1. Inspired in part by this and the Carrot-Grapefruit Juice in Vegetarian Everyday.

Note: This can be made in any blender, but if you’re using a weaker one, you’ll want to chop up your grapefruit and blend on high. If you’re using a Vitamix, you could probably get away with not grating the carrots, but I like the extra smooth texture that grating them gives.

• 1 c. water
• 2 small carrots, peeled and finely grated
• 1 ruby red grapefruit, peeled and cut into quarters
• 1 c. frozen mango
• 2-3 ice cubes (only if using Vitamix)
• maple syrup or agave to taste (optional)

1. Place ingredients in blender in order listed. Blend on high until thick and smooth. Serve immediately.

The post Ingredient of the Week: Carrots // Carrot-Grapefruit-Mango Smoothie appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I don’t want to scare anyone off… but it’s getting to be kale season.  I got some in my CSA last week, and it’s one of the few veggies still flourishing in my garden.  For some, this is great news.  I happen to love kale in all its forms, and prefer it to almost any other green – I’d forego spinach for kale any day of the week.  For others, though, this is not such a good sign.  For them, the beginning of kale season signifies the descent into a long winter of root vegetables, cold-hardy greens, citrus, and the occasional guilt-inducing trip to Wholefoods to pick up that so-not-local-but-oh-so-good Chilean peach.  Fear not, we’re not at that dark time quite yet – we’ve still got time for end-of-season corn, butternut squash, chestnuts, figs, plums, apples, and a myriad of pumpkin-flavored baked goods.  But still, kale has arrived, and why not start showing it a little love now?

Kale salad was a super-trendy restaurant dish last year.  Andrew Knowlton even wrote about the ubiquity of kale salad for Bon Appetit last month, when sharing this recipe for his favorite version.  If you’re not a natural kale-lover, an entire salad composed of the stuff might be a hard sell, but I urge you to give it a try.  A little cheese, lemon, and olive oil can go a long way in transforming this green into a tender, tasty salad that even Romaine-purists might grow to enjoy.  In fact, after I had finished this bowl I almost harvested the rest of my kale right then and there to make another bowl.  Give it a try – it’s simple, healthy, and zesty.  Head on over to Greatist for the recipe.

Other tasty kale recipes from here…

• Portuguese Kale Soup
• Creamy Chevre and Kale Pasta
• Lemon Cream Spaghetti with Kale and Peas
• White Bean, Kale, and Pesto Soup
• Raw Kale and Avocado Salad with Apples, Almonds, and Nori
• Baked Eggs with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Garlicky Kale

… and around the blogsophere

• Creamed Kale with Caramelized Shallots – from Food Network
• Parsley, Kale, and Berry Smoothie – from Bon Appetit
• Crispy Baked Kale with Gruyere – from Ezra Pound Cake
• Kale and Cranberry “Crackers” – from House and Home
• Coconut Quinoa and Kale with Tropical Pesto – from Cookie and Kate
• Kale and Ricotta Galette – from My Fair Baking

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