It's been a long time, I know. I barely know how it happened, except to say that the second semester of my PhD program was pretty crazy compared to my first. But, now I'm done! I passed Anatomy class, I gave a poster presentation on cross-sectional geometry of mice femora, I wrote a paper about placentas that only sucked a little bit, and now school is over and it's TIME FOR SUMMER VACATION!!
Sort of.
I still have a lot of work to do, what with finishing up Spring semester's research rotation and writing up the results from Fall semester's rotation. Oh, and figuring out a dissertation project so I can start getting my committee together and hopefully get a plan for a pilot study in place for next summer. But even with all that my schedule should be a little more relaxed for the next few months, giving me more time for things like cooking and blogging. So, great! On to the challenge:
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This may or may not be news to you, but I love me a 30-day challenge. I'm using this particular challenge as a way to curb my sugar/junk food intake and perk up my diet in general without going all the way into Whole 30 territory. You can see the full rules and guidelines over at Reality of You.
I will be giving myself a little wiggle room with some of these rules. For instance, I'll be eating dairy. I'm sure there are plenty of people that will argue that most dairy is processed to the point that it can no longer be considered "clean," but I like cheese and yogurt and milk on my cereal, so I'm just going to use my own judgement to decide which forms of these foods are "clean" and which aren't. Also, you may have noticed that last sentence included the word "cereal." Boxed cereal definitely is closer to the "not" end of the clean food spectrum, but right now I'm eating shredded wheat, which only has one ingredient (whole wheat), so I'm saying it's fine. Physiologically and emotionally, I'm not going to respond to shredded wheat the same way I would to, say, Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. I'll also give myself some leeway with the 5-6 meals a day rule. I'm currently doing the "eat when I'm hungry" thing, so if I'm hungry 5-6 times a day then great, and if I'm not, also great. Essentially, my goal for the next 30 days is to get into the habit of eating higher quality foods without making myself crazy.
So, yesterday was Day 1 of the challenge and it went pretty well. I did have a craving for something sweet after dinner, but it was pretty easy to ignore. The highlight of the day, in my opinion, was definitely dinner.
I found this recipe for Cheesy Mexican Pasta on Fit Foodie Finds, and I knew immediately that I would be making it ASAP.
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| I forgot to put the milk in this picture! And I didn't feel like taking it again. But, there should be milk there. |
Ingredients:
1 lb whole wheat pasta
Olive oil, probably about a tablespoon or so
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups frozen corn
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2 cups shredded cheese
1/3 cup milk
Diced avocado, as much as desired
Diced tomato, as much as desired
Chopped cilantro (optional; I'm not super into cilantro so I left it out)
Steps:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta in salted water until al dente.
I prefer to use the skillet method when cooking pasta -- place dry pasta in a large skillet, add enough cold water to cover by an inch or so, and cook uncovered on high until the pasta is done to your liking. I find that it's SO much quicker and easier, and it uses much less water.
3. Once the pasta is finished, drain it and pour it into a large baking pan or casserole dish. Drizzle the pasta with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss. I think adding the olive oil in this step removes the need for non-stick spray or anything like that.
4. Add in the corn and black beans and mix again. Follow with the spices, and mix.
5. Add the grated cheese and milk, and mix one last time. The original recipe called for shredded Mexican-style cheese but in keeping with the Clean Eating Challenge rules, I wanted to go with something that had the fewest number of ingredients. Pre-shredded cheese usually has "anti-caking agents" added to keep it from clumping, so I decided to just grate my own cheese. I used a combination of pepper jack and cheddar.
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| See, I got the milk in this one so we're all good. |
6. Put the pan in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
7. Top with diced tomatoes and avocado and enjoy! Kevin and I had about 1/4 of a tomato and 1/2 of an avocado each, but of course you can have as much or as little as you'd like.
Let me tell you, this dish was so excellent. Kevin and I were both really happy with it. It's cheesy without being TOO cheesy (that is to say, while I recognize that "too cheesy" is a fictional condition, this pasta was cheesy without being too heavy to still be considered healthy), and the fresh tomato and avocado on top were a really nice addition. Altogether this meal was delicious, really flavorful and satisfying. Oh, and also it's vegetarian, if you're into that sort of thing. Make it!
