Fiber Fool

You should be seeing the Masala slippers over at Quince & Co’s blog soon. In the meantime, they have been generous enough to donate two skeins to make the slippers. So, anyone who has purchased Nourishing Knits by 11:59 PM MDT on Tuesday will be entered into a drawing to win those two skeins! The winner will be announced in Wednesday’s post.

Now if you are especially anxious to knit that particular project from Nourishing Knits you can tweet, blog or post to Facebook about the contest, linking to this post. Be sure to add #NK or #nourishingknits in your tweet so I’m sure to see it. Please limit tweets to no more than once an hour. If you post to your blog or Facebook, please comment on this post with a link direct to those posts. For each post I’ll add an extra entry in the drawing.

Okay, now onto the Linkity…

Crafty:

• Free Easter Scavenger Hunt printables. I found nothing more fun than a good scavenger hunt as a kid.
• Issue #4 of Ennea Collective is out, this time with a Celtic theme to the knitting and spinning projects and articles.
• Mini-Eco is a new to me blog with a lot of recycling crafts that would be good to do with kids. Though kid-less, I think I may still find the site inspiring.

Yummy:

• Nothing says springtime like a pea frittata!
• Or maybe rhubarb is a better harbinger of spring? Here is a collection of 5 rhubarb recipes from Rodale.
• Then again, there is strawberries as well. I’m totally intrigued by these Balsamic Roasted Strawberries from Heidi Swanson’s (she blogs at 101cookbooks) latest cookbook, Super Natural Everyday, which I *have* to get as I loved the first one so much.
• Craft linked to a new way to filter bitters, which I think could come in handy with my Chai Concentrate and our homemade liqueurs, though we did recently add a brewer’s funnel to our arsenal and that has helped.

Pixely:

• Use your photos to decorate eggs!
• Lens Corrections in Lightroom 3 (gee, I really need to upgrade…)

I hope you all had a nice weekend. What did you do?

I suspect this Twain quote doesn’t ring much truer than in the Rocky Mountain region — “In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.” Certainly mountain regions anyway. It certain applied yesterday.

Just look at that drop of melted snow on the stamen!

I’m a sucker for contrast in any form - color, texture, or physical state. So I actually revel in the contrast of snow on flowers. Plus, since the snow was preceded with a good rain shower the blooms are probably safe. It worked last year. We still had a decent plum harvest so I’m not writing off one for this year. Plus, the tree really hasn’t bloomed out fully. Though I’m not certain if it will given the harsh conditions this winter.

Yes, this photo is of the same branch as Monday’s picture, just taken a week apart from a different angle!

Most years I’d likely be bitching about snow on April 14th. This year is different. We are in such desperate need of moisture, I’m elated to have it in any form. We started with a nice slow rain for several hours last night and I was surprised to wake up to snow. All told, cold surfaces like the cars gathered about 3 inches of snow before it stopped. It was very wet and heavy snow, as is the norm for late spring snowfalls. According to the city utility rainfall map we exceeded 1″ of moisture. I’m not certain what their collector set ups are so I don’t know how they handle the snow. That could be just the rainfall total as we were pushing 3/4″ at about 2am yesterday morning. Whatever the real totals, I am thankful!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Oh, and the first surprise for Nourishing Knits subscribers will be awarded next week, so if you haven’t subscribed yet, I recommend you do so soon! You definitely do not want to miss out on this one.

I know you’ve seen glimpses of Challah in passing, but I figured it was time for a proper introduction, given that it too was part of the last Nourishing Knits release.

I love sock knitting, that is no secret. While I have on occasion pushed the envelope in terms of design or construction, there is always a special place in my heart for classic and simple design. A design I can relax with and savor the process, but also relish the final project. It is a fine line. I do require a bit of a challenge to keep my interest. It was from these desires that the Challah sock was born.

The cabling creates a wonderfully rustic look while holding my interest without being taxing. The wonderful alpaca blend sock yarn from Classic Elite, Alpaca Sox, also ups the cozy factor with its soft halo. The fine fingering weight of the yarn means these socks will still fit comfortably in shoes. The solid, as shown here comes in 14 colorways, many of which are man friendly. But they also have 13 kettle dyed and 23 handdyed colorways you could also choose from.

The cable along the top of the foot/front of the leg reminds me of the braids DH forms when he bakes his oft requested challah bread - hence the name. But the bread and socks actually have more in common when I think about it. They are both classic comfort food - one for the stomach and one for the needles. (On a side note, you can see a peek at one of the patterns that will be a part of the next release in the above photo too, though the lovely Amanda is not the intended recipient for that project.)

The large amount of cabling in Challah can be a bit tricky in the sizing, but I’ve included a detailed sidebar to help you adjust and account for your own particular cabling tension. It seems everyone cables differently and one person’s fabric may stretch a remarkable amount and another’s may not. No matter what, it is likely you will get to extend your journey with Challah and work with a few more stitches than your usual sock stitch count. There are three stitch counts from which to choose. The foot and leg are worked on different needle sizes to ensure plenty of durability for the foot and plenty of stretch and comfort for the leg and you can mix and match the gauges to suite your own ratio of foot and leg circumference. It is written toe-up up on two circulars so you can try on the fit as you go and make adjustments if necessary. I also like that I can maximize the usage of this luxury blend yarn when knitting this way.

I’ve already blogged about the Smoky Sweet Pumpkin Seed recipe, but I thought it bears mentioning again. This is the recipe that is paired with the Challah sock pattern. The spice mix that flavors the seeds is extremely versatile. In fact, once my bit of mix is gone (likely yet this week), I think I’ll be mixing up a double or triple batch. I am finding myself sprinkling it on all kinds of things. I’ve been on a popcorn kick lately and right now that is one my favorite additional uses of the spice.

I do want to mention again that I have a few surprises up my sleeve for those who have subscribed to Nourishing Knits before the final installment. Everyone will get a surprise or two, plus there may be a few more special surprises as well. Thank yous of sorts for going out on a limb and getting the book before seeing the entire pattern and recipe collection. So, if you’ve been teetering on the edge, I’d suggest doing so soon to be included in the special goodies :-) Not to mention, the price will be going up upon release of the final installment.

Nourishing Knits Special Subscription Rate of $16 - buy now

We’ve all heard it many times over - breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Since I’ve started tracking my eating it has been my instinct to hit the fiber real good at breakfast. They say fiber is key to staying full longer. But it seems most of the time I do this I end up way ahead on my carbohydrates. Sometimes I try pull it back into balance by adding a hard boiled egg to the mix, but that adds calories too. If I exceed 300 calories for breakfast I often find myself feeling severely limited when lunch and dinner roll around.

I was discussing this with my mom the other week, because she’s been living this eating style for three or maybe going on four years now. She has been seeing a dietitian every three months or so I believe to help guide her on this path. I figured she could be of some help. Breakfast is not something I’ve been terribly good about doing in recent years, let alone doing it in a balanced manner. She told me one of her favorite things to have is 1-2 cups of spinach, 2 oz of mushrooms and 2 or 3 eggs (depending on whether it is truly breakfast or more of a brunch). We calculated the fiber on it and it was decent, but nowhere near the 10g I shoot for per meal. Then we figured out that if I added in one of my Thomas Bagel Thins or their Light Multi-Grain English Muffins that it not only gets me to about the 10g of fiber mark, but it also comes really close to balancing out the carbs/fat/protein.

This was good, but I was not a fan of having a fry pan to clean up after breakfast. I want to be able to rinse and put things in the dishwasher and get on about my day. So, I was inspired by some baked egg cups I included in a linkity post back in January but hadn’t gotten around to trying. I meshed that with my mom’s recipe and added a few twists of my own and ended up with a great go-to breakfast that is less hands-on and requires less clean-up!

Breakfast Egg Bake

serves 1

Ingredients

• 1 cup baby spinach
• 4-5 mushrooms, sliced (for breakfast I often cheat and buy the pre-sliced to save time and effort)
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white (I use 2 tablespoons All-Whites, a non-dyed pastuerized variety sold in carton containers)
• garlic powder, to taste (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• salt, to taste
• scant bit of oil for dish, or non-stick cooking spray
• hot pepper sauce for garnish such as Cholula, Frank’s or Tobasco (optional)
• high fiber breakfast bread with 5+g of fiber and around 100 calories

Directions

Preheat oven (or toaster oven as I do) to 375°F.

Lightly oil an oblong, shallow baking dish. Place spinach and mushrooms inside. Pour egg whites and crack whole egg on top. Sprinkle with seasonings as desired. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until egg yolk and white are just shy of your preferred consistency.

Remove from oven and let sit while you toast your high fiber breakfast bread of choice - my favorite is the Everything Bagel Thins from Thomas, but their Light Multigrain English Muffins are good too. If desired, serve baked eggs piled on top of the toasted bread. Sprinkle with some hot pepper sauce for a little zing if desired.

For me, with the Bagel Thins it comes out at about 247 calories, 32 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 22.5 g protein, 8 g fat. I toss it together and hop in the shower and it is ready to pull out of the oven when I’m out and dressed. On Monday I sprinkled on some fresh chives on top as well. I always drink a good 2 cups of water with it too which also helps me fill up and catch up from my hopefully 8 hours of water-free sleep.

Do you have a favorite power-packed breakfast that sticks with you that includes good fiber and protein?

This is such a timely topic! I’ve been struggling with having healthy snacks - high in fiber, lower in carb or high in protein to balance out other higher carb things. I’m trying to keep my fat/carb/protein consumption in the roughly 30/40/30 percent of caloric intake realm while taking in a minimum of 30 g of fiber. It is a bit challenging to balance all three of those.

1. Edamame - love this snack! It is fairly low calorie, low in fat, high in protein and fiber. Because of those attributes it can stick with you too. I also find that shelling them as you eat, not only keeps them warm, but slows down your eating so you are more likely to stop eating when you feel full rather than waiting for your brain to catch up to your stomach.

2. Yogurt or Yoghurt, whichever is your preference. I’m not the biggest yogurt fan. I wasn’t the biggest yogurt fan until the Greek variety became more available. Now though, I have a new yogurt love and the bonus is that is is locally made from the same source as our delivered milk. According to the web site, Noosa Yoghurt is an Australian style of yogurt. It is so thick and creamy and is not nearly as tangy as some yogurts which makes the fruit flavors a totally satisfying dessert. At ~130-140 calories per 4 ounces it packs a lot more calories than I was accustomed to eating from yogurt (I tend to reach for the lighter varieties), but it also packs in 8-9 g of protein. In the realm of dessert-like snacks, you can’t hardly beat this.

3. Roasted Soy Nuts are a good salty snack choice. Again with the soy, but good protein and fiber all in one is not always the easiest snack to find. Even the dry roasted variety is relatively high on the fat category, but they are mostly good fats. I don’t snack on them often, but I do like a sprinkle of them in place of croutons on a salad for a bit of salty crunch.

4. Bean dips/spreads - things like hummus or white bean dip. I recently came across an edamame-based hummus that I’m intrigued to try. I usually enjoy these with carrots, celery, cucumber, sugar snap peas, or red pepper. Occasionally I might have some on whole grain crackers or homemade pita chips.

5. Turkey sticks or jerky are a nice grab for protein. I buy mine at Whole Foods as they have a decent selection of nitrate-free and lower sodium options than our regular grocery stores. I opt more often for the sticks as the marinade for jerky usually includes sugar. But, the extra chewiness of the jerky can sometimes be more satisfying.

6. Almonds (and other nuts on occasion) are another great salty snack. Blue Diamond even has some great flavor options for almonds out there now so if you are big on flavored potato chips, the flavored almonds might appeal to you more than plain or salted. A favorite of our house and my parents are the smokehouse chipotle. I like the salt and vinegar ones as well, though of course those are higher in sodium so I don’t indulge that flavor craving too frequently.

7. Wasabi Peas - if you are craving the crunch of chips etc. wasabi peas are often a good choice, though they are not all created equal. Read the labels before you buy them as some have only 1 g of fiber and 3+ g of sugar, but others are 3 g of fiber and only 1 g sugar. They all pack a pretty decent amount of protein though at about 8 g or so per 1/3 c serving.

8. Roasted Chickpeas are a snack I want to love, but so far I’ve not mastered getting them nice and crunchy. Which is okay if you cant eat them warm, but once they’ve cooled it is no longer a very satisfying snack. Any of you have any tricks for me? I’ve tried our convection oven and our conventional to no avail. The baking times and temps I’ve found on various blogs seems to differ a fair bit and so far I haven’t hit upon a winner yet. But there are many great flavoring options out there in blogland!

9. Low fat string cheese is a nice on-the-go or grab and go snack option. I don’t keep it around often enough.

10. Of course I mentioned it last week since the recipe is in Nourishing Knits, but I love snacking on whole roasted pumpkin seeds too!

What are your favorite snacks?

If you want more ideas (perhaps of the less-healthful bit) be sure to check out the comments and links at Carole’s! She is also looking for topic ideas, so if there are things you’d like to learn about me or the other 10 on Tuesday participants you might care to whisper your thoughts in her ear.