Chickpea Bruschetta Salad

My mom almost always makes bruschetta on the 4th of July. I know it’s not traditional American food but it’s usually about the time the basil is taking off in her garden and everyone in her family loves it! Speaking of basil I have a lot of it hanging around this week. My little pot is growing on the back deck and my CSA share gave me a giant produce bag full. Thankfully I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge, and if the challenge involves eating large quantities of basil well then I guess I’ll have to suffer through 😉

Since I also had a large quantity of tomatoes due to an impulse buy at the Farmers Market my first thought was bruschetta. I wanted something with a little more umph if I was going to be eating it for lunches all week and I figure I’ll be getting enough bruschetta on Friday!

The chickpeas are loaded with fiber and protein to add a little staying power to all the fresh veggies and herbs, and who doesn’t like a little bit of cheese with the veg? Plus the whole meal comes together fast (minus cooking the chickpeas, but at least that’s hands off!).

The BF dove right into a bowl of this and said I was officially in charge of making his lunches for the week 😉 If he’s extra nice I might share… If I don’t eat it all myself first!

Chickpea Bruschetta Salad

Serves: 4

Time: 15 minutes (plus 8 hours soaking and 30 minutes cooking chickpeas)

Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked (or 2 15oz cans rinsed and drained)

2 medium tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups)

2 stalks fennel, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic OR 3-4 garlic scapes, minced

2 cups loosely packed basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

3 TBSP olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

If you’re cooking your own chickpeas make sure they are ready to go before you start! If you’re using canned put them in a strainer to give them a good rinse and let them drain.

Combine chickpeas, tomato, garlic/scapes, and fennel in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Stir in the basil and feta right before serving to preserve the fresh flavor and keep the cheese from getting soupy. Serve chilled.

What’ something non-traditional you serve at your family parties? What do you do when you’re overrun by basil? 

Bringing this party food to Fiesta Friday over at the Novice Gardener.

Slices of Life #4

I start my grown up job today (and I may be more than just a little excited)!! I’m incredibly blessed that all my licensure worked itself out in time and I can start my first day of summer school on a good foot. I also get to meet my new ABA client at job number two this evening (because working just one job clearly isn’t enough for me). But while I’m off doing that I figured I’d leave you with a little recap of the past week, with another round of Slices of Life.

 The Eats

Lots of smoothies, stir-fry, and veggie burgers for me. I actually spent the last two weeks eating fully vegetarian until I went home for Fathers Day and we made my dad barbecue chicken…a girls gotta have some balance, right? I also found…

A Gluten Free Bread that looks like real bread- I can’t wait to try this recipe from The Non-Dairy Queen (Thanks to Lindsay for sharing the recipe).

A delicious Green Smoothie recipe and a fun contest from The Gluten Free Treadmill.

The Exercise

I already mentioned the last week was filled with puppy love, which included lots of walks. But it also included two 4-mile runs and my first time running on something besides the sidewalk. My legs definitely felt like jelly going through the grass and up the smallest of hills, but the view of the lake by my new place was totally worth it! Speaking of new places…

The Life

I’m officially, officially all moved in with the BF (and his mom) now. No take backs 😉 He may have commandeered majority of the dresser drawers and closet space, but I think we managed to blend our stuff together pretty well. I particularly love my little “kitchen” which is basically our mini fridge filled with my CSA share and a shelf for all the rest of my food supplies (thankfully we were able to make room for my giant blender in the actual kitchen!).

As for the rest of the life I got my first CSA share of the season and I’m definitely looking forward to the next 8! This one was loaded with greens including a new to me veggie kohlrabi, Meghan assures me it’s tasty just about any way you cook it though I haven’t tried it out yet. I also went back down to visit my parents (which seems weird since I haven’t been gone that long) but we had to do a little something for Fathers Day. I know everyone thinks they have the best dad ever but unless you’re my long lost sibling I hate to tell you you’re wrong. My dad is an amazing man who works so hard to care for our family and I was glad to go enjoy another family dinner (love you dad!). As far as links go this week I found:

A dose of reality from Katherine the Peanut Butter Lover.

A thought provoking post from Olive to Run- still don’t know if I have good answers but I love her for asking the questions .

A hilariously awesome book recommendation (and a serious case for berry envy) from Jenn at Peas and Crayons

Whats the best link you found in the last week? Anyone else out there who works multiple jobs? 

Running for Non-Runners: June Training Calendar

Good morning everyone. Today is National Running Day so it seemed a fitting day to share my planned training schedule for my first official month of training. Training is such an odd word, but I like it, makes this whole thing feel very official. I have exactly 4 months from today to go from my current 3 ten-minute miles to my goal of 13.1 eight and a half-minute miles. Remind me again why I’m doing this?

I’m running to reach a goal. I have this wonderful habit of coming up with fabulous ideas and grand plans and then not following through. Well races are kind of expensive, and I know I won’t want the money I paid towards the entry fee to go to waste. Thats my way of guaranteeing I’ll follow through with the goal. I know that I have a long way to go before I get there. I’m pushing myself to do this because I know it’s good to try new things and I know doing it with the BF will help to keep me motivated.

 

Today specifically I’m also running for a cause. National Running Day is promoting Charity Miles to allow all participants a chance to do some good while working towards their personal goals. My money today is heading to Autism Speaks because why not support my favorite kiddos 🙂

With 4 months to go I have plenty of time to increase my miles slowly which is what I’m focused on. I went through so many training calendars but couldn’t find one in particular that I liked. But they did give me a great template to create my own.

Here’s to five miles by the end of the month!

Anyone else really bad at sticking to ideas they plan on? Who else is taking a run today?

This post is linked to Olive to Run’s National Running Day celebration.

 

WIR #48: The “me time” edition

It’s been too long since I’ve linked up with the always awesome Meghan for some Week in Review action. What can I say I’ve been enjoying this “freedom” thing to the fullest. In the last 2 weeks I’ve finished my medical placement, graduated from my Master’s program, and kept the festivities going in true Sarah Pie style.

I’ve treated myself to trivia nights with the BF and friends, kitchen adventures with my baby brother, finally going out with BF and his co-workers, huge stacks of books from the library on anything and everything, and a major overhaul of everything in my room/closet (which I promise is more fun than it sounds).

Going from “working” 40+ hours a week to not really working at all has been an adjustment, there have been some of those “I don’t know what to do with myself” moments, but they haven’t lasted and I’m not sweating it. I start my real job in less than a month, and have the rest of my life to work from there. For now I’m loving the extra me time.

What’s the best thing you did for yourself this week? Anyone else love to clean/organize things? 

Spill it Sunday: Mom tells all

Good morning everyone! I’m keeping it short today so I have more time to spend with my mom (after finishing work, of course). But I figured since it is Mother’s Day, why not invite her along for all the Spill it Sunday goodness 🙂

I even got her to take a selfie for the occasion.

1. If your tastebuds could only decipher one flavor for the rest of your life, which would you choose?  Strawberries 

2. What sports did you play as a child, if any? In high school I loved playing tennis with my friends. 

4. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? What’s the strangest thing you want to try to eat? I once had a bite of a brain taco my friend brought to work… never again

5. Lions, tigers or bears? (Oh my) Lions(?)

6. What is your favorite restaurant you’ve ever been to? Wildfire, which is a nice restaurant by us we’ve been to for various family celebrations. 

8. What is the best compliment you’ve received? When someone compliments my kids, because it shows I’ve done a good job raising them. 

9. Describe your personal style (for clothing or decor) and why you like it. Anything comfy and cozy.

10. What is one thing you absolutely want to do this summer? Enjoy daily walks outside while the weather is nice. 

Be sure to share some love with your mom today (and maybe take a selfie). 

Changed for the better

Today I graduate from my Master’s Program in Speech Pathology. It’s been the longest, fastest 2 years of my life, and it’s hard to believe that this blog has been such a large part of it. I started my blog when I started my program two years ago as a way to chronicle my own experiences with whole body wellness as I began my journey towards life as a service professional.

Whole body wellness became an important part of my life after my undergraduate graduation. I knew that to be the therapist my clients deserved I had to take care of myself. And taking care of myself was the last thing on my mind at the end of my senior year.

The girl in that picture wasn’t happy and she definitely wasn’t healthy. A semester of rejection letters and failed plans for the future led to a lot of hours crying over the phone with my parents and pacing the BF’s room complaining how it wasn’t fair that I wasn’t getting the chance I deserved.  I was eating like crap, I wasn’t exercising, I wasn’t happy. And it shows. 

I moved home immediately after graduation, too depressed to celebrate, and too frustrated to focus on anything other than deciding what to do next. When I got my letter that summer saying I had been accepted off  the only wait-list I’d been on it was nothing short of life changing. Not only did it change my plans for my future by giving me a focus, but it changed my attitude about my health by giving me back my motivation.

I have always believed in the body as a system. I don’t think that you can treat anything (speech or otherwise) by focusing on the problem removed from the whole of the person. But I couldn’t advocate that approach with my clients if I didn’t practice it in my own life. I knew I needed to make changes to be the kind of therapist I wanted to be and to live the kind of life I knew I deserved.

 

As I walk across the stage today I’m ready to leave behind that sad, scared, girl and move forward as a positive, confident, professional. Each and every person I have met in this community has helped to shape me into the person I am today, and I can never thank you enough for that. Sure the past two years have changed my physical health, but more importantly they have changed my mental health. They have shaped me into the clinician I want to be, the person I deserve to be, and the set me forth towards a life I’d stopped dreaming of.

I may be graduating from my program, but I plan to make my health a program of lifelong learning. I may not know everything that’s coming on the road ahead, but I know that I am ready (physically and mentally) for anything that’s coming.

WIR #46: (almost) Wordless Wonder

Keeping it short today since I’m so late to the game… on the bright side I passed my comps this afternoon which marks the last “real” thing I have to do before graduation. Here’s a snapshot of my past week, not including today’s snow because I’m going to pretend that didn’t happen!

1. Gluten Free waffles made with my new (almost) free waffle maker.
2. Supernatural which I’ve been binge watching again.
3. Saturday’s gorgeous outdoor run.
4. Celebrating my (almost!) perfect pass on my Oral Exams.
5. Lemon Blueberry Crack granola from the one and only hostess of our weekly list-fest.
6. My lovely cap and gown for next month’s ceremony.
7. Bubble baths which have been a wonderful way to relax after long days at my medical placement.

WIR #44: The Awesome edition

Can I just say the best thing about my new placement is my supervisor. You all know I was skeptical heading into my medical placement (I knew with 99.999% accuracy this isn’t the setting for me and I was right) but I was determined to make the best of it and end my clinicals on a good note. The woman I get to work with has made that incredibly easy, and she’s actually gotten me to like some aspects of this setting.  Who knew swallow evaluations and cognition therapy could be kind of cool.

It feels weird thinking about this as my last clinical placement… two years ago at this time I was dreading graduation because I had yet to be accepted into any masters programs and had only been placed on one waitlist. Fast forward to today where I’m 7 weeks (who’s counting?) from graduation and the first one in my class with an offer of full time employment!

That’s right, my first interview from a few weeks ago panned out earlier than I thought and this girl is officially eligible for employment. I haven’t been able to accept yet since the district is on spring break but give me a week and I’ll have a big girl job all my own! I’m going to love the opportunity to work for a Special Education district (I miss those kiddos) and I know I’m going to love that it’s right up by BF! Can I start the apartment hunt now? 

Way to drop all the good news in the intro of the post huh? Hopefully you’re still with me because I have more awesomeness to recap list-style:

Don’t believe me, swing by Meghan’s and see how awesome all this listing is.

Bf got to cash in on his birthday gift with a trip to the Shedd Aquarium where we got to tour all of the exhibits and play with a penguin. I know, best girlfriend ever right here 😉

His name was Stanley and he was pretty playful, and very slippery feeling.

I worked 5 days at my medical placement and a day of double ABA sessions (lucky me I get to cap it off with a long “weekend” because my supervisor is going on vacation).

I didn’t workout much at all… later days made it hard to come home and workout after work so my goal this week is to try and switch to morning workouts, or settle in on some kind of combination.

Prepped some weekly goodies including granola bars to share with the BF, energy bites for work (spending my day feeding others hasn’t done much for my appetite), and cranberry kombucha is on its second ferment based on a recommendation from the lovely Lindsay Cotter .

I also finally picked up my ingredients for this month’s Chopped Kitchen Challenge… nothing like waiting until the last minute for your own link up.

Annnndd since no list complete without a sub-list and I’m soon to join the ranks of some of my favorite educators (did I mention I got a job? In a school district?) I figured I could share the “list your favorite teachers” page from my listography book.

• Mrs. Schneider, 5th grade (she also supervised me when I student taught in high school)
• Mr. Linders, 10th grade. The teacher who made me fall in love with math
• Mr. Chochole, 10th grade. Because anyone who can quote Disney movies while discussing US history is a hero in my books.
• Mr. Spitler, 12th grade. He let us make a movie for our final English “paper” and I still have a copy of the DVD.
• Dr. Hadley, Junior year undergrad. She was my first professor in my new major and ended up writing me a letter of recommendation. She went above and beyond to welcome me to the program.
• Dr. DeThorne, senior year undergrad. She sparked my interest in working with kiddos with autism and I’ve never looked back.

Who was your favorite teacher, and what did they teach you? Are you planning to link up for this Thursday’s party? (the correct answer is yes!) 

WIR #43 Out with the old

What a way to start the week, I think I’ll be able to get used to having Monday’s off with the BF now that I’ve switched to my medical rotation. I may need more time to get used to the actual rotation though, I went for a few hours on Saturday to meet with my supervisor and go over the basics and lets just say I may be in over my head. Lucky for me she gave me a huge pile of materials to review…

It was really hard to leave my school placement behind last week though. I may not have loved everything about the site but there was no denying that I got to work with some wonderful kids. Here’s hoping all those interviews I have lined up (#2 is this Friday!) lead to something great so I can have a whole bunch of kiddos all to myself next year.

There wasn’t much exciting about the rest of the week, but I did manage to cross quite a few things off my to-do list, and what better way to recap then with Meghan’s increasingly popular week in review.

• Worked full 5 days at my school placement, a few hours at my medical placement, and a Sunday double my usual ABA gig
• Worked out 4 days last week
• Wrote and published 4 blog posts, including a recipe
• Got my first picture accepted on FoodGawker! (shameless self promotion I know, but I’m excited! Plus I have no shame, you know that). 
• The usual weekend laundry/outfit planning… having to wear a “uniform” of khaki pants and some sort of blue top made it much easier this week, and also gave me an excuse to justify my impulse buy of 2 new shirts at Target
• Scheduled 2 more interviews and filled out a few more job apps
• Said goodbye to my baby brother as he headed back to school from his spring break
• Officially started my new Netflix addiction… anyone else watch Supernatural? I’m totally hooked

I might be a little quiet this week as I settle into my new schedule (and binge on Supernatural try to learn all the new material required for my medical site) but I’m hoping to not drop off the grid completely.

 What was the best thing you did this weekend? What’s your current TV favorite?

WIR #42: What happens when I’m brain dead

I feel like this has been the week of never ending conferences… I was in a social behavioral presentation all day Friday as part of my teacher institute day and then I went to support one of the therapists from work at an Autism presentation Saturday morning.

They were both great presentations and they’ll give me some current trends to talk about during interviews (my first one is this week!!) but after getting used to working on a daily basis I have to admit that 2 days of presentations left me more than a little brain dead.

But I’m going to try and put that all aside and list out everything I managed to accomplish last week… because that’s what Monday’s are for, right Meghan?

I worked 4 days at my placement (Friday was the institute day, so I didn’t see kiddos) and finally caught up on logging my hours. I actually passed 300 contact hours last week which means I only have 100 more to go before graduation. I also worked a double at my ABA job on Sunday.

I finally started that portfolio project I’ve been procrastinating… 6 years of higher education all crammed into a single 4 inch binder to prove I’m competent enough to complete my job (why do portfolios have to be a thing?) .

I wrapped BF’s birthday gift up for when we celebrate on Tuesday (these crazy schedule conflicts are getting old). His big gift has something to do with penguins if you weren’t able to guess 😉

I read a cookbook and a book a book off my list. Both were interesting but neither were anything special, reading them in a bubble bath was a treat though 😉 Here’s hoping my next trip to the library is a little more exciting!

I got in a few workouts last week, including one very chilly run! Spring needs to get serious about showing up because I’m ready to run again.

I also did the usual laundry, bathroom cleaning, kombucha brewing and food prepping.

This week doesn’t look like it’s going to be any less crazy than the last one but that’s life 🙂 I’m just hoping it stops snowing.

What was  your biggest accomplishment this week?