Nutrition

I am a complete and utter coffee snob.  I am the person who travels with a French press, because I refuse to drink, "sub par" coffee. What am I drinking right now??  Currently, I'm sipping on J5 Emperor's Espresso Blend. J5 Coffee is THE MOST ADORABLE little coffee shop in Leavenworth, Washington.  It is owned locally by a husband and wife, who also roast their own coffee.  My husband and I found this spot on our last trip to the east side of the mountains, and it...

“You better cut the pizza in four pieces, because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.” — Yogi Berra Packing for an overnight trip can be intimidating.  When I first started backpacking, I was a compulsive over-estimator of how much food I actually needed to bring.  I packed my food out of fear, and I was usually dismayed when I returned to the trailhead carrying an extra 2-3lbs of food that I didn't need. After nearly two decades of climbing and hiking and backpacking, I'd like to think that...

“Carbohydrates from the Latin, carbo which means “yummy” and hydrates which means “cinnamon bun,” are not something I can eliminate or even drastically cut back on. ” — Celia Rivenbark For those of you who have followed my blog for some time, you know that I have struggled with significant health issues for many years - dominated by horrible fatigue and an inability to build lean muscle.  Over the past few years, I have "evolved" my nutrition significantly - I am constantly "upgrading" my own personal quest for...

“Pasta with melted cheese is the one thing I could eat over and over again ” — Yotam Ottolenghi It's time for another incredibly easy "freezer bag" backpacking recipe.  This recipe (if you can even call it that), is so easy that you will wonder why you ever spent $15 on a pre-freeze dried backpacking meal.  The important part of this meal is purchasing the noodles that are designed to be prepared in the microwave - if you buy the noodles that are meant to be boiled, they...

“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” — W.C. Fields I have carried eggs on a backpacking trip.  Yes, real eggs.  In a plastic container.  They were delicious, especially when they were scrambled with fresh bell peppers for breakfast.  Sadly, as my interests have changed (i.e. not carrying a 70lb pack), so have my backpacking cooking habits.  While a lot of people like to go "all out" with their backpacking meals - I've taken the route of completely simplifying my cooking -...

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” — Hippocrates Let's face it - nobody wants to go on a business trip or a vacation and come home feeling like Moby Dick.  Staying healthy while traveling can be such a challenge!  When I was hired at my current organization, I was actually told (during my first interview), "You're going to gain 20lbs with this job."  I took that as a challenge - to prove them wrong that it IS possible to stay healthy and travel. ...

““My doctor told me I had to stop throwing intimate dinners for four unless there are three other people.” ” — Orson Welles I have evolved a LOT in the past few years, and by that, I mean that basically I don't recognize the "old me" anymore ...