Mason Jar Salads

Usually I am quite tired after a full day (or week) of work and even making a simple dinner (thank you frozen section at Costco!) is more than I want to handle.

But...

Every once and awhile, I go in Mormon Mommy Blogger/Pinterest/Super Woman/Suzy Homemaker mode and find new powers for domestic success!

Last month I went a little crazy in my meal prep for the upcoming week. I was determined to find a low stress, affordable, and easy way to feed both myself and my even-busier resident husband a healthier diet, knowing we are both on-the-go with often little time to think about lunch beyond a granola bar or PB sandwich. I posted my first experiment on Instagram and have had so much interest/requests I figured I better do a post.

My husband and I try really hard to bring our lunches to work, mostly in an attempt to be frugal. It is usually a huge chore to realize late at night when it is already past your bedtime that you did not take the time to plan a lunch. I usually end up 1- stocking up on the carbs and packaged foods, 2-starve myself to save money (or simply because I don't have the time), or 3-cave and buy something ironically unhealthy at the hospital like a burger and fries.

*UGH*

I have also been striving to eat healthier--my main goal is incorporating more fruits, vegetables, and real foods into our diet. When I plan ahead I tend to do pretty well with this.

So, I decided to try the Mason Jar salad thing that seems to be trending on Pinterest and Facebook.

Since Costco is my friend (or maybe it is the other way around) I stocked up on a few staples:

Large (did I say large? I mean HUGE? 4 lbs is a lot) bag of pre-washed spinach
Container of grape tomatoes
Bag of mini bell peppers
Cucumbers
Carrots
Head of Red Cabbage


I tend to have a lot of dressings on hand already and things to supplement like eggs, cheese, craisins (Abe's favorite), nuts, tuna, grilled chicken, etc.

And then I started layering, mixing and matching as I went, using ideas I found on pinterest as a reference.

Here were my steps:
1. Salad dressing of your choice (I wasn't ever sure how much to add. If you are really a stickler, it could be helpful to measure as it was hard to judge). I used a range of creamy and vinegar based dressings to keep from getting bored.
2. Layer toppings in bite size pieces--I tried to layer things at the bottom I felt were less likely to get soggy: cheese, carrots, grape tomatoes (I felt these would hold up better than diced tomatoes, but I did cut them in half), chopped peppers, cabbage, etc, with cucumbers, eggs, and other more moist or potentially soggy items at the top.
3. Add greens. I was pleasantly surprised how much lettuce actually came out of the jars after I felt like I didn't leave much room for it.
4. Store (and admire your handiwork)--these easily stored for 1 week+
5. Grab and go!
6. Enjoy knowing you are being a little nicer to your body and feel clever doing it.




One week of lunches for two busy doctors on a diet, and a budget!

A few thoughts:

• As far as eating them goes, I ate them straight out of the jar...or poured onto a plate (which was easier but required slightly more planning). They were large and filling salads!
• They looked beautiful in my fridge and lasted for over one week, maybe even two (I went out of town before I had the chance to finish the last one towards the end of week two). The second week I noticed some wilting of the greens and I could tell the tomatoes were ripening, but they were still edible. This probably depends on the freshness of your produce of course!
• You can mix and match for variety. I tried some more cobb-type salads with cabbage, tomatoes, eggs, cheese, more of a Caesar type salad with parmesan and creamy dressing, as well as a fruity vinaigrette with craisins, mandarin oranges, and almonds.
• Adding a protein like tuna, eggs, grilled chicken helped me feel more full, made it more enjoyable, and kept fine.
• Be aware people may give you weird looks, almost everyone will question what you are doing, and most will think you are a real Martha Stewart!
• This was very affordable and a great way to get some extra veggies in to my day!
• I read some people would place paper towels or crackers at the top of the jar to absorb moisture. I tried this in a few jars but found it unnecessary. It actually just made me paranoid, of eating the paper towel!
• I would like to try more toppings and types of salads: southwest with avocado, corn, salsa, fajita meat; fruits like strawberries, blueberries with candied nuts; beans, feta cheese, quinoa, bacon, beets, etc.

 This is 1-2 weeks later. A little misty in there, but not bad!

And what to do with the 3.5 lbs of spinach you have left over?

Smoothies!

Our life looks pretty cool online!

Time for the classic "make you jealous because my life looks really awesome when I post some parts of it online" (or simply, "vacation in winter") post. I've been a little deep or even melancholy in my posts lately. I'm certainly not pulling my weight in the make yourself feel bad compared to your online friends category. So here goes!

Abe and I recently arrived home from a wonderful week of vacation! I think this was our first full week off together this academic year. It feels like we have been go-go-go for months, being on-call a lot and through the holidays, recovering from our burglary, not seeing each other much, etc, so this was a much needed and appreciated vacation.

(The other) Amber and Erin

We arrived in Baltimore on a Saturday. Strangely enough we realized we have a bunch of friends in Baltimore. My childhood friend Amber picked us up from the airport and we met her little (or not so little) kiddos and saw her husband Brett again. Amber is one of those friends who just feels like home. No matter how long (8 years?) it has been, it feels like we just pick up where we left off.

Roof top deck: Do you think we could add one of these to our house in Iowa?

We stayed the night with our friends Kyle and Katie in their adorable row home in downtown Baltimore. The exposed brick, multiple levels, and rooftop deck made us wish a little bit we were living the exciting life in the city instead of our Iowa reality (but traffic and crime made me grateful for home). They were nice enough to chauffer us around and help us arrange a dinner with some other friends for Abe's birthday (the Londons and "Uncle" Sterling and his cute family).



Who knew we had such a "crew" in Baltimore? It was great we could have a REAL party for Abe's birthday.

"Fishing" with the girls at the Harbor

Then they said Bon Voyage as they dropped us off for our cruise.

As if it wasn't enough food, I arranged to have more brought for a birthday surprise.



Just getting on the ship and enjoying the best part right away: food!

Wondering a bit if we were on a Titanic adventure, waiting in our room in the Harbor in Baltimore.



A little windy but hey, no coats!

Yes, we left out of Baltimore, which was a little strange, I know, but actually pretty great. The Baltimore weather was in the 50s and overnight it was warm enough to swim out on deck. We didn't swim out to the deck (isn't that what that line sounded like?), but after walking, could swim on the deck if we wanted. After a few days at sea, we arrived in Florida.



Feeling triumphant on the beach after receiving texts from home about the Iowa weather

We spent a day at Cocoa Beach. We laughed that we were swimming in the ocean when there was a 2 hour delay for cold and snow back home. What a wonderful break from winter!




Bahamas!

The next day, we arrived in Nassau, Bahama. We rented a scooter and braved the "wrong side" of the road driving to explore the island. We found a few quiet beaches and toured an historic fort. A lot of the people on our cruise said they liked our next stop, Freeport, Bahama better, but I really enjoyed Nassau. Maybe it was the freedom of driving a bike in the open air (it's been way too long since I've been on a motorcycle) next the sea with my honey close, but it was pretty great.



Our third destination was Freeport, Bahama. We had no plan for the day but hoped to find a beach. When we got off the ship we noticed there wasn't a lot happening at this particular port. In fact, it was pretty industrial. We sat on a bench trying to decide what to do when a group from our ship came and asked us if we would like to join them on a private chartered trip to a local beach. Not having a better option, we said yes and hopped into a van with a dread-locked Bahaman and a group including a dopple-ganger (sp?) for the grandpa from Duck Dynasty. We got a tour of the island as we drove and sure enough, spent the morning on a very quiet, almost private white sand beach (the same beach as the house where Johnny Depp stayed while filming Pirates). The water was warm and clear and blue. We drank pineapple juice and enjoyed the sunshine until we had to make it back (way too early) to our ship.



We enjoyed another afternoon in the sunshine on the deck as we headed back up the coast toward Baltimore. Unfortunately, the next day at sea was stormy and cold. We had really hoped for one more day of sun, but we were happy for what we got. We spent the day reading and napping and getting just a little fatter before getting ready to come home.

Starting to get a little chilly for the swimsuit alone

What a great trip! I don't know if it was the vacation itself or the timing (man, we needed a vacation -- a break from work and winter, not to mention some time together!) but that was the best vacation I can remember.

Who wants to come with us next time?

New Horizons

Feb 20 will mark the four month mark until I am finished with residency and become an Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon. Yesterday I had my last patient work-up for orthognathic (corrective jaw surgery) surgery. In a few short weeks I will be finished with my last month as "Clinic Chief," with only one month of "Trauma Chief" left for the rest of my residency. I am checking off the boxes in my to-do list before the end of residency, and as the checks are adding up, the list is getting shorter. So, life is pretty good.

But (oh the ever present but!) I do have a lot on my mind. I had hoped to be well settled into my plans for "next year" (which really just means my plans for after June 20, 2014, which as I said, is coming up!) by now. Instead, I am still weighing different options and mostly just waiting on additional information before I can make some decisions. I know I still have some time, but these things take time (I've been learning) and a lot of that doesn't seem to be up to me. So, I am trying to be patient before I have a freak out moment (I've been pretty good so far, surprisingly), and hoping that all of the players involved will have a time table that involves me having a job I am happy with come summer. I feel lucky I have options. I am blessed that my chosen career should lead to employment in hard economic times. And I am even more blessed and lucky that I should be well compensated doing a job I enjoy. So I'm not complaining. But I am a little stressed.

My biggest goals in the process are to find a job I will be happy doing (at least most days), pays fairly and comparably for the work I am doing (one of my biggest fears is that unfortunate reality that women still make 75 cents on the dollar to men for the same work), and will allow me to continue to build my skills as a surgeon and as a stepping stone for the rest of my career. Oh, and it has to be close enough for me to live with my husband.

So how about a few horizon, cloud pictures I found pretty to help you contemplate my proverbial new horizons...

And please let me know if you know the perfect OMS job in my area!

Sympathy Appendicitis

Sometimes residency is such a blur of long hours, stressful situations, and emotional interactions with patients and co-workers. And actually, when I say sometimes, that isn't the part I mean sometimes about. Because, most of the time, residency is such a blur of long hours, stressful situations, and emotional interactions with patients and co-workers. The sometimes comes in another separate sentence (to avoid a crazy run-on--so yes, I may have sacrificed and settled with a fragment, grammar police). In that context, does it stand alone to say, "Sometimes I wish I were sick?"

I know I am not alone along my resident friends in envying the patient's we care for. I remember very distinctly on my general surgery rotation wishing for appendicitis. How would it be to crawl into bed with that patient, whose only responsibilities include four walks a day around the ward, using the incentive spirometer (the breathing whirly-gig), and documenting your bathroom visits, in the overarching goal of getting better?

Or better yet, changing places with the patient.
How very tired one must be to wish a surgical scar and the pain of recovery upon oneself for a few days of boredom and Oprah daytime TV overload!

I admit I haven't wished an appendectomy upon myself for quite some time. But I do have fleeting moments of jealousy of the thought of sick days.

And then I learned my lesson of the be careful what you wish for variety.

Luckily it didn't take appendicitis to teach me.

I ironically spent much of MLK Day (yay for my first holiday off in months--after making it through almost the entire holiday season on-call) lounging around, watching TV. I had been coveting the snow days my friends who work in the schools have been enjoying and really wished for some extra time off.  I woke up Tuesday vomiting. I thought I made a pretty good recovery until I was mid-tooth extraction in the operating room and suddenly felt quite off. I called for a replacement and spent some time recovering, only to feel worse and worse.

I don't remember taking a sick day in the past 4.5 years of residency. I may have been sent home a time or two but don't really remember. I felt very awkward but realizing I wasn't really needed that afternoon, asked to go home. I didn't make it back until Thursday (almost a 5 day weekend).

And being home sicker than sick, I remembered that maybe it is better to be the one on the healer's side.  Being sick isn't fun. I would have rather been at work.

You're So Vain

I've been living with a lot of songs running through my mind lately. Today, I can't help but hum the Beatles hit, All You Need Is Love. A few lines keep coming to me: "There's nothing you can sing that can't be sung" and "Nothing you can know that isn't known." Similarly, what I am about to say in this blog is nothing earth shattering or revelatory. You are probably smart enough to have already "sung" it or "known" it for yourself. Regardless, John and Paul give me courage to share despite the potential for redundancy-- because for me, somehow it clicked this time around and I thought I'd share the love.

* * *



I think it is a little taboo to admit publicly that you feel some sort of dissatisfaction with your appearance. We are all supposed to be confident and happy, above those sort of petty things. Who wants to be vain and admit they spend time worrying about how they look when there are more important issues in the world, like caring for children, improving relationships, and solving world hunger?



Do we really measure our successes by pounds? Men don't tend to do this...why do we?

 That's why I think I feel such guilt over my own pre-occupation with beauty. I beat myself up for feeling bad that I have any slight imperfection. I tend to think, "If only I were prettier or thinner. Blonder. Taller. Tanner." And yet paradoxically, I feel quite happy with who I am and this body I have been blessed with. It can do amazing things regardless of a few blemishes. And in fact, it looks pretty good doing it (most of the time)!

 



Will it really be life changing? Forget about friendship, childbirth, meeting a goal, helping a stranger...you found the right eyeliner!



So why the mixed bag of feelings? I think it has to do with a fierce war on women. A war whose enemies know that if they can cause dissatisfaction and unattainable goals that they will always have customers. It is a rare and admirably strong woman (or girl!) who can avoid (at least occasionally) feeling down on herself when she is constantly being bombarded with messages telling her that her appearance is the most important obsession (as evidenced by the two pictures above). And an obsession with impossible standards.

I used to look at the beauty industry as a kind benefactor, a nameless ally giving me tools to help escape potential self loathing and nitpicking by offering solutions and resources to finally be able to "love the skin [I'm] in." I know I'm not the only one being tricked by this tactic as evidenced by 2 minutes on Pinterest.


Ironic, coming from a photoshopped image!

I think we like to think we are above these kind of influences. I know I do. Who wants to admit that the cheesy jingle sucked us into buying those cookies at the store or the glittery ad in the magazine played into our shampoo choice?

Instead, we like to fool ourselves into thinking that meeting these beauty "ideals" are lofty goals. We make excuses that our weight and body shape is about "health."




Yup, really healthy thinking!
 

We wouldn't want to admit that we are superficial or vain or subject to mass marketing schemes. We tell ourselves it is inherently good to be "healthy." Or that it is important to want to improve ourselves. It is about discipline or self mastery.

Depends on your goal weight. And your genetics, too, maybe.

And it is.



It does if you have unrealistic expectations

Unless our goals are unrealistic. Then it becomes less about self mastery and more about self defeat.

***



I think we all know that photoshop is real and used extensively. But I was pretty unaware just HOW much. I don't see a big problem with removing a few blemishes, evening out skin tones, smoothing out lines.

This is still significant photoshopping

But I didn't realize that it is pretty standard to remove chunks of flesh or body parts like ribs or hips, or to even add back in to bulk-up those otherwise too-skinny models. Even the often idolized Victoria Secret models evidently don't make the cut (then again, in their pictures they do, in a big way, on the editing room floor!).



I guess she is skinny enough to have hip bones and ribs showing, and the real chest to match (small)! (Photoshopped on the right)

 

Still looks great but... (photoshop on the right)

And my favorite, she has a belly pooch like me!

And finally, in case you think I am crazy, want to attribute it to hard work outs and good self control, and still don't see the wonders of photoshop...



Recognize this man? I think it is Hugh Laurie from House, MD

...even our most fit role models get the treatment.

What happened to Kelly's abs?



If it is really about health, why aren't we trying to look like the Serena on the left?



***

 

When I started writing this post, I was unsure if I should share it. I realized it may lend itself to misunderstanding: that I may seem judgmental; like I am encouraging women to embrace unhealthy ideals such as obesity or personal stagnation in the order of "loving ourselves;" or like I lack in self confidence. That I am a whiner, complainer, or a fisher of compliments. So I left it sitting...

 

And then at church I was asked to read a quotation and the last line hit me:

 

"Only by educating and training our desires can they become our allies instead of our enemies!"

--Neil A. Maxwell

 

This ad seems ridiculous. But many of the images we compare ourselves to are just as preposterous.

I decided that that was the motivation for this post. Are our untrained, mislead desires making us the enemies of ourselves? Is our quest for unattainable physical perfection causing self hatred, feelings of failure or dissatisfaction? Do we discount our good qualities and the successes that truly matter for trivial matters like thigh gaps and overcoming hunger pains in attempt to look like the unreal images we see everyday?

I hope my small self-revelations may be helpful to others, even if some may find me vain or pre-occupied with trivial matters, lacking in confidence, or just plain silly. That may be right.

 

That's why I am still "in training" to see the inherent beauty all around and in all of us. And I am trying my hardest to remember that in myself. So I decided, I look great! I would still like to lose a few pounds, get in better shape, eat healthier. But in the meantime, I want to enjoy this beautiful, womanly body I have been given for what it is--something beautiful and to be celebrated.

And so I end with another line from a song:

"At the end of the day," I want to be remembered for the kind of person I was, not for how I looked.


 

 

The one that got away

Even though I am a surgeon, my background is in dentistry. So, while I like to think that I am making a difference in my life's work, it often isn't on the same level as many of my other surgical colleagues.

For example, the hospital I work at has a slogan/motto/mission statement (whatever the appropriate term), "Changing medicine, changing lives." Somehow changing the phrase to, "Changing dentistry, changing lives" just doesn't have the same appeal.

I still think what I am doing is important. Maybe in some ways I am saving lives, but usually in a more figurative manner. "Saving" my teenage patient from her tormentors who "make fun" of her "buck teeth" by realigning her jaws seems pretty important. And "saving" my patients from their excruciating tooth pain certainly is significant in that moment.

But today I was reminded that even though I don't usually see it, maybe I am saving lives. Unfortunately, that happened when my patient passed away today*. This doesn't mean I haven't seen death while working in the hospital. I have seen other mortalities while on other teams, but this was the first patient for which I was the primary doctor.  I had operated on her, and I had followed her all along the way.

I am grateful that I don't get this reminder very often! In fact, it took me 4.5 years of residency to experience it and I am grateful I am in a profession where that isn't unusual. I guess I will probably rarely know if I have "saved" or "changed" many lives. But today, I'm glad I'm "just a dentist" who hopefully wont have to find out for a long time.


*Sadly, people in this country can, and occasionally still do, die from dental infections. Usually they are not in the best of health and often delay treatment. I guess it is a good reminder to stay in good dental health and to seek treatment early for problems.

It's the most wonderful time

 

Let's go out of order, shall we. Now that we have passed the New Year, let's go back to Christmas.

I was really looking forward to "the holidays" this year. And then I found out I would be on call for the month starting mid-December instead of January 1. Talk about a bummer! I was not only expecting to not be on-call, but hoped to take vacation to really enjoy that time. Luckily, I had plenty of time to come to grips with my ill-holiday fate (since at least June). By the time it rolled around, I was (mostly) okay with the idea.

Obviously, we were unable to participate in the Sheffield Chicago Christmas tradition. Every year they spend some time up in the city at Christmas time, driving home late Christmas Eve. Luckily, we were able to be in Chicago a few weeks earlier for a conference, which made it feel more like we were able to get in our Chicago Christmas Fix.

Since Abe and I were both working (he was working the night shift and I was on-call), his family was nice and came home a day early to spend some time with us. I particularly appreciated not being alone on Christmas Eve while Abe was stuck at the hospital.

(Unfortunately for me, that also meant the traditional Chinese Christmas Eve dinner! I'm not one for Chinese and so we joke that for me this is the "worst Christmas tradition, ever!" But at least with the Chinese buffet we went to this time I could pig out on things I do like...crab rangoons, Mongolian BBQ, sushi...)

Because Abe was working the night shift, we went to the hospital to visit him on Christmas Eve. We sang a few carols, opened Christmas Eve pajamas, and showed off Sheffield Christmas shoes.









We were blessed with a White Christmas day, which was also a quiet one for me, despite being on call. We were able to spend the entire day with Abe's family opening presents. I was really spoiled this year!








After I was very happy with the other gifts I received and feeling a little sheepish by the generousity of others, Abe surprised me with a new ring! It isn't anything like my last one, which is what I was wanting. (I didn't want any painful reminders of how it just wasn't quite right.) I do have occasional moments of missing my original, but it is so sparkly I usually forget. It is nice to have something back on my finger.

 

 

 He also surprised me with the gold Christmas tree I've been coveting since I saw it in one of our local department stores. I was kicking myself for not buying it when the floor model was for sale because I haven't found one like it anywhere else (at least for under $1000). Somehow he bought it without my knowing while we were doing some Christmas shopping together. I couldn't help but put it up the other day even though it is a little past my usual Christmas-tree-time window.

It looks pretty green in the picture below but the upper picture shows its color a little better. So excited to decorate this glittering beauty next year. Any suggestions anyone on a good color scheme?

 

Overall, I think this year that I was (almost) dreading turned out to be one of the best. I felt especially grateful for time with family, my health, and the wonderful things I have been so blessed with. I think worrying it might be a horribly disappointing year just made me appreciate it that much more.

 

With that said, I am still hoping to have a Christmas off-call next year!