Bye bye hair!

Yesterday I got a haircut.  Exciting, right??

My hair has been pretty long for a few years now, but lately it's gotten to the point of being so long that it's just annoying.  It gets stuck on things (under my purse or backpack, under my shoulder when I sleep, trapped under boyfriend's arm and then I struggle to move without pulling my scalp off), and it doesn't have a style - just kind of hangs there, so I just leave it in a ponytail all the time because it won't really do anything else.  It's also outrageously thick, so if it's not in a ponytail, it feels like wearing a parka all the time!

It was time for this cray hair to go.

Called my local Aveda Institute, where I've been getting my hair cut for several years (because where else can you get a really good quality haircut for $25?!) to make an appointment for "just a cut".

When I walked in, it looked like this:

When I walked out, I looked like this:

And had this in my hand:

So... that escalated quickly!  I decided on the way to get my hair cut that - you know - I want to lose a lot of this hair, so maybe it might be long enough to donate!  I've actually donated hair once before about 6 or 7 years ago.  I figure that if it's so long that I'm not having fun with it anymore, then I might as well lop it off and give someone else the opportunity to have thick long hair instead.  And, since I'm still a poor and starving student, I don't have any money to give to charity, but hey!  I can put my talent of ridiculously fast hair growth to good use :P

I've donated my 9.5" of luscious locks to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program, where it will be put together with other people's donated hair to be made into wigs for cancer patients.

Interested in donating?  Here are some things you should know:

• Find an organization to donate to.  The Canadian Cancer Society has a list on their website that you can start with!  There are also US organizations, such as Locks for Love.
• Check the minimum requirements of the organization you want to donate to.  Each organization has slightly different requirements, but generally, you will need a minimum of 8-10" of clean hair cut straight off of your head in a ponytail or braid (i.e. not cut and swept off the floor).  Some organizations will accept hair with minimal processing or with a small percentage of grey hair, but not all will accept this.  Generally, "virgin hair" (i.e. not dyed or chemically processed) is preferable.
• Bring a plastic baggie with you to the hair salon.  Otherwise you'll be carrying a ponytail home with you, and it might be awkward :P  You'll need to mail your hair to the organization in a baggie anyway.
• Mail your hair by regular mail, preferably in a padded envelope.  Make sure to include your name and address on a separate slip inside the envelope, as most organizations will send you a confirmation that your hair has been received.

Fluffy pumpkin pancakes

I bought a can of puree pumpkin, because I sometimes like to put it in my oatmeal or make pumpkin-blueberry smoothies.  But I wound up with nearly half of a can left over, and I was sick of eating oatmeal/smoothies after a while.  I couldn't just let that tasty canned veggie go to waste, so what's a girl to do??

Fluffy pumpkin pancakes!

I experimented with a few recipes, but this one produced the fluffiest, most filling breakfast ever.  It's originally from the Dietitians of Canada website, though I adapted it a bit because I didn't have all of the ingredients that it asked for.

Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
Yields about 12 pancakes

2 cups flour (I only had all-purpose available, but you could use 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup whole wheat)
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
(^^ note, if you have pumpkin pie spice, you can use that in place of these three spices)
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp white vinegar

1. In a bowl, combine your flour(s), brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. 
2. In a second bowl, combine the egg, milk, pumpkin, oil and vinegar. 
3. Get ready to work quickly -- start by getting a frying pan or griddle heated over medium heat.  Spray with cooking spray or use a small amount of canola oil to prevent sticking.
4. Combine your pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Mix it all together well.
5. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of the mixture for each pancake, plop it onto the frying pan and spread it out a little bit (my pancakes ended up being about 5 or 6cm in diameter).  Cook for about 2 minutes each side, till it starts getting bubbly around the edge and turns golden brown.  Flip over and cook for about 2 minutes on the other side.
6. Transfer the cooked pancakes to a plate and keep cooking the remaining batter.

Ohhhhhhh boy! I topped my pancakes with blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup for a filling, fluffy, fabulous breakfast.  The remaining pancakes can be kept in a covered container in the fridge to eat for breakfast tomorrow and the next day (I imagine that they could also be frozen as well) - just pop it in your toaster oven or microwave when you're ready to eat.

I entered this information into MyFitnessPal's recipe builder and popped out this nutrition info for two pancakes (and note that this was using only all-purpose flour - fibre content would be much improved with whole wheat mixed in):

• 215 calories
• 6g fat
• 7g protein
• 1g fibre
• 35g carbohydrate
• 139mg sodium

PS, that picture is from my Instagram - what?  Didn't know that I post on Instagram?  Follow me at evans_miche for more gastronomic adventures  

Vegetable of the Month

It's that time again!

This month's veggie is....

Sweet Potatoes!

We already talked once about potatoes, but sweet potatoes are a whole other breed unto themselves.  These popular potatoes have a much sweeter flavour (duh) than regular potatoes, and are a bright, colourful addition to your plate.

Here's the scoop!

According to the Canadian Nutrient File, one medium sweet potato (about 130g, including skin) contains:

• Only 112 calories!  FOR A WHOLE SWEET POTATO!
• 26g of carbohydrate
• 2g of protein
• about 4g of fibre
• practically zero fat!
• More than 100% of your daily Vitamin A needs!!
• 3% of your daily folate needs
• 4% of a woman's daily iron needs (9% for men)
• 9% of your daily potassium needs (more than 1 medium banana!)

Sweet potatoes are available year round and - yes!  They're available in Ontario right now!

Are sweet potatoes and yams the same thing?
No.  Though they look very similar from the outside, they taste quite different on the inside.  Yams are starchier and drier than sweet potatoes, and tend to be grown primarily in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.  Sweet potatoes have a much lower glycemic index than yams (meaning that they won't cause large spikes in blood glucose), and are higher in beta-carotene than yams.  In North America, chances are good that you're eating sweet potatoes, even though they might be mislabeled as yams.
This doesn't mean that yams are bad for you or not full of great nutritive value though - they're still super sources of fibre and potassium, still have no fat, and just a tad more calories than a sweet potato.  If you're looking for actual yams, you might have to look farther than your neighbourhood grocery store - they're sold in international stores and Caribbean grocery stores, but not often in your local No Frills.

How to use sweet potatoes

Just like regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are very versatile and can be enjoyed in many ways - roasted, mashed, fried, baked, in chunks in soups and stews.  It can even be made into pie :)

Conveniently, I happened to be making sweet potato fries this week anyway.  Behold!

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
Don't like things spicy?  Just take out the cayenne and crushed red pepper.  You can add other flavours like cinnamon and nutmeg, or garlic powder, or keep it simple with just salt and pepper.

• 2 sweet potatoes
• about 1-2 Tbsp canola oil, just enough to lightly coat the fries (I use canola because it has a more neutral taste and a lower smoke point to prevent accidental smoke detector incidents. You can totes use olive oil if you have that instead)
• about 1tsp each cayenne and crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to your taste)
• salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 to 1tsp of each)

1. Preheat your oven to 450 C.

2. Cut your sweet potatoes into fry shapes, trying to get each piece around the same size so that they all cook evenly.  You can make big chunky wedge fries or thinner McDonalds-sized fries, whatever your taste.

3. Meanwhile, put your fries into a bowl, along with your spices, salt and pepper, and oil.  Mix mix mix...

4. Arrange your fries in a single layer on the sheet.  This is important -- they need to be in a single layer and, ideally, have a bit of space around them in order to get good and crispy :)!  Some people report that using parchment paper can help make crispiness happen.  Plain old baking sheets also work well, but look out for sticking.  

5. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip them over to cook on the other side, and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

6. Eat.  Om nom nom nom...

Voila - crispy fries!  And with only about 2 Tbsp of oil in that ENTIRE recipe, they're a much healthier version than the deep-fried version sold at your local burger joint.

*tap tap* This thing still on?

Wow.  So remember back when I was all "I'm going to post at least once a month, if nothing else to give you a veggie of the month!".  And then remember how that didn't happen?

Hi.

The last 4 months have been cray.  Like, really cray.  I've been in school (full course load), working 5 jobs, sat on two student organizations doing events and communications, and was dealing with the EPIC STRESS of dietetic internship applications.  More on that later.

Long story short is that school is now DONE.  DOOOOOOOOONNNNEEE!!!!  No more classes, no more books, no more assignments or exams or deadlines DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I managed to cram a four year undergraduate degree into three years by working my BUTT off, taking full course loads every semester (including the summers - I've had exactly two weeks of summer vacation the last two years). I volunteered everywhere.  I've also managed to do it all without getting into debt, thanks to managing between 3-5 jobs each year and definitely thanks to the support of my awesome family and boyfriend.  I couldn't have done it without them, and I owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.

So.  Now what?

In January/February I applied to dietetic internships and graduate schools to finish what I started and become a Registered Dietitian.  Let me tell you - this process was brutal.  It was very stressful to manage the applications (really, the application process is a whole course in itself.  It was super hard to manage all that while already taking a full course load and writing midterms during the interview period).  Across the country, an estimated 30% of applicants will actually get an internship spot, so I really wasn't expecting much.  I wanted it bad, but I didn't want to have any expectation of succeeding at all.  After all, most of the people I knew last year who applied for the first time didn't get in.  After three straight years of hard ass work, of sacrifice and struggling, it was all over.  On internship selection day, my boyfriend was out of town for business.  I whined: "The ONE DAY that I need you the most, and you're GONE OUT OF TOWN!?!??!  Whether its good news or bad, I'm going to be crying hysterically!"   

I got an email on internship selection day:

WHAT??????

It was probably a good thing that boyfriend wasn't home that day.  It was a tremendous ugly cry, giggle fit, hysterical screeching kind of a day.  On the way to class later that morning, I cried four times on the 30 minute subway ride to campus.

This fall, I will be a dietetic intern at the University Health Network, a network of four hospitals in Toronto (Toronto Western, Toronto General, Princess Margaret, and Toronto Rehab) which are among the best of the best in the country.  AND THEY WANTED ME!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm officially an RD-to-be!


Now that all of that drama has passed, all of the school is DONE FOREVER (for real this time - second undergrad degree complete!), I have much more time on my hands over the summer to pay attention to blogging.  What can you expect coming up?

- Graduation!
- Prepping for internship, and the life of a dietetic intern (coming in the fall)
- Fun with fitness!
- Recipes and nutrition information
- More vegetables and/or fruits of the month
- More??? (you tell me!  What would you like to see?)

After a waaaay too long hiatus, I'm happy to be back!  You can expect your next veggie of the month to pop up sometime in the next day or two.

And, anyone reading this who is interested in the dietetic internship process, what to expect, etc., please don't hesitate to comment and I will gladly get back to you.  I might make another post about it when internship application time comes up again next year, but given how my promises to post things have gone lately, I wouldn't hold your breath over it :P