Mujadera

 One-Pot Mujadara with Leeks and Greens

Total Time: 35 min  | Servings: 12 to 16 servings (Scaled 2x) 

Ingredients:

2 cups black lentils

4 leeks, white and light green parts only, roots trimmed

1 1/2 tablespoons salt, more as needed

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups long grain rice

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

2 bay leaf

2 cinnamon stick

8 cups trimmed and chopped spring greens (chard leaves, spinach, kale, mustard or a combination)

Directions:

Place lentils in a large bowl and add warm tap water to cover by 1 inch. Let soak.

Meanwhile, halve leeks lengthwise; run under warm water to release any grit. Thinly slice leeks crosswise.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer half the leeks to a bowl to use for garnish and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Stir garlic into the pot with the remaining leeks and cook for 15 seconds until fragrant. Stir in rice and sauté 2 minutes. Stir in cumin, allspice and cayenne; sauté 30 seconds.

Drain lentils and stir into pot. Add 4 1/4 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Rinse greens in a colander and spread damp leaves over lentil mixture. Cover and cook 5 minutes more, until rice and lentils are tender and greens are wilted. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with reserved crispy leeks.

Nutrition:

Fat: 7 grams

Calories: 228

Saturated Fat: 1 gram

Unsaturated Fat: 6 grams

Sodium: 209 milligrams

Sugar: 2 grams

Fiber: 4 grams

Carbohydrate: 34 grams

Protein: 8 grams

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014804-one-pot-mujadara-with-leeks-and-greens?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share&fbclid=IwAR1m-SjTD0nJf2jblUTgwWq4ZYvW1VbRHciZDZE8LUukTzDwYWDgsV9pwi0

Lentil bolognese

 Lentil Bolognese

★★★★★

Prep Time: 10 mins  | Cook Time: 45 mins  | Servings: 12 (Scaled 2x) 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onion, diced

8 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried thyme (or use more oregano)

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

300g of tomato paste

6 cups (1440 ml) vegetable broth

2 cups (370g) lentils

1/2 cup (64g) walnuts (or pecans), crushed finely

2 (14.5-ounce/410g) cans of crushed tomatoes

Flat-leaf Italian parsley or fresh basil, chopped or slivered (optional)

Directions:

Heat a Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and once it’s shimmering, add the onions and season with a pinch of salt. 

Stir occasionally and cook the onions until a light brown fond starts form on the surface of the pan, about 5 minutes. 

Continue cooking the onions, adding more water every few minutes and stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the onions are softened and golden brown, 9-10 minutes. 

Next, add the garlic, then the herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir frequently and cook for 60-90 seconds.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes to caramelize, stirring very frequently, until it’s darker red in color.

Pour in the broth to deglaze the pan, stirring any browned bits on the bottom of the pot and stirring the broth into the tomato paste to combine. Add the lentils and walnuts, and stir to incorporate. Heat until the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a rapid simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but still al dente, stirring occasionally to prevent burning and sticking.

If using crushed tomatoes, you may need to add a little water or lower the heat as needed to prevent burning.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Add the pasta and cook until just al dente. Reserve a ladle or so of pasta water (may not need it). Drain the pasta but do not rinse it.

Taste the bolognese for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with chopped parsley or basil

Note: If you're not serving all of the bolognese at this time, transfer the amount of bolognese sauce you'd like to eat to the pasta pot. Add the hot cooked pasta, turn the heat to medium, and toss to coat. Store the leftover bolognese sauce separately in the fridge.

Source: https://rainbowplantlife.com/10-ingredient-vegan-red-lentil-bolognese/#recipe

Vegan Szechuan Tofu and Peppers

 Vegan Szechuan Tofu and Peppers

Ingredients:

2 blocks (16 oz) firm or extra firm tofu, drained and pressed

2 red bell pepper, cubed into 1/2-inch pieces*

1 green bell pepper, cubed into 1/2-inch pieces*

2 medium onion, cubed into 1/2-inch pieces*

Avocado oil as needed for frying

4-6 scallions, chopped diagonally, to serve

For the szechuan sauce:

⅔ cup tamari sauce

2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp chili garlic sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp toasted sesame oil 

1 tsp black pepper 

2 tsp granulated garlic

2 tsp ground ginger

¼ cup water 

Directions:

To Make the Crispy Tofu:

Slice a drained and press block of tofu crosswise into 8-10 rectangles of about 1/2" thickness. 

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange tofu rectangles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes until the top surface starts turning golden, then flip and cook 5-7 minutes more.

Slice each cooked tofu rectangle into bite-sized pieces, set aside.

To Make the Szechuan Sauce:

In a small bowl or a measuring cup, whisk cornstarch and tamari sauce until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients, chili garlic sauce through water, and whisk to combine. Set aside.

To Make the Vegetables:

While the tofu is cooking, chop peppers and onions into 1/2-inch cubes. 

Once the tofu is done baking in the oven, preheat the skillet on medium-high. 

Add 1 tsp oil. Add cubed peppers and onions, toss well, and cook quickly to get some of the pieces slightly charred around the edges, about 2-3 minutes. 

Take the vegetables out and set aside. 

To Finish:

Reheat the same skillet you cooked peppers in over medium heat. Add 1 tsp of oil. Add tofu cubes, and immediately pour in the Szechuan sauce (be careful as it may start splattering).

Reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, until the sauce thickens, about 1-2 minutes. 

Once the sauce has reduced by half, add peppers and onions. Toss well, and cook another 2-3 minutes, or until most of the liquid evaporates, and each piece of tofu and vegetables is covered with sticky golden-brown glaze.

Serve topped with chopped scallions

Adapted from:  

https://www.veganrunnereats.com/11667/szechuan-tofu/

Vegan Lu Rou Fan 滷肉飯

 Lu Rou Fan – Braised Tofu Rice Bowl ‘素滷肉飯’

★★★★★

Prep Time: 10 mins  | Cook Time: 20 mins  | Servings: 9 (Scaled 3x) 

Ingredients:

3 lb [1191g] firm tofu pressed, drained & mashed

12 oz [390g] mushrooms chopped 

4 tbsp minced garlic 

1 1/2 onion finely chopped

9 tablespoons [54g] green onions chopped

4 1/2 cups of water

cornstarch slurry mix 3 tablespoons corn starch with 0.5 tablespoon of water

oil for cooking

salt to taste

Seasoning:

9 tablespoons tamari

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon white pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons chinese five spice powder

3/4 cup [180g] Chinese cooking wine Michiu

3 star-anise

3 cinnamon stick

1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

Directions:

Drain and press tofu for 15 minutes. (put between two plates with paper towels and use the dutch oven as a weight)

Heat up wok for 2 minutes

Add mashed tofu and add 2 tbsp of avocado oil until golden brown and crispy. 

Push the tofu to the side of the pan (add in more oil as needed to prevent sticking)

Saute mushrooms and onions until cooked through

Add in the chopped scallions and garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or until garlic is aromatic

Season with white pepper, 5 spice powder, sugar and then stir to combine

Add in the tamari sauce, michiu, water, and bring mixture to rolling boil

Continue to cook until sauce is reduced to two thirds/half

Taste test and add salt accordingly. 

Add cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce by stirring constantly over low medium heat

Source: https://woonheng.com/vegan-lu-rou-fan/#wprm-recipe-container-1154

Halal guys copycat vegan chickpea and rice

 Halal Cart Chickpea and Rice (Copycat)

★★★★★

Prep Time: 30 minutes  | Cook Time: 20 minutes  | Servings: Yield: 12 servings (Scaled 2x) 

Ingredients:

For the Rice:

4 tablespoons country crock

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 cups extra long-grain or basmati rice

5 cups vegetable broth

1/2 tsp kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper each

lettuce 

45 oz chickpeas

Directions:

For the rice: Melt the butter/oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven then add the spices and cook until you can smell them, stirring into the butter.

Add the rice and stir to coat.

Cook, stirring frequently for 4 minutes until the rice is toasted.

Add the broth and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring mixture to a boil.

Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes without disturbing.

Remove from the heat and rest without opening the lid for 15 minutes.

Add chickpeas washed and drained and mix final mixture

Source: https://dinnerthendessert.com/halal-carts-middle-eastern-chicken-and-rice/

White sauce to go with it 

Halal Cart-Style White Sauce

★★★★★

Prep Time: 10 minutes  | Cook Time: 10 minutes  | Servings: 3 1/2 cup (Scaled 2 1/3x) 

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups or 392g vegan mayonnaise

1 1/6 cups or 303 g plain vegan yogurt

2 1/3 tablespoons / 35 ml distilled white vinegar

2 1/3 teaspoons / 11.7 ml freshly ground black pepper

2 1/3 teaspoons sugar

1 1/6 teaspoons dried dill

1 1/6 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/6 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions:

Stir mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar, pepper, sugar, dill, garlic powder, salt. 

Sauce can be made 5 days ahead. Store in an airtight container and chill.

Source: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/halal-cart-style-white-sauce

My favorite dal recipe

 Priya’s Dal

Servings: 16 

Ingredients:

4 cups lentils dried

4 Bayleaf

4 teaspoons ground turmeric

4 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons lime juice

For the seasoning:

8 tablespoons olive oil

8 teaspoons cumin seeds

4 dried red chilies.adjusted for children

pinch of red chili pepper

Directions:

In a large pot over high heat, combine the lentils, bay leaf, turmeric, salt, and 8 cups of water, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium high, get the lentils a stir, and insert a large long handled spoon into the pot to break the surface tension to prevent boiling over.

Cook with a spoon, still inserted into the lentils are soft, but still retain their shape and then make sure resembles a thick soup, 20 to 30 minutes

Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes

Add lime juice and set aside

Make the seasoning:

In a small pan over medium, high heat, warm the oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the cumin and cook until they sputter and brown immediately remove the pan from heat and star in the dried chilies red chili powder.

Add the seasoning to the cooked dal and mix thoroughly

FatFIRE

 I've been a little obsessed with fatFIRE  recently. FatFIRE is retiring early with a large retirement fund that would cover more than the basics. The idea of leanFIRE stresses me out. Leanfire is retiring with enough just for the basics. Regular FIRE is somewhere in between. I want to make sure I can travel as much as I want and not worry about running out of money. So fatFire it is. 

Fatfire goals are 25 times expected yearly expenses with the goal of withdrawing 4% yearly as income. For my expected expenses, I used my current expenses and estimated a little higher. I'm currently paying for mortgage and childcare in a high cost of living area. I hope to replace that expenditure with travel or hobbies when I'm older. 

My original first goal is to reach coast FI. Coast FI is the point where you have saved so much money in your funds that you only have to keep working to keep up with your current expenses. Some people call it barista FI because you are only making money to keep things going. For some, it's for healthcare benefits. For others, it's about being able to cut down. That's what it's about for me. However, reaching coastFI would mean that I would cut down later in life. The time I need to cut down is now while my children are children. 

Enter firecalc.com 

This handy calculator is what I use to determine how much I need to save and how I'm progressing toward my goal. With that information, I can make decisions about cutting down now vs. later and how much. This is only calculator I've seen that takes into account social security and pension. 

Currently, my goal is to retire at 58. Kids will be done with college and also my pension would kick in. I can cut down to 80% now to retire at that age. If I wanted to go 50%, I can do that but will need to retire at 65. If I keep working and saving at the current rate, I can retire at 52.  Conversely, if I stopped working now, I can live on 15,000 a year. I'm not sure what I want to do but it's nice to know I have options. 

Time: The Limited Resource

 As a mother of two and full time physician, I often felt like time is limited. There are so many priorities and I felt like I was failing. I wasn't spending enough time with my kids. I was burned out. My mental load was overwhelming me. I've come to realize that it was my perspective. These are the things that have changed in my perspective and helped me see what I am actually doing and what I need to do to have a fulfilling life. 

1. The mother's guilt

The societal expectation for mothers is to spend all their time with their children creating guilt for working moms everywhere. I would like to challenge that notion. Spending time with your children is not the same thing as spending meaningful time with your children. Being together in the same room for 16 hours a day is not the same thing as spending 16 hours giving your full attention to your children. Since I don't plan on quitting to be full-time parent, I decided what time I spend with them should be undivided. I would like to spend at least half their waking lives with them. They also need to experience other people and things away from me to grow. If I concentrate and spend the one hour with them upon waking and 2 hours before bed every day and all of the weekend, I am there for them for half their waking life. 

Being present with them can be challenging. To make it easier would be to eliminate sources of distraction for me. Phones should be put away. Screen time is eliminated. We cancelled Saturday and Sunday movies. The only thing allowed to distract me away from them is chores or books while they are playing by themselves. They have to initiate that activity. I used to cook nightly and that would take an hour from my time with them. I've since decided to outsource that chore because my time with them is more limited. I might start cooking later in the evening but as you read on, you'll start to understand why I might not. 

2. Work and burnout

The stories I hear from primary care physicians is that we work too many hours and thus that leads to burnout. I have had friends who went part-time to counteract this. While it does sound great to have more free time (because who wouldn't want more time for fun?), it actually counteracts my goal for financial independence. The less I work now, the more I have to work later. I could decide that financial independence is not important to me but I have not yet made that decision with 2 kids and a mortgage. I have locked in to this for at least the next 4 years. We have 168 hours a week. I trade 36 hours for patient contact hours.  It felt like I was working for more than 40 hours because of that. When I actually tracked it, I was not. So now, I track my hours and when I hit 40,  I stop. 

Here are some strategies that I now employ to streamline my day in primary care: 

1. Take care of 5 action items in the inbasket first - starting with the ones I tend to spend the most time thinking about. My brain is fresh in the morning. It's easier for me think about these things before I get fatigued later in the day (which was the time that I used to work on these items) 

2. In clinic, I write my notes - the history, physical and plan right after seeing the patient. This may cause a delay of 3-5 minutes for my next patient but it guarantees that their chart is accurate and that I'm not trying to think about the patient I just saw before them. I do the same with my virtual visits. I find that I have more processing ability if I clear my mind. I save closing the charts at the very end of the half day session. At that point, it's a brainless activity. I just click the buttons that prevent me from closing the chart - like billing. 

3. When my brain is tired, I work on the inbasket stuff that is not mentally taxing. These are things like refills. For example, thyroid tests were normal in past year. OK to refill. Cholesterol is high. Please work on your diet and exercise. If it is going to present chart review or mental challenge, I save it for tomorrow or start of my next half day when I'm fresh again. 

4. Listening to my brain exhaustion. Sometimes I have patients who come in with long lists of things. I try to do as many as I can but I need to be watchful. If my brain becomes overwhelmed, they are not getting the best care. I have been asking patients with these long lists to come back. I can address 2-3 problems but not 10 effectively in 1 visit. 

5. On days that I find myself up earlier than I expected to be, I will spend 15-30 minutes on my inbasket. It doesn't feel onerous. It doesn't feel overwhelming. It's only 15-30 minutes that I would have spent later but now I'm more efficient. 

6. If I catch myself thinking about work in a negative way, I stop. I focus on things to be grateful for - at work and outside of work. If I keep work at work and don't spend a moment more thinking about it in my free time, I find that I am happier. This doesn't mean I'm not 

3. The Mental Load and Chores

I used to have a cleaning service before the pandemic. I miss them dearly but my family have decided that we cannot expose our kids or ourselves to any additional risks than what we are already taking with my job. I am the person in charge of all papers in the house and the maintenance of the house. Don't get me wrong. My husband does chores but he does not carry the mental load. He is open minded and agrees with me that we should share the mental load and chores. But to be honest, this is not his strong suit and we should all be doing things that we are more skilled at instead of it just being equal. 

We started using an app called Tody. It assigned efforts and chores with recurring frequency. He likes to do the dishes and kitchen clean up. He just puts on a podcast and does it. He hates talking on the phone. I don't mind it so I schedule all the appointments for the kids, him and dog. At first, we strived for 50/50 in terms of effort but after 2 months, he kept asking me to stop doing chores so he wouldn't have to do anymore beyond his kitchen duty. Our solution was to take the money that we would have used for the cleaners and distribute it between us. For every effort over 300 that month, we get a dollar to go in our own discretionary fund. If you go under that goal, you get money substracted from your discretionary fund. This way, we can decide if we want to do more or less without it being competitive. If I decide that I'm going to let the house go for the rest of the month, it is a decision I can make without resenting him and vice versa. If I want to spend more money on my hobbies, then I would just do more chores. Same for him. Any future fun money is also divided up proportionately based on what percentage of tasks we did for the month prior. For example, last month, it was my goal to get the house back to tip top shape. I made sure to do extra to get it done and completed 500 efforts while my husband kept up his 300 efforts. If there is 100 dollars to be distributed for the fun money fund, I would get 5/8 and he would get 3/8. 

My current plan is to 30 minutes of chores a day and see if I can keep up the house maintenance. After all, my cleaning service would come work for 3 hours every 2 weeks. They are professionals who are much more efficient at it than me. Spending 7 hours every 2 weeks to keep my house tidy and also working on my mental load is reasonable in my mind. 

4. Free time

When you ask people what is stopping you from achieving that goal or doing that thing you love, you will often get the answer that they don't have enough time. I used to be one of those people. Now, I'm better but not perfect. 

Let's do a deep dive in my expected time use over a week: 

- Sleep - 49 hours 

- Work - 40 hours 

- Chores - 3.5 hours

- Eating/Personal Care - 7 hours

- Commuting - 2-3 hours 

- Children - 36 hours 

- Date night - 10 hours

- Exercise - 7 hours 

- Free time: 12 hours 

You might say that 12 hours is not a lot of time. I beg to differ. In those 12 hours for the past 2 months, I have read 11 books. I have been trying to read one book a month for the past 2 years. Each year I have failed miserably. Additionally, I have also taken the mock test for TOCFL which was one of my goals this year. I have spent time thinking about how to improve my life and figuring out where I want to go next.  

You might be wondering, "where did this free time come from?" The answer is that I was watching too much television and scrolling through Facebook which neither fulfilled me nor added quality to my life. I implemented some strategies. 

1. I wished I could say I removed Facebook from my phone but I have a lot of accounts linked to it. I worry about losing the ability to log in via Facebook. I had my husband set a time limit on it. I tried to but the addiction is too strong.  I get 30 minutes throughout the day and that's it. 

2. I removed my email from my homescreen. It's now sitting somewhere in the mess of apps I have. I try to check it only twice a day and not more. 

3. I deleted most iphone games. I have kept celtic tribes. I don't log in as often as I used to but I have a pretty large kingdom there. Sometimes there's still activity but mostly, we are growing slowly in peacetime. 

4. I outsourced cooking as noted above. I can spend an hour cooking every day or I can continue to work fulltime. I chose work because I am more efficient at work than cooking. It will remain a hobby but now I don't have to think about grocery shopping, meal planning and lose precious daytime hours with my children. My mind is freer as a result. If I decide the economic cost is too much, I can always choose to work more. 

In conclusion, when I look at my time and life now, I feel great. I am spending time on the things that are important to me. I am tracking my time to make sure I'm keeping myself honest (Atracker app). If I see that I'm spending too much times on chores, I know to hold back. If I see that I'm not reading enough,  I read.  When I see I'm not sleeping enough, I make a plan to go to bed early. When I feel a void in my time, I know now that it is a decision point for me to do something that aligns with my priorities or to waste it. It is my time and I get to decide what to do with it. 

Reading recommendations: 

168 hours by Laura Vanderkam

All the money in the world by Laura Vanderkam

When: The scientific secrets for perfect timing by Daniel Pink

Financial freedom: a proven path to all the money you will ever need by Grant Sabatier

Orange Vegan Scone

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

For scones:
Wet ingredients:

• 0.5 cup of pumpkin puree
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 0.5 cup of brown sugar
• 0.5 cup of margarine
• 1/3 cup of plant based milk

Dry ingredients:

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 0.5 tsp of salt
• 1.5 tsp of baking powder

For glaze:

• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp of plant based milk
• Orange zest - hearty amount of your choice. I tried 2 tsp. 

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Mix wet ingredients (0.5 cup of pumpkin puree, 2 tsp of vanilla extract, 0.5 cup of brown sugar, 0.5 cup of margarine, 1/3 cup of plant based milk)
3. Mix in dry ingredients (2 cups of all purpose flour, 0.5 tsp of salt, 1.5 tsp of baking powder)
4. Flour a surface and cover mixture completely in flour
5. Knead the mixture. Adding in flour as needed to make it not sticky. 
6. When it has a nice dough format, shape into a 1 inch thick round pie. 
7. cut into 8 piece with knife and separate each piece. You can dust the center with flour.
8. bake in oven for 25 minutes. It's ready when it is no longer sticky/soft. 
9. Whisk glaze ingredients together: 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp of plant based milk, orange zest)
10. Spoon glaze on top of scone to your heart's content. 

Miso Ramen with Lime

Another cooksmarts recipe adapted for my family. This one was not amazing but I have found writing out the recipes really helped me while cooking. I have tweaked the below to try for my next trial of cooking.

Link to original recipe

Servings: 6
Prep time: 30 minutes

• 3 days ahead - 10 minutes
• 5 days ahead-  20 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time:  55 minutes

Ingredients:

• Garlic - 6 cloves, minced
• Cauliflower - 1.5 lbs, chopped or 1 head
• Green onions - 2 stalks, chopped finely
• Margarine - 6 Tbsp
• Miso, any type - 4 Tbsp
• Bok choy, baby, bokchoy or zucchini - 1 1/2 lbs, chopped 
• Oil, cooking - 2 Tbsp
• Soy sauce, low-sodium - 3 tbsp
• Stock, any type - 8 cups
• Noodles, dried ramen, soba or udon - 12 oz 
• Edamame, shelled - 2 cups
• Lemon juice- 1 tsp 

Prep:  (how long it will take and how many days ahead you can do it).  Steps will be written as if you are cooking the day of so you don't waste time.

1. Chop cauliflower (1.5 lb or 1 head) 
• 10 minutes/5 days ahead
2. Make Miso-lime butter: 
• chop green onions (2 stalks)
• Mash in miso (4 tbsp), green onions, lemon juice (1 tsp), margarine (6 tbsp)
• 10 minutes/ 5 days ahead
3. Chop bok choy (1.5 lbs) 
1. Halve lengthwise and then rinse thoroughly in cold water in case dirt got trapped in the stems
2. Drain and then chop
• 10 minutes /3 days ahead. 

Make: 

1. Heat wok over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil (2 tbsp). 
2. Add bok choy to heated oil - saute for 2-3 minutes until tender
3. Add miso-lime butter and then cauliflower and garlic (2 tbsp) 
4. Saute for 1-2 minutes
5. Transfer to large pot
6. Add soy sauce (4-8 tsp) and stock (8 cups) and bring to a simmer
7. Simmer until cauliflower is tender (5-8 minutes)
8. Add noodles (12 oz) and edamame (2 cups) and cook until noodles are tender (3-6 minutes depending on thickness)
9. Season with salt and pepper while it's cooking
10. Remove from eat and add lime juice if desired. 

Cost: ~11

• Cauliflower - 3
• Green onions - 0.99
• Bok choy, baby, bokchoy or zucchini -2
• Sauces: 1.5 
• Noodles- 1.10 
• Edamame, shelled - 2.50

Drunken Udon Noodles with Tofu

I've been cooking with cooksmarts since May. It's a meal planning service that has been incredibly helpful but I wanted to create a catalog of recipes and update it for my purposes - cooking for a family of 5. I make more at one time also since I want to have leftovers for the rest of the week. This is for me to keep track of recipes that I love from  all over the internet adapted for my family. I will only post those that I would definitely make again. The recipes will all be vegetarian since I have a rule of not eating meat at home.

A note about prep time: I listed the prep times for each step and which ones can be done ahead of time and when. If you notice the prep time is 45 minutes and the prep times for any prep done a day ahead is 45 minutes, it's because it's very passive. While you press the tofu, cut the other ingredients and make the noodles.

I cook half of the recipe at once since my wok won't accommodate all the food. I have a 12.5 inch wok.

Link to original  recipe 

Servings: 6
Prep time: 45 minutes

1 day ahead - 45 minutes 

3 days ahead - 5 minutes

5 days ahead - 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• Tofu - extra firm - 32 oz -  2 packets of 16 oz of tofu sliced into 32 pieces of tofu
• Broccoli/Broccolini - a large plateful or however much you want 
• Mushrooms, any brown - 8 oz sliced (can double if desired)
• Udon noodles - 12 oz 
• Cilantro - a handful
• Eggs - 4 whisked
• Cooking oil - 4 tbsp 
• Garlic - 4 cloves chopped
• Ginger - 4 tsp grated
• Brown sugar - 4 tbsp
• Soy sauce - 8 tbsp
• Rice vinegar - 4 tsp
• Sriracha - 1 tsp
• Cornstarch- 4 tsp

Prep: (how long it will take and how many days ahead you can do it).  Steps will be written as if you are cooking the day of so you don't waste time.

1. Press tofu - take a plate, put down a clean towel or 3 paper towels, remove tofu from package, put another towel/paper towels on top of tofu, place another plate on top of tofu and then weigh it down with any heavy cans you have in your house. Preheat oven to 400 degrees about 15 minutes in. Leave for 30 minutes and then slice. Place tofu on silicone mat and bake for 15 minutes.
• (30 minutes to press, 15 minutes to bake/1 day ahead)
2. Noodles 12 oz - cook according to package. toss with oil to prevent sticking
• (10 minutes/1 day ahead)
3. Chop broccoli/broccolini
• (5 minutes/ 5 days ahead) 
4. Make sauce (10 minutes / 5 days ahead) - split into 2 bowls. The amount listed is what should go into each bowl. 
1. chop garlic (4 cloves chopped)
2. Grate ginger (4 tsp grated)
3. Combine: 
1. 4 cloves garlic
2. 4 tsp ginger
3. 4 tbsp (0.25 cups)brown sugar
4. 8 tbsp (0.5 cups) soy sauce
5. 4 tbsp (0.25 cups) water
6. 4 tsp rice vinegar
7. 1 tsp Sriracha
5. Slice  8oz mushrooms 
• (5 minutes/ 3 days ahead)
6. Cilantro - chop cilantro
• (3 minutes/ 1 day ahead)
7. Eggs - 4 whisked (day of)
8. Place 2 tsp of cornstarch in 2 bowls to make slurry while cooking. (day of)

Make:  

1. Heat wok with 2 tbsp of oil over medium-high heat
2. Add tofu and let cook, without stirring, until golden brown on one side. (3 minutes)
3. Once one side is golden brown, flip tofu every couple minutes until evenly golden brown, cooking tofu for about 8 minutes total. 
4. Move tofu to one side of the pan and pour eggs into the other side. Scramble eggs until just set. 
5. Set tofu and eggs aside and return wok to heat.
6. Add 2 tbsp of oil and then broccolini and mushrooms to heated wok. Saute until vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
7. Remove half of the broccolini and mushrooms
8. Pour sauce (one bowl) into wok, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring sauce to a simmer.
9. Add 1 tbsp of water to one of the bowls with cornstarch and whisk. 
10. Add it to the wok. Simmer until sauce starts to thicken slightly, ~1 minute.
11. Add half of the tofu, eggs, and noodles back to pan and toss everything to combine.
12. Remove from wok. 
13. Add back the other half of broccolini and mushrooms with second bowl of sauce. Bring sauce to a simmer. 
14. Add 1 tbsp of water to one of the bowls with cornstarch and whisk. 
15. Add it to the wok. Simmer until sauce starts to thicken slightly, ~1 minute.
16. Add half of the tofu, eggs, and noodles back to pan and toss everything to combine.
17. Serve noodles with cilantro on top and some extra Sriracha on the side.

Cost: ~$12

• Tofu - 3.25
• Broccoli: 3.08
• Mushrooms: 1.99
• Udon noodles: 1.10 
• Cilantro: 0.25
• Eggs:1.50
• Sauces, garlic and ginger: 0.75

Weight Loss Journey

After having my baby, I was about 15 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight 10 months out. I wanted to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and my ultimate goal weight which is my high school weight. I am currently at my pre-pregnancy weight after 2 months but am still losing to meet my ultimate goal weight. This is just from a dietary change without an increase in exercise. Who has time when you have an infant who doesn't sleep through the night and work full time?

Here are some of my strategies of things that have worked for me. It was really important to me that these changes are sustainable and something I can incorporate into my life easily.

1) Intermittent fasting:

The old school way of thinking about weight loss happens if calories out is greater than calories in. In Jason Fung's The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss, the idea is that while fasting, metabolism revs up and burns fat causing weight loss even when eating the same amount of calories. Other benefits that have been shown in studies include increased longevity with intermittent fasting (though this has only been shown in animal models thus far.)

For me, I have been doing 16 hours of fasting followed by 8 hours of eating Mondays through Fridays. This worked out for me as I'm not really hungry when I get up first thing in the morning. If I'm too busy to eat, which is often the case in clinic, I don't notice until I'm done with the morning patients. My hours of eating are from 12-8pm but you can choose any 8 hour window you like. Jason Fung recommends longer periods of fasting. I chose 16:8 because it felt more sustainable.

2) Plant based diet:

My cholesterol has historically been high due to genetics. (Thanks, Dad!) I have always wanted to confirm that is the case. I changed my diet to a 90% plant based diet. This meant no meat or dairy at home but if I go out, it was fine to indulge. If I'm at a meeting, I can have what I want. Typically, I eat out once or twice a week. This wasn't very difficult for me as I hated cooking meat anyway. I'm more of a carbohydrate junkie.

When my family first did this, we started out easy. We replaced the meat in the pasta sauce with meat substitute. Instead of a hamburger, we would have a veggie burger. I opted to eat avocados and fruit for lunch. Some other ideas included eating peanut butter sandwiches, bean burritos without cheese, and bean soups. Notice that there is no mention of salad here. I do not like salads. Making it and eating it would be a chore for me.

Over time, we were able to be more adventurous and added more vegan entrees to our repertoire. Our go to favorites include chickpea gyros, chickpea curry, vegan falafel and vegan pizza. We make these from scratch. It is time intensive but when we cook it, we tend to make enough to last for a few days. Plus, it's an easy date night activity. ;)

3) Listening to my body's hunger scale:

I started to listen to Katrina Ubell's podcast. She talks about the hunger scale. Link here.

It made a lot of sense. Food should nourish us. We should only eat when we are truly hungry. This doesn't mean that I no longer enjoy food but rather that it is not a source of regular entertainment for me. If I'm really hungry,  I should be able to eat anything. Think of children. While they would prefer to not eat their vegetables, we ask them to do it anyway. We need to manage ourselves that way as well.

These are the strategies that worked for me personally. I'm not recommending this for you but just wanted to share this as effective for me.

Breathing

If ever you feel so overwhelmed that you feel lightness in your chest, just stop and breathe. Focus on the inhalation and exhalation. Remember that you are alive and all that you can be thankful for. I know we should not compare but there is always someone who is less fortuante than ourselves. Breathe and remember that you are glad to be able to do so.

I just got plagarized!

I did a search for one of the most popular articles on my blog titled "How to Study for Long Periods of Time." Someone submitted my article to a free article site and then advertised for their site. My article is up at another site because I chose to submit it requesting that blog's owner to credit me and give a link to my site. This person stole my article and just put it up to advertise their website. If you want to share my articles with someone, feel free to email them. If you think it'll be helpful to others and you want to put it up on your site, contact me and ask for my permission before you use my work.

All in all, I have to admit, it is a bit flattering when your content gets stolen though. It means it's worth something to someone. But don't steal my stuff. I'm amicable to sharing it but not for someone else to take credit for it especially someone who stole it word for word. If you're not Serendipity,  you can't speak serendipitinese!

Studying on Vacation - how to use your time wisely so you can have fun and be productive

I've been in Puerto Rico for the past week now. I haven't once touched my study materials but that's because I've been taking a less stereotypical approach to vacation. I don't really lie on the beach or take tours. I walk around ...pretty much the whole day but for the next few days, I'm going to start doing what the title says now that my semester is over.

To study on vacations, bring something light with you. Flashcards, review book, as long as it's under 2 pounds, it's probably a good bet. This is hard to do with a large group of people around. They might look at you strangely or diaspprove. So be strong and peer pressure resistant if you want to do this.

1) Use dead time to study. When you're in the car/bus/van for more than 30 minutes going somewhere, you can look out the window when you're bored but otherwise, you can read and try to learn since you have to spend time on transportation anyway. This is also great for airplane rides.

2) Use some of your rest time. Spending time on the beach and trying to get that tan? This is perfect way for you to either be put to sleep or get some learning done. Don't just lie on the beach towel. Bring your study materials with you and study when you get bored. Waiting on line to get in some museum or restaurant? Keep your ears open and try recalling whatever you read for the day. No one has to know.

3) If you're really geeky, you can play a game involving whatever you are studying with your friends who may also be studying the same thing. Alcohol and questions on medicine can be great fun. The ones who don't know anything can either be punished with more drinking or less drinking, depending on the desire of the group.

These are some ideas I've been thinking about in terms of studying on vacation. Do you have any? (Because I really need some more when I go away again in two weeks) Thanks.

Score a perfect score in class without taking notes

I have to admit. I'm a major blog reader. This article caught my eye this morning. From study hack comes an interesting article of how one student got his 4.0 without taking notes.

In short, his method was to pay full attention to the lecture as it goes on, only writing the big concepts. He recorded the lectures and listened to it carefully again 2-3 times. After that, he would just listen to it, over and over again, going along with his regular activities.

I don't think this will work with medical students without taking the lecture packets into account. I think it does help in terms of the massive amount of memorization we have to do. It's another form of reiteration.

I've listened to lectures over before but the quality can be difficult sometimes. Unless you have one of those recordings that's perfectly clear, I think this method would be difficult to implement. It would also be hard for those who learn better visually and those whose focus are on the image (ex: identifying parts).

This is not a reliable way of learning because it's dependent on each individual's learning style. If you're an audio learner (those who tend to recall sounds), then this may be the method for you.

Still in sunny sunny Puerto Rico. Enjoy the original article here.

How to wean yourself off coffee

That jolt of energy you get every morning after drinking your first cup of coffee is a sign of dependence. Caffeine has become a socially acceptable drug as places like Starbucks bloom and pop up on every street corner. Don't get me wrong, I love coffee. Really. It's been a love and hate relationship between us though. If I drink too much of it, it has no effect on me. If I don't drink any, I feel like I'm missing out on the extra boost that will get me through my hard days. So what to do?

If you're already dependent on coffee, you can figure this out as my friend R did. No coffee for two days and see if it has any effect on your body. If you start getting headaches and such, then you are going through withdrawal. Your body has become coffee addicted. To stop that, you can drink coffee but slowly decrease the amount. So you might be drinking 2 cups a day. Cut it down to one cup for two weeks. Gauge how you feel and go from there, slowly decreasing the amount of caffeine you take in.

If you're only a little addicted to coffee but want to use it for its maximum benefit of giving you energy, then here's what you do.

Drink coffee only when you have to. Do it on hard days, days when you have to push but feel like you can't anymore. Don't drink it everyday. It won't have the same powerful boost as to someone whose body hasn't become accustomed to the regular supply of caffeine.

But what about meeting my friends at coffeeshops to talk? What do I do? You can get organic noncaffeinated tea instead or a blended drink that's coffee free. Either way, the point is to talk to your friends, not to drink actual coffee.

Stopping the coffee addiction can also greatly help your pocketbooks, not to mention your waistline (especially if you're in love with frappucinos and such.) But if you're really craving a frappucino, then indulge or make one from a recipe. Either way. be kind to your body and use coffee wisely.

Other recipes for frappucino can be found here and here and here.

How to study for long periods of time without boredom!

The past two weeks I have been studying for my microbiology and immunology miniboard. I focused mostly using the Lange review book since I find it the most comprehensive without assuming you know the details. (I'm getting through this program by learning hardcore cramming skills.) While some people may read and understand and remember, I am not one of those people. I need time and repetition to drill it into my head. This takes time and patience. I greatly need the latter. So this is what I did.

I broke it into chunks.

To really focus, I wrote out what I was learning in my own language, Serendipitinese. It made it easier to find out what I was missing in understanding the concepts and much easier to read later on to review.

The problem with writing is that your hand gets tired. To conquer that, I read. This meant, when I wasn't writing, I was reading and vice versa. But even that get boring so I set up stations.

Stations are 20 minute intervals where you do different activities at each station. Think of circuit training.

I would spend 20 minutes doing questions and writing down things that I didn't understand, the holes in my knowledge. Then I would spend another 20 minutes rereading what I wrote from doing questions. Then I would spend another 20 minutes reading and writing from another section of the book directly. The last station is simply just reading ahead. I had four bookmarks and after awhile, I knew the material that I had written down from questions well enough to test myself on it. That created the fifth station: the one where I test myself to see if I really remember what was going on. The fifth station functioned as a review and a test but more importantly, it helped reduced the amount of material I was rereading in station two (rereading knowledge gleamed from questions).

Since it's all done in twenty minute intervals and alternates between reading, writing, and thinking. I wasn't bored with it. I can easily do two rounds of these stations without realizing it. My concentration was maintained and I was able to get my repetition in.

Let me know if you've tried it and how it turned out for you.

How to procrastinate effectively

Burned out? Dreading doing that paper? I'm sure as a student, we've all been in that type of situation before. It finally hit me this past week how I can use that dread more effectively to motivate me to use my time wisely. There's only x number of hours in a week. To be super efficient and do the work you have to do in a short time would be terrific. Here's how you can use your procrastination skills to your advantage:

1) Choose a paper or project that requires minimal effort. By this, I mean, it's not a large part of your grade and no matter how much time you spend on it, you'll probably get the same grade anyway. For me, that's my pathology essay. Spending 8 hours vs spending 4 hours has gotten me only a 0.5 difference in grades. The tradeoff in time was not worth it.

2) Plan how long you need to complete said project. Overestimate by 30% for good measure.

3) The day before it's due: Decide on a time to start your paper. Choose the latest time possible to give yourself the extra epinephrine to get you through the night. Nothing works like a deadline to get my booty in gear.

4) Relax the rest of the day and enjoy planned procrastination activity until it's time to do the project.

5) Complete project in allotted time giving yourself a few more hours for good measure.

My first how-to. Hope it's been helpful. Please leave me comments so I can improve my writing skills. Thanks!