Getting Back to My Fighting Weight

Many of you might know that I had a medical procedure at the end of 2015 to shrink a rather large fibroid that had grown in my abdomen. After finding out that my stomach was distended to the size of a woman who is four months pregnant, I thought "when that thing is gone, I'll get back to my fighting weight!"

Still home recovering for another week, I'm able to move around. I even go for walks during the day, and I can "return to my normal diet," which I want to get more right this time.

My hope is to blog weekly, showing my progress and adapting some recipes for a more healthy and more plant based lifestyle. So, stick with me to see the progress!

First up

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

This is adapted from Oh My Veggies' Slow Cooker "Make and Freeze" Veggie Tortilla Soup, with some crucial adjustments.

Here are the ingredients:

1 T Olive Oil 

1 medium Onion, diced small

2 medium cloves Garlic, minced 

2 1/2 teaspoons Chili Powder 

1 t ground Cumin 

1t Smoky Paprika

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced Fire-Roasted Tomatoes 

1 (14.5-ounce) can Black Beans, drained and rinsed 

1 bag (2 cups) frozen Corn kernels (fresh, if it's in season)

6 cups Vegetable Stock (low sodium, if you can find it)

1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper 

Fresh spinach leaves

Suggested Add-ins:

Tortilla strips

Fresh limes

Diced avocado

Shredded cheese (I used "Mexican Blend")

Chipotle cream (recipe in the next paragraph)

The soup comes out perfectly mild, so I make a chipotle cream to dollop on top. This way, the diner can adjust the heat level as they wish. I literally just add the sauce from a can of chipotle peppers to sour cream, until it reaches the level of heat I'm looking for.

Soup instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add Onion and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add Garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more (be careful not to scorch your garlic)

2. Add the Chili Powder, Cumin and Smoky Paprika, stir into the onions and garlic (it will look dry). Cook for about one minute to "bloom" your spices

3. Add Tomatoes, Black Beans, Corn, and Stock. Season with black pepper. And if you are using low sodium, add 1/2t Sea Salt. Stir and bring to a simmer.

4. When the soup is heated through, the corn will be thawed by then. Assemble and serve as you like with the suggested Add-ins

I prefer to place the spinach at the bottom of the bowls so the soup just wilts and heats it. If you like it a little softer, you can add it to the pot as it's simmering.

This is just to say...

There have been a few questions about what happened this week, so I thought I would give a quick recap. I'm not asking for a response or comment... I'm simply putting the information out there.

My dad passed away the other day.

Your condolences, prayers, kind wishes and words are appreciated more than I can express.

I did not have a relationship with him, so I can't really tell you anything.
I don't know if he was sick. I don't know if he was in pain. I don't know if it was sudden.

I simply don't have any details.

If you'd like to offer comfort, I would love to grab a drink and talk about how wonderful my mom and brothers are. How we struggled through really hard times and came through it a so much stronger and tightly knit family. I'd love to tell you what great dads they are to my five amazing nephews and nieces. And how I watch with wonder as they devote their lives to them.

And I can tell you how empty my world would be if I lost any of them.

I would tell you how, in the past few years I've come to know my half-siblings and even got to spend time playing blackjack til the wee hours with my baby half-brother in Vegas.

We can talk about your family. How they drive you crazy but you still love them. How you miss them. How often you call your mom. And we can resolve to tell them as often as we can how much they mean to us.

We don't, however, need to talk about my dad. I don't harbor any ill will. No resentment. No anger. But I also don't have any stories to tell. Our relationship was severed and I made peace with that decision, so there's no need to bring it up.

If we want to learn anything from this, let it be to cherish the family we have. The family we were given, or the family we chose. They don't last forever.

Thank you again.

Tuscan Cooking 101

As I will freely tell you, I plan to live out my latter years in the hills of Tuscany. Working the land,  growing and canning my own food, swinging on a terrace swing and watching the clouds sweep by.

And of course, as many Tuscans do, I love cooking gorgeous Tuscan recipes. But, like many Americans, I am concerned about my waistline... and pasta, sausages and buffala mozzarella tend to hang around my waistline a bit more easily than I'd like. So, I'm always trying to adjust my recipes to fit into the Weight Watchers Points Plus Program.

It's not always easy, but there are a few tricks I've learned along the way, so I'm going to record my recipes, tips, successes and failures here for you to enjoy, critique, or just to watch  progress. Please send any comments or suggestions you might have. I'd love to hear from you.


So, first up, is my Tuscan White Bean Soup with Sausage.

I literally heard about, adjusted and made this recipe in a two-day span.

A friend told me how he and his flatmates make this starting with a dried package soup mix. I located the soup mix and nearly fell over once I learned that the sodium content was nearly 800mg PER SERVING! (it also contains MSG, which I strictly avoid).

I read the ingredients and thought "Well, I'll just make it from scratch". By doing that, I can use fresh, local, organic ingredients and make some lower points value choices as well. Here are the delicious results!

Mintie's Tuscan White Bean Soup with Sausage (Zuppa Toscana)

1/2 lb Carrots, diced   
1/2 lb Celery, sliced or diced   
1 Onion, diced   
1 Tbsp olive oil   
6 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth   
3 cups (or 2 cans) cannellini beans (soaked, if you are starting from dry)   
1 Tbsp thyme, fresh   
2 cups Kale or spinach, washed and chopped, stems removed  
2 Links of Turkey Italian sausage (mild or spicy, according to taste), Raw, removed from casing
1 cups Ditalini Pasta, dried (or any small pasta, preferrably whole wheat if you can find it)
Grated or finely shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese   


One tip for helping to reduce points in a recipe is to be sure you have really good nonstick pans, as this will allow you to use less fat in sauteeing, etc.. I use Bialetti Nonstick Cookware for this type of cooking. It's really affordable and their non-stick is GREAT.

You can either use a large saucepan for this, or even a skillet if it's pretty big.

Heat pan over medium heat. (I am a firm believer in "hot pan cold oil". Heat your pan first, and then add your oil.) Add onion, celery and carrots and sautee until crisp tender. Add sausage and sautee until cooked through breaking up into bite-size or smaller pieces .

Meanwhile, rinse and chop Kale (or spinach). Add to pan and sautee until slightly wilted.

Add garlic, beans, dry pasta and chicken broth. Bring to boil. Add Salt and Pepper to taste and fresh Thyme. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the pasta is al dente.

Spoon into bowls, top each with one Tablespoon grated or shredded Parmigano Reggiano.

If you'll be eating this soup as leftovers, the pasta will continue to soak up the liquid, so it may get a bit thick and you may want to add some broth or water when you reheat it.

Buon Appetito!

Oopsie... and then we had a new bathroom...

So, it's recently become imperative to work out the bathroom decor... like NOW.

The other day, after scrubbing the bathtub, my roommie didn't put the shower curtain liner back on the inside of the tub.  In all fairness, I don't know that I would have done it either, so I'm not blaming, just stating the details.  In any case, I was next to take a shower and didn't notice this small but important fact.

I flooded the bathroom.

Along with it, went the Bath Rug.  It is in a sage green that matches the shower curtain I bought like 10 years ago.  In an attempt to keep the rug from getting mildewey, I washed it and let her know that she might want to take it out of the washer to hang dry.

Well, apparently, you're not supposed to use hot water on Bath Rugs.  It shredded.  I assume because the rubbery stuff on the bottom acts as a glue to hold the shag in (we also now have little V's of sage yarn here and there around the apartment).

So, it's time to replace the Bath Rug.  But I don't want to get a sage color again, cuz I want to ditch that Shower Curtain, and ultimately, the color scheme.

Considering my roommate has Charcoal towels,  and are relatively new (certainly in good condition), I didn't want to do a scheme that would force her to get new towels (or have them hang unmatchingly on the towel rod).  So, building on the Charcoal, I chose this lovely little curtain design, and happily, she concurs.

She will be able to keep her Charcoal towels, and I will keep my Purple ones.  Our hand towels are also purple (and sage), so all I need to do is switch out the sage for Black and/or charcoal.

I have accessories in mind as well, but will keep those to myself for the time being.

I'll be sure to post photos when I'm done.

And therein lies the redecoration of the first room in our Home Cure 2010.

Mintie Does the Spring Cure

Apartment Therapy is doing a "Spring Cure" in which you spend eight weeks "curing" your home of whatever you think is ailing it, decor, organization, remodeling, etc..  I've decided to participate and track my progress along the way.

I'm not 100% convinced I will be blogging it every week, but here we go with week 1. 

Keeping in mind that I cannot paint nor do any type of permanent construction, my Apartment Cure will entail the following:
Organization and decor in the OFFICE
Decor in the LIVING ROOM (do something with my loveseat and we need a wall decal or artwork on the big wall)
Decor in the DINING ROOM (it needs some pizzaz and perhaps a lighting fixture)
Organize the HALLWAY CLOSET (it's so tiny our coats barely fit in there)
Decor in my BEDROOM (it's on it's way and I already have my ideas in process)
Organize my CLOSET
Decor update in the BATHROOM (it needs some color and pizzaz.  I might be ready to change out the color scheme)
Decor update in the KITCHEN (NEEDS COLOR!  The only color we have in there are tea towels, curtains (made from tea towels) and seat cushions.  The rest is painfully white.
Outfit and decor of OUTDOOR DECK (this is where the fun (and money) will be most spent)

The task for this week is to find inspirations for our home.  I've identified a few inspiration images and will share them with you here.  If I come across more, I will certainly share them as well.

Let's start with my BEDROOM.  I've already made some changes in there, and it's well on it's way.  Here are my inspiration photos for the room:

I want a very zen, serene feel to the room.  I like it dark.  My bedding consists of black sheets, grey and black duvet (in a leaf pattern) and 2 black throw pillows and one red.  Red is my accent color, obviously.  And just this weekend, I installed my "wall of curtains" along the north wall.  Black sheers, floor to ceiling, wall to wall.  This, clearly made black my primary color, which means I need to keep it to appx 60%.  The grey will be the 30% color and red, the 10% color.  I plan for a cherry blossom decal to go on the South wall, and I'm searching for a bedframe; my $2000 latex mattress and box spring are currently on the floor :(

So, with the kitchen, I'm at a bit of a loss.  Given what we currently have, I'm hard pressed to find ways to jazz it up.  I got the cute striped tea towels from Ikea that we use as decor... and I made short window curtains with two of the same tea towels.  The matching seat cushions adorn the white chairs that we have at my short cafe table (which will be relocated to the outdoor space).  I'm thinking a pub table... but, like I said, I'm still a little lost here.

I have no inspiration photos at the moment for the kitchen... I'm still looking.

On to the Dining Room.
Jena had mentioned that she wanted to make it a formal dining room.  Our dining room table isn't really that formal, but I think we can meet in the middle.

I want to do the wall of curtains again.  It oddly makes the room feel so much bigger, because you feel like there is an additional room behind the curtain or something.  It's odd.  Anyway, we're at odds finding a fabric we both love.  I'm all for big graphic black and white.  I think she's thinking burgundy.  Here are my inspiration photos for the room:

I know this is a living room, but I pulled it for the wall of curtains.

The living room is our biggest hurdle, I think.  Jena recently got a new sofa, which is lovely and comfy... but now I think my little loveseat is TOTALLY out of place.  My biggest goals in here will be to figure out something to do with my loveseat.  Perhaps cover it?  Or just replace it with a chair or two.  We also want to do a graphic on the wall.  We are toying with the idea of doing a barcode.  I gotta encourage Jena to start working on it as it has to be an accurate barcode since that's what she does 9-5.  Finally, the coffee table.  We have said again and again that we like the room better without a coffee table at all... but for some reason, we keep it in there.  So it's either got to go, or we need to fall in love with what's there. Here are a couple inspirations for living rooms.  I really need to find more.

 







So, next is the office.
It was going well for a while, but then became a catch all room.  In addition to the cleanup, it needs organization and some sense of style.  These are offices I love:

Finally, we have the outdoor deck.  I haven't gathered any inspiration photos yet.  We'll be using Jena's old Bamboo sofa as an outdoor sofa.  We discussed fabrics a little tonight, and she pointed out one she really likes.  So next is sewing the cushions (argh!).  We also need a Sail Shade to shield our deck from the rain above.  The decks are wood slats and the rain just drips right through to each floor.  Our intention is to get a square sail shade and angle it down on the end to let the water roll off into the yard.  As I mentioned, the indoor cafe table will be going outdoors and the thought is to search rummage places to find cute chairs to mish mosh together.. and cushioning them with cushions in coordinating fabric from the sofa.  Planters, lights, etc. are also on the agenda.  This is the most fun room, I think.

So there we go!  I'll take photos of the existing rooms/spaces and post them in a few days.  Please comment with any thoughts or suggestions you might have... I'd love to hear them!

Do Mass Mailings Offer a Good ROI?

Reposted from my Mint Condition Blog of July 30:

You’ve had your launch party, your anniversary event or your networking fair. You’ve collected dozens if not hundreds of names and addresses. Now, what are you to do with these? Tradition dictates that you send a mass mailing. But are you going to get the maximum return on a mailing? After all, your marketing budget has been slashed.

A recent Profit Impact of Marketing Strategies (PIMS) study found that companies who kept up their marketing budgets during a recession gained, on average, an additional 1.3% of market share during the recovery period. Given that, how can you assure the best ROI on your marketing mailing?

Asses Your Options
Is a mass mailing the right option for you? We know that our business culture is in the midst of a dramatic shift and is becoming much more consumer driven. The local option has most often become the more appealing option. Are you giving the personal touch that customers are looking for? Are your clients local enough to maximize face time with them? Perhaps rather than mail, you want to actually stop in and talk to your client face to face.

Let’s say your business is internet driven. In such a case, an email blast might be the best option to effectively reach your customers. They clearly are comfortable with contacting you via technological means, why not stay within their comfort zone?

Or maybe your client base or event was so big that you can’t possibly visit each customer personally. A postal mailing might actually be your best option.

But how to best approach any of these mediums?

Make It Relevant
The most essential tip across the board is to make sure that you are speaking TO your customers… not just speaking.

Present information that is relevant to the market—information that is relevant to your customers.
How many mailings or emails do you get that don’t really tell you anything? And where do those mailings end up? In the circular file to be sure.

In addition to keeping abreast of your market’s climate, it’s important to keep abreast of your target market’s climate as well. This way you can confidently address the current pain and how your company helps relieve that pain. This is certain to speak to your customer base.

If it’s Email Make it Legal
Many reputable small businesses do not educate themselves on Anti Spam Laws. This can get you in trouble with the FTC. Two provisions in the law are often overlooked by unknowledgeable email “blast” senders:

• Opt-out methods must be provided. A response mechanism must be provided for the receiver to opt-out of any future commercial messages from the sender. In addition, opt-out requests must be processed for at least 30 days after the initial commercial email was sent, and senders have 10 business days after an opt-out request to stop sending messages to that address. Messages cannot be sent to the opt-out requestor on behalf of the sender by any other entity.
• Commercial email must be identified as an advertisement and it must include the sender's business name and valid postal address. The receiver must be clearly informed that the message is an advertisement or solicitation, he must be told he can opt-out of future mailings, and a valid physical postal address must be included in the message.

Additionally, it is best practice to use BCC if you’re doing your own small mailing. Otherwise each email on the list is viewable by other recipients and can unfortunately (worst case) lead to your customers being spammed by other businesses irrelevant to them.

Make it TransPromotional
It has been said that 80% of business is repeat business. So, build upon documents you are already sending your customers. Whether it’s a quote, monthly statement, invoice or confirmation, tailor a solution or special offer to meet that client’s needs.

If they’ve ordered 400 rolls of recycled paper towels for their office, offer them compostable plastic cups at a reduced price on their next order. Whatever your business, TransPromotional Marketing is an easy way to reach a customer you are already in contact with.

Additionally, if your customers pay their bills online, you can include this in their payment confirmation email.

Make it Memorable
This may be a bit blunt, but you aren’t a design expert. Leave this to the professionals. Understandably many companies are on tight budgets these days and it’s easy to think that your design work can be done by your office manager, your wife or your teenage son. Chances are, unless they are design professional, you’re going to get inferior design work and it will reduce your company’s perceived value.

If you’re hoping for maximum ROI, you’ve got to make the investment. Go local. Go freelance. Go big budget. Go small budget. But be sure to get a competent designer who understands how to present your best face to the world.

Make it Measurable
Create a way for the customer to touch you back. By bringing the card in, the customer receives a 20% discount on spa services. Offer two for one dinner entrees when they present the mailing within the next three months. Have a giveaway which requires that they email you back by a certain date.

This allows you to measure which customers are responding to your contact and how to tailor your list for the next round of mail.

Don’t Overdo It
Know when enough is enough. Although you want to stay at the top of mind for your customers, if you slam them with too much information, it just gets annoying. Find a comfortable pace at which to send your info and keep it up. Stay consistent, but don’t pester.

If you’re unsure of how your pieces are being received, ask your best customers to answer a survey. Find out from them what they think is good information, how often they would like to see it, or if it’s even being read.

You Need Professional Help
Enlist the help of a Marketing/Creative Services firm. Most local shops will work per project at a reasonable rate. This is a great way to increase your perceived value, and thus, your market share with a nominal investment.

Jennifer "Mintie" Scanland is the CEO and Creative Director of Mint Condition Creative Solutions, a freelance-based creative services firm. For more information visit http://www.mintconditioncreative.com

Mintie, On Being and Nothingness

On Being and Nothingness

Living in Chicago, you kind of forget how small you are.

Sounds kind of weird to say when you live in a city of 3 million+ people. But it really is in seclusion that you remembr how small we really are.

When I was a child, we would drive out into cornfields and watch the night sky. Meteorite watching, planet hunting and shuttle spotting. I’m talking 40-50 miles south of Chicago in the mid 70s. The city was not nearly as bright as it is now... but it was there, and so very close. But meteorites appeared aplenty and I could always tell you which planets were making a guest appearance on a given night. This was one of my major quests as a child and instilled the first answer to the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Astronaut was the main goal in those days.

My world travels have taken me to all points of the globe, but none very removed from a major city. The closest I’ve come to being in the desert was Las Vegas, which is much too bright to view the night sky. The light of cruise ships didn’t help stargazing even in the Caribbean. And Rome or Paris, being so brightly, lit were not good planet viewing venues

Nay, it is being 160 miles (~100 as the crow flies) from Chicago, on a major body of water. Major, being a great lake... Lake Michigan to be precise. And on the edge of the woods.

A friend invited me to his family’s cottage near Grand Haven, Michigan, where conveniences are well within reach... but far enough away to be nearly *remote*. And being on the lakefront added to the reclusiveness of it all. Of course we filled the cottage with lively inhabitants. Many of whom, we’ve known for years. So the waking hours were filled with laughter, conversation and revelry.

But at the end of one particularly lovely day. One in which we walked up the beach into town to partake in local events, sightsee, buy trinkets, relax and generally be tourists, many of the weekend’s guests shuffled off to bed early... er... “early”, exhausted from the fresh air and activity.

As I bogarted images off digital cameras and downloaded videos from the weekend to create a keepsake DVD, I found myself the lone creature skulking about the house at this hour. I dimmed all the lights in the house and bundled up to face the chilly May breeze and staged a small sit-in on the cottage’s back porch.

In this midst of this solitude it reminded me of how small I really am.

The only sound is the breeze in the trees... the crashing of the waves... and my own heartbeat. Smell of fresh lake water... spring foliage... and the wood of neighboring cottages.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I was struck by how vast the lake is. Yes, it’s a lake, not an ocean. And although you *may* see a dim light from Milwaukee across the lake, it really does seem as if you are peering into an abyss.

But the most spectacular... and, I am sorry to say, most *forgotten* sight were the stars. They weren’t a “is that an airplane?”... or “what is that bright spot? oh, it must be a planet” type sightings. They truly were there hanging just above my head... DOZENS of them!

This is not a “camping in the outback” type epiphany... but an “I’ve been amongst the bright lights of the city and forgot about stars” realization. Twinkling. Bright. Steady. Constant.

There they were. In patterns for me to try to decipher. Or just to admire. Hanging above my head. As they have always been. And will always be.