Ingredient of the Month // Squash

Last week I mentioned that I wanted to start a few new series on Color Me Styled and today I'm launching The Ingredient of the Month Club.

The idea is easy.  I'll pick an ingredient and I'll post the recipe that I tried on the 1st Thursday of every month.  All you have to do is try a recipe with that ingredient on your own and send it in!

We're going to focus on healthy, whole, balanced ingredients to promote a healthy lifestyle but if you want to rock kale cupcakes, be our guest.  The submission method may change but for now, complete the form by clicking the link below and if you have a picture send it my way via e-mail.

Recipe Submission Form

For January we've selected Squash.  Since there are several varieties we figured we'd leave it open and give you all the flexibility to try Butternut, Acorn, Spaghetti, or Turban.  You can prepare it as a side dish, as a main dish, or as a component of a main dish like in our tart below.

Acorn Squash & Chorizo Tart (adapted from Williams-Sonoma's One Pot of the Day Cookbook)

Ingredients

 - Pie Crust (quadruple points if you make it yourself... we picked up a pack of Pillsbury)

 - 1/2 lb acorn squash (1 at least 5 inches wide should be enough), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks

 - 2 tbsp olive oil

 - salt

 - 1/4 lb cured Spanish-style chorizo, diced (or 1/4 lb fresh ground chorizo from your deli counter)

 - 1 yellow onion, finely chopped

 - 1 clove garlic, minced

 - 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

 - 1 egg yolk

Procedure

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Put the squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil, and toss to coat.  Spread the squash out in an even layer and season with salt and roast until almost tender, about 10 minutes.  Set the squash aside to cool.

In a frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 1 tbsp oil.  Add the chorizo and sautee until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.  If you are using raw, bulk chorizo be sure to cook it all the way through, or about 6-8 minutes.  Transfer the chorizo to a paper towel and pour off all but 1 and 1/2 tbsp of the fat and return the pan to medium high heat.  Add the onion and sautee until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, season with salt, and cook for another minute.  Set the mixture aside to cool.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and spread out onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Spread the onion mixture evenly over the dough leaving a 1 1/2 inch border.  Evenly distribute the squash and chorizo and sprinkle with the cheese.  Fold the edge up and over the filling, forming loose pleats.  Lightly beat the egg yolk with 1 tsp of water and brush on the boarder.

Bake until the crust is browned and the cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.  Cut into wedges and enjoy!

Fitness Fashioned

Nike+ Fuelband (via Pinterest) and the Fitbit Flex (via me)

A hot item for Christmas this year was the wearable fitness tracker.  There are several brands available, Fitbit, Nike, or Jawbone for starters and they all track daily activity.  The trick is... you've got to wear it!  Now, it isn't the end of the world to skip a day if you've got a particularly special event but these bands can all easily double as a regular member of your wrist stacks.

I got one for Christmas and I've enjoyed wearing it.  I admit I didn't hit my step goal the last few days but I'm blaming it on 3 days of consecutive snowfall followed by absolute zero temperatures.  Since I am new to the wearable fitness tracker trend, I asked 4 of my fabulous blogger friends to share their style!

New Year = Renewed Intentions

image via Pinterest

Last year I made some resolutions that I checked-in on each month.  This year, I'm approaching the next 364 days and beyond not with resolutions but with Intentions.  

Jess Lively, a business lady and blogger here in Chicago, is all about living with intention and I've taken inspiration from her.  This year I'm setting intentions that will guide my day-to-day decisions.  Intentions are not meant to be measurable but instead, guidelines for living that are demonstrated by actions.  

When I really boil it down I have two main intentions.  One focused on health and wellness and another related to my work both professionally and with the blogs.

Health and Wellness:
Be a role model to my family by eating clean and being active.

Danny and I both have agreed that we feel much better when we make our own food at home using a wide variety of whole ingredients.  We both enjoy cooking at home and trying new recipes.  It will be learning process and we won't be perfect (aka we won't be nutzo people about it either).  But I am looking forward to making a healthy diet part of my daily routine.

Secondly, for Christmas I got a Fitbit wearable fitness tracker and it has been interesting to wear for a few weeks now (Danny and I opened ours early).  The only days that I've been able to meet my step count is if I walk to work.  In the spring, summer, and fall that isn't as much of an issue but when it is A Degree, as in 1 degree) outside I must admit walking 45 minutes to work isn't really rewarding.  To promote daily activity we got Fitbits for our family members too.  It will be fun to see us all be more active and to build that extra movement into our routines!

Work and Writing:
To produce content and do work that reflects my creativity and my dedication to making things better.

When I think about my professional ambitions and what will bring me the most fulfillment I am consistently drawn to the notion of making things better.  Better can mean making tasks more efficient and easier, or building and contributing to make a project or a post better for my readers or my clients.  Creativity comes naturally and is very helpful when trying to improve the work I do.  I think this intention is flexible enough to apply to most professional roles I can take on but it also applies to blogging.  

These two intentions will influence how I approach each day and I believe they will help to foster success.  Each has some elements that could be molded into resolutions and specific goals but I'm going to try and table the urge to measure my success.  

So what are some of your resolutions this year?  Could any of them be formed into intentions?  Do you like that intentions are not specific and measurable?  Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter. 

Color Me Fit - Candy Cravings

Back in the day, I remember my Halloween spoils being taken away to the office by my parents after I had picked out the designated number of my favorites (plus whatever I ate that they didn't catch). 

Now, I am one of those co-workers who has bowls of fun sized candy at her disposal up and down the cubicle aisles. 

I've realized however that I don't crave it until I see it. And even worse, once I see it, if I eat it, I eat as much of it as possible. Literally gorging on the stuff. Also, working in the food industry means that as the holidays approach our vendors will be sending gift baskets by the truck load. These range from candies, chocolates and cookies to cheeses, sausages and popcorn. So as the trick or treating and holiday seasons ramp up here is how I will kick the fun sized treats to the curb. 

Refuse it. I will not eat anything that is on a coworker's desk. I plan to joke about it being 9 AM and that I can't have candy so early. Or that it is 4 PM and I don't want to spoil my dinner. Or use the classic "I'm trying to quit the stuff" response.

Plan for it. So, if I could refuse it consistently I wouldn't have an issue. So when I do cave, I need to plan for it by cutting out something else later in the day or doing an extra 15 minutes of high intensity cardio.

Question it. Studies show that most of the time we eat when we are not hungry. We eat when we are bored or if food is available. So, when I am staring at the Jack O'Lantern bowl of kit kats I will ask myself "Would you be full if you ate an apple?" And if the answer is "Ick, an APPLE?!" then I don't get candy. If the answer is "Yeah, I'm probably hungry because it is only a few minutes before lunch time." then I should still refuse it but if I do get the kit kat I can then plan for it with the rest of my lunch. 

Godspeed and Happy Halloween!