As teaching hours increase and stress levels spike due to the new online music lesson setting, you may be experiencing the inclination to either stress-eat or have the need for small bits of sustenance to see you through the day.
Here are a few of my favorite healthy snacks and recipes.
Dried Fruit
So far, my favorite dried fruit brands have either been Made in Natureor Trader Joe’s.
Unfortunately, both of these are often either not available on Amazon or not available for as good of a price as you may find in the store.
Generally, I reach for unsweetened, unsulfured, and organic dried fruit. Sweetened dried fruit is almost always way too sweet and sugary (in my humble opinion).
That being said, when it comes to dried apricots, they can be tricky. Half the time, the unsweetened, unsulfured ones can be really hard and dry. These ones from Amazon are pretty good.
For the slightly more child-like side of you (or just for a change of pace) try fruit leather (a.k.a. grown-up “fruit roll-ups”)!
Of course, we can’t go without mentioning chocolate! I usually go for the little individually wrapped ones like Dove Dark Chocolate. I also like Lindt 70% Cocoa bars and Dark Chocolate Almonds.
From Around the World
A couple of years ago, Nicola Canton shared several homemade recipes for super fast and healthy snacks for piano teachers on her website, Colourful Keys. Check those out as well!
What are some of your go-to snacks to keep the energy going? Share in the comments!
The first couple of weeks back to teaching are always a little hectic. We’re trying to enjoy the final days of Summer, holding on to every last inch of that time until we have to throw ourselves completely into the new year.
January and August have always been the months we eat at home almost exclusively. In January, it’s quiet and dark, and there are not a lot of extra activities going on, and in August, I don’t have students for half the month, so I’m home more and have time to cook dinner like normal people.
Things are about to get crazy this week, though, and will continue that way until the second week of October. I won’t bore you with my details as you have enough going on.
Since many of us are in the same boat as we get things going, I thought I would share half a dozen quick and easy recipes to make your back-to-teaching life easier.
Most of the recipes will also allow you to enjoy end-of-summer produce and will avoid turning on the oven. You’re not going to find a crockpot or soup recipe in this bunch. It’s too early for that – I’m not ready!
A couple of weekends ago, I made quite a loop-de-loo around Indiana and Ohio. It started out with a 2-hour drive up to Bowling Green Ohio to present with Joy Morin to her local MTA chapter. It was our first time out (and our first session together!), Teaching the Way We Learn: First Applications of Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. We will be presenting the same session for Indiana and Kentucky MTA conferences this Fall. For details visit my speaking page.
After enjoying lunch with several Ohio teachers and one of Joy’s adult students who came to the session, I made the 3-hour trek down I-75 to Cincinnati where I attended my first Summit for MTNA Leadership.
Several weeks ago, I was lucky to get to participate in playing hostess to a wonderful group of piano teachers duringJoy Morin’s Piano Teacher Retreat, “Retreat at Piano Manor,“ where I got to play the role of foodie/caterer!
I thought it would be fun to share the weekend with you from my perspective including meals and recipes I used (links to those available online).
Keepin’ it Healthy
Knowing that we had a gluten-free guest, I decided it was easier to keep that in mind for the whole shebang. Needless to say, I think we ate pretty healthy! Now THAT’S the kind of grocery cart I could aspire to every week. Color and real food.
What a delightful time we had at the first annual Piano Pantry reader’s dinner!
Our party of 20 met on Monday night at the 2017 MTNA Conference in Baltimore at Ten Ten American Bistro. I was pleased to find such a great restaurant, a convenient 5-minute walk from the Marriott. The interior was fabulous, and the food matched the chic atmosphere’s quality.
It’s day three of the one-year anniversary celebration of Piano Pantry!
Thank you to everyone who entered yesterday’s (day 2) giveaway.The winner of Day 2: John Feierabend’s “Move It!” DVD was Christie Ventura who has been notified via email). Congratulations!
I’m only giving away items that I currently use and love. We have two more days to go. Monday and Tuesday of next week, (March 13, 14) will be high price prizes!
Soon, many Americans will be gathering for one of the biggest annual sporting events – Super Bowl Sunday.
In honor of the upcoming festivities, in this post, I’ll share some:
(1) Favorite football-themed lessons, worksheets, games, and music
(2) Favorite game-day recipes
(3) A couple of personal memories of years past
First, the memories.
Football, “Footy,” and I
As a non-sports fan, Super Bowl Sunday is a day where I have fun making fun food and spending time with people I love. I’m that person: the commercial-watching, appetizer-eating, half-time show critic. The only time I’m ever interested in the game is when the Indianapolis Colts are playing.
My biggest Super Bowl memory was Super Bowl XLI (2007) between the Colts and the Chicago Bears. At the time, we were living in Melbourne, Australia. We kept a blog of our adventures back then called Aussie Chaps. Here’s what I said at the time:
Did you think we’d actually miss seeing the Colts play in the Super Bowl just because we live 12,000 miles away? Of course not! We ordered the sports channel for a month just so we could catch the game!
For many, the month of January is an easy checkpoint to stop and re-focus our eating habits after the holidays. Is that a bad thing? I don’t think so.
Even when extra conscious of maintaining healthy living over the holidays, a reboot/refresh feels good in the weeks following. I’m usually sick of sweets and crave vegetables more than ever.
This year, rather than focusing on what I shouldn’t eat – like, for example, trying to avoid cards and/or sugar, I want to shift my attention to what I SHOULD be eating. How can I get one more serving of veggies into my day? Did I eat at least one piece of fruit?
More than any other time of the year my husband and I find ourselves eating at home the majority of the time in the first couple of months of the year. If fact, last year, I recall eating at home EVERY meal in January.
I think it was more about the challenge than anything, but we did, and it was great! In doing so, I discovered some of the recipes I’m about to share with you today.
I wouldn’t call myself a recipe creator but more of a recipe “scouter” and “critic.” Ha! I love trying lots of recipes and really work to find good ones that I can then confidently share with others.
There are 30 recipes linked below grouped into 5 categories: breakfast, soup, mains & sides, salads, sweets & snacks.
Since we all know the term “healthy” can mean different things for different people, just know that most of these recipes lean toward lots of vegetables and lower in carbohydrates.
I rarely buy pre-made foods but I recently saw a recommendation for frozen breakfast sandwiches and we ended up really enjoying these.
For a breakfast sandwich, 220 calories is pretty good.
Banana Split Smoothie
I’m really picky about smoothies. This one is my favorite by far, to the point I literally crave it. The recipe is from a devotional book I read last year called Love and Care for the One and Only You. Throw in a handful of spinach for an extra boost.
6 to 9 oz vanilla unsweetened or plain almond milk
1 to 2 ice cubes
1/2 banana
3 large frozen strawberries
1 T. almond butter
1/2 serving chocolate protein powder
1/2 serving vanilla protein powder
Soup
Get your Collard Greens on with this Pot Likker Soupfrom Add a Pinch
The recipe calls for Kielbasa sausage but I find it too fatty. I just use basic Eckrich Skinless Smoked Sausage. I love cooked cabbage so this one is a big winner for me.
This fruit salad could be easily adapted using a variety of fruits. I didn’t use the mint because I’m not a huge mint person. I just used the juice of an orange rather than store orange juice.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until well combined. Refrigerate the bowl for 30 minutes so the mixture is easy to handle.
Scoop dough into tablespoon-sized portions and roll into balls. Place balls in an air-tight container and store them in the fridge or freezer until ready to eat.
Did you find anything here you’re particularly excited to try?
Do you have any favorite healthy recipes? Share them in the comments!
Oprah’s favorites lists were always the first page I turned to when I used to get the magazine. Today, we’re not getting Oprah’s list, but Amy’s list!
This list includes the recipes and gadgets I arm myself with year after year for holiday cooking and the Christmas albums that create the most nostalgia in my ear during the season.
For years (until I started using Spotify Premium), I had a personal tradition of purchasing a new Christmas album each Christmas season. I love listening to the same albums each year with one new one thrown in.
Since I start listening to Christmas music on the first of November (about the same time I start Christmas pieces with my students), it’s the perfect time of year for a holiday favorites list as we’re planning our biggest holiday meal of the year (Thanksgiving), and while simultaneously setting the mood for the upcoming Christmas season through music.
A couple of tips: First, I needed six tortillas when I used a regular soft taco shell size. If you use the large burrito shells, you might be okay. Second, adding 1/2 cup of sour cream to the mixture helped make it more spreadable. Adding thin slices of ham on top of the spread is a nice variation before rolling.
Mushrooms are one of my top five foods. I could eat them on everything. Ina Garten’s Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms are delectable. My best friend and I salivate over these puppies. The recipe calls for 5 oz. of mascarpone – forget that! Throw in the whole 8 oz container!
My sister-in-law often makes Pioneer Woman’s Green Bean Casserole, which everyone loves. It’s as creamy as they come, and the pimentos are a nice touch.
The Bird
My husband and I hate nothing more than dry/overcooked meat. The best way to avoid dry turkey is to use a brine. Not only does our favorite turkey recipe use an excellent homemade brine, but it’s also grilled. Drew loves to grill and smoke meat on our Kamado-style grill, so this recipe is a match made in heaven!
After the first time my nephew ate it, he has forever declared, “Aunt Amy makes the best turkey” (sorry, Mom and grandma!) :-/
Here I am in 2010 with my first grilled turkey. He was a 25-pound beauty!
2012 – looking even better with experience!
The same 2012 turkey off the grill and on my favorite cutting board(recommended below). That’s my mom with me. Can you tell?
Dessert and Sweets
I’m not usually in charge of dessert as I prefer cooking over baking, and no one else in my family likes being in charge of the meat. Even so, I still love making a few recipes during this season.
Note: I did one loaf and a pan of mini-muffins instead of two loaves. There ended up with a bit too much batter in the loaf, so it was still wet in the middle after 50 minutes in the oven. The batter was probably 3/4 whole in the loaf pan. If you do two loaves as the recipe calls for you, will probably be fine.
Ina Garten’s Ultimate Ginger Cookies are deliciously spicy. I’m not a huge ginger fan, but I still, love these. I pull back just a bit on the amount of chopped crystallized ginger in the recipe – just a little.
Favorite Gadgets
Disclaimer: The equipment and CD links are all Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you happen to purchase using these links, I will get a tiny percentage back without it costing you anything extra.
This J.K. Adams Reversible Maple Carbing Board won America’s Test Kitchen’s carving board equipment test. One side is flat, and the other has a poultry-shaped well. The trench is nice and deep to catch juices. I’ve had plenty of messes over the years with turkey juices, so a deep
The Polder Digital In-Oven Thermometer, America’s Test Kitchen’s “best-buy” choice, has worked pretty well for us so far. A thermometer like this is an absolute must for anyone interested in smoking meats.
The oblong shape of the Trudeau Gravy Separator is perfect for pouring liquids into it from a pot.
The best and most convenient way to brine a large turkey and have it still fit in your fridge is to use these fantastic heavy-duty brining bags from Williams Sonoma. They come in a set of 3 sizes. I always use the biggest one, but the small bags are excellent for things like pork loins.
One of my personal Christmas traditions is to purchase one or two new Christmas albums each year. For some reason, Christmas is one of those times when I don’t want to let Pandora randomly choose the music I listen to on the “Christmas station.” I like having specific albums I listen to each December. I think a lot of it has to do with the nostalgia of listening to the same albums each season.
I usually just Google “Best Christmas Albums of 2016” or something of the sort to research what’s out there.
This last CD has a story to it. Country music isn’t usually my first choice. I don’t hate it; I just don’t like it as much as other styles. However, in March 2016, Joey Martin Feek passed away from cervical cancer. She grew up in the same hometown as my husband, Alexandria, Indiana. She was four years ahead of him in school. With a small-town population of just over 5,000, she became a source of local pride.
In September 2016, select movie theaters played the movie To Joey With Love, which told her story. Her husband, Rory, took lots of video footage the last year she was alive, apparently, for no particular reason – he just felt for some reason like he should be filming their lives more. *insert tears!*
I cried the.whole.movie.
Share your favorite holiday grub and tunes in the comments – I can’t wait to hear what you love to eat and listen to over during this season
Generally, I reach for unsweetened, unsulfured, and organic dried fruit. Sweetened dried fruit is almost always way too sweet and sugary (in my humble opinion).
That being said, when it comes to dried apricots, they can be tricky. Half the time, the unsweetened, unsulfured ones can be really hard and dry. These ones from Amazon are pretty good.
colate
colate
Of course, we can’t go without mentioning chocolate! I usually go for the little individually wrapped ones like Dove Dark Chocolate. I also like Lindt 70% Cocoa bars and Dark Chocolate Almonds.
