Kitty Dunn's blog

Have you ever tried cooking with quinoa? It’s been called a super-food–a grain that’s also a complete protein.

I found a recipe online and adapted it, and must say it worked out great!

Now I don’t really pay attention to specific measurements when I cook, so this is just an approximation.

Kitty’s Black Beans & Quinoa

Sautee half of an onion,  1 1/2 cloves garlic, and one small sliced zucchini in around a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add a little more than a quarter cup of uncooked quinoa, 1 cup chicken broth, a couple of tablespoons of Fiesta Lime Mrs. Dash. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for around 20 minutes. Then add in 1/2 cup frozen corn and cook five minutes longer. Then add one can black beans (rinsed and drained) and less than a quarter cup chopped cilantro. Cook a minute or two to warm beans and serve!

Yum yum!

T’AI CHI  on the Monona Terrace Rooftop

Take a mid-day break..with an unusual free offering in downtown Madison. It's T'ai Chi on the rooftop of Monona Terrace in downtown Madison, Tuesdays and Thursdays through June. It's a chance to enjoy the sweeping views of the skyline and Lake Monona, as well as soft breezes and the soothing sounds of the Monona Terrace fountain. You'll learn how this ancient Chinese art form connects your mind and body through gentle movements and mental relaxation.  

How's your money IQ? If you need some brushing up, or are completely confused about money issues..you can get sone help during a free series of seminars coming up at the Madison Central Library. You'll get solutions to many common financial questions, over lunch! Bring a brown bag lunch..beverages and desserts will be provided.

Here's the list of upcoming topics:

April 14 - Financial Aid 101
Wondering how you'll pay for college for yourself or your children as tuition costs skyrocket? Confused by the financial aid process? Discover internet sites for financial aid, learn how to organize your personal information, and get an overview of application timelines and tracking tools.

April 21 - Managing Your Finances in Today's Economy
This seminar will help you prepare for any unplanned events that have an effect on your finances, including ways to manage credit and debt, ways to stretch your paycheck further, financial planning and advising resources and other community financial resources.

You've probably heard that  fresh, non-processed foods have more vitamins and other stuff that's good for you. But here's another reason to reject packaged foods.

It may seem kind of obvious, but a new study says that if you eat fresh fruits and veggies and other foods that don't come in packages or cans, you'll be less likely to end up with BPA in your bloodstream.

BPA is short for bisphenol-A, that chemical that's used to line steel cans plastic containers and other packages. While no one really agrees on what the health effects of this stuff are, there are concerns that it could cause various problems.

Take a mid-day mindfulness break! Monona Terrace invites the public to attend free lunchtime meditation sessions on Mondays, April 4 – May 23 in the Community Terrace, located on level two.  Learn how the practice of mindful meditation may improve mood, decrease stress, and boost immune function.

Sessions will be led by Dr. Lisa Rambaldo, a mind-body practitioner and licensed psychologist with Dean Health Systems, who specializes in the art and science of meditation, movement and healing.  Lisa began her studies of meditation and Eastern Philosophy in 1990 and has had the privilege to enliven her academic studies and practice of meditation and yoga through international travel and mentorship.

As winter drags on, wouldn't it be great if you could inject a little springtime into your life without traveling to some crazy spring break destination? Why not pay a visit to Olbrich Gardens in Madison to check out the 2011 Spring Flower Show...and it also might get you geared up for biking season as well.

This year the theme is "Tour de Fleur"- so you've got absolutely stunning flowers, along with the history of bicycles.

Check out early bikes, including a pedal-less velocipede and the penny-farthing, with its very large front wheel. You'll even see a ‘living’ bike covered with micro-greens.

Of course, there are beautiful flowers too including hyacinths, tulips and brilliant daffodils.

You probably already know that it's better to eat whole foods, and not a bunch of processed stuff that's full of hard-to-pronounce ingredients. But do you take the time to make the right choices?

Julie Hammerstein is a nutritionist who was overweight as a child, so she had to overcome something she calls "the fat kid mentality." She managed to do it..and she shares what she learned in a book called Fat Is Not A Four Letter Word. The book offers lessons to break through your fat kid mentality and keep the weight off for life.

Flipping through the book I found a section that includes some great tips for incorporating more whole foods into your life.

So you switched to diet soda to avoid all the calories and sugar. Good move, right? Maybe not, according to a new study.

It followed 2,500 New Yorkers for nine years and found those that had a diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events including heart attack or stroke.

Holy Diet-Rite Batman!

Now the researchers really have no idea WHY diet soda would cause that kind of risk, and say more study is needed. You can read more about the study here.

This kind of news could drive a person to drink. But what?

It probably is not a surprise to any one that there are a lot of diet books out there, and their authors all proclaim that there's is the best..or that they have the sure cure to permanent weight loss.

Every one knows a book won't lose the weight for you, but a new book called The Flex Diet does seem to have some good suggestions.

Author James Beckerman is a cardiologist says his book offers you ways to lose a pound, in 200 different ways. He's the heart expert for WebMD so I figure he must know what he's talking about!

One great thing about the book is that you don't have to read it cover to cover to get ideas or inspiration. He includes a lot of little tips that you can work into your daily life.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

-Sneak vegetables into other foods. Add pureed cauliflower or zucchini to Alfredo sauce, or to add some substance to macaroni and cheese.

There's probably no such thing as a completely stress-free holiday. You know there will be last minute gifts we forgot to pick up, relatives that know how to push our buttons, and other minor catastrophes that we will have to deal with.

But why not schedule some specific time for de-stressing? Go get your calendar, and block off some "me" time.

Here are some ideas I came up with:

1. Get a massage! Studies have shown massage can decrease anxiety, improve sleep quality, and give you more energy.

2. Volunteer. I know it sounds like adding a new commitment might be counter-productive, but doing something nice for someone might make you feel better, on the inside. Why not go to an assisted living facility and see if any one needs help writing out Christmas cards? It shouldn't take too much time, and chances are whoever you help will be very appreciative.