About Shanna

What’s in a Name?

Being that this is a foodie blog, you may think I have an unusual love for bananas.  I don’t.  No offense to bananas, but they rank low on my list of favorite fruits.  But back to the question at hand: What’s in a name?  My name is Shanna, same ‘a’ sound as banana; hence, Shanna Banana!  My entire life I’ve had to correct people who have called me Shawna, Shayna, Shannnon, Shana, etc.  The easiest way to do this has been to say my name rhymes with banana.  Cute to say when you are 5 yrs old and somewhat ridiculous when you’re, well, not 5!   

 

I usually respond to any of the above names, but oddly do not like having my close friends and family call me “Shanna” — it’s akin to being scolded when you’re little and a parent uses your entire name.  Instead I like people to call me Shan or some other nickname (perhaps I’ll share those later).

 

Would you rather…?

 

Have you ever played the game “Would you rather…” on a particularly long roadtrip or just to make conversation?  I have   My then boyfriend (now husband) and I used to think of the weirdest ones we possibly could (and often very gross I might add).  But the one that is hands down a no-brainer is the one I really wish would come true:  Would you rather eat as much as you want for the rest of your life without gaining a pound or would you rather have infinite amounts of money with no worries.  A or B?  A!  All the way!  Money can’t buy happiness but there are many days that I’m convinced food can   I love, love, love to eat.  My meals are often planned days in advance and I fantasize about when I can eat my next snack.  Being a foodie and enjoying it means making healthy choices (so I can eat more of it –> insert evil lauch here).  Salads, oats, almonds, and tofu are regular visitors.  My best friends Mexi, PB, Pasta, Pumpkin Pie, and Bread are only invited over once in awhile ;-P 

 

Growing up, I wasn’t overly adventurous with food and had strong opinions of food I disliked: Fish/seafood (**anything that resides under water**), mushrooms, and milk are the top 3 I can think of.  On top of that, my Mom was a pescatarian (fish was the only meat she ate) and my Dad was a carnivore through and through.  This made for varied meals throughout the week and eventually I abandoned my Sunday bacon and Saturday steaks for a veggie lifestyle.  Truth be told, eating meat so infrequently was making it hard to digest and I figured it wasn’t a necessary aspect of my diet (mind you, I was 11 yrs old!).  So from approximately 11 – 25 yrs old, I cut out meat by 99%.  That 1% was reserved to either trying to bring meat back into my diet or having tastes of deep fried turkey on Thanksgiving (best holiday BTW!). 

 

Alright fastforward to my early 20′s when it became increasingly difficult to gain muscle mass and maintain a happy weight for my height (5’4.5″).  I was a horrible vegetarian at the time and while I ate veggies and fruits, I also ate way too may carbs and not enough protien.  Sooo, I decided to make a dedicated effort to reintroduce meat into my life.  For the first couple of years, it was only chicken, some turkey, and perhaps once per year pork.  Then, and still now, I am adverse to seafood, touching ‘naked’ poultry, and remembering to actually eat meat.  It’s so much easier for me to create a tasty vegetarian concoction!!! 

 

I’ve been a recovering vegetarian (haha) for about 5 years and have established a very healhty eating lifestyle.  I do count my calories, for those that want to know, but I am not obsessed about it.  Another regimen I am firm on is no eating past 8p on a weekday.  Crazy right?  It makes sense when you fall asleep at 930 or 10p

 

This blog is also about being honest, so here it goes.  I have ‘fat kid moments.’  There is a lyric in an old 50 Cent song (21 Questions) that has the lyric “I love you like a fat kid love cake” that has always stuck with me.  Shanna = fat kid.  Maybe not with cake, per se, but I  have these crazed moments where I must eat everything in sight.  This often includes dropping chocolate chips in the peanut butter jar and eating the (entire) jar with a spoon, demolishing a bag of chips and salsa, finding the hidden box of Girl Scout Cookies in the freezer and taking names!  I’m not proud of these moments, because they usually result in a fair amount of stomach bloat and guilt, but I’m human.  As long as my fat kid moments only occur once or twice a month, I know I can get back on track.  It’s when those sneaky little buggers try to make a daily habit that I must take action!

 

To Run or Not To Run — That is the Question

 

Not to run!  Yep, you heard me, I am not a runner.  Do I run?  Yes, sometimes I will incorporate 2 or 3 miles in my workout once or twice per week.  But I don’t enjoy running.  I feel like I’ve never got the hang of running.  I’m not pleased with the outcome of my bodyshape after too much running.  So there you have it!  I used to run long distance track in high school and wasn’t too fond of it then either, but liked the team aspect.  The most I have ever run is just over 9 miles and that was years ago. 

 

Now to stay fit, I take Spinning classes at Gold’s Gym along with an Abs and Glutes class now and then.  Outside of Gold’s I love going to Bikram Yoga (mmm, hot, SWEATY, 90 minute yoga), and do the usual mix of cardio and free weights.  I recently went to a lyrical dance class that was a fun challenge and hope to go back.  I was a dancer all my life from Ballet at 3 yrs old to Poms (aka dance team) in HS .  It’s my favorite type of workout   

 

Workouts went by the wayside in undergrad (Northwestern University outside of Chicago) but came back into play when I moved to Cali for grad school (Stanford).  Since then, they are a staple in my life and I must get in at least 30min 4-5x’s per week (preferably 60-90min though).  Ab work is a must every night.

 

I make no claims to be the fittest person out there, but I enjoy working out and love the way I feel after getting my heart pumping.  I get it Mom, I really do!

 

And a side of whip cream…

 

Equal parts pumpkin pie and whip cream make for a happy Shanna (…licking lips furiously…).  Okay enough of food, what other stuff can I share?  I am recently married (April 2009) to my best friend from graduate school, Zach.  We live in the SF Bay Area with our two cats, Myko and Neci, and our new dog, Naava.  My 40+ hours per week are filled with an Aerospace Engineering career at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company and outside of those hours I’m starting up my own Wedding/Event Planning biz with my best friend Andrea!  In fact it is she who encouraged me to get on the foodblog bandwagon.  I know I am in great company and would like to give a shoutout to my 3 favorite blogs that have inspired me:  Oh She Glows, Peanut Butter Fingers, and Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life   Thanks ladies!