Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Creative or Crazy?

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Go Packers!

I’m happen to be in Milwaukee for work while the Packers open again the Saints.  All of this is lost on me – I prefer college ball.

I had quite the view!  People in Milwaukee are incredibly nice.  They also really like Bud Light and Riesling (as evidenced by the patrons at the bar last night).

No, I wasn’t out partying.  But how could I pass up eating dinner at the hotel bar while watching this shenanigans go down?!

Plus, I was in need of a treat after a workout so awesome it left me shaking.  That one will be posted ASAP.  🙂

To entertain myself between work and the NFL, I researched fried foods.  Apparently one can fry anything.

They claim everything is bigger in Texas.  If bigger = fried, then “they” might be right!  The prize for the Most Creative State Fair Food in Texas went to the Fried Bubble Gum.

Source: inquisitr.com

It wasn’t really fried gum – it was fried bubble gum-flavored marshmallows.  That actually doesn’t sound so bad…

Last year’s winner was fried beer ravioli.  Homer Simpson’s favorite dinner.

Click for source

But that’s nothing compared to Iowa’s Fried Butter on a stick.  Seriously.

Who could even take one bite of that?!

Source: Iowa State Fair/ Steve Pope Photography

And we wonder why half of America will be obese by 2030?

Moo-ving on to ice cream, Ben & Jerry have finally outdone themselves.  Coming soon to a store near you…

Schweddy Balls Ice Cream will consist of vanilla ice cream with a hint of rum and is loaded with fudge covered rum balls and milk chocolate malt balls.  Schweddy balls on ice.  

Please tell me Betty White’s muffin is next.

I love crazy, creative non-fried, non-ice cream combos too!

***

I once had a fried Snickers.  Not gonna lie – it was good.

What’s the weirdest fried food you’ve ever seen/tried?

Do you get into the NFL?  College football?  Nothing?

Chilly Weather Eats + WIAW

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Wednesday comes quickly on short weeks!

Short weeks are good and bad.  I love the extra weekend time… but I was at work until 8p last night paying for it.

It’s chilly and drizzling rain here, so I had planned to go to kickboxing for a good, mindless workout.  The last class starts at 730p.

On the bright side, I hit the gym in my building and tried out a new back/bicep workout that I’ll be sharing soon. 🙂

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On such a short week I nearly forgot to take pics for WIAW!

 

I did remember nearly everything in the nick of time.  Mas importante because I had a special treat for breakfast.

 

Breakfast:

I pre-gamed breakfast with some cantaloupe because it was going to take a minute before I picked up the main show.

 

FREE Chick-fil-A!!!  It is free breakfast entrée week (with a reservation).  I was pumped to try out their new oatmeal.

I came prepared with my own peanut butter (I never said I was normal).  They provided brown sugar, nuts, and dried fruit as toppings, but I’m not a dried fruit fan and the nuts were all sugar-coated.  Too much sugar in the morning!

The oatmeal itself was pretty good.  The fact that it’s multi-grain gave it a good texture.  It was cooked well – not watery, which I generally find to be the problem.  Only 120 calories and 5g of sugar, but I liked that it had 3g of fiber and 4g of protein.  That said, the serving was fairly small and I was really glad for the peanut butter!

 

Lunch:

Inspired by the cool, rainy weather I made a delicious Indian Eggplant Lentil Stew Monday night and thoroughly enjoyed the leftovers for lunch today.

Side note: Tech wont their first game against Western Carolina Girl’s School Saturday!!!

 

Lentils have many benefits.  They are:

  • High in protein an fiber = filling
  • Good source of iron and magnesium
  • Take on virtually any flavor from other foods/seasonings
  • Low-cost
  • Good left-over!

 

This recipe will be up tomorrow!!!

 

 

Snacks:

Not pictured, but I am pretty predictable consistent:

  • Chocolate-Toffee Think Thin bar
  • Nuts – I caved and ate the Chick-fil-A sugar-coated.  They were good.  🙂
  • Kombucha Green Tea
  • Broccoli and carrot sticks dipped in my new find: Spinach-Artichoke Hummus

 

This hummus is a new Whole Foods find by Nature’s Healthy Gourmet.  You really get the good artichoke flavor in it!

Nature’s Healthy Gourmet is a small company based out of Florida that specializes in vegetarian and Kosher foods.  Nature’s hummus is also dairy- and gluten-free.  If you can find it, this hummus is worth a try!

 

Dinner:

Since I got home from work so late I opted for a lighter dinner.  A salad with raw french green beans, sprouts, and mission figs.

 

Did you really think that’s all I ate?  Bwhahahaha!

 

That salad was protein’d up with sriracha-marinated tempeh and hummus dressing (the aforementioned hummus mixed with a bit of apple cider vinaigrette).

I finally learned how to spell sriracha!!!  Gotta celebrate the small victories. 😉

 

For a more delicious eats, check out the round up at Peas and Crayons!

***

Please excuse the grainy iPhone pics for the next few days… my camera is broken!

It seems that every fast food place offers oatmeal now – do you ever purchase it in a crunch?

Is is getting cooler where you are?  Bring on the fall weather!

 

PBJ Pancakes (gluten-free and vegan!)

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Friday should always be pancake day.

I made some last week as a treat and am wishing that what I was eating today.

Alas, I am 1 focus group, 1 executive presentation, and 1 flight away from my long weekend.

To those who were on Twitter last night: I did survive the Copperhead sighting.

As seen at the Sheraton Airport Charlotte Hotel

Would you have checked out of the hotel?  I did not.  It wasn’t in my room… but let’s just say last night wasn’t the best sleep I’ve ever gotten.

After Tweeting about the incident, Starwood Hotels responded and comp’d my room… too bad it was billable to the client anyway.

They should have comp’d my glass of vino.

 

Let’s focus on the good:

You guys know about my obsession with peanut flour.   I’m convinced it’s good in any form: Veggie Dip, PBJ Vegan Yogurt Deliciousness, Spicy Peanut Sauce…

…and now, PANCAKES.

Yummy, fluffy, pea-nutty, vegan, gluten-free pancakes.

At first I was going to drown drizzle these in maple syrup.  Then it dawned on me: jelly goes peanut butter like peas and carrots.

45 seconds later, I had homemade raspberry syrup – and it’s only sugar is from the fruit itself.

Approximately 5 mins after that, I had this:

Moral of the story: skip the Denny’s gut-busters and BYOP (bring your own pancakes), PYT.

PBJ Pancakes 

For the Cakes:

For the Jam:

Mix together ground flax and water.  Set aside for 2-3 mins, allowing the mix to gel into a flax “egg.”

In small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  Add liquids and flax egg, stirring until just combined. Spoon on to warm pan (med-high heat), forming 1-2 pancakes.  Flip half way through… you guys know how to make pancakes. 🙂

Meanwhile, place the berries and stevia in a small bowl.  Place in microwave ~45 seconds.  Remove and stir.

Plate pancakes and top with “jam.”  Enjoy!

Notes: Any flour should work here.  You can also use a regular egg or 2 egg whites in place of the flax egg.

Makes 1-2 pancakes.

***

You guys had some awesome comments/insights in response to yesterday’s obesity discussion.  Thank you SO much  – I really enjoyed the different perspectives. 🙂

Is there anyone out there that doesn’t like PBJ?

What fun are you getting into this long weekend?

WIAW: The Rockies Edition

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Starting the week 3 hours behind is weird.

 

I woke up Monday morning in Denver, CO.

  • The Good: I woke up super early because I was on East Coast time
  • The Bad: By the end of the day I was pooped
  • The Weird, cont.: Now I’m in Chicago… in another time zone

 

Have you guys ever been in the Denver airport?  Having a massive airplane inside the airport gives it extra cool points.

I checked into the Hampton Inn (which was surprisingly well-kept/updated) and discovered that they had little pictures outside each guest room.  Pretty cool – they were all different!

However… don’t you think mine was a little risque?!

I swear I’m not running a prostitution business out of my hotel room.

Waking up super early meant I got in a couple of good workouts.  Hooray for hotel gyms!  Note the motivational sign across the mirror.

The WIAW part of my week is… weak…

Don’t kick me out, Jenn!

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Breakfast:

Luke-warm hotel instant oatmeal.  Made with water.  Eaten out of a styro-foam bowl with a plastic spoon.  Thank god for peanut butter.

Instead, let’s pretend I ate some of this:

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal with homemade quick blueberry “jam” was one of my better ideas.

I may stop for zucchini on my way back from the airport Friday…

Lunch:

How one conference could offer SO MUCH bad food is beyond me.

This was some sort of attempt at enchiladas.  I picked out the chicken and made a salad with the shredded lettuce.  Maybe one of those tortilla chips was eaten – they were ridiculously salty (even for a generic brand).

Snacks:

Not pictured, but these items were key to my survival:

  • Apple taken from the hotel breakfast bar
  • Peanuts I saved from my flight
  • Chocolate-Toffee Think Thin bar from home

 

 

Plus copious amount of tea to keep warm in the very well-air conditioned room and remain heavily caffeinated.

 

Dinner:

Again, not worthy of a picture.  It was an airport salad with 2 cucumbers and 2 tomatoes (not kidding).  I did manage to convince them to give me some hummus then regretted it.

This would have been much more delicious:

 

A big salad with hummus dressing (basil hummus mixed with a bit of apple cider  vinaigrette) and a side of roasted brussel sprouts (coated with herbed dijon mustard and olive oil).

Served with 1/2 a Food for Life Sprouted Grain and Seed English muffin and a big ‘ol scoop of my new favorite oil-free, vegan condiment:

Beet Sunflower Pesto.

 

You should try the pesto.  No need to like beets.  Guaranteed.

***

For a whole slew of eats MUCH better than mine, please hop over to Peas and Crayons. 

Do you prefer East Coast time?  West?  Somewhere in between or far away?

Let me live vicariously through you – what deliciousness are you eating this week?

Smoked Almond-Avocado Pesto

By

I got to see my baby this weekend!

Relax – I didn’t become the Virgin Mary on you (and that would be the situation at this point).

Remember with my BFF had her baby?  Jackson is now 6 weeks old and SO cute.  Big blue eyes, chunky little cheeks… he doesn’t look like a monkey at all!

 

I took the new parents dinner Friday night and had a great time catching up and hearing all the fun new parent stories.

We had a Whole Foods rotisserie chicken.  I love you, WF… but your rotisserie chicken is ALWAYS dry.

I also made some bulgar and pesto to go with it.

Please ignore the terrible picture.  This is what happens wthen you eat after the sun goes down.

Clearly I can’t make anything too normal… this pesto contained smoked almonds and  avocado!

Who doesn’t love a creamy sauce?

 

Crisco was nice enough to send me 3 of their olive oils to taste.*  I was excited to have the opportunity to use the Extra Virgin variety in this pesto.

It was good – it’s not a $30 bottle of rich, buttery olive oil (oh, how I’m looking forward to Italy!), but it is perfect to mix into items such as this.  It blended well and didn’t fight the other flavors.

A few things to think about when making and dip/sauce:

  • Add the olive oil in slowly with the processor running – this is the trick to getting the smooth, creamy texture
  • Don’t be afraid to taste/adjust the spices –  I like to play with different herbs and heat levels (yes, you should half the jalapeno if you don’t like a little kick 🙂 )
  • Add things in small amounts – you can always increase flavors, but you can’t take them back!

*I received Crisco’s Olive Oil as part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program; however, all opinions are my own!*

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Smoked Almond-Avocado Pesto

  • 1 large bunch basil (~20 leaves)
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 C smoked almonds
  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 2 T Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • S+P, to taste

 

Place all ingredients except the olive oil, salt, and pepper in food processor.  Blend until just combined.  

Slowly add olive oil with processor on low speed.  Adjust flavors, salt and pepper as needed.

Use as a dip or a topping on your favorite grain/pasta/salad.

***

My calf feels so much better… except when I was icing my knees tonight it seized up.  Weird.

Do you have a favorite herb or spice to add to foods?

Has anyone ever had weird calf pain?  Any advice?

 

Cheese, Nuttiness, and Raw ABCs

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Confession:

 

I haven’t run at all this week because I pulled something in my calf area (still not sure how).

It is what it is… but now I’m about to walk out the door for a 5K.  I probably should still be taking it easy, I know.  However I’m all registered and I reallllly want to run after a week off.  Bring on the KT Tape and call me a glutton for punishment.

*Disclaimer: I don’t think it’s a serious injury.  I’m just going to prolong the healing process if anything.  I don’t advocate being as stubborn as I am being right now.*

 

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Less controversial is the topic of peanut flour.  Particularly how fantastic it is.  I should have bought the 5lb bag.

 

In peanut sauce-form atop cottage cheese:

In the mix:

  • 1/2 C cottage cheese
  • 1/4 C raspberries
  • 1 T peanut flour, mixed with…
  • 1 T unsweetened almond milk

 

All that salty and little sweetness… it was like PBJ cottage cheese!

 

There was also a pea-nutty afternoon snack:

 Spicy Peanut Dip

  • 1 T peanut flour
  • 1 T unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/4 tsp Sriracha garlic sauce
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • pinch of salt

 

Veggie sticks will never eaten the same way.

 

Now that you know I like peanut flour in with sweet, salty, and spicy twists…

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Here’s even more than you ever wanted to know about me (borrowed from Gina @ Choosing Raw).

 

The ABC’s of Me… the raw foodie’s version (yes, I’m fully aware that I am not a raw foodist… but am a foodie and I like raw food!)

 

A) Preferred way to eat avocados: homemade guacamole… or in a smoothie.

B) Daily banana intake:  typically 1/2 in a breakfast (oats or smoothies) and half in an evening smoothie

C) Cacao or carob? Carob!

D) Durian? I’m told it’s stinky, but I haven’t had the pleasure of making it’s acquaintance.

E) Essential to start the day: Water – I start everyday with a glass of ice water and a tsp of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar.

It’s good for the the *ahem* digestion.

 

F) Favorite fruit: Watermelon or peaches

G) Guru you like: I march to my own drum.

H) Healthy meal: that’s tough… I like so many things… and this should probably be raw… I made a mango-avocado gazpacho that rocked my world.

I) Ice cream base: Banana soft-serve.

J) Juice or smoothies? Smoothies!  I drink them almost daily.  With spinach, always.

K) Favorite way to eat kale: Marinated so it gets a little soft.  YUM.  This was a tasty one:

L) # of Lemons in your house right now: 2, plus a lime

M) Muscle testing: hoax or real? I’m a skeptic – hoax.

N) Nut butter: favorite kind? CHUNKY TJ’s Roasted Flax Seed Valencia Peanut Butter or homemade Spiced Almond Butter

Like bar nuts... in dip form and with fewer germs.

 

O) Organic or conventional? I make an effort to only buy organic or local produce.

P) Pickled veggies: Love them!

Q) Questions you get asked about your diet: You really put spinach in smoothies?  Ewwww!

R) Recipe you love: Keeping with the raw theme – there are so many great things made within the blogging community that it’s hard to choose!  I’m going to have to go with one of Gena’s (who I got the survey from).  I made her Cashew Cheese with Meyer Lemon and Dried Cherries and ate it like it was my j-o-b this winter.

S) Skin brushing? I have not a clue what this is.

T) Type of water you drink: Atlanta’s finest (tap).  Extra lemon.

U) Unbelievable thing that’s related to eating raw: That “high” feeling you get after a good raw meal.  And how amazing the glow is of raw foodists’ skin!

V) Vegetable you love: Spinach!  My 10-year old self is judging me right now.

W) Why did you start eating raw? I don’t eat all raw, but I do make an effort to eat a good deal of raw foods.  I think the more pure/clean we eat, the better we feel.  My energy level is signinficantly increased when I’m eating clean.

X) X-rated vegetable or fruit: X-rated?!  I have just the picture…

 

Y) Yummy food you make: Raw… Peach Cobbler Chia Pudding, Brazilian Flax Cookies, Asian-Spiced Flax Crackers,  Mexican Raw Bulgur Bowl, and – most recently – Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad

Z) Favorite use of zucchinis: Sliced into sticks and dipped into peanut butter.  Simple and delicious.

***

Time to run and then do something totally unhealthy… a food and wine festival.  😉

Do you make an effort to eat raw foods?

What are your ABCs?  Pick a couple and leave a comment!

 

Raw Kale and Oyster Mushroom Salad

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This Raw Kale and Oyster Mushroom Salad has an amazingly rich texture.  The kale softens in the marinade and the creamy avocado is balanced with the unexpected crunch of sesame seeds.

This raw kale salad was fantastic with its Asian-inspired flavors and marinated Oyster mushrooms.  I must be on a ‘shoom bender.

The kale marinade is a simple one: rice vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, seasoning, sesame seeds, lime, and – the secret ingredient – avocado.  The flavors combine perfectly to make a delicious, taste-filled side.

It’s all groovy… and then you reach the most satisfying part – biting into the meaty mushrooms, filled with the juicy goodness of their marinade of soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil.

Added Bonus: the lime keeps the avocado fresh enough to eat the salad for lunch the following day!

Raw Marinated Kale and Oyster Mushroom Salad

For the kale:

  • 1 T rice wine vinegar
  • 2/3 tsp soy sauce (or tamari)
  • 1 tsp Bragg’s Sea Kelp Delight (or other herb-y seasoning)
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 T white sesame seeds
  • Juice from 1/2 lime
  • 1 small avocado, mashed
  • S+P, to taste
  • 1/2 bunch of kale, roughly chopped with stems removed

For the Mushrooms:

  • 1 tsp soy sauce (or tamari)
  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 1/4 tsp sesame oil
  • ~10 oyster mushrooms

To prepare the kale: Mix all ingredients except the kale in a large bowl.  Add kale and massage into marinade until well-combined.

To prepare the mushrooms: Mix together all ingredients except the mushrooms.  Add mushrooms, tossing until coated.  There will not be any marinade to spare.  Not to worry – the ‘shrooms will “juice” as they marinate.

For at least one hour, allow each mixture to marinate.

Toss to combine just before serving and enjoy!

Makes 4 servings (as sides).

***

I made this to go with the baked Chili Nutty Tofu (as seen in yesterday’s WIAW post).

Do you ever make raw meals?

What is your favorte Asian-inspired dish?

Coconut Chocolate Banana Squares

By

Another weekend.  Over too soon.

It was a fun one!  My friend Kat was in town from South Korea.

She moved there a few years ago to teach, which I think is incredibly cool.  It’s good to see old friends so happy and fulfilled.  We used to be concert buddies, so naturally we caught up over a show.

Michelle Malone was playing the Sunday night 99X Unplugged in the Park show.  Unplugged in the Park is a summer-long free music series put on by a local radio station.  They pull in some great musicians at these!

The weekend was also punctuated with…

a baking WIN!!!

 

I’m not gonna lie – my ego needed this one after last week’s baking fail(s).

During my weekend trip to the Farmer’s Market I found coconut flour on the cheap.  $1.36

Normally I hoard the stuff because… well, do you know how much it costs at Whole Foods?  Hint: more than $1.36.

Click here for some of the benefits of coconut flour (and for an awesome coconut chocolate chip cookie recipe).

I was so excited to use it with reckless abandon in Coconut Chocolate Banana Bars!  Low in sugar and high in fiber, these tasty little chocolate bars can be eaten as breakfast OR dessert.

To bake them, I used my square pan, but you could also bake them in cookie-like form on a baking sheet.

The texture coconut flour gives baked goods is so silky it’s downright luxurious.  I also love the notes of sweetness from the banana with the rich cocoa.

Tip: use a good cocoa powder in dishes like this – the difference in taste/quality is worth the splurge!

Recipe at the end!  First a bit ‘o fitness.

Here’s the weekly recap.  I’m happy with last week because I worked out every day!  Usually there’s one day that I simply cannot motivate (unintended “rest” days).

Whatever happened, it worked well because I landed a new PR in Saturday’s hill-filled 5K. 🙂

Workout Recap (8/15-8/21)

  • Monday – Kickboxing
  • Tuesday – 4 mile run, P90X Ab Ripper X, 84 push-ups
  • Wednesday – Biceps/Back, 84 push-ups, 6 Minute Plank Sequence
  • Thursday – 4 mile run, P90X Ab Ripper X, 84 push-ups
  • Friday – Triceps/Chest, Plank Sequence, 84 push-ups
  • Saturday – 5K, + 1 mile run, 84 push-ups 
  • Sunday – 4 mile run x2, 100 push-ups

Coconut Chocolate Banana Squares

by Laura Hall

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 10-12 mins

Keywords: bake snack dessert vegetarian low-sodium nut-free low-sugar sugar-free banana coconut flour cocoa greek yogurt healthy cookie

Ingredients (9 squares)

  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 T Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 C unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/4 C NuNaturals’ More Fiber Stevia Baking Blend
  • 1 C whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/3 C coconut flour
  • 2 T cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place muffin cups in muffin tins

Whisk together NuNaturals, applesauce, and egg until creamy and light yellow

Add mashed bananas, yogurt, and vanilla, and whisk to combine

Add flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and stir until smooth.

Spoon the batter into tins

Bake for 10-12 minutes

Approximate Nutritionals: 108 calories, 1.9g fat, 21.3g carbohydrates, 6.1g fiber, 3.9g sugar, 3.8g protein.

Powered by Recipage

***

I’m already excited to eat one of these for afternoon snack.

How was your weekend?  Anything exciting?

Do you have a favorite flour to use?

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Using cocoa powder instead of melting chocolate saves a ridiculous amount of calories, fat, and carbs... and it ADDS protein.
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