Occasionally I have a good idea that just keeps on giving.
And occasionally I take it too far an have a disaster.
On this occasion I’d set out to bake with a peanut butter stout I’d gotten from Belching Beaver. You might remember this Peanut Butter Stout Caramel Corn.
After making the corn, I still had a good amount left in that stout bottle. The perfect opportunity to create something strange, but decadently good. Particularly something that I could top with said caramel corn.
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Staple foods. We all have them.
Some of us have them literally.
When my boss referred to Amy’s burritos as a staple food… he meant literally. He opened this little gem and found something shiny in it. Normally I like shiny things, but a staple in my burrito? I’ll pass.
He emailed Amy’s and got a scripted response from customer service about an hour later. The person didn’t seem too concerned,but said they send the pics to someone else int he company. Well see… in the mean time, I’m especially grateful I go my food prep!
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The King needs no introduction.
That’s code for “I couldn’t think of anything cleaver.”
Seriously though. How can you go wrong with peanut butter, bananas, bacon and chocolate? Maybe if you’re vegan… but you could add TVP bacon or salted nuts instead! The key is the sweet and the salty.
You see the good, so where’s the strange? I’m assuming some of you will think the jicama is (still) strange. Think of it like chicken. Or oatmeal if you want a more breakfast-y analogy. It takes on any flavor.
What results is a bowl of creamy, peanut buttery porridge topped with sweet ‘naners and chocolate with salty deliciousness. Mmmmm… bacon…
I need a cold shower…
Prepare jicama porridge according to these instructions, adding peanut flour at the end.
Top with desired amount of banana slices, bacon “sprinkles,” and chocolate syrup. I made a quick syrup using cocoa powder, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and a little stevia.
Devour.
How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.
Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂
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Don’t forget to record your #MoveHappy workouts here for a chance to win this week’s prizes from Quest and Nutrix Hawaii!
Are you a fan of the King?
What is your favorite oatmeal topping?
Who’s sick of my repetitive posting?
I know I am!
Today we have my friend Kat back (see her intro post here) to talk about how she fits it all in. As I said before, she may be the only person I know who’s even busier than I am. Today she has so great tips on how she does it all, and encouragement for those of us who struggle to stretch (I have TERRIBLE discipline here!).
Meanwhile, I’ll be eating asparagus and packing for this weekend’s competition! And packing my post-competition treat of choice:
$15 nut butter. I think I earned this one.
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I’ve been so excited to post again! Ever since my first post, I’ve been brainstorming, writing down ideas, taking pictures of my food and random self portraits, like me in a mirror at the Stonewall Bar Association Awards dinner on Thursday night (who am I?).
I have a TON to share with you guys, but I will have to pace and limit myself. Really, I should write a novel, but who has the time!?
If I learned anything from my 30-day-challenge, I learned it was super hard to fit in as much running as I like while doing at least one yoga class a day. Solution? Yo-RUN-ga.
Yes, running incorporated with yoga. I had to run commute the 5-ish miles to and from yoga, or show up to yoga about 30-45-minutes early, throw my mat down, and go for a short run. I also made a couple of run dates immediately after yoga to make sure I fit them in. I had to cut back to running about 40 miles per week during the challenge, but I would be insane without running. As most of you know (and some have pointed out), you make time for what’s important.
Like I tell my sister when I give her a pep talk, you don’t have to run/walk/workout/lift for an hour to get a workout. You can spend 15 or 30 minutes, and you’re still beating someone who is sitting on the couch!
A friend of my from my Ultra-running group, GUTS, had a status update one day that said “Yo-RUN-Ga”… I didn’t get it.
My thoughts exactly: “I would never do yoga. I don’t like it, I don’t have the patience for it.” (Editor’s note: That is my sentiment toward yoga!) And look at me now!
My attempt at a self portrait after running to yoga last week.
What changed? That friend who started to yo-run-ga got me to come to her yoga studio, Atlanta Hot Yoga (yes, all the classes are hot, even the flow classes—I don’t like classes that aren’t hot). I started on a 20-day Groupon, and I was HOOKED! I realized that yoga is really great for ANY athlete. I was stretching for the first time (a lot of runners are notorious for lack of stretching), I was sweating my ASS off (a clean sweat), it caused an increase in my metabolism, an upping my immune system, and I was “coming down” for a minute. Honestly, it’s an escape, where I just think about my breath, and not my go-go-go lifestyle.
I also set an intention as part of my practice, which helps me to work on things I typically wouldn’t just work on—patience, seeing beauty in myself and others, accepting imperfections, getting out of my comfort zone, “just being here”—sitting with a feeling that might be uncomfortable and accepting it, and being grounded and strong.
Besides, run-commuting to yoga, work, and various other places, one of the other major time-savers that I practice is one-chore-a-day. I don’t know when or how it started but it works!
I almost never have to clean my whole apartment. (Editor’s note: Good… can you come clean mine?) Sometimes my one chore is as small as picking up my bedroom, emptying the dishwasher (my least favorite chore ever), a load of laundry, a quick sweep of the floor. If you make a decision to do ONE chore a day, whenever you do a bigger clean, it is much more manageable and takes far less time. Cleaning the bathtub is a prime example of something that if you put off too long will take twice the amount of time. (Soap scum gets stickier over time, doesn’t it!?!) I get to mine at least once every week and a half, and it takes me about 5 minutes to thoroughly clean.
This really helped me last weekend when I had to go to three yoga classes, shop for a bridesmaid dress for my cousin’s wedding, attend a wedding in Tennessee (my beautiful friend Kelly is a WIFE!!), and still get all my school work and other work in! Yay for a clean kitchen and freshly mopped floors! Although, what I really need to do is give my cats a bath! Seriously, they’ve been giving me the, “Mom, we need some more attention, please,” faces all too frequently lately!
I am already looking forward to my next post! You have no idea the amazingness of the 15-page single-spaced Word document with ideas that has accumulated on my computer! All fun stuff! I hope you want to tune-in again!
In the coming two weeks, I will be dog-sitting for a friend, taking the MPRE, going to Arizona to bridesmaid for my cousin’s wedding, writing a 14 page paper and a 35 page paper, and still going to class and working. AYE!!!!! But I seriously love the way I feel when I get it all done! Yay for sleep! (Editor’s note: And having a celebration dinner with me!!!)
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Kat’s Questions:
What keeps you sane when you are busy? Running? Comfort Food?
What is your least favorite chore?
Have you ever tried something you didn’t think you would like and end up loving it!?
Are you totally excited to hear about Laura’s competition next week!?!??!
“Everything But the Kitchen Sink” Butter might be a more appropriate name.
Often on cloudy days I get wild hairs in the kitchen. Today was no exception – for some reason I decided to clean out my nut collection. Maybe it’s all the balls I’ve been making lately.
This spread was cinnamon-flavored before it the nut butter idea was born. Someone once told me you can make your own cinnamon powder by grinding up cinnamon sticks. Fresh cinnamon sounds like a cool idea, right?
Maybe I should have done some research or purchased a VitaMix. My blender wasn’t up to the task. I shifted gears and eventually used a coffee grinder (which does work, btw), but not before cracking the lid of my blender and adding some groovy permanent cinnamon marks to the bottom.
Anyhow, the cinnamon does taste good.
With a cinnamon-dusted counter top blender in mind, the nut butter idea was born. Toss in some nuts, blend, and add more cinnamon. Taste. Eye coffee grinder. Stream of consciousness wanders to cacao nibs (they’re like coffee beans, no?).
Result? A winter-y nut butter with cocoa crunches and cinnamon swirls that makes you want to stir it into apple cider.
Perhaps dipping apples into it is a smarter choice… I’ve had enough kitchen excitement for one day. 🙂
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Place the nuts in a blender and blend until beginning to become creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Add cinnamon and continue to blend until smooth, pausing once or twice to adjust taste as you may want to add salt depending on your preference.
Lastly, add the cacao nibs and pulse just enough to incorporate. The goal is to have some crunchy bites remaining.
Notes: If your nuts aren’t blending into a cream, add a bit of olive, canola, or coconut oil. You may also use chocolate chips in place of cacao nibs, or omit completely.
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Every time I make nut butter I wonder why I ever use store bought. Check out this spiced almond butter for a more savory flavor.
Do you make your own nut butter?
What is your favorite spread?
PSA: The price of peanut butter is rising.
The dry weather and ridiculous heat this summer has affected peanut production. You can expect to see the price of peanut butter to increase as much as 30%, according to this article on Cleveland.com.
Farmers are prediction a 50% drop in yield for the year. 70% of the peanuts in my state of Georgia go into peanut butter.
The Executive Director of the Georgia Peanut Commission (who know there was such a thing?!), Don Koehler, says supplies are “plunging” and demand has reached new heights.
Why the increased demand? Koehler credit the “Choosy Moms Choose JIF” ad campaign. Advertising dollars at work – love it.
Can you imagine that clean up?!
Moral of the story: Stock up on peanut butter/flour/nuts NOW! Also, don’t leave kids unattended with jars of PB.
I wonder if this means Delta will increase fares to cover the cost of the free inflight peanuts…
In honor of peanuts, I made a peanut sauce to go with my baked sweet potato tonight. It turns out that peanut flour, coconut oil, and chili powder is an incredible combo. I’m single-handedly supporting the peanut flour industry.
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly rub sweet potato with olive oil. Wrap in foil and bake ~45-60 mins, or until tender and cooked through.
Mix the flour, oil, milk, chili powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Top on your sweet potato, wait a minute for the sauce to get nice and melty, and enjoy!
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As much as I love almonds, I think peanut products are my favorite.
Will you stock up on peanut butter for the winter?
What other food shortages/price increases are you seeing?
