5 on Friday + Vanilla Chai Frappuccino

March 9, 2012 By Laura

Life gets crazy.

I have about a million things that I ran out of time to do this week. There are pictures on my computer of things I’ve been meaning to share with you all for weeks. It’s embarrassing.

This Friday I am going to begin to catch up! Here are 5 things I’m digging lately:

1. Dandy Blend

I won a bag of Dandy Blend in a giveaway from Tiffany @ Como Water. It’s an herbal dandelion powder that supposedly has a coffee-like taste.

You know what? It does! Granted, it’s no replacement for your fancy Ethiopian blends… but for you non-fancy coffee drinkers and herbal drink lovers, I would recommend it.

The bag says to mix 1 rounded tsp with a mug of hot water. That didn’t cut it for me. I had to use 2 heaping tsp to get that coffee taste. Hot “coffee” is good, but my favorite way to drink it was been mixed into other things. Namely, mixed into a vanilla chai frappuccino. (Recipe at bottom.)

Speaking of the frapp below…

2. Vanilla Chai Vega Nutritional Powder

Vega’s re-formulated Vanilla Chai also had a starring role in my vanilla chai frappucchino. I have previously tried Vega’s plant-based protein powder and didn’t care for it. They did a great job on the reformulation! I loved the 15g of protein to keep me full, and that it only contained 2g of sugar.

With many powders I find that the flavors are either too diluted or leave an artificial aftertaste – the new Vega doesn’t commit either crime. It made an awesome chai-spiced cold drink to start out the crazy-winter-balmy 75 degree day!

3. Super Me! Wrist Cuff

This rockin’ cuff was ordered from Horse Feathers several weeks ago.

(Side note: Does any one else think “finger cuffs!” every time they hear the word cuff? Chasing Amy reference? Any one?)

Check out the website here. They sell a bunch of different items and other cuffs with various quotes. Mine says: “If I gotta be me, I’m gonna be super-me.”

They shipped fast and it arrived in a cute blue bag. Sold.

4. So Delicious Chocolate Dairy-Free Ice Cream

This deliciousness is almost sugar-free – only 1g of sugar!!! It was on sale (mind you, on sale meant it was still $5 a pint) at Whole Foods, so I treated myself. My expectations were low… but OMG it is delicious!!!

5. YOU

You guys have been making me smile all week.

One of my new favorite bloggers, Lauren @ Oatmeal After Spinning made a variation of my Chili Nutty Tofu and declare it “perfection.” If you haven’t tried baking tofu yet… you should! 🙂

Click here for my version (pictured below):

Click here for Lauren’s variation.

Gina @ Running to the Kitchen (Our blogs’ names should get married – no wonder I love her!) made my Vegan Goat Cheese-Stuffed Tomatoes.

I’m not one to brag ~~(ok, I can be one to brag…)~~, but these were damn good:

Click here to see Gina’s post, which includes some killer pics! ~~Read: much better than my iPhone efforts.~~

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Vanilla Chai Frappuccino

Vega Vanilla Chai protein powder
2 heaping tsp Dandy Blend (or instant coffee, to taste)
2 big kale leaves (optional)
Handful of wheatgrass (optional)
1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Ice

Toss everything in your blender of choice, mix until smooth, and happily slurp away!

I topped mine with a few cacao nibs. Whipped cream would have also been good. 😉

***

Crossfit update: I’m so sore that I actually did yoga yesterday. ~~I hate yoga.~~ It helped.

What’s the best new food/product/recipe you’ve tried lately?

Has anyone tried any of the above products? I’d love to hear your opinions!

Happy 4th of July!

July 4, 2011 By Laura

Saturday’s lake day didn’t result in any Jim Beam-fueled chants, but my friend Kristy did make the most patriotic jello shots the world has ever seen.

They were just as good as they look!

We also enjoyed a great spread – everyone made something to share. I sweat we didn’t plan the Mexi-theme… obv nothing says the 4th like Mexican. 🙂

The goods included (back to front): watermelon salad, Tostidos, peach-avocado salsa, my chipotle corn hummus, veggie sticks, and bean salad.

Not pictured: sandwiches ~~and a ridiculous amount of beer~~.

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2 hours until the Peachtree Road Race!!! I’m so pumped. This year will be my 4th one.

4th on the 4th. Tee hee.

This is also probably the best running-shape I’ve been in. I’m especially excited to see how this impacts my endurance – Atlanta is a hilly city!

I hit up the expo yesterday to pick up my number and peruse the freebies (free Vega Sport powder samples!). Parking downtown is a nightmare, so I decided to jog there and back. Not a terrible idea until i was half way through the run home and reallllly wishing I wasn’t carrying that bag full of freebies. 🙂

After a hydration-filled day, I got in bed early in hopes of being well-rested. This was only moderately successful since

I was too excited to sleep and
I firmly believe it is impossible to feel well-rested at 5:30 am (it’s still DARK!).

Nevertheless, I have my gear ready to go and I’m drinking a cup of coffee with my pre-race Chia Banana Pudding.

I made the pudding the same as the linked recipe, but added a bit of almond extract and cinnamon. LOVE the additions!

Items to Remember Not to Forget:

Race number
Safety pins
Ribbon (orange for Leukemia)
KT Tape
Inhaler
Gum
Watch
Shuffle + ear earphones
MARTA (ATL’s Metro) card
Sport Bean samples

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Last week I decided to begin posting a weekly workout recap on Mondays. Even though it’s a holiday, I’m sticking to it and using this to add to race motivation!

My running was light due to the pesky Achilles injury, but I really enjoyed a weight-focused week.

Workout Recap (6/27-7/3)

Monday – Yoga for Runners, 30 mins stationary bike intervals
Tuesday – Biceps/Back, 84 push-ups
Wednesday – Legs, P90X Ab Ripper X, 84 push-ups
Thursday – 4 mile run, Core, 84 push-ups
Friday – Tris/Chest (w/ 1 mile of intervals), 84 push-ups
Saturday – Lake day! (that counts… right?), 84 push-ups
Sunday – Shoulders, P90X Ab Ripper X, 4.5 mile run

***

It’s already been quite the weekend! I have a feeling I’m going to want a post-long weekend vacation day.

What’s the most fun you had over the long weekend?

Did anyone else enjoy jello shots? 🙂

***UPDATE: I did it in 51:08!!!***

Healthiest Crackers Ever Made

November 8, 2010 By Laura

Baby Sis and I went for a rockstar run. We braved the cold (and the dark) and conquered 7 MILES!

The best part: when we got home, we both said we could have gone longer. I never thought I’d be saying this… but I didn’t mean to start running more than 2-3 miles at a time. It just happened.

Note to self: File under “Things that I never thought I’d say.”

Stats:

Distance – 7 miles
Time – 60:00 mins
Avg Pace – 8:57 mins

I think we are going to be just fine for our Thanksgiving 10K Gobble Jog. 🙂

Disclaimer: We made a pit stop at Old Navy about half way though for 10 mins for a quick peek. Girls will be girls…

Prior to the run, I did my Whittle My Middle with Mom. She held a very impressive 90 second plank!

Following the run, Baby Sis and I completed the Yoga for Runners DVD, which really helped keep the soreness to a minimum today for both of us.

The narration is a tad cheesy, but its effective!

For some reason I have a hard time making myself take time to stretch after a workout, but I am always glad when I do. I need to get better about doing it!

On to the big cracker win!

Unbelievably, I figured out how to make cleanse-approved crackers. These are probably the healthiest crackers ever created. AND they are packed with flavor!

Mixing the fillings

At first there were 2

Then there was 1

Asian-Spiced Flax Crackers

1 C flax meal (mine were roughly ground)
1/4 C chia seed
1 carrot
1 kale leaf
1/4 C cilantro
1/4 C mint
1/2 jalapeño (seeded)
1/8 large yellow onion
2 T tamari miso
2 T lime juice (freshly squeezed)
1 T cumin
1 T coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

Combine flax meal and chia seeds in a medium bowl. Place remaining ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the puree to the seed mixture and stir until combined evenly.

Line a baking sheet with Silpat (non-stick aluminum foil works too!). Spread mixture about 1/8 in thick onto sheet.

Place in oven and bake for 2 hours, until firm enough to flip. Flip the cracker and bake 2 hours more. Turn off the oven and leave crackers in to dehydrate overnight.

Break into pieces and they are ready to eat!

Notes: You may crack the oven door if crackers are too moist. Ideally you would use a dehydrator for this, so feel free if you have one!

***

The fail part: I tried for a sweet flax cracker but adding coconut butter, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. The butter made it too moist (ewww…) and we had to turn it into a topping for the grilled pineapple.