Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Sneaky Monday

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Can you believe it’s already Monday?

 

I’m so tired I almost can’t stand it.  Why?  Because I woke up at 2:30am.

Apparently I fell asleep with my phone in my room.  My sheets were still in the dryer, so I crashed on the couch… and when my mom called I didn’t hear the phone.  This worried her and when I hadn’t gotten back to her by 2am she decided to drive 30 minutes to make sure I was ok pay me a visit.  No joke.

 

Here’s the Top 5 from the weekend:

 

1. Zucchini Bread Oats

 

 

I stayed at my mom’s one night and made these again after a brief hiatus.  She hadn’t had them and was skeptical… turns out she loved Zucchini Bread Oats!

 

2. Sticky Toffee Pudding

 

 

I went to a dinner party at my friends Katherine and Giles’ house.  Joined by Heather and her husband Kirk, we had a fantastic vegan fest.  My contribution was this Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Recipe to come soon… I need to take some better pics. 🙂

 

3. Foodie Penpal

 

 

The revel isn’t until the end of the month… but my foodie penpal package arrived!  The box she shipped it in got me excited. 

 

4. PB&J Yogurt

 

 

This was is my new love.  How can you go wrong with anything PB&J-esque?  In my yogurt was:

  • 1 C Greek yogurt
  • 1 T peanut flour
  • 5-6 drops vanilla Stevia
  • 1/2 C strawberries

 

5. Softball Sunday

It was another softball Sunday!   We won one game and lost one.  No split this week though. 🙂

 

 

One of my teammates rides a unicycle.  I love this time of year. 

 

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I thought my knee was cured this weekend when I ran a mile pain-free.  Then I tried for 1.5 the next day and was back in pain… *sigh*

It’s more P90X for me.

 

Workout Recap (4/2 – 4/8):

  • Monday – This Pinned workout, P90X Chest/Back, Ab Ripper X
  • Tuesday – This Pinned workout, P90X Yoga
  • Wednesday – P90X Shoulders/Arms, Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups
  • Thursday – This Pinned workout, P90X Kenpo, 100 push-ups
  • Friday – P90X Legs/Back, 100 push-ups
  • Saturday – This Pinned workout, 4 mile walk, 1 mile run, Ab Ripper X
  • Sunday –  1.5 mile run, 2 softball games

 

***

I’m looking forward to a low-key week.  Knock on wood.

Has your mom ever driven to your house to check on you?

What was the best part about your weekend?

 

Guilty as Charged

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Are you a Foodie?

 

Watch Shit Foodies Say for help deciding:

 

If I’m guilty of saying nearly everything in that video… am I a Foodie?

Just please tell me I’m not intolerable… 🙂

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Speaking of foodies… we had an Atlanta Blogger Potluck on Saturday night.

It was awesome to get to try the food from the people whose posts make my stomach growl.

Photo Courtesy Lee @ inmytummy.com

 

In attendance: Emily (former blogger), Tina, Stacy, Carol, Traci, Laura (another former blogger), Alayna, and me.

 

Lee was the photog… and was also nice enough to offer up her house to us, which was fantastic because we could all sit around a coffee table and talk.  It’s hard to have a group conversation in noisy restaurants at long tables!

 

 

The food was delicious, as you might imagine.

 

At our table:

  • Sweet Potato Tot Casserole from Stacy (Mama Pea recipe!)
  • Greek salad from Tina
  • Japanese Sweet Potato Casserole from Alanya (which is going to be in her cookbook!)
  • Broccoli Salad from Carol
  • Spinach Balls from Laura
  • Spinach and Artichoke Dip from Lee
  • Olive tapenade on toasts from Traci *I think*
  • Brie and apples on water crackers from Emily *I think*
  • My Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
  • My Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies
  • Nutella Sandwich Cookies from Laura *I think*
  • Carrot cake from Alanya

 

My plate didn’t have an inch of room to spare…

 

 

And you better believe I cleaned my dessert plate too!

 

 

We sat around talking and eating for 4 hours!  Topic ranged from running to general gossip to horror stories.  Seriously – do NOT ever see the Human Centipede.

As you might imagine, it was all amazing and I left Lee’s house smiling and stuffed.

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Now that the gluttony portion of this post is complete… it’s time for the workout recap.

The Dr. said to take 2 weeks off of running and focus on correcting the balance or strength between my hamstrings and quads, so I’ve been good.  Today’s 70 degree Southern California-esque weather made me miss running a lot, but I did get out for a good walk.  And a treat.

 

 

Workout Recap (1/30 – 2/5)

***

Three exciting things to cover:

  1. Thanks to all for the “Buzz.”  I made the FoodBuzz twice this weekend!!!  Check it out here and here. 
  2. I actually wrote a weekend post in honor of the #ChocolateLove Bloghop.  Check out my Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies here and link up your favorite chocolate recipe.
  3. Stay tuned for an AWESOME giveaway tomorrow!!!


What did you think of the Super Bowl?  (By Super Bowl I mean Madonna’s rockin’ performance.)

 

If you could have a dream-blogger potluck, who are a couple of bloggers you would invite?

 

Nacho Wednesday

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I am a big fan of trying new things.*

*Unless those new things are Dad’s Nads.

I’ve been really good lately about working through recipes/ideas I’ve noted to try.  This week I have made 3 new dishes already this week!

Side note: I’m really excited/flattered that so many people tried my Citrus Chickpea Cilantro Salad!  Check out this rendition by Sarah @ Quotidienne Moi. 

 

Back on track: with all the fun new recipes, this What I Ate Wednesday is more like “what I’ve eaten so far this week.”

 

Breakfast:

Great morning workouts leave me ravenous and in need to protein.  Kasey @ PowerCakes created this “Power Pumpkin Roll” that I knew I had to try.  This monster is ~450 calories and packs 45g of protein!

I am powerful.

I followed her recipe exactly, though next time I may add another 2 T of pumpkin and leave out an egg white.  I’m curious to know if it would work with flax eggs… that’s a lot of egg though!

Even if you don’t make the roll, make the Chia Vanilla Frosting.  I don’t often think yogurt tastes like dessert, but this one really does!

Lunch:

It must have been the week of orange, because my lunch was even more vibrant than the pumpkin roll!  This miso-laced carrot soup was as delicious as it looks!  Recipe to come Friday!

Served with a giant arugula and celery salad, which I dressed with hot sauce from the Mexican grocery store (the only place to go shop you are serious about heat), nutritional yeast, cumin, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Dinner:

Last night I had a couple of my favorite over for dinner.  My favorite Sports Glutton, Jed, recently shared a link to his Sweet Potato Nachos that I’ve been drooling over ever since.

One of my dinner guests is gluten-free, and we all make an effort to eat clean.  This dish is a much healthier alternative to your typical nachos, particularly with some modifications!

I used dried black beans… though I was a bit panicked when I realized I forgot to soak them.  Some Googling lead me to a cool method by The Paupered Chef that involved a quick boil followed by 75 mins in the oven.  I have never heard of cooking them in the oven, but it worked perfectly!  Click here for the details.

Post-oven, I let the beans rest until it was time to re-heat for company.  Jed simmered his beans in beer… I am fresh out, so I added the following (post oven-bake) to flavor my beans over medium heat:

  • 1/4 C veggie broth
  • 1/2 yellow onion
  • 2 Chipotle peppers in adobo
  • Dashes of paprika, garlic, parsley, red pepper, cayenne pepper, and oregano

While that cooked I prepared the sweet potatoes… the easy way with Alexia’s Sweet Potato Waffle Fries.  Nom.

When the fries were done I topped them with tomatoes, serrano peppers, and queso.  Back into the oven on broil then went while I sliced an avocado and minced cilantro.

Remove, decorate, and devour.

 

Oh yes, there was also wine.  A Roquevale 2005 Portuguese Red (Alentejo) blend of Aragonez, Alfrocheiro, and Cabernet Sauvignon.  This was a big, fruity, dark wine that I could drink all night long.  Arguably a little heavy for a spicy Mexican-ish meal, but I love a big wine.

Also exciting: I got to use my chalkboard wine art glasses!

I was the lucky winner of a giveaway at Ancient Fire Wine and received 4 bottles of wine from Tapena.  The Garnacha we tried was delicious!  It was approachable without compromising body.  We picked it as an earlier wine (thinking it would be lacking), but it was great!  I’d drink it anytime!

Dessert:

For dessert we nibbled on the vegan, gluten-free dessert I teased you with last week… I’m finally posting the recipe tomorrow!

We also have another dessert nibble courtesy of Callie – she sent over some Rawxies to sample and OMG are they ever good.

My favorite was the Cinnamon Walnut Raisin.  I love how the cinnamon came through – so often the taste gets lost in the sweetness of desserts.

Raw, gluten-free, and vegan… and totally worthy of a dessert platter to share with friends.  I may have enjoyed one as an afternoon snack as well… 🙂

***

Those Sweet Potato Nachos would be a GREAT addition to a Super Bowl spread!

Are you watching the Super Bowl?  Any fun dishes planned?

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten so far this week?

Greek Protein Mess

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By Friday of last week I had to force myself out the door for a workout.  

 

 

I say forced because I am determined to do cardio everyday and I just wasn’t feeling it.  Not being able to run is dragging me down… 30 mins on the elliptical (or any machine) is not my idea of fun.  My ADD and I need scenery!  I tried to push it this week with running… every time the pain becomes excruciating at 0.8 miles.

 

 

Anyway, Friday I stayed on the elliptical by promising myself that if I was really miserable I could stop after 10 min… then 20 mins.  This works really well for me – by the time I get to those marks, I tell myself “10 more mins isn’t going to KILL you.”

30 looooong minutes later, I did 45 mins of Back/Biceps.  I coaxed myself through some heavier weights with thoughts of breakfast. #fatkid

 

Specifically the Greek Protein Mess waiting in my fridge.  I wish I’d heated it so I could call it a hot mess.

 

 

Have you guys seen the Wallaby Greek Yogurt?  I found it a Whole Paycheck Foods last week and fell in love.  This is the creamiest, most flavorful Greek I’ve tried (that’s what she said)!  17g of protein and just 4 g of sugar, its my dream yogurt.

 

With the last of the container I was hoarding, I made a post-workout protein-filled mess.  Mess because it was a total hodge podge… and I had the shakes (sure sign of a good gym session) so bad that I spilled the protein powder and the cinnamon and then sloshed the chocolate milk out of my bowl.

This is one mess I plan to make  again!  Recipe following the recap.

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So… yeah.  My knee.  I’m frustrated.  It better not ruin my plans to run the Nashville Rock ‘N Roll Half in April!  I’ve been really good about getting cardio in with the elliptical and the stationary bike.  The Mile-a-Day Challenge has been just the motivation I need.

I’ve also been loving Body Rock.  The hotel I stayed in last week had a terrible gym, but Body Rock saved the day.  The 30 Day Challenge is no joke!  Especially the Sean’s part of the Day 3 workout.  Holy quad burn, Batman.

 

 

 

Workout Recap (1/16 – 1/22)

  • Monday – 100 push-ups
  • Tuesday – Body Rock Day 2, 1 mile run, Shoulders, 100 push-ups
  • Wednesday – This Body Rock, 1 mile run, Ab Ripper X
  • Thursday – Body Rock Day 3, Stationary bike (intervals)
  • Friday – Bis/Back, Elliptical (intervals)
  • Saturday – Body Rock Day 4, 1 mile run, 20 spiderman push-ups
  • Sunday – 1/2 mile run (knee gave up), Tris/Chest, Ab work*, 100 push-ups

*Sunday’s ab work was basic but good – if you ever need a quickie just try doing 100 reps of your favorite ab exercises.  I did 100 sit-ups on the exercise ball, 100 bicycle abs, and 100 baby crunches.  Then I did Hayley’s 6 minute plank rotation.

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Greek Protein Mess

  • 1/2 C plain Greek Yogurt
  • 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 2 tsp peanut flour
  • 1 tsp maca 
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 5-6 drops NuNaturals Liquid Coca Stevia
  • Apple

 

Mix everything (except the apple) in a bowl and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.  Remove and stir, adding more milk if necessary.

Top with diced apple, or other fruit of choice.

Refuel yourself!

***

This weekend I completed a fun art project (and I’m NOT artsy like my aunt).  Can’t wait to share with you tomorrow!!!

Do you like doing cardio on machines?  How do you get through it?

Some of you said last week you were doing/wanted to do  Body Rock.  How do you like it so far?

 

Top 11 in 2011

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2011 was a big year.

 

 

I began this blog at the end of 2010 (yes, I missed my blogiversary), and I cannot believe how much my life has evolved since.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the wonderful bloggers out there.  You have inspired me in so many ways – introducing me to new foods, pushing me to think of new flavor combinations, motivating fitness and healthy living by example and through kind comments.

 

Resolutions aren’t my cup ‘o tea – I like to tackle goals as I think of them throughout the year.

In lieu of posting those and in honor of a rockin’ 2011, I decided to list the top 11 posts for the year.

 

Often I see bloggers comment that they don’t necessarily agree with the top posts… but in this case I largely agree.  There are a couple of soups/stews not on the list – but you guys apparently like breakfast and dessert (and I have no room to judge)!  Out of these 11 my top 3 are #1, 2, and 7.

 

Top 11 in 2011

1. Sparkling (Champagne) Cake Balls (these would be great to bring to a NYE party – toast with balls!)

 

2. Peach Cobbler Chia Pudding (with an overview on the benefits of chia)

 

3.  Sweet Potato Pie Oatmeal

 

4. Rosemary Lemon Shortbread Cookies

 

5. Coconut Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies (with an overview on the benefits of coconut flour)

 

6. Coconut Milk Greek Yogurt (with PBJ Vegan Yogurt recipe)

 

7. Cherry Balsamic Chickpea Salad (this was one of my favorite meals of the year)

 

8. Biscoff Cookie Dough Balls

 

9. Liquid Sweet Potato Pie

 

10. Garam Masala Daal (this post also includes my favorite Banana Cashew Chia Pudding recipe!)

 

11. PB&J Pancakes (gluten-free and vegan!)

Thank you to everyone who has read this blog, left a comment, passed along my link, written an inspiring blog… I am honored to have you all in my life and wish nothing but the best for us all in 2012!

***

I stopped posting on weekends… but check back tomorrow for a special Saturday post that might come in handy this weekend.

If you are a blogger, are your “most viewed” recipes the one you like the most?

What is your biggest hope or goal for 2012?

 

Pumpkin-Pom Endive Boats + Rosemary Bean Dip

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Moral support is key to any new adventure.

Me, Mallory, and Mom

Lucky me – I had my mom and my best friend with me for my venture into the land of food service.

Mom actually walked in 5 mins before the party began with a dish to bake the Jacked Up Brie.  The problem with starting out in catering (and being a minimalist when it comes to server-ware) is a lack of resources.

The second set of “appetizer-like” munchies was a white bean dip and endive boats.

No party is complete without a veggie tray and dips!  The dip I made was a rosemary-laced chickpea dip that used rosemary-infused olive oil and Greek yogurt.

The best part about white bean dip is its simplicity – throw everything in the food processor and hit “start.”  Lemon and garlic are must-haves in virtually any bean dip I make.  They keep the Mediterranean spirit of the hummus and were perfect with the rosemary.  You could use any olive oil here, but I liked the added punch of flavor achieved by using the rosemary-infused.

Next up were the endive boats.  Theses were voted the second favorite food item of the night!  It’s funny how the simplest things can be so good!  Endive is a sturdy leaf perfect for creating bite-sized salads.  (This dish was originally going to be a giant salad with arugula, but the hostess didn’t like the idea of a non-finger food.)

Into the boats went pumpkin bits (from a Sugar Pie Pumpkin I’d roasted and diced a few days in advance),  pomegranate arils (I found whole pomegranates on sale for $2 each!), and goat cheese.  After plating the boats, I drizzled them with a champagne-pomegranate vinaigrette.  It was amazing how much of a difference the dressing made – it was just the right amount of tang to bring the flavors together.

I’ll be making these boats again for get-togethers at my house.  With the lettuce base, the possibilities for filling are endless.  These would make a great vessel for chickpea salads, tabbouleh, or even a deconstructed guacamole!

Rosemary Bean Dip

  • 2 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans, drained
  • 1/3 C plain Greek yogurt
  • 3 T olive oil (I used rosemary-infused)
  • 3-4 T rosemary
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • S & P, to taste

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down sides and adding more liquid as necessary.  Don’t be afraid to let the processor run for several minutes – it will only make the dip more smooth and delicious!

Makes 2.5 cups.

Pumpkin-Pomegranate Endive Boats

  • Endive leaves
  • Crumbled goat cheese
  • Pumpkin, roasted and diced into even squares
  • Pomegranate arils
  • Champagne-Pomegranate Vinaigrette (see below)

Trim endives, separating leaves.  Fill with goat cheese, pumpkin, and pomegranate arils.  Drizzle with vinaigrette.

Notes:

– I didn’t include amounts since there wasn’t any real measuring going on, but 6-7 good-sized whole endives will make boats for at least 15.

– You could use any vinaigrette here, but I would recommend using one that is light in color if the boats will be on display for a while.  A deeper color will stain the endive and make it less visually appealing.

Champagne-Pomegranate Vinaigrette

  • 1/2 C champagne pomegranate vinegar (found at Whole Foods)
  • 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice of 1/2 medium lemon
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 T sugar
  • S & P, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

***

Tomorrow is going to be the “greatest hit” food item.  I’m a little in love with them.

What would your ideal endive boat be filled with?

Do you have the rest of the year off of work?  I’m counting down the days ’til Friday.

Pumpkin Pie BYOgurt + WIAW

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Some things make being on the road all week a little better.

 

Check out the Roasted Pumpkin in the top left corner of this screen shot of today’s FoodBuzz Top 9 – its my roasted pumpkin from this post!!!  🙂

Another thing that makes a long week brighter is my favorite weekly event – Jenn @ Peas and Crayons‘ What I ate Wednesday.  Here’s my WIAW (technically Tuesday… but whatever).

Breakfast #1:

Pumpkin Zucchini Muffin… recipe coming soon to a blog near you!

Breakfast #2:

Remember the Sweet Potato BYOB Greek Yogurt?  Same idea, same Sky mag (the new one wasn’t out until the flight home – SJP looks amazing in it!), different flavors.

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt with Fage.  I think the secret is using a thick yogurt (this may also help when getting through security!) and not being afraid to add spices/flavors.  Shout out to almond extract and ginger in this cup.  YUM.

You should have see the guys next to me on the plane wondering WTF I was doing taking multiple pics of my BYOgurt. 🙂

Full recipe at the end of this post.

The St. Louis airport was especially festive after the Cardinals big World Series win!

Lunch:

Lunch today was from a deli in the bottom of an office building.  It is barely worth mentions and certainly not worth picturing.  Over-salted but otherwise flavorless vegetable soup and a dry roll.

I would have rather had my Wild Mushroom Soup from last week.

Snacks: 

Unpictured pretzels and an apple on the plane.  I did get a shot of a gorgeous sunset.

Dinner:

Totally made up for lunch.

My boss and I had to work late.  Since we were at the airport already, we decided to check out One Flew South in the ATL airport.  It was recently featured in Food & Wine!

There weren’t any vegetarian options on the menu, but they did have tofu in a salmon dish.  I asked the server if they would make a tofu-only dish and they surprised with me an amazing tofu-veggie sauté.  It included sweet potato straws, butternut squash, snow peas, carrots, fennel, spinach, and shittake mushrooms over a parsnip puree.  Absolutely delicious.

Dessert was fantastic – Banana Pudding with ‘Nilla Wafers.  So much so that I forgot to take a picture until there was barely a bite left in the jar.

I had NO idea airport food could be this good!

Homemade Pumpkin Greek Yogurt

Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt

Mix all ingredients together in bowl or recycled yogurt container.  For best results, let refrigerate 1-2 hours or overnight to allow flavors to meld.

Add toppings as desired.  Mine included: pomegranate seeds and these Cardamom Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

Get through security and enjoy your yogurt-pie as a reward!

As part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program, I have been entered for the chance to win a trip to Greece courtesy of FAGE. You too can enter to win one of three trips to Greece by entering the FAGE Plain Extraordinary Greek Getaway here: http://www.fageusa.com/community/fage-greek-getaway

***

As always, check out Peas and Crayons to see the tastiness everyone else ate today!

What is your favorite seasonal flavor?  Eggnog?  Hot Chocolate?  A pie of sorts?

What airport do you think has the best food?

Orange You Glad Its Friday?

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Happy Halloween Friday!

In the spirit of The Great Pumpkin/Halloween (and the fact that I’m up to ears in work), here are some of my favorite orange food creations (click the image or title for the recipe!):

Orange for the A.M.

Apple Carrot Muffins

Carrot Cake Oatmeal 

Sweet Potato Greek Yogurt

Orange for the P.M.

Butternut Squash Drop Biscuits

Indian-Spiced Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onions 

 

Lentil-Stuffed Acorn Squash (ok, I realize it’s more yellow… but go with it…)

Sweet Potato Falafel

If I had just one orange item to make this Halloween weekend… I’d make the following soup.  It’s one of my Top 5 Favorite Creations.  That’s including desserts.

Butternut Squash-Apple Soup

Searching past recipes to write this, I realized I don’t make many orange desserts.  My friends do though!  Check out some of these awesome treats from the blog-world:

***

I just realized almost everything I ate yesterday was unintentionally orange.  Creepy.

What are some of your favorite orange/Halloween creations?

Who is doing something fun this weekend?  Tell me about it so I can live vicariously! 

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