lately it has been way to hot for me to even entertain the idea of climbing. So I haven't. I finally realized I was getting a little lazy so I had to do something to stay in shape. With that said I did 2 things.
Thing #1
I committed to doing the Dogwood Canyon 25k trail run again. That's 15.5 miles up and down Branson hills and through water streams. I cant wait! I even talked one of my long time best friends into doing it with me this year. I have kinda started training but not seriously yet. I did meet with the Springfield Trail Runners group Saturday morning at a local park at 630am for a run. They said they would do a 3 mile loop which considering I haven't been training I thought sounded perfect. It did seem a bit longer but I just figured it was the steep hills messing with my sense of distance in my out of shape body. Turns out I was right they took me for a 5 mile run. Can someone say SORE!
Thing #2
I talked my boss into paying half of my gym membership this allows me the ability to take their kids to play at the pool as well as allows me to attend workout classes or just hop on a treadmill if I need to get a run in. 2 weeks ago I tried out their yoga class for the first time and fell in love. Good workout, nice and relaxing and no hocus pocus weird stuff that I always seem to get in all the yoga videos I have acquired. Today I decided to try a 45 min long strength training class (keep in mind I am still sore from my 5 mile Saturday run. I will tell you the aftermath and that should be sufficient to explain the workout class. Upon leaving the class I had to walk downstairs to the 1st floor to leave the gym. The first floor is tall to accommodate the basketball courts therefore it is a very lengthy set of stairs. Two steps in I almost ended up rolling the rest of the way down because my legs literally gave out, praise God for stair rails! I was afraid to drive the 1/2 mile home due to my jello legs but I did manage to make it safely. I stood at the bottom of the steps looking up towards my apartment and actually started to shed a tear just at the thought of going up them. Several times on my way up my legs began to crumble beneath me and I had to clutch the railing to remain standing. I am afraid of what tomorrow will be like.
So anyway that's what I am up to. Yoga is tomorrow evening so I hope I am not to sore to go!
Food.Exercise.Life
Monday, July 18, 2011
Banana Nut Bread
I have been experimenting with new recipes and new ingredients lately and have found some delicious treats as a result. I have made a ton of new recipes out of clean eating magazine which I have been very impressed with unfortunately I cant find the charger for my camera battery so you guys don't get pictures. Without pictures I lack motivation to blog and therefore you see why I haven't posted much lately.
I have to share with you this blog I found which I am so thrilled about its called the spunky coconut. I love it because her recipes are dairy free and sugar free which is exactly what I aim for! Her recipes are also gluten free and I don't mind diversifying my diet with some gluten free treats. Here is the first of her recipes I have tried http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2011/04/nutty-banana-bread-gluten-free-dairy.html
Banana nut bread packed with protein and oh so good! Even my boyfriend gave it his seal of approval! It calls for a lot of ingredients you may not have, if you live on a tight budget like me then try buying one or 2 ingredients a month until you have them all. I am not sure if my oven doesn't bake well or if there is something about the shape of my bread pan but my breads never seem to get done in the center. Because of this I will be making this into muffins in the future instead of a loaf of bread. That is honestly the only change I would make to this recipe, it is heavenly warm with a little of my dairy free butter :) Enjoy!
Food.Exercise.Life
I have to share with you this blog I found which I am so thrilled about its called the spunky coconut. I love it because her recipes are dairy free and sugar free which is exactly what I aim for! Her recipes are also gluten free and I don't mind diversifying my diet with some gluten free treats. Here is the first of her recipes I have tried http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2011/04/nutty-banana-bread-gluten-free-dairy.html
Banana nut bread packed with protein and oh so good! Even my boyfriend gave it his seal of approval! It calls for a lot of ingredients you may not have, if you live on a tight budget like me then try buying one or 2 ingredients a month until you have them all. I am not sure if my oven doesn't bake well or if there is something about the shape of my bread pan but my breads never seem to get done in the center. Because of this I will be making this into muffins in the future instead of a loaf of bread. That is honestly the only change I would make to this recipe, it is heavenly warm with a little of my dairy free butter :) Enjoy!
Food.Exercise.Life
Peanut Butter Cookies
I wanted to share with you guys my all time favorite Peanut Butter Cookie recipe. As an added bonus its healthy and sweetened with Maple Syrup but don't be fooled they taste like little morsels from heaven! Here is the recipe http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/peanut-butter-cookies-recipe.html
Be sure to get peanut butter without sugar or anything added (read the ingredients) I have a preference for creamy peanut butter over chunky so that's what I always use and they turn out great! I have made them with spelt and with whole wheat pastry flour and they turned out great both times. I think in the future I may try a high quality coconut oil instead of the EVOO.
Hope you guys love them as much as I do! God bless!
Food.Exercise.Life
Be sure to get peanut butter without sugar or anything added (read the ingredients) I have a preference for creamy peanut butter over chunky so that's what I always use and they turn out great! I have made them with spelt and with whole wheat pastry flour and they turned out great both times. I think in the future I may try a high quality coconut oil instead of the EVOO.
Hope you guys love them as much as I do! God bless!
Food.Exercise.Life
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Your prayers please
yeah you haven't heard much from me on the food front. Sorry I really need to get on that. For the time being I have been more than a little distracted by the tragedy that struck Joplin, MO on Sunday May 22nd. So far it is the single deadliest tornado in US history I think right now the death toll is at 125 and 1500 are still missing. From the moment I heard about it my heart has been yearning to go do whatever is necessary to help, I am sure many others have felt the same. Today I was presented with the opportunity to go down and work all day Saturday through the Samaritans Purse organization. I took some time to pray about it and I have decided to go, my boyfriend has decided to join me. With that said I want to beg you for your prayers. I know this will be the single most challenging thing I have ever done both physically and emotionally. Even still I know it wont be anything close to what the people there are going through. Please pray for my physical and emotional strength, please pray for my health as Saturday is supposed to be HOT and doing manual labor in the heat can sometimes be dangerous if one is not careful. Please pray that somehow someway God will use my efforts and the efforts of so many others to draw people to him. Please pray that if put in the situation God gives me the words of comfort or encouragement that someone needs to hear. Pray that we have a safe journey there and back and pray we make a difference. I am sure I missed something you will think of so please just take it to the Lord. I love you thank you for supporting me in prayer!
food.exercise.life
food.exercise.life
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Strawberry pie healthy and delicious
First I want to apologize for 2 things, 1. for not posting any recipes in so long 2. no pictures of this delicious creation due to my camera batteries being dead and I cant find the charger :( Moving on lets talk spring. Has anyone else noticed the gorgeous strawberries in the stores lately? They have just been screaming eat me eat me! I kindly obliged and bought some and somehow they managed to not get eaten so I went back bought another box and decided to combine the 2 and make a strawberry pie to take to a friends BBQ tonight. I have bought crusts and I have made crusts but I decided I wanted to make something similar to a graham cracker crust but instead use almond flour as the base with coconut oil as the binding ingredient for a hint of coconut in the strawberry pie. I finally found a recipe that I was able to tweak for the crust. Here is the original recipe which was for a chocolate cream pie I think I just might have to make http://www.elanaspantry.com/chocolate-cream-pie/
Of course I had to tweak it so this is how my crust recipe went.
Almond Flour Crust
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil melted (splurge and buy some good coconut oil it should have a fabulous scent when you open the jar)
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour,salt and baking soda and stir together until well combined. In a small bowl melt the coconut oil and then stir in the vanilla and agave (it wont mix together perfectly so just do the best you can). Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until well combined. Pat dough into a 9.5 inch glass pie pan. It will take a little bit of work but just be patient. Bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown remove and let cool.
original strawberry pie filling recipe that I edited is http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/strawberry-pie-ii/detail.aspx
Strawberry pie filling
1 quart fresh strawberries (that's 32 oz folks)
1 cup agave
3 Tablespoons cornstarch (in the future I will use arrowroot powder instead in the same amount)
smidgen of water
arrange some chunks of strawberries in the baked crust not a ton just enough to mostly cover the crust with some space between berries. Chunk the rest of the strawberries into a medium saucepan with the agave and heat over medium mashing the berries (I used a potato masher). It doesn't need to be a paste so don't go overboard with the mashing. None of the berries should remain whole but you don't need to mash them into total unrecognizable oblivion. Mixture should start to boil over medium heat and when it does be ready with your cornstarch (or arrowroot). What I do is I put my 3 Tab of cornstarch (or arrowroot) in like a 1/2 cup measuring cup then when the strawberry mixture starts to boil I add a little bit of water to the cornstarch (or arrowroot) and stir it up until all of the powder is dissolved just barely. Pour the cornstarch (or arrowroot) mixture into your boiling strawberry mixture and stir while pouring being sure to get it mixed in well. Lower your temp to low and stir mixture for 10 minutes. Pour mixture into the crust and put it into the fridge to chill 4-6 hours. Lick your strawberry spoon and dream of eating your home made healthy creation later in the day. I do also recommend you then spend some time on your knees praying that God will give you the strength and giving spirit needed to share your pie. Enjoy!
Of course I had to tweak it so this is how my crust recipe went.
Almond Flour Crust
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil melted (splurge and buy some good coconut oil it should have a fabulous scent when you open the jar)
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour,salt and baking soda and stir together until well combined. In a small bowl melt the coconut oil and then stir in the vanilla and agave (it wont mix together perfectly so just do the best you can). Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until well combined. Pat dough into a 9.5 inch glass pie pan. It will take a little bit of work but just be patient. Bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown remove and let cool.
original strawberry pie filling recipe that I edited is http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/strawberry-pie-ii/detail.aspx
Strawberry pie filling
1 quart fresh strawberries (that's 32 oz folks)
1 cup agave
3 Tablespoons cornstarch (in the future I will use arrowroot powder instead in the same amount)
smidgen of water
arrange some chunks of strawberries in the baked crust not a ton just enough to mostly cover the crust with some space between berries. Chunk the rest of the strawberries into a medium saucepan with the agave and heat over medium mashing the berries (I used a potato masher). It doesn't need to be a paste so don't go overboard with the mashing. None of the berries should remain whole but you don't need to mash them into total unrecognizable oblivion. Mixture should start to boil over medium heat and when it does be ready with your cornstarch (or arrowroot). What I do is I put my 3 Tab of cornstarch (or arrowroot) in like a 1/2 cup measuring cup then when the strawberry mixture starts to boil I add a little bit of water to the cornstarch (or arrowroot) and stir it up until all of the powder is dissolved just barely. Pour the cornstarch (or arrowroot) mixture into your boiling strawberry mixture and stir while pouring being sure to get it mixed in well. Lower your temp to low and stir mixture for 10 minutes. Pour mixture into the crust and put it into the fridge to chill 4-6 hours. Lick your strawberry spoon and dream of eating your home made healthy creation later in the day. I do also recommend you then spend some time on your knees praying that God will give you the strength and giving spirit needed to share your pie. Enjoy!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Italian-Tex-Mex Frittata
yes yes I know this sounds like a very confused dish. It originated from me starting to follow a recipe and then going astray and adding a little of this and that. Often times this sort of flavor combining doesn't work, well this time it worked. In fact it worked so well that it received not only my approval but also my sisters, my nephew (he is 1 1/2 so that is a big feat), my mother who doesn't like corn mixed into her food and several other family members. Oh sure its possible they were just being polite but a 1 1/2 year old isn't polite when it comes to food.
I just have to tell you my dog is sitting on the couch next to me right now eating some raw carrots. That's right even my dog digs healthy food! It is also now pouring down rain here and that is a sound I adore!
Lets get on with the recipe shall we? I will give you a picture but I really think the picture fails to show how delicious it is. In fact I hesitate to give you a picture because I think it actually maybe makes it look a little unappetizing.
Italian-Tex-Mex Frittata
6 eggs (you can do 3 whole eggs and 3 egg whites if you like or use the 6 whole eggs)
salt
pepper
basil
cumin
12 grape tomatoes cut in 1/2 or 1/4
1/2 to 3/4 cup corn (I used frozen but you could use leftover corn on the cob cut off the cob)
about 2 Tbsp diced yellow onion
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
EVOO
In an oven safe skillet (think about your handle) over medium heat add some EVOO and cook onions until soft and add garlic and corn (if frozen) just until corn is warmed through. Add a light sprinkling of cumin (about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp if that much). Mix until cumin is well combined with ingredients. Remove from skillet and set aside. Remove skillet from heat and re-oil with EVOO being sure to coat the sides as well. Add the eggs and scramble everybody up. Add all the other ingredients and return skillet to medium heat. Salt, pepper and basil the top evenly and cook just until the bottom is barely set then put in the oven at 300 for 10 minutes or until it doesn't jiggle when lightly shaken. Remove from oven and attempt not to devour it all in one setting.
I should probably warn you that I have been addicted to this for 2 weeks straight now. In fact I just pulled one out of the oven and munched on it YUM! Feel free to take this recipe and add and subtract from it. Tonight's frittata was the same except I didn't use cumin and I cooked down about 1 cup of fresh baby spinach and mixed that in as well! I know the corn sounds weird but I urge you to try it at least once. It lends a nice slightly sweet crunch that is really quite delicious! Hope you enjoy. Let me know if you like it or how you recreate it.
I love you guys!
Food.Exercise.Life
I just have to tell you my dog is sitting on the couch next to me right now eating some raw carrots. That's right even my dog digs healthy food! It is also now pouring down rain here and that is a sound I adore!
Lets get on with the recipe shall we? I will give you a picture but I really think the picture fails to show how delicious it is. In fact I hesitate to give you a picture because I think it actually maybe makes it look a little unappetizing.
Italian-Tex-Mex Frittata
6 eggs (you can do 3 whole eggs and 3 egg whites if you like or use the 6 whole eggs)
salt
pepper
basil
cumin
12 grape tomatoes cut in 1/2 or 1/4
1/2 to 3/4 cup corn (I used frozen but you could use leftover corn on the cob cut off the cob)
about 2 Tbsp diced yellow onion
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
EVOO
In an oven safe skillet (think about your handle) over medium heat add some EVOO and cook onions until soft and add garlic and corn (if frozen) just until corn is warmed through. Add a light sprinkling of cumin (about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp if that much). Mix until cumin is well combined with ingredients. Remove from skillet and set aside. Remove skillet from heat and re-oil with EVOO being sure to coat the sides as well. Add the eggs and scramble everybody up. Add all the other ingredients and return skillet to medium heat. Salt, pepper and basil the top evenly and cook just until the bottom is barely set then put in the oven at 300 for 10 minutes or until it doesn't jiggle when lightly shaken. Remove from oven and attempt not to devour it all in one setting.
I should probably warn you that I have been addicted to this for 2 weeks straight now. In fact I just pulled one out of the oven and munched on it YUM! Feel free to take this recipe and add and subtract from it. Tonight's frittata was the same except I didn't use cumin and I cooked down about 1 cup of fresh baby spinach and mixed that in as well! I know the corn sounds weird but I urge you to try it at least once. It lends a nice slightly sweet crunch that is really quite delicious! Hope you enjoy. Let me know if you like it or how you recreate it.
I love you guys!
Food.Exercise.Life
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Desperation Breeds Ingenuity
I had a problem. A big problem, ok maybe it wasn't a big problem but it certainly was inconvenient. I used to have a 1st generation ipod nano I also had a cute little armband to go along with it for running and climbing etc with my music handy. I loaned it to a friend when I got my iphone because I didn't really need it at the time and well it was stolen by someone. These days I am climbing and running more which isn't a problem as long as the weather is cold and I can wear a light jacket and carry my iphone in the pocket. I guess this is the real problem...
Yup that's right its an iphone in a protective otterbox. The problem here is that they make armbands for the iphone sure but they don't make armbands that go around the otterbox. So basically for me to use an armband I would first have to take my iphone out of its protective otterbox. Well let me just tell you there is a reason my name isn't Grace and for me to take my iphone out of the otterbox to put it in an armband is a recipe for disaster. This was a problem I had really just ignored until Tuesday. So Tuesday night I was at the gym climbing and had gotten more than a little warmed up so I had shed my coat and therefore my iphone as well. Needless to say because of that I missed a very special phone call and therefore missed hearing someone specials voice before bed *sniffles*. It was time for craft intervention and thankfully my friend Megan was coming over on Wednesday to play crafts with me. Also lucky for me I had scored this fantastic super durable adorable upholstery grade outdoor fabric from JoAnns recently I bought a little more than I needed thankfully. Wanna know how good of a deal I got? Sorry I have to tell you I just must rub it in! Originally twenty dollars a yard OUCH!! I scored it for a super sexy price of 2.40 per yard WIN!!!
After much brainstorming and many hours of crafting I finished my armband that goes around my otterbox case. I think it turned out pretty fantastic myself, store grade quality! What do you think?
If you need one let me know and I will try to explain how I did it. I hope you are well I love you! Please pray for me I start a second job on Monday as a preschool PE teacher. I hope the kids love their new coach!
Food.Exercise.Life
Yup that's right its an iphone in a protective otterbox. The problem here is that they make armbands for the iphone sure but they don't make armbands that go around the otterbox. So basically for me to use an armband I would first have to take my iphone out of its protective otterbox. Well let me just tell you there is a reason my name isn't Grace and for me to take my iphone out of the otterbox to put it in an armband is a recipe for disaster. This was a problem I had really just ignored until Tuesday. So Tuesday night I was at the gym climbing and had gotten more than a little warmed up so I had shed my coat and therefore my iphone as well. Needless to say because of that I missed a very special phone call and therefore missed hearing someone specials voice before bed *sniffles*. It was time for craft intervention and thankfully my friend Megan was coming over on Wednesday to play crafts with me. Also lucky for me I had scored this fantastic super durable adorable upholstery grade outdoor fabric from JoAnns recently I bought a little more than I needed thankfully. Wanna know how good of a deal I got? Sorry I have to tell you I just must rub it in! Originally twenty dollars a yard OUCH!! I scored it for a super sexy price of 2.40 per yard WIN!!!
After much brainstorming and many hours of crafting I finished my armband that goes around my otterbox case. I think it turned out pretty fantastic myself, store grade quality! What do you think?
If you need one let me know and I will try to explain how I did it. I hope you are well I love you! Please pray for me I start a second job on Monday as a preschool PE teacher. I hope the kids love their new coach!
Food.Exercise.Life
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