Archives for September 2011

National Coffee Day: Peanut Butter Mocha

September 30, 2011 by 4 Comments

Happy National Coffee Day friends!!  Sorry this is so late in the day, but I HAD to post something on national coffee day!  I celebrated by recreating an awesome coffee drink that they have at my favorite coffee house.

I’m not going to lie.  This drink is really really rich.  This is more like a dessert treat than a morning coffee.  That doesn’t mean it isn’t still insanely delicious though!  Chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in heaven!

Peanut Butter Mocha
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup nondairy milk (if you want it frothy use soymilk- it froths like nobody’s business!)
2 Tablespoons dark chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 shot espresso or 1/2 cup really strong coffee
sweetener to taste (I used a drizzle of agave nectar)

Directions:
In a big mug add chocolate chips and peanut butter and melt in the microwave- about 45 seconds.

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Make your espresso or brew your coffee.  I have a cute little espresso maker that’s super easy to use.

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Carefully stir your hot espresso or coffee into your melted peanut butter/chocolate mixture.  Mix well.

In a microwaveable cup heat your nondairy milk for about a minute.

Blend your hot nondairy milk in your blender until nice and frothy.

Slowly add frothy milk to your espresso/chocolate/peanut butter mixture.

 

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To. Die. For.

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How did you celebrate National Coffee Day?!

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WIAW #9

September 28, 2011 by 15 Comments

Wow, is it really my 9th What I Ate Wednesday?! 

I was looking over my pictures from this WIAW and I was thinking that it didn’t seem like a lot of food at first.  But then when I started thinking about what I ate and how I felt all day (aka I  really listened to my body and my stomach) it was a really great food day.  My stomach stayed perfectly satisfied all day.  I had a really balanced day with tons of really tasty food! 

 

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Breakfast was an awesome cereal blend from the Engine 2 Diet book- it’s called Rip’s Big Bowl.  Love it!  I like to buy it in the bulk section at whole foods, they sell it premixed- it’s a blend of rolled oats, plain shredded wheat, Uncle Sam’s Cereal, Ezekial 4:9 cereal, walnuts, flax, and raisins.  I ate it over Organic plain soy yogurt and topped it all off with blueberries!  This combo kept me full for 5 hours.  Seriously.

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For lunch I had a little pizza- whole wheat crust(my crust did not turn out amazing this time unfortunately), a whole zucchini sautéed, marinara, and a little Daiya Pepperjack cheese.  And a salad: kale and carrots with some avocado massaged in and a drizzle of lemon juice.

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Afternoon snack attack!  Big ole peach and a pumpkin spice latte.  There was also an ounce of almonds that I forgot to take a picture of!

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Dinner was a huge veggie stir fry- bell pepper, carrots, onions, tons of broccoli, and edamame with soba noodles and the peanut sauce from Laura’s Pad Thai recipe!  NOM!

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And my evening sweet treat- two dates with 1 teaspoon each of dark chocolate peanut butter and butterscotch peanut butter.  OMG SO GOOD!  As much as I LOVE dates, they do not love me back.  They are so intensely sweet that they make my teeth hurt soooo badly!  Ah well.

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What a delicious day!  What are you munching on this WIAW?!

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Make your own Pumpkin Spice Latte

September 27, 2011 by 1 Comment

It’s officially fall even though it doesn’t feel that way here in Texas- it’s still ranging from 95-99 degrees.  Sad smile 

Even though we’re not getting any lovely cool weather here, it’s still fall and that means it’s time for pumpkin flavored things!

It’s been a long time since I’ve had one of the pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks because the syrup they use has dairy in it and I try to avoid dairy.  I decided it was high time that I came up with my own version!

My version is inspired by Mama Pea’s Pumpkin Spice Latte. 

Nothing says fall like a Pumpkin Spice Latte!  Even if it is 95 degrees today.

Pumpkin Spice Latte
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup nondairy milk (if you want it frothy use soymilk- it froths like a champ! I had almond milk on hand so that’s what I used)
2 Tablespoons canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 Tablespoons agave nectar (or sweetener of choice)
1 shot espresso or 1/2 cup really strong coffee

Directions:
Make your espresso or brew your coffee.  I have a cute little espresso maker that’s super easy to use.

In a microwaveable cup mix your nondairy milk, pumpkin pie spice, canned pumpkin, and sweetener.

Microwave for about a minute until the mixture is hot.

Blend the mixture in a blender until it’s frothy.

Pour the mixture into a large coffee mug and stir in your espresso/coffee.

 

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Happy Fall Y’all!

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Meatless Monday: Soyrizo and Potato Tostadas

September 26, 2011 by 3 Comments

Hi friends!  It’s time for another Meatless Monday!

 

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Have you ever tried soyrizo?

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I know what you’re probably thinking, but it is really really good.  My carnivorous brother actually told me that I needed to try this because it is amazing.  He insisted several times that I try it, so I finally did.  And he was totally right!  He says that it tastes just like chorizo.  I’ve never had chorizo, so I’m just going to take his word for it.

I try not to do too too many processed soy products, but this is one that I do have occasionally because I love it.  And I almost always make tacos or tostadas with it.

 

Soyrizo and Potato Tostadas (yield: 8 tostadas)
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
1 medium potato, cubed
1 small onion, diced
1 package soyrizo
8 corn tortillas
Cooking spray- a few spritzes
topping suggestions: non-dairy cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, avocado, salsa, sour cream

Directions:
First, prepare your tostada shells.  Preheat oven to 300 F.  Spritz a baking pan with cooking spray, place tortillas on pan and spritz top of tortillas with cooking spray and sprinkle with a little salt.  Bake tortillas until crisp on each side, flipping tortilla halfway through.  Time will vary- watch them closely so they don’t burn!  Set aside until you’re ready to top them.

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Next add cubed potatoes to a medium stock pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are fork tender.  Drain potatoes and set aside.

 

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Sauté onions in skillet over medium until tender (I like to sauté in a little veg broth- it adds an amazing flavor to your vegetables and no extra fat!).

Add soyrizo to the onions and break up with your spoon.

Add potatoes and stir until the potatoes are incorporated.  It’s okay if the potatoes mash into your soyrizo mixture a little, but don’t stir too much because you still want chunks of potato.

 

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Time to top your tostadas!

Layer your tostadas however you choose- I used a little Daiya Pepperjack cheese, as much lettuce as I could get on there, tomato, and salsa.

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And I served it with black beans on the side.

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So. Good.

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Oktoberfest 5K

September 22, 2011 by 6 Comments

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This past weekend I ran the Oktoberfest 5K and got another PR!!  35:34!!  YAY!  I’m getting much faster- it’s so exciting!

This race was eventful in many different ways-

1. I got a speeding ticket on the way to the race (seriously I usually drive like a granny- the one time I speed I get a ticket. Bah!) which made me almost late for the race. 

2. I wasn’t able to find Laura and her cousin Jennifer and they had my bib for the race.  So I ran the race without a bib(hey I paid for the race, I wasn’t about to not run in it!).  The whole time I was terrified I was going to get in trouble for not having a race bib on and I don’t really think I ran as well as I could have.  Moral of the story- pick up your own race packet, you never know what might happen on the morning of a race!

3. I got to see my friend Laura run for the first time in 5 months!  She’s been injured and this race is literally the first time she’s been able to run in a very long time.  She looked so happy when Jennifer and I spotted her running up to the finish line.  I very seriously almost cried. (which basically IS crying for me cause I’m dead inside Winking smile ).  I’m so proud of her!!

4. Another PR!  Who AM I and how did I get so fast?!  My next goal is to get into the 34s!

5.  They ran out of water and snacks by the time I crossed the finish line but they had plenty of beer. (seriously?!)  So I rehydrated with a beer.  What? 

 

Lessons learned from this race…

I did not take a single picture!  I have got to start taking pictures at races so I can be not lame for copying and pasting the logo from the race website into my blog post!

I’ve got to work on running hills more!  (which I’ve been doing this week- more in my post tomorrow about my 1/2 marathon training!) My calves were screaming at me by the end of the race.

Pacing.  I’m still not good at it.  I still have no ideas for this one!

I did better on the food thing before this race- I had half a bowl of cereal before I left the house and this worked so much better than what I have been eating, which was dry toast.  My problem is that I can’t handle eating much before a race- it sits like a rock in my stomach and gives me horrible stomach pain when I’m running.  But the toast wasn’t quite cutting it and I was getting hungry during my runs.  I think the cereal’s going to work for these shorter distances. 

 

Make sure you come back and check out my 1/2 marathon training recap tomorrow!

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