Archives for September 2011

Pancake for One

I’m skipping WIAW this week because my food has been so insanely boring lately.  Instead how about a recipe?

Most of the time I don’t mind making a whole batch of pancakes.  But sometimes I just want one fresh fluffy pancake.  So this recipe is for those times.

Pancake for One
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup nondairy milk

Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients.

Stir in your nondairy milk until it is just combined (lumps are okay!).

Let batter rest for 2-3 minutes.

Heat a nonstick skillet to medium heat and pour the batter in the pan.

When batter starts to bubble flip your pancake and cook until golden brown on both sides.

 

 

I normally top my pancakes with fresh fruit, but I am all out right now so I topped mine this morning with a big spoonful of peanut butter and a drizzle of agave nectar.  So good!

 

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Whole Wheat Oat Bread

This recipe is just a rif on my go to sandwich bread recipe.  I like how there is just enough oats in it to give it an oaty taste.  This bread makes amazing sandwiches, or it’s just good for eating plain or with a little butter and jam too!

Sarah Snacks Go-To Sammy Bread
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup warm water (110 F)
2 Tablespoons organic sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
2 Tablespoons canola oil 
1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur) 
1 1/2 cup organic bread flour (again, King Arthur) 
1/2 cup rolled oats 
1 teaspoon wheat gluten
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Into the bread machine goes the warm water, sugar, and yeast.  Let proof for 10 minutes (you can just add it in with the flours if you want, but I really think you get a better rise on the bread if you proof the yeast first- especially since it’s mostly 100% whole wheat!)

Once the yeast is proofed, add in the rest of the ingredients according to your bread machines instructions- mine says to do wet ingredients first, then dry.

I set my machine to sandwich bread with a light crust.  And this will be a 1 to 1 1/2 lb loaf.

Let the bread machine do its thang.

(trick to slicing a loaf of sandwich bread… let it cool COMPLETELY before slicing.  I know it’s hard to wait, but you’ll get more even slices and they won’t fall apart as you slice!  Also make sure to use a bread knife!)

 

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Have a great day!!

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Meatless Monday: Giveaway Winner + The Perfect Spaghetti Squash

Happy Meatless Monday! 

I have a giveaway winner!  The winner is entry number 25, so the 25th entry(skipping my own comments about your favorite meals of course) is Lindsay from The Lean Green Bean!

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See, those extra twitter entries really helped!  I’ve already emailed you, Lindsay.  Let me know if you didn’t get the email!!

On to the spaghetti squash!

Have we all had Spaghetti Squash before?  If not, you should most definitely try it!!

Spaghetti squash is a winter squash, and when it’s cooked the flesh falls away in strands that look like spaghetti.  And it clocks in at only 42 calories per cup!

I’m about to give you THE perfect way to cook a spaghetti squash. 

Are you ready?  I mean really get ready, because this will possibly blow your mind…

 

Take your spaghetti squash…

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And cut it in half widthwise, NOT lengthwise (this is where my tutorial differs from others!). 

 

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Scoop out all of the seeds and the stringy things.  Place both halves on a plate and cover with saran wrap.

 

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Place in microwave and cook for 10-15 minutes until you can easily pierce through it with a knife. (depending on the size of your spaghetti squash it may take a little longer)

Let cool for a few minutes until you can handle the squash, then carefully scrape out the strands with a fork.

 

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My favorite way to eat spaghetti squash is with steamed veggies (usually broccoli) and covered in my favorite spaghetti sauce!  And with a big hunk of bread on the side of course!!

 

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I know what you’re possibly thinking right now.  But every other tutorial on spaghetti squash says I should cut my spaghetti squash in half LENGTHwise!  And to that I say no no no!

Here’s why you should cut your spaghetti squash in half widthwise instead of lengthwise…

  • you’ll get longer prettier strands!!  (look at the inside of a spaghetti squash- have you ever noticed that the strands don’t run lengthwise?  They run in a circle around the width of the squash)
  • it’s easier to cut in half when you cut it this way.
  • it cooks faster (when I cut it lengthwise it takes me around 30 minutes to cook it, this took me 10!)
  • you can cook both halves in the microwave at once! (you can’t really do that when you cut it in half lengthwise- unless you have a really big microwave)

 

We eat spaghetti squash like it’s going out of style around here!  So much food for so few calories- I can totally get on board with that!!

What does everyone else top their spaghetti squash with??

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Labor of Love 5K

On Labor Day I not only did I get to run a 5K and get a new 5K personal record with my time, but I also got to cheer Mandy on in her first ever 5K!

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Mandy, Jennifer and I before the race.  Thanks Laura for taking pictures for us!!

Mandy did AMAZING!!  I was so so proud of her, and I was so glad I got to be there to see her run her first 5k!  Go over to her blog and see the most epic finish picture ever!  And Jennifer is a total badass- she finished her 10K in just a little over an hour.  I’m totally inspired!

 

So please remind me not to do this race again.  The hills were insane.  I’m talking FOR REAL insane.  Like my legs were sore for 3 days after this race insane.

Even with the crazy hills, I managed to get a new race PR- 36 minutes!!!!  I’m SO excited!

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Things learned during this race…

  • Eat more before the race- I was hungry 5 minutes in and all I could think about was eating a bagel the whole entire race.
  • I need to work on my pacing more- it’s really hard for me to keep a steady pace.
  • I need to do more training with hills.  This should be remedied soon because the weather is now below 100 degrees so I can actually go run outside.

 

Oh, and p.s. I just started training for my first half marathon.  This first week of training has been a little rocky, but I’m going to tweak my schedule a little and I think I can make it work better with my schedule.

p.p.s  I’m starting a race tab up at the top of my blog!  In this new little section of the blog I’ll be recapping races and posting my schedule of upcoming races.  Check back occasionally and see what I’ve got going on!

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What I Ate Wednesday #8 + more WHAW

Hey dudes and dudettes!!  Before I start WIAW I just wanted to throw out a quick reminder to enter my cookbook giveaway!  Remember that it ends on Friday at 5:00 pm CST! 

Also since I’m talking about the giveaway… I am completely amazed by the response for this!  I honestly had no plan to do a giveaway until I started writing the post, It was totally a whim!  But I feel so bad because so many people want a cookbook and I could only give out one.  So here’s what’s going to happen… I’m looking for a secret number of entries in the giveaway.  If we get to that number I’m going to give out TWO cookbooks instead of just one!  So make sure you enter the giveaway, tweet, facebook, and blog it so that you’ll have a better chance of winning one! (remember you can get up to three entries!)

Now onto some WIAW!!

 

 

Breakfast was the same old same old.  Cereal.  I love cereal.  Sometimes I eat cereal for dinner.  I’m not joking!

This morning in particular was Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes with banana slices, blueberries, and 1 cup almond milk.

Also, I don’t always remember to take a picture of it, but there’s ALWAYS coffee involved in some point of my morning!

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Lunch was at home since I didn’t have school that particular day.

Green Juice (spinach, celery, cuke, apple), hummus wrap with soooo much Frank’s Red Hot, tabouli salad, and baby carrots.

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Snacktime!

Apple slices and pretzels with some home made butterscotch Peanut Butter (recipe coming very very soon- I promise.  I have to perfect it before I share!)

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And finally, dinner.  This is my favorite dinner.  Ever.  This is Laura’s Pad Thai recipe.  I make mine with tofu instead of chicken obvi.  I also double up on the veggies!   It’s amazing.  I have dreams about the sauce.  I’m not joking!

 

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Now, what did Harley eat this fine Wednesday?  Otherwise known as WHAW!

She shredded a whole roll of my kenisio tape!  This stuff is not that cheap either. Little turkey!

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Pure.  Evil.  Winking smile

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Hope you guys have some great eats on this amazing WIAW!

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