Roasted Bell Peppers

The recipe for this is pretty straightforward.
You will need:
1-2 large red, yellow, green and/or orange bell peppers
4-5 unpeeled cloves of garlic (peel them after they have roasted)
some herbs such as thyme and rosemary
generous amount of olive oil
salt and/or pepper

Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit. Slice peppers thinly, break apart cloves of garlic and toss in along with several springs of fresh thyme and rosemary. Plave ingredients in a medium size glass baking dish, add in lots of olive oil, stir so that peppers are evenly coated and place in the oven. The roasting will take about 35-40 minutes, depending on the pan, oven and peppers. Just make sure that the peppers are soft and just beginning to brown. If they are taking substantially longer, you can turn the oven up to 400 Fahrenheit and cook for a few minutes (5 or 10) to help them brown. Yum!

Marathon Workouts: Delayed!

I know my illustration is a bit silly, however, it illustrates that my marathon training is delayed because....Chris and I are going to have a baby! I am still running and working out and doing yoga, I will post what I think are good exercises in forthcoming posts, whether about prenatal yoga, aerobics, how much to push yourself, etc. I plan on really training hard and strong again just as soon as I can!

Chocolate Truffles

This recipe I got from Living Raw Food by Sarma Melngailis. It is ridiculously simple yet very rich and very decadent (AND very vegan! : D )
You need a high-speed blender or food processor to grind up the coconut well. The recipe here is halfed from the original-because these babys are rich!

1/4 cup coconut butter/oil, softened
1/3 cup agave
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of sea salt
1/2 cup dried shredded coconut
1 1/8 cup cocoa powder

Put coconut butter/oil, agave, vanilla, salt and shredded coconut into food processor or blender and blend thoroughly. Transfer mixture into bowl, add cocoa powder and stir well, incorporating the powder into the mixture. Refrigerate mixture for 10 minutes. Then form into balls and roll in remaining 1/8 cup of cocoa powder. Serve or place back into refrigerator for later!

A Recipe Called Clapshot

I had an abundance of turnips and did not know what to make with them. Chris and I had tried roasting them in the past with poor results. So, when we got a new crop in, I googled turnip recipes and Clapshot came up. It is a Scottish recipe that is SO easy and tasty. It creates a light and fluffly, very easily digested mash potato-ish dish.

All you need is:
3 or 4 regular potatoes
4 or 5 turnips
about 15 or 20 carrots
Soy or what we used, Coconut Creamer
salt, pepper

You boil the potatoes and turnips, whole or roughly chopped, and steam the carrots until soft. Then, add in vegetables to a food processor and add creamer, salt, pepper. Blend well. Alternatively, you could mash them by hand for a rougher texture though I had trouble mashing the carrots so I went with the food processor instead. It was really good!

Marathon Workouts: Break-Through Week

So this week I felt realy great about my running. I asked for and got some new workout gear for Christmas, with the intent of running outside more, even though I never really got into outdoor running before because: it rains a lot here and I am not found of going out into the elements, I used to get sick often and be very ill far from home, there are a lot of weirdos out there, and lastly, because it is difficult! However, I just finished an outside 3 mile run with Bella-No problem. She is seen above in a moment of repose. It felt great, even though it is pouring down rain here and not very warm. We do not spend enough time exercising our dogs and I felt really bad about it this week so I vowed to take many of my runs outside so that I could give our dogs a great workout, we could bond and so that I could catch some of their contagious and undying enthusiasm and motivation. There are some other things I would like to bring up this week as well:
Moving your workout outside.
Adding miles.
Terrain.

By moving your workout out of doors you can get a newfound motivation, especially if you have a canine counterpart. In addition, you can get some fresh air, beat the humdrum of the treadmill (I love mine but sometimes it is downright mindnumbing), and get a better workout. By running on roads you don't get the extra help the treadmill gives you and you get more hills and varied terrain. By running on trails, you help your joints by the softer surface and you have even more uneven ground which causes your muscles to work more and burn more calories. Lastly, by running cross-country, where you run on grass, rocks and various plants, you further increase the interest factor (you'll see something new each time) and up the calorie burn. As for adding miles, I really feel like I broke through the past few days. I have been adding 1/2 mile each run until last night, when I pushed myself to run 4.5 miles-1 mile more than my last run! I suggest starting even slower, with whatever is comfortable and manageable for you. Your body can do more than you think, though!

Here are my workouts:

Monday: rest.
Tuesday: rest.
Wednesday: 51 minutes Cardio Sculpt Fusion DVD by the Firm. (On a combo DVD-click here to read my review.) Very low impact blend of Pilates, Weight training and yoga.
Thursday: 45 minutes Yoga Shakti; 45 minutes Cardio Dance Fusion by the Firm-the funnest workout tape/DVD I have done; AND 45 minutes Burn & Sculpt by the Firm (same combo DVD as above).
Friday: rest-I was sore!
Saturday: rest. Stomach was upset.
Sunday: Ran 4.52 miles no stops in 52:15 for a total of 4.8 at 59:00.
Monday: Ran 3 miles with Bella, outside without stopping, about 30 minutes or so.

The Benefit of Houseplants

mint in a hanging basket-it's hardy so it will live just about anywhere!Milly looking at our coffee planta basket arrangement with mint, mustard, lettuce and a little figurine with repurposed cans I covered in paperour kitchen window filled with two varieties of thyme and rosemary with some little pots we are starting of rosemary, thyme and sagesmall pot with lettuce, mesclun and mizuna greensthree little chard plants in three little pots I decorated with simple craft paper.

In hopes of making more space outside, I planted a bunch of vegetables, herbs and other things in the house. I planted sage with red cabbage, I planted a ton of radishes with mustard (it makes the radishes spicy) and lettuce. They are right there in the kitchen in case we need to spice up anything we are cooking, they require little water and they look pretty! Also, as I mentioned, they are allowing us to grow even MORE food! You should try bringing some of the outdoors in, too.

Winter Wonderland: No Snow Needed

I'll admit, I have become a total garden-nerd. I go out and garden in the rain, I run to get Chris when we have a new sprout emerging, and I spent a chunk of Christmas money on seeds after spending an hour looking through catalouges-comparing various types and prices. It has paid off, however. Yesterday I went out to our garden, determined to start the new year off with as much of our own food as possible. When I mentioned that I planted lettuce, radishes and other things as late as November and a few weeks ago, most people thought I was nuts. Chris thought our broccoli, Bok Choy, celery et. al. would die at the first inkling of frost. However, yesterday I harvested about 1 lb of Brussels Sprouts, 3 lbs Daikon radish, a head of purple cabbage, greens for one large salad including kale, mustard, mesclun, lettuce..., 5 or so radishes, 4 turnips, 1 large Bok Choy-and there is still SO much more out there! Plus, we have sprouts coming up of celery, beets, radishes, lettuce, chard, mustard and kale. We didn't even use cloches or cold frames! I did mulch them with leaves from our two cherry trees, but other than that, they were left to their own devices. The plants did not grow nearly as fast as in the summer or late spring, but there still out there to be had and that is really something I am proud of. For some spring vegetables, if you live in a zone 7 or up (we're zone 8), why not try planting some turnips, kale, chard, spinach, radishes and lettuce. You should have something to harvest in two months' time. The turnips and radishes may take a bit longer, but probably not too much. Or, with the turnips and beets, try planting them in a medium sized container in the garage or patio. If you want to go smaller and even lower maintenance, take a tiny pot, throw in some dirt and a handful of lettuce seeds (or kale) and keep near a window. In a few weeks, you will have a pot full of what are known as micro greens which you can add to store bought salad mixes or greens which will had a healthful punch to your salad! Also, if you have grown attached to your little sprouts, you can save one or two and transplant them into a larger pot and let them grow to their full potential!

Daikon, the white root-like items in the photograph, is a type of asian radish that is rather spicy and interesting when eaten raw. It it used in Chinese medicine as it has nutrients which detoxify and cleanse.You can eat it raw, shredded on salads, cubed in a stir-fry, or do what I did and make wonderful pickles (or relish!). It is incredibly simple:
In a large bowl, place thin slices of Daikon and Cucumber.
Add in about 1/2-1 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar or regular white vinegar (apple cider is much healthier)
1 cup water (enough liquid to cover slices)
1 teaspoon salt
1 generous squirt of Agave or 1/2 tablespoon sugar

Cover and let sit for about 24 hours. I think it would make excellent relish or, if you chopped them up a bit more, added to a salad with some other oriental vegetables included.

Vegan Almond Rocca

My mother and I worked on this collaboration the other day. She is known for her Almond Rocca and I miss it. She made it the holiday season I first went vegan, or possibly the year after that, and I thought we would give it a try again.

The recipe is easy, though you have to stir it THE ENTIRE TIME it heats up, or it will not work.

You will need:

Large sauce pan
Candy thermometer (the saucepan cannot be too tall, the thermometer must touch the candy)

1 cup vegan butter-Smart Balance. DO NOT use EARTH BALANCE. my mother and I tried it with this and the "toffee" part did not come together, it was WAY too oily.
2 tablespoons water
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (approximate)
3/4 cup chopped almonds (approximate)

In the sauce pan, melt butter on low-medium heat. Once melted, add in water. Add the sugars-DO NOT add in baking soda yet. Add in thermometer and stir continuously until it reaches 290 Fahrenheit. Quickly remove thermometer and add in baking soda, stir it around, and pour mixture on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Let sit until it begins to harden, add chocolate chips to the top and then sprinkle chopped almonds over top of entire surface. Wait a few minutes for it to cool, flip over and repeat. Note: you may need to melt the chocolate chips on this side if it is not hot enough. Break into small pieces and enjoy!

Vegan Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinners

Roxy and I collaborated on several things that everybody ate one day or the other.
For Christmas Eve evening, we had a salad, Brussels sprouts (from our garden!), some snacks such as Roxy's stuffed mushrooms. For Christmas, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, followed later by my chanterelle mushroom salad (recipe here), vegan lasagna, and vegan rollsStarter:
1 tablespoon yeast
some molasses
1/4 cup water
- - - -
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup Smart Balance
6 cups all purpose flour, wheat flour and/or pastry flour
1 1/2 cups water

Combine starter ingredients in bowl, wisk, and let sit while you take care of other ingredients-it will get frothy. In large mixing bowl (we used a KitchenAid) add in some flour, molasses, and Smart Balance. Then add yeast starter mix. Stir on a lower setting, then add in more water and flour, stir on medium setting and repeat until a good consistency. Put into a large bowl, knead a bit, then cover with a warm wet cloth until it doubles in size, about an hour. Then form into four rolls, butter the outside, and let sit another 20-30 minutes. Then preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit and cook for 10 minutes. Then, lower heat to 400 and cook another 20 minutes or so, until brown. Repeat for remaining rolls.Sauté onions, which have been diced and then add in garlic, minced. Cut the portabellas in large slices. Remove onions and garlic from pan, after they have browned. Then add in ¼ cup of wine and add in rosemary to pan. Add in mushrooms, place them flat in pan. Cover and place on medium low heat for several minutes so they absorb wine and seasoning. Uncover, cook for a few more minutes until brown. Then remove from pan once browned. Add some more wine, about another ¼ cup, and then add onions and garlic back into pan. Add in two cans of organic diced tomatoes. Let sauce cook for 10 minutes or so. You can cook your pasta during this time. In a 9X13 pan, preferably glass, place some tomato sauce in bottom and place portabella slices across sauce. Add in 3 pieces of lasagna, and then add in a small container’s worth, about ¾ lb, spinach. Spoon around ½ cup vegan yogurt across top of spinach. Cover with 3 more pieces, and then cover that with more tomato sauce. Sprinkle around 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast over top and add in handful of chopped parsley. Bake at 375 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Sprinkle vegan parmesan over top and serve! The salad I made was just romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, chopped, small grape tomatoes, portabella mushroom sliced thinly and radished sliced thinly with a variety of dressing to choose from. Simple yet yummy.
The mushrooms were stuffed with some ground almonds, chopped mushroom stalks, garlic and parsely and tomatoes. Stuff and bake at 375 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or so, until browned.Starter:
1 tablespoon yeast
some molasses
1/4 cup water
- - - -
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup Smart Balance
6 cups all purpose flour, wheat flour and/or pastry flour
1 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses

Combine starter ingredients in bowl, wisk, and let sit while you take care of other ingredients-it will get frothy. In large mixing bowl (we used a KitchenAid) add in some flour, molasses, and Smart Balance. Then add yeast starter mix. Stir on a lower setting, then add in more water and flour, stir on medium setting and repeat until a good consistency. Put into a large bowl, knead a bit, then cover with a warm wet cloth until it doubles in size, about an hour. mix cinnamon, sugar and molasses together with some water if needed. Roll out dough, cover with cinnamon sugar mixture and add in chopped nuts or raisins if you like, and slice into rolls. Then preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit and cook for 10 minutes. Then, lower heat to 400 and cook another 20 minutes or so, until brown. Repeat for remaining rolls. Make up a nive frosting by adding 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup creamer or coconut milk and a drop of vanilla into food processor and drizzle over rolls.
For these Brussels sprouts, Roxy chopped them in half along with an onion and some oil to a pan, along with some vegan bacon which was really good. We used Smart Bacon from Lightlife.

I have to say, the Brussels sprouts were my favourite of all we made. It was just really good and satisfying and from our garden! I was all really good though and I am glad that many guests commented on veganism and enjoyed the food!

Marathon Workouts

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Ran 3.5 miles without stopping
Friday: 15 minutes of weightlifting; sprints: 20 minutes total running 1 or so minutes at 8, 6, 8, 7 miles an hour, repeating for the total time.
Saturday: Yoga, weightlifting for 35 minutes plus 20 minutes Winsor Pilates VHS tape.
Sunday: Firm DVD Cardio Overdrive with 5 lb weights, 52 minutes.

I think I did good this week being that Chris and I were away for two days over Christmas. I woke up bright and early on Christmas Day and worked out to the Firm and felt really great the entire day. I had a lot of energy and I wasn't ravenous and I controlled my eating really well, so that I wasn't stuffed or miserable or starving.

Norwegian Fattigman Cookies, Swedish Open Sandwich

These are traditional Norwegian cookies that my mother and I used to make when I was little. Since I went vegan, we haven't made them as they contain eggs and sugar. However, today we thought we would try a vegan version of Fattigman.

4 "eggs" Ener-G egg substitute-follow directions for water.
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 Coconut Creamer or soy cream sweetener (We used So Delicious)
2 tablespoons Brandy (We used the good stuff, Hennessy!)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
2 1/2 cups flour (you will need extra for rolling out dough) Unfortunately, Chris and I only have whole wheat so we used that. It would be much better with pastry or all purpose flour.
1 tablespoon apple sauce

1/2 cup organic powdered sugar (we used a food processor to make it.)

sauce pan half full of vegetable oil or canola oil or other low temperature oil.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except flour together in mixing bowl with egg beater until well blended. Add in flour and blend until the dough is stiff. Knead dough for 3 or so minutes. Turn oil on medium high heat, around 6 temperature. Roll out very thinly and cut into a diamond shape. Make slit in center of diamonds (that was always my job!) and take the top of diamond, put it through center slit and pull. Place 4 or 5 Fattigman cookies in oil and cook until brown; do not over cook!! Place them on a paper bag or several paper towels so the oil may drain. After they have drained and cooled slightly, put them in powdered sugar (this was also always my job!). You can fill a plastic bag with sugar and shake the cookies around or do what we did today, so as to save plastic, was use a bowl with sugar in it and flipped the cookies around. This was the open-faced sandwich I made today using chanterelle mushrooms and onions. It is incredibly filling and easy to make. You just sauté onions and mushrooms-I used 3/4 of an onion and about 3/4 lb mushrooms-in a pan with olive oil and balsamic. Add in some pepper and chopped parsley. You will need a couple pieces of sourdough bread, which I toasted, then I placed the mushroom and onion mixture on the bread. It was so, so good! Makes about 2 open sandwiches.

German Cookies, Swedish Bread

My mother-in-law and I had a lot of fun! We made a bunch of stuff today with more to come later!
We made a recipe from Roxy's sister-in-law, Susan (Chris' aunt) who lives in Germany known as Wiener Vanillekipferl or, translated, Vanilla Crescents.

1 1/3 cups ground almonds
2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup smart balance
7 tablespoons ice water
Topping:

1 vanilla bean
1 cup vegan powder sugar—you can make your own like we did. We used some organic sugar wrapped in parchment paper, cut a vanilla bean which we pulled the vanilla seeds out of, and used a rolling pin to crush it. You could also use a food processor or coffee grinder. (shown above)

Make sure that the “butter” is very cold. Add all ingredients to bowl, except water and use hands to stir. Add in water slowly, stirring with hands every few tablespoons. DO NOT over stir. Form dough in baggie as rectangle and let sit in refrigerator for 2 hours. Bake 400 Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, when corners turn brown. You may want to add a drop or two of almond or vanilla extract to the dough for more flavour, though they are good as is. Then take the cookies after they come out, baste them with some water, then dip them in sugar-vanilla mixture and eat!
Swedish Rye Bread:

Starter:
2 tablespoons yeast
some molasses
1/2 cup water
- - - -
1 cup molasses
1 cup Smart Balance
7 cups all purpose flour, wheat flour and/or pastry flour
5 cups rye flour-2 cups light rye, 3 coups dark rye
3 cups water

Combine starter ingredients in bowl, wisk, and let sit while you take care of other ingredients-it will get frothy. In large mixing bowl (we used a KitchenAid) add in some flour, molasses, and Smart Balance. Then add yeast starter mix. Stir on a lower setting, then add in more water and flour, stir on medium setting and repeat until a good consistency. Put into a large bowl, knead a bit, then cover with a warm wet cloth until it doubles in size, about an hour. Then form into four loaves, butter the outside, and let sit another 20-30 minutes. Then preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit and cook just two loaves on a thick cookie sheet and cook for 10 minutes. Then, lower heat to 400 and cook another 30 minutes or so, until brown. Repeat for other 2 loaves.
Milly came with us to Roxy and Steve's where she got attention and helped out. She is sitting at the table, supervising in the photograph above.

Confetti Stuffed Peppers

I made these the other night using mini peppers they have at various grocery stores-I bought a pack of about 20 or so for $5 at Fred Meyer.

4-8 small or medium peppers (you can use a hotter pepper, too)
red pepper flakes (for stuffing and garnish)
1 can white beans or garbanzo beans
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 or 3 mushrooms
1 teaspoon balsamic
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
salte, pepper, italian seasoning

Take the peppers, about 6 or 7 for two servings depending on size, core them and place in a pan on low-medium heat with some olive oil. The idea is to get them soft and slightly browning which they should do after about 15 minutes. If they are still a bit too hard, you can also slice them up in 1/2-1" pieces, after they have been stuffed. For the stuffing, add all ingredients to food processor and blend well. Spoon stuffing slowly into peppers. Add red pepper flakes to plate, add peppers, and serve. You can get really creative with this idea. You could try green bell peppers with black bean "salsa" or jalapeño peppers with a really mild soy-yogurt and white bean stuffing.

Marathon Workouts: Week 4: Cross Training

This week I ran but also did weight lifting and walked the puppies with Chris, to add some more fun into my workouts and to get me off that treadmill!

Monday: Walked 4 hours with Bella, 13.5 miles around Tacoma.
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Ran about 1.5 miles for a total of 1.66 miles, about 20 minutes. 20 minutes weight-lifting. (I did typical biceps curls, overhead presses, pliés, lunges, squats and ab work.)
Friday: Rest-Chris and I had a Christmas party!
Saturday: 20 minutes of yoga, AM Yoga Hip Openers, along with 25 minutes of weights.
Sunday: 20 minutes of yoga, Chris and I made up our own. 45 minutes of weights, 1 hour walking puppies.
Being done with school, I have a lot more time to workout and am less stressed in general. I think it will prove difficult to keep up my training with school next quarter but in 2012 I am going to focus on eating smaller portions every 3 hours or so, I am going to create a solid schedule and workout more regularly even with school, and spend more time with our dogs. With these changes I think it will be a lot easier to keep my workouts going without going crazy! For over a year and a half, I have been logging my workouts in a little journal I keep with me almost at all times. I write the date, my workouts and, if I feel really bad or really good I generally write my mood or if I got sick. It really has helped me to reinforce that I am a workout-er, that working out is a part of my life. I can also see that day I ran my first mile without stopping, or my first 3 and that is inspiring! Recently, in an effort to rein in my out-of-control portions (12 cookies yesterday?!?!) I have tried writing my food intake and calories. I have not been consistent as it is inconvenient and I don't like seeing how much I have eaten but it is helping me have constant energy and to weat more vegetables-if I have a set number of calories, do I really want to "spend" half on cookies? If I think about it, no. I I also get sick when I run too soon after I eat so it has helped me time my meals and I have a better run on days when I have spread out my caloric intake. So if you are training, like me, or just getting in to working out, I recommend writing what you are doing and how you are feeling.

Cheesy Broccoli and Cauliflower

I made this for Chris the other night and he really liked it. So much so that he requested it for lunch for this upcoming week.

I steamed the cauliflower and broccoli in our rice cooker. For the sauce, I used approximately:

1/4 onion
1-2 mushrooms
4-6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 cup rice milk or coconut milk
1 clove garlic or hefty shake of garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mustard-Sorry forgot to add this in the original post! We use Dijon from Naturally Preferred though any without honey or sugar will do.
hefty shake of italian seasoning
drop of molasses
small drop vanilla
dash of salt and pepper

Sautée onions and mushrooms until golden brown, using oil and balsamic and soy sauce. Add in vegan milk and nutritional yeast and spices. Use a wisk to stir all ingredients, then turn on medium high heat until it starts to boil. Wisk again and let sit a few minutes before you serve over vegetables or pasta for some wholesome mac-n-vegan-cheese. If the sauce is too thin, add in corn starch (worst choice of the three...), arrowroot powder or agar agar. Be sure to wisk thouroughly if you add these thickeners. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

For this recipe, you will need:

Egg replacer to replace 2 eggs (we use Ener-G)
1 cup Vegan Butter (we use Smart Balance)
1 3/4 cups sugar (I only used 1 cup...)
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (I mixed in some buckwheat flour, too. Yum!)
1/2 cup oat bran (I used a little more...)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups rolled oats (I used a little more of that too)
Handful of raisins
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg
1 drop vanilla
squirt of agave (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Bake 12-15 minutes on a cookie sheet. To make them healthier, you can add in a scoop of protein powder such as Brown Rice Protein or Vega in chocolate or vanilla. (Note: they sell packets, about 0.5 OZ. for around $2 at most health food stores if you don't want to invest in the grand-size)

They turned out wonderfully! I made some last night and our definitely-not-vegan-friend said they were delicious. He even remembered that I had made them about 8 months ago and said he couldn't believe something that good could be made without butter. So there you have it!

Marathon Workouts

This week I didn't do as well as I had hoped but am quite proud of my 3 mile accomplishment.

Monday: Ran 2.5 miles for a total of 2.6 30:00 minutes and about 5.3 miles average speed.
Tuesday-Friday: nothing! I had papers and tests and finals. Ugh!
Saturday: Ran 3 miles for total of 3.28 38:00 5.5 average speed.
Sunday: Ran 3 miles 3.3 total, 39:00 minutes.

Tip of the week: for the longest time, I hated running because I would get side aches so bad I couldn't hardly move but I found something that really prevents it. When running, make sure to breathe out when your left foot strikes down and inhale whenever it comes naturally. When drinking water and running, follow this same principle by drinking, swallowing, holding your breath until your left foot is striking. If you feel a side ache coming on, breathe out really hard when your left foot strikes and squeeze your right side. Also, trying breathing in for two strikes and then exhale for two strikes. This upcoming week, I have only one final and I'm done so I will do a lot better with working out.

Dinosaur Kale Quinoa Wrap

This light meal is slightly adapted from Brendan Brazier's, Thrive.

On pages 241-242, the recipe is as follows:

1 avocado (we used Hass)
2 roma tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 large carrot
2 strips Dulse seaweed
1 cup cooked or soaked Quinoa
3 tbsp salad dressing

For ours, I went really simple (mostly because I was too tired to go look at the recipe..) and omitted the dressing (it was so flavourful, you didn't need any) the cucumber, carrot and seaweed and just added in some sprouts and black beans instead.
You can get really creative with the ingredients you add and you could even do a white rice one that is more in line with sushi tradition, if you like..The possibilities are endless. Like sushi, however, you must roll up the dino kale which can be a bit of a challenge to eat (that's what napkins and handtowels are for!) but it is definitely worth the effort.
I made a ton of quinoa but only needed about a cup for this, and I made 4 individual wraps.
I used just a little bit of beans, black beans and a little bit of tomato. I, like the recipe, used 1 Hass avocado and a handful of sprouts I sprouted. Dinosaur kale is very easy to grow, if you are considering growing it yourself, which is a good idea because it can be difficult to find sometimes. Fred Meyer has it about once or twice a month. But that's all there is to it!

Simple Snack: Crackers & Avocado

Back to Nature's classic rounds are really great. They taste buttery, like Ritz, but are much better tasting and better for you! 10-15 crackers with 1/2 an avocado is a satisfying snack.

Mexican Meal

Last night Chris and I made a Mexican-inspired meal using Garden of Eatin' taco shells and Simply Organic taco seasoning.

Ingredients you will need:

1 Can kidney, pinto OR black beans

See Spanish Rice here for the recipe.

For the Taco:
1/2 package tofu
1 onion
a few taco shells
handful mushrooms
some oil and balsamic
1 package taco seasoning (again, we used simply organic.)
Some chopped green cabbage and sprouts (optional, though a delicious option!)

Sautée onions, mushrooms, oil and vinegar in pan. After 15-20 minutes, crumble tofu and add in seasoning along with about 1 tablespoon of water. Let cook another 15-20 minutes, add to taco shell and top with cabbage and sprouts. Serve with rice and beans. Chris even added a little scoop of chopped tomatoes that had chilies in them. They were good! Chris said that he really liked it and he thought it was true to a traditional meal. Hooray!

Marathon Workouts: Sick and Stressed

This week my biggest challenge was keeping up my running when I was feeling like I was getting sick, having post-workout cramps and needing to do too much other stuff.

Monday: 20 minutes of weights and yoga plus 45 minutes Ultimate Fat Burning Workout.
Tuesday: 20 minutes Standing Poses with Rodney Yee.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: Rest days
Saturday: Ran 1.6 miles, 19 minutes and got really sick and cramped afterwards (It was totally my own fault though because I munched a buch of cookies beforehand...)
Sunday: I ran with my one dog Bella (above) for 30 minutes. It was really fun and I chose to run outside because it was something different than I normally do and I thought that it would stoke my waning motivation. It did! Plus, I love being outside and it just made me feel really good. Lastly, when you have a being such as a dog who is SO happy to be out and about and running with their person, it is really difficult not to be happy. I think I went about 1.5 miles running non-stop. I walked toward the end because I was getting cramped again. I think a total of about 2 miles would be right.

On my rest days, I felt like I was coming down with a sore throat or something because I started coughing and my throat hurt in general. I still feel a little like that, but not nearly as bad. Also, I had a huge paper due and test to study for and I prioritized those and Chris and I had a lot of social engagements and household chores to tend to. One tip for weeks such as this, though I didn't exactly follow my own advice, is to find something to do that is not super strenuous or time-consuming and do that on days you feel a little frazzled. There was a quote I read in a fitness magazine once and it is so true: "nobody ever said 'I wish I hadn't gone to the gym today.'" Even when I was really sick post-run, I felt good that I had ran and done something. Yoga and/or pilates are great, too, because they are effective, relieve stress and are workouts you can cater to the amount of time you have available.

Simple Snack: Vegan Yogurt

For this snack, Chris and I bought two containers of WholeSoy & Co. Strawberry yogurt. There were A LOT of flavours to choose from (click link above to see all of them)-with real, true strawberry flavour-no hydrogenated stuff or corn syrups. These are the ingredients:

Pasteurized and Cultured Organic Soymilk (Filtered Water and Ground Organic Soybeans), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Strawberries, Organic Cornstarch, Organic Rice Starch, Tricalcium Phosphate, Natural Flavors, Lactic Acid (from Vegetable Source), Fruit and Vegetable Juice (for Color), Live Active Vegan Cultures (L. Acidophilus, B. Bifidum, L. Bulgaricus and S. Thermophilus).

We added some granola from the bulk section in Fred Meyer and I chopped some walnuts and added them in. Chris, for the most part, hates nuts/seeds. However, he really liked this creation! For me, I tried some without nuts and the granola and really did not like the texture (I had never had yogurt before...) so the nuts and granola really made me like it a lot more. It is something that is filling without a lot of fat, calories, etc. and with all the live cultures in it, it is really good for immunity and good digestive health. Those are both things that I have problems with, so I am hoping to add in something like this to my diet each day.

Grow Your Own Sprouts

One very simple way to add in more nutrition on the cheap is to grow your own sprouts. Sprouts are little bundles of vitamins and micronutrients because they are growing organisms and they need to generate a lot of energy (i.e. nutrients) to get to maturity. All you have to do is get a jar, cheesecloth or special lids like I purchased at a small market, and put what you want to sprout in water. You must rinse them two times a day and keep some water in the jar for the first few days. After that, you rinse them the same, just do not leave any water in the jar. It takes about a week and a half or two weeks until you get sprouts from broccoli and lettuce. It depends greatly upon what you are sprouting, however. The almonds take only a couple of days, while the Mung beans still are not ready yet, after two weeks. When you sprout/soak almonds, their nutritional property rises greatly because, as stated above, it has to harness energy in preparation for growth. They become sweeter and, because they lose their skin, they become easier to digest. Other things you can sprout are:
lentils
quinoa
cabbage, lettuce, mustard seeds
beans

Happy sprouting!

Marathon Workouts

Monday: I ran 1 mile without stopping, plus walking time so I went a total of 1.6 miles.
Tuesday: I cross-trained with yoga Shakti in the morning for 45 minutes and Ultimate Fat Burning Workout for 45 minutes.
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: Ran 2 miles without stopping for a total of 2.164 miles, 25:00 minutes.
Friday: Another 2 miles without stopping: total of 2.142 miles 23:00.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Ran 1 mile without stopping, at a faster pace than the other workouts. Total 1.130 miles and 12:00 minutes.

What worked for me this week was to start slow-I was supposed to run longer than I did in my original plan but chose to change it because I did not want to be uncomfortable and struggling. I ran an average of 5.8 miles an hour for the first three runs, the last one I ran about 6.5 miles average. So far, I feel good and think that I am keeping up without getting too swamped. I have a ton of homework this week though, so we will see how it plays out. I will let you know what works for me.

Some other tips if you are considering running:
-don't eat for 2 or 3 hours before your run. Some people can handle less time, however, I have a very sensitive stomach so I need a lot of time : /
-go at a slower MPH pace than you want to at first. It feels great to bust out the door in a sprint but it is difficult to keep that up for a mile, let alone 2 or 26.2!
-Find a cross-training activity that you enjoy! There are so many classes, DVD's, community programs and games out there that there is bound to be something you really connect with.

Collaborative Dinner

We had a collaborative dinner a few weeks ago with our friends Jeff and his wife Thuy. This is our second collaboration and it was a success! Chris made his specialty-curry with tofu and vegetables over rice (I helped) and Thuy made Vermicelli noodles with mixed vegetables and sauce. She also made an amazing and rich dessert-sweet potatoes with coconut milk sauce (not pictureunfortun).

For the curry:

1 pack organic tofu
1 onion
handful mushrooms
1 cup vegan yogurt (we used WholeSoy plain yogurt and we tried it in a smoothie too, yum!!)
1 cup coconut milk
1-2 cloves garlic
1 head cauliflower and broccoli
1 stalk celery
3 or 4 tablespoons of curry powder of choice
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
salt
cayenne pepper to taste
juice of 1 squeezed lemon
1 teaspoon olive oil

Start 1 cup (dry) white rice (we always use basmati) in rice cooker and about 2 cups water. Hit white rice button and you are good. While that cooks, cut up 1 onion, 4 or 5 mushrooms and some garlic. Sautée with olive oil for 10 minutes and then add tofu which has been rinsed, drained and cubed. Cook for another 10 minutes. After rice is finished, steam broccoli and cauliflower in rice cooker. Add all ingredients, includinmed vegetables, but excluding cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Bring to a boil then cover and let simmer 20 minutes (2 or 3 heat.) Add lemon juice and cayenne pepper to taste then serve on rice.

Thuy said for her dish you will need:
1 package vermicelli rice noodles (She recommended Bún Gạo type by Bình Tây)
yu choy, chopped
fried tofu package
chopped carrots

sauce:
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups soy sauce
organic sugar to taste
pinch of salt

Soak vermicelli for 5-7 minutes or in hot water for 3 minutes.
Add oil in pan and cut tofu into small pieces along with vegetables and cook until soft. Then add noodles. The sauce is just ingredients mixed together. Serve sauce in bowl with spoon, next to noodles so that one may choose the amount of sauce desired.
The dessert was simple but delicious! You steam 2 sweet potatoes (she used purple ones, so pretty!) until soft, peel skins and slice about 1/2 inch thick. The sauce is 2 cups coconut milk and a bit of sugar (1 tablespoon) with a bit of salt, stirred in a pan until boiled. Drizzle over potatoes and serve! You can also add a bit of sesame seeds too, if you like.