Blueberry Almond Muffins and New Balance Gear!

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Yogurt and Berries

Happy Leap Year to me!!

The awesome crew at New Balance generously provided our Reach the Beach blogger team: “Team Off Balance” with enough gear to get us through training AND the relay itself!! Check this out…

The 870v2 Sneakers
NBx Prism Half Zip
Impact Capri
Heathered Short Sleeve
NBx Prism Capri

Icefil Short Sleeve
Get Back Racerback
Prism Running Short
Fun Run Shorts

Tonic Crop Sports Bra
Socks!
PDA Running Gloves
Tri-Viz Running Cap
NGR Bars

Um, wow!

Pictures don’t even do it justice…but that hot pink t-shirt is HOT PINK, and incredibly soft!!

The 870’s are their stability shoe, and I don’t even think these particular sneakers(870v2) are out yet! I’ll let you know how they feel next time I run. I’ve always needed some stability in my running sneakers and this will be my first time trying New Balance since I started running a few years ago.

I even tried on all the bottoms right away. All the material is so soft, and nothing feels like it’s going to fall down, and most have drawstrings! I currently own a pair of nice capris (not NB) but they are a lower rise and always need to be tugged up..annoying. I’m liking the higher rise of these (not high rise, but you know…normal!).

I’ll be sure to get photos of myself when I’m wearing the gear so you can see!

In the meantime, if you want to get some sweet New Balance gear yourself, they’ve provided me with a coupon code for my readers to get 15% off AND free shipping!! Pretty sure even Brian is going to get something after seeing my new items.

From now until March 10, 2012 you can use the code: NBRTB1279GDCT

Awesome right?! I can’t wait to try everything on!! If you have any specific questions about the products leave a comment or shoot me an email

Ok Muffin time.

This was one of those recipes that I had made before and my initial assessment was that they weren’t that great and can’t use them on the blog.

However, that was after a bite when they were still warm. My feeling with “healthier” muffins, is that they taste better once they’ve cooled and flavors come through better. See, the next morning I went to eat one (I mean they were still good to me!), and they tasted so much better!! I was actually bummed I didn’t take photos that first time.

So this weekend when I was craving muffins for the week, I went back to the recipe. Since my initial gripe with them was that I thought they weren’t sweet enough, I added a bit more honey.

Banana muffins are the best kind to make healthy versions of because bananas themselves are so sweet and flavorful, but blueberries, not so much.

These use equal parts almond meal and oat flour so they are a little denser than your standard muffin, but they stay really moist from the almond meal, blueberries, and eggs! Also higher in protein!!

If you have nice fine blanched almond flour then your muffins will be lighter in color and possibly a little less dense, but for now I just buy the cheaper Almond Meal from Trader Joes and it works perfectly fine.

The almond flavor is there, but not too over powering. You can always increase the almond extract a little (that stuff is potent!) if you wanted more almond flavor. These have more of a natural almond flavor rather than an almond extract flavor.

Almond Blueberry Muffins
(makes 12 muffins)

1 cup almond meal (almond flour)
1 cup Oat Flour
1/4 cup Flax Seed Meal
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1/4 cup almond milk (plain or vanilla, unsweetened)
1 tsp Almond Extract (add another 1/2 tsp for more almond flavor)
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp canola oil (or butter or oil of choice)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup slice almonds (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350*

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl (almond flour to salt), whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl beat eggs and egg whites, add almond milk, oil, honey, almond extract, and vinegar. Whisk to combine. Add wet to dry, mix with a spoon until just combined, fold in blue berries.

Distribute batter into a regular 12-cup muffin tin lined with paper liners.

Top with slice almonds if desired.

Bake for 16-18 min, or until toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean. Let cool.

(my little “cake tester” from Crate and Barrel)

Enjoy!

I guess this if for bloggers, but have you ever made something “not for the blog” and wish you had taken photos because it came out so good!?

Do you wear New Balance Gear? Like it?? I’ve always liked the company. I used to work right near their Outlet store in Lawrence…that place is awesome!

Lets hope this is finally The Snow for the season and from here on we can move to spring??? Wishful thinking??

Winter Weekend in Maine

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Yogurt and Berries

It’s not news to tell you that I love Maine…especially Portland. It’s one of my absolute places to go in New England.

The bonus is that now I have a friend who lives a short 10 minute drive from the Old Port!! One of my good friends/former co-workers moved back to her home state of Maine about a year and a half ago and I am just now getting up to visit her!!

We had a relaxing, fun, and delicious weekend with our dogs

Bromley had a great time playing with Molly!

First thing we did when I arrived was to head into downtown Portland to hit up a local winter Farmer’s Market and then walk around the Old Port.

I picked up some local cheese to try

We dove into the cheese later on

Beautiful little spice shop on Commercial Street

Finally tried a cappuccino from Bard Coffee

It was very good, but I still think that Thinking Cup wins.

Lots of cute shops, lunch, more walking and then I decided I needed a sweet treat

I can’t believe how many places I had never visited in Portland before!! Including Two Fat Cats!

Everything is made from scratch and it just looks that way. The cookies aren’t perfect round circles, and the cupcakes are just frosted by hand with a knife…no fancy piping. I LOVE that.

I couldn’t decide so I bought 2 cookies to nosh on…a little then & a little later.

I’m STILL thinking about these cookies and wish I could have one RIGHT NOW! The one above was an Almond Shortbread….so soft, buttery, almond-ey…perfection in my opinion.

Also a pecan chocolate chip. Again, soft, buttery…all the things I love in a chocolate chip cookie.

As I was eating them I couldn’t stop saying how good they were…that’s when you know you found something special.

After that, we went back to her house, grabbed the dogs and headed to a local beach for an afternoon walk!

Bromley had a blast!!

He wants to live near the ocean now.

From there, we headed home and started thinking about how we wanted to tackle the evening to be sure to hit up lots of delicious spots.

But first some wine and cheese

I probably over-did it a smidge on the cheese, but it was good stuff and I was hungry.

Our first stop was my friend, Jen’s, favorite Mexican place…El Rayo!

Inexpensive, fresh, flavorful food, with a great drink list!

Since we had more food in our future, we only split 2 small tacos and 1 hibiscus margarita

Next, we headed to Walters for drinks and some appetizers.

Since my cocktail on Valentine’s Day was such a success I decided to go the “ask the bartender” route. I ended up with one of their cocktails on the menu but minus the syrup. This one had rum, grapefruit juice, and lime juice.

We also ordered a Brussel Sprout Salad that was divine… shaved brussel sprouts, red onion, cob smoked bacon, marcona almonds, dried cranberries in a lemon honey mustard vinaigrette with pecorino

And also some Cracklin’ Calamari and Salt & Pepper Shrimp. Both really good. This was just enough food after all the cheese, wine, tacos…etc.

We had hoped to stay for dessert but they had run out of what I really wanted so we figured we’d hit up another spot for a sweet close to the night. Unfortunately most places were closed, or at least their kitchen’s were and we were out of luck!

In the end it was fine…we were full and I still had some of my Two Fat Cats cookies left.

Sunday morning we were both woken up around 6:30 by our lovely pups…thanks guys.

Sunday involved picking up pastries from Standard Baking…my request.

Coffee from Coffee By Design, and then heading to another state park/beach with the pups.

Flaky fresh Pan au Chocolat and an Ocean View.

A little later we said our goodbyes, and I packed myself and Bromley into the car to head home.

I was trying to be a good wife and find Brian a bottle or two of a certain beer he really likes (its from Maine and hard to find…Lunch IPA in case anyone sees it and wants to let me know where!)

I tried 3 places with no luck so I gave up.

But then I got a FANTASTIC idea.

Lobster > Beer. I stopped by a fish market in York on my way home and grabbed 3 lobsters.

I made Brian do the dirty work.

I’d say it’s a fair trade

Oh I had also picked up some crab cakes that were on sale at Whole Foods

Took our “Feast” to the next level.

Quick potatoes

(cooked 1large potato in the microwave, then just sliced it and browned it in the pan I cooked the crab cakes in, sprinkled with a little Old Bay)

Steamed Asparagus

Notice I just put down an old towel on the table instead of place mats…things get messy when we eat Lobster.

Apparently February is a great time for Lobster…these were some of the BEST lobsters we’ve had in recent memory!! The meat was so flavorful!! I wish I got 6 of them!! We each had 1 and split the 3rd.

Couldn’t even finish the crab cakes, but no worries those made a delicious lunch today.

What an fabulous way to end a great weekend. It almost ALMOST felt like summer for a minute.

Can’t wait to go back and visit Jen when it’s warmer out! So many things to do and still SO many restaurants to try!! I was notorious for always eating at Fore Street whenever we are in Portland, but she is breaking me out of that habit…although I do miss it. Next time

Hope you all had a great (long?) weekend! Brian and I both worked today, so not so long here, but still nice as you can see.

Valentine’s Dinner @ Catalyst

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Yogurt and Berries

Apparently Valentine’s day “snuck up” on us this year, or should I say snuck up on a certain husband of mine When the topic of dinner on the 14th came up the week before, I knew our top choices of restaurants would have to be put on the back burner unless we wanted to eat at 9:30pm…no thanks.

(pink sparkly V-day nails)

So on Feb 11th I just decided to check out my options on Open Table! I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a 6:30pm reservation open at Catalyst! I was sure I had checked there a few days earlier with no such luck. It was our best option at the time, and so I booked it!

I usually like to try new places, since my list of “to try” restaurants is ever growing, but I knew Catalyst had great food and would provide an inviting atmosphere with it’s modern decor and cozy fireplace and open kitchen.

The other time I had eaten here was for a blogger dinner not long after it opened. I was looking forward to a different kind of experience as a table of 2, and was excited to try out a cocktail as I skipped on the drinks last time.

HOWEVER, when I checked the website again the day of Valentine’s Day, I noticed a Prix Fix Valentine’s Menu… I was not too pleased.

Generally, I try to avoid places with prix fix menus and did not see this on the website when I made the reservation…good thing too, because I would have missed an INCREDIBLE dinner.

When we arrived, things got off to a great start when, instead of being seated in the big open dining room where I sat for the blogger dinner, we were escorted to the other side. Behind a long fireplace built into a partition wall, was 4 tables of 2 with bigger comfy fabric chairs…and they were nicely spaced so you didn’t feel like you were sitting with your neighbor.

It was also nice to keep warm from the fire place.

I knew I wanted to try “The Undecided” off the cocktail menu. This is bartenders choice; you just tell them what you like and don’t like. I said I liked NOT sweet, citrusy, and tart.

They delivered.

This was gin, lemon juice, and a French aperitif called Lillet. I had never heard of Lillet before, but I LOVED this cocktail and now am on a mission to find it. It was just what I asked for. The fresh lemon flavor came through, it was not sweet at all, and I could barely taste the alcohol. I had no trouble finishing it. (I’m notorious for ordering a “fun” cocktail and leaving half in the glass)

On to the food.

We had 4 courses…an appetizer, pasta course, main, and dessert.

For the appetizer I went with the Warm Lobster Strudel, Braised Leek, Tarragon, Herb Salad…

while Brian ordered the Arugula Salad, Asian Pear, Candied Walnuts, Berkshire Blue Cheese, Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

The salad was crisp and refreshing with a bite to the mustard vinaigrette, but WOW, the lobster strudel!! Warm, flaky, filled with warm lobster filling…melt in your mouth delicious. Don’t worry, we went “halvsies” on the appetizers.

I was looking forward to the pasta course as I remember the pasta as being my favorite from the blogger dinner…they were all stand out dishes.

There were 2 options and we got 1 of each.

I got the Mushroom Ravioli, Roasted Oyster Mushrooms, Parmesan.

I had this at the blogger dinner, but it was good enough to order again!

Brian had the Goat Cheese Tortellini, Braised Brisket, Smoked Paprika-Almond Crumble

We shared. Both were outstanding…this place does some amazing pasta dishes!

For my entree I ordered the Roasted Blue Cod, Bacon, Olive Oil Crushed Potato, Chowder Nage

I had to ask what “Chowder Nage” was and I was told it was a lighter version of a clam chowder which the Cod is served in. Our waitress said it was delicious and one of their best dishes…sold

I could have just eaten a big bowl of that chowder you see surrounding the Cod…it really was light, delicate, but so so flavorful and I loved the big whole clams. The Cod was tender and cooked beautifully. I did everything but lick my bowl clean.

Since I had finished my cocktail, I decided to order the wine that my entree paired with.

2009 Pinot Noir, Copian, “Tous Ensembles”, Andrew Valley, CA

I also loved the wine and finished it!! (hey this is unheard of for me…a cocktail AND wine)

Brian chose the Braised Kurobuta Pork Shank, Caramelized Apples, Herb Spaetzle

I had a few bites. Incredibly flavorful with some great textures from the meat and the spaetzle.

Lastly it was dessert time. The Butterscotch and Passion Fruit Pudding with Warm Pound Cake Croutons was on the menu and I decided one of us HAD to order it as it was my favorite dessert from the blogger dinner!!

Brian took care of it…

Those pound cake croutons? Yeah, deep fried. So good.

I opted for the Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Toasted Marshmallow, Peanut Brittle.

I mean you can’t go wrong with salted caramel anything right!?

As good as they were, we couldn’t finish either dessert…so full!!

I’m SO happy that we ended up at Catalyst! I couldn’t stop raving about how good my meal was while we were eating it. We had a fantastic date night out!

Catalyst on Urbanspoon

Aside from the delicious food, flowers, and candy…my other favorite part of Valentine’s day is wearing PINK! And lots of it!

So glad “color blocking” makes it okay for me to rock hot pink AND bright red!

pink dress – Old Navy
gold belt – was my grandmothers
red cardigan – Banana Republic
purple/pink paisley scarf – Banana Republic
grey tights – DKNY @ Nordstrom
grey/yellow/gold t-strap heels – Seychelles

And to think we almost said “screw it” to going out on V-day. I realized we hadn’t had a nice dinner out like this since our trip to CA in November! Reminds me that we need more date nights out!

Prix Fix Menu’s…love or hate? How often to you get out for nice dinners with your significant other or good friends??

Veggie + Goat Cheese + Chive Frittata

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Yogurt and Berries

I had some really fantastic breakfasts this weekend!

Funny, I went out to breakfast a few weeks ago when I was up in Portsmouth for the weekend for my friend’s birthday and I realized it was the first time I had been out to breakfast in a long time!! I love going out for brunch/breakfast, but I’ve realized that making breakfast at home is my FAVORITE meal to cook on the weekends!

Our house gets nice and sunny, and I love sitting at our table with a fresh cappuccino and whatever breakfast dish we decide to cook up.

Not to mention I can do this all while still in my PJ’s

Saturday morning, I was craving sweet!

This is easily the 3rd or 4th time I’ve made these Almond-Coconut pancakes since I first came up with the recipe!

My tweaks this weekend were to add 2T of Oat Flour and increased the almond milk to 1/2 cup. Of course the addition of the flour makes these not Paleo anymore, but that’s an easy thing to leave out. Delicious both ways. The flour made them just slightly softer.

This weekend I enjoyed my pancakes with a few chocolate chips, some real maple syrup, and split a banana with Brian.

Sunday morning, I had no idea what I wanted.

Sweet? Savory? Eggs?

Then I remembered that I wanted to make some sort of baked frittata or other egg dish I could pack up as leftovers to have for breakfast at work some days this week!

Frittatas are so simple and so delicious, plus the flavor combinations are endless!

Ever since I saw the cookbook Plenty on Megan’s blog, I knew I had to own it, and I bought it a couple weeks ago. In it, there is a recipe for a Smoky Frittata made with cauliflower and smoked mozzarella. It sounds so flavorful and the picture looks like cheese heaven.

This recipe was my inspiration for the frittata I made this morning. I used vegetables and cheeses I just happened to have on hand. I also used some Greek yogurt and ricotta cheese to add some creaminess to the egg mixture.

Cauliflower for breakfast.

Vegetable + Chive + Goat Cheese: Frittata

1T olive oil
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup baby spinach (about 2 big handfuls)
4 eggs
2 egg whites
1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
2T part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/tsp paprika
salt & black pepper
2T finely chopped fresh chives
2oz goat cheese, crumbled (or more if you want)
a sharp cheese to grate on top (I used Gouda Parrano)
3-4 cherry tomatoes, seeds removed, sliced (optional but delicious)

Pre-heat oven to 375

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and egg whites. Then whisk in the Greek yogurt, ricotta, and mustard until all combined. Add paprika, salt & pepper, and chopped chives. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a cast iron or other oven proof skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

Add cauliflower and zucchini and sauté for 3-5 minutes until vegetables are tender (mine even got slightly browned in my pan which is good too). Add the fresh spinach leaves and sauté for about 2 more minutes or until spinach is wilted down.

Move around veggies in the pan so they are evenly distributed in the pan. Pour in egg mixture, don’t stir. Sprinkle the goat cheese around, place the sliced tomatoes on top, and grate as much of your sharp cheese as you want right on top.

Remove from stove and place in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn oven onto broil and broil for 4-5 minutes until the frittata is set and the top is just getting slightly browned on the edges.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving!

Next time I’m going to add even more tomatoes, the bites I had with tomato were my favorite…well except for the big melty chunks of goat cheese.

I enjoyed a big slice with an iced latte (topped with a little whipped cream), and 1 of my leftover almond-coconut pancakes.

Having whipped cream in the fridge is dangerous…mmm.

Can’t wait for breakfast tomorrow!

So for those who pack their breakfasts for work…what do you bring when you’re craving something savory/salty?? Sometimes I just don’t want oatmeal, or yogurt…and those are the mornings I end up buying breakfast sandwiches. But, of course, that’s something I don’t want to do too often.

Sometimes I’ll even cook an egg in the microwave and add that to ham and cheese on toast. It works.

RTB: Reach the Beach Relay 2012

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Yogurt and Berries

And we’re already 1/3 of the way through February!

I’m such a sucker for the seasonal cups at S-bucks! I’m still plowing through some gift cards leftover from Christmas, so I don’t feel as bad purchasing coffee (and sometimes breakfast) lately.

I’ve been “Crossfitting” for 2 months now and still love it! Especially now that I’m on longer sick or have flashmob rehearsals, I can get to Crossfit more . I went 4 times last week! This week I’ve gone Monday night, tonight, and planning to go tomorrow. Usually I love the Saturday morning workout, but this Saturday won’t work.

At Crossfit we all have notebooks where we write down our workout everyday and what our weights/reps/times were so we can look back at our progress. It’s also helpful to figure out what weight to start at when you haven’t done a particular move in a while.

I’m getting stronger! I’ve set personal best records on my weightlifting skills, and even went down in resistance bands on pull-ups! If you can’t do pull-ups on your own yet, you use a resistance band tied onto the bar that you stick your foot in to take some of the weight off your body. The thicker the band, the easier it is. I started with a green band, and now I’m on the blue! (that probably only makes sense to other Crossfit people)

Moving on…

I have another fitness venture on the horizon though…

Reach the Beach Relay Massachusetts!!

I’m actually part of a fabulous Blogger Team and we’ll be Reaching the Beach on May 18th-19th.
This is a 24-hr, 200 mile relay starting at the Mount Wachusett Ski Area and finishing at Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA!

There are 12 of us, and we each run 3 legs of the race, some are as short as 2.8 miles and others as long as 8.3 miles.

Here’s awesome team I get to be a part of:
The official New Balance blogger team: “Off Balance”

Tina - Carrots ‘n Cake
Theodora – Losing Weight in the City
Anne – Fannetastic Food
Monica – Run Eat Repeat
Elizabeth – On Tap for Today
Ali – Food Fitness Fashion
Sarah – Sarah Fit
Ashley – A Healthy, Happier Bear
Patricia – Run Foodie Run
Melissa – Fitness NYC
Gretchen – Honey I Shrunk the Gretchen
and ME!

Not gonna lie, I’m ever so slightly intimidated by the fact that many of those women are much more experienced runners than me. Plus, I haven’t been out for a run in months! However, I’m more excited than anything and I know I can get back into running shape in no time!

I am actually really interested in how I will combine my training with Crossfit. I’ve heard more than once that my Crossfit training can definitely help with my running without having to actually train for the running as much as I normally would.

I can definitely see how Crossfit will help me, BUT I know myself and I know I need to get my long run stamina back up. Currently, my regular gym membership is frozen because I wanted to focus my time and $$ on Crossfit so I don’t have access to a treadmill…fine by me. I’m probably going to slowly ease back into running outside when the weather will allow.

Ironically, this past week we’ve had more running drills working into our Crossfit workouts and it felt nice to get outside for some 400m or 800m sprints! Well I’d call it more fast-paced running than “sprints”

I can’t wait! I’m excited to run at night, excited to have some quality girl bonding time in the van, and can’t wait to relax on the beach when it’s all over!!

My eats lately have been completely random and not too interesting. Still trying to up my protein intake, and lower my carb intake but sometimes that just doesn’t work out…
and that’s totally okay too.

A super fast meat sauce: lots of garlic, onion, ground beef, splash of red wine, crush tomatoes, and fresh basil.

Served a top a bed of baby arugula and spinach fettuccini.

The theme around here lately has definitely been FAST and easy!

I whipped up a pan grilled burger (just ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper)
Served with sliced, and sautéed Dijon Brussel sprouts (my current favorite way to eat Brussels!), and thin slices of sprouted wheat bread. Ketchup not pictured.

Current Obsession:

So good…SO good! It’s like a chewy coconut almond cookie! It’s great for a sweets craving, especially at work.

Well we’ve covered the “F’s” today: February, Fitness, Food, Fun…and hey, tomorrow is Friday!!

Have you ever run a relay before?? How do you best train for these, when you only have about 6-8hrs between runs?? Did you follow a specific plan??

Pie Day Winner

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Yogurt and Berries

Hey did you know today was National Pie Day?? When I first heard about this the geek side of me thought…no it’s not! That’s on March 14th! (you know…3/14…3.14..pi). At least I wasn’t the only one at work who thought that anyways. But no, it’s just regular pie day.

My office actually celebrates this delicious day! Employees make pies and we invite clients, colleagues, and other people in our building to come have pie.

I don’t have photos, but I spent part of my weekend like this…

Oh yeah…caramel. You know what that means… Milky Way Tart!!

(photo from first time I made it)

Everyone also got to vote for their favorite and…I WON!! Honestly I was NOT expecting this, and I’ll tell you why. First, as delicious as this is, the one way I’ll ever make it again is if I make mini tartlette’s. The filling NEVER firms up! It chilled overnight, and again for 6 hours at work! But as soon as you cut into it, the filling starts to basically melt out. Still tastes awesome, but not a pretty sight. People kept commenting about it… “oooh that looks like a messy one” or the numerous people who asked if it was ice cream… Frustrating, but apparently they still liked it!!

Happy Monday to me! I won a gift certificate to a popular lunch spot down the street from the office.

Another Happy Monday moment came when I walked in the door after Crossfit…

Dinner!

We had some steak to cook up and I asked Brian to grill it while I was at Crossfit. I was pleasantly surprised to see he went above and beyond!

His famous homefries

steamed carrots

and even some wine!

I added some arugula with olive oil and red wine vinegar to get some greens on my plate

Simple yet delicious!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!! I had a blast up in Portsmouth, NH with my good friends as we celebrated one of their 30th birthdays! Fun to be back at the old stomping grounds (we were roomies at UNH)

This Coffee Milk Stout from Portsmouth Brewery was delish

So was my shrimp fajita dish from dinner at Agave…

So fresh and colorful!!

There was also late night pizza and an AWESOME breakfast at Colby’s.

Fun was had by all.

Alright, Monday’s already down…only 4 to go for this week! It’s a busy one so I hope it flies by! I’m even doing another flashmob this week!! This was kind of a last minute one, and also at a private event but it should be a blast as usual.

Do you bring in baked goods to work? Ever won a food contest?? This was my first!

Shepherd’s Pie & Exercise while Sick

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Yogurt and Berries

You know how I was just saying that the good thing about paying a lot for Crossfit is that it makes me not want to miss a workout?? Well that plan gets slightly derailed when you get sick!!

I hate colds! They’re never bad enough to really stay home from work (well this time it came on Friday afternoon, so lucky me had my whole weekend to get through the “worst”), but you also feel just fatigued enough to not want to do anything else.

I’m also not going to push myself and risk getting sicker just for the sake of burning calories, but still…it’s just aggravating.

I made it to Crossfit last night, and luckily the workout was on the “milder” side, but I’m still extra tired today…AND missed out on a fun dinner with some of my favorite local bloggers at the new Hawthorne in Boston…double bummer!

So, how sick is too sick to workout?? I can usually just tell by my body but you hear all sorts of things…

Things I’ve heard:

if it’s only above the neck it should be okay to workout. As in, if your only congested in your nose, not your chest.
Lots of strength training is bad because when you work your muscles you make small tears in them, then your immune system kicks in to repair. If your sick, then this takes your immune system away from your illness and onto your muscles.
“sweat it out”

I’m sure there’s more, but those are the main ones that come to mind. How do you decide??

Even though I’m sure I missed a fabulous dinner out tonight, I still had a delicious meal at home!

I made this version of Shepherds pie almost exactly 3 years ago!! I still remember how much I liked it and have been meaning to make it since then. I can’t believe it’s taken me THREE YEARS to re-make this dish!

It’s made with ground turkey and the topping is mashed sweet potatoes!

Sweet Potato & Turkey Shepherds Pie
adapted from eatingoutloud.com

1 lb sweet potatoes (about 3 med size)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, diced
1 bulb fennel, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 1/2 cup beef stock
3/4 cup frozen peas (not necessary to thaw)
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup water (or beef stock)
salt/pepper to taste

Cook sweet potatoes however you want. I peeled, chopped, and boiled them. You could also steam, or roast them whole then remove the flesh from the skin. Mash the cooked sweet potatoes with 1T butter, and a little salt and pepper if desired.

Pre-heat oven to 350

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat then add turkey. Break apart the turkey and cook until the meat is cooked through. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and fennel. Sauté for 1 minute. Then add the 1 1/2 cups beef broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 10-12 minutes to cook the vegetables. Add peas and thyme.

Combine the flour, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl. Mix until there are no more lumps from the flour. Bring the heat back up to med, and slowly pour in the flour mixture while stirring the pan. Bring back to a boil and cook for another 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens. It does not need to be very thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour mixture into a medium size casserole dish. Preferable one that is deep. My pan was about 10”x7.5” and 2” deep. I wouldn’t of had enough sweet potatoes for anything bigger.

Spread the sweet potatoes over the filling. Bake for 20 minutes.

I enjoyed mine served over a bed of baby spinach for some extra greens!

I love the sort of sweet/salty combo going on here. Delicious healthy comfort food.

Also had an Emergen-C spritzer with dinner

Sweet and Savory Pancakes {paleo}

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Yogurt and Berries

I experimented with a couple pancake recipes this weekend, both of which would fall under the “paleo” category. Of course then I went a head and had maple syrup on the sweet ones, and cheese on the savory ones…but really, who wouldn’t?

First on Saturday, I made some Almond-Coconut pancakes!

Almond Coconut Pancakes
serves 2

1 cup Almond Flour
1/4 cup coconut flour (or unsweetened coconut, I actually had some organic unsweetened defatted coconut that I used)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened Almond Milk
1 Tbsp coconut oil (melted if needed)
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine almond flour, coconut, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine. In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a fork then add almond milk, coconut oil, and honey. Mix to combine, then add wet ingredients to dry. Stir until mixture is combined.

Heat a griddle or skillet over med heat. Spray with canola oil or use coconut oil to grease the pan. Once the pan is hot, add batter in desired size, cook until edges look done then flip. Adjust heat while cooking incase the pan gets too hot. Cook 2-3 more minutes or until pancakes look done.

Serve as desired!

Like I said we had real maple syrup, banana sliced, and Brian had butter on his (I’ve never been a fan of butter on pancakes).

These were light, and had a nice subtle coconut flavor to them! Really delicious. I’m think next time I might add 1/4 tsp almond extract to really make the almond flavor come out as well.

Brian loved them too, and he could care less about them being Paleo/low carb.

My savory pancake recipe was a true experiment, as I’ve never made anything like them before.

I was flying solo this morning, Brian had gone up to NH for a friend’s b-day Sat night-Sunday, I stayed home with my new cold that came about Friday :/

I was hungry but had no idea what I was in the mood for. Then I spotted a leftover, fully cooked sweet potato from the other night! I also wanted an egg, and maybe something with cheese and hot sauce.

It’s been a long time since I’ve made potato pancakes but I do remember egg was the binder. I guess this would be more like a mashed (sweet) potato pancake!

Savory Sweet Potato Pancake
serves 1

1 small cooked sweet potato
1 egg, beaten
hot sauce (to you’re liking)
1/4 tsp dried garlic (or garlic powder)
1-2 tsp butter
optional: cheddar or gouda (or your favorite) cheese, about 1 slice or a few small slices if it’s cut from a large chunk.

Cut your cooked sweet potato in half then scrap out all the flesh into a small mixing bowl. Mash with a fork to get rid of any big lumps. Add the beaten egg, hot sauce (I did about 4-5 shakes, wish I did more!), and garlic (I used Garlic Gold). At this point you could really add any other seasonings you might want!

Heat a small skillet over med-high heat, melt some butter in the pan, just enough to have a nice coating on the bottom. Once the pan is good and hot, make 2 equal size pancakes with your batter. Cook 3-5 min per side until cooked through and golden browned.

Add cheese on one half and place other pancake on top.

Serve with sour cream if you like! I actually added some more hot sauce on top too.

I really loved these! I think next time I’d grate the cheese and add it right into the batter.

If I had to eat them without the cheese or sour cream, I’d like some sliced tomato with them to add a cool refreshing contrast to the pancake.

For a breakfast “dessert” I had some blueberries and banana

In other news, I have an important decision to make. I ordered some new sneakers for Crossfit and of course it’s down to the colors

My initial favorite was the pink/green, but I’m actually leading towards the purple/orange ones! Thoughts? I’m picking one by the time I go to Crossfit tomorrow night!

And for fun, and Outfit post!

One of these days I’ll take a nice "fashion” shot, outdoors with the wind blowing in my hair and the sun casting a nice glow on my skin.

But for now, it’s iphone in the office bathroom… yeah.

This outfit was revolved around that blue skirt…love that skirt.

blue pencil skirt – Ann Taylor
grey cardigan – Old Navy
magenta shirt (which you can’t see) – Banana Republic
mustard scarf – Target
grey/yellow/gold t-strap heals – Seychelles from Nordstrom

If you have tomorrow off…lucky you! I’ll be heading back to work like normal. At least traffic will be a lot better.

Time for some frozen yogurt and then getting to bed early! I hope

What’s your favorite thing to put in or on pancakes??? Maple syrup…all the way, the real stuff of course. I look for any excuse to put maple syrup on anything!! (except savory pancakes that is)

Quick and Protein

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Yogurt and Berries

That seems to be my theme around here lately.

Now that I’m on a steady schedule of Crossfit, there are a number of nights during the week where I will come home, change, head to 7pm Crossfit, and then home around 8. Luckily it’s only a 5min drive for me.

So now it’s 8:10pm, lets say, and I need dinner and faster the better. I’m also trying to up my protein intake, and when I can, lower some of my carbs. If your familiar with Crossfit at all you probably know they promote a Paleo style of eating.

Basically, Paleo = eating the way our early ancestors (cavemen) ate. Meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds…etc. You can read the wiki page here! Paleo also means no grains, dairy, legumes, refined sugars, and processed oils.

(source)

I was pretty uninterested in this when I first started Crossfit, and I’m still not interested in following this style of eating to a T…I mean, I am just NOT going to give up certain foods I love. I’m not talking about the processed foods here…I have no problem getting those out of my diet and already try to do that as much as possible. But the legumes, beans, grains, and dairy??? Not so much. Nothing makes me happier than a good cheese plate and a flaky croissant

I just can’t believe that things like beans, oatmeal, and Greek yogurt are causing that much harm to my body. I’ve read the arguments against them, I see both sides, and I know that a huge portion of the population has some sensitivity to dairy and gluten….however I really haven’t found myself to be one of them. Or if I am, it’s not bad enough for me to notice.

I could keep going on about this but basically what I am doing, for now anyways, is just cutting back on some of my carb intake, slightly on the dairy, and upping my protein.

I’m paying a lot of money for my Crossfit membership. Which in some ways is good…it makes it a LOT harder to just “skip” a workout, and I am a lot more motivated to clean up my eating so that I can experience my best possible results.

I also stumbled across this article about the Thyroid-Gluten connection when I was searching about Paleo. Interesting, as thyroid issues are present in my family.

http://chriskresser.com/the-gluten-thyroid-connection

Again, not planning to go gluten free at all, but I just thought it was interesting and something I’ll keep in the back of my head.

So now that I’ve explained my current “status” if you will, I can get to the eats!

A classic Quinoa Salad. This is not “Paleo” at all, but it is gluten free and high in protein for a “grain” salad (even though quinoa isn’t actually a grain).

I cooked up 1 cup dry, rinsed quinoa in some chicken broth the same night I made the shrimp stir fry.

The next night I added:

1 can garbanzo beans
3 oz crumbled feta cheese
chopped fresh dill (big handful)
1/2 red onion, diced
juice of 1 lemon
2T olive oil
salt and pepper

Great, served with some sliced tomato. I didn’t add tomato to the salad because I don’t like the texture of tomatoes after they are refrigerated.

Dollop of TJ’s tahini on top

This was packed for lunch a couple times this week.

Turkey Burgers
(p.s. ground turkey was on sale at Whole Foods this past Sunday…the one on River Street in Cambridge anyways)

These were also made around 8:30pm one night. In fast by that point I think I had a protein shake plus some quinoa salad but wanted to cook these up for lunch.

For something literally thrown together, these were AWESOME!

1lb ground turkey breast
dried Italian seasonings: basil, parsley, oregano, garlic
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I had the ones in the bag, not in oil).
grated Pecorino Romano cheese, about 1/4 cup

We made 3 patties, and cooked on the stove with about 1T olive oil. Sear each side over med/high heat, then turn heat down to med/low. Cook until they are cooked through. I find covering helps cook while keeping them from drying out.

I had one the next day with some quinoa salad. Those sun dried tomatoes added SO much flavor.

Side note: people balk that buying meat can be expensive, but this ground turkey cost a LOT less than turkey deli meat! So there’s a thought, cook up some little burgers…a lot less processed and cheaper than deli meat per pound. Granted, 1lb of deli turkey usually makes more than 3 or 4 sandwiches, but maybe that means we don’t eat enough meat on sandwiches? Who knows. Just wanted to share that thought.

Chicken Sausage + Kale with a Sweet Potato

In 1T of olive oil, I sautéed:

2 Italian chicken sausages, chopped/crumbled
1 shallot, diced

After cooking for about 5 minutes, I added a few big handfuls of chopped kale (about 1/2 of a bunch of kale). Stirred it around, added a splash of low-sodium chicken broth and covered. Cook until chicken sausage is done and kale has wilted. I stirred in some Dijon mustard at the end, about 1 tsp.

Sweet tater was cooked in the microwave.

Topped with grape tomatoes and some grated Romano cheese. (Man it was “so paleo” until the cheese

The sausage/kale mixture would of been even better on top of, say, spaghetti squash or in a tomato sauce base. Must do that sometime.

So there you have it. I have no intention of giving up bread, cheese, milk, coffee…pastries! But if I can cut back in some of my meals here and there, then why not?! Either way, it’s still healthy food and I’m not feeling deprived…and if I do feel deprived, I’ll fix that

The Chicken (tortilla soup) Dance

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Yogurt and Berries

I really don’t know why I try these “creative” titles…

First off, I want to thank everyone for their great tips about packing lunch for work!!

My thoughts:

Most of you mentioned packing things up the night before. For some reason that has ALWAYS been a struggle for me. Between commuting, working out, any other after-work activities, eating dinner, blogging…sometimes the last thing I want to do it thing about my food for the next day. However I agree it’s the ideal solution…so I’m working on it
- If it’s dinner leftovers I always pack it up for the next day, but otherwise I leave it til the morning. Goal #1!
Brining in extra food to keep at the office! I may start doing this more now. I used to at my old job, but when I started the new one the fridge was PACKED and GROSS!! I seriously wonder how adults can let a fridge go for so long without cleaning it! However, a few weeks ago our network was down one morning so 4 of us decided to tackle it…nasty, but SO much better now.
- I especially liked the suggestion about bringing in some Trader Joes food. I love their frozen foods for quick dinners, why not quick lunches!?
Another goal is to limit lunch out once a week, for me this will most likely be Fridays
A lot of people mention cooking lots of food for the week on Sundays. I agree, and love doing this WHEN I HAVE TIME, but so many weekend it’s just go-go-go until Sunday night and I’m exhausted. Some days I really do wish it was 50 years ago when NOTHING was open on Sunday’s…then I’d have to stay home
- Still I need to work on whipping up some quick bulky meals to have for lunches.
Um, Yelena works 5 min from the Ferry Building in SF…talk about will power!! Fun fact: we got married on the same day!

What’s the key to having leftovers for lunch the next day…actually making dinner!

I’ve been wanting to make Chicken Tortilla Soup for a long time now. It was one of those soups that I’d heard of but never actually had until earlier this spring at a cafe near my old office…I was hooked.

I found a couple s(o)uper easy recipes online, and was excited to use the Crockpot for it. That is until it got to be Tuesday night and we still hadn’t made the soup.

Luckily this soup is so easy it can be made in the Crockpot or just regular stovetop.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (slow cooker or not!)
adapted from here and here

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bell peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or regular)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 10oz can enchilada sauce
1 4oz can green chili peppers
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup white hominy (drained and rinsed)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, (cooked or raw if using slow cooker)
Garnishes:
- chopped fresh cilantro
- avocado
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- crushed tortilla chips

If you need to cook the chicken, cut the breasts into 4 pieces and season with salt, pepper, and any other spices of your choice (I used garlic powder, cumin, and paprika). Sauté in some olive oil spray for about 4 min per side until cooked through. Set aside and chop or shred for the soup.

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and bell peppers and sauté for 5-6 minutes.

Add spices, broth, and tomatoes. Stir and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add enchilada sauce and green chilies. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Add hominy, corn, beans and chicken. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.

Slow Cooker Method: My original plan was to just combine all ingredients (including raw chicken) in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken with forks before serving.

Serve with toppings of your choice!

This was my first time cooking with hominy, and actually first time knowingly eating it!

This soup was SO flavorful! Loved it, and made for a great lunch the next day!

Wondering why I had “Dance” in the title??

Someone FINALLY uploaded some pieces from the show I was in back in September!!

Now I’m by no means a professional dancer, but this was an awesome chance for me to dance in a real “company” show! My friend was the artistic director and she just has one of the most creative minds I’ve ever encountered. I’d call it modern/contemporary…and it was really my first time dancing this style. I’ve always been used to jazz and dance team styles.

The show was called White Earth and the general theme started with “Resource Depletion” (the first piece) with the plastic eating away at the earth.

I was a “Plastic” (one of the ones in red)…it’s a long piece but it’s fast paced and keeps your attention. Of course I notice mistakes but I still want to share!

The next one I have is called “Scraps”. The theme here was that we were picking up the “scraps” of the former earth. I really loved this one and it was so fun dancing with the “scraps” (shredded paper)

In the beginning I’m second from the right (as you see it) in the orange top.

The last one here was the final number called “Stripped to Love”. The “couple” in this piece is my friend (the director) and her professional dancer friend from California…he is amazing. So they represent love and the rest of us don’t like it

Unfortunately the lighting in the beginning is dark on the video but it’s only for the first minute…unfortunate too since the beginning is pretty cool. Not that you can find me easily but I’m one of the ones wearing a black shiny one shoulder dress.

Well hope you enjoyed them I promised to shared them!

It’s most definitely bed time and I’m thrilled that tomorrow is Friday!! Also have a fun blog event after work

Sweet Dreams!