Salads and Berry Shortcake

For my sister's last night in town we had a girls night at my mom's house. We'd originally planned to go out to dinner, but all I wanted was something light after eating way too much pizza, ice cream and gingerbread at Santa's Village over the weekend.

Laura and I walked to the nearby farm for salad fixings while my mom went to the grocery store for some other provisions. When we got home we washed all of the fruits and veggies and set up an assembly line for making our individual salads (I vetoed making a large salad that we'd serve ourselves from because I think half the fun of a big salad is making it...and I might be a bit of a control freak and like to make my own).

My salad - lettuce, arugula, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, avocado, cucumber and almond slices. Drizzled with some dark balsamic vinegar and some white balsamic vinegar.

My mom's salad - same as mine, without the almonds.

Laura's salad - left out the blueberries and almonds and made a dressing using dark balsamic vinegar, olive oil, grainy mustard, and minced garlic.

We shared a bottle of Gravina Botromagno - an Italian white wine. The wine was light and fruity - it accompanied the salads very nicely.

For dessert we made berry shortcakes. I picked up a recipe from the Farmer's Market in Nashua a couple weeks ago, so I used that as the starting point for the shortcakes - but changed a few things to make it a lot healthier. I warned my mom and Laura that the shortcakes may flop, and if they did we could just eat berries for dessert.

The recipe advised that the berries would be juicier is you crush a few before sugaring and let them sit for an hour before using. I took about a cup of strawberries (stems removed and sliced in half) and mashed them in a bowl with a fork. I added some blueberry honey (about 1 tbsp) to the mashed strawberries and let them sit for a little under 2 hours.

To make the shortcake, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Stir in applesauce with a rubber spatula.

Stir in egg white and milk.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and separate the dough into five evenly-sized rounds. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

To serve the dessert I sliced the shortcakes in half and added the strawberries marinated in honey, then a layer of strawberries and blueberries, and a dollop of yogurt on top.

Healthified Berry Shortcake

Recipe adapted from Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Recipe at Nashua Farmer's Market

Serves 5

Ingredients

For the filling - 

• 3 cups fresh strawberries, divided
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 tbsp honey
• nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt

For the shortcake -

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg white
• 2/3 cup skim milk

Directions

1. Mash 1 cup strawberries in a bowl with a fork. Add honey and stir to combine. Set aside for 1 hour. Wash and prepare remaining strawberries and blueberries and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add applesauce and incorporate using a rubber spatula. Stir in egg white and milk.
4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and separate the dough into five evenly-sized rounds. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Slice the shortcakes in half and add the strawberries marinated in honey, then a layer of strawberries and blueberries, and a dollop of yogurt on top.

I liked these shortcakes - they weren't light and flaky like your typical shortcake, but that's because there wasn't any butter (or any fat at all). They were a little bit heavy, but soaked up the honey-infused strawberry juice quite well. My mom suggested that using buttermilk might improve this recipe (you can make your own buttermilk by adding a little bit of vinegar to regular milk). Overall, I think this was a good alternative to traditional shortcake and would definitely make it again.

36 Days and Counting...

Chrissy sent me a picture of a poster that is hanging on the wall at her doctor's office:

The caption:
Eat up the road.
Drink in the view.
Run like hell.

I love that!

Last month I committed to running at least one mile a day for 30 days. I began on May 18th, and today I realized that my 30 days must be up. They are! So far I've run at least one mile every day for 36 days! I'm so glad that I did this challenge for a few reasons:

• You don't have the opportunity to slack when you commit to something. There were some days that I didn't really feel like going for a run, and in the past I probably would have just skipped it and told myself I'd make up for it the next day. With this plan it was easier to get myself out the door, since the miles needed to be logged every day.
• Time Management. Summer is busy and I've been having a harder time fitting in workouts, especially on week days. I leave very early for work in the morning and most nights get home after 9pm. Since starting the challenge I've been better about scheduling time for a run, even if all I can fit in is a quick mile at 5am. Workouts don't get "forgotten" when you know that you have to do them every day.
• I've replaced some bad behaviors with good ones. The other day I brought my running clothes to work, but forgot my socks, so I couldn't go. That night we celebrated my brother's birthday and I didn't get home until after 9pm and was stuffed with pizza and cake. Normally I would have plopped myself in front of the TV to "relax" for a bit before bed (and usually mindless snacking comes with my mindless TV watching). Instead I changing into running clothes and went for a nice slow run, which left me feeling much better after the heavy dinner.
• I realized that I like running at night! I always thought I was a morning person and preferred to run then, but since I've been forced to run at night many times, I've really enjoyed it. Its a nice way to run off the stress of the day and helps get out extra energy before bed. I love running outside at night and breathing in the fresh air, but for my later runs I go to the gym. My gym is open 24 hours a day, which is helpful if you need to squeeze in a mile or two at 11pm.

Overall I wouldn't really say that my weekly mileage has increased very much (since there are a handful of days that I could only fit in one or two miles) but it also hasn't decreased, which is great. I think if I hadn't been doing this challenge I would have definitely missed a lot more workouts because I've been so busy. 

I know that rest days are very important parts of training and for your body to recover. On my rest days I just run one mile, and when my training program calls for cross training I will just run one mile and add biking/swimming/elliptical to that mile. 

I took a journalism class two years ago, and one of the articles I wrote for class was about running the Boston Marathon. I interviewed a man that lived in my hometown that had run the marathon for many, many consecutive years (I've forgotten the number but I believe it was over 20 years). He was a "streak" runner, which meant that he ran at least one mile every single day. He made it to 31 years and 364 days when he finally missed a day of running. "What happened?" I'd asked him. A few days before he'd been having some chest pains, but ignored it (like most men, from my experience) until his wife finally took him to the hospital. It turns out that he'd had a heart attack, and they kept him for a couple days to monitor him. He requested to be allowed to go outside for a run, or at the very least, for them to bring a treadmill to his room, but they would not allow it. Excuse my language, but if that's not badass, I don't know what is. Once he left the hospital he resumed his daily running, and has now been on a streak of over five years.

So I've decided that I want to try a running streak. I'm 36 days in, so now is as good a time as any. For more information on running streaks, or to apply for a membership, check out their website.

Lately my favorite snack to have before a workout or a run is a cold honey crisp apple, sliced, with 0% honey Chobani yogurt (I use about 1/2 container per apple). This provides fiber, protein and calcium to fuel my run.

Has anyone else been doing the 30 day challenge? 

 What motivates you to exercise?

I Love Long Weekends

I think everyone will agree that long weekends are a wonderful thing. I didn't know that I had President's Day off of work until last Tuesday, so that was exciting news! I had a wonderful weekend - saw a lot of friends and family, got a lot accomplished, and still managed to have some serious lazy time.

This weekend I...

Friday Night

1. Ran TONS of errands after work. 

Returns, exchanges, and purchases made at Babies R Us, Christmas Tree Shop, Burlington Coat Factory, and Hannaford's.

2. Had a delicious pasta dinner and discovered an amazing new way to eat broccoli (which makes me even more obsessed with it).

Steamed broccoli with marinara sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.

3. Met up with some friends, then made the obligatory candy stop on the way home.

Have you ever seen this many peeps?! I like to cut open the packaging and let the peeps get a little bit stale (so they're nice and chewy) before eating them.

Saturday

4. Went for a great run with Callie.

After the run I refueled with some chocolate milk, an orange, and an open-faced chicken salad sandwich.

Chicken salad - cut up grilled chicken breast mixed with 0% vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, craisins, and fresh ground pepper. Put on piece of toast covered with a bed of baby spinach.

5. Helped celebrate Maddison's 1st birthday.

Maddison and Mama!

Maddison and Pat

Me, Maddison, Kayta and Kristen

6. Went shopping with Pat and found some amazing deals at Nordstrom Rack.

7. Went to a surprise birthday for Colin's 30th. 

Colin was quite surprised and we had a great time! The party was at Pepperoncini's (in Framingham) and though it didn't look like much from the outside (read: thought it was probable that this could be a gang hang out and our car might be stolen/vandalized in the parking lot) the inside was a fun bar and restaurant - complete with my favorite game!

BIG BUCK HUNTER!

The pizza was amazing, too - I'd definitely go back!

Sunday

8. Put together all ingredients for Chicken Cacciatore in crock pot.

 

9. Went to Krissy's Baby Shower.

Diaper Cake - people go crazy for these things!

BEAUTIFUL cake! Colton's room is decorated with a fishing theme, so this cake had a fishing boat, rod, and fish on it, and along the sides there were cattails, ducks, and candy rocks.

Party favors: little satchels of swedish fish tied with string and buoys. 

Gina, Kath, Krissy, Julia, Me, and Gerene (who's also pregnant!)

10. Had family over for LINNER (lunch/dinner).

There were 10 of us total: My mom, brother, brother's girlfriend, Pat's mom, brother, aunt, cousin, and  cousin's friend. And Pat and me. Since I knew I'd be spending the morning at Krissy's baby shower, I prepared the meal ahead of time and put it in the crock pot. We also delegated extras for other people to bring: my mom brought a salad, Pat's mom brought bread, and Pat's aunt brought brownies.

My mom brought mixed greens for the salad, and prepared some delicious toppings for people to add: roasted sweet potatoes, roasted peppers, and mozzarella cheese.

I'd never thought of having roasted sweet potatoes on a salad, but it was unbelievable! My mom also made a Maple Mustard salad dressing to go on top, which was delicious.

Here's my full plate of salad and chicken cacciatore:

*I'll post the recipe for the chicken soon!

11. Went out with some friends.

Shortly after our family left, Pat and I had to rush out to meet up with some friends for dinner (hard to believe we had more food!) and hanging out.

Monday

12. Watched the entire first season of Mad Men.

Yes, you read me right. Pat and I watched the whole first season of Mad Men, basically in one sitting. Since we had such a busy weekend, all we wanted to do on Monday was relax. On Monday morning we discussed going out to breakfast, going to the gym, and going grocery shopping, and decided that those were the only things we'd leave the house for. I thought we should stay home for breakfast and put the gym and groceries off until later in the day. By the time we were a couple episodes into the first season, we decided that we didn't want to go anywhere, and even ordered delivery for dinner to avoid leaving the comfort of the couch.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekends!

Chocolate Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Okay, I know that one of my new year's resolutions was to lower my sugar intake, yet all I seem to be doing is bake! I don't know what's gotten into me. I am going to work on that. Seriously. But in the meantime, I highly recommend making these Chocolate Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins!

This is what happens when you forget about a bunch of bananas in your snack drawer at work:

This is what happens when you add some chocolate:

I love banana baked goods, but never really get the opportunity to make them because bananas do not last long at my house. Every Sunday I buy 10-12 bananas and on Monday morning Pat and I eat take a bunch of 5 to work for the week. Last week I guess I wasn't feeling the 'nanas, because on Monday morning I discovered some very ripe fruit in my desk. So banana baked goods it was! (Another good alternative is peeling and freezing the bananas for smoothies, but I haven't been having many smoothies since its so cold out).

This is another recipe inspired by Jenna, but I made some changes to healthify it (swapping out the butter, reducing the sugar, using some whole wheat flour), not frosting them, and also adding the chocolate. Pat tends to only like muffins that have chocolate chips in them, so he inspired that addition!

Mash up two extra-ripe bananas (in the future I'd use three - I love that extra banana taste and texture).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray your muffin tins (since I removed the butter from this recipe you'll want to spray the pans instead of using papers because cupcakes/muffins tend to stick to paper without the grease). 

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, yogurt and applesauce.

Add the eggs, one at a time.

In a small bowl, combine the mashed banana with the vanilla and buttermilk. Stir well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon).

Alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients to the sugar/yogurt/applesauce mix. Mix well after each addition.

...you get the idea.

Add the chocolate chips and mix until just incorporated.

Fill muffin tins. I used a 1/4 cup measure for each muffin. If you want larger muffins, fill all the way and increase cooking time.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into muffin.

Cool, and enjoy! Or, cool for a minute or two and enjoy immediately! These are best warm when the chocolate chips are melty.

Chocolate Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from this.

Makes 16 muffins.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 extra-ripe bananas, mashed with fork until smooth (in the future I'd use 3 bananas)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt (I used vanilla)
• 2/3 cup sugar (I used organic evaporated can juice from Trader Joe's)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, applesauce, and yogurt. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each.
3. In a small bowl, combine the mashed banana with the vanilla and buttermilk. Stir well until combined.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon).
5. Alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients to the sugar/yogurt/applesauce mix. Mix well after each addition. This can be done by hand (which I did) or with a hand mixer on low speed.Once batter is done, add the chocolate chips and stir until just incorporated.
6. Use a 1/4 cup measure to fill your muffin tins (this produces 16 smallish muffins - for larger muffins fill to top of tin and increase bake time).
7. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into muffin.

These are delicious bits of moist banana chocolate treats! The kitchen smelled amazing as these baked, and they came out to be so tasty. I thought I was making these for Pat, but it turns out that I made them for myself, too. Enjoy these warm with a cup of coffee, or maybe even some hot chocolate?! Can't get enough chocolate these days! 

Speaking of my rampant chocolate addiction - I need to go to the gym! Yesterday was basically a nothing day - I felt terrible and dragged myself to the gym, but just walked for 30 minutes and went home. Tonight I'm meeting my brother for dinner at our uncle's house, so I think I might hit up the WOW in Waltham before going. I'm in need of an interval or hills workout.