Salad Fever

Guess what? The sun finally came out! After over a week of non-stop rain and temps in the 40s, its finally starting to act a little like spring. When its cold and rainy all I crave is hot meals (usually covered in some kind of cheese)...and when its hot I constantly want salads. After a hot and humid run last night the only thing I wanted was a big salad.

Organic baby spinach, orange wedges, red bell peppers, boiled beets (hot, I don't really care for them cold), goat cheese, and toasted walnuts, drizzled with some balsamic vinaigrette. Toasting walnuts is easy, just bake them for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees - it really brings out the flavor a lot more.

With my salad I had some tofu. And some popcorn. Yes, I'm random.

I woke up to another warm day today, and after running and going to the gym I wanted another salad. I had salad for breakfast a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it. I guess I didn't stick with it because it takes a lot longer to prepare a salad in the morning than a quick bowl of oatmeal or a smoothie. Since I work from home on Wednesdays, I had time to make myself a big breakfast salad. 

Organic baby spinach, red bell peppers, and avocado. I squeezed some fresh lemon on top, sprinkled with cayenne pepper for a kick, and topped with some scrambled egg whites. I had a bowl of mango on the side and a glass of skim milk for extra protein.

Some of my friends have told me its weird that I like salad for breakfast. I would have said the same thing, too. Give it a try and then let me know if you still think its weird! It is very satisfying to fill up on something other than carbs (and this is coming from the carb queen) and it gives me more energy throughout the day.

Its been one week since I started my 30 day challenge (to run at least one mile per day). Here's how I've done so far:

Day 1 - 3 mile run; Bikram yoga class

Day 2 - 3 mile run; Bikram yoga class

Day 3 - 2.25 mile run

Day 4 - 3 mile run

Day 5 - 1 mile run

Day 6 - 1 mile run

Day 7 - 5 mile run; abs and legs strength training

Day 8 (today) - 2.6 mile run, back and bis strength training

As you can see, a few of those days I only ran the minimum 1 mile. Those were super busy days that I normally would not have done anything. My excuse would always be that I didn't have time, or that doing something as short as just one mile wouldn't make any difference. Since following this challenge, I've found a way to squeeze in a mile even in my busiest days, whether waking up a little early to get it done or quickly doing it when I got home late at night. Those mornings that I forced myself out of bed at 5am to fit in a quick mile were some of the best mornings - I love working out early in the day because it gives me such a boost of energy. If I didn't have to leave before 6am for work, I'd definitely do all of my work outs in the morning. 

I printed out a free calendar template I found online and have been marking down my mileage. Its a good way to keep track of what I've done and motivate myself to keep going. Even better is that I've heard from a few of my friends who are doing the challenge, too! I'm glad that other people are participating, and I think talking to each other about it helps keep us on track. If you can't run the miles, choose something else. My friend Chrissy has several injuries left over from college basketball, so running can be uncomfortable for her, but she's decided to do the challenge by biking and other forms of cross training! 

In terms of my other challenge, the 100 push ups challenge, that was a little bit later in getting off the ground. I actually just started it this morning. I did the initial test to see how many push ups I could do (to see where my training should begin) and I did 12. Not on my knees, either! I contemplated first doing this challenge with knee push ups and then doing it with standard push ups, but decided to try the real deal. I'm sure I'll be regretting this in a few days.

Anyone else want to join us in the 30 day challenge?

What are your favorite foods of summer?

Mine are salads and tons of fresh fruit. Oh and ice cream, that's pretty important, too!

Dinner: A Circus of Citrus

My dinner last night was inspired by citrus fruits. Sunday was about 42 degrees and Monday was 40 degrees. Considering the winter we've had, that felt like spring to me. Rather than making another hot, hearty meal, this little bit of warmth deserved a warm-weather inspired meal.

I used the above fruits to make a salad, broil fish, and squeeze onto dessert.

The meal-

Salad: baby spinach, sections of orange, sections of grapefruit, cucumbers, green and yellow peppers - drizzled with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. (I also roasted some pecans to throw on top but forgot to add them - that would have been good though!)

Fish: trout broiled at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, flipped halfway through. Spray pan with cooking spray and squeeze juice of half of lemon onto fish before cooking. Also add fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, and any other spices you feel like. I also sauteed some plum tomatoes and garlic to add on top of the fish when it was done.

Dessert: slices of mango covered in lime juice and sprinkled with cayenne pepper.

Here's the before and after shots of my fish:

I spayed a small skillet with cooking spray and sauteed a sliced plum tomato and one clove of garlic for a few minutes until hot and wilted.

As the fish broiled, I made the salad, sauteed the tomatoes, and sliced my mango.

This whole dinner came together in about 20 minutes, and the colors and taste almost tricked me into thinking winter was over. Almost.

The salad was light and refreshing.

The fish was nice and flaky, and the flavor combination of the lemon, tomato and garlic was delicious.

The mango with lime juice and cayenne pepper was very good - although I think I overestimated my tolerance for spice. Just this amount was very spicy - so next time I'll probably put about half as much as I used here. My brother went to college in New Mexico, and this is a popular treat there (although there they serve the entire mango on a stick and there's much more cayenne added!).

The "spring"-like weather did not last long. I woke up this morning to several inches of fresh snow covering my car. Temperatures are supposed to drop way down the rest of the week, so I guess spring isn't coming quite yet.

This morning I tried another variation of Overnight Oats - I'm calling it Apple Crisp A La Mode!

Last night I put the following in my big mug:

-1/3 cup oats

-1/2 cup water

-several large spoonfuls of unsweetened applesauce

-1 tsp cinnamon

This morning I added a large scoop of 0% vanilla Greek yogurt, some more cinnamon, and some chopped walnuts. Delicious!

Pumpkin Carrot Cake Muffin Bars?

I love carrot cake. Carrot cake and pumpkin pie are two of my most favorite desserts. Naturally when I see either of these desserts I am unable to restrain myself  its hard to say no. Even though both of these desserts have healthy foods in the names, don't be fooled! I remember one night  a couple years ago I went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and for dessert I ordered the carrot cake. I thought I was being good by avoiding the dozens of decadent cheesecake options on the menu, but when I got home my roommate informed me otherwise. Her boyfriend was a manager at a Cheesecake Factory - and she told me that the carrot cake is the worst thing you can order on the entire menu! I couldn't believe that it could be worse than the cheesecakes, but I guess there's a reason why that cream cheese frosting crusted in walnuts tasted so good. You're fine, she soothed, I'm sure you didn't eat the whole piece. Cue in guilty face here. I'd devoured it - every last bite (and that was after eating my dinner). So while I haven't gotten carrot cake at The Cheesecake Factory since then, its definitely still one of my favorite desserts.

Yesterday Jenna posted a recipe for Carrot Cake Muffin Bars on her blog. I instantly began to crave carrot cake, and decided that I'd make these, but would healthify the ingredients for a more nutritious and less guilt-laden snack. Please note - I know that "healthify" isn't a real word, but I like it, and am going to use it!

Pumpkin Carrot Cake Muffin Bars

Makes 12 (or 9 if you're hungry!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and oats in a bowl. Set aside.

Cream together the butter pumpkin and sugar.

Add the egg and beat again until smooth.

Slowly stream in the milk while mixing on low (or with hand).

Mix together the dry and wet ingredients with spatula.

Add grated carrots and chopped walnuts and mix until combined.

Spray a 9x9 pan and pour batter in. Add any additional toppings you like, and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden.

Voila!

Recipe

I changed Jenna's recipe by swapping out white flour for whole wheat, replacing the butter with canned pumpkin, reducing the amount of walnuts, increasing the amount of carrots, and adding some coconut to the top. 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 1/4 cups grated carrots (2-3 carrots)
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped walnuts
• coconut for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and oats. Set aside.
3. Cream together the pumpkin and brown sugar. Add the egg and beat again until smooth. With mixer on low (or mixing by hand), slowly stream in the milk. 
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add in carrots and walnuts and fold into batter.
5. Spray a 9x9 pan and pour batter into pan. Add any desired toppings (I added coconut flakes to about 1/3 of the pan) and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Coconut topped:

Plain:

My whole apartment smelled amazing as these cooked. Pat even started to think that he might like carrot cake as he smelled these in the oven. They taste like a cross between carrot cake and pumpkin pie - and in my eyes that can never be bad thing.

Depending on the recipe, you can get away with replacing all/some of the oil/butter with unsweetened applesauce, canned pumpkin, or Greek yogurt (those are the swaps I've tried). I chose pumpkin because I love pumpkin and had some in the fridge. I think if you used applesauce instead of pumpkin in these they would probably taste more like straight carrot cake, while this tastes like pumpkin carrot cake. Its good, but I bet the applesauce would be good, too! Depends on what you're in the mood for.

Enjoy!

Best Pizza To Date

This weekend I made the best homemade pizza (to date)...and by that I mean its the best pizza I've made thus far, although if asked nicely, I wouldn't hesitate to date this pizza. It was that good.

It seemed like it'd been forever since I made pizza at home - sure, I've been eating lots of pizza, but making it is half the fun. I didn't want to make just any old pizza...I wanted to try something new. So I came up with this concoction, and let me tell you, it was amazing!

I used pizza dough from Trader Joe's and layered the following:

• slathered dough with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (original)
• thin layer of light mozzarella cheese
• pieces of grilled chicken (that had been cooked in BBQ sauce)
• caramelized onions
• chunks of fresh pineapple
• layer of extra sharp cheddar cheese
• fire roasted diced tomatoes

Being the control freak that I am (and in all fairness, when it comes to food, so is Pat) we each decorated our own half of the pizza to our exact specifications. Pat also added some bacon to his half. We cooked this on the new pizza stone Santa brought for Christmas (love this!) for about 17 minutes at 400 degrees.

Before cooking:

And after, Pat carefully taking this baby out of the oven:

I think there should be a Pizza Genius award, and I'd be the winner this week. All of these flavors were perfect together! The BBQ sauce was great with the extra sharp cheddar cheese, caramelized onions are always a great addition to any meal, and pineapple on pizza used to be my favorite as a kid, and was so great on this! The fire roasted diced tomatoes added a little spiciness, which I love. 

 

The pizza stone worked well - we were able to get a nice crispy crust and bottom of the pizza while cooking the toppings perfectly (otherwise I think the bottom would have been soggy from all of the toppings we added). With pizza stones you use corn meal instead of flour on the surfaces, which I think also contributed to the great texture.

On Saturday night we had plans to have dinner at my mom's house, and I'd offered to bring an appetizer. At about 3pm I realized that I hadn't planned anything to make and didn't have enough time to go to the store and cook something before leaving. So instead I turned to a well-known cooking genius, Miss Ina Garten herself! My mom gave me her Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook a few years ago for Christmas. After flipping through a few pages, I found a recipe that I had all of the ingredients for - the Cape Cod Chopped Salad.

I toasted some walnuts...

Zested and squeezed an orange...

Made some dressing...

And threw together the rest of the ingredients to make this salad:

Salad with dressing and extra add-ins:

Salad Recipe (original recipe by Ina Garten)

I made a few changes based on my own personal preferences...

Salad

• 5 pieces center cut bacon, cooked and chopped
• 12 ounces organic mixed greens
• 1 large Gala apple, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut halves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 6 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, in small cubes

Dressing

• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup olive oil

To toast the walnut halves - cook in a dry skillet on medium-low for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until slightly browned. 

I put all toppings for the salad in separate bags and assembled when I got to my mom's house.

For the dressing I simply put all ingredients together in a measuring cup, then transferred to a clean bottle for transport. When ready to serve the salad, I shook dressing until well combined.

*Note - this recipe makes a very generous serving size of the dressing. Between five of us we probably used less than half of the bottle.

This salad was very good - it combined many things that I love. The dressing was light and citrusy- would be perfect for a summer picnic (or when you want to be in denial about the 3 feet of snow outside).

Jim grilled dinner outside, despite the snow. I was hoping to catch some pictures of him in action (the snow was as high as the opening to the grill) but we got there too late. He made steak tips and tons of delicious roasted vegetables.

My delicious dinner:

 

My mom made apple crisp and pumpkin pie for dessert. I just realized that I don't have a picture of these, but I had some of both, and they were fantastic. The apple crisp had a great topping that was the perfect crispness (many I've had have been soggy, but this was anything but). 

Sunday morning was my long run of the weekend - I planned to run twelve miles. The funny thing about running is that no matter how much or how often you run, you're always going to have your off days. Sometimes a two mile run seems like torture and the next day you can run ten miles easily. Well, yesterday I wasn't really feeling the run. I'd say that part of it was due to the fact that I was on the treadmill for yet another long run, which isn't very exciting - and its a lot easier to quit running on a treadmill in the gym with your car parked outside than it is when you're out on the road and have no other choice but to keep running. After mile four I was dying - I just didn't have my head in the right place. I wanted to quit, but knew that I'd be so mad at myself if I did. I remembered an article my mom printed for me from The New York Times over a year ago, and a training article I read in Runner's World Magazine several months ago - there was an idea about walking 1 minute for every mile you run. I never tried this method - to be honest, I felt like it was cheating in some way. But when I couldn't muster up the miles yesterday, I tried it out. And guess what? It worked. After running the first four miles, I started running a mile and then walking a minute, and kept repeating. With this method I was able to run ten miles - it wasn't the twelve I'd planned on, but it was much better than the four I almost quit after. I'm really happy I tried this and was able to get out another six miles- I know I would have been really beating myself up over it if I'd quit at four. It also made my chocolate milk, apple, and leftover pizza that much more satisfying when I finished!

Big Night

At about noon yesterday I realized something quite exciting...that night was the first night I didn't have plans, have to study or work on essays in weeks! I had absolutely nothing to do! Sometimes when you feel like you're constantly running from one thing to another (I feel this way often) it is so nice to have a night with absolutely nothing planned. But of course, being the type-A that I am, I immediately started planning my night. Pat would be gone until late evening because he had several meetings, I was out of work at 3:30 because I'd gotten in so early, so that left hours of time to myself. How will I entertain myself? A couple years ago the answer to that question would have been Thirsty Thursday! But now, all I wanted to do was cook! I had my appetizer, entree and dessert planned by the time I left work. I made it back to Nashua in record time, stopped at Trader Joe's to stock up on some ingredients, and then hit the gym for a six mile run. 

I got home at 6:45 energized, starving, and sweaty. After showering, I got to work in the kitchen.

Tonight's Menu:

Appetizer: Broccoli Hummus with Baked Pita Chips and Carrots

Entree: Tofu and Mushroom Marsala

Dessert: Salted Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, that's a lot of food to make for myself and eat myself, but I'd managed to work up quite the appetite on the ride home and treadmill.

Broccoli Hummus

I've been meaning to make hummus for a while now that I have a food processor, but hadn't gotten around to it. For this I used all of the typical ingredients of hummus, but added broccoli, halved the oil, and didn't use tahini (Trader's didn't have any and I didn't feel like going on a quest for it). Pat and I are a little bit obsessed with broccoli and have it almost every night with dinner. I thought that adding broccoli to my hummus would be a fun new way to incorporate it into a meal.

This is so easy to make - just throw all of your ingredients into the food processor and continue to process until it reaches the desired consistency (several minutes).

Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw broccoli
• 15 ounce can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste (I didn't use any, didn't think it needed it)

I also made some whole wheat pita chips to have with the hummus.  This came out to be so delicious! The garlic and lemon add a lot to the taste of this dip - it was a wonderful snack to have as I made dinner, and good for you, too! I can't wait to use this in a sandwich this weekend.

Tofu and Mushroom Marsala

I've never made Marsala before, but Pat has made me chicken Marsala several times and I've always loved it. When I saw a recipe for tofu Marsala I couldn't wait to try it! This meal came together very quickly but tasted as though someone had spent hours in the kitchen (well I did, but this dish only took about 30 minutes from start to finish!).

In a large pan heated on medium, saute minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant.

Add bell pepper, oregano and salt. Saute for about 5 minutes.

Turn the heat to high and add Marsala and tofu, cook for 4 minutes (I wanted the wine to reduce more so it would be less liquidy, so I cooked about 5-6 minutes).

Turn heat to medium-high and add mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and stir in basil.

Serve in bowls with freshly grated Parmesan on top, and crusty bread on the side (I bought Ciabbata rolls from Trader Joe's that were perfect for this).

This was so good - definitely one of the best tofu dishes I've made. I love the basil and Parmesan cheese with the tofu, and all of the flavors blended really well together. As I said, I wouldn't have thought to make tofu in a Marsala dish, but it worked so well!

Recipe

This is from Serious Eats - their recipe serves 4 but I cut mine down to serve 2.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup Marsala cooking wine
• 1/2 package firm light tofu, pressed and cut into strips
• (1/2) 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (I used Trader Joe's fire roasted tomatoes for some spice)
• 5 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped basil
• Parmesan cheese (to grate on top)
• Crusty bread or pasta to serve with

Directions:

1. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add bell pepper, oregano, and salt. Saute 5 minutes.
2. Turn heat up to high. Add Marsala and tofu and cook 4 minutes, so wine reduces a little (I cooked 5-6 minutes so it reduced more).
3. Turn heat to medium-high. Add mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in basil. Serve in bowls with crusty bread or pasta.

Salted Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love anything that combines salty and sweet, so I had a good feeling about these cookies. They did not disappoint! Though they look more like little dough balls than cookies, the taste is outstanding...and its impossible to eat just one. I also love that this recipe uses whole wheat flour instead of white...and that there's oats in them!

In a medium bowl, mix oats, flour, and baking powder.

In a smaller bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, and syrup.

Add egg and vanilla - mix thoroughly.

Combine dry and wet ingredients.

Roll dough into balls. Place on baking sheet covered in parchment paper and sprinkle with sea salt (don't be shy about the salt!). Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

I wish I'd flattened these a bit before cooking because they maintained their ball shape. I'd forgotten the difference between brown and white sugar - the white sugar allows the cookies to spread, whereas brown sugar usually maintains the original shape. So though the shape isn't perfect, the taste was!! These go so well with a cold glass of milk. For you nut lovers out there - definitely include nuts if you have them. The added crunch is great!

Recipe (from Nutrition Nut on the Run)

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used 1/4 cup because I only added to half the batter, use 1/2 a cup if adding to all of batter)
• sea salt

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix oats, flour, and baking powder. 
2. In a smaller bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, and syrup. Add egg and vanilla - mix thoroughly.
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
5. Roll dough into balls. Place on baking sheet covered in parchment paper and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.