Summer is Delicious:)

Once again, as seems to be the trend of my summer -- a lot has gone on this week that's prevented me from updating. I've thought about it, but I never had the time to put into this update what I really wanted to.

Let's start with my workouts. I've started training, but not really by a schedule. It's been more by how I feel and I read just yesterday, actually that could be the way to go. Have a plan that you follow, but there is no need to follow it down to the day, just the week. So that is what I have done. I have a 16 week plan from Runner's World that came in my magazine this month. This one helps with injury prevention and for those of you who personally know me, you guys know that is what I need most. My goal is to finish under 4 hours. My first goal has become to get to the starting line, and once I'm there I know I'll finish even if I have to crawl the last 5 miles (I'm sure that won't be the case -- let's just hope anyway :-) ). So, I've been running about 5-6 miles every other day or so. I've also had a day where I ran 2 to the gym, had a great workout, and 2 back (the day before yesterday), and I've also had just a plain ol' gym day which was nice since I've let those slip because I've been focusing on my running. I just have to remind myself to BALANCE rather than overdo one or the other. Today however, I'm just going to the gym before my 8PM swim lesson. Hooray! Time to FINALLY start taking those middle necessary steps towards a triathalon:) I never knew that work would be SO time consuming outside of work. Since I don't have a set schedule, it's hard to really make plans and then also sometimes I come home and I'm just so exhausted I don't want to do anything but read or flat out fall asleep. Yesterday for example, I had gotten home around 6 or so after a 9 1/2 hour Saucier shift at Kona and felt fine! Talked to Mom, Dad, my sister and some other friends. Then 8:30 came around and I was in bed reading The Happiness Project, and I passed out. Then I turned my phone off around 10 PM and slept another solid 9 hours before waking up just before 7. However, today I feel marvelous and refreshed:)

I made my Mom & Dad the recipe I talked about in one of my more recent posts with the chicken, veggies, and stubbs rub as well as marinade. I made even more of it (with organic chicken from HEB Central Market), and there was even less left! I should let you know though, it was a little spicy. Bread helps cut that (says my Mom -- she's not huge into spicy) or you can use less rub. Either way, it was a hit! I'm glad it wasn't just because Patrick and I were absolutely famished the day we made it:)

Like I said, I've been reading a lot since I've been too tired to do much else. I still haven't read much of the Eat to Live because frankly...I can't get into it. I love nutrition, and maybe it's just because I'm tired and want easier reading when I'm sleepy but it's been making me drift off faster. I'll have to commit to that one once I have a bit more energy. The Happiness Project though I am really liking. One thing I am really taking away from this book is "act the way you want to feel". We usually feel the way we act, but if you're grumpy -- smile, I promise you'll feel happier. If you're tired, act with more energy and it seems to work. :) Back on the book track, I ordered another cookbook off Amazon called Clean Food by Terry Walters. I'm really excited about it! But it's also basically the cookbook I wish I had written. One day though, I'll get there and I'll come up with something similar as far a healthy and delicious but it'll have it's own special something:)

Roasted Portobello Sandwich with Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli (this could be a good alternative to greasy, traditional 4th of July burgers -- however I know you do need to do that from time to time, last night I had 1/2 a BLT and the bread was even white!;) But it sure filled up my soul:))

Ingredients:
Portobello mushrooms (1-2 per serving)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp minced italian herbs of choice (basil, oregano, thyme or parsley)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sourdough bread (2 slices per serving) -- I'd still recommend whole wheat or a grainy bread
Roasted red peppers, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
Avocado, thinly sliced (remember that only 1/8 of an avocado is a serving)
Romaine lettuce
Spicy honey mustard

Aioli Ingredients:
6 sun-dried tomatoes
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 1/2 cups grapeseed oil (or olive oil) mayo
2 Tbsp fress Italian herbs of choice
Pinch of sea salt

Preparing Aioli:
Soak sun dried tomatoes in hot water 15 minutes or until soft. With the food processor running, drop in garlic. Process until minced. Squeeze excess water from tomatoes and add them along with the mayonaise to processor. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed and process until smooth. Add herbs and salt and process lightly. Transfer to container and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend.

Roasting Portobellos:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Wipe muschrooms with a damp towel to clean (DO NOT WASH). Discard stems and rub smooth side with olive oil. Place smooth side on cookie sheet  and sprinkle insides with Italian herbs, pepper and a pinch of salt. Roast for 8-10 minutes until solf. Remove and set aside.

Assembling:
Slice bread and lightly toast. Spread aioli on toast and top wioth roasted portobello, roasted red pepper, avocado and lettuce. Spread mustard on second pice of toasted bread, top sandwich and serve warm.

This is from the Clean Food cookbook -- however, if you do not wish to make the portobellos in the oven you can also do them stovetop with a skillet, little bit of olive oil and a medium heat.
Another note: If you do not have a food processor, you can chop and mix by hand in a bowl. It's not as quick but it works. Or perhaps try a blender. I personally don't like blenders because they're such a pain to clean but to each their own:)

Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/3 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp zesty honey mustard
Sea salt

Directions:
In medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients by hand or with a handheld blender.. Season to taste with salt. Vinaigrette will keep refrigerated for 1 week.

Makes 1 cup.

Jicama Strawberry Guacamole
Ingredients:
1 cup diced strawberries
1/2 cup peeled and diced jicama
1 watermelon radish, peeled and diced
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced (save the pits)
1 jalepeno, seeded and minced
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil20

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine strawberries, jicama, watermelon radish, avocados and jalapeno. In separate bowl, combine lime juice, salt, garlic powder and oilve oil. Pour over strawberry mixture and stir until combined. If not serving immediately, place avocado pits in bowl to keep dip from turning brown, Cover and refrigerate. Before serving, remove pits and stir briefly.

(All of the above recipes are from Clean Food cookbook.)

Now here's one of my own.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
1 sweet potato (enough for sides for 2 people)
1-2 Tbsp Olive oil
Sea salt
Chili powder (optional)
Multicolor peppercorns (I have a McCormick grinder -- LOVE it)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Now cut up the sweet potato into fry-like strips (I don't really have a method, I don't care if they don't look like McDonald's fries because that's not what I'm going for here:) I prefer the "home-fry" look). On a sheet pan, cover it with foil (easy clean up! I do this with everything that goes in the oven). Now lay out the fries on the foil covered sheet pan and drizzle them with olive oil. Before you add too much, toss them in the oilve oil to see if they need more. They really only need enough to let the seasonsings stick. Now sprinkle the sea salt, pepper and/or chili powder over them. Cinnamon is also really good on these. (Usually I use just sea salt, but it's good to mix it up every once in a while). Pop in the oven and check them after about 20 minutes. They'll probably need about 20-30 though but keep an eye on them so they don't burn! Enjoy!:)

Simple Fruit Salad
Ingredients: -- buy organic if possible
Plums
Strawberries
Peaches
Cherries
Blueberries
Apricots
Basil
Sea Salt

Directions:
Cube or slice all fruit into small dice (maybe 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubed). Chop the basil until it is in small fine pieces. Add a little sea salt (depends how much of each fruit you are using, start with a tsp if your making it for a bunch of people, or just a pinch if it is just for yourself) and combine with fruit and basil and mix!

Here is one from Cooking Light below -- I wish you could see these pictures. I'm pretty sure I want to move to Australia now. :)

Tiger Prawn, Noodle, and Herb Salad
Ingredients:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
12 tiger prawns (about 20 ounces)
Cooking spray (olive oil cooking spray!)
2 ounces rice vermicelli
1/2 cup thinly sliced green oinions
1/2 cup loosley packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup chopped salted dry-roasted nut of your choice (it recommends peanuts here -- I might recommend tamari almonds)
2 finger hot chiles, thinly sliced

Directions:
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves. Let stand 30 minutes; discard garlic.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
3. Peel prawns, leaving tails intact. Arrange prawns on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes or until done, turning once.
4. Cook noodles according to package directions. Combine noodles, green onions, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with juice mixture, tossing to coat. Top with prawns. Yield: 6 servings (2 prawns and 1/2 bowl of noodles per serving)

Nutritional info: Calories: 128; Fat 5.1g (sat 2.5g, poly 0.9g, mono 1.2g); Protein 5.4g; Carb 15.8g; Fiber 1.8g; Chol 21mg; Iron 1.2mg; Calc 33mg

Some of these recipes would be great for your 4th of July fiesta!:)

I've still been on the hunt for the perfect grocery store here in San Antonio. I've come a lot closer though! This last week I took the 25 minute car ride to HEB Central Market in the Alamo Heights area to go shopping. This is by far my favorite in San Antonio so far! I got fresh never frozen Wild Sockeye Salmon that I made for my parents the night before last (pop it in foil, sqeeze 1/2 a lemon over it, place 2 lemon slices on top, close foil, put in oven at 350 for about 15 minutes and voila! I don't like to overpower my food with other flavors so this is simple and tasty and great on salads or alone -- we had it with my Mom's garlic broccolini that I talked about in an earlier posting), organic apples (tentation--HIGHLY recommend, they didn't have fuji which is my favorite but I think I now have 2 favorites), organic berries (strawberries, blueberries and rasbperries), organic lettuce (they have a place where you can scoop it into your own bag and just FYI -- it's about 1/2 as much as buying it pre-packaged but it's the same thing), some seeds to grown my own organic lettuce and green beans, some wine, a medley of tomatoes, some big yellow tomatoes, bbq sauce, some sea salt (I'm really excited about this! I got some apricot sea salt from Australia and then I also got another type and I'm so mad at myself right now -- I thought I saved the name of it in my phone and it's not there!! Next time I go I'll have to check which one it was because you really can taste the difference), some fresh tuna and some more bumble bars and lara bars.

This salsa is DELICIOUS!! it's a little on the spicy side though but I could eat the whole jar in one sitting! I tried them with the Guileless Gourmet Chili Lime tortilla chips and it was really good. Then I tried them with Central Market Organic Blue Corn chips and it was even better. I think the simple with the spicy was the best way to go:)

I haven't tried the Naked wine yet -- however it is made with organic grapes so I'm REALLY excited about that. The Evolution wine I have tried when I was on a trip in Pensacola last summer and absolutely LOVED it so that one is very highly recommended. It's semi-sweet but not too sweet or bitter from what I remember, which is honestly all it takes for me to love a wine. But on the other hand, it's really hard for me to find wines that have all those characteristics. :)

I had been shopping at Williams Sanoma one day for about an hour (I love that store! I can't wait to get my chefs knife -- it's farily dangerous for me to shop at places like that because I always seem to find more kitchen things I want, like a hand blender! And of course a food processor and juicer and cook books) when I saw some salad dressing makers/emusifiers. One was about $20 that had a batter powered spinner, and the other was $15 but didn't look to be as good of an emulsifier as this one which I got at Target later that day for $10.

They had samplings of this Peach BBQ Sauce on my Central Market trip and I found it delicious. They grilled chicken and used this for the sauce.

I try to buy organic everything I can. But I find that things such as berries, apples, pears and things that have a thin skin are most important. Things like bananas, oranges etc. that have a thick skin aren't as much so since you aren't directly eating the pesticides. I still opt for organic on these too when I find them or when I can find AND afford them (they may not be much different in price, but a college  budget sure isn't a salary!:-))

I've also stopped taking a lot of my supplements. I still take the glucosamine with chondroitin though for my joints, and still take the calcium citrate sporadically but all of the others I've put on hold. I was having more stomach pain similar to what I was having before I was diagnosed with the microscopic colitis and thought maybe this was the cause. So far, my belly has been happy since I've stopped:)

My sister and I were talking yesterday and she mentioned how she and her boyfriend bought a "farm share". I had no idea what that was so when she told me about it I learned that they bought a little square of land from a  local farmer and they get the veggies in a box every other week from their little square of land. They're organic and local so I thought this was great! I'm looking into it for Lubbock (as we speak) but if you're interested, goodle CSA and your city to find out more about it! When I looked up Lubbock, it also came up with a bunch of Famer's Markets which are also great for being sustainable and local!:)

Time to go eat at Green (San Antonio's first vegetarian restaurant) with my Mom! I'm excited about this restaurant:) Have a gorgeous day!:)

Live simply <3 -- "It is by studying little things, that we attain the great art of having as little misery, and as much happiness as possible". -Samuel Johnson

Thank you...Thank you very much:)

I want to thank all of you guys who read this. I've gotten a lot of feedback from friends and friends of friends and so on telling me that they follow my blog -- this means so much to me:) To all of you, feel free to e-mail me at KHensley88@hotmail.com or find me on Facebook and ask me any questions or request something you want me to talk about on here. Or perhaps simply to say hi!:) If you e-mail me (via hotmail), I ask you put something in the subject line about the blog or I may not open it thinking it could be spam, but that's all I ask:)
Here is also something I just learned...You can eat carbs before a run and feel fine (as long as you don't stuff yourself and feel heavy when you go out the door), but salmon? That's a no go. I ate salmon for dinner and it was pretty tasty, but around mile 3 of my 5 1/2 - 6 miler I ran this evening, I started to regret dinner. Moral of the story? If you're eating something fishy for dinner, I very strongly recommend waiting at least an hour or more before running;)

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read much of the Eat to Live by Joel Furhman yet. I'm barely into it, but I've been busy with visiting friends in Lubbock, the drive which totalled 12 hours, and work. However, I have not forgotten to give you my feeback so I'll be sure to get some read this week and let you know ASAP! Another book I'm going to be reading with my friend Kayla is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I'm really excited about it! And I want to re-read Marathoning for Mortals. My sister bought it for me a couple of years ago when I decided to start trying to run longer distances like half-marathons and full marathons. I read it back then but I feel like I need to give it another go now that I've actually experienced a lot of what they're talking about so I can relate more. Either way, whether you're a beginner or have some experience, it was really good advice and it was written by "The Penguin" or John Bingham and another fellow writer for Runner's World magazine, Jenny Hadfield.

Time to read a bit (perhaps of Eat to Live!) and then go to bed. Goodnight!:)

Thank You Stubbs

...Yes, thank you to Stubbs for your delish marinades and rubs! While I was in Lubbock this weekend I made lunch for and with my friend Patrick. We just went to the store and decided what to make as we went. It was super easy and SO good! Here's what was in our grocery cart...

...1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 orange bell pepper, 2 medium to large portobello mushrooms, 1 package of organic chicken tenders, 1 red onion, and Stubbs Chile Lime Spice Rub...Olive oil spray, extra-virgin olive oil and Stubbs Chicken Marinade are also used in this recipe, but they were already in my cabinets so there was no need to throw them in the cart:)

Now that you have all your ingredients, here are the steps...

1. Julienne all the veggies (mushrooms, peppers and red onion).
2. Drizzle a little olive oil in a large pot and turn the burner on medium to medium-high. Then dump all the veggies in the pot. Pour about 1/2 a bottle of chicken marinade as well as a little more olive oil on top of the veggies and stir occasionally.
3. Coat the tenders in the Stubbs Chile Lime Spice Rub.
4. In a skillet, spray the pan with the olive oil spray and turn onto low-medium to medium heat. Now place the chicken in the pan and cook slowly to not burn the outside of the tenders.

After everything was cooked, we tore the chicken into bite sized pieces and mixed them in with the veggies for a really good chicken/veggie bowl!!:) It was so good, we ate almost all of what we made! So I hope you enjoy it:)

My trip to Lubbock was just what I needed:) I feel so much better, almost like my head was screwed back on straight. It's amazing what being around your best friends can do for you. It's better than therapy I'd say:) There was a lot of celebrating and going out, but I justified it since there won't be much of that for me these next few months while training kicks off and gets more intense. I'll consume a little alcohol here and there, but not much. I find it hard to train the next day even after just having 2 or 3 vodka sodas. Your body just doesn't run as smoothly as it would have had you not drank the day or night before. It's like you're taking that training session and using it to restore your body back to how it was which seems like a total waste of time that I could have used to improve my time, form or distance etc. I ran on Sunday morning around campus, but not a ton because I was honestly a little hungover from the night before. Usually I like to run off and sweat out my hangover, but this particular morning was not happening for me so I left it at abour 2-3 miles. Sunday was my day off:) Here's a picture from the gorgeous drive up to Lubbock.

Here are the Vibram Five-Finger shoes I told you I got last week! I didn't wear them in Lubbock so I'm still breaking them in today. It's possible I'll take them on a very short test run later once it cools off a little bit outside! I'm excited!

Hope you all had a great weekend!:)

Real Quick..:)

Today I'm driving to Lubbock after I get off work at 4:00 or 5:00 this evening. With that, I'm going to give you a quick post and let you know I'll be writing a longer one on Monday full of lots of recipes that I brought back down!:)

For those of you who like okra... (I personally love it...but not so much the slimy texture. This recipe is a remedy for the slippery feel that is oh-so-unappetizing associated with okra.)
I made this the other day and it's really easy. I basically just experimented and it turned out well!! Sorry there are no measurements, I just guess as I go when I'm making something up.

1. Spray a skillet with olive oil spray.
2. Put the fresh okra in the skillet and spray the tops of them a little as well.
3. Sprinkle on a little (maybe a tsp or so) of sea salt, followed by some chili powder (maybe a couple tsp? It depends how much okra you're making. I'll say maybe 1/4 or 1/5 of the okra had chili powder on it), then put some worsteshire sauce in the pan as well (once again, it was roughly a Tbsp -- and it was the watery kind, not the thick kind).
4. Put on med-high (closer to med) heat and occasionally stir.
5. Have it on the stove for about 5 minutes. You can test one and see if it is to your liking as far as how much it is cooked and seasonings. Add seasoning as you wish:)


I also bought the vibram five finger shoes the other day! I'm really excited about them so I've been wearing them around the house before I take them on their first grass run!:) I know to take it slow though. Start with about 1/2 a mile on the grass for a week and slowly build up to three miles. Then I can take them to the road! It'll take months to get to trail running in them, but that's ok:) It's all worth it, especially if it helps out my plantar fasciitis. I'll post picures of them on Monday! They're pink and orange and I feel a little like a lizzard when I wear them, but I think this pair is as cute as they'll get:) Have a great weekend!!

Continued:)

See, I told you it was going to be a good day. Every school in the Big 12 in staying put, woo hoo!:) And then I also got off work 30 minutes early!

Now for some more recipes from Heidi Swanson:

Do-It-Yourself Power Bars
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 cup oat bran
1 1/2 cups unsweetened crisp brown rice cereal
1 cup dried cranberries, coarsley chopped
3 Tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup natural cane sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt

1. Grease a baking pan with the coconut oil. If you like thick power bars, opt for an 8 x 8 inch pan; for thinner bars, use a 9 x 12 inch pan.

2. Mix the oats, walnuts, oat bran, cereal, cranberries, and ginger together in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the rice syrup, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as it comes to a boil and thickens just a bit, about 4 minutes. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until the syrup is evenly incorporated.

3. Spreat into the prepared pan and cool to room temperature before cutting into whatever size bars you desire.

Makes 16 to 24 bars (sure beats spending $4 a box at the grocery store! And you can always play with the different fruit/nut/oat combos for a different taste--And remember nutritiondata.com for finding out the nutritional info on whatever you make!

I opted for this next one instead of the lentil soup...the green in the picture just looked so fresh and delish:)

Spring Minestrone with Brown Rice
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup medium-grain brown basmati rice, rinsed
6 cups vegetable stock (you can buy it or make your own--she has a recipe for making your own)
1 cup sugar snap or snow peas, trimmed, strung and cut in half diagonally
8 spears asparagus, trimmed and diagonally slided to 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the shallots and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes until sofe. Add the rice and cook, stirring for 1 minute, then add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer until the rice is just tender, 35 to 45 minutes.

2. Add the sugar snap peas, asparagus, and green peas, and season with a few healthy pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. SImmer for anohter 2 or 3 minutes and serve immediately; this way the vegetables stay crisp and bright!

Serves 4


White Sangria: with Agave Nectar and Drunken Peaches
2 or 3 peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into eighths
3 cups seedless grapes of mixed colors, halved
1/3 cup agave nectar
2 (750-ml) bottles sauvignon blanc
1/2 cup apricot brandy
1 (1-liter) bottle sparkling water

1. Combine the peaches, grapes, agave nectar, wine, and brandy in a 1-gallon jug. Stir gently so the fruit doesn't break up, then chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or, even better, overnight.

2. Serve in tall glasses, making sure each has a nice assortment of the wine-soaked fruit; top each with a generous splash of sparkling water.

Here's another white sangria recipe (not from Heidi Swanson):
2 bottles sauvignon blanc
3 cups white cranberry juice (or red if you cant find white)
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 sliced pears
1/2 pint blackberries

1. Combine everything. Let sit overnight.

2. Serve the next day!

This is one I am SO EXCITED ABOUT, since I can't (and I'm assuming we all can't or don't) eat any dairy!!!:) Get ready for it...

Dairyless...Chocolate...Mousse!!
1/2 cup chocolate soy milk
1 1/2 cups semisweet (since we cannot have dairy, go with a dark that has zero lactose. Tip: Don't go TOO dark, it will not melt very well and it will also be very bitter so go for the lowest cocoa % content that doesn't have dairy. You can usually find one about 60% or sometimes around 50%.)
12 ounces silken soft tofu
1/2 cup amaretto (almond liqueur)
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
Fine-grain sea salt

1. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer. Remove it from the heat and set aside to let cool a bit.

2. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally, in a double boiler (you can cobble together a makeshift one by placing a metal bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water).

3. Add the warm soy milk and silken tofu to the melted chocolate chips. Puree with a hand blender or transfer to a blender or food processor and process until silky smooth. Stir in the amaretto, almond extract, and a generous pinch of sea salt. Taste and adjust the flavoring, adding a bit more extract if needed.

4. Chill in a large serving bowl or individual bowls for at least 1 1/2 hours--the longer the better. The mousse will set up nicely as it cools.

Makes 6 servings.

And finally--the cream substitute!

Cashew Cream
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
1 1/2 cups water, plus more as needed
2 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
Squeeze of lemon juice

1. Soak the cashews in a small bowl of warm water for 20 or 30 minutes to soften them up, which makes for a smoother, silkier cream.

2. Drain and add 1 1/2 cups water, the nutritional yeast, and salt.

3. Puree with a hand blender or food processor until smooth, pourable, and of a creamlike consistency; this may take 2 or 3 minutes of steady blending, so be patient. You may need to add additional water, a few tablespoons at a time, to achieve the right consistency. This cream tends to thicken over time, and is aborbed into pasta quicky, so err on the thin side. Season cream with a squeeze of lemon juice, then stir, taste, and add a but of additional salt if needed.

Makes about 2 cups.


As I wrote "vanilla extract" in one of the recipes above, I realized something else I had read in Real Simple yesterday and thought I'd add it here! When you're painting a room, and you know the awful smell paint has? Well, if you put a few drops of vanilla extract in the bucket of paint (make sure it's non-white), it will neutralize that smell!:)

If you haven't tried Zico Coconut water -- I highly recommend it. Some people say not to try the flavored coconut water (brands vary) because they tend to have higher sugar contents in them but I did not find this to be true with Zico. One bottle has 60 calories regardless the flavor and 12 g of sugar. It also contains more potassium than a banana, so it's really intended for after a long strenuous workout rather than just a sub for water. This morning, I put half the bottle over my fresh fruit (a banana, 1/2 a pear, 1/2 a navel orange, handfull of blueberries and 2 sliced strawberries) instead of coconut milk and cinnamon and it was a very nice and refreshing substitute!

I've mostly decided that the San Antonio Rock & Roll 1/2 and Full Marathon I'm running in November may be a full for me. I'm going to see how the training goes, but I'm getting really amped up to run a full marathon! Keep your fingers crossed for me that the injuries stay in the closet!:) I'm also calling Dustin today to make my first swimming lesson! Yay:) It has taken me a while to get around to it but I've been so busy and not knowing my schedule very far in advance is a bit of a hinderance. Sometimes you just have to make due being the intern:) No complaints! I love my work and I'm so lucky to be working here this summer! I'm learning so much, and not only that but the work dynamic between the employees and MIT (managers in training that come from all over the U.S.) is so great and friendly! It's actually fun to be at work. I plan on picking some brains about if this dynamic was planned and if so, how was it and what do they look for--or maybe it just happened to fall into place? Who knows? I will soon, hopefully:)

I've been thinking about simplicy related to life lately and I realized that "simple" might be one of the best ways to describe the way I like to cook and eat. I enjoy extravagant meals from time to time, but to me they're still never as good as the meals with fewer ingredients and they don't seem to really taste like what is in them. That is why when I make salmon, I usually don't add very much to change the flavor or at least make sure I can still taste the "salmon-ness" without all this frou-frou added to it. I like salmon because it tastes like salmon. I like broccoli because it tastes like broccoli--sometimes with a little lemon. I like whatever it is for whatever it is. So that being said, if you don't like the taste of some of these things but still want the nutrients, just add more seasonings:) I know all of our tastebuds vary so just play around with what works for you:)

For lunch today I had a chocolate Bumble Bar around 11:30 this morning. Then when I got home, I had a little bowl of spaghetti squash and two nectarines. I love the summer, it's the time of the best fruit:)

Rise & Shine!

I CANNOT believe I've already let almost a week sqeak by without updating! I've not been a very good blogger and I'm very sorry! I'll work on that:)

However, I always know it's going to be a good day when I start my day off with a run.:) This is a long known fact about me, however I've let it slip for awhile now ever since I started letting myself heal from my plantar fasciitis. Then, last week before my 8AM shift on the line, I decided I'd go for a little run at 5 in the morning. It was AMAZING the difference it made in my mood! I highly recommend getting your workout done in the morning:) It may be a bit of a drag getting out of bed, but I felt like myself again once I got going and throughout the day. It's become a fairly known fact that they have done studies on how excercising at different points in the day can affect your mood and when you workout the best. Morning always won! For about 8 hours after your workout, your body produces "happy" chemicals that put you in a better mood and therefore = better day!:) It's also a lot easier for me to do this when I don't eat a lot before my early morning workout. I feel like my tummy is still waking up and you just feel bogged down and heavy when you have a big meal before a workout (in my opinion).

Yesterday, I got two new health/cookbooks! I'm really excited about them! One of them is called Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman which came recommended to me by my sister who is also just about to start reading it. I'm on about page 5 so I'll let you know some good info and my opinion once I get a little deeper into the read. The other is the Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson I mentioned last week and flipping through, there are some recipes I thought I'd share.:)

Since it's morning and all...

Espresso Banana Muffins

2 cups white whole-wheat flower  (I'd probably go with unbleached whole-wheat)
2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
1 1/4 cups chopped toasted walnuts (or untoasted is fine too)
1 Tbsp fine espresso powder
6 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp
3/4 cup natural cane sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)

1. Heat oven to 375F, position the racks low in the oven, and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, 3/4 cup of the walnuts and the espresso powder in a bowl and whisk to combine.

3. In a separate large bowl or a stand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar and then the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla, yogurt, and mashed bananas, then briefly and gently mix in the dry ingredients, overmixing will result in tough muffins.

4. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin (an ice-cream scoop works well), top with the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, and make until golden, about 25 minutes. Fill the cups two-thirds full for regular muffins or to the bring for a big-topped version. Cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cook completely.

Makes 12 muffins

I'll add a couple more for Dairyless Chocolate Mouse and White Sangria and a Lentil Soup as well as a good substitute for heavy cream in those recipes us lactose-free eaters just can't eat! These will probably be the only recipes I show since I don't want to re-publish her book for free;) But I highly recommend going and buying or flipping through it!!

I've also been reading the latest Real Simple that my Mom gets in the mail and I've decided when I get back to Lubbock I'm painting my room. I've already painted giant pink, silver and yellow flowers in my bathroom with acrylic paint but it made sense to me when I read that bright color helps you wake up in the morning. I could really see how that is true! So, to help me with my routine and maybe even running early more often, my walls are going to get a fresh coat of paint! Even if it means having to paint them back in a few months to a year:) Color = happy:)

Time to get ready for work, have a great day and I'll be sure to post more later!:)

"Ultimately the best runners are the ones who work very hard but who have a little bit of a lazy streak in them." - Benji Darden, Coach

"The secret of health for the mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." -Buddha

Long week in nut shells & cookbooks:)

This week has been CRAZY busy. And not only that, but when I have had time to update, I'm flat out too tired. I'll give you the rough overview of my eating/working out/internship. I worked 5 days this last week (and then Monday which was my first day on the line to be working in pantry--basically that is where I make the salads, croutons, crostinis, chips, anything fried basically including tempura crab/shrimp, wraps, a few sandwiches etc) and 3 were the usual day shifts and 2 were night. Definitely a bigger fan of the day shift, even though it was nice to have a "day" before work but that just left me tired at the end of the work day which was around 10PM. I ate A LOT of trail mix which included A LOT of nuts this week so I felt a little fuller (not just in my belly but also all over!) because of that. So now, I'm limiting myself to one serving of fats a day--salmon/fish not included in that. That's just nuts and nut butters and avocados and such. When I get hooked on something, sometimes I take it to the extreme so a meal would be a few handfulls of trailmix and an apple dipped in cashew butter. That usually happened at least twice a day whether at breakfast, lunch or dinner. So now, a few days after I've implemented my 1-fat-a-day rule, I already feel better and much more lean. The scale agrees too:)

A couple other things new this week was that I tried to teach myself to swim. Not that I don't know how to get through water without doggie paddeling. But, I'm not very good at freestyle swimming. The breathing freaks me out a little bit. So I went and got a really great lap suit bikini from TYR, goggles, nose pincher, and swimming cap so I looked like a pretty serious swimmer when I got to the pool the other day around noon (mistake on my part--I didn't realize HOW MANY people would be out there watching me attempt to look like I know what I'm doing. I thought maybe the attire would fool them, but the stares said otherwise). I hopped in the pool after a workout and got to it. However, I'm still not very good at putting my face in the water without freaking out and my lungs not wanting to work. I got through 3/4 of a lap before I was too tired to keep going from not breathing correctly so I had to stop and noticed all the people staring at me. Looking back now I probably resembled someone who may or may not have been on the verge of drowning? So after a couple laps, I decided I'd made enough of a fool of myself for the day and decided to come back after I'd gotten a lesson.:)

I have also been talking to my friend Chris Chretien about supplements and the company he works for called USANA Health Sciences which creates them. If you take supplements, or are looking into it, I definitely recommend looking at their website. http://www.witcc.info/. He has also added a link to my blog on the site:)

I was taking Centrum Performance when I started talking to Chris about all of this and he sent me this picture:

This grosses me out a little bit. He couldn't tell me what it is exactly that made these Centrum apples turn blue but all I could think about was "Is this what it's doing to my insides??!!". So that was enough for me to stop taking the Centrum Performance. I plan on ordering some of the USANA supplements in the near future so I'll keep you posted!:)

Other things I currently take are NOW Green Tea (metabolic support--I also drink a lot of green tea but wasn't at the time I started taking it), Glucosamine + Chondroitin (for knees and joints--I had pretty bad joint pain in my knees for a long time which made it a literal pain to run, then I was told about this from a fellow runner friend and a couple weeks after I started to take it the pain went away and now I take this every morning and night religiously), calcium citrate (the citrate helps the calcium absorb better. Because I can't have lactose, I have to get my calcium somewhere--this was also before I started to drink coconut milk which also contains a lot of calcium. If you take calcium, take it every other day so you reduce the risk of kidney stones--OUCH! And make sure it's citrate and not phosphate), and occasionally fish oil (for the heart). When I was having my stomach issues, I also started to take an acidophillus (I take the Pearls). I got out of the habit once they put me on Asacol but recently read that taking an acidophillus still has it's benefits even though my stomach may not be bothering me nearly as much and I may not necessarily be able to feel the benefits, and that it can also help in athletic performance. (I found that out through Runner's World).

Mom and I also went to the Farmer's market on Sunday in Legacy over here by us. We got some cinnamon basil (I'm really excited about using this for cooking!!), some dill zucchini (instead of pickles--they're good, a little different but still tasty), handmade soy candles, some fresh veggies, farm fresh eggs that were "made" the day before we bought them, and some homemade granola which you can get from cowgirlgranola.com. I tried the original which was good and bought the cranberry orange which is also really good. It doesn't have NEARLY as much sugar as store bought granola's do which is why I bought it since I like to sprinkle some on top of my moring fruit sometimes. The eggs are REALLY GOOD. Mom couldn't tell a difference, but to me they were fluffier and a little tastier than the Eggland's Best I normally buy. However, they were also $4.50 a dozen so I think that's a luxury that will be happening pretty rarely. The soy candles are also really yummy smelling!! You don't even have to light them and they smell your room up! You can find them at oohlalacandles.com. I bought the honeysuckle jasmine and moonlit night. They're really affordable especially compared to other soy candle retailers, and they also smell stronger (but not overpowering) than any other I've smelled before. They also had natural, homemade soaps there as well from Soapees and Glowees but we didn't buy any of those (you can order them from soapglow@gmail.com -- they don't have a website but you can inquire about them through the e-mail) and they also had custom stone carving with some absolutely beautiful stuff! They had some wine holders that would hold any where from 2-8 bottles (2 being around $35 and 8 being around $100) and you can find out more about those if you're interestes though klink.jr@gmail.com.

This week I hope to make it out to a different farmers market on Sunday since it's my only off day but we'll see!

I also picked up a new cereal this week. Along with my Peanut Butter Puffins that I love so much (made from corn instead of wheat, 110 calories per 3/4 cup and so d'lish!), I got Cascadian Farms Kids (So? It's good!) Organic Cinnamon Squares cereal. It tastes like cinnamon toast crunch only with whole grains, less sugar and 110 calories per WHOLE CUP. I love cereal, it's definitely one of those things I can take to an extreme but it's also the perfect comfort food. Highly recommend both of those:)

At the gym, I've also gotten a little tired of my routine -- even when I do change it up a little bit. So I incorporated a new Core class that I really liked followed by an Athletic Conditioning class. The first is obvious--lots of abs. The second is a lot of sprints and drills. This class was fairly easy for me though so I kicked it up a notch by going to boot camp yesterday which kicked my butt. I LOVED IT. The other people in the class that go regularly said it was a particularly hard day compared to the norm but still, it was great to have something challenging and new. I tried to workout some more after the class had finished, and while I got in about 20 sit ups, I knew I needed to stop and that my body needed to rest. Last night, I let my body have 10 glorious hours of sleep last night:) It. Was. Amazing. :)

Yesterday I went to lunch at Kona Grill with Myles and Kayla followed by a little shopping. At Kona, they have a "Skinny" menu which you can order one of 3 things that has 200 calories or less. I didn't try them, but they all looked d'lish! I was just starving since it was after boot camp so I got the seared Ahi salad, then myles and I split the Special Salmon Roll which we declared as the best sushi roll we've ever had. I'm not just trying to talk Kona up since I'm working there, it was seriously delicious and I've eaten a lot of sushi. On our little shopping trip we went into Anthropologie and of course, I always love their kitchen stuff especially the cookbooks. One I found (didn't buy--I'm going through Amazon because it's nearly half the price through them) is called Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. I cannot wait to get this in the mail!! It is perfect for how I eat and it even had dairy free chocolate mousse in it--I'm super excited about it!! I've also gotten really amped up about gardening when I get back to Lubbock so another book I'm ordering via Amazon is Grow Great Grub - Organic Food from Small Spaces by Gayla Trail. I recommend looking at both of these!

Other great places to get recipes are--

Tastespotting.com (these you have to be a little choosy because they aren't all healthy but they do have some great ideas for creating your own -- however, there are so many and so many are scrumptious that I'm sure you won't have a problem finding one you deem acceptable)

Runnersworld.com

eatingwell.com

cookinglight.com (love these!)

and even foodnetwork.com in the healthy area:)

Another blog worth following is katheats.com. She got me started on wanting to blog about food. However, her breakfasts are usually too heavy for me but she has some great recipes and products!

It's pretty easy to eat well right now though with being able to grill most everything. Grilled pineapple, or peaches is delectable with coconut ice cream -- just a side thought:)

I like this not just for running, but about life in general:

"Run when you can, walk when you have to, craw if you must; but never give up."

-Dean Kamazes