Breakfast Pudding

A friend of mine saw this recipe in a magazine, and scribbled down the basic idea and then said, "you should try this, it sounds good."... uh... ok! I'd seen recipes that called for putting a fried egg on your oatmeal, but that didn't sound appealing at all! This idea sounded a little scary too, but when the weather turned colder, a hot cereal breakfast sounded good. It provides some great protein, and this one serving will keep you content all morning!

Here are the basic ingredients:
1/4 cut cream of rice cereal
1 cup of water
1 egg

Crack egg into small bowl, beat with fork and set aside. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small pan, then add cereal and whisk. When cereal starts to thicken (about 2 minutes) spoon a few tablespoons into the egg to temper, then add the egg to the hot cereal and whisk together, cooking for about another minute.  Pour cereal into bowl and mix in flavorings.

There are a million ways to flavor this stuff! I usually start by cooling it off with a few tablespoons of Almond Milk. Here are some of the combos, I've tried. I use about a tsp of anything sweet unless noted;

Brown Sugar
Honey
Maple Syrup (with or without toasted almonds, walnuts, pecans)
Pureed Pumpkin- heaping Tablespoon, usually paired with Maple Syrup
Cinnamon and vanilla (dash of each)
Peanut butter and honey
1/2 sliced banana

I haven't tried it, but I suppose Cinnamon Raisin, or Apples and cinnamon would work.

I've also made this as a batch (3 servings at once) and then just heated it in the microwave with some almond milk to thin it out a little. This works well, and saves time and dishes in the morning.

I actually ate this on the morning of my duathlon, it was in the low 30's, and the hot cereal was filling, and provided the right mix of pre-race carbs, with the protein to sustain me.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

This time of year, lots of recipes call for Pumpkin Pie Spice. It seems like a huge waste of money (and space) to buy a spice mix like this that you will not use much of, and that contains just a mixture of what you already have in your cabinet.  Here is the blend that I use. I typically make a batch of this whenever pumpkin first starts arriving in my brain, and use it through the season.

4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

Mix together and store in a sealed container.

Use it in these recipes:

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Pancakes

What's on MY plate?

I haven't been the best blog writer these days. There's no excuse except to say, I'm busy! Who's not?! The last 6 months I've been training hard for my first triathlon (in June) and Duathlon (in Sept). While I've been a healthy eater for a long time- the training put a whole new spin on things for me. After losing 10 pounds in 4 weeks, I knew I needed to change things up in my diet. Sure, I was eating healthy, and constantly, but was I eating enough, and the right mix of food?

 My schedule revolved around eating to live, not living to eat, like usual.  I wasn't being creative with meals, just doing the basics. In this time I did a lot of reading... and now I want to share with you some of what I've learned. Sure, this blog is mostly about food, but it's also about living a healthy lifestyle.

In general, you could say that I'm moving towards Natural Eating. My thoughts about this started to change, when I had a flash back to an Essential Oils seminar that I went to this past winter. For over a year now, I've been using essential oils instead of lotions and perfume. Then a few months ago- I decided to spray some perfume on before I went out, within an hour I had red itchy bumps on my arms where I had sprayed. I thought back to my seminar, when the speaker talked about how absorbant your skin is, and why would you use perfume, it's just dumping chemicals into your bloodstream. Long story short- if I'm not willing to put chemicals on my skin, why am I eating them?!

This led me to really cutting back on low-fat and no-fat foods. Realizing that to replace the flavor that comes with fat, manufactures tend to use salt, sugar and  chemicals to make up the taste. Yuk! How is THAT healthy? I'll would rather work off the tablespoon of real cream in my coffee, than make my body process and detox a non-dairy creamer (um... what is it??)! Same goes with sugar. Give me the real stuff, plain and simple, most of the "natural" sugar substitutes are created by chemical processes anyway.

So then I started finding lots of info on the Real Food Movement. Some of my friends, and followers participated in the 10 day Real Food Challenge. To put it simply; you eat real food! :) Anything that comes out of a can, box, bottle or bag, should have less than 5 ingredients. This sounds simple, but take a look at the ingredients on your loaf of bread! Then, check out your jar of peanut butter. More than 5 ingredients, right? And what are some of those words even mean? It goes straight back to the old saying... if you can't pronounce it- you shouldn't eat it! I encourage you to spend more time reading labels and enjoying real food.

So that's where I am at today. Enjoying more real food. Stay tuned, and stay healthy!

Apple Nachos

When you are trying to eat healthfully, dessert always gets left behind. But, let me tell ya... this is the perfect dessert for 2 people! (or a snack indulgence for one). 321 calories total. You decide if it's worth it!

Apple Nachos

Ingredients:
1 apple, thinly sliced
1 T creamy peanut butter, melted
1T sweetened coconut flakes
5-6 pecans, chopped.
1T chocolate chips
lemon juice

Spread apples out in a thin layer (slightly overlapping) on a plate (squirt with lemon juice to keep from browning, if desired). Drizzle melted peanutbutter over the apple, then top evenly with coconut, nuts and chocolate chips.

It's easy and fun!

Motivation Jars

While this blog is intented mostly for food related items, it's also my outlet for tips and other healthy lifestyle choices! When I saw this idea on another blog this week, I HAD to do it, and so, I ran with it (quite literally).

The idea behind the motivation jars is that your goal will become very visual. My new goal is running a half- marathon in August! 13 miles! I was born a sprinter, so this distance thing is a whole new ballgame. So far, I've really enjoyed it. I have written up a training plan, and know that along this journey will be about 500 miles of training (a little less). As I write this- I'm 34 miles into it!

I created 2 jars... one that represents the 500 miles I have to run in preparation for my race. I'm calling this: Miles to Go. The other is the miles I've completed: Miles on the Journey. I will transfer beads from one to the other each day that I run.

I'm using these small beads for the day-to-day runs. These 6 beads represent this morning's run. I'm pretty sure I've never run 6 miles at once before. Today is a big day!

These are my race beads. 13 of them! I can't wait to transfer them over!

So- find yourself a couple of clear jars, and get creative. Try the dollar store- that's where I found these wine glasses. I wish I had beads that were a little larger- so it was more significant, so I might still work on that one. I will keep you posted.

I've placed my motivation jars on a shelf in my living room. This is a place where I will see them often... when I come downstairs in the morning and when I'm sitting on the couch!

Maple-Mustard Salmon Glaze

Maple-Mustard Salmon

I may never LOVE salmon, but the marinades and glazes I've been finding have been spectacular! I think this would be great on any seafood, maybe even chicken! And, you probably have it in your fridge.

simply mix together:
1T spicy grain mustard
1T maple syrup

Since I'm still learning to like salmon, I typically grill it, to keep the fishy smell out of the house. For this recipe, I lightly coated the salmon with Pam (olive oil spray would work too), then grilled it for 2-3 minutes before flipping over, and brushing on the maple- mustard mix, until the Salmon is cooked to your liking (another 2 minutes). There was enough glaze for 2 servings of fish.

Peanut Butter Dip

Are you a peanut butter junkie? I know a LOT of people who are! Unfortunately peanut butter is more of a fat, than it is a protein. But, this simple dip turns it into a GREAT healthy snack! It's super easy! Are you ready?

PB yogurt dip

Mix together:
1 Tablespoon of creamy peanut butter
3 Tablespoons of non-fat, plain greek yogurt.

DONE!
(if it's too yogurty for you- try just adding a smidge of honey)

This makes 4 Tablespoons of Dip- a perfect amount for 1 apple!

An equal amount of Peanut Butter:
400 calories
32 grams of fat
16 grams of protein

This Dip (as written)
155 calories
8 grams of fat
12 grams of protein.
All the peanutbuttery goodness!