Tag Archives: greens

February 3, 2011 · 9:21 pm

Ego Checked

Well that was totally embarrassing.

I should have told him I am an executive secretary not a group exercise instructor/trainer!

Yeah, my training session seriously kicked my ass.

I am pretty sure I shot myself in the foot by going to Kettlebell Conditioning this morning and drinking too much coffee (two cups, late morning).  Whatever it was, I was messed up.  No, seriously, I started getting blurred vision and everything sounded muffled.  I got nauseous and had to excuse myself (luckily nothing happened with that if you know what I mean).

I have never experienced that before.  We’re talking true muscle failure.  After 35 or so minutes I was toast.  Burnt toast.

He was apologetic and I was embarrassed but I think we both handled it pretty well.   It was a hell of an ego check and awesome to see that I rarely actually push myself to my edge.  Not that I need to see that edge quite so closely again anytime soon.

I was all fueled up from an awesome lunch so I know that wasn’t the problem!

Beets have never been my thing.   I love the greens (they’re salty!) but the root I could take or leave…until lately.  The local beets seem to be getter sweeter with storage and I’ve been hooked on them for the last few weeks.  They are so good that Tate, a true beet detester, has been enjoying them in moderation.

My favorite way to eat a beet is roasted.

Last night I roasted a big batch for dinner and leftovers, along with a turnip.

And today they topped a salad for lunch.

One of my other favorites lately has been raw kale in salads.  It adds a nice heartiness that makes a green salad seem more wintery.

 

Served with pineapple bbq tempeh…mmmmm

And lots of Snap Happy Ginger Snaps!

I am still working on the final name for these guys

Sunday night my brother-in-law brought over some Whole Foods ginger snaps and asked could I make some “ginger snaps but make them extra snappy?”.  After clarifying that for him the snap was more about flavor than texture I started to get excited.  I love ginger.  The snappier the better. 🙂

The Dry

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/4-1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 packet Sweetleaf stevia
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • salt
  • ample amounts of ground ginger, fresh ground nutmeg, and fresh ground cinnamon
  • itsy pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 2 tsp cocoa

The Wet

  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 Tbs honey
  • 1/4 cup plum sauce (or apple sauce, I just had plum in the fridge)
  • grated knob of fresh, peeled ginger
  • 1 egg
  1. mix wet into dry
  2. make small balls
  3. place onto parchment covered cookie sheet
  4. flatten with fingers
  5. bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes

Makes 2 dozen plus some cookie dough to snack on.

The cookies will still be soft when the come out of the oven but will become crunchy snappy as they cool.  At first I thought, yuck, these are too dry but then I remembered that ginger snaps are supposed to be on the dryer side and that they are best served with tea/coffee or peanut butter.  Or both.

I got so caught up in cookie making that I sort of forgot to tell my brother-in-law to come in and collect his cookies when he picked up his car last night. 😉

Next time!  I am scheming up how to make these even healthier by replacing the brown sugar with mashed banana.  Tate is skeptical but we all know he’ll eat them anyway!

Make It Snappy Ginger Snaps?  Snap Happy Ginger Snaps?  Extra Ginger Snaps?

Right now I am calling them Snack Happy Ginger Snaps 🙂

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January 15, 2011 · 7:18 pm

D-sert

Mmmmm, lunch.

Lunch rivals breakfast for my favorite meal of the day…it may even win.  I eat more vegetables and savory for lunch and I am hungrier for lunch than dinner (too much afternoon snacking).  Yep, lunch wins.

And this Romaine & Kale Salad topped with 1/3 cup pinto beans, sauteed mushrooms and onion, salsa, and pom balsamic was a winner.

But what I was really excited about was dessert.

We’ll call it a Yogurt Torte.  Sugar-free cause that’s how I roll.

This little delicacy was inspired by this recipe I saw on the beautiful 101 Cookbooks blog. I didn’t follow the recipe however, I glanced at it days ago and ran with it.

I started by mixing 3 cups of plain yogurt with vanilla and stevia to taste in a food processor.  Once I liked the sweetness I added three eggs.

(I used 3 packets of Sweet Leaf stevia but the sweetness of each brand varies so go for your taste.  You could certainly make this with sugar if you would prefer)

Pour the yogurt mixture into another container so you can now use the processor for the crust.

Don’t bother to clean the food processor, the little bit of liquid will help the next step.

Pulse 1/2 cup of almonds until nuts are broken into small chunks.  Add 1 cup of rolled oats, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/4 cup of flax seeds, and a pinch of salt.

Whirl away until the “dough” starts to stick together.  Add 2 tablespoons of yogurt.

Line the bottom of a spring form pan with parchment paper.

Press the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.

Once the bottom is spread firmly across the pan pour the yogurt mixture on top.

Gently move the pan to a 350* oven. I set my pan on top of a cookie sheet because sometimes my spring form leaks, just fyi.

Bake for 35 minutes.  Turn off the oven and leave in for another 15 minutes.  Allow to completely cool before eating half of it in one sitting serving.


Note: This is not a cheese cake made with yogurt, the top is light in texture and taste and sweetness and the crust is chewy and textured.  I loved that it is full of whole food with no refined sugar so keep this in mind if you make it, it’s not going to be dense, heavy, and overly sweet like a traditional cheese cake or similar dessert.

Time to get outside!  It’s a balmy 48* degrees out so Tate and I are going to do a grocery run on foot (C’ville Market ♥).  I may even bring my hand weights with me for some multi-tasking strength training.

 

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