Protein Pancake For One

The Tuna and I disagree on what constitutes a delicous Sunday breakfast. He prefers eggs and meat. I prefer something hot, starchy, and easily topped with nut butter. I'm also working on getting in some post-run/workout protein. Enter: protein pancake.

2 T flour (recommend coconut flour)
2 T protein powder (recommend Life Basics unsweetened vanilla)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 flax eggs
1/3 cup pumpkin

Toppings- peanut butter, banana, maple syrup

Mix all ingredients together. Cook on a skillet on medium heat for 2 minutes each side. Top with some pancake love and get your yum on! Could it be any easier?

Marinated Tempeh with Asian Slaw

I sort of hate Tempeh until I accidentally had the most wonderful Jerk Tempeh at Mellow Mushroom. I ordered Jerk Tofu, they gave me Jerk Tempeh. I spent most of the meal trying to figure out if it was tofu or tempeh. Long story short, I'm a tempeh convert. And I immediately bought 2-3 varieties of the fermented soy product for spontaneous dinner occassions.

Thursdays have become OYO (on-your-own, as abbreviated on our refrigerator calendar) dinner night. Sometimes I call in Thai Grille. Other times, I am too lazy to get back in my car to pick something up, so I through together something quick, easy and scrum-diddly-umptious.

Marinated Tempeh
1T mirin
1T soy sauce
1T miso
1T rice wine vinegar
1T sesame oil
1 clove garlic, grated
1 T ginger, fresh, grated
3x4 in block tempeh, cubed

Marinate while you shower, post-run. Or about 15-30 minutes. Then cook on a dry skillet (or with coconut oil if you prefer/need some serious "energy in") on medium high for 3-5 minutes, flipping once to get a beautiful crisp.

Asian Slaw
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, ribboned with vegetable peeler
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 T sesame oil
1/2 T miso
1/2 T soy sauce
2T grated ginger
1T rice wine vinegar
1T mirin
1 squirt sriacha

Put cabbage, carrot and pepper in a container with a lid. In a small bowl, mix together sesame oil through sriacha. Pour over cabbage, place lid tightly and shake it up. Then, hit the shower or just let it rest while the tempeh cooks.

Try this. You will love it. And it will take less than 30 minutes from the first chop to your plate. Including the shower.

Coconut Pumpkin Bars

Coconut Bars with Pumpkin Filling

1/4 c dried cherries
12 pitted, chopped dates
1/4 c water
1/2 c pumpkin
1/2 T cinnamon
Simmer on medium heat until thick and spreadable.

1 c coconut flakes
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1/2 c quinoa flour
1 scoop (about 1/3 cup) protein powder
1/4 c chia seeds
1 flax egg
2 T honey
2 T melted coconut oil
1 T stevia powder
1/2 c almond milk
Combine above. Spread half into square baking pan. Top with pumpkin and fruit mixture. Press the remaining batter on top of pumpkin.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cut into 16 pieces and enjoy all week! Thanksgiving is here early this year. ;)

Acknowledgments to Sarahfit at www.sarahfit.com for inspiring me with her date-oat bars. These coconut bars were created by my desire to make an oat-free, fruit filled bar as gorgeous as her bars!

Ninja Turtle Vanilla Chai Microwave Cake

Sometimes, you just want cake. You can make a gluten free, vegan, refined sugar free cake with veggies, FIBER, and omega-3s in just a few minutes!

1.5T coconut flour
1 chia egg
1T pumpkin
1T vanilla protein or green powder
3 drops stevia
1/4 tsp
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1T coconut milk
1/2 T coconut oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Microwave 1:30-2 minutes. Top with 1/2 to 1 T nut butter and eat!

Musings from the bike

The comeback ups and downs continue. This video showcases the very best part of running with a team. #crc

And also, what I miss the most while I am riding the cross training train. Post run shenanigans.

Watch more videos on Flotrack

http://www.flotrack.org/video/632923-Breakfast-with-The-Best

The Comeback Trail Detours in Boston

Happy Earth Day! In the worlds of running and cooking, we have so much catching up to do!

This town loves the marathon.

In the past 2 weeks, I've been able to run 2-3 miles about every other day. My foot has been cooperative, for the most part.

We traveled to Boston for the marathon. It was dreadfully hot on race day. I ran the first three miles of the race and then ducked off the course and onto the commuter train in Ashland, MA, with a few other spectators and heat causalities.

My registration fee into the race was not a complete waste, as it did allow me to go to the start at Hopkinton, start the race with Tuna, and make my way into runner-only territory at the finish. I was inspired by Big Spoon's efforts at Chicago.

Race number was very useful for my duties as #1 fan/groupie for Tuna. 

In Boston, we did the tourist thing which resulted in a lot of standing and walking. This flared up my foot for 2-3 days but by Thursday, it was back to pain-free. Some of our adventures are pictured below.

Game at Fenway.

Sam Adams Brewery.

I must confess, there is a voice in the back of my head that regularly nags "will I be able to train the way I used to again?"  But for now, I just ignore it and take one step at a time (literally)

I made a few delicious treats for a sushi making lesson with our DFAS friends and Chef Becky Nation. (Leave a comment with your email address if you want info on cooking lessons with Becky). They were all inspired recipes, rather than originals, but I will post the links with my modifications below.

Sushi night was incredible. We made sushi/maki rolls, pot-stickers and Pad Thai. Never a dull moment when we get together with the DFAS crew.

Remaining ingredients and Sonya rolling (back )

Finished maki roll! Sliced and ready to enjoy.

Fill the dumpling.

Fold and crimp.

Pot stickers.ready to eat!

Toss that Pad Thai! YUM!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip (from Chockohlawtay)

The only change I made was adding a lot lot LOT more almond milk. Maybe this is because I cooked my own beans and they were not as soft. Or maybe my oats were thirsty. Either way, I added about 1/3 cup more almond milk than what was recommended. I also chose to swirl the peanut butter in at the end, just for fun. Next time, I might half the oats. Or leave them out all together. Because grain free is great. We dipped chocolate bears, animal crackers, gluten free bunnies, and pineapple into the delicious dip.

Cookie dough dip. Un-eaten eggs from Pad Thai in the background. Oops.

Everyone loved this dip! Even the guys (not pictured).

Next up was a lemon-blueberry pie. I used inspiration from The Crosby Kitchen and Gluten Free Fix which are both blogs that are new to me. I love the world of vegan/gluten free blogging. Always new things to discover!

I made a mock graham crust from Gluten Free Fix. I used coconut oil in place of butter. Amazing. I may never, no... I will never, make graham cracker crumb crust again. Why go to all the trouble of grinding up grahams when almond meal is already ground! Plus it makes a grain-free, gum-free, processed-free crust. I am in love.

I followed Crosby's vegan lemon tart filling recipe almost exactly, except I used 2 1/2 TBSP cornstarch instead of using ANY flour (for gluten free). When the pie came out of the oven, it was a bit too brown and I feared it would scare my non-vegan friends. So, rather than placing blueberries on top, I simmered some fresh blueberries with 1 TBSP coconut sugar and the juice of half a lemon to make a glaze. To cover the brownish-yellow. It worked beautifully. Everyone loved it and no one cared it was vegan, even after I told them.

And finally, I wanted to celebrate a BIG milestone with one of my Monday kids, but I wanted a somewhat healthy treat. So I made some gluten free, vegan, mini strawberry tarts. I used inspiration from Gluten Free Fix, again. I left out the whipped cream. The only other change I made was omitting the gelatin. I had planned to use agar agar, but I couldn't find it. So I decided just to omit, given how beautifully gelatinous my blueberry glaze turned out (above) without either gelatin or agar agar. Not sure how well they will stick together, but they sure look pretty!

Alas, a wonderful weekend of baking. Apologies if the links are frustrating. I just don't feel right about posting another blogger's recipes with such minor modifications. But, now you have three awesome new blogs to check out! You're welcome. :)

Hot and sexy....baked goods. And a birthday.

Liz had a birthday. These pictures make me happy. I must confess: I had a hell of a day yesterday. In a past life, I was a bit more of a worrywart than I am now. It's taken a lot of mental training and conscious self-awareness to be rid of that habit, but everybody has those days sometimes. You know what I mean: the shit has hit the fan and you're stuck in a place that requires you to hold your shit together until you punch out. That was me yesterday: like someone threw a Mentos in a 2-liter of Sprite and I couldn't twist the cap off until the end of the day. I made the end of the day come early and headed out for my post-workout shakeout run to just breathe. Another confession: when I get tired, I get weepy. Yeah, I'm like a 4 year-old. And I was exhausted from holding my shit together the whole day, so I battled that lump-in-the-throat waterworks feeling a few times out there. Every time I hit one of these patches, I did the Grateful Exercise: fill your mind with something really awesome in your life. Most usually, my thoughts gravitate toward people and the simple things. These pictures do a pretty good job of bringing those thoughts from my brain to your eyes.

Oh yeah, and I made cupcakes.

Aren't they pretty?

Fresca Ninja tasted these at a sidewalk cupcake party post-Monday Night Run. She thanked me the next day for the very sexy dream that she had about this hott little thing the previous night. I wonder if Spooner (her bf) knows about this? These things are good. Better than good. You need to make them. And if you like things a little extra wild, double the cayenne. 

Spicy Thai Butternut Cupcakes with Cococado Buttercream

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sweet white rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup Stevia in the Raw
3/4 cup coconut cugar
3 chia eggs (3 tbsp ground chia seed mixed with 6 tbsp hot water)
1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup butternut squash puree
2/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup water (or nondairy milk)
1 tsp vanilla

For the icing:

1 ripe avocado
6 oz creamed coconut
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; line cupcake pan with liners and prepare your chia eggs. Set the eggs aside to work their gelatinous magic. Whisk dry ingredients in a medium bowl, and set aside. Combine wet ingredients in food processor until well combined very well combined. Add the dry ingredient mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, pulsing as you go. Be careful not to overmix, as you'll wind up with dense little cupcake bricks. (I'm horrible about this.) Fill your cupcake tin and bake 17-19 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean, turning the pan halfway through.

While the cupcakes bake, prepare the frosting: Peel the avocado and remove the seed. Combine the creamed coconut and avocado in the food processor (or with a hand mixer) until well combined. While the processor is running, slowly add the honey. Continue to process for 1-2 minutes and then add the powdered sugar. Continue to process the frosting an additional 2 minutes or so. It may require less whipping time with a hand mixer since the processor blade doesn't do quite the whipping magic of the mixer.

Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting. I made a poor man's frosting bag with a pair of scissors and a ziploc baggie. It did the job, but we know Martha would be disappointed. I also regret not putting in another 1/4 tsp of cayenne in the batter. I was hoping for a bit more of a kick, but if you're afraid of the spice, follow the recipe as written. I saved a couple of these for Liz and VinoVino, but sitting on the counter, they were in too much danger of being shoveled into my black hole of a belly, so into the freezer they went. They kept well for a week in the freezer. The vivid green of the frosting had dulled the slightest bit, but the kick of the spices are enough so that you'd hardly notice.