Luv What You Do

Balancing a Busy Life with a Healthy Lifestyle

Lately, I’ve been… July 16, 2012

Filed under: Life — Luv What You Do @ 8:29 pm

I borrowed this creative post idea from Emily over at A Nutritionist Eats.  It is a fun way to keep ya’ll posted on what I’ve been up to. 

So lately, I’ve been…

Working way too hard!

 

Obsessed with the Tour de France

 

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Going to 1st birthday parties

 

Drinking a lot of iced tea

 

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Training for a triathlon

 

Dreading next weekend in class

 

Shopping at the Farmer’s Market

 

Picking up rockn’ new shoes for my Mom

 

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Excited about the BOY’s new job

 

Making colorful fruit salads

 

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Lazy about reading books

 

Contemplating next year’s vacation

 

What have you been up to lately?

 

Blueberry Muffin Bread French Toast July 15, 2012

Filed under: Bread,Breakfast,Running — Luv What You Do @ 7:23 pm
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So….I probably shoulda, coulda, woulda gone to yoga this morning.  EXCEPT…that I needed to meet my mom at 10AM for a ride into the city, and the BOY and I were super excited about turning yesterday’s Blueberry Muffin Bread into French toast.  And when I say super excited, I mean skip 8AM yoga excited!!! 

 

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It was hard to keep my fingers away from this bread before I went out for my morning run.  I needed to get in some exercise before this busy day, so I threw on my Will Run for Blueberry Bread blue RUN shirt and laced up my shoes making my way to the hills along the path.

 

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I didn’t realize how hot and humid it was.  By the time I dragged my jello legs (thanks to yesterday’s 28 mile bike ride) up to the top of the first hill, I was covered in sweat.  I ran just under 40 minutes before finding my way back home with French toast on the brain. 

 

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The BOY was awake and ready for the breakfast we’ve been talking about all weekend! 

 

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I made a fairly typical French toast…nothing fancy here.  I stated by combining the eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon in a deep bowl.  I pulled out my hand mixer in order to create a light and fluffy egg mixture.

 

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I dunked thick slices of Blueberry Muffin Bread into the egg, letting it sit, and soak up all the flavors!

 

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And then placed the dripping bread on a heated skillet.

 

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The thick slices of bread made the perfect base for this warm, rich, breakfast favorite!

 

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The BOY dug right in, enjoying every sweet bite.

 

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By the time I sat down to eat my breakfast, we were all out of forks.  Luckily, I was able to find a plastic one in pantry or I would have been eating my breakfast with my fingers.  This French toast is just THAT good!

 

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Either that or I would have just licked this restaurant worthy breakfast straight off of my plate!

 

 

Thank you to DD&D and of course Chaps Restaurant for inspiring this spectacular meal!

Is your mouth watering yet???  You have to check out this Blueberry Muffin Bread recipe!

 

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Dinner Spotlight-Chicken Parmesan Burgers July 14, 2012

Filed under: Chicken,Dinner — Luv What You Do @ 11:04 pm
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I discovered this recipe for Chicken Parmesan Burgers on Healthy Food for Living over a year ago.  Lauren’s blog was one of the first that I started following when I was just getting involved in the blogger world.  I was so impressed when this reader recipe appeared Cooking Light a few days later.  I made it immediately and since then, it has been one of the BOY and my favorite quick and satisfying dinners.

 

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It only takes a few ingredients and less than 30 minutes to create these flavorful burgers.

 

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Since the BOY planned to spend the day in the library, I told him that I would be in charge of dinner.  We haven’t had these burgers in a little while (because we’ve been eating everything off the grill), so they were my first choice to make for dinner.

 

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We opened up one of our wine club whites to pair with tonight’s dinner.  And in honor of our trip to Door Country next month, I pulled out my favorite DC wine glasses.

 

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They BOY had the full Chicken Parm sandwich on a fresh ciabatta roll from Whole Foods.

 

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Dripping with sauce and oozing with cheese, this burger really is the best!

 

 

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I decided to top my burger with fresh avocado, which was a fantastic idea, if I do say so myself!

 

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Along with a side of lemon garlic asparagus and brown rice, I was thrilled to sit down and dig into my dinner.

 

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And my glass of wine.  Although after this afternoon’s BRICK, my legs are a bit sore every time I get up to refill my glass.  But at least I know that I earned every sip : )  Along with the dark chocolate square I had for dessert.  Now it’s time to sit back and finally work my way through the 10 episodes of Girls that I have saved on DVR.

 

Looking for more healthy Italian?  Here is my all time favorite quick and healthy Chicken Parmesan recipe!

 

 

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

Recipe from Healthy Food for Living

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground chicken

1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp marinara sauce of choice, divided

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

a few grinds black pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp rosmary

2 slices low-moisture park-skim mozzarella cheese (or 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, divided)

2 individual square ciabatta rolls

olive oil cooking spray

garlic powder

 

Directions

Lay two pieces of plastic wrap (about 6 inches x 6 inches) on the counter.

In a medium bowl, combine the ground chicken, 1/3 cup marinara sauce, and seasonings. Gently stir with a rubber spatula just until combined. Using the rubber spatula, divide the mixture evenly between the two pieces of plastic wrap. Fold the excess plastic wrap around each patty, gently forming the patties into squares to fit the rolls. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or so. Remove the chicken patties and let sit at room temperature for about 5-10 minutes before cooking.

Heat a cooking spray-coated non-stick skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Unwrap the burger patties and carefully drop them into the hot skillet. Cook the burgers for 5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 4 minutes (you may need to add a few more sprays of cooking oil before the flip). Top burgers with mozzarella cheese, tent with aluminum foil, remove from heat, and let sit for 1-2 minutes.

While the burgers are cooking, cut the ciabatta rolls in half. Spray each half with cooking spray, then sprinkle with garlic powder. Toast for 2-3 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Spoon 1 Tbsp of the remaining marinara sauce onto one half of each roll.

When the burgers are fully cooked (juices run clear when gently pressed) and the cheese has melted, sandwich the burgers between the garlic bread roll halves and serve.

 

Note: I typically buy the ground chicken at Whole Foods where they have all white meat ground chicken that you can buy in smaller increments.

 

Let’s Call It a Tie

Filed under: Biking,Lunch,Running — Luv What You Do @ 6:29 pm
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This morning’s winner…Blueberry Muffin Bread

This afternoon’s winner…Biking

Final Ruling…It’s a Tie!

 

The BOY reluctantly headed off to the library to work on Law School stuff, and somehow despite the decadent breakfast and my strong desire to sit on my couch and watch the Tour de France all day, I motivated myself into workout clothes and out the front door (well actually I used the garage door).  But either way, it was an accomplishment.  Typically if I don’t get out first thing in the morning, then it’s hard for me to get out for an intense workout.

 

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Maybe it was these brand new socks that I found on sale and wanted to trial before the triathlon.

 

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Or all of the biking I’ve been watching on TV. 

Either way, I loaded up my bike to hit the road for an undetermined distance. I was a little nervous that I might get hungry on the ride after having a not-so-typical (but super yummy) pre workout breakfast, so I packed up a Bonk Breaker bar.  This bar was given to me by a friend who is a huge fan.  I have had the PB version before, but I was eager to try the fig flavor.  What impresses me the most about these bars is their natural ingredient list.

 

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The bar looked a bit like a Fig Newton (bonus!) and I sliced it up to keep in my bento for the ride.  One goal of this ride was to practice refueling on the bike in prep for my tri in a two weeks.

 

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As I’m mounting my bike and about to hit the road, I realized that I forgot my sunglasses.  I ran back inside to grab them, snap a photo and then finally hit the road in full gear!

 

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My thought for today’s bike ride first was to just get out the door. Once I managed that I decided to head east to another forest preserve path that’s about 10 miles away.  I haven’t gone along this route in awhile, but I used to use these back roads to ride my bike to the gym.  The start of my ride was quite literally bumpy!  The path and roads were not so smooth, and I rode up and down for a bit before finding a calm road to take me east.  These quiet neighborhood streets really aren’t great for a road bike, but I was in the mood for a change in scenery.  It was a 10 mile ride to the path, and I arrived feeling stronger than I expected after my slow start to the day.

 

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The negative of this 7.7 miles forest preserve path is that it is almost always crowded. 

But the positives are the beautiful scenery…

 

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The flat and shaded path…

 

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And the elk!

 

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I elbowed my way to the front of the fence…not really, but I did pull up next to a dad with his two young kids who were also checking out the elk.  The dad looked at me funny as I explained that I was stopping to take some pictures.  I’m always interested in the wildlife during my rides, even when they’re not so wild : )

 

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I’ve run this path numerous times including during my pre marathon 20 miler, but I haven’t biked it recently.  I was happy for the change and the camaraderie of the other bikers and runners.  I even saw a guy rocking the Team SKY jersey.  I decided to try a different route back home taking a more popular rode instead winding through some of the neighborhoods.  Bad decision!  The sidewalk was awful, twisty and I had to duck branches.  The road was crowded with drivers who don’t know how to share the road and covered in big potholes.  I had a nice little adventure dodging obstacles the entire way.  As I made it back to our street after a 28 mile ride, a dark cloud was just rolling in.

 

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I made a snap decision to turn my bike ride into a BRICK and quickly went inside to change shoes to take these muddy legs out for a short run.

 

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15 minutes later, I was back home having finished my BRICK (115 minute ride/15 minute run).  Hooray for me!  This morning, I wasn’t sure if I would even change out of my jamies, and now I was exhausted and ready to dig into some lunch.

 

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I made it home a few minutes after the BOY who was taking a study break for lunch.  He had quite the operation set up when I walked through the door.

 

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I managed to get my tuna sandwich put together just before a dark cloud began dumping buckets of rain over our house.

 

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After a 2 hour workout, I was ready for some food and a little more couch time.

 

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And it was perfect timing to be back indoors!

 

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I was pleased with my successful workout…especially since I am two weeks away from my triathlon and nervous about getting in rides while I am in class next weekend.  So happy that my Saturday had a good mix of Blueberry Bread followed by some Biking!!!

 

Biking vs Blueberry Bread

Filed under: Biking,Bread,Breakfast,Muffins — Luv What You Do @ 10:12 am
Tags: ,

I’ll let you guess who won this debate.  But here’s a clue, if I had gone biking, I would be out pedaling through town and not sitting at home posting for you the recipe that I guarantee will be your breakfast for tomorrow!

 

As of yesterday, the plan for this morning was a BRICK.

 

However, when I woke up this morning, a bike ride was the last thing that I wanted to do.  I find this odd because I always love to bike, but between the rain and the humid temps, I just wasn’t in the mood to head out.  I was actually in the mood to sleep some more, but for some reason, the BOY and I couldn’t fall back asleep.  Instead, we began the discussion of breakfast, which I am always thinking about the moment I wake up.  A few months ago, while watching Diners, Drive Ins, & Dives, I saw the most scrumptious looking Blueberry Muffin French Toast.  The thick slices of moist bread were smothered in a sweet egg mixture to make one of the best breakfasts that I have ever seen.  I declared on that day soon I would make us Blueberry Muffin French Toast!  Further investigation revealed that this breakfast delight is made at a restaurant called Chap’s in Spokane, WA owned and run by Celeste Shaw.

 

 

I have been thinking and talking about this breakfast since we saw it on TV, and when Jessica posted a recipe for Blueberry Muffin Bread on her website, I knew it would be perfect for French toast.  So instead of hitting the trails this morning, I headed into the kitchen to clean off some blueberries.

 

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In anticipation of a warm Blueberry Muffin Bread.  This recipe uses a whole wheat/white flour mixture which I always like.

 

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I had all the ingredients in the house except instead of milk, I used Almond milk.  I stirred everything together forming a thick, dense dough.

 

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I added in my blueberries.

 

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And the BOY requested some walnuts as well.  Actually he requested candied walnuts covered in sugar, but he settled for some plain walnuts : )

 

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I spread the dough into the pan, and then covered it with some cinnamon sugar topping.  The streusel in the recipe looks unbelievable, but for time sake, I just used some leftover topping from this recipe.

 

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I put my bread into the oven and then used some fresh fruit to create a simple green smoothie to sip on while I waited.

 

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55 Minutes later, I pulled the most beautiful looking bread out of the oven.

 

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It took all of my will power not to dig right in!  But I walked out of the kitchen and let the bread cool for a few minutes.

 

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You could see the steam escaping as I sliced over the first piece of the warm bread.

 

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I love all the warm and gooey blueberries (they are my favorite part), and the walnuts were a smart addition!  The cinnamon sugar topping complimented the bread well.

 

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The BOY decided he wanted to try a slice of the bread immediately.

 

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So we dug right in.  This Blueberry Muffin Bread is an absolute treat!  The BOY loved it, and I have a feeling he will be requesting it again soon! 

And the most exciting part…

Today’s Bread = Tomorrow’s French Toast!

 

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Now I just have to motivate myself to get off the couch and get in a workout.  Does watching the Tour de France riders weave their way up the mountains count as exercise???  Because it is looking like my top choice!  Their views are much more spectacular than my typical biking course.

 

Apparently, I’m not the only one out there drooling over the Chap’s Triple D recipe.  Some other bloggers have been making Blueberry Muffin French Toast too!  And let’s not forget all the great recipes in honor of National Blueberry Muffin Day.  Yummy!

 

 

Blueberry Muffin Bread

From How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, tossed in a spoonful of cornstarch

Walnuts (optional)

 

Streusel

1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon milk

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a loaf pan liberally with non-stick spray or grease with butter. In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and baking powder, then set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until smooth. Whisk in vanilla extract, then add in milk and mix until combined. Add in dry ingredients slowing, mixing with a spoon until batter comes together. Add in melted butter and mix until incorporated, then stir in blueberries.

Mix together the streusel ingredients, bring it all together with your hands. Sprinkle over the bread evenly. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until bread is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with butter!

 

NOTE: Don’t eat the entire bread in one day…save a few slices to make some French Toast!

 

 

Is your Saturday starting with biking or bread?

 

Pancake Friday July 13, 2012

Filed under: Breakfast,Clean Eating — Luv What You Do @ 9:17 am
Tags: , ,

Although yesterday felt like Friday, this morning it is finally actually Friday!  There was some discussion last weekend about implementing a Sunday pancake day.  Since this Sunday is too busy for pancakes, and next weekend, I will be in class again so there will be no fun breakfasts at all, I decided today would be Pancake Friday.

 

I used Tina’s OMG. Pancakes! recipe for inspiration this morning, and I had the perfect banana for the job.

 

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Using my immersion wand, I mixed together all of the ingredients.

 

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And then got a little fancy by adding in some fresh blueberries.

 

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I swear, I must be the worst pancake flipper ever because my pancakes always turnout a bit off, which means they are almost impossible to stack.

 

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But they taste incredible, none the less.  Especially the ones with the warm gooey blueberries!!!

 

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I loaded up my pancakes with fresh fruit.

 

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The BOY headed off to work, and I settled in to eat my breakfast and begin catching up on a week’s worth of the Tour (beginning with some time trials).

 

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I scheduled my training session today at 10AM so I would be able to sleep in and have a little down time this morning, which was awesome.  And it gave me enough time to try a new pancake recipe (which may be my new favorite filling breakfast)!

 

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In other news, there was some serious excitement on my way to work this week as a helicopter hovered above the future home of Mariano’s (which is like 1 mile from our house).  I couldn’t tell what they were dropping in, but it was a huge block of something while all of the workers watched from the parking lot and us commuters stared form our cars. The good thing is that they are getting closer and closer to their fall opening, which makes me really HAPPY!  I see Mariano’s popping up everywhere and I am thrilled to have one so close to our house.  You can guarantee that I will keep you posted on the progress!

 

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It was almost as exciting as watching the final riders in the Stage 9 time trials!  I’m on the edge of my seat hoping I will be able to see the finish before I have to head out for my workout.  Thank goodness for DVR!

 

 

(Super Easy) Banana Flax Pancakes

Adapted from Carrots & Cake

1 overripe banana

1 egg

1/4 cup almond meal

2 tbsp ground flax seed

Cinnamon to taste

Blueberries if desired

 

Combine all ingredients using a blender, immersion wand, or food processor, scraping the sides as needed.

Heat skillet on medium and spray with cooking spray.  Place batter on skillet using 1/4 measuring cup.  Heat pancakes a few minutes until batter begins to bubble.  Flip and heat other side for another ~2 minutes.

Serve pancakes with fresh fruit or nuts.

 

Feels Like Friday July 12, 2012

Filed under: Clean Eating,Drinks,Muffins — Luv What You Do @ 9:34 pm
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Does anyone else’s work day end like this???

 

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It would be nice to know that I am not the only one who sits in their car, flipping through radio stations, constantly switching lanes in an attempt to go above 8 miles per hour in their post-work day pursuit of home : )  At least in tonight’s case, it was also the end of the work week!  Hooray Weekend!

 

The good news tonight was that the BOY was not too far behind me when I finally made it home feeling exhausted after a LONG week at work!  I was ready to celebrate the weekend!

 

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The BOY picked out this affordable wine during our last trip to World Market, and we were both looking forward to trying it.  I pulled out our grown up glasses in anticipation of his arrival.

 

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And brought out maybe my best batch of Garlic Hummus EVER for a pre-dinner snack!

 

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Dinner was simple and thrown together based on what we have in the house.  I had some of Dr. Praeger’s newer veggie burgers, the Bombay Veggie Burger, that I found on my most recent trip to Trader Joe’s.  Have you tried them yet???  They are incredible.  All the healthy deliciousness of your California burgers with a hint of curry.  Love it!

 

Dr. Praeger's Sensible Foods Curry Veggie Burgers

 

 

But probably not as much as I love this new wine!

 

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I was so busy this week that I didn’t have time to properly celebrate National Blueberry Muffin Day yesterday.  I actually didn’t even know that it was Blueberry Muffin Day until I checked out Renee’s website.  You should definitely pop over to to Bendiful and check out her new and updated website.  Even though I am a day late, I wanted to share one of my favorite Blueberry Muffin recipes with you.  And because it feels like Friday, I feel like I can even stay up past 9pm to finish this post.

 

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These Lemon Blueberry Muffins were an early early addition on the Luv What You Do blog. And although this batch turned out blue (note to self…don’t use frozen berries), this is not the norm!

 

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They are actually quite tasty and the combination of lemon and blueberry is superb!

 

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Perfect for a weekend treat!  Especially since blueberries are now in season!

And if you are a lemon and blueberry fan, you HAVE to try these Blueberry Lemon Cookies from Itty Bitty Bakes!  And these Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins from Baker on the Rise look divine!  But if you happen to pick up some zucchini at the farmer’s market this weekend, I recommend this Blueberry Zucchini Bread from My Baking Addiction.

 

Happy Friday Feeling!  And Blueberry Muffin Day!

 

 

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

 

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray

1/2 c firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

4 T trans fat free soft tub margarine spread, chilled

1 c lowfat lemon yogurt

1 c blueberries

1/2 c yellow squash puree

1 large egg

2 t pure lemon extract

1 t grated lemon zest

2 c all purpose flour (can substitute whole wheat)

1/4 c flaxseed meal

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

 

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

-In large bowl, beat the sugar and the margarine with a wooden spoon. Stir in the yogurt, blueberries, yellow squash puree, egg, lemon extract, and lemon zest.

-Add the flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir just to combine, but do not over mix-batter is supposed to be lumpy.

-Divide the batter amongst the muffin cups. Bake until tops of the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center, 13 to 16 min. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool.

-Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap individually and freeze for up to 1 month.

 

Cinnamon Apple Raisin Bread July 11, 2012

Filed under: Bread,Fruit — Luv What You Do @ 6:32 am
Tags: , ,

Those are a lot of apples!

 

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They were leftover from a work event, and after a week of sitting on the counter, I decided to take a few home for a baking project.  After an internet search for Apple Bread, I found a recipe at The Brown Eyed Baker.  I have seen her blog before but haven’t explored it much.  This dark and spicy bread was exactly what I was looking for!

 

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The most time consuming part is peeling and slicing the apples, but it is totally worth it.  I decided to double the recipe so I would have a loaf to bring into work and a loaf to freeze for later.  I wanted to add in some raisins too, and I really should have added in walnuts or pecans for some crunch.

 

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I used 1/3 whole wheat flour and 2/3 white flour and followed the rest of the recipe as written, except that I almost forgot to double my wet ingredients (like I did for the dry).  Opps!

 

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While I was working in the kitchen after dinner, the BOY poured us some dessert.

 

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This recipe creates a rich, dark, and spicy dough that I was more than happy to sample.  It’s that perfect kind of flavorful dough that you can add any fruits and nuts too!

 

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I stirred in my chopped apples and raisins and then dusted the top of the bread with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

 

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I baked my breads while I sipped on some red wine and watched a little TV with the BOY.  Our house smelled like cinnamon and fall.  I definitely recommend baking this bread if you are trying to sell your house : )

 

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The bread turned out fantastic!  You can’t even tell that I ‘snuck’ in some whole wheat flour, and the cinnamon sugar topping is perfect!  I did have some leftover topping which I saved to add to some of my other quick breads.

 

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Keep your eyes out for leftover apples (or pears) at your farmer’s market this summer!

 

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Because this is the prefect recipe to let them shine!

 

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Apple Cinnamon Bread

From The Brown Eyed Baker

Yield: One 8×4-inch loaf

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 50 to 55 minutes

 

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups peeled and chopped apples (about 1½ to 2 apples)

Topping
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper; set the pan aside.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and cloves. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add in the oil, applesauce and vanilla and mix until smooth. Next, add the sugar and mix until well-combined.

4. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the flour mixture and mix until the flour is just barely combined. Gently fold in the apples with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

5. In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the loaf pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and a thin knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a dull knife around the sides of the loaf and turn it out on a cooling rack, remove the parchment paper and place right-side up. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap leftover loaf in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

 

Note: I easily doubled the recipe and the bread froze well.

 

 

Are you looking for more great recipes? 

I just updated my RECIPE Page so check it out!

 

Date Energy Bars July 8, 2012

Filed under: Clean Eating,Snacks — Luv What You Do @ 7:53 pm
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The excitement of the Tour continues!!!  Can you believe we have two more weeks of this?!  I will be so sad when I have to go to work tomorrow and can’t sit at home enjoying this incredible team sport.  I don’t have anyone in particular that I am cheering for, but I love the thrill of the ride and the camaraderie of the riders working together yet representing their individual countries and teams.  I learned a bit about the race logistics from reading It’s Not About the Bike a few years back, but don’t remember all of the details.  Wouldn’t it be amazing to take a joy ride through these French and Swiss towns??? 

 

I was able to watch Stage 8 this afternoon while I was waiting for my BOY to return from his weekend away.  We were planning some beers and BBQ for dinner.  I tried to explain to the BOY that you don’t even have to know the riders to feel the excitement, but he was not so interested in the Tour.  This is crazy to me…he can sit and watch hours of golf (yawn), but isn’t that into this adrenaline pumping race.

 

Watching sports all afternoon reminded me that I have been wanting to make a new batch of energy bars.  I can’t even remember which magazine I pulled this recipe out of, but it was definitely a health magazine, like Oxygen or Clean Eating.

 

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I picked up some dates on sale at, yep you guessed it, Woodman’s!  You can also buy them in a bulk bin at Whole Foods or your local health food shop!

 

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Instead of peanuts, I subbed in some other nuts.  I did this for 2 reasons: 1) I didn’t have peanuts in the house, and 2) Peanuts can be rough on my tummy.

 

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You’ll notice that I just placed all of the ingredients into the food processor.  I don’t recommend it!  This was just because I didn’t reread the instructions clearly enough.

 

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I’d also recommend chopping and pitting your dates well because there was one pit in my mix, and I have never seen my food processor jump so high!

 

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The mixture easily spreads, but I think an 8×8 pan is a little too large. I’m not sure what a better size pan would be?!  Maybe a loaf pan could give you a thicker bar.  Or just double your recipe!

 

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The bars go into the fridge for at least an hour to set.

 

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Meanwhile, the BOY and I got to working on a joint-effort dinner.  I was in charge of the salad.

 

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And he made the chicken and veggies on the grill.  It’s good to have my grill master back!

 

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The BOY got a new localish brew (Indiana is close enough to be local), which was awesome!

 

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And I made a wine spritzer.  This refreshing summer cocktail is a mixture of red wine (leftover from last night), with some fresh fruit and sparkling water and a few ice cubes.

 

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We had a wonderful dinner!!!

 

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After dinner, I went to check on my date bars.  They were a little thin, but I was still able to cut them into bars.

 

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They taste so amazingly good!  So good, in fact, that I had one for dessert tonight.

 

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I was shocked by how tasty these bars turned out.  These chewy energy bars are going to be your new favorite snack!  They are perfect for a long day at work or a bike ride.  And they are made with all real ingredients and no added sugar.  Plus, they are much cheaper than your typical energy bar.  It’s a total win!  I packed two in my lunch for tomorrow, and then settled in for a quiet Sunday to watch 21 Jump Street with the BOY.  Man, I can’t believe how quickly the weekend flies by!  But seriously, you HAVE to try these Date Bars.  Let me know what you think!!!

 

Here are a few of my other favorite energy snacks:

Afternoon Energy Bars

Almond Butter Cacao Balls

No Bake Quinoa Energy Balls

 

 

Date Bars

Makes 8 Bars

 

Ingredients

1 cup dates, pitted and roughly chopped

1 cup nuts (I used half cup almonds, half cup cashews)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp (or more) cinnamon

 

NOTE: I made this first batch pretty simple, but I look at this as the basic recipe.  I would consider adding in dried fruit (ie cranberries), coconut, quinoa, or anything else delish and nutrish!  I wouldn’t add in any sweeteners because the dates are sweet enough!

 

Directions

Pulse dates in a food processor.

Add nuts, salt, and cinnamon, and mix until a sticky dough forms.  Remove from processor and shape it into a ball.  Transfer to a glass baking dish and press flat until the dough is 3/4 inch thick.

Refrigerate for an hour or until set.  Slice into 8 bars and enjoy!

 

Pancake Palate

Filed under: Breakfast,Vegan — Luv What You Do @ 1:25 pm
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I woke up this morning after 10 glorious hours of sleep.  I wish I could say that it was uninterrupted sleep, but our neighbors apparently had an outdoor party at 3am which involved some screaming and singing.  I can’t really blame them for wanting to be outside, and 3am is probably the only time cool enough to enjoy yourself.  However, the thought of blasting some music or slamming some doors early this morning when I got up for my yoga did cross my mind.  Instead, I threw in some ear plugs (which I always have handy because the BOY snores) and fell right back asleep.

 

When I woke up again, I had a wicked craving for pancakes, but ran into a few speed bumps when I saw that we were out of milk, almost out of baking powder, and had no overripe bananas (for OMG. pancakes!).  My tummy was rumbling, and I just knew that eggs or cereal weren’t going to hit the spot this morning.

 

I decided to use RECIpage to find some good breakfast options.  If you’ve never used this website, it is a free place where bloggers can compile their recipes for easy searching.  You can get everyone’s recipes all at one site and have tons of options to choose from.  For example, there are over 300 pancakes recipes!!!

 

All of the pancake pictures were making my mouth water, but I had a few ingredient restrictions and I wanted something on the healthy side.  It occurred to me that vegan pancakes might be a good way to go with the lack of milk in our house and all.  I kept finding attractive recipes that were created at the same blog called Peachy Palate which was new to me.  Before looking any further, I decided on her Vegan Carrot Cake Spelt Pancakes.  Not the most summery of options, but I didn’t care!

 

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Initially, I started following the recipe, but that didn’t last long.  My spelt flour expired a few months ago (oops!) and had to be thrown away.  Instead I subbed in some sprouted whole wheat flour (and acknowledged from what I know about the sprouted whole wheat bread that I eat that my pancake texture would be a lot denser).  But it sounded more exciting than plain whole wheat flour.

 

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Due to the baking powder situation, I cut the recipe in half and continued along.  Xantham Gum?  I definitely don’t have that in the house…wonder if it is important?!  I can leave it out.  When I was finished and ready to stir in my raisins and walnuts, I didn’t have anything resembling a batter.  It was way too dry!  As I looked back through the recipe, I was trying to figure out what other wet ingredients (besides applesauce) there were.  Is Xantham Gum a liquid?  That would explain a lot!

 

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I didn’t have a lot of options, so I added in a bit more applesauce and then added in one egg white, which means that these pancakes were no longer vegan, but it did make them pancake-like enough to go on the stove.

 

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When I pulled them off, it was obvious that they were not the fluffy stack of pancakes pictured on the website, but they definitely looked edible.

 

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These pancakes don’t look like pancakes, but then again, mine never really do!

 

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I think they are a mixture between a pancake and a muffin top or maybe a scone. Hmm…there could be a new hearty breakfast in here somewhere.

 

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Because of their dry consistency (from the spouted flour no less), I topped my stack with some agave and applesauce, which were the perfect accompaniments. I could have also added some more shredded carrot, but I ate the rest of my carrot while I was cooking this morning because I was so hungry.

 

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I wouldn’t serve this batch to company and call them pancakes, and they definitely needed some more spice (bring on the ginger!), but I really did like my dense pancake/muffin/scone breakfast.  And it was filling enough to get me through 90 minutes of challenging HOT YOGA!

 

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Even though my breakfast did not turn out up to pancake par (this was totally user error on my part), I am sharing with you the original recipe from Peachy Palate because these carrot cake pancakes look amazing.  They took a few attempts for the author to get them right which makes me feel a little better about my edible failure.  I just might make sure you have Xantham Gum in the house before attempting!

 

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Vegan Carrot Cake Spelt Pancakes

From Peachy Palate

 

Ingredients

 

Pancakes

60g (1/2 cup) wholegrain spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of ginger

125ml (1/2 cup) spelt flour

1 small carrot finely grated (about 2 tbsp)

1 tbsp walnuts chopped

1 tbsp raisins

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1 tbsp applesauce

 

Toppings

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

1 tbsp raisins

1 tbsp finely grated carrot

1 heaped tsp desiccated coconut

Maple Syrup to drizzle

1 tbsp finely grated carrot mixed with 1/2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)

 

Instructions

Mix together all pancake batter ingredients with the exception of the walnuts and raisins.

Blend until smooth. Stir in raisins and walnuts and set to one side.

Heat a non stick pan over a medium heat and place 1/4 cup (1/5) measures of the batter in to the pan (I made three in one go, and followed with the remaining two). Cook for 2-3 minutes on either side, flipping when the edge become solid and bubbles form in the soon to be pancake.

Serve stacked one on top of the other, soy yoghurt on top, raisins, walnuts and coconut sprinkled and maple syrup drizzled. The sweet carrot on top or the side is a nice little extra.

 

 

What is your favorite pancake recipe?

 

 
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