Monthly Archives: September 2012

Sunday Recipe: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free Pancakes

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Today is a seriously gorgeous day in Peoria. Scattered clouds, beautiful blue sky, about 67°F. AND one of my best friends managed to extend a work trip in the area and we get a whole two days with her! She is leaving very soon and I’m gonna be really sad. It’s so amazing to be around someone who you can sit in comfortable silence with then break the silence with an awesome conversation and easy laugh. I love it and miss it/her a lot.

And what’s even more awesome is that she is gluten and lactose intolerant just like me! So this morning we made gluten free pancakes for all of us. They were SO good. Just sweet enough and dense enough to be like normal pancakes without all the bloating and over-full feeling. And Katie had the awesome idea to use the leftovers for a post-workout snack.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/3 cups multi-purpose gluten free flour (I keep this around to use as a thickening agent in some recipes)
  • 1/2 tsp stevia powder or 15 drops stevia liquid
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon xantham gum

Instructions:

1) Whisk together the eggs, melted butter, coconut milk, and vanilla.

2) In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Stir in the egg mixture.

3) Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes (this makes them fluffier). Preheat skillet on medium for the last 5 minutes.

4) Lightly grease it with coconut oil or another high heat oil. Scoop the batter (I use a small glass) into small dollar sized pancakes.

5) Cook pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes, till the tops lose their shine and bottoms are golden brown. Flip and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on the other side.

6) Top it with whatever delicious yummies you can find in your fridge. We used berries and pure maple syrup (not sugar free).
Sunday breakfast is probably one of my favorite meals of the week. YUM.
I hope you’re having wonderfully peaceful Sundays 🙂

Have Some Confidence People!

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Wow. All I can say is thank you guys so much for all the feedback yesterday. I want to reply to every person that commented but you basically all said that my blog is awesome, I’m awesome, and that I’ve helped you in some way. You guys just gave me the biggest flippin’ boost of motivation. I didn’t even know some of you read it! So all I can say is I am sending a big, fat THANK YOU and a huge hug and kiss (oh yeah) to all of you everywhere.

This encouraged me to write, today, about confidence and having oodles of it. Today’s post is pretty much a way to balance out this post about setting realistic expectations. Anyway, I have a friend who happens to read this blog and also happens to suffer from an utter lack of confidence (you know who you are). She is one of the most inspiring athletes I know as well as being kind, caring, and really fun to party with. She just all around awesome and has NO IDEA.

I know that she isn’t an isolated case. I have other friends and actually read some blogs (like this one) who are similar to this particular friend and just have no idea how amazing they are. I don’t care what your IQ is, what you look like, how many friends you have, or what special skills you have, every person has a special something that makes you worth “it.” “It” being a stranger’s time, a second glance, or just respect from the people you know and love.

Anyway, I don’t want to ramble so, just never underestimate yourself. Find your specialness and capitalize on that s**t! You will always get further in your life by strengthening your strengths rather than working on your weaknesses.

 

^ This is me at my first every mountain bike race. I knew I could handle a bike so I traveled with the mountain team that weekend, rode a mountain bike for the first time for 3 hours in the morning and then raced it! I had such a good time and accomplished one of my life goals of playing in the mud 🙂

Also, and this is important so listen up, if you are one of the people who already has the confidence of a guido in Jersey then help some others out! Tell each of your loved ones and coworkers something special about themselves every day. Only stuff that is true. It’s ok to repeat stuff, it helps drill it into their heads. Compliment at least 3 people every day and you will find that they are drawn to your positivity and will start to think of themselves in a better light.

Ok, that is all. Thank you again for reading and writing all those lovely comments. You are all very special to me .

🙂

 

Happy Friday! Please Help…

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Good morning/afternoon/evening (depending on where you’re reading this from) and welcome to my new blog layout. Isn’t it pretty?? I have been telling a lot of people about this blog lately and I really have no idea who is actually reading it! So today I have 2 [very easy] questions for you.

I want a ridiculous amount of posts on this. Please? Friends, family, strangers, anyone! This will help me a ton only if I get lots of comments.* To comment, click on the heading of this post and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Questions:

1. Which category of posts do you benefit the most from: fitness, nutrition/recipes, inspiration, gratitude, or design? You can click on the category links to the right if you have no idea what I’m talking about.

2. How often do you actually read this thing? Please be honest, I love writing but I only want to write as often as you read.

Also, any other critique or praise is welcome. I want to know what you guys think.

 

^ This is how excited I am about hearing back from you guys. Seriously.

Now wipe that frown off your face and smile!

 

 

Recipe Thursday: Simple Roast Potatoes

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Happy almost weekend! Thursdays are my cleaning mornings and I’d like to procrastinate that very much and so, let me post a recipe.

For whatever reason I’ve always been terrible at making potatoes. Their thickness and readiness to burn without cooking on the inside are a source of endless frustration for me. Ok, that may be a bit dramatic but it does annoy me. So I decided on Sunday that I would conquer the potato, and I did! Also, I made a huge batch of these so we could have them for lunch during the week. This is a great way to cut back on prep and cooking time when you don’t have any spare minutes during the week.

Here are the ingredients but I can’t stress enough that if you don’t have everything, just improvise. Smell the food then the spices you have and pick out which ones you think would go best. That’s why cooking is awesome, it’s based simply on your senses.

Ingredients:

potatoes, peeled and cubed (any kind of potato works)

olive oil

garlic

jamaican all spice

salt

pepper

Instructions:

Heat oven to 475°F. Get out a shallow baking pan. You don’t need to prep the pan (awesome!).

^ Quickly mix the oil and all spices in a large bowl.

^ Dump in cubed potatoes and mix it all with your hands. This is super messy, fun, and perfect to do with kids. (I know I look skeezy in this photo but Mike took it and I didn’t want to test his patience, he was already helping me peel potatoes).

^ Spread the potatoes on the baking sheet. Slide it into the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally to brown on both sides.

^ And this is the result! Ours were a bit too oily but still SO DELICIOUS. And so easy to make.

*My mom makes the most incredible roast potatoes. Same recipe but she uses red potatoes, keeps the peel on, chops them in bigger chunks, and adds rosemary. Also, SO YUMMY.

I hope you’re all having great mornings. We’re getting so close to the weekend 🙂

Workout Wednesday: Passive Exercise

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So this morning I was awake by 6:15am and have to be out the door by 6:45. Usually I budget at least an hour and half to wake up, workout out, shower, write this lovely little blog, then eat. This morning, no way! So I will be coming home at lunch for a quick workout and shower, but for those of you who have had the workout time squeezed out of your schedule on any given day, here are a few passive workout tips.

These should never be substituted for a real workout but should be daily rules to live by so that you don’t feel so bad when you just literally don’t have the time.

1) Always take the stairs. Always. When you get off the train and see that massive, daunting set of 12,000 stairs, look at it as your mini goal for the next 5 minutes and go for it!

2) Park far from the store entrance. If you’re in a hurry, even better, that mean’s you’ll power walk to and from your car.

3) Carry your groceries rather than bringing the cart out. There have been days when I have so many groceries in my arms that people think I’m insane, BUT I also have very sore arm muscles by the time I get to my car.

4) Do calf raises while standing in line. Again, you may look kind of weird bouncing up and down but after a few reps, people stop looking and after a few minutes, your calves are workin’ hard.

5) And this is less workout and more just something to live by, stand up straight! Always! This not only tightens your core and makes you more stable in your real workouts but it’s so good for your current and future spine health to have great posture.

Ok time to brush my teeth and head out! I hope you’re all having fantastic days.

Smile 🙂

 

Thankful Tuesday: C’mon Roll Out Of Bed!

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Oh man. After my glorious 3 day weekend, it was VERY hard to roll out of bed this morning. So I’m going to do a gratitude post to get me motivated.

I am thankful for the nice, warm, comfy bed that I share with my wonderful boyfriend. I’m so happy that I have the resources and flexibility to wake up, do a spot of yoga and then head into work to meet with my really cool coworker and bosses. I am thankful for the delicious granola-free granola that I’m about to eat (check it out here). And I am so happy I did not wash my car yesterday because the rain is doing it for me today!

^Thank you boyfriend for making the bed this morning!

Is it a slow morning for you too? Tell me about it. Then plant a smile on your face and keep pushing through your day.

Monday Advice: Set Realistic Expectations

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Alright, I’m calling myself on my own bull crap. About a month ago I posted on sleeping soundly. Skim it over here. It basically maps out a bedtime routine to make sure that you sleep soundly. Each of the activities work together to help your brain and body settle down but never have I ever done all these things, in a row, in the same night.

While I believe that a bedtime routine is absolutely necessary, this post is bull crap! Setting aside an entire hour for a pre-bed routine? No way Jose. No one has that much time, including myself. So, I herby promise to never post any kind of advice that I don’t do regularly and with success. Scouts honor.

This leads me into my tidbit of advice for the day: set yourself realistic goals. If you have a big goal in mind, make sure it’s far enough in the future to break it down into little, reachable, daily goals. I find that setting the bar at a height that I can stretch to reach is a great way to motivate myself and to make sure I don’t have any excuses.

^ This is me! Thanks for sending me this pic Ma.

How could you not smile at those baby buns?

Sunday Seriously Fun Day!

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Whew! What a weekend! Mike and I just finished unpacking from an action filled, awesomely adventurous weekend in Chicago. We did a little bit more of celebrating my birthday and a lot more of exploring Illinois. I can officially say that, as an architecture nerd (aka Archie), foodie, and culture lover, I LOVE Chicago. It’s like a perfect cross between Boston (my most favorite city) and NYC (my least favorite). So many gorgeous parks and mindblowing architecture. I just love it.

Because of the fact that I workout and eat right pretty much every day of the week, when I go on vacation, I’m on vacation. I learned this from my Momma and it works out pretty well. You get to enjoy the leisure of sleeping in and eating whatever strikes your fancy for a few days AND it’s a fantastic reminder of why I live the way I do. I now feel like a donkey’s rear end. An ass’s ass you might say. I am incredibly lethargic, having stomach cramps and bloating, and sore everywhere from a lack of stretching and muscle strengthening.

On that note, here is a photo montage of our weekend in the Windy City.

Question: For those of you following via email, can you see these photos in your message?

^ View of the skyline from the ferris wheel on Navy Pier.

^ Had to hit up Trader Joe’s to stock up on the cheap almond butter and other treats.

^ Mike and I at the Bean (aka Cloud Gate) in Millenium Park. Definitely my favorite area of the city.

^ We went to the Grand Lux Cafe for my birthday lunch. SO GOOD. Thanks Mom and Dad!

^Let’s start with a pineapple basil mojito and fresh calamari with zucchini and onion.

^ Kobe Meatballs with Cheesy Polenta.

^ Happy Belated Birthday to me!

^ Lava cake. When I broke it open the chocolate sauce poured out. I almost hyperventilated with glee.

^ Aw. He’s my best friend and my love. 🙂

^ Gorgeous drive home. Go sustainable energy!!

It was a fantastic weekend with my wonderful boyfriend. Thanks to my Mom and Dad for giving us a chance to live like we have money. I’m such a happy camper.

Maybe my smiles tonight will radiate all over the world and rub off on you guys 🙂

I’m in Chicago!

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Mike and I are away for the weekend in Chicago. It’s my first time here and, for an architecture graduate like me, it’s really exciting. Right now we’re at a Cubs v Cardinals game at Wrigley.

I’m breaking all the rules today and drinking beer AND ball park pretzels AND even a bite of hot dog! Sometimes you just need these “vacation” days to enjoy all that a city has to offer.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. Longer blog later tomorrow!

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^ He is SO unphotogenic! Haha. I love him for it.

Don’t forget to smile!

Friday Advice: Do Not Be Intimidated, Get Informed

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I just got back from a spectacular bike ride with a new friend! Yes, I made a new friend. Her name is Sara and she rides bikes, moved here from Northern California, and is in nursing school. This is the third time I’ve met up with her and we never fail to have something to talk about. Aside from my excitement at meeting someone that I actually connect with, I’m pretty stoked on the routes she’s been showing me. Yay!!

Anyway, today was s short ride but we spent most of the time talking about the flu shot. Haha. I know it seems odd but we’re both at different ends of the medical/health spectrum. While both of us are healthy, we have differing opinions on how to prevent and treat different ailments. I won’t go into my opinion right now (save that for a later date) but we managed to have a fantastic debate over the effectiveness and worthiness of the flu shot.

This has started happening more and more in my adult life where I am being challenged by  other people’s opinions and, instead of backing out and say “I don’t want to argue about it, I don’t have enough information to defend my opinion,” I’ve started learning from what other people have to say. I started reading and listening to people I greatly respect and then finding the science to back myself up. Instead of being intimidated by other people, I’m coming to realize that it only takes a little bit of information to get on their same level. AND when you start talking to them, debating them, you learn more about how to defend your side of the argument. I am getting smarter just by talking to people that think I’m wrong! Sweet!

So this is kind of a rambling post but the meat of it is: Don’t be intimidated by people with strong opinions, just make sure you know why you believe in something and start the debate! You may learn something.

There will be more on this later but I don’t want to bore you all right now. On a happier note, last weekend, I FINALLY learned to ride my bike with no hands! After trying repeatedly for 3 years, I realized that you just have to take both hands off at the same time and lean back. I was so excited that I asked Mike to take a picture.

 

Do any of you readers have an opinion that you’d like to be able to defend better? Maybe it’s time to dedicate an hour to researching it.