New Classes = new life, more carbs

WOWZA! Is it really Thursday? ARE YOU SURE?



We're so close to Friday, but yet, so far. 
People today kept saying to me, 
"Gosh, I can't believe tomorrows Friday! It feels like we're so close to the weekend! Wow that went fast!"
Um, no. 
Not for me.


This week has gone by soooooooooooooooooooo slowwwwlllyy (like molasses) that it's hard to believe it is a 4 day week. Definitely feels like, ooo a 10 day week? Yeah.

Tuesday was the start of a new semester, which means new classes, new teachers, and more homework.
 YIKES!

 I thought finals week was rough (was it really only last week?! WHAT?!). Day 3 of classes and we've already been assigned chapter(s) <---(that would be more than one) of reading, tests to study for, POP QUIZZES (oh how I loathe you) and the promise of more to come.
How kind.

This was me on Tuesday. Minus the whole forgetting what I ate part. 

HOW CAN YOU FORGET WHAT YOU ATE?!

I've been seriously longing for the days of elementary school where my biggest concern of the day was whether or not I'd get to be star student. You know, the special teacher's pet child for a whole that consisted of special treatment and special snacks and nap time? Nap time.
Sigh.
 I miss you.

So this week has been spent getting used to new classes and my new schedule of morning classes.
Ugh.
There's a reason I didn't have classes in the morning first semester;)
Anyway, I've had to switch my work outs to afternoons instead of mornings, which honestly hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be because of three things, I suspect:

1. I'm actually AWAKE, not just 'sleepy and going through the motions'
2. I have more ENERGY, which makes sense I suppose; my stomach usually can't handle any food if I run right when I wake up in the morning, and little food if I cross train and strength train in the morning, MEANING: I didn't have the energy food gives me, resulting in a lackluster work out. Every day. So this leads me to:
3. I now eat two meals and a snack before I work out. Now I get to eat and digest THEN work out, which is SO much better than just waking up and working out. I give props to all of you who have no choice but to work out first thing in the morning because of your schedules. Major props.
   

Moving on, I HAVE made time to bake and eat this week. Of course I have.
 I experimented with a new version of my family's recipe for Halva:

Halva is a greek dessert made out of cream of wheat, water,sugar, butter and cinnamon. My mother and I started to experiment with different substitutes for the original 5 ingredients a while back and now use somewhat healthier ingredients. For the most part.

:) 

This is a good pre-work out snack or breakfast with some greek yogurt and fresh fruit.

 It is definitely one of those gut sticking foods that stay with you for hours and hours. And I do mean hours.

  I had several pieces after dinner one night (carbo loading at its finest) and ran right when I woke up the next morning feel great! Recipe to come soon!

Speaking of carbo loading..

I've been experimenting in the kitchen with some granola recipes. I made this almond-maple granola the other night, but it's still a work in progress..

granola, peanut butter sauce, strawberry jam, vanilla protein ice cream = YUM

However, that hasn't stopped me from eating the trial run batches :)

more granola with OIKOS TOASTED COCONUT VANILLA GREEK YOGURT

On strength training days I've been having this new concoction I like to call Vanilla  Cake Batter Protein Ice Cream.
It may look plain and boring, but HOLY SMACKRAL is that good. Like, mouth watering good. To me, it tastes sort of like cake batter. But that's just me. There's hints of coconut (of course), vanilla, maple, and a slight hint of banana. Ever so slightly. It all blends together to make a creation like nothing I've ever tasted.
Except maybe cake batter :)

Vanilla Cake Batter Protein Ice Cream

2 cups vanilla soy milk

1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients in a freezable container. Cover and chill for 2-3 hours.

1/2 chopped frozen banana

1 pkg sugar free vanilla pudding mix

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1/4 cup + 2 tbs. coconut flour

-After freezing milk mixture, thaw slightly in microwave for 45 seconds.

- Place mixture in food processor and blend along with banana.

 -Add in remaining ingredients, one at a time, until chopped banana is broken down and remaining ingredients are blended thoroughly and mixture is thick, similar to soft serve.

-Move to a bowl and EAT!!

NOTE: This makes a HUGE serving, so you can always freeze any remaining soft serve you don't eat in the freezer again. Just make sure you thaw it out again when you want to eat it later.

2ND NOTE: This tastes SOOO SOOO SOOO good with my black chocolate brownies. 

Especially topped with my vanilla peanut butter sauce. But I'll tell you about that later.

Alright people, I'm off to try to make sense of what-ever-the-heck I'm supposed to be studying for a test tomorrow!

OH! ONE LAST NOTE!

3RD NOTE:

HAPPY NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER DAY!!

Do me a favor, will ya?

Eat some peanut butter for me.

:)

T F G I F, My brownie obsession

T.F.G.I.F.!!!!!!!!
 (FYI: T.F.G.I.F. = Thank Fudge'n God It's Friday) <--THIS IS A  PG BLOG PEOPLE, PG!

Frenzied Mind, Magical Coconut Bars, & CHOCONUT MEDLEY

Have you ever had a major project or presentation you had to work on that could determine the next stop in life? And if you failed it that could mean you were DOOMED? And you had all of 2 weeks to work on this and then comes the night before and you're running around like a crazy person with a knife bag of chocolate chips trying to remember where you put the flash drive with your presentation on it?
 No? Just me? Well then never mind.... 

I've been in a frenzy-filled-ohmygosh-I'm-not-going-to-finish-this-in-time state of mind  the whole weekend over this presentation-project.

AND NOW I'M DONE.

So, now I get to relax and focus on more important things, like food. And the pursuit of happiness. And the shocking and devastating discover I just made 22 minutes ago when I found out my DVR didn't record The Biggest Loser premiere last night. 

But mostly food. 

I've gotta be honest, the only things that got me through the last 3 days (besides chocolate chips), are Angela's AMAZING Lightened Up Magical Coconut Bars.
 Key word: Magical. 
I made these on Saturday (in preparation of my full out frenzy mode the following day) and um, well...there's about 3 bars left.

The only change I made to the recipe was using brown sugar instead of coconut sugar, and using 1 cup crushed bran flake cereal (processed in a food processor) and 1 cup crushed graham crackers (because I ran out of graham crackers.
The ending result was a slightly less sweet crust, but the sweetness of the coconut, chocolate chips and nuts more than made up for it! SOOO GOOD! 

Another sweet treat I've been enjoying is a mix of some random things that have been in the fridge for far too long and might have grown something on them (like, I dunno a pair of legs or eyes or <god forbid> some hair....ew) if I hadn't used up the ingredients. 

I've been enjoying this as a dessert after dinner. It's full of protein and has been good fuel to eat the night before a run  or even after it. 

I give you, the Choco-nut Medley. There's a little bit of tofu, some cocoa powder, coconut flour, sweetener and some other random things:



(don't mind that awkward college letter in the background....)

Choco-Nut Medley

1/4 pkg firm tofu
about 1 tbs. vanilla extract
about 1/3 cup milk of choice
1/2 cup applesauce
little more than 1/3 cup cocoa powder
4 big spoonfuls coconut flour (or any other flour of choice)
1/2 cup sweetener of choice (I used sugar-free maple syrup and hazelnut syrup)
optional: any add ins (I put in some dried fruit, nuts, and topped it  with some
 cool whip<----ohmygosh so yummy:))

Blend tofu, vanilla, milk, and vanilla in food processor.
Add in cocoa powder and coconut flour along with sweetener of choice. Blend again.
Eat out of food processor (If you wanna be like me) or be neat and scrape out of food processor into a nice bowl and eat like a fancy, proper person.

NOTE: This can be very sweet or not sweet at all depending on what flour you use, so adjust sweetener according to your own taste buds)

SECOND NOTE: I LOVE to dip pretzels in this. Amazing. Truly.

New Drink, Spooky the Hunter, & COOKE NOOKIE PEANUT BUTTER HUMMUS

So today I discovered I'm slightly addicted to Arizona Arnold Palmer's Half & Half Iced Tea Lemonade. Now normally I detest iced tea with a capital D, but this time I made an exception since there was lemonade involved.
 I've determined it can only be drunk from a goblet because it reminds me of the Goblet of Fire (or what my mind thinks a goblet of fire looks like) from Harry Potter. I've read all the Harry Potter books and honestly believed I'd get an admissions letter when I was 11. Turns out I'm a muggle.
 And yes, I thought all of this while drinking my iced tea lemonade. I don't know why.
 Ask my brain.

On a random note, my cat apparently has appointed himself the hunter of the house. He spends his days hunting food crumbs and taking pleasure in stabbing them with his paws in addition to eating, drinking and sleeping his days away.
 Tough life.

Hunting until I took a picture and he decided to glare at me. 

(please excuse the cracked, dirty floors..someday they'll get washed)

A few weeks ago I was at Whole Foods (the closest to my house is 40 minutes away, so I go twice a year because I can't bring myself to drive that far) and discovered the new love of my life (it changes every week or so..I KNOW, I KNOW, I fall in and out of love too easily these days...) :

This, my friends is PB Crave: Cookie Nookie Peanut Butter, AKA, the love of my life (for a week). Imagine a reese's peanut butter cup smashed up into a butter form. Oh my. Cookie Nookie just makes you want to curl up on a couch and hug this jar, doesn't it? No? Just me? Right then...

I made sure to stock up on this, so I have enough jars to last me until...mmm... February?
<HINT HINT MOM>

WELL. WELL. WELL. WELL. (Did you know that if you stare at a word to long, it starts to look weird?) 
Tonight I decided to make hummus...er..sweet hummus. Peanut butter hummus to be specific. Cookie Nookie Peanut Butter hummus if you want to be really specific. 

Mmm. mmm. MMMMMM. It's good. It' really good. Like.....GOOD. If you don't have the famous PB CRAVE COOKIE NOOKIE PEANUT BUTTER, that's okay. Really. It's going to be all right. Deep breaths.  Now here's what you do; 
- Take regular generic peanut butter (if you're a texture-ish person, get some crunchy peanut butter)
- Take chocolate chips. Melt chocolate chips. Pour chocolate chips into peanut butter. STIR TOGETHER.
-Voila. There you go. You can even take once step further and throw some whole chocolate chips into the mix. Be a rebel. 

Where was I? RIGHT. COOKIE NOOKIE HUMMUS.
So, here's what you do for the hummus:

COOKIE NOOKIE HUMMUS

Get out your food processor. Pour rinsed & drained a 15 oz. can of chickpeas, 2 tbs. milk (I used vanilla soy milk), about a teaspoon of vanilla, 3 TBS OF THE COOKIE NOOKIE PEANUT BUTTER (key ingredient here, people), and 1/4 cup sweetener of choice (I used sugar free maple syrup). Next, process. Process until mixture is smooth and chunk-free (because, really, who wants a big chunk of pea? No thanks, I'm good.). 



Then, if you want , add a sprinkle of cinnamon for a kick. But only if you want.

Dump into a cereal bowl (for optimal eating) and top with chocolate chips or raisins. I love to eat it with pretzel sticks, maybe some apple slices, on top of cereal..YUM. :)

NOTE: I WOULD HIGHLY ADVISE YOU TO NOT, I REPEAT NOT EAT THE WHOLE DIP IN ONE SITTING. Now, normal, rational people probably would not, but I just thought you should all be warned.
 Because, let's all be honest here;
 the majority of us are not normal, rational people.

GOOD NIGHT!

Vacation & MY Homemade Version of Cookie Butter

Hello again!

 I sincerely hope everyone has had a happy holidays the past few days!

 Personally, I've spent the past week thanking the heavens for not ending the world last Friday, celebrating the renewal of the Earth by making (and eating) desserts like my life has depended on it (because, you see, I thought the world was ending at the time so I was preparing myself. Don't judge.), spending copious amounts of time with family, and running my little heart out. 

I have to tell you, Christmas desserts make for wonderful fuel for 9-10 mile runs<---personal distance records, thankyouverymuch.
 Especially  for long runs. Especially with homemade cookie butter. Oh yes. I went there.  You've all heard of cookie butter, right?  (and if you haven't, well then I'm truly sorry for your loss. Truly.)

This past weekend I bought Biscoff cookies( at Big Lots!; they have this foreign food aisle that I've recently discovered and am thoroughly obsessed with. I kid you not.) because, well, THEY'RE BISCOFF COOKIES. If you haven't had these cookies yet, that's okay. I forgive you. Trader Joes has this Speculoos cookie butter spread that is OHMYCOOKIE AMAZING. 
Out of this world.


 Heaven in your mouth. 


Healthy crack. <---er...what?

Right, well, it's just really really gobsmack'n good. I wanted to try to create my own version of it with somewhat healthier ingredients. I used  coconut cookies and BISCOFF cookies (yes, yes, I know. These aren't exactly "healthy", but IT'S CALLED COOKIE BUTTER for a reason, right?) I basically threw some cookies in my food processor (okay, well technically it's my Mom's, but I use it WAY MORE than she does and she'll tell you that it's hers and if she reads this she'll make a point of telling me it's NOT mine and how I use it too much and will probably break it one of these days and then I'll have to buy her a new one.) along with some flavored soy milk, molasses, spices, and some peanut butter / cashew butter.

  Let me just say (type), that this has been my favorite thing to eat for the past week. I slather it on anything and everything sweet.

 (I tried it with savory foods, and, well... let's just not talk it about, okay?)

It doesn't taste EXACTLY like the Trader Joes's version but similar, I'll be honest. BUT, it IS 
very tasty and  and addicting AND slightly healthier because there's no added oil to it. So, really, it could be called a health food.

At least, that's what I tell myself.

Homemade Cookie Butter
inspired by Trader Joes Speculoos Cookie Butter

1/3 pkg. Biscoff Cookies
1 1/2 cup cookies of choice
2 big dashes of ground cloves, nutmeg, & ginger
1 heaping tbs. cinnamon
1 1/2 tbs. molasses
1/2 cup nut butter of choice (I used peanut & cashew butter)
1/2 -3/4 cup vanilla soy milk 

1. Get out your food processor
2. Add in cookies,spices, & molasses; process until fairly smooth
3. Pour in milk and turn on processor. Continue adding milk and consistency is like that of nut butter.
4.Add in nut butter and continue to process until smooth.
5. Taste. If you believe the cookie butter is not tasty enough, add in more of the spices used until taste is satisfactory to YOUR palate. 
6. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

NOTE: This is absolutely delicious with pretzels, apple slices, bananas, or (my personal favorite) with a spoon.   :P

OBSESSIONS #1 & #2 (of many more to come): COCONUT & CHOCOLATE; IN FUDGE FORM

Do you ever get a craving for something? Something that you can't quite put your finger (or in this case, mouth) on? 
Sometimes I'll be standing in the kitchen, spoon in hand and a good fifteen different types of food just layed out on the counter.
 Sweet...salty...sweet & salty...I don't care, you pick.

Anyway.

Saturday night I had this intense urge for coconut.  And chocolate. But mostly coconut.
 Have you ever tried these two together? OOOOOHHHH MY GOBSTOPPER is this combo good!

                       (yes I know this looks like something unappetizing, but MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER PEOPLE!)


 It's like a match made in heaven. 
Yin and yang. 
Brown and white. <---what?
 Right. 

Well. My point is that this combination is AMAZINGLY good together. Also, in case you haven't noticed, I have a slight obsession with coconut. Case in point, the last two recipes have been centered around C-O-C-O-N-U-T.
 Coconut oil, coconut flakes, coconut shower gel, coconut chap stick  (yes, it exists. Go buy it.) coconut flour (SO SO GOOD, I just bought it for the first time and AHHH!I think I'm in love! But more on that some other time..), coconut cream, coconut sparkling water, coconut greek yogurt (this is like crack. No seriously. I think there's something in the ingredients that makes you eat one a day and buy more every time you're at the grocery store even though you have a huge pile at home sitting on the top shelf of your fridge because you're afraid that at any moment their going to be recalled by those big food distributors and they'll be forever gone from your life so you just HAVE to stock up while they're there.

 Also, I love chocolate. To the point where I HAVE to have chocolate, even if it's just a little bit EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT.  There's no way out if it. It's like it's calling to me. Controlling my mind. Forcing me to reach for the chocolate...

"just a tiny piece...no that was too small..one more sliver...what? where'd it go?...just another small taste..really, after this you'll be done, I swear.."

I think I need psychological help. 

Chocolate Coconut Fudge
adapted from here

1 15 oz. can coconut milk (light or regular)
1 8 oz. pkg. Bakers baking chocolate squares (sweetened or unsweetened)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sweetener of choice (brown sugar, maples sryup, agave, honey, splenda, etc.)
Note: If using unsweetened chocolate, sweetener is necesary as the taste of the fudge will be very bitter. Also, if using sweetened chocolate, sweetener may not be necessary <taste to make your own decision>)
Optional: Add in coconut flakes, more chocolate (in the form of chips because YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE), dried fruit, nuts.

-Turn stove top on to medium heat and place a medium sized sauce pan on top. Unwrap chocolate squares and place in sauce pan.
- Using a spoon, stir chocolate squares until fully melted. Add in coconut milk and continue stirring.
- 2 minutes before removing sauce pan from heat, add in sweetener (if using) and vanilla. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and add in the add-ins (if using). 
-Pour fudge into an 8 x 8 baking pan and either store in freezer to harden completely, or store in fridge until cool.
 Be warned; the fudge mixture will be VERY hard if stored in freezer, and VERY soft  if stored in the fridge.
  

Also, it's very tasty. And messy. So bring some extra napkins, K?

Coconut Lemon Bars & quite possibly the end of the world

So, I figured since today's supposed to be lucky and all because of 12.12.12., I might as well continue this EVEN THOUGH I took a year and a half break. This blog and I had a bit of a break up last year, but I think we're getting back together.

We haven't decided yet.

ANYWAY, the world's supposed to end next Friday and I decided, what the heck;

 Why not blog up until the end?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

I was thinking about food and um, well food while watching Cupcake Wars because, well, you just can't watch that show without having something in your mouth because it just seems wrong.

Right?

So while I was watching this magnificent show and seeing them make a hot dog cupcake with cheese in the middle, I had a light bulb moment.

Lemon Square Cupcake.

You know, at the time, it seemed to make sense. Now that I think about it though, I'm starting to 
realize it may not to others. 

My mind, at one point, got lemon squares out of hot dogs. 

Then again, this was pretty late at night(think 7:30pm, I KNOW, so late, right?) and my mind 
might have been corrupted by the exorbitant amount of chocolate chips and dates( <----- good combo, really) I was shoving into my mouth. 

Then again, I still don't know how I went from
 hot dog cupcakes---> lemon bar cupcakes ---> lemon bars
















Oh well.

Coconut Lemon Bars
adapted from Mom's Best Desserts

Crust
1 cup almond meal
1 cup oat flour (oats ground up in food processer)
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 cup greek yogurt
2 tbs. coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350. 
Mix all ingredients together in medium mixing bowl.
Press dough into 13 x 9in baking pan.
Bake for 20 min.
Take out and immediately pour lemon filling (below) on top.


Lemon Filling

5 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar of choice
1 tbs. coconut oil
1 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup corn starch
1 packet lemon jello (<--strange? Yes. Tasty? YES!)
1 tsp. baking powders
1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes (optional)

Beat egg whites til stiff white peaks form with blender.
Combine remaining ingredients together and mix by hand.
Fold in egg whites and stir gently.
Pour mixture over still hot crust and return to oven for 20-25 minutes, until top is slightly golden brown.
NOTE: Lemon Filling will be expanded and risen upon removal from oven. Let lemon bars sit for at least 30 minutes in order for the filling to deflate and set.

Carrot Cake & the amazing vocals of little girls

So, last night I ended up going to a baseball game. 

The game was in a stalemate for about 25 minutes until this seemingly adorable little girl started to scream "Let's go team, let's go!". 

At first, everyone around her, including myself, thought it was sweet. We even joined in with her for a few chants to give the team a boost of confidence.

But then she didn't stop.

Oh no, she continued on for the next 21 minutes, gradually progressing to screeching at the top of her lungs.

I'll tell you; that girl had vocals.

Why am I even telling you this?

Well, throughout this whole.....ordeal,  the little girl's face was a bright, bright orange. 

Sunburned?

Maybe so.

  

But all I could think about (other than my suffering ears), was that she reminded me of a carrot. 

Now don't get the wrong idea or anything;

 I was just a little hungry.

Now I'm wondering where I'm going with this

Let's just forget my thought process and get on with the cake.

You can thank me later.

Slightly Vegan Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 egg (I used flax egg-->3 tbs. warm water w/ 1 tbs. ground flax) 

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup water

1 tbs. molasses 

1/4 cup agave nectar

2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ground cloves

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tbs. coconut oil

1 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup crushed pineapple

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350*.

Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine all ingredients in order, one by one, stirring after each new addition to fully incorporate into the batter.

Pour batter into pan, spreading evenly with a spatula.

Bake for 37-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out MOSTLY clean or just perfectly clean.

(side note: I pulled mine out when there was just the smallest amount of batter still clinging to the toothpick like a certain desperate person screaming "Take me away, I can't take it anymore!", in response to another certain <smaller> person screeching continuously. But that's just the way I like my cake; slightly gooey and fudgey :P)

Allow to cool completely before drizzling with glaze<below>.

Optional: Garnish with blueberries.

Lemon Vanilla Glaze

Makes 2/3 cup.

1 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

2 tbs. milk

2 tbs. Earth Balance.

1 tsp.

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Melt Earth Balance. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix until smooth.