Posts Tagged With: In The Kitchen

Week’s Eats

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

In a rut and looking for some dinner ideas? Here is what I’ve been making this past week.

Hot Garlic Shrimp and Asparagus

Hot Garlic Shrimp and Asparagus from Eating Bird Food

My Notes: Flavorful and quick! We only used 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper and that was plenty. I’d think that the 1-2 teaspoons the recipe calls for might be too much for most people. You can always start out with less and add more! I added some red and green bell pepper, plus baby spinach, to increase the veggie-ness.

Elana's Pantry Chocolate Chip Scones

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Scones

Chocolate Chip Scones from The Almond Flour Cookbook

My Notes: Makes 12 (not 16). I wouldn’t call these scones as they lack the classic scone texture, but they taste like excellent pillowy cake-like chocolate chip cookies. Try them! I’ve made these twice in one week – once with dark chocolate chips and once with Enjoy Life! chocolate chips.

Clean Eating Apple Grilled Cheese

Apple Grilled Cheese with Grainy Mustard from Clean Eating

My Notes: Added smoked turkey for more protein, and ate with sliced honeycrisp apple and salt & pepper pop chips! Simple, super fast lunch!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza Closeup

Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Veggies

Cauliflower Crust Pizza from Janetha at Meals & Moves

My Notes: Made a much smaller pizza than expected. Used up some veggies on hand (bell peppers and mushrooms). Baked on parchment-lined baking sheet, flipping before adding toppings. Not as crispy as I like my crusts, but nice and “bread-like”. Interesting concept, would try again with some changes, but good base recipe if you want to try working with cauliflower dough.

Tandoor Chef Pizza

Tandoor Chef Roasted Eggplant Naan Pizza

Okay, this isn’t homemade, but it’s out of this world! My local co-op had this on sale for $2.24 and it is worth every penny. The eggplant gets crispy, has a slight spice to it, and the naan crust is fantastic. The only downside is that these pizzas are small and soooo good that I can easily eat a whole one myself, and I do.

Clean Eating Shepherds Pie

Shepherd’s Pie with Buttermilk-Chive Mashed Potato Crust from Clean Eating

My Notes: Liked this more than I thought I would! Good for a cold autumn night. Leftovers were equally as tasty.

All of the above are easy to make and QUICK. I work full-time and don’t have a lot of time and energy to spend hours in the kitchen every night. Most of the recipes I make are quick and require few ingredients.

What are you cooking up this week?

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Spicy Stuffed Peppers

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

Here is the recipe that I mentioned yesterday: Spicy Stuffed Peppers!

Paleo Gluten-Free Stuffed Bell Peppers

I wanted something inexpensive, simple, and tasty that could be a one-dish oven meal and these peppers did not disappoint. The subtle kick from a sriracha-laced glaze and crushed red pepper-spiked filling gave these peppers a dose of flavor. Shredded raw cauliflower takes the place of rice and cheese, while sneaking in extra nutrients. Nobody would ever guess that cauliflower is inside!

RECIPE

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Spicy Stuffed Peppers

This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and paleo-friendly.

Ingredients

  • 6 bell peppers (any color, I used half green and half red)
  • 1 lb. 93% lean ground beef
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 15 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained (I like Muir Glen)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 1/2 cups cauliflower, shredded (see note below)
  • 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce*

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cut tops off bell peppers, discarding membranes and seeds. Place peppers cut-side up in a 11″ x 7″ baking dish. Save tops for another use.
  3. In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onions over medium heat until meat is cooked throughout and no longer pink, about 5-8 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add diced tomatoes through shredded cauliflower, stirring until combined and most of liquid is evaporated, about 1 minute. Turn off heat.
  4. Fill prepared peppers with ground beef mixture.
  5. In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, sriracha, and worcestershire. Spread tomato sauce mixture over the tops of the peppers, completely covering the beef filling.
  6. Bake uncovered, in a 350 degree oven, for 1 hour.

Serves 6.

Notes:

*Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce is gluten-free and was reformulated a few years ago to also be soy-free, but check label if soy is a concern to you, or simply omit.

I use 93% lean ground beef so there is little fat leftover in the skillet. If you find that you have a lot of grease after browning, feel free to drain it before adding the garlic and other ingredients.

How to Shred Cauliflower: Wash and cut cauliflower into small chunks. Attach the shredding disc and stem to your food processor. Drop cauliflower chunks into food processor shoot, pressing down with the tamper. Alternatively, you could also use a cheese grater held over a large bowl. I prefer the food processor because it shreds in perfect small pieces quick and easy. You want the cauliflower to look something like this.

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Gluten-Free Peppers

Step 3: Fill Prepared Peppers with Beef Mixture

Healthy Stuffed Bell Peppers

Step 4: Top with Sriracha-Tomato Sauce

My beautiful friend Dana inspired this recipe, when she recently mentioned that she wanted to make stuffed peppers. Her family has gluten, soy, and dairy restrictions, which is why I wanted to make something that fit that profile. Coupling that with recent concerns of arsenic in rice products, some are also limiting their consumption of rice, while others omit it for the Paleo diet. I decided that cauliflower was a good, healthy substitute to alleviate concerns from all of the above.

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Sunday in the Kitchen

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

Today was our town’s big 10k. I’ve run this race every year since I’ve been a runner (3 years) and this was the first year that I had to gracefully bow out. I’m still struggling with running injury-free, and while things are definitely a lot better than they were a year ago, I have to practice patience and learn not to push myself. I could have run, but I didn’t want to end up not being able to run the rest of fall, and then I’d miss out on all these windy, chilly, fabulous fall days.

Instead, today I stayed in and spent most of the day in the kitchen.

Mr. Nine took care of breakfast, delivering a warm heaping plate of scrambled eggs, toasted Ezekiel bread, bacon (!), apple-maple chicken sausage, and coffee to my warm place on the couch. I love having breakfast underneath a big blanket sitting in our living room. It is the only meal I’ll eat away from the table. For some reason eating lunch and dinner on the couch is a big no-no to me, but breakfast is okay. Probably because I am too lazy to move to the dining room that early in the morning.

After breakfast we walked down to the 10k race with cow bell in hand to cheer on some of our friends. Seeing those lead runners trailing the pace car was amazing!

Seeing the race actually made me relieved that I wasn’t running. I could just walk back home, not worry about splits, and instead spend the day at home being domestic. Hey, I did run a 5k yesterday so I’m not being totally lazy. :-)

I started off by baking up a batch of Gluten-Free Banana Blueberry Muffins.

Gluten-Free Banana Blueberry Muffins in Pan

Gluten-Free Banana Blueberry Muffins Close-Up

These were good, although a little eggy, but since they lacked sweetener they were very mild. I secretly wanted to sprinkle on a bit of Truvia to make it a little sweet. :-)

Next up was a throw-it-together pasta.

Gluten-Free Pasta Toss

I didn’t follow a recipe, but here is what I did:

  • Cooked a box of Ancient Grains Quinoa Pasta (Rotelle).
  • Removed the casings from a package of  Smart Chicken Sweet Italian Sausage, crumbled and browned.
  • Removed the cooked chicken and set aside, and in the same pan, cooked up a container of mushrooms.
  • Stirred in a few handfuls of fresh spinach until wilted.
  • Added a handful of multi-colored cherry tomatoes, sliced in half.
  • Seasoned with some spices (crushed red pepper, oregano, salt)
  • Added the chicken back to the pan.
  • Added the cooked, drained pasta to pan.
  • Poured in 1/4 jar of Newman’s Own Marinara Sauce.

That’s it! Super easy, yet healthy and tasty. This batch will last us for a few work lunches this week.

Next up were the Paleo Pumpkin Bars.

Paleo Pumpkin Bars

Paleo Pumpkin Bars Detail View

This is the second time I’ve made these in a week, they are so good! A note on these: I found that these need to be cooked approximately twice as long as the recipe states. I bake mine for 45 minutes, which could be that I use canned pumpkin. These definitely have a coconut flavor from both the coconut flour and oil, but I really like that.

I also experimented with dinner and made stuffed bell peppers with cauliflower “rice”. We really liked them, and I wrote down the recipe because I am planning on keeping this one around. I’ll post the recipe for that tomorrow.

No workouts today, but a lot of running… the dishwasher. ;-) We did have a last-minute trip to visit family due to an unexpected circumstance, so our day was full as it was. Dinner for tomorrow is already planned out, so I should have time to get a workout in after work.

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Homemade Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

The last few days have been a tease with temps in the upper 70′s with abundant sunshine, a rare treat for an Upper Midwest late October. All good things come to an end, and this morning I woke up to a damp and chilly house, with outside temperatures back in the 30′s.

After pulling on a fleece and filling my mug with hot coffee, I toasted a bagel for breakfast. We were in Madison last weekend and rode our bikes to Bagels Forever and purchased a half-dozen. I don’t eat bagels often because I try to limit that sort of thing, but when I do, they have to be Bagels Forever!  These are the best bagels, with a nice chewy texture. At 240 calories they are not horrible, and the ingredient list is simple.

I usually top my bagels with almond butter, but when I opened the fridge, I spotted a tub of 1/3 less fat cream cheese sitting right next to a container of leftover pumpkin puree. Coincidence? I think not!

On a chilly fall morning, what would be better than a creamy pumpkin topping on a warm toasted bagel? I grabbed a few ingredients and mixed them together and was pleased with the outcome.

Homemade Pumpkin Cream Cheese

RECIPE

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Simple Whipped Pumpkin Cream Cheese

DIY pumpkin cream cheese made with pantry staples. Recipe yields just enough for topping two bagels.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Stir together all of the ingredients until blended and light and fluffy.

Serves 1-2.

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The pumpkin really changes the texture of the normally firm cream cheese, making it soft and dreamy.

After breakfast, I wanted to get in a quick trip to the market for groceries. I got in my car and pulled out of the driveway, only to turn around a block later when I realized that I was driving on the rim. Flat tire. Mr. Nine got out the air compressor and inflated it enough to be able to drive a mile to the tire shop. To patch a flat is $15.50, however my tire was deemed unrepairable, costing a cool $135.

I was walking around the house feeling a little bummed, when a friend stopped by and dropped off a package.

Fingerless Mitts Wrapped Up

About a month ago, I had given her a bag of yarn and knitting needles that I wasn’t going to use. While I admire those who knit and think it is a charming, splendid hobby, I could just never get into it and only produced in a few scarves. I knew that she knitted and is a creative soul, so I figured that maybe she could get some use out of it.

When I opened up the package that she brought over, I saw that it was a pair of fingerless mitts that she created with some of the yarn! :-)

Fingerless Mitts Top

Aren’t they beautiful?

Fingerless Mitts Bottom

This kind gesture definitely turned my day around, making the flat tire seem not as bad. She had no idea that I was having tire issues or feeling bummed, but her timing was just right.  We don’t always realize it, but kind acts like this go far in bringing a smile to others, often when they need it most.

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Difference Between Blanched and Unblanched Almond Flour

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

This year I began baking with almond flour. Most recipes will call for non-specific regular “almond flour” while others specify “blanched almond flour”. This intrigued me, was there really a difference? My local grocery store only sells Bob’s Red Mill and that has been what I’ve been buying and using and have found it to work well but I had nothing to compare it to. I was surprised to read that Elana, from Elana’s Pantry and author of the book The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, does not recommend Bob’s Red Mill (see what she says here) and instead favors Honeyville Farms.

Several years ago Mr. Nine & I had the pleasure of visiting Bob’s Red Mill in Milwaukie, Oregon. I love his vision of the company, their products and facility! His almond flour has been working fine in my recipes, but it is really expensive so I decided to look into alternatives.

A family member recommended Trader Joe’s for having the best prices on almond flour and indeed they do! Too good to be true? I decided to grab a bag at TJ’s this weekend, and ordered a bag from Honeyville online to compare all three.

Almond Flour Brands

Here we have Honeyville Farms, Trader Joe’s and Bob’s Red Mill (in the container, unfortunately I do not have the original bag). Let’s take a look at all three compared side by side.

Almond Flour Comparison

Honeyville Farms Blanched Almond Flour - $6 lb.*
view on Honeyville Farm’s website

Bob’s Red Mill Finely Ground Almond Meal/Flour From Blanched Whole Almonds - $10.99 lb.
view on Bob’s Red Mill website

Trader Joe’s Nuts Just Almond Meal - $3.99 lb.
view on Trader Joe’s website 

* Based upon purchase price of $29.99 for a 5 lb. bag since 5 lbs. is the minimum purchase. Please note that I did not include the cost of shipping or sales tax, if applicable. Prices will also vary depending on where you live and shop. I’ve seen Bob’s Red Mill for as high as $12.99 at Super Target down the road!

Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal Flour Blanched

Shown above is Bob’s Red Mill. A nice light golden color (obviously blanched, even though that word doesn’t stand out on the product packaging) and is a fine texture. The packaging describes this as a meal/flour.

Honeyville Farms Blanched Almond Flour

This is Honeyville Farm’s almond flour. Very similar to Bob’s, just a touch lighter in color and is ground just ever so slightly finer. It would be hard for me to tell the difference if I was not directly comparing the two. I did notice that Honeyville was more fragrant in smell (a fresher almond aroma).

Trader Joe's Almond Meal

Trader Joe’s almond meal is darker in color and you can see the pieces of skin. This is a tell-tale sign that it is not blanched.

It is important to know that almond meal is not the same as almond flour. Almond meal is simply ground up whole almonds with their skins, while almond flour is blanched and processed into a finely ground flour. Trader Joe’s says “meal” right on the bag, and you tell an immediate difference by color.

I’ve used both Bob’s and Honeyville in baking and both perform as well as I’d expect. I’ve yet to try Trader Joe’s in a baking application (just bought it this past weekend), but I think it would be better suited for applications as breading chicken, or mixed into something where you wouldn’t mind the little pieces of almond skin. It might also work in a recipe where flour is not one of the main ingredients, or where the end result has a dense texture.

To me, Bob’s and Honeyville are virtually the same. Bob’s is easier for me to purchase since I can just go down to my local store and buy a bag. However, even with shipping ($4.49), Honeyville Farm’s almond flour is a heck of a lot cheaper. Depending on where you shop the savings could be 50%! The downfall to Honeyville is that you do have to buy it in bulk  (minimum 5 lbs.) but I will definitely use it up so I didn’t mind buying such a large bag.

In conclusion Honeyville Farms is the winner in my book because of price, color, freshness and how it performs. I wouldn’t hesitate to use Bob’s either, especially if you don’t plan on making a lot of recipes with it and don’t want to commit to a 5 lb. bag.

What brand of almond flour do you use? Have you tried Trader Joe’s Almond Meal in baking? How did it turn out? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Looking for where to buy almond flour? Most stores like Jewel, Trader Joe’s, Super Target, Woodman’s, Whole Foods & Hy-Vee (to name a few) carry it in the gluten-free section or in the aisle with specialty flours and baking mixes. The most popular brand in my area is Bob’s Red Mill and it comes in a clear plastic 1 lb. bag. You can also order it online on websites like Honeyville (see link in post above) or King Arthur Flour. You could also make your own, but I’ll save that for another post. ;-)

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A Healthy Food Community is Growing

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

Living in a community plagued an abundance of fast food restaurants and more greasy bar food than one could imagine, it is refreshing to see some healthy and creative women in our community combating that.

Rural Girl Soups

Rural Girl Soup to Go

Rural Girl Salad to Go

Last month, I had the opportunity to sample some soups & salads at a special event from a new soup delivery business called Rural Girl Soups. The concept is a weekly soup service that will deliver soup to your front door. The owner, Gail, makes all the soups from scratch and her husband Joe makes the deliveries. You leave a cooler with ice on your front step, similar to an old-fashioned milk delivery service. Rural Girl also sells colorful salads, cookies and resells hand pies from Over The Top Sweets in Elgin, Illinois and Potter’s Crackers from Madison, Wisconsin. (I just wrote about Potter’s in my last blog post, I picked up a package of their Rhubarb Graham Crackers at the Dane County Farmer’s Market!)

Jo Cessna Natural Cook

Then there is Jo Cessna, a lady who is helping us eat healthier one dish at a time. She calls herself A Natural Cook, and focuses on clean eating principles. Jo makes appearances a local events (I first saw her at a Progressive Wine Tasting last year), and does workshops and private or small-group cooking lessons. She also sells recipe cards and has a blog with more good stuff!

It is refreshing to these smart, beautiful, entrepreneurial women leaving their mark to help this community get back to real food. I’m inspired by these women and I want to be part of this real food movement and help to inspire others.

I’ve been busy in my own kitchen trying lots of new recipes. Most of the recipes I have been trying have been Paleo-ish or at least clean eating and gluten-free.

Mustard Lime Chicken

Elana’s Pantry Mustard Lime Chicken on the grill with a side of cauliflower puree. This marinade rocks and is so simple! Lime juice, cilantro, dijon mustard, olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper all mixed up in the Vitamix. I only had time to marinate it for 20 minutes (just long enough for the charcoal to get hot) and it was plenty of time! Loads of flavor here. The best part? I have a leftover breast that I plan on slicing up for a salad for lunch today!

Almond Cheddar Crackers

From the Almond Flour Cookbook, I made these Cheddar Cheese Crackers. They are made from almond flour, salt, baking soda, cheddar cheese, grapeseed oil and eggs. They were super easy to make (the oils from the cheese keep the dough nice and easy to form and roll), using parchment paper keeps things clean and pre-scoring them made it a cinch to snap after baking. I had to increase my bake time by 10 minutes to get them golden brown. They taste very similar to Cheez-Its only much better for you. I used a sharp cheddar from Wisconsin that I grated fresh (way better than the pre-shredded cheese!) and the flavor was great. The only thing I am not thrilled about is the texture which is a bit soft. It kind of reminds me of eating a stale cracker that has softened. :-( I still like them enough to eat them, but wish they were crisper. This recipe makes A LOT of crackers so I may smash some and use it as a “breading” for baked chicken!

Paleo Breakfast Cake

Paleo Breakfast Bread. Wow. Super simple and quick to make! These contain only almond butter, eggs, honey, vanilla extract, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. The recipe also calls for stevia, but I left that out as I find it too bitter in baked goods. I mixed it in my Kitchen-Aid and then into the oven it went for 15 minutes (quick!). This “cake” has a mild sweetness and is really addicting!

Paleo Breakfast Cake

Moist, not overly sweet with a beautiful nuttiness. I usually wait for a cake to cool before cutting it, but I cut into this within minutes of it coming out of the oven. It tastes great warm, and sliced up fine. It also tastes good room temp. I had to stop myself from eating the whole pan.

I am in a baking mood this week, but a friend reminded me to focus more on eating vegetables and other healthy, clean, natural foods, and not just making Paleo-fied desserts and treats. I don’t always get into the baking mood though, so I am just enjoying it while I’m on a roll. However I will have to pay extra attention to adding more veggies into next week’s meal plan because I wholeheartedly agree with her (right after I make these Primal Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies). ;-)

I almost forgot, I won Tales from an Average Runner’s Cryocup Giveaway! Mr. Nine made a ice massager from a Dixie Cup filled with water, but this looks better and more durable. I’ll let you know how it works once I get to try it.

Do you have any real food activists in your community? How are they making positive changes? Any tips on baking crackers that stay crispy?

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A Week of Food Highlights

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

This week may have gotten away from me, but I haven’t forgotten to snap photos of FOOD! :-) Here are some highlights from the past few days.

Butternut Squash Burger

Burgers with Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onions from Paleo Table. Served with Sweets & Beets and sliced strawberries. Loved a bun-less burger topped with butternut squash! However I could do without the sausage. Next time I’ll stick with 100% grass-fed ground beef and leave the ground sausage out. She has a method for doing caramelized onions, but I was short on time and just sauteed a Vidalia until soft and sweet. This was a great combo worth trying.

Vitamix Broccoli Soup

Broccoli Soup from Elana’s Pantry. So simple, just olive oil, onion, broccoli, water and salt. That’s right, no broth! I was worried it would not be flavorful, but it was. A good little soup to mix up in the Vitamix, however it was very watery and was more of a sipping soup than a soup you’d eat with a spoon.

Clean Eating Tarragon Chicken

Chicken Fricassee with Tarragon from Clean Eating Magazine. Great, classic flavor. The leeks loose their bright, light green color in the cooking process but the taste is wonderful. Mild yet flavorful.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Squares

Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Bars from Little B’s Healthy Habits. I made these with Truvia instead of Stevia in the Raw (which is too bitter for me). The peanut butter flavor is mild and it is not too sweet. A dense chocolate cake that is perfect for a post-gym treat. Very moist and healthy and a good starter protein cake recipe that you can tweak to your liking. Store these in the fridge since they are all natural!

Berry Tart

An early birthday cake from my sweet Mom – a fresh berry tart from Whole Foods! SO GOOD! Hands down, the best birthday “cake” I’ve had. Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries & kiwi atop a vanilla custard nestled in a shortbread-style crust. This was unbelievable people, gone in less than a day. I went to the fridge looking for more tonight, hoping another would magically appear. It sure is a good thing that Whole Foods is an hour drive from us or else I’d be there now in my pajamas with fork in hand.

Homemade Tomato Sauces

My MIL stopped by today and brought all these containers of homemade pasta sauces. An entire shelf in the freezer is loaded! Any suggestions on what to make with these sauces? I am trying to stay away from too many grains today, so a gluten-free or paleo-friendly option would be ideal.

Finally Running

In other news, I ran my first 5k distance since mid-December! It has been over 4 1/2 months and it has been tough. I went from running 15 miles to zero due to my IT Band injury. I have lost some speed, but I almost hit a sub-30 and I wasn’t even trying for that, I was just having fun running in the cold rain on a cloudy day. I have a race coming up this weekend (I signed up in early January when I was still optimistic and didn’t think I’d be injured so long!) and can’t wait to pin on a bib number and hear the shotgun start. I am not going to try for a PR of course, just want to finish and have fun! A few months ago I was depressed and honestly felt like I’d NEVER run again. I’d run 500 feet and be in so much pain, even after taking weeks off from running. Looking down at my Garmin and seeing that beautiful 3.10 number really made my day. Hopefully I’ll be back to running half marathons again by this fall, but for now I’m taking it one day at a time.

What have you been cooking this week? Have you ever had to take an extended period of time off from running for an injury?

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What I Missed About Running

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

One foot in front of the other.

Merrell Pace Gloves

Yesterday I headed out for a late evening run. While moving along inhaling the heady fragrance of lilacs, I realized what I missed most about not being able to run the past few months. It wasn’t so much the physical activity. There are other forms of exercise that you can do to keep your heart and body healthy. It wasn’t the thrill of racing, or the camaraderie of group runs (although that is indeed missed). What I missed most was delighting in the simple details that you experience during a run.

Lilac Bush

The smell of lilac.

Gravel Pitted Road

The uneven, pitted streets that collect tiny pools of rain water.

Brick Wall

The texture on the facades of buildings that have been around longer than me.

Lily Of The Valley

Sidewalks lined with lily of the valley.

These are just a few of the things I missed. Don’t even get me started on trail running.

This experience cannot be replicated indoors on a treadmill or elliptical. Sure I could take a walk outdoors and enjoy the sounds, sights and smells but it is different when you are running. Your senses are heightened. Your breathing is deeper and you inhale the smells around you more intensely. You are covering more ground in the same amount of time than you would if you were walking thus experiencing more. And since you are moving at a faster rate, each experience with a sound, smell, sight or feeling is so fleeting. You take it in and hold onto it as long as you can, before exhaling and releasing. Anticipating the next sensory delight which awaits around the corner. You could replicate this to a degree with bicycling, although I feel that some of the sensory elements are removed since you are moving faster. (Although I adore cycling for other reasons which I’ll share someday.) For whatever reason, maybe it is the rhythm that it creates, running is the right speed and method for me to pull enjoyment and inspiration from my surroundings. It is a way to get to know a neighborhood in a more intimate way, or a therapeutic dose of nature. Either way, it is so much more than running.

Inhale. Exhale.

And because no post is complete without a little talk about food, I bring to you “Two Nights of Elana’s Pantry“. Carrot Muffins, Apricot Power Bars… I find myself going back to Elana’s Pantry for more. As good as the muffins and bars are, I needed some savory ideas for dinner and Elana delivers in that department, too. Last night I made her Green Chili Turkey Burgers.

Elana's Pantry Turkey Burger

It’s a simple combination of ground turkey, green chiles, onion, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. While Mr. Nine was grilling these, I went out to the garden and picked some asparagus and prepared it with wilted asparagus drizzled with oil and vinegar. Nothing like super fresh veggies and a good protein! The burgers were moist and full of flavor. We enjoyed these sans-bun to make it gluten-free and didn’t need any toppings! That says a lot for a humble turkey burger. Leftovers were enjoyed for lunch today and reheated fabulously. My only tip would be to layer the formed patties between small sheets of parchment paper on a plate and freeze for about a half hour or until slightly firm. I would have done this if I had the time. The patties were super soft with a high moisture content, and Mr. Nine executed his superb grilling skills to ensure that they stayed in one piece. While he was out there grilling, I had him throw on a few chicken breasts for tonight’s dinner - Mexican Chicken and Rice.

Elana's Pantry Chicken and Rice

Doesn’t that look yum? What is fantastic about this recipe is that the “rice” is really cauliflower! Mr. Nine took a whole head of cauliflower and fed it through the food processor fitted with a grating disc. He only did this because I had a minor kitchen accident with the blade that required bandaging my thumb. :-) Elana says to use the “S” blade, but I thought the grating disc did an excellent job and kept all the pieces uniform. The whole dish contains grilled chicken, onion, cauliflower, green chilies, salt, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cilantro and salsa. This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo-friendly, but you could take some of her other suggestions and add cheese, or even black beans. This recipe is really versatile. Personally, I left out the celery and cut the oil and salt in half (the original amounts seemed unneccessary). I could envision other veggies like red or orange bell peppers – use your imagination!

Now the question is, did the cauliflower taste like rice? I am not sure you could fool anybody into thinking it was rice, but it wasn’t bad at all. It essentially had the same texture, color and shape of cauliflower and the flavor was somewhat neutral and absorbed the spices and other flavors. I think this could definitely grow on me. I like the idea of having a cruciferous vegetable instead of rice because it is way lower in calories and higher in nutrients. I made a little comparison chart to illustrate this.

Cauliflower Vs Rice Comparison Chart

With the cauliflower, you are getting way more potassium, fiber and vitamin c, and lower carbs and calories. The rice has the advantage on the minerals, but all in all I think the cauliflower is the better option. What do you think?

Tonight’s questions: What would you miss about running if you had to stop? Have you ever made cauli-rice?

Categories: Food, Running | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Formal Night Out

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

I love Saturday mornings when we have nothing planned.

Ezekiel Toast with Strawberries and Grapes

After rolling out of bed, I made an easy breakfast for us. Toasted Ezekiel bread, one slice made into a jam sandwich, the other slice had almond butter on one half and Sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) on the other. Fresh strawberries and red grapes sprinkled with a little Truvia. Along with coffee and a tall glass of water, it was a great way to start the day.

We went to the gym for about an hour workout session. I was suppose to start the LiveFit Trainer Week 10 (Phase 2 / Week 2), but I decided to start last week all over again. Although I did most of the workouts (I did have to skip a workout and a half), I also subbed some exercises, forgot my cheat sheet at home more than once and as a result did the wrong reps, and just didn’t feel like I gave it my all. The only person I’d be cheating would be myself and I wanted to do it right, so I am starting back at the first week of phase 2. Since I was well rested and the gym was not too busy, I had a great workout for my back and abs. Did 20 minutes on the stepmill for my cardio, that always works up a sweat! Technically I was suppose to do 30 minutes of cardio, but I planned on going for a half hour walk later anyway.

After we got home from the gym, I couldn’t wait to have one of my favorite post-workout snacks.

Chobani Cinnamon Apple Greek Yogurt

Chobani Apple Cinnamon Greek Yogurt! This is my new favorite yogurt, it tastes like dessert! Seriously, this is like apple pie filling, only it is creamy and cold. It reminds me a lot of the Carb Boom! Apple Cinnamon gels that I’d take on my long runs. Now that I am not running, long or short, I have no reason to take these fuel gels and I’ve been missing them.

Chobani and Luna Bar Comparison

I decided to compare the ingredients in the Chobani Apple Cinnamon yogurt with a Luna Protein Bar that I had sitting around. The yogurt has MORE protein! That’s right, 14g vs. 12g. It also has no fat, lower calories, sodium and cholesterol. Sure the bar has a bit more fiber and vitamins and minerals, but I get enough of that from other sources. Sure it has some sugar (they both do) but it is a pretty decent protein-rich post-workout snack in my book. And the fact that it tastes like dessert? That is just a bonus. :-) And there you have it, my review of Chobani’s Apple Cinnamon Greek Yogurt. Yum.

With splendid, unseasonably warm weather, we took a walk around town.

Crocus Flowers

It was so nice to see the crocus (crocuses? croci?) emerging from the ground. Spring is right around the corner!

For lunch I wanted to try an intriguing recipe that I found in Clean Eating Magazine last fall – Spaghetti with Kale and Poached Egg.

Cooking Kale

Here is the kale, cooking in a bit pot of water.

I cooked the spaghetti (Dreamfields low carb pasta) in the same water that the kale was cooked in.

Here is the finished dish!

Kale and Poached Egg Spaghetti

The flavors worked great together! The recipe called for regular feta cheese, but I used a lemon and oregano feta that added a strong (but good) citrus flavor to the dish. The creamy yolk of the egg, mixing in with the spicy red pepper flakes, bitter kale stems and salty cheese just worked.

After all the food, fresh air and exercise I took a much needed nap! I am not a napper, but today it just felt right.

We were invited to a formal fundraiser dinner for a local health foundation, but dinner was not until 7:00pm. Since we usually eat dinner like senior citizens at 4:00pm, I had a snack of hummus and pita chips to tide me over.

Hummus and Pita Snack

And I was still noshy so I had a small bowl of granola, and half a slice of leftover french bread pizza (Mr. Nine wanted to split it with me).

I also tried a new (to me) drink called KeVita.

KeVita

Wasn’t a huge fan of this. It tasted like a watered down version of Kombucha Synergy. Wouldn’t buy this again, but glad I tried it. At least I got some healthy bacteria for the day!

The afternoon flew by and it was time for our fundraiser dinner.

Formal Affair

Dinner was fancy and fabulous. Appetizers were mushroom purses, tempura shrimp, cheese, grapes, carrots, celery and sliced cucumbers topped with goat cheese and an unidentifiable red ingredient.

Appetizers

Pardon the horrible photographs, my camera does horrible in low light and I was trying to be quick about taking pictures so I wouldn’t draw attention to myself in the classy crowd of black-tie professionals, so I didn’t hold the camera steady as long as I normally would for slow exposures. Or maybe it was because I had too much wine. At any rate, here is the salad.

Salad

Which was followed by the main course of mashed potatoes, vegetables and two bacon-wrapped filet medallions. One beef, one turkey.

Main Course

Dessert was a mango layer cake.

Mango Cake

Add in some bread and coffee (and more wine) and that was the night! We danced which was not a pretty sight. I also did a little too much chair dancing, and apologize to my friends who had to witness that. :-)

Formal Affair

It was a lot of fun to get dressed up and spend the evening with friends. We are so honored that they invited us to join them, and grateful to have such fantastic people in our lives.

I only wish we would have gotten a photo with the 8 of us, in front of the candlelit fireplace. Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to do this again!

Categories: Fitness, Food | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

Stupor Bowl Party Food

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Beth @ Running on Cloud Nine

If you are a die-hard football fan, before you get too upset over the title of this post, it is tongue in cheek so don’t take it too seriously and get offended. Sure most of the people invited to this party could really care less about football, myself included, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate the game. I appreciate the strength, speed, agility and strategy of the players and am happy that most of America revels in sport, but I’m not going to pretend to love football, but I do love food! A Stupor Bowl Party has all the good things about a regular Super Bowl Party, the food & friends, but lacks the emphasis on the football part.

This particular group of party-goers presents quite the challenge when it comes to choosing which foods to make. Most of the group is vegetarian, pescetarian or semi-vegetarian. I LOVE cooking veg-friendly food so this is no problem, I have a whole arsenal of tasty veggie meals up my sleeve. Things get interesting when you add lactose-free and gluten-free to the list of dietary restrictions. I thought of the great Greek Quinoa Salad that I made last week, then I remembered that the star ingredient in that vegetarian and gluten-free dish was feta. Scratch that idea off the list because it doesn’t meet the lactose-free requirement. Sure there are vegan cheese alternatives, but the choices where I live are limited and expensive, and let’s face it some things just taste better with the real deal. Back to the drawing board.

I secretly love the challenge of finding recipes that meet this limited criteria. It is like a game and you have to use creative thinking and problem-solving skills to come up with the right solution.

While thumbing through Whole Living at Barnes & Noble on Friday night, a recipe for Pistachio-Stuffed Dates with Coconut piqued my interest. I love simple, clean recipes with minimal ingredients and this one met that criteria.

The original recipe did not specify which kind of pistachios to use – raw or roasted. No problem, I was up for experimenting and tried both varieties. The two kinds I used were Wonderful Roasted & Salted Shelled Pistachios and Valued Naturals Raw Pistachio Kernels (found in the produce section of my grocer).

Closeup of Comparison

Raw Pistachio Nuts Go For a Spin in The Food Processor

My experiment produced two strikingly different results. The most noticeable difference was the color. Although both nuts looked fairly the same in their whole state (the roasted variety leaning towards a golden brown), once processed into a paste the roasted variety looked brown, far from the pistachio’s signature green color. Mr. Nine said it looked like poop. I thought it looked like a brown nut butter (similar to almond butter) with a tinge of green but I agree it was a little unappetizing just sitting in a pile on a plate. :-)

Roasted & Raw Pistachio Nut Comparison

Roasted & Raw Pistachio Nut Comparison

The raw pistachios yielded a much brighter green color which I think is important when dealing with a dish where pistachios are a primary ingredient. Notice how shiny both are? This is how you want them to be so make sure you process a full 3-5 minutes, or until it releases oils and forms a paste-like nut butter consistency. I used a KitchenAid 7-Cup Food Processor that did a terrific job with this.

Pistachio Nuts 2

Closeup of Comparison

Comparing the taste of the two, the raw tasted slightly better. Final Score: Raw Nuts 1, Roasted Nuts 0.

Now that I had a winning nut butter/paste, I stuffed one of the dates and topped with shredded coconut like the recipe instructed. It was finally time for a quick taste test. The verdict? The flavor was good, but the texture left much to be desired. The texture of the date and pistachio butter were so similar and even though the coconut was toasted, it did little to provide overall texture variation. In the mouth it felt like a soft, squishy and sticky sweet glob. It was also very rich using the whole date. Sure you could take 2 bites, but let’s be realistic, most people would just pop the whole thing in their mouth and it was just too much of a sticky sweet glob to chew.

The recipe had potential but needed improvement. Mr. Nine suggested adding in some coarsely chopped pistachios. Back to the food processor, I pulsed some more of the raw pistachios until they were chopped small, yet not too fine. Next I added the crunchy chopped pistachios to the smooth creamy puréed ones.

Pistachio Nuts 4

Half Pistachio Nut Purée, Half Chopped Pistachios

Just a gentle stir to combine and now I think we are almost ready to assemble!

Pistachio Stuffed Dates 1

Ingredients Ready to Assemble

At this point I also decided to cut the dates in half around the circumference. The original recipe showed the date split open length-wise and filled like a stuffed baked potato but that was just too much date for one bite. Cutting them around the center provided two nice halves with perfectly hollowed-out centers. I used kitchen shears to cut around the date, but a small paring knife would work fine.

Stuffing each “mini date bowl” was quick and easy. Since the medjool dates are both flexible and sticky, you can smoosh them onto the plate and the bottoms will stick keeping them upright. Finally I topped them with toasted shredded coconut (to toast shredded coconut: place in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes). I used sweetened shredded coconut because that is what I had, but the date is already very sweet so I’d recommend using unsweetened if you can find it (it is hard to find in stores here!). It will taste good either way, but it is always nice to exclude the extra sugar that comes from the sweetened variety and keep the recipe clean.

Pistachio Stuffed Dates 2

Closeup of Pistachio-Stuffed Medjool Dates

Another view to show size (a regular sized dinner plate is used here).

Pistachio Stuffed Dates 3

Ready for Party Munching - The Coconut is Edible Confetti

They are truly bite-sized sweet treats!

These would be fine to keep at room temp for a day, but if you plan on making a batch to munch on throughout the week, you’d want to refrigerate them in an air-tight container.

RECIPE

*****************************************************************************************************************************************

Pistachio-Stuffed Medjool Dates
Adapted from Whole Living Magazine

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup raw shelled pistachios, divided
  • 12 medjool dates
  • 2 T shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted

Directions:

  1. In a food processor, puree 1/2 cup pistachios until it forms a thick paste. This should take between 3-5 minutes. At first the mixture will look like very fine crumbs, but let it continue to process. You’ll start to see a thick paste build up on the sides of the food processor’s container and you’ll see that the nuts are starting to release their oils. You know it is done when it is paste-consistency and has a slight glossy sheen. Scoop nut butter/paste into small bowl and set aside.
  2. Next, add the other 1/2 cup of pistachios to the food processor. Pulse several times until the nuts are chopped into small pieces.
  3. Fold the chopped pistachio nuts into the bowl with the pistachio nut paste until just combined. Set aside.
  4. Next you’ll pit the dates. Make a cut around the circumference of each date and then twist each end in opposite directions. The two ends should pull away from the pit. You’ll have two halves of the date with a nice hollow center.
  5. Fill each date half with the pistachio filling and top with toasted shredded coconut.

Yield: 24 date bites

Notes: Use raw pistachios (usually found in the produce or health food section, not the regular nut aisle) for best flavor and color. You may also use sweetened coconut, although I’d recommend unsweetened because it does not contain added sugar. Depending on big your dates are, there may be extra nut filling leftover.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************

There you have it! A simple, healthy, naturally sweet treat made with just 3 ingredients.

In addition to the date bites, we also made fresh fruit skewers…

Fruit Kabobs

Fruit Skewers/Sticks/Kabobs

…and hazelnut torte.

Hazelnut Torte

Nutella-Drizzled Hazelnut Torte

The rest of the food at the party was even more delicious. We had a wonderful gluten-free chili mac (it had roasted cauliflower!), blueberry goat cheese (not dairy free, but very delicious!) and the dish that I got most excited about…

Grilled Avocados

Grilled Avocados by A & P

Grilled avocados! This picture does not do them justice. Okay, I am partial to loving avocados so it was natural that I got geeked about this, but they were truly delicious. Our friends who made these brushed the avocados with grape seed oil and grilled them for a few minutes until they got grill marks and were nice and warm throughout. After they had some grill love, they got a shower of fresh lime juice, salt and pepper. Next the centers were filled with salsa verde and topped with sour cream (optional). You eat these right out of the shells and they are creamy and warm with a little tang from the salsa.

It is nice to have such a great group of foodie friends who also appreciate and care about healthy and good made-from-scratch food. This Super Stupor Bowl party spread sure beat the typical buffalo wings and Rotel cheese dip (I can’t believe I use to eat that stuff). I mean what is Velveeta cheese made out of anyway? Heck, it is not even with the other cheese at the grocery store, it sits on a shelf in the canned food aisle. Hmmm… food for thought.

Did you go to a Super Bowl party? What was your favorite dish?

Categories: Food | Tags: , , , | 9 Comments

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