Menu and Miles

Miles:
I am following a Marathon Build-up Plan.  I began it last week.  It is a 18 week running plan that slowly builds up your mileage to 35 miles/week.  And then you are ready to begin a marathon plan.   I don't have a marathon scheduled.  I actually don't have any race scheduled, but I needed to begin somewhere.  This week's miles are:  4,4,4,3.  Plus I plan to do a T25 workout two days this week too.

Menu:
I am not assigning days to the meals, but I have all the ingredients on hand to make the following suppers.

• hummus and vegetable pizza on homemade pizza crust.  Recipe here.
• black-eyed pea cakes, mashed potatoes, raw veggies and homemade dip.  Recipe here.
• quinoa salad and pasta salad (not everyone in my family likes quinoa salad, but I love it!)  Recipe here.
• minestrone.  Recipe here.
• taco soup
• baked fish, roasted potatoes (golden and sweet), salad
• stir fry vegetables and brown rice

Be sure to visit OrgJunkie for more menu inspiration. 

Menu and Miles

On the Menu This Week

• pasta salad
• Southwestern green salad, homemade bread
• roasted vegetables with a sweet balsamic sauce, brown rice, spinach
• spaghetti, salad, bread
• baked potatoes, salad

This recipe is from last week's menu.

Quinoa Salad
***recipe adapted from a Fatfree Vegan Kitchen recipe***
(This blog has lots of yummy recipes!)

Quinoa:
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
3 cups water
1 Tsp. minced garlic (from a jar)
1/2 tsp. salt

Cook quinoa in water with garlic and salt, following package directions.  Fluff quinoa and allow to cool.

Vegetables:
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 large tomatoes, diced
kernels of 2 ears of cooked corn on the cob (I microwave mine in the husks for 4-5 minutes.  Let cool and then peel and cut corn off the cob.)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 green green onions, chopped (if desired)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1 avocado, chopped
salt, pepper, cumin (about 1/2 tsp.) to taste

2 limes, squeezed

Combine all veggies in a large bowl.  Add quinoa and mix well.  Squeeze lime juice over salad and add salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.  Stir to combine.

Enjoy!

Miles This Week

This week marks week one of my half marathon training (well, actually the race is 14.2 miles, which is 1.1 miles longer than a regular half marathon).
The miles:  5, 4, 6 (including hills), 5, 8.  Total 28

Be sure to visit OrgJunkie for more menu ideas.

Menu and Miles

This week's menu:

• black eyed pea cakes, mashed potatoes
• quinoa salad
• sauteed peppers and onions, Mexican rice, homemade refried beans--served on soft or crunchy tortillas or over tortilla chips
• lentils, brown rice, roasted asparagus
• vegetable lasagna, salad

Black Eyed Pea Cakes

(adapted from the Everyday Happy Herbivore)

3 15 oz. cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup ketchup

1 Tbs. onion powder

1 Tbs. Cajun seasoning

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/3 cup oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Mash beans with a fork until they are mostly mashed.

Mix beans with remaining ingredients.  Shape into 12-15 patties.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through and slightly crispy on the outside. 

Sauce for serving on top of cakes

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. agave nectar

2 Tbs. mayo (I use vegan mayo)

1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

Blend all ingredients and serve on top of each cake.

This week's miles:  5, 5, 4, 3, 9.  For a total of 26.  I begin my half-marathon training next week, so this is just to get me ready!  I have not run that much since the Boston Marathon, so this is the week I am getting back on track!

Have a super Monday!  And visit OrgJunkie for more menu inspiration.

Homemade Hummus Pizza

The recipe for the pizza crust is from my friend Ginger, who got the recipe from our friend Anita.  The only change I made was to omit the 1Tbs. of olive oil.

Pizza Crust

1 cup lukewarm water
1 T. active dry yeast
2 t. sugar or honey
1 T. olive oil
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use the flour that I grind).

In a two-cup measuring cup, mix water, yeast and honey.  Let sit to proof.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  When yeast has proofed add to the
bowl.  Add the olive oil.  Mix with a heavy spoon (or with a heavy duty
mixer/food processor).  When mixed well, knead by hand or machine. Hand
knead on a flour coated surface for about ten minutes or by machine for 5.
Check for elasticity by poking with your finger.  It shouldn't be too dry
nor too sticky.

 Place dough in a greased bowl to rise for about 20 minutes.

Punch down.  Divide in half.  Shape onto lightly greased
pizza pans, pinching up a collar around the edge to hold the filling.  Prick
dough in about 6 places.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Let dough rest for about 10 minutes while the
oven preheats.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Top with your favorite pizza sauce and
add other toppings.  Bake for 15 more minutes . Serve immediately.

I spread our cooked pizza crusts with hummus. (Just use enough to cover the crust as thick as you prefer.)

Hummus

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 Tbs. vegetable broth
1 Tbs. chopped garlic

Blend all ingredients in a food processor.  Sprinkle the top of the hummus with paprika if you like.  You can also add 1-2 Tbs. tahini. 

Saute the Vegetables
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 red pepper
1 zucchini
1/2 onion
1 pkg. mushrooms
vegetable broth
salt and Cavender's Greek Seasoning to taste

Slice all vegetables and saute in broth until tender.

Place vegetables on top of hummus and bake the pizza another 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Menu Monday

Here's the menu:

Saturday:  pasta salad, guacamole and chips (Family Bible Study)
Sunday:  refried beans with homemade tortillas
Monday:  stir fry vegetables and brown rice
Tuesday:  tabbouleh and sweet potato rounds (didn't have this last week)
Wednesday:  gnocchi with spaghetti sauce, salad
Thursday:  vegetable soup, cornbread
Friday:  homemade pizza

You can visit OrgJunkie for more menu ideas and recipes.


Pita Bread
I used the recipe found at this link.  However, only one of my pita breads rose enough to be split.  They all tasted delicious, but I could not split them so they could be stuffed.  So, the next time I bake these I plan to 1--double or triple the recipe and 2--shape the pitas and let them rise first.  Instead of letting the blob of dough rise one hour, shape into pita rounds, let rise a little bit more, and then bake.  I think that shaping them as soon as I mix and knead the dough, and then letting them rise for 45 minutes or so will work better.  I'll let you know as soon as I try it!

Homemade Protein Bars--Again

I have been working on my protein/granola bar recipes lately.  First, I experimented with doubling or tripling each recipe.  Then I decided to combine my two original recipes and calculate the ingredients using an entire 21oz. jar of brown rice syrup and one 16oz. jar of peanut butter.  I did not like dipping out and measuring either the brown rice syrup or the peanut butter.  Too messy!

Here is the finished product.

***I have updated this recipe***

I no longer melt and spread the chocolate chips on top.  Instead, I mix them inside the bars.  So the finished product no longer looks like these pictures.

If you include the protein powder, the total grams of protein in these bars is 350.  If you omit the protein powder, the total protein is 287.  The amount of protein in each bar depends on the size that you cut them.

I have not tried leaving out the chocolate chips or including less chocolate chips by just stirring them in the bar mixture.....those are two more experiments that I may try.  I can't tell if the bars need the melted and then hardened chocolate chips on top to held hold them together.

Here is the recipe.

Protein Bars--Roan's Recipe

6 cups toasted oatmeal

6 cups rice krispie cereal

2 cups chopped nuts (toast with oatmeal if you want)

3/4 cup protein powder (4 scoops of Living Fuel)

1 21 oz. jar brown rice syrup

1 16 oz. natural peanut butter

3/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips 

Toast oatmeal on shallow baking pans for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Mix oatmeal, rice krispies, protein powder, chocolate chips and nuts in a very large bowl.

Microwave or heat in a saucepan brown rice syrup and peanut butter until slightly melted and easily stirred. Stir in salt and vanilla.

Pour melted mixture over dry ingredients and stir, stir, stir!

Spread into 2 9 x 13  baking dishes that have been sprayed with non-stick spray.

Put the bars in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Cut into small bars, and wrap them individually in plastic wrap.  I cut each pan into 20 bars.

Homemade Granola Bars

In our quest to eat as much unprocessed food as possible, I decided to attempt to make my own granola bars.  I eat a Clif Bar for breakfast on most mornings, and while they are dairy free and "mostly" organic, they still feature an ingredients list that is very, very long!  Every couple of weeks I try my hand at making from scratch something that we normally buy ready-made.  This was my first try at granola bars.

I googled recipes, and then combined and modified a couple to come up with the following.

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (from theKitchn.com)
2 cups toasted old fashioned oats
1 cup rice krispie cereal
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecan, walnut, almonds)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
3 Tbs. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Toast oats on baking sheet at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.
While oats are toasting, chop nuts.  I buy bags of raw walnuts and almonds at Sam's or Costco, and we get pecans from Jimmy's parents' yard.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Measure brown rice syrup into a glass measuring cup and microwave for about 15-20 seconds.  Stir in vanilla, peanut butter and salt until well blended.  Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.  Press into an 8x8 glass baking dish that has been lined with parchment paper.  Spray non-stick spray on your hands and press the mixture into the pan.  Bake at 325 for 25 minutes.
Using an oiled spatula, press the bars into the pan.  Allow them to cool completely in the pan.
Once cooled, cut into 10 bars.  Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper.
Wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap to store.

Cinnamon Raisin Granola Bars (from theKitchn.com)
2 cups toasted old fashioned oats

1 cup rice krispie cereal
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecan, walnut, almonds)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Follow directions from the bars above, omitting the peanut butter and chocolate chips, and adding raisins and cinnamon instead.

Protein Bars (from OhSheGlows.com)
1 cup toasted oatmeal
1 cup rice krispie cereal
1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Combine oatmeal, rice cereal, and protein powder in a medium bowl.  Microwave the brown rice syrup and peanut butter for about 1 minute.  Stir in salt and vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients.  Stir until well combined.  Spread into a shallow baking dish that has been lined with parchment paper.  Microwave chocolate chips for about 1 minute, until melted.  Spread the melted chocolate on top.  Place in freezer for 10 minutes.  Cut into 10 bars.  Wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap to store.

My family has enjoyed these bars very much!  I plan to make all three recipes again tomorrow afternoon, this time doubling each recipe.

Breast Cancer Awareness: Risk Factors

Today I thought I would share the risk factors for breast cancer.  Some of the risk factors are things you can do absolutely nothing about, like your age and the whether you are a woman or not.  But many of the others are things that can be changed if need be.

I am going to list them without comment, but if you would like to read in detail about these risk factors, visit this link at Breastcancer.org.

• being a woman
• age
• family history
• genetics
• personal history of breast cancer
• radiation to chest or face before age 30
• certain breast changes
• race/ethnicity
• being overweight
• pregnancy history
• breastfeeding history
• menstrual history
• using hormone replacement therapy
• drinking alcohol
• having dense breasts
• lack of exercise
• smoking

There is also a list of emerging risk factors, and you can click on the same link and scroll down to read the complete listing.  The emerging risk factor that interests me the most is eating unhealthy food.  I encourage each of you to read the article about eating unhealthy food.  

Since my diagnosis of breast cancer, I have made changes in the eating habits of both myself and and my family.  Especially since my daughters now have the unavoidable risk factor of family history, I want to do all I can to lower their risks in every other area.  What I feed my family in my home is one thing that I can control.  We have shifted to a mostly plant-based diet.  That means that with very few exceptions (like at other people's homes, sometimes in restaurants, and accidentally), we are eating almost no animal products.  Very little meat, no dairy, no eggs.  Like I said, we do make some exceptions, but for the most part we are plant strong.  Also, I am working hard to eliminate almost all processed foods from our diets.  

Please spend a few minutes to review the risk factors of breast cancer, and then see if there are any changes you need to make to protect yourself.

This is the shirt for the WOD for the Cure, the CrossFit fundraiser that will be held here in Tupelo at Ballard Park on October 20.  If you live in my area and want more information about this fun fundraiser that benefits the Women First Resource Center, please leave your questions in a comment.