food Archives - Page 4 of 6

Skinnified “Spaghetti” and Meat Sauce

November 3, 2011 · by Ari ·

AKA Spaghetti and Meat Sauce gets a huge make over!

Normal Spaghetti and Meat Sauce:

thick starchy carb loaded spaghetti noodles
fatty ground beef and pork
bland tamatoey sauce

My swaps are simple, and they make a HUGE difference in this recipe nutrition wise, but do not lack any of the flavor or comfort of the original dish. Here they are:

Spaghetti squash for spaghetti (-TONS of calories, +vitamins and other good stuff)
99% lean ground turkey for beef/pork (-fat, -almost HALF the calories)
Extra spicy seasonings to give a diablo flair (+yum)

“Spaghetti” and Meat Sauce

yield 5

2 large spaghetti squash, cut length wise and seeded
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 packet spaghetti sauce seasonings
1 1/4 lb 99% lean ground turkey
cayenne pepper (or any spicy seasoning), Italian seasonings, salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (opt)

Directions:

1. Rub olive oil evenly between 4 squash halves.
2. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings.
3. Place face down in sprayed baking dish and roast for 40-50 minutes @ 375.
4. Brown turkey in large sauce pan.
5. Add tomato paste, seasonings and water (see packet for water measurements).
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened and squash is fully cooked.
7. Remove squash from oven and using a fork, scrape out “spaghetti” strings.
8. Add “spaghetti” to sauce, stir well.
9. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.
10. Enjoy!

**Some words on spaghetti squash**

When the squash is done, the spaghetti like strings will easily come out when scraped with a fork.
The texture is not the same as regular spaghetti, so if you’re expecting soft, melt in your mouth noodles, I’m sorry, it just isn’t so. It’s more like an al dente pasta–a little crisper, but the taste is seriously amazing.
I made this dish for an all male audience and one of them (Hermano) is 14 and picky. They all loved it.
Just TRY the spaghetti squash–this entire meal cost about $15 and has about 250 calories a serving. A FILLING serving. Just try it!!

Cardio, Cardio, But Not a Dumbell in Sight

November 2, 2011 · by Ari ·

Hi friends! Well, Winston had a pretty great 2nd birthday I think. He started his morning with a treat and ended it with a walk around the block. Walks are his favorite. All I do is say “Go for a walk?” and he starts actin a fool! I started off yesterday with an abs/upper body work out and Spin with my fav teacher Linda! Class was awesome as usual except for one thing! She got off her bike about half way through and started checking everyone to make sure they were at the gear she thought they should be at. She walked around and checked every single bike in the room except for mine! I’m in the corner and I just got skipped. Of course me being a total teacher’s pet wanted to raise my hand and say “Wait wait wait!! Check on me check on me!!! Validate me, my spinning, and my gear!!” But luckily I have some social grace and just kept spinning haha. I was always that kid in school raising my hand super annoyingly so I could get called on and show off how smart I thought I was 🙂 Anyway, I ended spin feeling really good and getting in some decent mileage.

Came home to some delicious oats in a pumpkin butter jar! Sooooo yummy

This morning I went on a 3 mile run all alone since Kara has a lame schedule today, but I maintained a pretty good pace!

Came home, dip 50 dips and called it a tricep work out. I really suck at the strength training lately. Someone please say something motivating so that I can get my butt back to the weight room! I was also surprised with a skinny peppermint mocha from my fabulous husband! I love surprises and coffee surprises are often the best ones! Off to drink more coffee because I’m addicted. Have a fabulous day everyone!

Our Halloween

November 1, 2011 · by Ari ·

Hi friends! How was everyone’s Halloween? Ours was perfect. I had been so bummed thinking I was going to have to work on Halloween, but it all worked out and we were able to cancel rehearsal and I was able to spend a relaxing night with my fav guys which was exactly what I needed! Steve, Hermano, Winston and Clementine left around 5pm to head over to Jason’s. “Winston! Clementine! Wanna go for a ride to uncle Jason’s?!” Winston knows English better than Clementine and started whining and running around in circles. So cute. We have to spell things like ride, treat, and walk in front of him if we’re not actually planning to make it happen. Learned that lesson the hard way. As soon as we opened the car door, they both jumped right in, tails wagging.

Once we got there, we put Steve and Hermano on trick or treater duty and Jason and I headed to the store to buy some things we needed for dinner. We made “spaghetti” and spicy meat sauce

with a spinach salad

and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Everything was delicious and I will be posting recipes ASAP!

After dinner and once trick or treating died down (Jason gets sooo many! We ran out of candy. Whoops.) We played with the puppies and Winston got to spend some quality time with his girlfriend Nico.

You can’t see it too well in the picture above, but this year, Winston dressed up as a rooster!

And Clementine was a bee!

One of my students suggested we take them trick or treating and that people should pass out dog treats! Brilliance. Unfortunately, I don’t think the rest of the world has caught on, so we gave them our own treats.

Does it make me an old lady is my perfect Halloween is staying in watching movies, cooking dinner, and dressing up my puppies?

What’s your favorite part of Halloween?

Massages Necessary

October 31, 2011 · by Ari ·

Whoo! Except for the recipe for Bethy’s cupcakes, I am finally caught up on blogging from my crazy weekend! I started this morning with a run around the lake–the one with the duckies–with Kara. I’ve felt pretty motivated to work on speed in these shorter runs lately, so check this out!!!

Hiiiiii YA! I felt pretty fantastic about that, aaaaannnndddd you may ask “What was your time on your last lap?” Or maybe I just want you to ask because it was 8:41!!! We had all negative splits and our first mile was the only one averaging above 10:00. Not sure if I’ll be able to make that happen again any time soon, but I’m glad it happened today!!

After our run, we hit up Sprouts because apparently my skeptic attitude about chia seeds has done a 180 and all the sudden I couldn’t imagine being out. Weird. Also, my amazing friend John told me that Sprouts had them $2 a lb cheaper than Whole Foods! Sweeeeeet!

Clearly, I have a problem. Look what else I found while I was there!

Same calories as a bagel thin, but they are thick and fluffy! And they have tons of protein and fiber! Score!

Then I grabbed an iced coffee and came home to the breakfast I’d been dreaming about for like 3 days since I used the last of my PB & Co cinnamon raisin swirl–oats in a jar!

After breakfast, I had an appt for a massage! I have a hard time making appts like this for myself because I get stressed out making time, but it was much needed. I’ve been experiencing pain in my right hip and left heel since my long run on Saturday, and I also get serious tension head aches usually at least twice a week. Turns out, the massage therapist agrees and I am a hot mess. She gave me some new stretches for my achilles tendons, worked the crap out of my neck and enlightened me as to why my right hip was probably bugging me–Uneven sidewalks! She suggested I switch up which sides of the street I’m running on and try going the opposite way around the lake to even things out. Apparently, my neck, right hip, calves and heels are kind of a hot mess. Oy. I will definitely be going back and trying to take more time to give my body the thank you it deserves for carrying me all those miles!

When I came home, I decided to try my new bagels out for lunch. Toasted, topped with sliced tomato and reduced fat muenster cheese then stuck it under the ~~burner~~ broiler until the cheese was melty. Delicious.

Now I’m off to my really annoying 2 hours of work (couldn’t I just have the ENTIRE day off??? Pleasssseee??) and then celebrating Halloween with Steve, Jason, Hermano and the puppies. I have an amazing surprise for you tomorrow. I’ll give you a hint: it involves really cute puppies looking extra cute in funny costumes. 😉

Best Friends

October 30, 2011 · by Ari ·

October 30th is one of my favorite days of the year. Why, you ask? My very best friend Bethany was born! I have a few friends that fall under best friend status, but I only have one Bethany. We’ve been friends for about 12 years. She has been there with me through all of my crazy times. She was there when I first experienced true loss. We experienced it together and because of her, I was able to get through it. She understands me in a way no one else in this world (not even Steve) does. We have watched each other grow up, change, evolve and become newer, better versions of ourselves. We have lived across the country, we have lived together, we have had fights ending in tears, and we have laughed harder than I ever knew I could laugh together. She is my rock. My person (for you fellow Grey’s Anatomy lovers). We get each other, and with Bethany I can always just be myself. I never have to pretend or put on a happy face or pretend I’m not excited about something nerdy. I can’t imagine my life without her.

Last night, we went out to celebrate! We started at Valle Luna where apparently the “tall” beer is the size of your head!

Whoops.

There was food. It was okay. Nothing special in my opinion. Well, Jason’s pollo fundido that went in the deep fryer and was then smothered in cheese was pretty delicious, but nothing else that I tasted had me all that impressed. But we sat outside next to the lake with the ducks that Kara and I often run at, which was lovely.

After dinner, we returned to mi casa for present opening, cupcakes and games!

I’m not a good person to share cards with, I took up all the space.

Bethy had been looking for a grey purse, but hadn’t found anything she liked, and she never splurges on nice things for herself, so Steve, Jason, and I pitched in together to get her this super cute grey Coach purse, with just a little color pop!

She loved it!! I was so happy! I LOVE gift giving!!!!

On the way home, we had stopped at Whole Foods for more beer. I definitely did not need more beer and in my tipsiness ended up spending $15 on Larabars and Mojo bars. Whoops. I was done with alcohol for the night 😉 The rest of the group got a few beers to try. Some we knew would be a success

However, some–Le Freak–were an utter failure. Bethany exclaimed “Le Freak sucks!!!” Jason made this face.

The puppies were very excited about all the extra attention company brought them.

“GET AWAY!!!!!! Aunt Bethany is paying attention to ME!!”

“Look, I’m cute, love me.”

“I love you new friend Liz! Please stay here forever. Mom says you might move to AZ. Please make it be true!!!!!!”

We ate NOT Skinnified Tres Leches cupcakes. Not everyone likes their birthday food skinnified, so I try to oblige 😉

And we played board games, laughed, and acted a little like children.

Thank you, Bernie for giving birth to the most amazing friend I have ever known and giving us reason to celebrate!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETHY!!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!

A Special Birthday and My Rant About Fez

October 30, 2011 · by Ari ·

Oh my goodness, this weekend things went from busy to crazy around here. Basically every second of every day has been scheduled and with lots of good things, but I am TIRED! Let’s start with Friday. I woke up early to do some birthday baking, then worked, then went straight to see Aladdin, then straight to Mona’s birthday dinner!

I’d been really looking forward to this night because I love Mona and I love Fez. They have pretty much the best black bean burger and sweet potato fries on the planet. So we get to Fez, and I bring in the cupcakes I had made for Mona and they said they weren’t sure if they’d be able to serve them because of health code? Ummm, okay. I bring my own desserts everywhere and have never had a problem. But the guy took them anyway and put them in the fridge.

Dinner was great and I had a super fun time with all my Starbucks friends and ate delicious food. Everything was perfect, until….

Well, let me preface by it was getting late and Kara and I had plans to be up at the butt crack of dawn the next day for our long run, so when we noticed it was 10:45, Steve and I asked for our check and we asked them to bring out the cupcakes. At this point, they refused to open them, and so I asked to just have my container back. Well, 15 minutes goes by. No check, no cupcake container. 30 minutes goes by. No check, no cupcake container. Very grumpy Ari. I was tired from the day, I knew the later we stayed, the worse my chances were of having a good run the next morning, and I turned into a little bit of a Negative Nancy. It was a good 45 minutes after we asked before we saw our check and I good hour from when we asked that we were finally able to leave. It was RIDICULOUS. I love Fez. I really love the food and because of that, I’m sure I will still go back, but I will NEVER do a birthday or special event there EVER AGAIN.

Back to the fun part, the best part of the night was definitely the company

Our only three boys were segregated on their own side of the table and didn’t make it into this shot haha.

I love these girls!

Are we smiling? Because really we’re filled with anger at our stupid waiter for cutting into our rest before long run day!

Ok, the other best part? Once we FINALLY got my cupcakes back, everyone just opened the container and ate them right there anyway! HAH! Take that bitchy Fez waiter! I didn’t get to taste one because I was exhausted and ran out, but everyone said they loved them and they were a hit! Recipe coming soon! Happy birthday Mona!! Love you!!!

Getting Started Early

October 27, 2011 · by Ari ·

Hi friends! After getting nothing legitimate accomplished at Starbucks, I ventured over to Target to get some teaching tools AKA kids story books. That’s the fun kind of prep work–shopping at Target in the kiddie book aisle! I quickly realized that I am not the only one with the holidays on the brain

I had to force myself to refrain from buying some wrapping paper. I LOVE wrapping paper. I always want to buy the fanciest, most expensive kind. Hobby Lobby always has really good deals on it though and super cute ones which is the only reason why I didn’t come home with a “premium” roll. I also was thiiiiiiiis close to buying this baby that I’ve been eying since last year!

Oh holidays, I love you. After swooning over the beginnings of the Christmas section, I left with the things I came for

But also a few extras for me 🙂

I came home and made myself a super weird lunch. For some reason I was craving pasta which almost never happens these days (maybe it’s my body begging me for carbs because of the extra running?) and I almost never have pasta for lunch. In fact even that idea sounds gross and heavy right now, but I REALLY wanted it so I took a small amount of whole wheat angel hair, a bunch of green beans and garlic that I roasted in the oven, goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, TJ’s pre cooked lentils, salt and pepper and made a weird, but delicious and satisfying meal

It was weird. Don’t try it–you probably won’t like it. But I did, you know, cause I’m weird.

Alright, I need to get to bed. I have a busy morning tomorrow filled with baking for TWO BIRTHDAYS!!! My favorite!! Obviously, I just love to CELEBRATE!! New cupcake recipes coming your way this weekend 🙂

Counting Down to Thanksgiving!

October 27, 2011 · by Ari ·

Hi friends! Today I am super productive in all the wrong ways. I have SO MUCH work to do, but can’t tear myself away from Thanksgiving planning long enough to do any of it. I’m a little burnt out on work, obviously. This morning started out amazingly. I got to sleep until 7:00 which is a really nice change for me, then I resisted the urge to get up and get things done and laid in bed and snuggled with my favorite guys. Winston is so funny in the morning. He rolls around and gets all up in my business and is perfectly content staying in bed for hours if I stayed there with him. I love that dog 🙂

I also woke up with absolutely no work out plan since Kara and I had decided not to do spin. I REALLY wanted to take today off because my body is tiiiiired, but I know I have to take tomorrow off in order to have fresh legs for our 7 mile long run on Saturday, so I took Winnie out on a short and easy (hah yeah right, even a jog is NEVER easy for me, but I wanted to be one of those people who talks about an “easy run” for a second) jog around the neighborhood. We went 1.6 miles, and called it good. At least I got some movement today, right? Yeah, I’m being a little lazy. Maybe tomorrow if I have time I will go and do some upper body to make me feel like less of a lame-o.

After our jog, I showered and made myself a pumpkin pie smoothie and headed top Starbucks to get some “work” done. But so far all I’ve done is decide that one project cannot be done on my computer, and spend a ridiculous amount of time browsing Thanksgiving recipes. I am hoping to get my recipes together ASAP and post them before Thanksgiving, that way if anyone would like to snag one and use it, you will be able to. So far, here is the menu

Appetizers:

Fresh bread (haven’t decided exactly what kind yet–suggestions?)
Sweet potato chips with yogurt dipping sauce
Deviled eggs (made by Steve’s mom, Lisa. Hers are deliccciiiooouuus.)

Sides:

Stuffing (still haven’t found the right recipe and stuffing is my fav part!! Suggestions?)
Soup (butternut squash or sweet potato or pumpkin–or some combo of the 3, got any great recipes?)
Roasted garlic mushrooms (made them last year and LOVED them!)
Roasted veggies (This girl loves vegetables, so more than one veggie dish is totally acceptable! My mom is making these)
My mom’s famous (at least to me) mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top

Turkey:

Turkey 😉

Dessert:

Pumpkin cheesecake (that I will modify from this recipe. If you’ve never visited Eat Better America, DO IT!!! Tons of great healthy recipes!)
Brownies with BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM!!! (I’ve never made ice cream, let alone tried to modify a recipe–any tips or suggestions?)

And there you have it folks, my 2012 Thanksgiving Menu! I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!! November is right around the corner, and I have my unexpected day off on November 11th to get ready and also do some early holiday shopping. I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!!!! Also, if any of you AZ peeps I know and love find yourself without a family to spend this Thanksgiving with, PLEASE let me know. My doors are open and I would NEVER want anyone to spend this holiday alone! Sharing food with people I love is the epitome of happiness for this girl 🙂

Running for Donuts

October 26, 2011 · by Ari ·

Hello friends! This Wednesday started out absolutely perfectly! Well, maybe not started out, but within the first hour it got fabulous. Getting out of bed at 5:45 this morning was no picnic because I stayed up too late working on my running playlist on my ipod. I finally got out of bed, was running late and then my stupid GPS did not give me correct directions and my phone wouldn’t work and blah blah blah. But finally about 10 minutes late, I met up with Kara at Kiwanis Park. Can you believe I actually needed my GPS to drive there? For some reason, I have never actually been the driver when going and I don’t pay attention. Ever.

Kara and I started out on our run around the park and my legs felt tiiiiired. Like lead. Maybe it was my interval run Sunday, followed by Monday’s hike, followed by spin yesterday? Also, there were several small hills throughout the park and this girl is used to flat flat flat. Although our duck filled lake route has some small inclines, these were definitely steeper. Kara and I both acknowledged that today was seeming super challenging, but I gave us a little pep talk (which I needed just as much as her) and realized that we were actually making pretty decent time. I said “I have a surprise for you, but we have to rock the end of our run for you to get it!” When we finished, I showed her this amazingness

My previous (and the only time I had ever actually done 4 miles before) 4 mile time was 40:58. Almost 2 whole minutes off!!!!

And the best part, I didn’t realize until later

We ran our 4th mile in 8:57!!!!!! I don’t think I have EVER run a sub 9 min mile before!!! I almost cried. I know I will most certainly cry when I cross that half marathon finish line. I know I’ve said it over and over again, but I just never imagined that I would be able to do this. I was the kid in PE who walked at the back of the pack when we were supposed to run the mile. I told myself for so many years that I couldn’t do things. I so believe that it is all mental, and that we can do anything if we want it badly enough. I need a shirt for the race that says “I can do anything.” Nothing makes me feel better than those 4 words.

Now onto the super fun part (as much fun as wanting to do at a 9 min pace is, food is much more fun)! On our last long run, we ran by Bosa Donuts.

It smelled so freaking good that we wanted to just stop right there and get a donut before finishing our run, but we knew that ~~if we stopped, we would never stop again~~ that wasn’t a good idea. We did promise ourselves that eventually we would go try a donut though. I honestly cannot tell you the last time I went out for a donut. We walked in and I was so overwhelmed I didn’t even know where to start.

Today is Mona’s birthday (YAY!!! Happy birthday my amazing friend!! I love you!!!) so we were bringing a box of donuts to Starbucks with us. We carefully selected 12 donuts (who has a hard time choosing 12? Apparently us) including what ended up being my favs: blueberry cake and buttermilk. It smelled so freaking amazing. Kara in all of her excitement exclaimed “We’re going to be consumed by donut air!!!!!” And we were. We left with this

So excited we could hardly contain ourselves

When we finally got to Starbucks, I got an other delicious iced coffee with sf vanilla and sf peppermint. Just like yesterday.

And when the line died down, we dug into the donut box! We wanted to sample lots of them, so we got plastic knives and went to town!

I took pretty small tastes of several of them, probably totaling about a whole donut all together. I was trying to keep it closer to half a donut. Maybe we’ll just pretend it was more like half 😉 After we dug in, the box looked like this

Mona with her birthday (and not just any birthday–21!!!) donut

While I was there, I had an unexpected visit with an old co-worker, as well as getting to see Bekki and Amelia and one of my favorite student mom’s, Beth!! Beth has the three loveliest girls on Earth and it is no surprise because she is totally amazing herself and any time I see her, she always makes me smile! Plus I hardly ever get to see Amelia and she makes my heart happy, and Bekki I just love. Amazing morning.

I also helped Kara set up her new blog!!!! “Ranting and Running” Go check it out!!!

Date Night In

October 24, 2011 · by Ari ·

One of the main questions I get from people when I discuss my work schedule with them is “How does your husband feel about it?” or “How does it affect your marriage.” I usually smile and say it’s fine and he gets it and blah blah blah. The truth is, he does “get it” and honestly it is what it is, but it does affect our relationship, and lately we’ve been in a little bit of a rut because of it. I am left feeling spread pretty thin which makes me feel needy and he is left getting nothing from me because I don’t have a whole lot left to give, and it is not ideal. But the truth is, come December I will have more free time than I know what to do with and I will be back to being a much better wife and be able to refocus my energy and effort more onto the relationship. In the meantime, we just have to make this work. Luckily, I married the perfect man. Seriously, perfect, and although he may not always get things ~~in a timely manner~~ immediately, he always eventually understands what I need and then goes above and beyond to make me feel special.

Yesterday before I left for work we discussed how we were both feeling about things. Okay, that’s a lie. I talked in overly dramatic circles about how I wasn’t getting what I needed and I don’t feel important and blah blah blah. What can I say? Sometimes I’m a disaster. Anyway, it was ~~all~~ mostly legitimate feeling/concern and when I left, Steve asked if he could take me on a date. I said yes, but honestly was in no mood to get dressed out of my rehearsal clothes and be out in public. But he was trying so I went with it. While I was at rehearsal he was talking about reservation times and finding a place. I got home at about 5 and he banished me to the office while he got out my “surprise”. In case you didn’t know, surprises are the way to my heart. I don’t like to know they’re coming (my dad used to always TELL ME he had a surprise for me and it drove me crazy because I don’t like to not know things!), but when I walk in to a note or an iced coffee, I feel totally loved and special.

Finally I was allowed to leave the office and I came out to this

SURPRISE!!!!! If I would have been able to tell Steve exactly what I wanted, I would have asked to stay home and have dinner cooked for me. Good thing he is a genius. I think seeing him in my apron was maybe my favorite part. I’m sorry, but I think men are cute in aprons–does that make me a weirdo? Anyway, he had gone to my favorite store (Whole Foods) and stocked up on my favorite things!

Turns out, he had googled 2 of my very favorite foods (I don’t have an absolute favorite. I just can’t choose. It would change every day.)

Chilaen sea bass

and

Sweet potatoes

Have you ever had Chilaen sea bass?! It tastes like butter. Seriously. It’s pricey, but oh so worth it!

I got to play photographer while Steve cooked–it was a fun! But I realized that taking amazing pictures the way he does is way harder than it looks!

This amazing buttery brown sugar sauce was used to brush the sweet potatoes. I almost never use real butter so I kept sniffing all of the sauces and saying “Butter! Butter! Everything smells like butter! mmmm! Did you get this recipe from Paula Dean?!”

The good thing about staying in? Spending time with our ~~children~~ puppies! “Dad! What are you cooking? Can I have some? I want to surprise mom too with my amazing eating skills. I will share with her if you just give me a bite!”

“Look mom, I’m sitting! Now can I have some foods? Or at least have you carry me around like a prince? That would be nice too.”

“But excuse me mom and dad, when do I get my dinner? I don’t think you understand that the big bowl of dog food I just devoured was merely a snack. An amuse bouche, if you will…”

Once all the prep work was finished, it was time to take everything out to the grill! I love this part–I know nothing about grilling, so I get to stand there and watch in awe, and occasionally flip something.

I have a confession: When I watch Steve cook, I find it so hard not to give him notes/tips/direction! I HATE when people tell me how to cook, but I have such a hard time letting go of control and not being the one in charge. Guess that’s why I became a director haha. Anyway, it is much easier with the grill because I have no tips or intelligent input.

Prettttttyyy fire!

Of course the puppies were near by. “Dad dad dad dad dad!!! Did you drop anything for me? Look, I’m sitting. Would it help if I acted extra cute?”

At this point, I was practically drooling. I’m sure one classy date.

I am seriously so lucky to have the most amazing husband ever. Thank you babe for the PERFECT night and for always making me feel important and special! XOXO

What is your idea of a perfect date?

Skinnified Sunday: Pumpkin Raisin Pancakes

October 23, 2011 · by Ari ·

Today has been an almost perfect Sunday. A perfect Sunday would of course involve a day off, which I don’t get until Thanksgiving. Tired of my whining yet? It will continue. I hate to admit it, but it’s only fair to warn you. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around it will have been over 2 months of straight work, so you’ll just have to bear with me and accept that although I love what I do, this Fall has been a challenge mentally.

Anyway, I woke up at 5:30 to run with Kara. Unfortunately, after I was already dressed, I checked my phone and noticed a text from her saying she didn’t feel so hot. What’s funny is I had hardly slept either and I laid in bed debating canceling, but I figured I was already dressed, I better get my run on. I thought about taking Winston, but I haven’t focused on speed since before the Komen, and I knew I needed to use today to work on it. Unfortunately, my ipod running playlist isn’t finished and my phone isn’t doing so well on my runs so it was just me and the silence of 5:45 am. It was super dark out and I was a little scared, but it was nice to just be by myself in the perevt 65 degree temperature.

I did jogging and speedy run intervals up to Starbucks where I stopped for some water and a chat with some of my fav baristas, then was back on my way to continue. The second half I may or may not have had to take a stop and breathe break or 4. Yes, I paused my garmin so my “speedy” time I don’t feel super impressed with, but it was nice to at least work on speed.

A little while after my run, my appetite came on full force. It always takes a good 30 minutes for me to be able to consider food after a work out. Yesterday at Chompy’s, Hermano ordered pumpkin pancakes that tasted like heaven. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about them, so I woke Steve up to take me to Starbucks and the store. I’m an awesome wife. I got a delicious grande bold coffee with 2 pumps pumpkin spice, 2 pumps sf caramel and steamed soy with cinnamon sprinkled on top. I really miss hot coffee when it’s warm here. It’s still too hot, but if I REALLY want it, I will drink it and sweat. It’s really cute. I am the epitome of class.

Onto the most important part: The most amazing pancakes I have EVER made! Better than chocolate chip, better than any white flour crap. This is the real deal.

Pumpkin Pancakes

(theworldlink.com)

2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons. packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup cooking oil

My Swaps:

1/2 recipe (-temptation)
Whole wheat pastry flour for all purpose (+fiber, +protein)
Molasses and sf maple syrup for brown sugar (-sugar, -calories)
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk for reg (-fat, -calories)
Egg whites for whole eggs (-fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
More pumpkin (+yum)
~~cooking oil~~ who needs it?! Spray works just fine.
+ chia seeds (+fiber, +protein, +staying power)
+ protein powder (+protein-duh, +staying power)
+ raisins (okay, the more I add things, the less “skinnified” these sound…)
+ seasonings and extracts (+yum)

Skinnified Fluffy Pumpkin Raisin Pancakes

yielf 3-4 servings

1 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tbs molasses
1 tbs sf maple syrup
1/2 tbs baking powder
1 pinch salt
almost 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tbs chia seeds
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
dash cloves
dash ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
dash maple extract
1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients.
Gently fold wet ingredients into dry until barely combined with some small lumps–DO NOT OVER MIX!
Pour pancakes onto sprayed nonstick pan or skillet.
Top with raisins if desired.
Cook over medium low heat until bottom is set and small bubbles form on top.
Flip, and cook on remaining side for 2-3 minutes until golden.
Enjoy!

Topping ideas:

vanilla Greek yogurt
sf maple syrup
granola
fig butter
nut butter
butter butter

Whiccchhhaaaaa!!!! I am the pancake master!!! No pancake stands a chance!

Ok, ok, I admit it! I am still in my sweaty run clothes. You can judge me if you want. ~~Sometimes~~ I’m lazy. Steve just topped his with sf syrup.

I topped mine with nonfat vanilla Greek, sf syrup, extra chia seeds and granola per usual, but also added a thin layer of TJ’s fig butter which was an excellent choice!

Yummmmmmm

I’m telling you, I always love every recipe I post, and I almost always at least like every recipe I make, but these pancakes were a different kind of out of this world amazing love. I admit that sometimes whole wheat pancakes are a little ~~brick-lik~~e dense, but these are light and fluffy like clouds or pillows. They are the perfect amount of sweet and the right amount of pumpkin. I could eat them again and again and again and I plan to. Do yourself a favor, make these pancakes. You won’t regret it.

Thanksgiving Recipes

October 23, 2011 · by Ari ·

It’s almost here, it’s almost here!!!!!! My very favorite time of year!!!!!

For me, the holiday season kicks off every year with my best friend Bethany’s birthday on October 30th. I plan for Bethy’s special day and then immediate switch gears into holiday craziness. I know most people enjoy the holidays, but I’m a little nuts about it. Shopping, cooking, spending time with family, finding the perfect gifts–it all just makes me so happy!!!!

Last year, Steve and I had just moved into our house and gotten Winston and we hosted Thanksgiving for the first time. In previous years we would do Thanksgiving lunch at his mom’s then dinner at my mom’s and we were dying to bring everyone together and take over the hosting duties. Our mom’s were both happy to let us take over. I went ALL out and did brunch and dinner and cooked everything without any healthiness in mind. I ended the day exhausted and just not feeling so great about myself. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was an AMAZING day and I loved the company, but this year I definitely plan on doing things differently.

I’ve come a long way in my eating and healthy to me no longer means strict calorie budgets and things that I pretend are good, but no one else wants to eat. I am finally in a place where I can enjoy my food and enjoy eating food that makes me feel good and fuels my body. So this Thanksgiving, I am making things I actually want to eat. Things that will taste good, that everyone will love, and that I will feel good about. I’m so excited to do a balanced Thanksgiving that is both healthy and even a little bit indulgent–you gotta have the best of both worlds!

That being said, it is time for menu planning! I would love recipe ideas and suggestions for dishes that will make this Thanksgiving extra special.

***Please share your favorite Fall/holiday/anytime recipes!!!***

Even if they aren’t necessarily healthy–I can modify 🙂 I would love to see the recipes that everyone else loves!

Here are some of the highlights from last year’s Thanksgiving Extravaganza!

Back then Clementine did not exist and Winston was so new to us that he was carried around and adored like a king. This is Steve’s sister Ashleigh with him.

“Hello and welcome to my Thanksgiving. We will be starting with chocolate chip pumpkin bread french toast!”

“And yes, I do plan on wearing my onesie pjs all day long. This is my party and I’ll look ridiculous if I want to!”

And copy cat Starbucks pumpkin scones

Winston loved all the attention he got. This is him and Hank (my step dad).

Mom, Hank, Charlie and Winnie Bear!

Everyone loves my puppy, but look I love him most!

I invited all my favorite peeps including several friends to stop by between family visits and celebrate. This is my fabulous friend John!

Me, John, Michelle and Hermano

I took care of almost all of the food that came from our house, but I left a very special and important job up to Steve

He was the master of the turkey!

“Oh yeah, master of the turkey, you’re so cool. Why isn’t it ready yet, huh?!?!?!”

I forgot how much food I made! There was a cheeseball

And fresh home baked bread!

Roasted garlic mushrooms

Finally, we all sat down to dinner

Before we were “Ziskin-Bailey” 😉

The best part! The wish bone! Make a wiiiissssshhhhh…..

Grrrrrrrr 🙁

I am competitive, and thus, a sore loser!

“It’s okay, I will drown my sorrows in the sugar coma that will be dessert.” Fresh out of the oven brownies a la mode.

And pumpkin cheesecake (this was actually a healthy recipe that I plan to recreate this and every year!)

I absolutely loved hosting my first Thanksgiving and I can’t wait to do it again, this time a little smarter and a little healthier! I am lucky to have lots of family that I love so much and I can’t wait (especially after this crazy Fall) to get to spend some quality time with the most important people in my life!

What are your Thanksgiving plans? Please don’t forget to send your fav recipes! Happy almost holiday season everyone!

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