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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:

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

Filed Under: Breakfast · Tagged: cooking, food, half marathon training, pancakes, pumpkin, recipe, running, skinnified

Rest Day

October 20, 2011 · by Ari ·

Today I woke up and had no idea what to do with myself. I never take a rest day on a Thursday. No run. No spin. Derrrrrr….what do I doooo? I decided to try to get some use out of my free morning and started out by making some oatmeal. Steve was at work and I wanted pretty pictures, so I took out his fancy shnazzy camera to document 🙂

I always chuckle when I cook my oatmeal in the Paula Dean butter warmer. Irony. What would oatmeal be without nut butter on top?!

Are you ready for the best part? Okay, let me preface with the fact that I really do not drink a lot of soda. I used to live off of it–no water, only soda, then gave it up completely, then reintroduced it occasionally, drank too much again and now I am back to every once in a while. Well Michelle came home last night with one of my favorite things in life–diet cream soda! Yes, I drank one at breakfast, I have no shame!

Yummmm. Breakfast of champions.

Winston and Clementine also enjoyed their own breakfast of champions.

“Moooommmm, stop staring at me and let me eat my breakfast! All those clicks you’re making are really ruining my moment here”

“Also, I’m long and cute. Jealous?”

After breakfast, I decided that if my morning wasn’t going to revolve around my work out, then obviously it had to revolve around food. Confession: I LOVE grocery shopping. It can (and this morning DID) take me up to 2 hours. I’m a freak. We’ve acknowledged this. Let’s move on. I will go to multiple stores and browse and read labels and look for neat new things I’ve never seen before. I love actually having the time to not have to rush through it every once in a while. Today was TJ’s and Fry’s.

I also got a hot coffee (whaaaatttt? It’s still almost 100 degrees here, but I wanted it!) on the way home. It was almost free, but then it wasn’t. I prefer it when it is free ( 😉 )

“Look I cost money, therefore I am less cool. But I have steamed soy milk, therefore I am awesome.” Yes, my coffee speaks, doesn’t yours?


It appears I may have a small pumpkin and fig problem…

I spent the rest of my time before work baking some pretty amazing cookies, but you will have to wait until tomorrow for them because it is 10pm, I barely got home 30 minutes ago, I’m beat and have to be up early to run 6 miles tomorrow. Yikes. I’m scared. But excited. Stay tuned for a post tomorrow I’m super excited about! 🙂

 

PS: LOOOOOK!!! I can take pretty pictures too! I took all of these myself!

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged: clementine, coffee, figs, food, grocery shopping, pumpkin, starbucks, winston

Pumpkin Smoothie

September 14, 2011 · by Ari ·

Well, it’s true, every single food blog on the internet is talking about pumpkin. I knew I liked it in pie. I knew I liked it in bread. I wasn’t surprised that I loved it in oatmeal or cupcakes, but I’ve really been surprised by how obsessed into pumpkin I have become and it’s only September! I guess it’s all the reading of everyone else’s pumpkin foods. I’m kind of a follower 😉

Today I decided to try 2 new things

1) Pumpkin smoothie

2) Smoothie in a bowl

Every single blog I read, the put their smoothies in a bowl. I never understood why, but I figured it was worth a try.

Pros:

  • TOPPINGS!
  • Longer lasting
  • Toppings
  • Did I mention toppings?

Cons:

  • Less portable (I like to take my smoothies to go)
  • It made it harder to talk on the phone while enjoying my smoothie (I’m a multi tasker!)
  • I missed sipping it

I would put it in a bowl again for the toppings, but not every time. I like to sip 🙂

Pumpkin Smoothie

yeild 1 big ole smoothie

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/2 cup non fat vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 2 tbs oats
  • Tons of ice-How much exactly? I can’t really say–about a big tall glass full. The more ice, the more volume, the more it feels like I get to eat!

Optional toppings:

  • raisins
  • low fat granola
  • cereal
  • nuts
  • grain sweetened chocolate chips
  • nut butter
  • maple syrup

Directions:

1) BLEND!

I topped with raisins, granola, Fiber One cereal and honey sesame cashews (the best and worst thing I ever bought–sooo delicious! Make the same mistake as me at Trader Joes and I promise you will simultaneously regret it and no regret it!)

Work out:

I have never felt in better shape, or more positive about my work outs as I have since I started taking gym classes consistently.  I feel like I may have said that about 100x by now, but it’s just so true. Today was supposed to be cardio and yoga, but it was beautiful outside and so we settled for a nice walk outside pre-calss, which ended up being fine by me because class was HARD today! I was super sweaty and there were times where my body was starting to shake. Does it make me a freak if I love that feeling?

Yoga is a big challenge for me. Mentally and physically. If I don’t get my heart rate as high as I’m used to, I have a hard time not beating myself up about not doing more at the gym or not working harder, but the truth is, yoga pushes my body in a completely different way, and being well rounded is so important. Also, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a little neurotic. As soon as the teacher says “Now leave any other thoughts and worries outside of this room”, I immediately start to think about everything I could possibly be concerned about. Sometimes I wonder if I’d have an easier time if she told me to worry AS MUCH as possible. Some reverse psychology haha. I just have a really challenging time finding a mental place of calm. It is totally not my style, but I’m hoping that the more I practice, that I will be able to gain as much mentally as I am physically, and maybe one day, I will be able to shut off my brain for a second.

The inner dialogue of Ari’s brain:

Teacher: Silence your thoughts

Ari’s brain: What do I need to get done today? What am I going to make for lunch? What time is it? What am I behind on? What will everyone think of my work? I have to pee. I’m hungry. What time is it? When can I move from this pose? I like my husband. He’s cute. SHHHH, she said SILENCE! I suck at this. I really have to pee. Oy.

Lastly, if I am going to keep up this practice, I am really going to have to invest in my own mat. The ones at the gym look like someone got hungry during class and took a bite out of it

They don’t feed her at Starbucks apparently 😉 Also, the mats smell like feet. Which is fine when you’re just doing abs on them in bodyworks, but when my face is planted on it during child’s pose, I don’t really appreciate the foot smell so much.

Ok, I’m off to get ready for work. Have a great day everyone!

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged: fitness, pumpkin, recipe, smoothie, yoga

Happy Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Day!!

September 6, 2011 · by Ari ·

Hooray!! Fall is coming! Pumpkin spice is BACK! Am I a huge nerd for being so excited about this? Don’t answer that…

Today was the craziest day, but it has actually been awesome in every way. It started out with 9:15 spin. Side note: it is time to invest in bike shorts. Anyway, in the middle of peddling my little heart out I realized that the dance class my friend Carson and I decided to take over at MCC started TODAY @ 10:20–OY! So I decided I would skip the cool down, be a couple minutes late to class and everything would be okay. I made it 26 miles in an hour, and I definitely feel like I’m getting stronger. I wanted to get a picture of myself completely soaked in my own sweat, but this home girl was in a hurry!

I sped over to MCC (still covered in sweat–yeah, I’m gross like that), got to the dance class at about 10:30 and realized all I’d eaten was a slice of ezekiel bread with a light spread of peanut butter. Whoops. Class was hard. Like, I kind of wanted to quit. All these 18 year old girls can drop on the floor and roll like it’s nothing. I felt old. But it’s good for me, and I wasn’t the absolute worst one, so I know I’m in the right place. I need to push myself, I just haven’t really danced since graduation and I was expecting to ease back into it, but looks like I took a giant leap.

So class ends at 11:55, and I teach at 12:45 on Tuesdays. I was planning on Tuesdays to just peace out a few minutes early, but today I had to stay to the end to get the ad slip signed. Then I got stuck at the parking lot, and didn’t make it home til 12:10–starving, sweaty, and without my morning iced coffee–EEK! I knew I had to leave by 12:20. On my way home, I called Steve (I knew he was home on lunch) and begged him to get me coffee and being the world’s best husband, he obliged.

Okay, are you ready for the amazing part? I showered, got dressed, made a smoothie to go (and it was like the best smoothie EVER) and left my house in 11 minutes. I am magical.

Got to work, had a great class with my kiddos, then met up with Bethy for a trip to the most dreaded spot ever: The DMV. Gross. I even tried to be nice and funny with the employees and all of my funniness was lost on them. Thankfully, I had Bethy to keep me company. Once we were done, I took her for coffee to say thank you and I finally got to experience what I’ve been dreaming of all day long–PUMPKIN SPICE!!!

I usually try to avoid the sugary syrups, or if I do get them, not to get the full amount. I got a tall iced coffee with 1 pump pumpkin spice, 2 pumps sugar-free caramel, soy milk and light ice. Yes, my coffee is complicated. I usually get a sugar-free caramel iced coffee with soy, light ice. If you don’t say light ice, you get all ice, no coffee–no bueno!

Finally, I came home and made a big, delicious salad out of Sunday dinner’s left over’s (Steve made a sandwich with his half of the left overs and loved it), and went out for some fro yo for a perfect end to a crazy, but awesome day.

Happy Pumpkin Spice Day!!!

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged: coffee, dance, food, pumpkin, spin

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