Feeling like her biggest fan!

One of my favorite bloggers, Katie, at www.RunsForCookies.com posts "Motivational Mondays" where readers and Facebook followers explain why they are proud of themselves.  

I got some love on her post last night!  :) 

Runs For Cookies Motivational Monday #4

I shared my picture from Colonial Day with her.  Colonial day is something we have each year for our 4th graders at school.  I had this costume from back in 2005 when a parent made this beautiful skirt, apron, vest and cap for me.  I've worn it several years since then but last year was by far the tightest!  The corset vest barely tied!  This year, it more than overlapped!   So exciting!

I love that Katie gives her readers a chance to shine in her little space on the internet!

Roasted Chili and Rosemary Cashews

I recently had some rosemary Marcona almonds and they were absolutely delicious. I also accidentally bought a large bag of raw cashews. These were not so delicious. So I set out to find a recipe for roasting Cashews and I also have a recent obsession with Rosemary since those Marcona almonds.

This is my second batch of roasted cashews. The first was simply a tiny bit of coconut oil and Sea salt. For these I decided to get a little more creative. I started with the cashews and about a teaspoon or less of coconut oil. Then I added dried rosemary and dried chili pepper flakes. Stir them up and spread them in a single layer on a baking pan. Bake at 2:50 for about 20 to 25 minutes until they are starting to brown a little bit.

The best part is the smell of the roasted cashews. It almost smells like fresh bread. And then the taste of the rosemary and roasted nutty goodness of the cashews and a little heat from the chili, make these amazing!

I'm excited to try other spice combinations and use fresh herbs one spring rolls around.

 

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Easy and Healthy Go-To Meals

I haven't had much time for blogging lately - I have been really busy with training and fundraising for the Team in Training event with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.   Have I mentioned that I am training for a 1/2 marathon (Nike Women's Half DC on April 28) and that I am committed to raising $1550 for LLS?  

You can help here!  

With all that (and work too) I have needed some quick and easy go-to meals while staying healthy.   Here is what I have been eating lately:

My version of Heuvos Rancheros - chopped up lettuce instead of tortilla or chips, sloppy joe/chili, topped with a fried egg and avocado.  DELICIOUS!  I have had this for breakfast on the go and even for a quick dinner after a run.   All it takes is to fry the eggs, warm up the chili and chop up the lettuce and avocado.  Sometimes I have avocado on hand, sometimes I add a little bacon on the side. :)

  

Chicken soup - last week I grabbed a rotisserie chicken.  Not the best sourced meat, but I needed some meat on the go... I ate the chicken breast in lettuce wraps, sliced and warmed, and I enjoyed the legs and wings too.  :)    But then I had the bones and a little meat on them leftover.  I boiled it with water, carrots and some peppercorns for about 45 minutes.  I strained the broth, added some chicken breast and frozen veggies.   Delicious in less than an hour.  I made 3 bowls of this and had it to heat up for lunch later in the week.

Lettuce wraps and taco salad - I cut up a head of iceberg lettuce into large leaves and packed them along with a bowl of the sloppy joe/chili.  Heat up the chili and spoon into the lettuce, roll up and enjoy!   The cold lettuce and the slightly spicy hot chili is a perfect combo!  These have been my go-to lunch for the last two weeks.  Sometimes I just cut up the lettuce though and it's kind of like nachos or a taco salad!  Top with whatever you have - tomatoes, avocados, salsa, etc.  Yum!

  

Grill something  - I love my George Foreman Grill!  I grilled some nitrate free apple chicken sausage, halves of zucchini and some thinly sliced sweet potato.  Dinner in under 10 minutes (and if you grill double the amount you have a lunch for the next day!)

Skillet stir fry - Throw together whatever meat and veggies you have, season and enjoy!  This stir fry has 1/2 zucchini, frozen broccoli, bell peppers, a couple of fresh tomatoes and chicken breast.   Less than 15 minutes and  you are enjoying a hot and healthy meal!

Frittata - I can always eat a yummy frittata.  These aren't as quick, but just as easy.  Less than an hour, usually feeds two-three depending on your pan size and the  number of eggs.  Throw in whatever meat and veggies you have.  This one has cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots and bacon.   I cooked each of those, layered them in the pan, covered them all with 6 eggs and baked till firm.  Yum!

Just because you are busy doesn't mean you can't eat well!   Plan ahead, and make a big batch of something you can eat lots of different ways.  You will enjoy your meals and nourish your body!

Two easy ideas for your home

Several months ago I saw a pin on pinterest (imagine that!) that talked about the best way to keep a newborn's tiny socks and mittens from getting lost in the washer and dryer was to put them all in a lingerie bag - not because they need a gentler cycle, but to keep them all together. (Full disclosure - I tuck my bras in that bag with my socks too, they come out before the bag goes in the wash. Having them in this lingeriebag keeps them from snagging my other clothes.)

Love my WVU pop up hamper! Think I have enough WVU swag in this picture? I have my hamper, my logo scarf and at the very top is this cool, ruffled knitted scarf my mom got me for Christmas this year!

Ok, I promised two ideas - that's one!

Here is number two - the easiest way to display, hang, detangle, and organize your necklaces.

I found oversized thumbtacks at a discount store - usually you can find these at an office supply store too. Stick them in the wall and hang your necklaces! (I have waaaay too many necklaces for one person!) These are easy to move if you need to add more and leave tiny holes if you decide not to keep them in the same place.

Another pic with some WV swag in there - love that necklace! My heart is always in WV!

What tricks can you share?

 

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Panera's Hidden Menu! SO exciting!

So Panera is a place I used to meet friends for lunch often - when I was in a classroom, this was a great place to grade papers, work on report cards and even to do some lesson planning.  Free wifi, unlimited coffee, no servers to bug you and good food.

Fast forward to my Paleo eating habits now - this is not a place I frequent anymore.  While they have salads that are pretty good, I have to modify a lot - cheese, dressing, bread, croutons or wontons, etc.

SO I was super excited to hear that Panera had these new hidden menu items available.  Today I had a few minutes between a meeting at my school and a training at another site....and needed to grab something!

Panera Hidden Menu! 

I pulled it up on my phone, just in case  I had trouble ordering...but had no need for it!   The cashier knew just what I was talking about and she rang it up (with my request of no-onions!) with no hesitation!

SO exciting.  I had the Power Steak Lettuce Wraps with no onions.  It was delicious and great to go - I took it to my meeting and was very happy with that choice!

I didn't have any pesto (I was in a hurry, they had trouble getting the pesto to go, so they gave me olive oil and lemons, I didn't eat the olive oil anyway.)

DELICIOUS choice that has now opened up to me!  I'm excited to try the Power Mediterranean Chicken Salad next time.    I just need to figure out if the bacon is nitrate free.  :)

Coconut Butter and Coconut Date Cookie Bites

Last week I knew I had several meetings out of the building and would be running around like crazy, so I wanted to be prepared, food-wise. I bought some Lara bars that were coconut cream pie flavor. It sounded too good to be true. It turned out to be absolutely delicious.So I started thinking about how I could make something similar. I googled and looked around. I knew the basic ingredients words dates and almonds and coconut and so I wanted to find something creative to do with dates and coconut.

I found this recipe And I was intrigued.

First I needed to make some coconut butter.

Luckily I almost always have some unsweetened finely shredded coconut from let's do organic. I added one cup of this dried coconut to my tiny little food processor. And started to process. It took a long time and the coconut went through several stages, just like it does as you're making a nut butter. It seems like nothing is going to happen to the coconut, but you just have to keep processing. In all it took about 10 minutes.

Add 1 cup of dry, finely shredded, unsweetened coconut to your food processor.

This is my tiny little food processor. It cost less than five dollars on a black Friday deal several years ago, and it has been a tremendous kitchen helper.

The first thing you'll notice with the coconut if it will start to look a little moist and little tiny clumps will form. Scrape down the sides, stir up the coconut and turn the processor back on.

Then the coconut butter will start to look wet but still not really sticking together to form anything that resembles a nut butter. Again, scrape down the sides, stir the coconut and turn the food processor back on.

Finally you have coconut butter. Transfer this to an airtight container maybe a half pint mason jar or a snack cup from Tupperware.

Now it's time to make the cookie bites.

I started with just the two ingredients that the original recipe had but I think my dates were drier then the one she used and I don't know that my coconut butter added enough moisture to keep things together. So I modified the recipe a bit and added a little coconut oil. My coconut oil was solid but by the time it processed and warmed up from spinning around in the food processor it was just enough moisture to hold it together.

Add about two thirds of a cup of dates to your food processor. These should be pitted unsweetened dates. Mine were very tough. It might be because I didn't buy the brand name kind! I once I realized the dates were to tough, I took them out of the food processor and cut them into smaller chunks using a knife and a cutting board. After I did this they processed very easily. Also add 2 tablespoons of your coconut butter, and a little under a teaspoon of coconut oil.

Process In your food processor until everything is uniformly chopped and mixed.

Next I added some 85% dark chocolate. You want to add this at the very end, and only process it a little bit so your chunks don't completely disappear. At a grocery store near me, called Aldi, I get this 85% dark chocolate and it is perfect because it comes in a large bar that is separated into five small chocolate bars inside. This is great for me because then I am able to portion the chocolate outs and not be tempted to eat an entire large bar! I added one small bar to my food processor.

Next dump the entire contents of your food processor out onto a working surface. I used the cutting mat from pampered chef, but you could also use a large piece of waxed paper or another silicone mat. Using a spoon you a small amount into your hand and roll it into a ball.

This batch made six cookie bites and I immediately ate one, maybe two. I folded the aluminum foil up to make a little pouch and stored these in the freezer

 

 

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Thinking about goals - where I've been and where I want to go

One year ago, on Christmas break, we were sitting in the waiting room of the Cardiac Surgery Center waiting.  For 7.5 hours we waited.   No news at all...just knew it was bad and they would need some time.   The surgeon told us he WOULD come out when he was done, but not in between and he didn't send any of his staff out, not the way he works.  SO we waited.  And waited.

My nephews and niece and sister and brother-in-law and my mother and aunt and uncle who drove in later in the day.  We waited, tried to read, play with the kids, watch TV, but waited.

And that 5 way bypass that my dad had that day was a success.  An incredible success.  In so many ways.  He has a healthy heart now, more controlled blood sugar. Dad has lost a lot of weight and is closer to a healthy weight than he has been in all my life. My mom and dad are eating healthy and exercising regularly. I am a healthier, active person who has lost 90 lbs.   I am a smaller size than I was when I started middle school - in 7th grade I was already a 14/16W and an XL/2XL.  

We have come so far....and it took nearly the worst thing possible to get us there.

Last year, around President's Day, once I was back to my routine and dad was healing and I was no longer traveling home every weekend, I was ready to change.  And Medifast did that for me.  

I made a 3 part goal to be healthier in 2012:

• lose weight (I thought I wanted to be around a size 14/16, not necessarily a weight goal) - little did I know I would make it smaller than that!   I couldn't even IMAGINE a 14/16 on me! 
• to be more active,  (I made a goal to finish (Walk/Run/Crawl if I had to) 12 5Ks in 2012.   On New Years Eve Afternoon I RAN my 14th 5K + 1mile race.  I can run an entire 5K without stopping now when I could barely run 90 seconds at the start).  I have learned to use running and yoga and exercise as my stress relief instead of food.
• strengthen my heart and build endurance.  

Now it's time for 2013 - another great year ahead of me.   I have been thinking long and hard about my goals for this year.  Finding it hard to decide on one, so I'm settling on a multi-part goal again this year:

• Continue healthy Paleo eating and drop closer to a healthy body fat%
• Continue running/yoga/zumba/gravity classes.   Get stronger!  Build more muscle and endurance AND Try a new class or two in 2013  - spin, TRX or kettlebells maybe?
• Run!  
• Running Mileage Goal - I will run 500 miles in 2013.  RUN, not just my everyday FitBit tracked steps.
• Train for Nike Women's Half Marathon - April 28.  My goal is to jog/run it.   I walked a 1/2 in 2005 and took forever, this one will be faster.
• Complete Warrior Dash May 18 - including climbing the wall.

I can do this - after 2012, I know that I can accomplish EVERYTHING on this list.