Energy Favorites

This is a much-anticipated day for me. It has been a long-time goal of mine to pursue running once I was done having children. Well, that day is here and my dream is about to be realized. I am at the peak of my training, and in just over 4 weeks I will be competing in my first-ever half-marathon. As with anything else in life, I take on a holistic approach when it comes to running. My training consists of much more than just going out and running; it requires preparation of the mind, body, and even the soul. As I have learned in childbirth, to be successful you must make the mind run the body and not the other way around. You must start with the end in mind. I have been a health-conscious person my entire life, and running has given me the opportunity to explore products from a new venue. Being that I am Mormon and do not drink coffee, it has been a bit of a challenge to find energy from natural sources, but it is a challenge that I welcome. I have always been a naturalist and consider it a privilege to discover the health benefits of all the bounty God has placed on the earth.

The first product I discovered is Gu. I have not had much of a chance to develop a relationship with it as of yet, but as I get into the longer runs of 10 and 12 miles, it will be essential to have a quick, readily-available energy source that will not be heavy in my stomach. Gu is just that. It provides 100 calories and just enough sodium to aid in that second wind. I have experimented with it on my 4 and 5 mile runs, and will definitely be packing it in the coming weeks. I hear it is provided at aid stations along the race course.
Another favorite: kale. I prefer the local, organic farmer's market variety. My favorite way to consume it is in a smoothie, usually paired with soy milk and almond butter for protein. I have a green smoothie after every run which provides excellent recovery and rejuvenation. After I injured my knee and had to take two weeks off, I would imagine the healing properties of kale going straight to my knee and it worked! Dark green, leafy kale has so many energizing nutrients.
This is a new one that I hear is gaining rapid popularity: chia seeds. Remember the ch-ch-ch-chia gardens that people used to grow in the 80s? Yes, these are the ones. Who knew the chia seed had such amazing health benefits? Apparently they retain water, keeping you hydrated longer, maintain the electrolytes in your body, and give you a feeling of fullness. They're said to have more Omega-3s than salmon, more calcium than spinach, and are antioxidant-rich. They digest easily and do not need to be ground up like flaxseed. They are endurance-enhancing and are known as the "Indian Running Food." Apparently they were also used by the Aztec warriors during conquest. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to store them yet, but you can bet I'll be tossing back a handful of these on race day.
Aaahhh, coconut water. Transport me to a tropical oasis. Coconut water is more hydrating than regular water, contains sodium and electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, and is like a mini vacation for your tastebuds. I love coconut water as a recovery drink after a long run. (The best price I've found on it is at Trader Joe's, although if you can find it with mango puree the taste is so much better.)
Okay, so Mate has been a favorite of mine for about two years. Revered in Argentina as "the drink of the gods," Mate is the most popular drink in South America. It is entirely herbal yet packs about half the caffeine of a cup of coffee. I find it to be a very "clean" energy high without jitteriness. It awakens the senses and is used as a "carrier" for other herbs. It contains many nutrients and can be enjoyed year-round; I like it hot with cream and agave in the winter months, and enjoy it iced with milk for a mate latte in the summer.

Tapioca (a.k.a. cassava root) Pudding and a History Lesson

Today's history lesson led to a large pot of homemade tapioca pudding. The original source of tapioca is the root of the cassava plant, which was harvested in Central and South America by ancient civilizations thousands of years ago. Who knew? Thank you Story of the World for putting some "yum" into our day.

(By the way, the best recipe comes straight off the back of the bag.)

As Easy As...

... apple pie. I am 30 years old, have lived in America all my life, and have never made an apple pie... until yesterday. What else do you do on a Saturday with 6 kids and 35 pounds of apples?

I was finally able to pull the apple peeler/corer/slicer down that has gone untouched up on the shelf for the past two years, and what fun it was! We were all amazed by its ingenuity.

An apple slinky!
Whether it was peeling the apples, mixing, pouring, or rolling out the dough, all the kids had a part.
Dotted with (extra) butter... mmm.
Rachel later climbed up ON the table and became a floury mess.
We had extras, so we threw them in the crockpot for applesauce, which filled the house with a delicious aroma while it simmered.
I brushed the top crust with heavy whipping cream before putting it in the oven for a nice golden-brown finish. Next time I'll sprinkle it with sugar, too.
Ta-Da! There are two whole sticks of butter in this baby. I went to World Market and invested $8 in a stoneware pie pan, which made for a crispy crust and even texture.

This was so good, we even had some for breakfast. However, we didn't even make a dent in our apples so it looks like we'll be making more this week.
Guess I better run extra miles to work off all the pie I'll be eating!

Salted Caramel Ice-Cream... or should I just say Heaven?

We discovered a heavenly new recipe for homemade ice-cream: salted caramel. Picture Haagen-Dazs' most heavenly creation, only cheaper and homemade. This actually reminds me a lot of their Fleur de Sel, a seasonal number they had out a while back. Anyhow, on to the recipe. This recipe employed a new technique that I had never tried; caramelizing dry sugar to make caramel. I have made homemade caramels for Christmas by boiling cream, milk, butter, corn syrup, and sugar, but caramelizing the dry sugar then adding the cream was a much faster method and yielded delicious caramelly, buttery results.

You're going to need to start by making your favorite vanilla ice-cream base. I used 3/4c. sugar, 1c. whole mile, 2c. cream, 3 egg yolks, and vanilla. Make this and set it aside in an ice bath to chill.

Next you're going to make the caramel. Place 1 1/4 c. white sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Stir with a fork until the sugar starts to melt.


You'll start to see clumps form...
until it starts to melt.
It may crystallize a bit, just keep stirring and be careful not to burn.
Eventually it will be all liquid and reach this deep amber color. It's done.
Then you're going to add 1c. heavy cream. It will bubble and spatter, so be careful.
Keep stirring until the caramel redissolves into the cream.
You want it nice and velvety.
Remove from heat, and add 1 tsp. sea salt (the recipe called for 2, but I found 1 to be plenty salty) and 1 Tbs. Tahitian or Mexican vanilla. Set aside to cool completely.
When cool, add caramel mixture to your vanilla ice-cream base.
Incorporate until you have a smooth consistency.
Chill several hours and churn in an ice-cream maker 20-30 minutes. This will be very soft-serve at first, but I froze mine overnight and it was even better the next day. Sweet, salty, and decadent.
I guarantee this recipe will be going in your favorites collection; it did mine!

General Conference 2011

Aaahhh, another wonderful Conference weekend. A moment to take pause and focus on the important things in life- faith and family. I just love the spirit that permeates our home every 6 months as we gather around the T.V. (or computer) and listen to the messages of the Prophet and apostles during General Conference. It helps us to find our center as we pursue our course and reminds us of why we're doing what we're doing.


My "babies," although Anthony looks like he's almost caught up to Rachel in size!


Here are the kids playing a game of Conference Bingo during today's afternoon session. Whenever they got a Bingo they could eat the Skittles in that row. It's a great way to get them to be attentive during the talks!
I'm all about the food during Conference weekend, so of course I had to make homemade bread to go along with dinner.
I tried my hand at Russian Borscht last night; a soup made with beets, carrots, onion, cabbage, and potatoes (all from the farmer's market.)
I used the outside leaves of my ginormous head of cabbage to make cabbage rolls.
Stuffed with sausage and rice and topped with tomato sauce... mmm.
Dad asked Ashlee to walk on his back, and this is what he got: a massage of varying degrees! When Kaitlyn and Rachel saw what was going on they had to do it too.

Hope they worked out all those knots for him!
I feel so edified from the messages of Conference and hope to retain some of what I felt inspired by in the busy upcoming weeks and months. I know life will go on with all of its challenges, but Conference really does help me overcome those challenges with an eternal perspective.

Creme Brulee French Toast

I was inspired by Marilyn to try this creme brulee french toast over Conference weekend. We make it a tradition to have yummy breakfasts before General Conference, and this was just the kind of new recipe I was looking for (and it's very easy.)

Boil together 1 stick butter with 1 c. packed brown sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and a little caramelized. Pour into bottom of 9x13 pan.
Layer thick slices of bread (brioche would be best, but I used cinnamon swirl because Trader Joe's was out of the former.)
Whisk together 5 eggs, 1 1/2c. half-and-half, a splash of Mexican vanilla, and the grated peel of one orange (this is in lieu of Grand Marnier.)
Pour egg mixture over bread slices and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. In the morning, bring dish to room temperature by setting out on counter. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 oven for 35 minutes. This was so delicious and needed no syrup! Thanks for the yummy idea Marilyn.

Strawberry-Kiwi Smoothies

What to do with the five pound bag of over-ripe kiwis sitting in the refrigerator? Make smoothies, of course!
Always with a touch of honey.
And take advantage of cute photo ops like this one.

Ravenous!

Do not underestimate my ability to work my way through this pile of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. It's about the fourth batch I've made since Anthony's been born. Something about the postpartum period always has me ravenous. I think my body is saying, "If we're not going to sleep, we're going to eat." Despite my intentions to maintain my diet of mostly fruits and vegetables, the nature of the beast has won the better of me. It's sugar I crave- and sugar I eat! I figure I'll work it off when I start training for another run.

Veggies

We've had an abundance of vegetables in our house the past couple of weeks. I didn't expect to be going into labor two weeks early, so I stocked up on Farmer's Market produce expecting to cook. Then while Cathe was here she went to Costco and stocked up for us. To top it all off, we had some neighbors who were going out of town and decided to bring their produce over to us so it didn't go bad. Despite my intentions, I've been cooking! In all honesty, cooking is one of the things I really enjoy and don't really ever take a break from, postpartum or not.

Here is a snippet from last night's dinner:
oven roasted potatoes and peppers topped with a drizzle of oil and fresh herbs (one of my favorite side dishes.)
grilled asparagus and sauteed mushrooms to top our tri-tip:
butter lettuce salad.
I can almost see the bottom of my produce drawers, just in time for market this Saturday. =)