I Love the Smell of Hippie in the Morning

I’m not sure this photo really does the feeling of spilled green juice justice.

That glass was FULL moments before that picture was taken.

The only thing I can compare spilling about 8 oz of fresh vegetable juice to would be spilling a 4 oz bottle of expressed breast milk all over your desk and work clothes. M@ther#F*ckr%! How quickly you understand why they call it liquid gold. Something you worked so damn hard for and is now gone, you’ve got a mess to clean up, a baby who’s going without lunch (kidding) or a husband who’s going without breakfast (talking about the other kind of juice now).

Lesson learned – although you think I would have learned this in 1st grade – dry your hands off before picking something up that is slippery when wet. What a concept.

The glass slipped out of my wet hand as I picked it up to transfer juice from the glass to the pitcher. Fortunately it was mainly cucumber, apple and lemon juice and all the gold (juice from the romaine) had already be transferred about 5 minutes earlier. So really I only spilled liquid bronze this morning. I’ve got a boat load of apples and lemons and cucumbers so I was able recover from early morning juice carnage without having to tell Zak that no, I didn’t make any juice this morning with one hand covering the green juice slopped onto my shirt while my other hand wiped off my green juice mustache.

In other hippie news – I got out the mung beans this morning and started soaking them to prepare for lift off. I mean sprouting.

Why do I feel like I have a mouth full of pebbles every time I say the word “Mung”?

4 tablespoons of dried mung beans. Gonna let these little suckers soak for 6 hours and then let the sprouting fun begin. 3 – 4 days til complete sprout-age tells this impatient mama that it’s time to go find some more wide mouth jars.

I wanted to take a clever picture of my juice and my soaking beans, one in each hand, using my third hand to hold the camera. My third hand being comprised of the the timer on my camera and holding my camera between my chin and my chest. But what I wound up with was a camera that slipped from it’s position (stupid sweatshirt) and came crashing down on to the stove, MORE slopped juice that landed on my camera to top it all off. My camera seems no worse for wear but I don’t think it appreciates live enzymes and chlorophyll the same way I do. Yeah – not sure my sweatshirt is really the stupid one here.

Somewhere along my comedy of errors this picture was taken and you can bet my juice drinking bean sprouting ass it’s getting posted on the blog for everything I went through this morning to take it.

So here’s my very non-clever, juice and camera friendly picture of what I did with myself this morning.

Oh how I love the smell of hippie in the morning.

That juice is now safely in my stomach and those beans are sitting on the window sill in my kitchen getting their soak on.

In other non-hippie news I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do this morning: run or ride. When I realized that neither idea appealed to me I counted backwards and realized I haven’t had a rest day since Tuesday of last week – so today’s the day. I “rested” today by cursing at myself while mopping up juice mixed with tears.

And a fun announcement: if you’re a blogger (or even if you aren’t!) head over to Matt the No Meat Athlete’s new(ish) blog Health Blog Helper to check out a guest post of mine today! Health Blog Helper is a site Matt designed to offer advice and tips for those who blog in the healthy living niche. I’m working on a new series for Health Blog Helper called Behind the Blog where I interview some of the rock star healthy living bloggers and give my fellow health bloggers (not to mention myself!) a peek at what makes some of the more prominent blogs tick. Be sure to check out my first interview featuring Caitlin from Health Tipping Point today! And be sure to poke around HBH while you’re there – Matt’s got a bunch of great posts and tips for bloggers of all shapes and sizes.

One Armed Carrot Jokes

Who doesn’t want a little AliSUN in their day?

Anyone who doesn’t read this blog, apparently.

I ran to the soothing sounds of having New Moon read to me. Finally someone who reads TO ME!

I set out to run 5 miles and was back in about 40 minutes. I was ready to be done running but not ready to head back inside yet so I hopped on my bike for a 20 minute cool down ride and took advantage of the opportunity for a slightly longer work out today.

Home in time to be joined by a one armed carrot for lunch.

What do you call an elephant with a carrot stuffed in each ear?

Anything you want, he can’t hear you!

I’m sorry. I googled one armed carrot jokes but I got nothing.

At least the next person who googles “One Armed Carrot Jokes” should wind up here. Too bad I’ve got nothing. FOOLED YOU!

(If you are reading this post because you googled one armed carrot jokes, please report back with any good one armed carrot jokes you come up with so I’ve got one for next time.)

Moving on.

After listening to the sound of a one armed carrot clapping I enjoyed a giant salad and sound of Jillan yelling.

Oh Jillian how I’ve missed you!

The phone rang tonight during bathtime and it was Zachary Green Juice Lover calling to report his motorcycle was out of juice and he needed to be rescued. I pulled my two prunes out of the tub and off we went on a rescue mission.

Can you make out Zak in that pic? Are you making out with my husband?? *slap slap slap*

Words from the Weeds on the car ride to save dad?

Ava: Look! A wishing star! I wish I was a princess who never burped or farted! Isn’t that a good wish, mom?

Why yes, that is a good wish. I can’t say I haven’t wished that one myself. For both of us.

After rescuing the man I rescued the leftovers. Can we say bean soup and hummus? I think I just did.

Do you like that bite missing from the hummus on Ezekiel toast? Are you admiring how perfect my bite is? Two years of orthodontia baby! All leading up to this moment. You can thank my mom and dad in the comments for that.

It’s late and I’m feeling punchy (in case you couldn’t tell) from googling one armed carrot jokes and rescuing men and leftovers and wishing I was burpless fart free princess. I’m wishing that for you tonight too. You’re welcome.

Tomato Currency

Ava loves to ask what she’ll be able to do when she’s X years old. What can she do when she’s 7? How old does she have to be to drive a car? How old will Maxine be when she’s 9? How old does Mommy think she is eating all those prunes?

Today in the car on the way to the grocery store (where else would we be going?) she asked what she can do when she’s 13.

Me: *thoughtful for a moment* Ummm, you can babysit.

Ava: BABY SIT?!? Naw, that’s boring.

Me: You get paid money to baby sit.

Ava: *Absolutely incredulous* Are you kidding me?! Granny gets paid money to baby sit us?!

No, I’m not kidding you – and NO I definitely do NOT pay Granny to baby sit you. In fact, I make Granny pay ME with gazpacho when she baby sits you!

My mom has been singing the praises of gazpacho all summer and I’m finally just catching on to this gazpacho business.

In typical Alison fashion – just in time for the first frost and for tomato season to be officially over. Way to go me! But then again it’s not unusual for me to be running late, returning library books a couple days after their due date, keeping fetuses locked up inside beyond 40 weeks. That’s just how I roll. I guess this should come as no surprise that I found a new favorite dish at the end of tomato season.

Last Saturday I practically had to pry a dish of gazpacho from Granny’s white knuckled clutches before I left her house with my children. In fact I threatened not to take them home with me unless she handed over the goods. I ate it after the half marathon on Sunday and it was so good I settled out of the court for the recipe so I could recreate it at home.

This is my mom’s recipe, inspired from the gazpacho recipe in The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose.

4 or 5 medium tomatoes, seeded & stem removed
½ large red bell pepper, seeded
½ English cucumber, peeled (or ½ regular cuke, peeled and seeded)
½ to 1 clove garlic, chopped
½ cup vegetable juice Vegetable juice? Yeah, there’s none of that laying around here. Cause I DRANK it all!
¼ cup (or more) olive oil
1 t salt, or to taste
1 t cayenne pepper, or to taste

Put all ingredients in food processor and puree until smooth.

Refrigerate several hours & stir again before eating.

She also notes not to omit the olive oil because it imparts a great flavor, and for raw tomatoes, it’s the only way that your body can access the lycopenes. I did NOT know that. Is that in the Raw Food Detox Diet? I got from the library and returned it (late) long ago so I don’t have the book anymore to go back and look. Good thing that question didn’t show up on the Raw Food Final Exam.

So here we go, the start of my seven course dinner.

Veggies, into the food processor bowl. Enter Course 1: the other half of the red sweet pepper that wasn’t required for the recipe of course.

I wanted to stream the olive oil into the food processor as it was doing it’s thing, but trying to do that and hold the camera steady to take a picture at the same time? Not so much.

Take 1 and Take 2.

There were no more “Takes” after Take 2 lest my gazpacho have more lycopene’s than you can shake a fist at.

My very first gazpacho. Also, my Course 2.

This is SO good I did NOT refrigerate it for even one moment before I tossed that spoon into the corner of the dining room and slurped it straight from the bowl. OK I guess I did use the spoon for a little while but there was definitely bowl slurp-age at the end. My breakfast tomorrow is refrigerating as I type.

Next I did what any sane person would do and made a batch of sun dried tomato hummus since I already had the food processor out.

I swear to God, give me a jar of sun dried tomatoes and I’m putting them in anything and everything until the jar is empty.

Enter: Course 3

Toasted sesame Ezekiel bread, mustard, fresh sun dried tomato hummus, spinach and sprouts.

And HALLELUJAH Medjool dates are back at Wegmans! They’ve been out for at least two weeks and I’ve been suffering the symptoms of date withdrawal, having to tape prunes to my upper arm like a nicotine patch for crying out loud. But oh yes, that was me tonight leaving the store with the 8 lb box of medjool dates, escorted by security whilst snarling and snapping at anyone who raised an eye brow or asked if they could have just one.

Course 4.

And Course 5 and 6 and 7 too.

That’s right. FOUR. Don’t judge me.

I almost hyperventilated when I realized that tonight is the season premiere of 30 Rock and The Office! I haven’t watched TV all summer but you can bet your butt I’m clicking Publish and am off to dig out the Bendryl to make sure Thing 1 and Thing 2 go down without a fight!

Alright, alright just kidding – settle down! The Bendryl is here on my desk I don’t have to dig anything out.

ANOTHER JOKE – geez man don’t call CPS on me, the neighbors call enough as it is.

OK I’m stopping now. Really.

Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right

Immediately after I hit Publish this morning we were off for a homeschooling meet up with some friends at a playground.

Do you remember being a kid and running without wondering when it was time to stop? Running to try and catch a bird or running like you were being chased by a monster in the basement that was going to pull you back down if you didn’t get to the top of the basement stairs before the door closed at the bottom of the stairs behind you?

(See her out there running like it’s nobody’s business?)

No?  I guess that last one was only me.

Watching Ava run like she was being chased by a swarm of bees after her honey reminded that kids don’t worry about their form, their stride, their pace or their heart rate. They run just to RUN.  Too bad she won’t appreciate it until she’s 30.

Despite a chilly and windy day, we managed to spend the whole afternoon at the playground.  This was the perfect set up for another soupy dinner, so it was worth it.

Tonight I made Black Bean and Salsa Soup, one of my all time favorites. Not only is this soup fast and easy but it’s delicious too.

I made some changes tonight to my usual recipe for Black Bean and Salsa Soup, but the changes made even it easier.

I sauteed a little garlic in extra virgin olive oil and added two 15 oz cans of rinsed and drained black beans with a couple cups of water, a cup of vegetable broth and a 16 oz container of medium salsa.

I brought everything to a boil and reduced it to a simmer. I ladled out about half into the food processor (instead of the blender, which is harder to scrape out) and pureed it until smooth.  I poured the pureed beans, broth and salsa it back into the pot with the unpureed soup. This is my absolutely FAVORITE way to make a base for soup!

With the base ready to go, I added about 8oz of frozen corn. I took a cue from my new best friend Brendan and decided to replace white rice with quinoa. I love to add rice because it makes it feel more like a meal. But the addition of rice means I have to cook the rice in a separate pot, dirtying another pan (BOO!) and more time too. To add quinoa I just rinsed it and then added it to the pot with everything else.  it cooks up in 15 minutes or so and VOILA. Ready to go, extra protein to boot. (YAY!)

The quinoa was perfect and honestly seemed no different than it does when I make with rice.

I added a couple shakes of cilantro, cumin and a smidgen of roasted red pepper for a little spice.

Why does soup taste better out of a mug? And why does soup taste better with big chunks of avocado on top? Why does anything taste better with big chunks of avocado on top?

I’m going to leave you tonight with a special post from the first runner I ever knew. My dad. But a little background first.

For as long as I can remember, my dad has run on his lunch hour at work. He runs every day, with out fail. Like a mailman, he braves all kinds of weather. People say “You’re not going out TODAY?!” and look at him incredulously as he heads out to run on a 100 degree day with 99% humidity or 30 below and it’s snowing so hard you can’t see your hand in front of your face.

He runs Every. Day.

The other day he calls to tell me a story.  A story that gives new meaning to the word dedication.  A story that had me wiping tears from my eyes.  I asked him to write it down so I could share it on the blog. This was too good not to share.

—

Like most runners, I have a closet with more than a few pairs of running shoes in it. Some still in service, some awaiting the end of the road as lawn mowers or painters. We feel good about squeezing the last bit of toothpaste out of ’em.

So a couple of dark Monday mornings ago, I was too rushed to simply hit the light and see what I was grabbing. After all, I know where my bag and trusty Nike summer trainers are. Feeling around, I grab my shoes, shove ’em in the bag, load in the togs and towel, out the door.

Now, I run at lunch. Have for 30-plus years. You can forget a thing here or there but you are not getting it done without shorts or shoes. Open the locker, start getting ready, shorts on, shirt on, pull out the shoes. You idiot. Two different shoes. Two different LEFT shoes. One Nike summer, one Asics trail. Both lefts.

Panic.

But wait, I can always just go to the weight room, shoeless, but at least I can get that in anyway.

Hold on here, I muse. How bad can it be? I mean, what if I were getting my shoes out of a dumpster?  It could be worse.

OK, let’s see. I try the left Asics trail shoe on the right foot. My foot looks like it was caught in an elevator door. It feels like walking in a brick. But now the left Nike on the right foot…hmmm, kind of unstructured, a little softer. I unlace the whole thing, slap it on. It actually looks believable, feels a tick weird, but OK. I figure to hit the weight room for twenty minutes and see where I come out with this idea. Oh, the idea? Why running in two lefts, of course.

Nobody has noticed at this point. Maybe it’s just that we are all so used to each other. Maybe it’s because they wouldn’t DARE say anything. Well, I assure you that I have running companions who live to torture, deride and insult each other, me included. But they are nowhere in sight.

By now I’m actually comfy! I decide not to look down. If I can get even a paltry three miles in, I’ll be happy. Off I go. Past the bank, out the front door. State Street. Noon. Nobody notices that I look like I play in Green Day.

Two miles. OK, I’m a little crampy. I look down. Even I have to start laughing. What am I DOING? Should I turn back, heck it’s going to be four miles!  No way. Point of no return straight ahead. I vow for six. I mean hey, there’s this guy who runs mega in bare feet.

At mile five, I’m almost home free – well on the way back. No. Can’t be. The King of Insults, Mikey with Paul and John in tow. I decide to just act natural as we pass on the venerable river trail. Mikey spots the two misfit shoes immediately and starts to heckle…then I stop, hands on hips, posed like black and white TV Superman. Then they realize that it’s two lefties.

After they get Mikey back on his feet and stop him from convulsing in laughter we are off on our separate ways, echoes of “idiot! moron!…” fading.

I can’t wait to tell my daughter, I call her right away…basically repeating the story you have so kindly indulged me in telling. She is such a good sport, and nothing is as sweet to me as the sound of her giggles or uncontrollable, stomach holding laughter…which I assure you, she provided.

I told her that NEVER again will I tell my granddaughters that they have their shoes on the wrong feet.

I don’t know about you, but if I showed up at the gym with two left shoes, that would totally would have been my sign that it was a day to go out to lunch – not my sign to figure out which left shoe was a better fit on my right foot! Chipotle here I come!

Now Let Play Alison Says

OK boys and girls stand up! It’s time to play Alison Says!

Alison Says… eat a giant salad for lunch EVERY DAY.

Woo HOO still standing!

Alison Says… figure out what to do with this giant winter squash you bought from the farm stand on the side of the road on Saturday.

Ohhhh I can do that! I can do that! Let's make soup.

Alison Says… peel that sucker and cube it up.

Done and done.

Dance a jig!!

Oh man didn’t get me! Totally NOT dancing a jig.

Alison Says… add a couple of cups of veggie broth and/or water to a large pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is soft.

Alison Says… once squash is tender, ladle out about half into the food processor and process until smooth.

Alison Says… put the pureed soup back into the pot and continue to let simmer.

Add a can of rinsed and drained cannellini beans.

Oops! I mean Alison Says… add a can of rinsed and drained cannellini beans.

Alison Says… saute some garlic and onions in extra virgin olive oil. When soft add them to the pot.

Add some fresh spinach.

WHO’D I CATCH?

Alison Says… add about 8 oz of frozen spinach since you’ve got some in the freezer. Save the fresh stuff in the fridge for salads and sandwiches.

Alison Says… add some salt and pepper and cinnamon too. YES that’s right, cinnamon! You won’t be sorry, I promise.

Time to eat!

Gotcha! I didn’t say Alison Says!

I LOSE! My punishment? A burned tongue. Ahhh soup season is finally here.

Re-Runs

With the girls with Aunt Ellen for the day, I spent yesterday chained to my desk. A forgotten pleasure.

I unlocked the chains long enough to make a big salad mess. A far-from-forgotten pleasure. A re-run I’ll happily enjoy day after day.

Before the girls came home last night I ran to the marathon expo with my running partner Shawn. Well, we didn’t really run, we drove. You never can tell so I figure I better clarify.

This year I took advantage of the sneaker recycling program they offer and brought my old sneakers to donate to this “Re-Runs” Program.

Those are the sneakers I ran the marathon in last year! I probably should have had them bronzed. Could be cool but then it would just be one more thing to dust.

Bahahaha who am I kidding I never dust.

This is the journey any pair of running sneakers of mine are destined to take:

First, they are born. Born to run.
Then, they run many miles and grow old. A new pair is born and they are free to retire for walks and visits to the playground.
Next, when a third generation is born, they graduate to lawn mowing.
Eventually, they are left to live in the garage due to grass stains and clipping stick-age. Spiders lay eggs in them and they are thrown out.

Thrown out, or in this case donated to needy people. Don’t ever say I don’t do my part for the community.

OK, just kidding. That pair never made it to the Land of Lawn Mowing and Spider Eggs. I tried to donate a lawn mowing pair but when I reached under the bench to grab them without looking I didn’t realize until it was too late that I grabbed two right shoes. (I have two of the exact same retired pair out there in Spider Valley.) I think a higher power intervened and was trying to tell me not to be an idiot. I tossed them and now have two left shoes in my garage that are being converted into spider condos.

This would be me posing with my tech shirt! WOOT one of the first 1500 to register and get a free tech shirt! Wow, a race shirt I’ll actually be able to run in – go figure. (Cotton is the enemy! Hisssss!)

Zak pointed out once that I always cock my head to the left when I’m getting my picture taken. Why do I do this? Someone tell me why!

A nice little message.

Actually, I prefer to Run Angry. WHY WOULD I RUN HAPPY?? TELL ME WHY! Don’t boss me around! Jerk.

*Ahem*

I’ve been contemplating my mid-run fuel and have opted to go with Sport Beans because I’ve used them before. I like dried fruit or could make some of Brendan‘s fuel recipes, but I’m sticking with the “nothing new on race day” approach and going with what I know works.

I picked up these beans up at the expo. The watermelon are mine and the cherry are Shawn’s. He gave them to me so he wouldn’t forget them. Nice. So if we both bonk tomorrow it’ll be all on me. They’ll have gels on the course but the beans are easy to keep in your shorts pocket and pop a couple as needed. Less messy and that little bag fits perfectly in the inside pouch my running shorts too.

I’ve never had the caffeinated sport beans though. So I guess that will be new on race day. Oops. I haven’t had a cup of coffee or any caffeine for that matter for the last two weeks. When I go a while without coffee I can really feel the effect of caffeine. Caffeine can definitely be a performance enhancer. I fully expect these to turn on the turbo boosters and allow me run like someone said “Free Larabars at the finish!”

So I’m going to segue now into a bout of seriousness and honesty. I know, I know. Humor me here.

In the past I would totally splurge on a fun dessert leading up to the race, like cake or ice cream for a pre-run treat/carbo load! Yes, even two nights early. It’s not that I feel like I “deserve” it, more like “I’m excited about a big event let’s do something fun!” And I totally felt that pre-race excitement/sugary instinct last night! But after reading Thrive (and I’ve still got a full review coming, I promise) I’ve come to understand that this is pretty far from what you might call a good idea.

Brendan writes that processed foods can actually hamper your performance. Refined sugars and carbs put stress on your system, and it takes a lot of energy and taxes the body to digest these foods. This is true no matter when you eat them, but going into a big race? The last thing I want to do is waste precious energy digesting food!

In the past I would totally think “oh, I’m running XX miles this week, I can totally have a piece of a cake. I’m carb loading!” A piece of cake is fine now and then and I certainly allow room for treats in my life, but I now fully realize that if there’s any time to focus on WHOLE foods that are easily assimilated into the body – the days leading up to a race or big event is definitely the time to do it. If it were a 5K I might be a little more lax, but considering I want to really perform well tomorrow I’m taking this very seriously.

Home after the expo I snacked my way through some carrots, banana chips and dried apples and then realized I better make something. I didn’t want to have to tell Zak we were having banana chips for dinner. I ended up going with the same black bean burgers I made on Tuesday. Another re-run but that’s how you know it was good! This time I wanted to add a little flour to the mix but I didn’t have any.

I remembered a comment left by Shawna from Balancing Me on my Tofu Cakes post from Thursday. Shawna reminded me that you can make your own oat flour by processed some rolled oats.

And that’s exactly what I did.

In the bowl: 1 15 oz can of (rinsed, drained, mashed) black beans, 1/2 cup oat flour, 1/2 cup chopped (in my mini chopper) sun dried tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped sunflower seeds.

In the pan dusted with a Misto‘d with a little olive oil, it’s already getting a thumbs up because I know how good it’s going to be!

On a toasted Ezekiel bun with mustard, spinach and a pickle. The oat flour definitely made this even sturdier than the one on Tuesday. Zak and I agreed that these were the best home made veggie burgers yet!

Oh yes you can totally kiss that sucker good bye.

Zak went out to lunch yesterday with his coworkers and brought fortune cookies home for the girls, and even one for me. I found meaning in my fortune.

So I lied, I guess I did eat some processed grains and sugar yesterday! Crap I’m such a hypocrite.

This morning after I dreamed of becoming somebody, I awakened to make my vegetables become something. Juice.

The usual crowd: Romaine Jackson, Coolio Cucumber, Sir Beet Feet, Apple of My Eye, Ginger Rogers and Lemon Lemone.

Later this morning, the re-run I’ve been waiting 24 hours for… Chocolate Banana Fruit Cereal.

My two bananas, diced and coated in ground flax and cocoa powder.

The exact same breakfast I had yesterday.

On any other day I would have just skipped posting about the meals from yesterday, but I thought I would share my new Thrive-inspired approach to fueling for a big event. Veggies! Healthy Fats! Fruit! More veggies! We’ll see how it goes.

The race starts tomorrow at 7:45AM. My goal is to come in under 2 hours. A time of 1:59:59 means an average pace of 9:08/mile. I hope to run much faster than that but I’m glad to have a minimum pace in my mind.

In a perfect race day world, I would love to come in under 1:50. A time of 1:49:59 means an average pace of 8:23. I believe I’ll be able to finish in less than 2 hours, but less than 1:50? I’m not so sure.

The whole fam is heading over to Shawn’s house tonight for dinner and to finalize our race day approach. It will be another day of re-runs. Veggie burger for lunch, a huge salad for dinner. No pre-race pasta ritual for this chicka! Not this time. I’ll be on the Veggie Highway.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a full race report! Send me all the fast mama vibes you’ve got, I’ll take everything I can get!

Water Snacks and Pink Shoes

We had an errand to run this morning, and fortunately it landed us very near the library, so we stopped in for a visit. First stop: the bird cages.

Be sure to check out Maxine’s self selected ensemble. I just got those shoes for her at a thrift shop ($2!!) and no other shoes have been worn since. I kid you not that she threw a complete fit last night when I told her she could not wear them to bed.

Home from the library, I was thrilled to get the mail and find the new Runner’s World waiting for me!

I’m especially excited about this issue though because yours truly is mentioned in one of the articles this month! Do you get Runner’s World? Be sure to check out the article “Run for All” article by John Hanc. When I attempted to train for the marathon in 2007 I had to stop because I wasn’t ready, but I still volunteered at the race that year and it made me more determined than ever to do it in 2008. The article is basically about how running can do much more for you than just shedding some pounds.

Breakfast was so late this morning that I wasn’t really hungry for lunch, but I felt like I should eat a little something and cut up a (Washed! TWICE!) apple for a mid day snack.

Later in the afternoon while I made a late lunch for myself the girls were ready for a “snack”. This would be Ava’s recipe, hold on to your hats.

Water popsicles.

They were so excited for ice cubes on a stick it made me wonder why I ever buy them cookies. Ava made these a while ago but found them today when the snacks I offered (an apple, a banana) were unappealing to her.

Someone remind me why I spend so much money on organic food.

During water popcicle fun, my I enjoyed a sun filled salad with the left over white bean dip smeared on a piece of Ezekiel toast.  My beast of a salad was comprised of red leaf, spinach, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, sprouts, mushrooms, broccoli and carrots.

After water snacks Ava and I sat down on the couch together to read a book about volcano’s and Maxine crawled up into my lap to listen, but apparently we bored her to sleep.

Tonight for dinner I was in the mood for something new. I was going to try one of Brendan Brazier’s pizza recipes but when I realized it was getting kind of late and the pizza recipes in his book take 45 minutes just to BAKE (not even including prep time) I decided to save it for another night and went with a new spin on black bean burgers instead.

Tonight’s All Star Ingredient? Why sun dried tomatoes! Thanks for asking!

I put about a 1/2 cup of jarred sun dried tomatoes packed in oil into my mini prep and chopped them up to mix into the can of rinsed black beans that I had mashed up. I then chopped up about a 1/2 cup or so of sunflower seeds in the mini prep and stirred it all together. I added a little minced garlic on a whim, formed into patties and cooked on each side for about 4 – 5 minutes.

Sun dried tomato burger on an Ezekiel roll with pickles, mustard and red leaf lettuce.  This turned out so great and held together the best of all my veggie burger experiments yet!  Served with steamed broccoli topped with Nutritional Yeast. I usually use parm but Brendan talks about the benefits of nutritional yeast in Thrive and I’ve had some in the cupboard for a while now, not knowing what to really do with it.   I whipped it out tonight for a broccoli topping and it was good. It’s got a very nutty, almost cheesy flavor and is a good source of protein. I liked it and will use it again.

And now I better prepare myself to fight the Pink Shoes Bedtime Battle again tonight, I’m sure. Wish me luck.

Intuitive Eating Refresher

Today has totally felt like a Saturday. Monday? Really?

My little juice prank went off without a hitch this morning you’ll be glad to know. He’s a good sport and shares my crazy sense of humor. He laughed at the lid on the juice and said that it was definitely one joke that could have gone horribly wrong, but he would have been more sad over lost juice than a messy fridge.

After juice jokes, I changed into bike riding gear and had a little kiwi for a snack before heading out.

Home again 56 minutes and 14.5 miles later I snacked on carrots and salsa as I made lunch for everyone.

Veggie sandwiches for me and the man. Who needs cheese and mayo when you’ve got avocado? Nature’s creamy goodness if you ask me!

Don’t pout little sprout, it’ll all work out.

And a little handful of raisins and almonds for dessert.

Notice there has not been much Green and Black dark chocolate love these days? After reading Thrive I’ve been inspired to go without it for a while. Coffee too. It’s been over a week since my last cup of coffee. I had one day of a mild headache but I’m feeling free of any caffeine addiction. Brendan Brazier talks about caffeine being a stimulating food and if you can cut stimulating foods out of your diet (other stimulating foods include refined grains, refined sugar, processed carbs) you can eliminate food cravings. I’m giving it the old college try because why not. So far I’m having good luck with it. I’ve by no means eaten my last piece of chocolate and am not swearing off coffee forever. I do enjoy a little experimenting though and right now I’m feeling motivated.

Later in the afternoon Zak took the girls to the playground and I headed off to buy groceries all by myself. I didn’t even know what to do with myself. Free to browse, read labels, go from one end of the store to the other and back again on a whim! No stops at the bathroom! Any check out lane I wanted! Wheeeee I stood on the back of the shopping cart and sailed down the aisles singing “She’s a Maniac” as I threw dried apples into my cart with reckless abandon.

Apparently I did a little too much browsing and savoring of my solitary shopping trip because I was positively starving by the time I got out of the store. I ripped open the bag of crispin apples as I was loading up groceries and chomped down on it standing right there in the parking lot!

This was not an organic apple and I did not wash it before eating it. I have no idea if this in my head or what but immediately after eating this apple my lips and the tip of my tongue felt slightly numb! Seriously. It’s been 3 or 4 hours now and I’m still feeling it even if I forget about it for a while. Am I nuts? Don’t answer that.  I can see the newspaper headline now:

Psychosomatic Lip and Tongue Numbness from Conventionally Grown Apples Sends Woman to Loony Bin

That’s one story I’m definitely gonna read.

The apple helped curb my hunger but I totally munched on (washed!) grape tomatoes as I unpacked groceries. I bought these from a farm stand on the way home and they are the best tomatoes I’ve had all season.

I was sort of late getting home and Zak had made some tofu veggie stir fry for for dinner.  I had a little of that while I was trying to figure out what I really in the mood for.

Talk about dinner randomness. Even after an apple, tomatoes and some stir fry I was still feeling like I needed something more and whipped up the White Bean Dip recipe I saw in Health magazine this month.

Steal This Dish? Don’t mind if I do.

The recipe called for fresh sage but I didn’t have any. I do however have rosemary growing in the garden and used a sprig of that.

I warmed a little extra virgin olive oil in a pan and added some minced garlic and chopped rosemary.

After they sauteed together for a little while and everything had soften up I stirred it into some rinsed and mashed cannellini beans.

Mixed and smeared onto some toasted Ezekiel bread. I actually see a lot of possibility with this dish.  I need to use cannellini beans more often. I have to remember this one!  It was a tasty, fast and easy meal. Or part of a 4 course meal apparently.

I was definitely feeling full after the beans and toast. Intuitive Eating and a little reflection makes me think I didn’t eat enough for lunch today and therefore lead to feeling insatiable this evening. I’m feeling normal now though, especially after a cup of tea. My choices were healthy but I still feel like I over did it. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day.

That new day being Tuesday, right?

And We’re Back!

I didn’t know if I was going to blog tonight but after a weekend away at the family cottage, completely removed from all forms of technology, the girls are making up for lost time and reacquainting themselves with their forgotten friends, Computer and Television. I like to call those friends Peace and Quiet, respectively.

A little photo journal from our weekend away. We had picture perfect weather and lots of uninterrupted family time.

Nature Pics

The exact same picture, but behind my sunglasses. Because I’m cool like that.

Randomness.

Saturday was a rest day but I enjoyed a little unofficial exercise in the kayak. Holy shoulder work out batman.

Yes, it’s really me behind the camera!

Rapids!

I see… a bad moon rising! There’s a bathroom on the right… or whatever the lyrics are to that song.

Food Pics

Have veggies, will travel.

I put together a couple of these little trail mix containers for easy snacking and packing. This was my pre-run snack this morning. Dried apples, raisins, walnuts and pumpkin seeds.

I love to run at the cottage because the change of scenery is a great way to mix it up. Plus the area is hillier than an SOB and is another great way to mix it up. The hills also give me a great chance to try out new curse words too.

Kids Pics

This would be Ava’s new favorite thing: being buried to her neck in sand.

Rinsing off and Zak showing Ava he can float.

And of course she had to be buried again this morning before we left.

This concludes tonight’s photo adventure. Back to regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow AM!

Salad Adventures and Lessons in Hummus

So I know what you’re thinking. Another boring salad for lunch. Well not today’s my friends. Today, salad went on an adventure.

First, salad wanted to know how tall it was. So we got out the measuring tape.

How big is salad?

Soooo big!

Then, salad wanted to ride on the rocking horse. I didn’t see any reason NOT to so off we went.

Next, salad wanted to play the drum. OK salad, but just for a minute.

Salad, still feeling a little musical, wanted to play the keyboard. Salad totally rocked some funky beats.

Then salad needed to make a few calls. I waited patiently. Salad has excellent telephone manners.

Then salad was feeling sleepy and it was time for a nap. Shhh. Salad is sleeping.

I waited for salad to fall asleep. And then I ate him.

In other news, I made hummus today!

When I make hummus, I might used canned garbanzo beans, and sometimes I have more time and patience and I cook my own.

I use to be very intimated by cooking my own beans, but then I slapped myself a few times and said shut up they are just beans get over it.

There are two methods. Patient and Impatient

The Patient Method: Soak dried beans completely covered water for 8 hours. The beans are going to expand so you’ll want to add enough water so that the water level is a few inches higher than the beans. 8 hours later, *drain and rinse, fill pan with fresh water, add beans and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for about an hour and you’re ready to rock.

The Impatient Method: Put dried beans in a pan with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Let beans soak for about an hour, follow from * in The Patient Method above.

And for the record, The Extremely Impatient Method: use canned beans.

I cooked half a 16 oz bag of garbanzos for this batch using the Patient Method. I made garlic hummus today with cooked garbanzos, garlic, canola, tahini and salt.

I’ve made hummus so many times now my food processor has basically paid for itself. I do not measure anything, so these are estimates.

2 – 2 1/2 cups of cooked garbanzo beans, whatever was made from the 8 oz of dried beans.
1 teaspoon of tahini. I’ve learned that you only need a little tahini! Too much and it tastes weird to me.
4 cloves of garlic. I use jarred minced garlic in water, probably 1 Tbsp which = 4 cloves.
Canola oil, probably 2 or 3 Tablespoons. Maybe more. The more oil you add the creamier it will be.
Dash of sea salt.

If I use canned beans I drain most of the liquid but not all, leaving maybe 15 – 10%. This adds to the creaminess factor too.

Everything in the food processor and give a spin.

Whoops! Almost forgot! The juice from half a lemon. I use to buy lemon juice in the little plastic lemon jug you can find in the produce section, but now that green lemonade is a staple in our lives I always have fresh lemons on hand. I like it.

And now it’s time to eat. Just in time for a snack too! What a coincidence!

I spent the afternoon working around the house. Productivity was high today! Probably because Aunt Ellen took the girls to the playground for a couple hours and gave me a chance to get caught up on life. But before I knew it, it was dinner time and I hadn’t made anything but hummus.

Having resisted the urge to grocery shop today I was left with the bare bones of produce and made a very simple but very yummy vegetable sandwich. Said sandwich involved two slices of toasted sesame Ezekiel bread, mustard, lettuce and roasted red pepper from a jar. On the side was unpictured carrots and hummus. If you are wondering what it looked like, please scroll up.

OK, just wanted to make sure you got a good dose of ridiculousness tonight. If you have forgotten the ridiculousness of this post already, please scroll up.