2015 Top 10 Wrap-Up, #2

#2-Washington DC!

Our annual vacation was to our nation's capital, what a great trip! It of course centered around going to a Nationals ball game (one more park down!), but we packed quite a bit of other stuff in. For one, several museums, where we saw everything from Julia Child's kitchen to the space shuttle Discovery!





On the way home we also visited Gettysburg and the Flight 93 Memorial. If you ever have the chance to visit Shanksville, I highly recommend it. There is nothing there. NOTHING. And when you view all of that vast, empty space and compare it to ground zero in New York City, you are simply overwhelmed by all that was saved by the bravery of those passengers. It's breathtaking.

2015 Top 10 Wrap-Up, #1

Clearly I don't post here terribly often, so for those of you far-flung relatives and friends who are kind enough to subscribe to this blog I thought I'd do a little end of the year wrap-up to catch you up on what happened this year. So, I bring you ten events from 2015, in roughly chronological order.

#1-Golf!

Last spring I decided this was the year I was going to learn to golf for real. So, I signed up for a series of five group lessons and joined a ladies league - I was off to a good start!

And then the rains came...

Due to cancellations and rescheduling, I was only able to attend three of the five lessons, but they were helpful nonetheless.

League was fun and very helpful, but again due to cancellations our weekly outings were frequently canceled. It's hard to make gains when you only practice one out of every three weeks or so!

I still managed to take 10 strokes off my game by the end of Labor Day, so it was worthwhile. Hopefully next summer will be a little friendlier!

 

CSC: Apple Pie Granola with Two-Minute Date Puree

My first recipe book from The China Study Quick and Easy Cookbook was the Apple Pie Granola - which first required preparing the Two-Minute Date Puree. I don't think I'm giving out any proprietary secrets here by telling you that the puree consists of exactly two ingredients: Medjool dates, and water.

Tip #1 would be this - avoid buying the super-expensive packages of Medjool dates. Seriously, the smallest I could find was $14. Would I eat all of those? Yes, they are delicious! But, there are other healthy snacks with a much lower price tag. My recommendation is that if your grocery store carries these in the bulk section, get 'em there. About nine should give you a cup.

I tossed the two ingredients into the smallest cup of my Ninja blender (love, love the Ninja!) and let it do all the work. I know it looks a little lumpy on the right, but was nice and smooth when I scooped it out.

Moving on, I prepped and measured the remaining ingredients for the granola, then whipped together the sauce in a saucepan.

The book gives you the option to finish in the saucepan, or in the oven - I like a crunchier granola, so I went with the oven. Parchment paper is definitely a girl's best friend!

After it cooled, I tossed the oats with the apples - using my pie fork! - and stored the granola in a 1.5 quart Oxo pop container (my favorite container in the world, no question). Fit perfectly! Paired with a little unsweetened almond milk, I had breakfast for a week - delicious! Definitely a successful start!

China Study Cookbook: 20 Recipes In!

That's right! After less than a month, I've prepared twenty of the recipes, and two I've repeated!

Originally I had intended to cook my way through the three sample weekly meal plans provided, but the craziness of our summer schedules hasn't worked well with that idea. Now I'm just selecting a few that will fit in here and there, and tracking the results as I go. I've accumulated quite the list to share! So, if you're interested, I'm going to begin posting my adventures from this book - if you're not, well, just ignore the posts.

And by the way... NINE MILES!

China Study Cookbook: Sample Meal Plan 1

I've just received a new cookbook: The China Study Quick and Easy Cookbook. Usually I preview cookbooks via the library (or Barnes & Noble) before ordering, but this one was brand new and oh so intriguing I didn't want to have to wait. I'm glad I didn't, because upon flipping through it was immediately apparent that the recipes were both appealing and accessible - no huge list of new or difficult to find ingredients, and prep times low enough to be workable for weeknights. I decided to go all in and start exploring the contents by using the sample weekly meal plans provided. Here's a recap of Sample Meal Plan 1.

MONDAY

Breakfast:
Apple Pie Granola
(included Two-Minute Date Puree)

I made a half-recipe, which combined with a little almond milk provided seven breakfasts for me. Absolutely delicious!





Lunch:
Tomato, Corn, Fresh Basil Soup
mixed green salad (with All-Purpose Vinaigrette)

This was a super-easy soup to put together, very fresh tasting and with a little kick! The homemade vinaigrette was light and tangy.




Dinner:
Southwest Burger
mixed green salad

First time I've ever cooked with bulgur - these burgers are sensational!

TUESDAY

Breakfast:

Apple Pie Granola

By the way, a half-recipe of the granola fit perfectly into the 1.5 quart-sized Oxo pop-up container - I love those things, I own a bunch!

Lunch:

Southwest Burger

mixed greens salad

The burger was just as good reheated in the microwave the next day.

Dinner:

Falafel Tacos

mixed greens salad

Definitely getting my fill of greens this week! The falafel tacos were good, but I need to do a little tweaking for my personal taste.

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast:

Apple Pie Granola

I can't tell you how much I began looking forward to breakfast - I am hooked on this granola!

Lunch (not pictured):

Tomato, Corn, Fresh Basil soup

mixed greens salad

Dinner:
Tostadas
mixed greens salad

THURSDAY

Breakfast:

Apple Pie Granola

Soooo gooooooood...

Lunch:

Southwest Burger

This was supposed to be a Basil Pesto Hummus wrap, but I didn't get around to prepping it the night before. So I didn't exactly complete the meal plan.

Dinner:

Penne with Fresh-Herbed Corn Salsa

mixed greens salad

The salsa was amazing - and a fantastic topping in combination with diced avocado for the pasta!

FRIDAY

No pics, sorry!

Apple Pie Granola

Penne with Fresh-Herbed Corn Salsa

Definitely two thumbs up for week one! We're going on vacation this coming week, so the second meal plan won't be coming until after that. Stay tuned!

And just to keep you updated on the half-marathon training, my farthest distance thus far is 7 miles!!!

Half-Marathon Bound!

Second 5K of 2015!

It's amazing to be running outside again after the doldrums of winter - though I did run my first snow race last month:

And here's how I know I'm serious about training for the half-marathon this summer: according to my training schedule, yesterday was a four-miler. After the 5K, I actually stopped at another park to get in the final mile I needed. Crazy.