The Home Stretch! Wednesday October 29, 2008

I'm counting down the days! Getting plenty of sleep, running easy, stretching, icing, and taking ibuprofen to keep my IT band happy. Below: the "stick", ibuprofen, and an ice pack.

Sugar Cookies! I used a basic sugar cookie recipe (mmm butter!) and some mini halloween cookie cutters. However, I had the toughest time with the dough - it kept sticking to the table top! Maybe my kitchen was too warm? After a few cookie cut-out attempts, I just made round cookies (with sprinkles!)

My Dinner: Trader Joe's turkey chilli, ak-mak whole wheat crackers (with lots of teddy peanut butter!) and baked sweet potato fries with ketchup. Plus some pretty gerbera daisies from Whole Foods (didn't eat those!)

October 22, 2008

Per Nate's request, Chocolate Chip Cookies were my weekend baking project. Back in July, the NY Times ran an article describing the art of the "perfect chocolate chip cookie". I halved the NY Times recipe and used whole wheat flour instead of bread flour. Despite the modifications, the cookies turned out well. My only change for next time might be to use milk chocolate chips rather than semi-sweet. I think that the key to this recipe is the refrigeration period between mixing the batter and baking the cookies. Refrigerating the dough allows the egg and butter to soak in to the flour and brown sugar - producing more depth in flavor and a better texture. I baked 12 cookies after 12 hours in the fridge and definitely noticed an increase in caramelization and chewiness. I left the remainder of the dough in the fridge for 36 hours and have frozen it for future use. I can't wait to bake them and see if the cookies are even better!

Cookie dough in my fridge:

Yum!

And just for fun - last Friday I packed a really spectacular breakfast and lunch (or at least I thought so!)

breakfast: apple, Pure Protein bar, hardboiled egg white

lunch: roasted mushrooms, whole wheat pumpkin macaroni and cheese

snacks: yogurt, raisins, banana bread

Home made banana bread! I used Cooking Light's classic banana bread recipe. I modified it a bit by using 1/2 whole wheat flour. This turned out really well - moist and delicious!

Fall Traditions and Another 20-miles 10/11/08 & 10/12/08

Columbus Day breakfast: 2 eggs, spinach, light cheddar, ketchup, flax and fiber toast. Yum, protein! Plus a GREAT McIntosh apple w/ maple-peanut butter.

Pre 20-miler/Post 20 miler fuel: Pumpkin Spice Pancakes!!
These pancakes were GREAT. So light and fluffy - almost like pumpkin muffin tops. Mmm, I loaded mine up with maple-peanut butter and maple syrup. Recipe adapted from http://www.allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
  
• 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg white
  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. Serves 2.

Homemade apple pie: I've made my own apple pie for the past 4 years - it's becoming quite the tradition! As usual, I followed my Better Homes & Gardens classic apple pie recipe. However, this year I couldn't resist using some whole wheat flour in the crust. I also decided to use 100% butter (vs. shortening). I prefer eating real butter over crisco, but the all butter crust isn't as flaky and tender as the butter-shortening combo. Oh well! It's still very yummy. The Granny Smith apple filling provided a pleasant tart contrast to the sugar and butter.

A Northern Manhattan Autumn

I took my camera for a run along the Hudson River. So pretty!

High Mileage and Cookies 10/04/08 - 10/08/08

This week marks the height of my marathon training - less than 30 days to go! I'm aiming to run 60 miles this week (highest mileage ever), so hopefully that works out. I'm hungry and tired most of the time. On the bright side, that means nap time and double desserts!

Maple syrup-peanut butter and banana on whole wheat. What a yum dinner!

Mmm, frosted pumpkin spice cookies. I used 1/2 whole wheat flour to bump up the fiber content, canned pumpkin added plenty of vitamin A, and the organic eggs/skim milk contributed some protein. These cookies were soooo good - very moist.

This is the recipe that I used: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Iced-Pumpkin-Cookies/Detail.aspx

Weekend grocery store round-up: mixed greens, Stacy's pita chips, diet Snapple, TJ's organic honey crunch & oats, caramel brownie Luna bars, portabello mushrooms, Newman's Own lite balsamic dressing, TJ's unsalted peanut butter, orange juice, Peanut Butter & Co maple pb (excited about this!), Do-Goodie organic brownie, vanilla Chobani greek yogurt, bananas, mint Promax bar, pb and apple pie Larabars.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

World's Healthiest Macaroni and Cheese: I started with an Ellie Krieger recipe and then made some tweaks. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb whole wheat pasta

15oz canned pumpkin

2 cups skim milk

6oz reduced fat cheddar cheese, cubed

1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese

1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano, shredded

1 tsp salt

1tsp mustard

black pepper (to taste)

1 tsp olive oil

2 Tb whole wheat bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and coat 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until "al dente" or about 8 minutes

In a large saucepan, combine pumpkin and milk until just about simmering

Remove from heat and add 2Tb parmigiano-reggiano, 6oz cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, salt, pepper, and mustard - combine until sauce is smooth and melted

In a large bowl, combine cheese sauce and pasta

Transfer to the baking pan

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, bread crumbs, and 2Tb parmigiano-reggiano

Sprinkle crumb topping on top of macaroni

Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes (until top is brown and crispy)

Makes 8 servings (about 325 calories, 8.5 grams of fiber, 18 grams of protein per serving)

Whole Foods shopping trip: whole wheat pasta shells, low fat cottage cheese, parmigiano reggiano, canned pumpkin, luna bars, coconut cream pie lara bar, and cranberry-almond-white chocolate cookies. Yum!

My running shoes! Asics Nimbus. 200 miles and counting...