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By Liz, December 18, 2009 12:28 pm

Finals week is over! I took my last final yesterday at noon, and now I do not have any homework, or tests, or reading, or studying or paper writing. It feels pretty amazing, I have to admit.

So, on the food front…I’ve been trying to make new recipes and use new foods to expand my eats. I get stuck in food ruts a lot, and make the same few dishes all the time. So, after my positive venture into making a curry, I made  a few new dishes this week.

I did make curry again last Sunday. It’s just so gosh darn fast, easy and delicious to make. I used chick peas this time, which worked great with the sauce. I also had edamame and a Kona brew.

Monday night I decided to try out one of Matt’s recent recipes…Sweet Potato Gnocchi. I began my new cooking excursion with a glass of my favorite wine ever….Bianchi Pinot Grigio. Quick sidenote: I’d been saving the bottle for a special occasion for about a month, and I figured cooking a fun new recipe with a glass of wine was special enough.

So, I have never made homemade pasta before, so this recipe seemed pretty daunting. But, it actually wasn’t that bad. The gnocchi didn’t turn out super pretty or professional looking, but they tasted great and that’s what matters.

I made a quick tomato sauce to go with it: 2 cans tomato sauce, spinach, cannellini beans, broccoli, garlic, basil, thyme, s & p. Topped with some parm of course .

Great recipe Matt! I loved this gnocchi and will for sure be making this again!

I made an apple crisp on Monday also. I was supposed to make it last week for Jacob’s birthday, but that never happened. So tonight was the night, and it turned out utterly delectable. Monday night’s dinner was soooo great and tasted pretty gourmet if I do say so myself.

Random comment…This was the view for a few moments outside my work on Monday. Beeea-utiful That is one of the only nice things about rain…rainbows.

The next new meal on the block was a breakfast creation. I was not craving my usually sweetish carbs in the morning and wanted something more savory. So, I toasted a slice of ezekiel with a smidgen on cheddar cheese, fried an egg in butter and topped all that with 1/4 of a smashed avocado and salsa. This was a light, yet filling and delicious breakfast. I will for sure be adding this to my usual breakfast rotation.Wednesday night I made a tribute to Hanukkah dinner….latkes. For anyone who doesn’t know what latkes are, they are potato pancakes.

Latkes are super easy to make. I didn’t use a recipe and kinda winged it, but here’s what I did.

Holiday Latkes

• 5 small russet potatoes
• 1 large zucchini (or a few baby ones)
• 1/2 a yellow onion
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• salt and pepper
• unsweetened applesauce (for dipping)

Directions: Wash potatoes and zucchini. Grate the potato and zucchini and place in a large bowl. Finely chop onion and add to bowl of potatoes. Stir in eggs, flour and seasoning until well combined. To cook the mixture, heat a pan with about a 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom. Use a medium to medium high heat. I used a 1/4c. measuring cup to portion the pancakes into the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side and serve with applesauce. (Recipe by Liz @ Thereforeieat.com)

We turned dinner into a breakfast-for-dinner of sorts and made scrambled eggs with spinach and sausage. I had the last of my Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale with dinner, too. Latkes aren’t exactly the healthiest meal in the world, but they sure are delicious.

Last night night I tried something else I have never made before…stuffed bell peppers.

These were so good!! And, I just have to share the recipe with you.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

• 1c. cooked quinoa
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 small can sliced olives
• 2 eggs
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• basil
• thyme
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 chopped onion
• bread crumbs (I used panko)
• about 1/4c. cheddar cheese
• 2 bell peppers (any color you want)

Directions:

1. Prepare the peppers: Cut the tops off. Chop and reserve the tops for the filling. De-seed and then steam the peppers for about 10 minutes.
2. Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. In a large pan, saute the onion, reserved pepper tops and kidney beans in a little olive oil over med-high heat.
4. Once onions and pepper are tender, add in the quinoa, tomatoes, eggs, olives, spices and garlic. Stir for about 5 minutes.
5. Combine bread crumbs and cheese.
6. Spoon the filling mixture into the peppers until the peppers are full. Top with the breadcrumb cheese mixture.
7. Place the peppers in a small pan (I used a bread loaf pan) bake the peppers for 25 minutes. Enjoy! (recipe by Liz @ Thereforeieat.com; adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

Jacob and I both loved this dish. With our first bites we both looked at each other and had that “Wow” look on our faces. So, ya, you guys should really try this!

Finally, I tried a recipe I have been dying to make for a while, but just havn’t had all the ingredients to make it.

Averie’s chocolate chip balls! Boy oh boy are these amazing!!! I may have single handily almost finished a whole plate of these. You rock Averie, and I’m for sure going to be making your other balls, too.

There is just one final new food I have tried this week, and it was my breakfast this morning.Those may look like regular pancakes, but they are actually Almond Banana Pancakes made with 4 simple ingredients: banana, almond butter, egg and cinnamon. I found the recipe at Mark’s Daily Apple. I actually think I liked them better than regular pancakes. I put 3 twists on the pancakes. First, the cinnamon was my idea. Next, I used a little agave instead of maple for the topping and finally, I cooked them in the pan with coconut oil instead of butter. YUM!! Try these out, you won’t be disappointed.

So, on my final note, I want to share with you the absolutely adorable Christmas tree Jacob bought this week.I couldn’t get the lighting right, but this was the best pic I got. Those are our roommate’s stockings in the background. They also used a few of their ornaments, too. The tree is just sooo cute!

Tonight I’m doing Bikram with Jacob.  I think we’re gonna make a stop into New Frontiers for some green juice afterwards, too. I can’t wait!

Adios!

Comments (8)

By Liz, December 4, 2009 12:33 pm

Hey y’all! How’s life?? In Liz world, I am sooo happy it’s Friday. School has really been ka-razy lately! Let’s see, Monday night was full of essay writing, Tuesday was more essay writing and school, Wednesday was spent writing a speech all darn day and Thursday was school all day and into the night aaannnd working on a group project after school. I got home at 9, ate and passed out. But now, I just have a weekend full of work and homework. Wait, did I say I was happy it was Friday?? Scratch that! I’m just happy I’m one week closer to the end of the semester.

Anyways, even with the hectic schedule this week, I still found time to exercise and make yummy food. You know…the things that keep me sane!

First off, I received a bunch of comments for the recipe of the super amazing, fluffy biscuits I made on Monday….well look no further:

Diner-Style Whole Wheat Biscuits

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• dash of salt
• 5 tbsp butter, cut into piece and very cold
• 1 cup fat free milk

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. Stir in the milk until dough is moist. Flour a dry surface, place dough on surface and knead with floured hands a few times (for a minute or two). Add more flour to dough while kneading if necessary. You don’t want the dough to be sticky, but smooth and supple. Once done kneading, roll the dough out with a rolling pin. Roll dough to about 3/4″ thick, so you want it pretty thick so they get all fluffy and big. Use a biscuit cutter, or anything circular to cut the shapes and place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Makes about 8-10 biscuits. (Recipe from Liz @ Thereforeieat.com, adapted from Joy of Cooking)

I hope you guys like the recipe! Biscuits are one of mine and Jacob’s favorite breakfast foods. His birthday is on Sunday, so I’m pretty sure I will be making these for him again very soon.

Okay, next on my agenda is another recipe! I was adventurous on Tuesday night and tried out a new kind of food…homemade Thai curry! I get stuck in a rut making the same dishes over and over…mexican this, italian that, chili, stews, salads. I don’t venture far from these types of dishes, so it was very exciting to make an ethnic dish I had never tried. I actually came up with this idea on my own and with a little advice from the lady at the Asian Market near my work.

Turkey and Veggie Green Curry

• 2 tbsp. green curry paste
• small pat of butter
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 regular sized bad of frozen stir fry veggies
• leftover turkey or any cooked meat, tofu, etc.

Melt butter over medium heat in a large pan. Stir in the paste with the butter until smooth. Add 1/2 the can of coconut milk to the pan and completely incorporate it in with the curry. Add in the whole bag of veggies and the rest of the coconut milk. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add in the meat, simmer some more until veggies are completely cooked. Serve with brown rice, whole wheat couscous or noodles. (Recipe by Liz @ Thereforeieat.com)

This meal was delish! It was also another great way to use up leftover turkey.  Just a word of warning…this dish is pretty darn spicy, so if you’re not very tolerant of spice, I’d cut the curry down to 1 tbsp. Also, coconut milk is very rich (ie. lots of fat) so go light on the portion size. Jacob was only able to eat about 1/2 of what is shown above. This dish was suuuuper easy, yummy and fun!

Next up, I feel I have finally worn my Vibram Five Finger around enough, and done a good amount of running in them, that I can do a full fledged review….

Vibram Five Fingers Review

A few weeks ago, I decided to purchase the Vibram Five Finger shoes. A couple girls on my Cross Country team have them and I had read about them on Marks Daily Apple and other sites a while back. I was very curious the first time I heard about these shoes, or “unshoes.” The idea of running barefoot, or as close to barefoot at possible, is very intriguing. The idea behind these shoes is that running in modern running shoes is actually hurting our natural biomechanics. Modern running running shoes have built up heels that force us to heel strike, which is unnatural and the posting in the arches disables our feet’s natural strengthening systems, which weakens our feet and more. This all seems to make sense. However, I work at a running shoe store, and sell people shoes with posting and built up heels and whatnot. This puts me in a quandary. I think running shoes do have their place…heavier runners, beginning runners, people recovering from injuries, or people with severe biomechanical problems may not be suited for these shoes…but they might receive some benefit from them, even if it’s just walking around in them. I don’t see myself tossing out my running shoes in the near future either, but we’ll see how I adjust to the Vibrams in the long term. Who knows, I may eventually never wear anything but Vibrams. We shall see.

I bought my Vibrams for two reasons: 1) I really don’t like wearing shoes and 2) I wanted to see if running barefoot really is all it’s cracked up to be. And, after wearing these shoes for about 3 weeks now, I have to say that it’s great to wear these all the time. They’re even better than flip-flops! And yes, I think barefoot running is the real deal.

Here is my experiences with the Vibrams. The first few days, I just simply wore them around to school, doing errands, to work…just everyday kinda stuff. Then, I wore them to warm up and cooldown at practice. Running in the Vibrams is really amazing. I feel so free, so natural and just darn amazing running in these. It really is a whole new experience. They didn’t take much getting used to, for me at least. I naturally land mid-foot, so I didn’t have to adjust from heel striking to mid-foot striking. And, dare I say, that running seems funner in these?!

Okay, so I totally love these, but there were some downsides.

• My feet are a little sore after running on a hard surface or spending all day in them. However, I think this may subside after getting used to them more
• I have gotten blisters. I got two blood blisters on both my big toes. They hurt real bad the day they formed, but the pain subsided after that. Also, I only got the blisters on the days I ran 4 or 5 miles in them…so maybe that was a factor. However, as a runner, I’m kinda used to the occasional blister so this didn’t bug me too bad
• 

• The shoes rubbed my foot raw in one spot. I actually didn’t know this happened until after I took the shoes off. This kinda sucks, because I think I will have to put a bandage on this spot from now on.
• The last down side to these is the price. They are 90 bucks with tax, which is pretty darn expensive to pay on top of regular running shoes. I didn’t mind spending the money, but some people might.

I have come to the conclusion, that you do not have to break these shoes in…you have to break your feet into the shoes. Pretty much, you have to get some blisters and stuff to get calluses and toughen up your feet to break your feet into the shoes. So, if you’re big on keeping your feet pretty, these may not be the shoes for you. Even with the cons of the Vibrams, I still love my unshoes. They are pretty darn comfy. You really feel like you are barefoot. They are machine washable, so they are easy to clean. And, the biggest reason for loving them, is the fact I feel so good running in them. They do take some getting used to, and you really shouldn’t go out and bust out 6 miles in em without adjusting to them….but all in all…these rock!

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So I hope ya’ll found my review interesting! Like I said, I really like my Vibrams, I highly recommend them.

I will leave y’all with a picture of my yummy Chunky Strawberry that I had had this morning. I switched it up and served it in a mug instead of a glass. Gotta keep things interesting!

Have a Happy Friday! See ya’ll later!

Comments (5)

By Liz, November 25, 2009 10:55 pm

Well, I just can’t believe that it’s Thanksgiving time already. It just hit me today! It’s probably all the cooking I’ve been doing…I’ve made a pie, a cheesecake and I’m about to make squash dish for tomorrow Whew! The kitchen is a bit of a mess.

The pie I’m making is extra special.

What’s that yellow slop in the bowl you ask? Well, it just happens to be some pureed kabocha squash. I thought it would be fun to try an alternative pumpkin pie by making a kabocha puree. Fun!

Making a squash puree is ridiculously easy. I cut the squash in half (and de-seeded) and roasted it on a baking sheet (with water) for 30 minutes at 375 degrees (until it was tender). I then scooped out all the squash and pureed it in the food processor until it was very smooth. I then proceeded to make my pie just as you would a regular pumpkin pie. I haven’t tried it yet…so who knows if it’s good or not. I can’t wait to try it and see how using kabcoha worked!

Jacob took a funny pic of me while I was scooping out the squash (and drinking my fave wine ever!).

He said I was holding it like a baby. I do love kabocha a lot…but not that much!

Dinner tonight was a bit nutritionally void, but heck….it was tasty.

The night started with a beer (my other favorite beverage) while I began whipping up a pumpkin-maple cheesecake.

An then I may or may not have baked 3 Amy’s pizzas…just might have. Jacob and I were doing our last minute grocery shopping and I reallly didn’t feel like cooking, so we splurged on Amy’s pizza. They were actually half price at the store, so it was even more reason to get them. Amy’s is a great company to buy frozen meals from too, so I didn’t feel too bad.

And I kinda ate that whole plate. I actually wasn’t too full, which was suprising. So ya, not super healthy (or healthy at all really) but sometimes pizza just sounds good and that’s okay with me.

Have a great Thanksgiving guys! I’ll be pretty busy tomorrow. I am planning on running 10 miles in the morning to prep my appetite for 2 Thanksgiving dinners. Yep, you heard right…two Thanksgiving dinners. Should be fun…

Enjoy the holiday….cheers!

Comments (3)

By Liz, November 24, 2009 8:53 pm

Haha, that’s probably what you are all thinking bout now! I am really sorry for completely dropping off the face of blog Earth. The weekend was kinda crazy and hectic and the weekend craziness ran into Monday. But here I am all ready to give y’all the full recap!

So let’s get down to business…STATE!!

First, the stats: I ran the 5k in 21:34 which is my best time all season. I sure went out with a bang! My team got 8th out of 32 teams competing. I was personally 155th out of 200 runners. So, I was kinda back in the pack but whatever. I mean, at least I was at State! Although I ran a great race for my last XC race at my school, I still feel like I could have done better. If y’all remember my race at Mt. Sac two weeks ago, I mentioned that I really dug and pushed my pain threshold. This race, I didn’t work as hard as I could have. It was hard and painful, sure, but it wasn’t as intense as it should have been. I credit all that to the fact I wasn’t sure what I was racing for. The past few races have had a lot of meaning to them. At WSC regionals, I was running to be at least the 7th girl on the team so I could go on to So Cals. At So Cals, it was all about going on to State. And then I was at State and I wasn’t really sure what my motive was for running the race of my life. It’s kinda like when you complete a goal, such as losing weight, and then you reach that goal and you don’t really know what to do with yourself. So, long story long , I just didn’t get my head in the game until about halfway through the race. Eh, I still set a PR so I can’t complain. Also, my aunt and uncle, grandma, mom and dad and Jacob all came to watch me run, so that was very special.

Some pictures of all the fun:

All the gals dressed up for dinner on Friday night. Aren’t we so perty!

Cougars cougars are the best! C-O-U-G-A-R-S…Goooooo Cuesta!!!

Just workin my butt of going up a hill

Me and my Grandma after the race.

I am actually really happy that the season is over. It was a ton of fun, I’ve made some amazing friends and I’ve gotten faster and faster as the season progressed. However, I am happy that for this whole week I am not supposed to run or do much of anything active. I am also looking forward to the short off-season I will be getting to focus on more strength building, yoga and other fun activities I do not get to enjoy as much when my focus is just running.

So, that was Saturday. There was a drive home, relaxing and such, dinner and a bit o partying included in the rest of the day and night. I do want to highlight the dinner I made Saturday night which was fab-u-lous!

I made a stuffed kabocha squash dish. I baked the kacocha at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. While the squash was baking, I cooked some quinoa (1 c. dry). After the quinoa was done I mixed in a chopped apple, dried cranberries and grated zuchinni(1 med sized). I seasoned it with cinnamon, nutmeg and about a tsp of maple syrup. I let this cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the kabocha squash was all baked and tender, I added chopped walnuts to the quinoa mixture, then stuff each kabocha half with the quinoa. I sprinkled more cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup on top and put the stuffed kabocha back in the oven for 5 min. I served it with green beans on the side. Super super yummy!! It was a sweeter dinner, but not overly sweet…I went light on the syrup. This dinner was also very satisfying. I recommend it for when you’re in a fall mood. While this was baking it filled the kitchen with fall-y smells. It made me happy.

Let’s see…what’d I do Sunday? Well, I worked…but then I saw New Moon. I’m just gonna say off the bat that I have not read the books (but I am going to). Also, I didn’t really like the first movie much. New Moon wasn’t half bad though. The acting was a wee bit better. The action scenes were cool. Jacob and Edward were hot (Jacob being a tad hotter ). However, there were some scenes that were waaaaayover acted and just too dramatic. The highlight of the movie though was the scene with Thom Yorke’s (from Radiohead) song “Hearing Damage.” Really cool song and cool scene.

Yesterday was pretty darn great. Another great Monday in the books. It’s funny, because last Monday was really good, too. Funny, eh?

I did the usual stuff…like working, yada yada…but the afternoon and evening were special. As you all very well know, it’s Thanksgiving in the US this Thursday. Since all the roomies and I are parting ways on Thursday to spend time with our families and stuff, we decided to do a roommate Thanksgiving last night. We did the whole shebang…turkey, green bean casserole, mashed taters, rolls, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and stuffing. Yum-o!

I filled my plate with all the goodies. I almost finished it all too…ate about 3/4. Jacob did the turkey…which was pretty darn amazing for his first turkey ever. Kudos Jacob! I made the cranberry sauce using Jenna’s super simple recipe. It was waaay better than canned….I loved the chunks and tartness of the scratch version. My other contribution was pumpkin pie.

I was such as goof and almost forgot to take a picture until I ate half!! Silly me :p Not to toot my own horn or anything, but my pie turned out really good. I used the regular Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe for the filling. However, I cut the sugar down a bit (by about a 1/4 cup) and I added more spice than called for. I love my pumpkin pie spicy! For the crust I just coarsly ground 1 1/2 c. pecans in the food processor and mixed the nuts with 2 tbsp melted butter and 2 tbsp sugar. I pressed the but mixture in the bottom and sides of a 9″ pie plate and baked it for 15 minutes before filling it with the pumpkin mixture. Justin (my roommate) made real whipped cream to go on top. Sooo good! I also got a special treat to go along with the pie.

The Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Bianchi. I really liked it. I thought it was great along side the pie, and even good by itself. It was definitely sweet, almost too sweet at first sip. However, this was one of those wines that as you keep sipping it just gets better and better and you notice new flavors with every taste. Unfortunately, I don’t think my roommates liked it that much. I liked it though and would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Whew…today was not nearly as exciting as the last few have been. I had school…which almost no one was at by the way due to the holiday. I went hiking with a couple girls on the team after lunch, which was fun. It was the first “workout” I’ve done since State and it felt good to get the legs moving. Our hilly hike lasted about 2 hours. I love doing exercise with friends because the time just flys! I had a great time.

Nothing much else going on here now. Just some vegging out in front of the tv and hanging out with the boy (aka Jacob). Have a great night and I promise I won’t be m.i.a. tomorrow! Adios!

Comments (6)

By Liz, November 20, 2009 10:07 am

Good Morning! Today is Friday, as most of you probably already know. However, this isn’t just any Friday…no…today I am leaving for my State Cross Country meet. I have to admit, I haven’t given the actual race a lot of thought. I’ve been thinking about how excited I am to be going, I’ve been thinking about seeing my family afterwards (my grandma, aunt & uncle, mom & dad and Jacob are all coming to watch) and I’m looking forward to the rest and relaxation I will enjoy once the season is over. But aside from all that…now… it is time to focus, focus, focus. I truly want to run the best race of my life, and to do that I need to get my head in the game (or race ).

So that’s what’s going on in Liz’s world.

I did eat some breakfast this morning.

Apple Crisp Oats was on the menu this morning along with a mug of green tea. Just so you guys know, I have a mug of green tea almost every single morning. I just don’t usually photograph it or mention it. Just an fyi there.

Last night I made muffins for the team…

I decided to switch up my usual Super Powerfood muffins and make a few alterations.

Changes:

1c canned plain pumpkin instead of applesauce

omit zuchinni and apples

add 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice to dry ingredients

Other than those two changes the recipe is exactly the same. I had a nibble of one last night and I think they turned out pretty bomb.

I decided to just go all and make another batch of muffins, too.

I made some banana nut muffins from this recipe. Like usual I made some changes, too.

Changes:

Made muffins instead of bread (baked for 30 min at 350 oven)

Used 1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

And that’s that! I had a nibble of this one too and again…pretty darn delish! I think the team will be pleased.

Okay…so I still have to pack up for the race and only have an hour…so it’s go time!!

Adios guys!!