Bowl of Berries

Back when I had DVR I would always tape the Rachael Ray show, not sure why really because she can annoy me at time, I would usually fast forward to what she was making for dinner and if it didn’t interest me that episode would be immediately deleted.  Every once and a while she would feature a Bottom of the Jar recipe which would use that little bit left at the bottom of the container.  Well the Bottom of the Almond Butter Jar method ha spread like wildfire through the healthy living blogworld and since I too was nearing the end of my jar, I decided I must try this.

I made these after an 11 mile run a few Saturdays ago.  Weird for me to want hot oats on a really hot day but I think I was looking for the satiety and oats always does that for me.  I used the Kath method for whipped banana oats and poured it into the jar.  Be aware the jar gets HOT!  So I quickly moved it to the kitchen table to cool a tad.  I paired the oats with a juicy peach and I was set for hours!

I then decided to use up the last of my greek yogurt by making some muesli!  I love making this as it can be done the night before and makes eating on the go very easy!  I combined about 1/2 cup of oats in with the rest of the yogurt (about a half a cup) then splashed in some milk, added a bit of oat bran, ground flax, brown sugar and a few slivered almonds and golden raisins.  In the morning I chopped up another juicy peach and breakfast was done!  No dishes and the container is recyclable!  I made this before my open water swim clinic a few weeks ago and it lasted a good 4 hours.

So think about making up some of your own bottom of the jar recipes!

I impulsively brought a can of crabmeat from Trader Joes about 3 months ago.  It was $1.99 and was near a recipe for easy crab dip so I bought it.  Showed Scottie who scoffed at it,  I then wondered why I bought a $1.99 can of crabmeat when I KNEW how good lump crabmeat was and I was for sure not going to get lump crabmeat in a $1.99 can but threw it in the pantry and figured I would come up with something before the use by date of March 2010.  Then I saw a recipe for crab stuffed portabello mushrooms somewhere online so I was inspired to pull out the small can of crab.

The crabmeat was not nearly as bad as I expected, it was highly processed probably from the tippy tips of the tiny crab claws but it tasted like crab so I figured it was safe.  I dumped the 6 oz. can in a small bowl and then tried to mimic the flavors in Scottie’s amazing crabcakes.  I added about a teaspoon of olive oil mayo for moisture, 2 chopped scallions, a sprinkling of Old Bay, a sprinkling of dry mustard, about 1/2-1 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce,  a couple tablespoons of panko crumbs, salt and pepper and about 2 cups of sauteed spinach.  I cleaned the gills out of the portabellos and seasoned them with a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, S&P then topped them with the mixture.  I preheated the oven to 375 degrees then topped the shrooms with some crumbled goat cheese and more panko crumbs.  This was all done by taste (obviously!) so feel free to add and subtract as you wish.  These baked for about 15-20 minutes or until the tops started to brown a bit and the shrooms softened.

I put together an easy salad of greens dressed in EVOO, lemon juice and s&p and topped it with some toasted pecans for crunch and the shrooms.  I thought this dish was delicious!  Super simple and it came together in no time.  Scottie thought it needed a sauce of some sort (so he doused it in Caeser dressing) and I am sure you could make a remoulade type sauce but I enjoyed the simple flavors of everything.  Feel free to add a sauce or dressing if you wish.

You could also stuff  small baby bella mushrooms for appetizers, or to put on salads, no cutting required!

Since I am the best girlfriend ever, I decided I would swallow my Yankee pride and buy Scottie tickets to the Red Sox game on his birthday.  I came up with and planned the trip one afternoon and could not wait to tell him!  I am horrible at keeping secrets!  So Friday we were set to go!  Unfortunately we almost missed our flight!  We were set to take off at 7am but I still set my alarm for 4:30 to allow plenty of time to shower, finish packing and get to the airport in plenty of time.  Somehow either I didn’t set the alarm or I turned it off without knowing because at 6am, Scottie woke up and asked what time our flight was.  I was so out of it it took me a minute to realize our flight was in an hour!  We both jumped up, threw the rest of our stuff together and were out the door in 10 minutes.  Luckily we live close to the airport and only had carry ons.  We made it in plenty of time and even grabbed a coffee before take off.

The flight was an easy 90 minutes and we were in Boston by 9am.  We found our hotel which was conveniently attached to a large mall so we checked in, dropped our bags and found food!  We walked around and bit and I suggested Legal Seafood, yes it is a chain but I felt the need to eat there plus it was right there.  It was a rainy morning, but we sat at the window and the charm of the city immediately grew on me.  We started our trip with beers and after struggling with a lunch decision and decided to just bite the bullet and get a lobster roll since this is one of the things I was most looking forward to.  I did much research on the perfect lobster roll and my final conclusion was that there is not a “best” you just have to try them all out and see which YOU like best.

I very much liked this lobster roll. The brioche roll was buttered and toasted and was loaded with succulent lobster meat.  Just a bit of mayo and some lettuce…mmm perfect.  I didn’t even bother with the fries or slaw, I was stuffed!  Scottie got a mushroom and scallop ravioli that was really tasty too!  The first meal of the trip was a success!

Since Scottie joked me for my anal planning of our California trip (planned to the tee in an Excel spreadsheet)  I made no definite plans for the weekend besides the baseball game but I did make a list of restaurants that I heard were good,in case we were in the neighborhood.  We took Friday to just walk around and become acquainted with the city.  It continued to sprinkle on and off throughout the day so it wasn’t ideal to be outside but we didn’t let it damper our spirits.  We wandered through Boston Commons, the Wharf, Financial District, Newbury Street and ended up at the located of  “Cheers” and yes the outside looks like the show, the inside…looks nothing like it which I expected but we still wanted to go inside..  We walked through Fanueil Hall which was packed with food places to drool over and ended up chilling at an Irish pub, Ned Devine’s for a bit to relax and have a beer.  We then made our way back to the room to freshen up for dinner.

One of Scottie’s friends sent us a list of places he enjoyed while we lived in Boston so we took his advice and went to Shabu Zen in Chinatown.  Shabu Zen does Japanese hotpots so when you walk in there are tables around the perimeter and then there is a low bar in the middle that has a station for each patron with a pot of broth in front.  I asked to be seated at the bar as that looked like the most fun.  We were presented with a list of meats, seafood and veggies that we could order. I chose the seafood sampler and Scottie got the filet.

As soon as our menus were gathered we were poured green tea, presented with our beers, a platter of veggies, bowls of udon noodles and a few minutes later our proteins.  There were also the required equipment and additional flavorings  such as garlic, green onions, chilis, soy sauce and a semi spicy paste.  Neither of us were exactly sure what to do, we looked around to try to get an idea, then just started dumping things in the boiling broth in front of us.  There really isn’t any sort of rule book about how this is done, flavor your broth drop in some veggies and proteins and wait for them to cook.  This ofcourse takes no time as the filet is shaved paper thin and the seafood ofcourse doesn’t take long by nature. Within minutes we were scooping out items from the pot, creating a spicy broth in our bowls and adding noodles.  It was delish!  It is kinda like Japanese fondue but much cooler since you can create your own broth with the items in front of you. It was quite fun.  The other great thing is that this is relatively healthy and it is CHEAP!  Our dinner for two plus two beers was under $40.  And I can’t forget the dessert that was included.  We were presented with a sweet black bean soup.  Scottie described it as a watered down chocolate sauce with beans. It wasn’t bad but it certainly was not the start of the show.  After dinner we walked back to the hotel and had a drink at the hotel bar before bed.

I was determined to have a game plan for Saturday since we kinda spent Friday aimlessly wandering so we were up Saturday around 8 or so and decided to swim some laps in the hotel pool.  The pool was small but adequate and we got in about 25 minutes before showering up, getting some coffee and escaping the hotel fire alarms.   We grabbed breakfast at Au Bon Pain in the mall before trekking out to the Aquarium.  The New England Aquarium is pretty well known and I can see why.  While not a cheap museum I do think it was worth it as I was quite impressed with all they offered inside.  When we stepped in we looked below and saw 4 different types of penguins and a scientist giving a talk about the species.  Quite interesting and it was fun to see the penguins interact with each other  After the talked we walked around the museum, literally,it is set up in  large circle with the center being a floor to ceiling  aquarium which housed the large turtles, sharks, eels etc.  We made our way around the smaller exhibits and once at the top worked our way around and down, viewing the large center aquarium.  It was so much fun to see the creatures up close, which made for some great pictures.  Luckily by the time we left the crowds were starting to get thick, great timing on our part.

Since we were in the neighborhood, conveniently,we walked to the Harpoon Brewery.  We got tickets for the next tour and had about 40minutes to kill so we walked a few minutes to Yankee Lobster for lunch.  This is a fish market which also  sold a variety of soups, salads, rolls and full platters.  I ordered the lobster bisque and crabcake sandwich (resisting the temptation to get another lobster roll) and Scottie got the fried clam roll.  I was glad he got this as I had heard the whole bellied clams of New England were not to be missed.  After a bit of a wait we were presented with lunch and it was worth the wait.  Scottie’s clams were awesome, I loved getting the “full”clam if you know what I mean, no measly strips around these parts and my crabcake was quite flavorful and not mucked up with a lot of fillers.  We finished up and walked back to the brewery.

Our tour group was small, maybe 15 or so people and our guides were two young guys who provided  great information about the brewing process and the history of the company.  After 30 minutes we made our way up to the tasting bar.  We all tried their famous IPA then were given free range to try  whatever we wanted for the remaining 30 minutes.  All of the beers I had were quite good and I wished we could get more of them in NC.  We shopped a bit then made our way out to the next stop, the Freedom Trail.

Scottie was not excited about this but when in Boston you must walk the historical trail which goes past 16 sites.  We started just past Fanueil Hall and followed the red line (so convenient!  no map needed!) through the North End when I spotted the famous Mike’s Pastry.  As promised there was  a a line out the door so I pulled Scottie over to wait in it.  I was so excited to try one of each (I wish!) and as we made our way in who so I see but one of my best friends from college, Heather!  I was shocked as she is in med school down at ECU and how the hell was she in Boston the same time I was!  We screamed like school girls and made a scene then she said she would wait for me outside while I went in.  I was still in shock about the chance meeting but I had to focus on the task at hand.  There were so many people you couldn’t even see the full array but I knew there were a few things I had to try so once conferring with Scottie I stepped up to the counter I rattled off my order; yellow cream puff, chocolate mousse cannoli, tiramisu and an almond biscotti…all for $9!  We walked out and chatted with Heather, and her two friends and decided we must me up for dinner so we made plans to touch base after their Harpoon tour.  We parted ways and continued on to the Freedom Trail.  We stopped in a park and sat to eat the tiramisu and cream puff, both were divine.

We continued past Paul Revere’s house, the North Church where we sat in on a brief talk, a cemetary then over the bridge to the USS Constitution.  By this point I was pretty hot and tired and loved finding the Constitution muse which was air conditioned and had bathrooms.We rested for a bit then decided to take a water taxi to the aquarium instead of walking all the way back. Once on land we made our way back to Ned Divine’s for our afternoon beer.

After Heather called we decided to freshen up before dinner where we met up at Fanueil Hall to find dinner.  With nothing particular in mind we ended up at a pseudo Asian type place,it was cheap and “made to order” but the food was ok and the service was dreadful,  still we got an early start on Scottie’s birthday.  After dinner we walked to a few bars only to find a cover charge until we found a small whole in the wall with no cover but a mellow atmosphere so we figured we could shake things up. Needless to say we had a great time at the bar with much alcohol consumed.  We decided to head back to our hotel so that Heather could check in for her flight and so that she could buy Scottie two more shots.  We all slept well that night thanks to the drinks.

I had planned to run Sunday morning and because I slammed a bunch of water before bed, I felt ok but my legs were so sore from all of the walking the previous days so I decided to be lazy.  Scottie was a bit slow moving but I got dressed made coffee and finally he followed suit. We decided to head out to Cambridge to wander around Harvard.

Cambridge is super cute, reminds me a lot of Chapel Hill.  We walked all around the campus and decided to find some brunch.  I had heard about Upstairs n the Square and once we stumbled upon it I knew I wanted to eat there.  The decor is much like a tea house, rather feminine yes but I loved it.  We were seated at a small but cute table and started with coffee.  We then got a bread basket with mini muffins, mini cinnamon rolls and my favorite, the cheese scone.  Scottie ordered the melon with prosciutto which also had shaved parm and some drizzled pesto - very good.  He also ordered the eggs benedict which were also quite nice. I ordered the Monte Cristo which come to find out was a Croque Madame, mmm one of my favorite dishes ever.  It was very nice especially with the addition of caramelized onions.  Once we finished up we were on our way to Fenway.

I knew I was in for a shock but wow it is nuts to see 37k people flood the streets around the park. It was like a street festival.  We made our way in and finally found our seats in the grandstands.  Thankfully our seat were in the shade, I don’t think Scottie would have survived being in the sun for 3 hours.  The shade also allowed us the enjoy the slight breeze.  Though our view of first base was slightly obstructed by a large pole, I was still thrilled with my seat choice as I could not imagine being directly in the sun.  The weather called for thunderstorms most of the day but it was sunny and bright the whole day, go figure.  The game was admittedly a lot of fun.  It was cool to be in such an iconic stadium and be around such die hard fans.  After the 2nd inning we made our way down to get a Fenway Frank and two Sam Adams beers.After our snack it was back to our seats for the rest of the game.  Even though the Sox lost and I didn’t get to see an Ortiz homer I still had a great time and would not think twice about buying overpriced tickets to Fenway again

Not feeling 100% at this point, but he perked up after his Fenway Frank

After the game we walked through a nearby souvenir shop where Scottie got a Sox shirt and tried to talk me into getting one,he didn’t succeed with that one!  We then walked to Boston Beer Works were we had one of the beers, the bluebeery ale which has real blueberries floating around.

After our drink we made out way back to the hotel to rest and cool off.  Scottie decided he needed to have seafood so after perusing my list and a couple magazines we decided on the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in the US.  We arrive around 6:40 and were talk we had a 45 minute to an hour wait,no worries we weren’t starving, and decided to have a seat at the bar.  We ended up waiting almost 2 hours, note to others- make a reservation here!  Still we enjoyed our wine and then the bartender felt bad for our long wait so we offered us a free beer. I gladly accepted and not long after we were seated upstairs.  I ordered a half dozen oysters as well as the sauteed seafood medley which was clams, mussels,shrimp and haddock sauteed in a spicy red sauce over linguine.  The oysters were actually some of the best I ever had and I wish I ordered a dozen more, they were incredible.  My dinner was nice though I could have done without the pasta and the white fish as they were totally devoid of flavor.  Still I loved the sauce and the shellfish and would rather had had some crusty bread to sop it up.  Scottie ordered the clam chowder, which was some of the creamiest I had ever tasted, as  well as the lazy man’s lobster which was basically a lobster with a bit of stuffing.  I could have done without the stuffing but the lobster was nice,  Scottie didn’t think it was cleaned well which sort of ruined things at the end. Lesson learned, go for oysters and clam chowder and sit at the bar

Once back at the hotel we packed up our things and relaxed before falling asleep.  Our flight the next morning was not until 10am so we took our time to get ready, finish packing and head out.  I was really sad to be leaving as I really fell in love with the city.  I wasn’t completely overwhelmed as I was in San Fransisco and I really ended up loving the people.  It is certainly a place I could see myself living, even if I had to deal with crazy winter weather at least I wouldn’t need to drive as they have a pretty extensive public transportation system.  Our flight was slightly delayed and we were almost tempted to take a later flight to get some voucher but ended up getting on our flight home.  The flight was uneventful until we landed when the cabin immediately filled with smoke. I didn’t freak too much as we were on the ground, still I was eager to get out and we parked just off the terminal entrance and were told to quickly disembark.  I had my bags but Scottie had to gate check his since the plane was only 16 rows so we waited in the terminal and watched at the fire tracks quickly drove up.  They didn’t say what happened but Scottie thinks one of the chutes opened up as he said it smelled like an air bag deployment.  We were given meal voucher for our troubles which I used to get a fruit cup and tea from Starbucks while we waited for Scottie’s luggage.  Something strange always happens when we travel, this time is was just at the very end of the trip!

So in the end, I am so glad I was brilliant enough to concoct this plan.  We both had a great time and I really can’t wait to go back!  Hopefully this was a memorable birthday for Scottie!

Finally! We went to Jordan Lake again to swim in open water. While driving there it was super cloudy and there was a bit of lightening so I was nervous we wouldn’t be able to swim if the water turned nasty. Still we decided to go and see if the storm would pass. I knew I needed to have a good swim to really make myself feel better about this whole thing, I would NOT let this defeat me! Once we got closer to our sneaky swimming spot the sun came out and all was well with the world. Due to  Scottie’s new job we were about 30 minutes later then the usual start time and a few guys were already done, but we walked down anyways and found a one of the girls from the email group waiting for the water to calm down a bit. I brought along my trusty pool noodle tied with a shoestring to my racing belt (great idea Carol!) and hoped that would help my anxiety about being stuck in the middle of the lake with zero energy to get back.  We chatted a bit then Carol came down from a run  so the four of us started our swim.  I took it very easy getting in the groove and tried not to think about the water but instead on my stroke since I have been reading a lot about stroke and breathing.  Then I realized, I wasn’t freaking out!  I felt great!  My sighting was smooth and I was able to resume my stroke very quickly, I was stoked.  We reached our turn around point and I was just brimming with excitement, this was a huge step for me!  We caught our breathe for a few minutes and then made our way back.  Again I felt great and the only frustration was the fact my goggle were fogging up making it very hard to see anything.  Luckily Carol has a bright green noodle so that helped with sighting.  I reached our starting point and felt like a million bucks.  Had we not swam that morning I would have done another lap but I didn’t want to completely run out of energy.

In celebration of our awesome swim, or maybe because it was 9pm and we were both starving and had nothing in the fridge due to our trip this weekend, we ordered pizza.

So I am going to bite the bullet and sign up for the Pinehurst Triathlon which is an Olympic distance.  Luckily it is a good 3 months away so I have time to train and get faster and stronger, though I will need to invest in a wetsuit (I’m not sold on renting one yet) and maybe a pool membership since our outdoor pool will obviously close in September.  Oh did I mention this race is 4 weeks before our marathon?  Yep, call me crazy

I picked up a few Luna products at Fleet Feet a few weeks ago and thought the recovery smoothie would be perfect after an 11 mile run on Saturday.  I am a huge fan of chocolate milk as a recovery drink as I think it is cheap, easy and so good!  I always plan what I am going to eat/drink while I am running and use it as incentive to finish strong, hey whatever gets your through right?  The recovery smoothie has a decent amount of protein and the calories of the mix paired with milk would be good directly after the run to satisfy the hungry monster.  I was going to add a banana but decided to use it in my oats a bit later, plus I wanted the pure flavor of the mix.  I wizzed up the powder with about 1 1/2 cups of 1% milk in the pseudo Magic Bullet along with a handful of ice.

This shake was SO GOOD!  It does not have the chalky flavor that whey protein has, it blended up beautifully and tasted like a regular chocolate milkshake!  It wasn’t too sweet but still satisfied my chocolate craving and this filled me up while I cleaned bathrooms and picked up the house for about an hour.  I also have the strawberry banana smoothie to try but I think the dark chocolate flavor will be hard to beat!  Pick up a packet and try it out, if you like it buy the canister

** I was not paid or compensated for this review, but will gladly accept samples from the company

Thought I would start posting my workouts as well as weekly menus, just in case anyone was interested

Saturday
-Workout: 11 mile run
-Dinner: Out with Scottie’s parents to celebrate his new job!

Sunday
-Workout: 3 hour Open Water Swim Clinic
-Dinner:  Honey and Lemon Roasted Chicken, roasted herbed potatoes and parmesan zucchini

Monday
-Workout: 5 mile run
-Dinner: Nog Run Club Dinner (Chicken Fajitas Quesadillas if still hungry)

Tuesday
-Workout: Swim (1200 meter workout)
-Dinner: Veggie Fritatta with salad

Wednesday
-Workout: Open Water Swim Practice (maybe short bike ride)
-Dinner: Tortellini with arrabiatta sauce and chicken sausage

Thursday
-Workout: 5 mile run
-Dinner: Whatever is left in the fridge, grilled cheese and leftover sausage

Friday
-Workout: Nothing!
-Dinner: Who knows, we will be in Boston!

Harris Teeter had cherries for $1.99 a pound and as soon as we walked in last Sunday we were presented with bags upon bags of this glorious fruit. Since Scottie is always asking for Cherry Cobbler I thought this would be the perfect week for cobbler since the berries were not $6.99 a pound (why must he get cravings for things when they are NOT on sale?)  So I suggested this week be cobbler week and picked up the largest bag I could find.

Now one would think that I would be making said cobbler.  You would be wrong.  I made cherry cobbler for him once and it was awful and I vowed to never make it again.  Plus right after I tried, Scottie made one and it was fantastic.  Simplicity is the key for something like this and as always, I over think things. So after dinner one night Scottie set out to make the cobbler.  Let me tell you, nothing beats hot cobbler with premium vanilla ice cream dripping over it.  Ugh yum.  We shared a bowl the first night.  He munched on it throughout the week while I snuck a small bowl here and there.

So while cherries are on the “cheap” I would suggest whipping up a batch of cobbler.  It keeps well on the counter covered in some foil, or you could certainly keep it in the fridge.  Scottie altered the original recipe to add more cherries as he thought the original 2 cups was too meager.  Not a low cal recipe but a “moderation” recipe, and come on you can’t cut all of the great things out!

Scottie’s Cherry Cobbler

1/2 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk

3-4 cups pitted sour cherries
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the butter in a 9×13 inch baking dish, and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating. Remove as soon as butter has melted, about 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and baking powder. Mix in the milk until well blended, then pour the batter into the pan over the butter. Do not stir.

Rinse out the bowl from the batter, and dry. Place cherries into the bowl, and toss with the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour. Distribute the cherry mixture evenly over the batter. Do not stir.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the cobber should come out clean.

Last night was another attempt at a lake swim.  After Sunday’s debacle, I needed the reassurance that I wasn’t a pansy.  Turns out, I am still a pansy.  I will start by saying that Scottie wants to race in the Pinehurst Tri in October, this is an Olympic distance race (1.5 k swim, 30 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) and since I don’t want to be left out of the party, I too am considering this race.  I swore I wouldn’t do anymore races before the marathon but it would be nice to round out the tri season with a race, plus it will keep me motivated to continue swimming and biking.  I should also mention I added the American Tobacco Tail 10 miler in October, but I am ALL for a flat race!  Anyone want to offer some sponsorships

Anywho, back to the dreaded lake.  I wasn’t so much concerned about the contents of the lake this time, so it was easier to actually get into the water.  Once in I felt relaxed and was able to sight well and keep up with everyone, then I just lost it again and freaked out.  I pinpointed it to me feeling far away from the shore and being scared that I wouldn’t have the energy to make it back to shore.  I didn’t have a wall to hold onto or even a kayak like in the race.  That is the best way I can explain it.  So I swam back to shore.  I got my composure and decided to just swim out a bit, then turn around and swim back.  I felt fine with this because I was a reasonable distance from the starting point.  I will say that the pack stays pretty close to the shore, I think I just worry about being so far from our starting point.  I dunno.  So I finished my mini laps and got out, while the group did another lap.

I again was SO mad at myself, I started tearing up.  I am such a loser!  I almost went back in a couple times just to do a few mini laps but since I was already out I was out for good.

So I did a bit of searching this morning and found an open water swim clinic for this Sunday!  What luck!  I remember seeing this a few weeks ago but thought it wouldn’t do me any good since it was after the Triangle Tri but boy do I feel like this was calling to me.  So I signed up without a second thought.  If this helps with my anxiety, it will be the best $50 ever spent.  Even better is that Scottie is going to take me there and ride his bike while I am swimming, so I don’t have to worry about getting lost.  Hopefully we can reward ourselves with brunch somewhere afterwards

So fingers crossed that this does the trick.  I found a one mile swim race at the end of August that would be a great way to get in a good distance swim before the Olympic race, my goal is to feel confident enough to sign up for both races this weekend!

I recently found this awesome site Healthy Yum.  This site is like Tastespotting for healthy food, awesome!  I was perusing the drool worthy pictures and found this recipe from Cookin Canuck.  I love anything with soy sauce.  I crave it.  I am a salty girl, much prefer a salty snack over a sweet one and don’t get me started on mixing the two (hello Salted Caramel Cupcakes!)  I was also intrgued/slightly scared by the addition of curry powder but thought the picture was just too good pass up, it was going on the menu.

Scottie put the marinade together around lunchtime, so I marinated mine for about 6 hours.  I also used one package of chicken which resulted in 3 chicken breasts, plenty for dinner and my lunch the next day.  Let me also state that I did not read the entire recipe and left out the chicken broth for the sauce, even though I bought chicken broth specifically for this recipe, oh well.  So I boiled the marinade (which kinda freaked me out, next time I may just make a double batch of marinade- sans chicken juices) and then noticed how thick it got, so I added more soy sauce and some water.  I figured all was ok until I tasted it.  Holy salt!  I love salt but not that much!  I pour it into creamer pitcher and let Scottie use it as his own descretion.  Even he found it to be salty.  So yeah, I know know why it was salty!  Nonetheless, I didn’t miss the sauce because the chicken had AMAZING flavor.  I made up some brown basmati rice and stir fried some red pepper, snow peas, and zucchini for a well rounded meal.

Definitely give this recipe a go, and make sure to read the entire recipe.

Grilled Chicken with Soy-Curry Sauce
From Cookin Canuck

Serves 6.

I was once again faced with an abundance of over ripe bananas due to the “scratch and dent” produce bin at Harris Teeter and my inability to pass up a bag of bananas for 50 cents.  I have been chunking up said ripe bananas and freezing them for Green Monster smoothies but thought I would bake up some muffins to enjoy with my smoothies in the morning.  I have a go to banana bread recipe but I can’t help but experiment with new recipes so after a bit of searching I found this recipe from Recipe Girl.  I love that this recipe doesn’t have a load of sugar in it (my go to recipe has a cup of white sugar- eek!) and already uses whole wheat pastry flour.  The original recipe called for chopped apricots but I decied to throw in pecans instead because we have about 4 pounds in the freezer plus I thought they would add a nice crunch.  The chopped dates should not be substituted or left out as they add great little pockets of sweetness and moisture, I used Medjool dates.  They are a bit expensive but I am in love with these dates!  I also baked these as muffins as opposed to a loaf as they are just easier for me to throw in a ziploc and into the fridge.  I am keeping all baked goods in the fridge these days so as to avoid premature moldiness- not good eats!  So just nuke these in the microwave for about 20 and if you feel so moved, slather on some almond butter for extra protein!  So good!  I think these come in just under 150 calories per muffin but don’t quote me on that as I am too lazy to figure out the exact details myself

Healthy Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins
Adapted from Recipe Girl
1¾ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
3 Tbs (packed) light brown sugar
2¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
8 dried dates, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 large egg
3 medium very ripe bananas
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ cup skim milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray  12 count muffin tin with nonstick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in chopped dates and pecans.

3. In a separate bowl, mash bananas; add egg, vanilla and milk & stir well. Pour onto flour mixture and stir gently just until blended.

4. Fill muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool completely before removing from tin.