Dehydrating CRAZINESS!!

Sooo....I have been busy sprouting my raw buckwheat groats that I got a few weeks back. It took only a day and little tails began to grow. I sprouted a batch of groats with the Easy Sprouter and another batch with the old school mason jar method. Both worked really well. Now, I am dehydrating them (with my brand new dehydrator- hopefully one day I can get an Excalibur =)  ) to make some buckwheat crispies YUM!!

Made some yummy dark chocolate covered strawberries last night for dessert!!

Whole Wheat Strawberry Banana Muffins!!

So, the 11 miler this past Saturday was pretty rough...Running along Lakeshore did help because the lake reminds me of the ocean, which took my mind off the run a little. However, I had one of "those" runs, where your legs feel like sandbags, forcing you to drag them along instead of propelling you forward lol. Hopefully, the runs will be smoother from here on out, and I bought a new pair of Asics =) - new shoes always helps motivate me too. Anyways, I got the last bunch of strawberries for the season in my CSA box, so I decided to make some healthy muffins yum yum!!

Strawberry Oat Muffins adapted from Lauren Healthy Food For Living

• Ingredients:
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/4 cups rolled oats (I used raw oats)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup banana puree (one really ripe banana mashed)
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk* see note
• 1/4 cup pure vanilla agave nectar, or other liquid sweetener of choice (honey, pure maple syrup, etc.)
• 2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup hulled & diced strawberries (measure after chopping)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coat a 12 cup muffin pan with canola oil cooking spray or line with paper cups.
• In a medium bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients (through cinnamon), and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the next 7 ingredients (applesauce through egg).
• Add the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until moistened. Gently fold in the diced strawberries.
• Use an ice cream scoop (for uniformly-sized muffins) to spoon batter into prepared muffin pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

**I made my own buttermilk by adding 1/2 Tbsp of lemon juice to a 1/2 measuring cup then add in your milk of choice (I used organic skim milk). Let sit for a couple minutes. Presto, you have buttermilk =) SO EASY!! My grandma taught me how to do that. Thanks grandma!

So attempt number 2 at starting a blog

Well, I have had a crazy month since my first month. Realizing that I am only months away from the Chicago marathon (my first), I decided I would start blogging about my training along with my food. I have also been experimenting with buckwheat groats, raw nuts, and sprouting. I am following Hal Higdon's marathon program. Since I am new to Chicago, I don't have a training partner, so this blog will act as my accountability =) . And I often have a tendency to overtain or overdo things, so my friends convinced me to start with the Novice 1 program instead of the desired Novice 2- since I normally run 35-40 miles per week. However, I had a bit of plantars last year, so I decided to try the steady and smart route instead of the "go big or go home" mentality I have about everything in life ha. "Steady and smart" is my goal for this year, deciding my life is not a sprint but rather a well paced marathon that I want to enjoy not speed through. Wow, and I WILLtake a glass of wine to go with that slice of cheese that I just wrote ha. Happy hump day everyone!!

Organic Broccoli seeds -EXCITED TO TRY SPROUTING!

Raw buckwheat groats- breakfast ideas?

New home in Chicago

Back home in Hawaii- missing it!!

DAY ONE:

So, my first day getting back to working out regularly was off to a rough start, waking up at 4:30 to do Insanity with my roomie!! She had to do rounds at the hospital at 6:30, so I suggested we do the workout early (What was I thinking!?!) Anyways, I was exhausted/relieved once it was over. I forgot how much I love plyometrics. After a quick shower, I made myself an egg white omelet loaded with local veggies I bought at the Farmer's Market last weekend: bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, and spinach. I also sprinkled some cayenne pepper and Paprika on it then added in some old fashioned oats and Udo's oil for some complex carbs and heart healthy fats- YUMMY!! I will have to remember to take a picture of it next time, being new to blogging I remembered after I cleaned my plate lol. Oh, I also had half of a grapefruit too. Whenever I cook breakfast, I think of my pup Scout, who is back home in Hawaii now. He would always hope I dropped a little of whatever I was cooking on the floor. Here is one of my favorite pix of him sticking his head out the window (another one of his favorite things).