Vegan Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Happy Saturday Morning, Friends!

We did a great job of using up all of our groceries this week. Almost too good of a job- I ran out of eggs- which left me in a pickle this morning. What do I make for breakfast?!

I don't know about you, but I love to have a slightly more lavish breakfast on the weekends. Something that the weekday rush to get out the door doesn't leave time for. So after thinking about what we had in the pantry and a wonderful suggestion from my husband, I managed to throw together this vegan baked oatmeal. It is fantastic and super easy to make! Obviously, it was vegan by default- all my favorite baked oatmeal recipes call for eggs which I didn't have. But needless to say, I don't think they are missed at all. This recipe is also free of any added sugar- I've been on a crazy sugar binge lately with all the valleys of life and I am committing to one week free of sugar (honey, agave, coconut sugar, etc.) starting today. I wanted to do two weeks, but there is no way I have the willpower to stay away from the goodies on Easter Sunday! ;)

And without further ado, I present my Vegan Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal.

Ingredients.
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbs ground flax seed
1 Tbs chia seeds
1 flax egg (1 Tbs ground flax seed + 3 Tbs hot water)
1 cup applesauce
1.5 cups Silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
1 large apple peeled, diced

Directions.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the flax egg by combining the flax seed and hot water; set aside to gel. Mix first seven ingredients in large bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in medium bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry. Once combined, stir in flax egg. Add raisins and apple. Pour into baking dish (I used 7x11 Pyrex dish) and bake for 30 minutes, until top is golden brown and middle is set.

Notes: I like to use a teaspoon to pour my vanilla extract, but let it spill over a bit into the bowl which is why I said 1-1.5 tsp. Love me some vanilla! Make sure both your vanilla extract and applesauce have no added sugar. Surprisingly enough, my current vanilla extract is from Target. This recipe makes about 4-6 servings depending on your appetite. This recipe could be gluten-free if you use certified, gluten-free oats.

And last, but not least- I apologize for the sad lack of photos in this post! I honestly didn't think about blogging this recipe until I tasted it, but then I had to share. I couldn't believe I hadn't added any sugar! Enjoy friends!

<3 K.E.

My Week in Workouts

Happy Hump Day!

I know I should be happy it is Wednesday, but in reality I wish it was Friday already. That isn't so surprising because, if I'm being totally honest, I was ready for it to be Friday as soon as Sunday night rolled around. I suppose that is the tell-tale sign of job burn-out, huh? That isn't surprising either... *sigh*

Let's back up and make this a more positive post, shall we?

Happy Hump Day! Aren't you thrilled the week is halfway completed! Woot! Woot!  (How's that? ;) )

I'm going to flirt with the possibility of using my blog as a workout diary of sorts. I feel as if it is already somewhat of a diary because I only write posts when I feel like it and I usually write them as if I were writing to myself or an imaginary pen pal. So, to help myself over the hump day (only 1 hour left!)- and hopefully help my lone reader out there as well!-here is a recap of my latest workouts:

S- I normally try to fit in a Power Yoga class on Saturday mornings right after the farmer's market...however, this Saturday I was more inclined to chill a little longer in bed with my handsome husband and then draw the farmer's market trip out a little more by grabbing coffee with my sister. Gotta love that kind of Saturday morning! That meant Sunday morning I was desperately missing my Power Yoga. I knew I had a looooong run (Hello, 7 miles!) scheduled, but decided I could abso-freaking-lutely handle a 1.5-hour Power Yoga class AND a 7-mile run. Yeah. I was that girl on Sunday. Needless to say, my yoga practice was so amazing. I felt really strong and finally was able to hold Crow pose. Yep. After years of yoga practice, I did Crow on Sunday! Whoop! Whoop! I was ridiculously fired up after that practice and tackled my run a few hours later after eating peanut butter and carob chips as a quick snack...let's just say I learned a big lesson that day. Peanut butter and carob chips don't get along well with my running stomach. Yikes! Other than stomach issues throughout my entire run, I felt very strong and capable the entire time. Seven, strong miles and 90 minutes of Power Yoga turned out to be a wonderful way to start the week!

M- HIIT Challenge for 30 minutes! My entire body was sore from yoga so I went easy today (following the calendar I created for August) and did HIIT on the recumbent bike. I wanted to do it on the elliptical, but some chick beat me to it and I didn't want to come back later. I felt pretty good and I could have pushed harder, but my legs were thankful for a break, albeit small.

T- Total body strength training (I think the routine took about 30 minutes, check it out here.) followed by a desperate attempt to make it to the voting booth before 7pm (made it with eight minutes to spare!) and then a 4-mile easy run at a 10:11 pace. In between voting and running, I made my starving husband dinner- my famous grilled BBQ chicken drummettes. Sure to please. :)

W-  Off Day to celebrate my sister's birthday!

T- I have another easy run planned for Thursday, 3 miles at a 10:43 pace. I might try to squeeze in a class at the YMCA, but I'm not sure what they have available or if I'll even feel like it then. There is also a chance I may combine Thursday's and Friday's workouts. We'll see.

F-  Another total body strength workout + Tabata!

S- Power Yoga!

So there you have it. It isn't anything fancy and I could do a lot more, but it's what I've been doing this month. I'm training for a 15k the end of September and the farthest I had ever run prior to this training was 6.2 miles. Sunday's 7 miler was only my second time running 7 miles straight. I am proud of my hard work and I hope that my dedication to training translates into a great race! *fingers crossed*

<3 K.E.

August Already?!

Whoah. Time seriously flies by, doesn't it? I can't believe it is already August. I feel like the year just began! I guess that means I am getting old... ;)

There are several things I'd like to share with you guys, but I just haven't had the time to blog. I've been attempting to soak up every moment of summer before it disappears. I'm happy to report that I've had a lot of success in this endeavor! Farmer's Market meet-ups, discovering Menchies Fro-Yo, spending time at the beach and the pool, summer reading, grilling, Olympics...I think this list could go on forever! The one thing that has suffered terribly through all this is my poor apartment. I haven't been nearly as conscientious about cleaning as I was before the sun came out full force. It's just too nice to be inside! Now that it is August, I feel like things will slowly start to lose their "summery" feeling. By Labor Day, despite living in the Sunshine State, I will feel like summer is long gone. Therefore, I am still making the most of these all-to-short summer days and I found a post over on Fitnessista.com with 10 Ways to Make August Amazing! It is full of great ideas, so I quickly jotted them down and the ways I can make them happen. Here goes:

10 Ways to Make August Amazing! (from the Fitnessista.com)

1. Celebrate Seasonal Produce. I'm going to keep checking out my local farmer's market and fill every meal with delicious fruit and veggies that scream summer like watermelon, zucchini, salads, etc.

2. Take a new class. There are 3 new fitness classes at the Y that I've been eyeballing- Zumba, Bootcamp, and Kickboxing. I tried out Power Yoga last month and liked it much better than the other yoga classes offered. Maybe I'll find another class to add to the rotation this month!

3.  Host and Olympics-watching party! Not sure I'll be doing this...the hubby and I work (what feels like) really loooong hours so we don't socialize much during the week. I HAVE been glued to the tv every evening watching the gymnastics, beach volleyball, and swimming competitions! Love me some Summer Olympics!

4.  Engage in an act of kindness.  Hmmm...I've got some ideas, but I like to keep my kind acts a surprise for the recipient. It's so much more fun that way. :D

5.  Plan a date night. I have already planned a Sister date night...now I just have to plan a special date night with the love of my life...any great ideas?

6.  Change something.  I'm thinking about organizing my apartment for this one...what do you think? Pantry and closet overhaul! WOOT! I can't be the only woman who gets excited about organizing, right? Riiiight. I'm also contemplating an outlook change. I know this isn't something you just "change," but I'd like to work on being more self-affirming...baby steps.

7.  Start a new book. I've read some great books already this summer. My favorite so far was "Bloom" by Kelle Hampton. LOVED every minute of that book. The August book list includes: Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz, Wild by Cheryl Strayed (if I can ever find it at the library), Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu, and I'd like to read Divergent by Veronica Roth, but that one has been MIA at my local library for months.

8.  Invest in new workout gear! I'm dying for a pair of Sketchers Go Run! shoes...

9.  Pick a race to do with a friend! There's a 15k I want to run in September. It isn't in August, but its close! I'm trying to talk my sister into running it with me, or at least running the 5k.

10. Commit to strength training. After participating in the Fitnessista's Summer Shape Up 2012 and loving it, I decided to give it another round this month. Because I'm training for the 15k in September and my first (EEK!) half marathon in February, I had to modify to keep my running workouts on consistent days (Tue, Thurs, Sun). I'm hoping it is still as effective, but I also know there was no way I could manage the stress of having my runs juggled around right now. Less stress = the way to go.

How are you going to make August amazing?

Weekly Meal Plan and Groceries

I know I've shared about meal planning before, but I want to elaborate as my meal planning style has changed over the last few months. As long as I can remember, I have loved everything about grocery shopping. Growing up, I went grocery shopping with my mom every week. If I wasn't able to go, I always felt like I missed out on something special. I also quickly became the coupon clipper/list maker for our family. I've may have grown from a little girl to a married woman, but I haven't lost my love for planning meals, writing a list, and perusing the aisles of a grocery store.

I've started to notice that we rarely cook on Fridays. We're so exhausted after a week at work that we just want to veg and end up chilling on the couch watching Lost and eating take out. I've incorporated that into our weekly meal plan so we don't end up with spoiled food.

I planned simple meals around the items on hand. I was lucky because we had quite a bit of chicken left in the freezer. Next week will require a bigger haul from Costco of staples like organic chicken breast and maple syrup. This week was a little different for me, I set a very strict food budget and actually came in well under budget at the register!

My meal plan:

Saturday- Hamburgers (on our new grill!)
Sunday- Crock Pot Chicken and Black Bean Tacos
Monday- Balsamic Chicken (from the April issue of Clean Eating Magazine)
Tuesday- Leftovers or Egg Sandwiches
Wednesday- Grilled Salsa Drumsticks (from the May/June issue of Whole Deal)
Thursday- Crock Pot Chickpea, Butternut Squash, and Red Lentil Stew (from Eat, Live, Run)
Friday- Salmon or Take Out (anything goes on a Friday night!)

The first half of my grocery haul. See the Cap'n Crunch in the background? haha!

I've found the shopping list from Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free to be a very useful tool. Amy created two lists depending on how you shop, a list for one grocery store and a list for four grocery store. This was actually my first week ever using the list for one store! I've been shopping at four store every week (no lie) and decided it was for the birds. So this week I only went to Publix and found grocery shopping was much more enjoyable. Click here for the the downloadable PDF lists from SS&GF.
My list looked like this:

almond milk
creamer
Greek yogurt
eggs
chicken drumsticks
Ben & Jerry's ice cream
Cap'n Crunch (by special request)
BBQ Popchips
salsa
canned black beans
canned chick peas
garam masala
diced tomatoes
carrots
butternut squash
tomato
jalapeno
baby spinach
bananas
sweet onions
3 sweet potatoes
2 Eat Smart veggie packs
Florida oranges
green pepper
blueberries

Grocery Haul Take 2

I made another run yesterday to buy more fruit- grapes, blueberries, and a huge watermelon. We had a quarter of a melon in the fridge and I didn't want to buy more until it was finished, but we devoured it Saturday night with our burgers. It was amazing and still on sale at Publix! Oh, and I still came in under budget!

How do you plan your meals and grocery shop? I'm always looking for great ideas!

<3 K.E.

Soreness and Yoga

Well, my first week of nothing but yoga comes to a close today. I didn't stick with it quite as well as I'd hoped too. Quite frankly, I found that my body was seriously craving down time after the race which surprised me. I knew I was worn out from the 10k training + new lifestyle, but I didn't expect to feel like I was rehabbing!

A few hours after the race, my legs stiffened up. I noticed just how stiff and sore when I tried to stand up after Avengers- ouch! But it was a good ouch, I knew I'd pushed my body (especially my legs!) very hard and they were reacting to that accomplishment. I opted to take Sunday off completely because I was still pretty wiped out when I woke up and because I was celebrating Mother's Day with my beautiful momma!

We had the best celebratory brunch: gluten free french toast with berries, chicken apple sausages, scrambled eggs, and strawberry mimosas. YUM!

My workouts for the rest of the week looked like this:

Monday: Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown DVD level 2 (a quick, but intense 30 minute yoga session)
Tuesday: Bob Harper's Yoga for the Warrior DVD (an hour-long practice)
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: Yoga at the YMCA (I wasn't a big fan.)
Saturday: TBD ;)

I took Wednesday and Thursday off because 1) I was sore on Wednesday and 2) I opted to go to the chiropractor's on Thursday after work instead of practicing yoga. A worthy trade in my opinion.

My thoughts on nothing but yoga...I'm surprised because I don't enjoy it nearly as much as I assumed I would. I am becoming more flexible and believe it or not my upper body is looking more toned (yay!), but I find myself itching for a higher intensity workout. I want to run! I know the break was good and I definitely needed it. I feel healthier, stronger, and less exhausted. But I will be bringing back other forms of exercise next week if I keep craving it. So my plan might be changing, but what's new? We really can't predict where life will take us and my #1 goal is to listen to my body and what it needs.

After Monday's Practice

If you're interested in a great yoga DVD, I absolutely L.O.V.E Bob Harper's Yoga for the Warrior. It is a fairly fast-paced, vinyasa style of yoga. He leads you through various poses, including Sun Salutations. I don't know about you, but if my practice doesn't have a few Sun Salutations, I am always bummed out- they are my favorite.

Unfortunately, I don't love Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown. It feels more like body weight strength training than yoga. That isn't a bad thing, but it isn't what I'm looking for in a yoga practice either. I like to feel relaxed and stress free when I finish my practice and I find that happens more with Bob's DVD and I still get a great workout. I do love that I can fit in a practice no matter how busy I am because her sessions are 30 minutes each. And I will admit that the more I practice with her DVD, the more I warm up to it. Who knows- I might just convert after all.

The husband and I are members of our local YMCA and I was really excited to take a few group exercise classes. Thus far I have been pretty unimpressed. I love, love, love Sharon's classes (if you remember she teaches spinning and pilates). But both of the yoga classes I've tried leave much to be desired. I think they are a little too boring for me. I like a more upbeat, face-paced class (i.e., Yoga for the Warrior or Centurgy). Oh Centurgy, how I miss you! Anyway, I think I need to try out Power Yoga. I was intimidated by it because it is labeled as an "athlete" level class, but after two rather boring classes/instructors, its time to try it out before I throw in the towel on YMCA yoga.

So sorry the post is kind of all over the place. I've been a spaz lately and right now I'm trying to write this in between cleaning, laundry, Lost, and baking. I'm trying out PB Finger's recipe for Oatmeal Peanut Butter Banana Cookies. Sounds amazing, right? Peanut Butter and oatmeal are two of my favorite foods right now. I could eat them all day every day and a cookie that combines both? Heaven on earth! ;)

<3 K.E.

10k Wrap-Up

WOOHOO! 10k accomplished! ;)

I woke up bright and early this morning thanks to my husband's alarm clock- he was a volunteer at the race, coordinating one of the water stations (Mile 3 represent!), and had to be there at 5am!

Started off with my breakfast of champions and vanilla coffee- as a side note, I'm so thankful I discovered vanilla stevia!

recycled photo...but you get the idea. :)

Luckily the race was right down the street and I was able to get ready in time to ride with the hubby to the race. I'm so thrilled about that because I absolutely did NOT want to drive separate cars today. That's no fun. I did manage to forget my headphones and iPhone armband so I dropped him off and headed back home to pick them up. The good news is that was the only mishap of the morning!

After retrieving my missing gear, I met up with a few work friends for the opening ceremonies (Hi, Marcia and Molly!) and then I found my pace group. I opted to start with the 9:30 mile group because that was my goal time (58:00).

I wish I would have taken the time out to actually document the race so I would have photos to share. Unfortunately, I had such a bad case of nerves (I dreamed about bombing the race all night!) that it was all I could do to remember the absolutely necessary things!

During the week, I read several articles and blog posts about fueling for your race and pacing yourself, so I felt pretty prepared. I loved Tina's post on 10k Pacing Strategy. It helped me stay focused and feel like I had a plan! 

My planned 10k breakdown:

Mile 1- 9:20

Mile 2 & 3- 9:35

Mile 4 & 5- 9:30

Mile 6- 9:25

.2- as fast as possible!

My actual 10k breakdown wasn't quite what I had planned. I actually started the race at a 8:00 pace. Unfortunately, the "herd" slowed me down to 10:29 for a little bit until I could break away. I ended up staying at 9:00 pace for most the race (Mile 4 was a bit slower 9:30-9:40). A few times I checked my Nike+ app and noticed that I actually was running 8:30! I didn't even know I could run that fast! 

Focusing on my husband waiting at Mile 3 was my motivation for the first part of the race. He has never been at one of my races before and I loved seeing his proud face and hearing him cheer me on. Best. Thing. Ever.

Mile 4 was the most difficult. My breathing was heavy and labored and I started cramping up (too much water?). Because of my training runs, I knew it would pass and was able to work through it and keep going. There were definitely a few "Why am I doing this?!" moments during Mile 4.

After surviving Mile 4, the rest of the race was challenging, but bearable. I kept coaching myself through the hard parts. "You can do this!" and "You've got this, Kristina!" were my self-motivating mantras. ;)

Having run the race last year, I had a pretty good idea of when I was nearing the finish line and picked up my pace big time for that last push. I almost cried when I saw the timer and it flashed 55:55 as I ran under the finish line banner. The sign time alone was two minutes faster than my goal time. I'm still in awe. My d-tag registered 55:31:3 which translates to an average of 8:57/mile (according to the results post...I haven't attempted the math). WOW.


I'm beyond proud of my time and of how strongly I finished. Have I mentioned that I'm super motivated for my next race? I am! :D

The hubby treated me to brunch at First Watch to celebrate (The tri-athlete omelet is to die for!). And I treated myself to a luxurious body scrub,

My favorite brand for body scrubs.

painted my nails,

Coral Reef=Summer!

and ate Lunaberry Swirl coconut ice cream at home.

My new favorite flavor. YUM!

How was that for photo overload?  ;)

Now we're off to see The Avengers!

<3 K.E.

P.S. Tom is excited about my time too! :D

Say hello, Tom!

Beach Day Recap

I would say our day at the beach was a huge success! As was the wonderful spread prepared by my amazing mother- no one makes chicken salad like she does! And the addition of birthday presents and carrot cupcakes (minus the icing for me!) were big perks too. :)

It also happened to be a beautiful day- nothing but sunshine!

And a stray cloud or two.

I did end up fitting my 5.5 mile run this morning. I was pretty happy with the results- 9:58 average per mile. That is my best time for a long run so far. I'm hoping to run the 10k in under an hour, but I'll be OK if that doesn't happen too. I plan to go out there, enjoy the weather and the excitement of the race, and run my best. I'll be happy with whatever the outcome of my best is.

Happy Monday, everyone!

<3 K.E.

Beach Trumps Run Any Day

Good morning, folks! 

Today is supposed to be my last long run before the race next weekend- instead I am going to the beach. I have mixed thoughts about this:

1. It was my idea and I am super excited about having a day to soak up the sun with my husband and family.

2. I didn't really think about fitting in my run until after we made all the plans and it was too late to change them.

3. Maybe I will just designate tomorrow morning as a pseudo-Sunday for my 5.5 miles? What do you think?

My mom is providing a scrumptious lunch of my favorite chicken salad (same recipe that she made for my bridal shower), veggies to munch on, and-hopefully- carrot cake cupcakes made with ingredients I can actually eat! YUM! My contribution was originally going to be the best peanut butter bars ever, but I've been pigging out like mad since Friday night and when I heard she was going to make cupcakes I thought I'd better pass on the Peanut Butter bars or I'd be walking around with a 9-month food baby all day- not attractive in a swimsuit let me tell you. Instead, I whipped up a batch of these beauties from Eating Bird Food. 

Instagram again...one of these days I will pull out my DSLR...just not today ;)

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups. No flour, no sugar (sweetened with Stevia and banana) they were super easy to whip up and are the perfect easy breakfast to bring to the beach. I wish they were slightly sweeter, but that is probably because of my 36 hour sugar binge, because nothing is sweet enough right now. I also have a sugar hang-over headache and I am very much reminded why I never eat cane sugar and I eat other sweeteners in moderation. Oy vey! ;)

And what weekend morning is complete without coffee? This mug is full of Caribou medium roast (the giant k-cup pack from Costco!), 365 unsweetened almond milk, NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia, and topped with a dash of cinnamon. Heaven in a cup.  (Also in the best mug ever- a souvenir from my hubby's trip to San Diego. He's the best.)

Happy Sunday!

<3 K.E.

And the weekend continues!

I have survived an entire month alone- except for the cat and he doesn't count! The hubby had to attend a month-long class across the country for his job. I was very anti as you can imagine. I haven't blogged very often during that time because, well, I didn't have much to say that didn't consist of whining about him being gone. And I didn't want to publicize the fact that I was home alone. So I went a little MIA. But that means I have loads of posts that I now feel like sharing. YAY! ;)

We took a couple days off this week to recoup from the trip (OK, OK, he needed time to recoup- I just wanted time with him!) and so our lovely, lazy weekend continues. Love days off!

First up, an amazingly delicious recipe from Daily Garnish, one of my daily reads. I'm not sure if you've figured this out yet or not, but I love food. I love to cook, bake, find and create new dishes. Since my hubby was gone for Easter, I was spending it breakfast-dinner with my family. That meant a very early morning drive for me and not much time to prepare breakfast as the kiddos wake up super early to find Easter baskets and hunt for eggs the Easter bunny left us. Knowing my mom has probably missed my kitchen creations since the wedding, I thought I would make up a loaf of banana nut bread for Easter morning. Can you imagine how excited I was to find a recipe on Daily Garnish for Blueberry Banana Walnut Bread? ECSTATIC! I love baking with blueberries. They are loaded with antioxidants and I always buy a giant bag of frozen organic wild blueberries at Costco. In my opinion, wild blueberries are the most tasty in everything from pancakes to muffins to bread. Not only do they have more flavor, but they also have more antioxidants than regular blueberries. Win!

The final product. This is the whole wheat loaf. Check out that gorgeous color!

To give credit where credit is due, I won't be posting the recipe. Instead, I'll link to it on Daily Garnish. Trust me: it is worth clicking through to make this beauty. The only changes I made to my first batch consisted of replacing the whole wheat flour with spelt flour for the sensitive tummies in my family and using 1.5-2 cups of blueberries instead of 1 cup. I think my oven temperature is off (my next project) because I baked this baby for almost double the time on the recipe and it was still a little doughy.

 I made this bread a second time to welcome home the husband Saturday and used whole wheat flour. It tastes just as good, but took even longer to bake. This time, I used 3 bananas instead of the recommended 4 and it was still uber moist and delicious. I also used more berries than the recipe called for, I always add more berries to every blueberry recipe- I just can't get enough! Honestly, I liked the spelt loaf the best, because I think the straight-up whole wheat irritated my tummy, but the taste was definitely still there with the whole wheat loaf. Use whatever flour you prefer, but definitely make this bread! You'll be glad you did.  Oh, and smear it with homemade Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter. A to-die-for combination!

<3 K.E.