Grilled banana sandwich!

Good morning!  hope you are all having a nice start to the weekend!!  I went for a short/easy run this morning- it was nice to just be outside and enjoy the scenery 🙂  after the run, I started up on breakfast…I have been wanting to try HealthTippingPoint’s Grilled Banana Sandwich for quite some time now and today I finally got around to trying it!

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of whole wheat bread
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• 1 sliced banana
• Powdered sugar

Directions:

• Grease and heat frying pan.
• Make basic French bread by dredging the toast in eggs and placing on grilled.
• On eggy side of toast, sprinkle the brown sugar.
• Meanwhile, slice the banana and place on griddle to cook.
• When first side of toast is done cooking, flip the brown sugar side down.
• On the cooked side of the toast, sprinkle cinnamon.
• Once toast has finished cooking, remove from heat and put bananas in between slices (on the cinnamon side).
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

this was so so good!  the bananas were nice and sweet and soft and the  brown sugar sort of caramelized on the toast….yummmooooo. definitely give this one a try!

I also have a new spinning playlist to share with you!! I got some of these songs ideas from Ashley’s cherry blosson playlist

in other news…my sister is running her first ever boston marathon!!!!!! I am so excited/nervous for her!!!  the race is on monday at 10 AM….ill be stuck in class while she is running the marathon 😦 I wish I could have gone but my parents wouldnt let me! haha…I will be running boston next spring (it was full by the time I had qualified for it this year!) so i hope mary requalifies so we can run it together….no pressure or anything, mary! hahaha

good luck to all of you who are running boston on monday as well 😉

well… I am gonna go shower now- there is a lacrosse game today at noon (loyola vs. georgetown)….have a great weekend!!

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whipped ricotta banana oatmeal

Good morning!  This morning I decided to try a new oatmeal concoction that my sister found on Iowa Girl Eat’s Blog.  It looked pretty awesome so I decided to give it a try for myself.

• 1/3 C oats
• 2/3 C water
• 1/2 T chia seeds
• sliced banana (added at the beginning- and whipped with a wooden spoon while cooking)
• 1/4 c ricotta cheese (added in at the end)
• cinnamon
• vanilla
• Almond Butter to top

verdict?

LOVED IT!!  this was so creamy, fluffy, and delicioussss.  Definitely going to making this again. and this is a perfect way to use up some extra ricotta that I always seem to have lying around!

Next up…my trip to NYC for the workout DVD!  My 2 sisters, my sister’s boyfriend, and I went to nyc to shoot a workout dvd for a guy by the name of Joel Harper (he is a personal trainer for a lot of celebrities including Dr. Oz…and i believe Oprah as well).  The workout dvd is called Fit pack.  (oh and we got the “gig” (haha) through my sister’s boyfriend- who is friends with Joel).  There are different sections to the dvd. My sister and I did the cardio section and my other sister (danielle) and her boyfriend did the core part.   It was sooo much fun!

When we got there they did our hair and put a little makeup on us.  Then Joel went through some of the moves that Mary and I had to do with him.  It was so hot once we got on stage (with all of the lights and such) and we taped the cardio part in sections- and the great part about it was if you messed up at all it really didnt matter because they would just cut that portion out.  When we did certain moves Joel would have one of us to the advanced version and the other do the beginner version. the advanced versions were not very easy!  I was sweating so much at the end and joel was sitting there screaming “COME ON CHRISTINA HIGHER HIGHER!” hahaha.  but don’t worry- I didnt have to do all the advanced moves- mary and I took turns- thank goodness for that.  They would hold up signs telling us to “smile” but it was weird- I didnt want to grin for ear to ear and it was hard to when you were doing a certain move…. I feel like I must have looked so stupid!! haha anyway- the whole experience was awesome.  I hope I dont look like a dummy in the dvd though.  Hopefully they will cut out the bad parts hahah

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Mary and I

mar, me, and danielle

thought this one was kind of funny haha

Afterwards we ventured across the street to Chelsea Market….has anyone ever been there before (its where Rachel Ray shoots her 30 minute meal show and where she buys all of her ingredients!)? Its basically a huge market with private venders selling a bunch of different things- really cool! Mary and I grabbed a veggie sandwich, sweet potato fries, and gelato (we were hungry- we hadnt eaten since breakfast! ahh!)- all of which were AWESOME- Im still dreaming about it in fact hahah- and then I got back on the train for home sweet home (baltimore!).

the weekend was great but I am still exhaustedddd…and to top it off I have a cold now!  hopefully it goes away soon! and hopefully I can manage to catch up on some lost sleep soon!

okay- well that is the update on my life- I have to go to class now!! have a wonderful day!

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Chocolate Thunder

Good morning!  Sorry for the lack of posts recently.  I would come up with an excuse but in truth I do not have any other than the fact that I have been lazy!  Anyway… over spring break (yes, my school already had spring break) my sister introduced me to a new smoothie at our favorite cafe back at home- animo juice cafe.  It is called chocolate thunder (she actually likes the vanilla version of this smoothie better- called white lightening).

Anyways…I love this smoothie so so much! It’s almost like a chocolate milkshake and is PERFECT for some post-run fuel. I loved running/lifting in the morning and then making this shake afterwards.  It’s also good for breakfast on any old day- I had it this morning in fact!

ingredients:

• ice
• banana
• chocolate whey (or soy) protein powder (I used whole foods brand)
• chocolate soy milk
• Peanut Butter

have a great day!!!

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pumpkin waffles

ULTIMATE PUMPKIN WAFFLES – do you believe that this a whole blog devoted to this recipe?  When I saw this…I knew I had to try it!

1/4 cup light brown sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg*

2 large eggs

1 cup milk (I used skim but the recipe called for whole)

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and warm

Grated and lightly packed into the spoon, use 1/2 tsp. Grated andloosely scooped, this is about 1 tsp. of nutmeg. If you have to use pre-grated, dried nutmeg, use 1/4 tsp.

DIRECTIONS

1. Lightly oil the waffle iron with vegetable oil, and set it to the desired temperature.

2. Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk together to break apart the cornstarch. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and whisk to blend.

3. Separate eggs: yolks go in a medium sized bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl.

4. Add pumpkin and milk to the egg yolks. Whisk to blend and set aside.

5. Whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form– about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Set aside.

6. Pour melted butter into the yolk/milk/pumpkin mixture. As you pour, whisk to combine.

7. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix them together until just combined. A little lumpiness is fine. That will smooth out when the egg whites are added.

8. Slide the whipped egg whites out of the bowl and onto the mixture you just prepared. Gently fold them in until no white bits are obvious.

9. Once the waffle iron is heated, you’re ready to pour the batter!

enjoy!

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Bircher Muesli

when my family and I went to beantown for the 2010 winter classic, we were lucky enough to have free breakfast every single morning! wohoo!  anyway…one of the things that was offered in the buffet was Bircher Muesli. This tasted SO GREAT.  It was honestly addicting.  When I got home, my sister and I tried our best to recreate the muesli….the hotel’s was better but this was still good!

we used 1/2 C oats, slivered almonds, raisins, vanilla almond milk (may try apple juice next time- as I saw that many recipes online used this), GRATED apple (this is important!!!), cinnamon….SOAK OVERNIGHT!!!!

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buffalo burgers and pumpkin waffles! (not together, don’t worry)

Good morning bloggers!  First, THANK YOU for all of your sweet comments about the marathon!  I am still so excited about it!  When I crossed the finish line I remember thinking to myself “Wow I just ran my first marathon” and a tear or two may or may not had been shed haha.  It really is a rewarding feeling- being able to accomplish something that you have been literally working your butt off for for 18 months!  and it is even a better feeling having the support of all of you guys.  Really means a lot to me 😉 here are some more pictures:

nah I do not look cold or scared OUT OF MY MIND AT ALL!

some ballerina dude my dad snapped a photo of...funny thing is---he probably kicked my butt! haha

Mary getting ready to go!

Well….I not only have one but TWO great meals ahead.  Proceed with caution my friends.

BUFFALO BURGERS

The first meal, that I made last night, is Buffalo Burgers. I first heard mention of Bison/Buffalo from Matt’s blog and then my sister tried them out last week and absolutely raved about them.  She told me that they tasted like your regular beef burger but are SO much better for you.  Check out the stats:

Impressive, eh??? So yesterday, after I left my sisters’ apartment in Philly, I went to whole foods and stocked up on some supplies:

I got 1.3 lbs of Ground Buffalo for my dad, mom, and myself.  Into the buffalo I mixed a little bit of EVOO, salt, and pepper.  I cooked the burgers on a grill pan that we have….of course you could also just go outside and grill them but it was drizzling out and I was much to lazy and incapable (I am still limping) of walking those long 200 meters to the grill haha.  Make sure that when you cook the burgers (or cook any type of meat for that matter), NOT TO PUSH DOWN ON THEM OR FLIP THEM MORE THAN ONCE! by not touching them too much- you keep all of the juice inside…and the taste is amazing! a tip I learned from Bobby Flay and my sister.

Served with Onions, Sprouts, and Tomato:

I made the burgers with Sauteed Carrots and String beans (EVOO and garlic)

and Old Bay Fries!  To make these, I slice up baking potatoes to “matchstick” size and place them in cool water and into the fridge (to help them get crispy in the oven).  I then sprinkle old bay seasoning on top along with some EVOO and placed them in the oven @ 400 degrees.  Make sure none of the fries are touching (this way they wont get soggy).  Periodically check on the fries and move them around.  They take about 45 minutes to cook.

ALL TOGETHA NOW!

Verdict? AWESOME!!!  buffalo is my new favorite meat (or one of them anyway!).  It truly tastes like a burger but its SOOO much healthier for you.  this is a must try.  Thanks Mary…and Matt!

PUMPKIN WAFLES

NEXT up… ULTIMATE PUMPKIN WAFFLES – do you believe that this a whole blog devoted to this recipe?  When I saw this…I knew I had to try it!

1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg*
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk (I used skim but the recipe called for whole)
• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and warm

*Grated and lightly packed into the spoon, use 1/2 tsp. Grated and loosely scooped, this is about 1 tsp. of nutmeg. If you have to use pre-grated, dried nutmeg, use 1/4 tsp.

DIRECTIONS

1. Lightly oil the waffle iron with vegetable oil, and set it to the desired temperature.

2. Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk together to break apart the cornstarch. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and whisk to blend.

3. Separate eggs: yolks go in a medium sized bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl.

4. Add pumpkin and milk to the egg yolks. Whisk to blend and set aside.

5. Whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form – about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Set aside.

6. Pour melted butter into the yolk/milk/pumpkin mixture. As you pour, whisk to combine.

7. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix them together until just combined. A little lumpiness is fine. That will smooth out when the egg whites are added.

8. Slide the whipped egg whites out of the bowl and onto the mixture you just prepared. Gently fold them in until no white bits are obvious.

9. Once the waffle iron is heated, you’re ready to pour the batter! In my Presto FlipSide waffle maker, cook time is exactly 2 minutes 30 seconds.

VERDICT….. GREAT!  These were really great!!  My mom and Dad even liked them too.  When you get my dad to admit that something tastes good…you know it tastes good haha

Today my mom and I are going shopping (@ the mall and then to philly ;)).  Should be a fun day!  Tonight Mary is coming home…we are either going to make dinner here or go out somewhere– looking forward to it!  Have a nice day everyone!

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Baked and Bruleed Oatmeal

Good evening!!  I am back home, FINALLY!!  It has been a LONG week with lots of studying and little sleep.  I better make sure I get a good night’s rest tonight and tomorrow night for the race!  Cant be tired at the starting line! haha  Tomorrow is the expo…I am so excited for it!  Before my sister and I go to the expo, we are going for a nice and easy run with some people from the runnersworld forums.  Very excited to meet them!

This morning I tried something I have wanting to make for a long time now… baked and bruleed oatmeal 😉

courtesy of Kristin- Iowa Girl!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup each of old fashioned oats, skim milk & water
• 1 banana (1/2 mashed, 1/2 sliced- for the top)
• splash of vanilla
• dash of cinnamon
• raisins & chopped walnuts
• cinnamon sugar (for the brulee- I used a mixture of brown and regular sugar)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Combine ingredients from oats to walnuts, and pour into an oven safe dish.

2. Arrange reserved banana slices on top and bake for 25 minutes.

3. Remove dish from oven and sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar. Place under broiler until golden brown. Serve immediately or store in the fridge overnight and heat up in the morning.  I made this last night and in the morning I stuck it in the oven while I got ready.  It was nice and hot and ready to eat when I sat down for breakfast 😉

I give this 2 thumbs up!  AWESOME.  okay…not AS awesome as the one I had at Parc in philadelphia– but honestly- I was really surprised at how good this actually came out!  I will definitelyyyy be making this again in the future!  The one thing I would like to try (a suggestion from my sister) is adding egg whites to it- to add some extra creaminess.

Tonight- we made a carbo dinner!!!  Before heading out of baltimore I stopped at the Belvedere Market and got a real nice loaf of whole wheat bread:

and here is the dinner all prepared….

okay…must get some rest now…have a nice night!!

-Christina

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Stuffed Cinnamon French Toast!

Good afternoon!  Today is such a wonderful fall day!  I have been looking for ways to use my extra ricotta cheese (I have it around for when I I make my Whole Wheat penne sweet potato & ricotta dish).  So today I woke up and made a “recipe” I saw in Women’s Health Magazine for Stuffed Cinnamon French Toast:

French toast always makes me think of my Grandmom- so this meal instantly put a smile upon my face.  My grandmom used to make her famous french toast for her 6 grandchildren whenever we would stay over her house- it was delicious.  Even though she is no longer with me- her spirit lives on in every aspect of my life… including…french toast 😉

Anyway- I really loved how this came out… I have come to the realization that I absolutely LOVE ricotta cheese!  I thought that this would taste “dry” without maple syrup but it was not dry at all. I guess with the ricotta cheese/honey/egg mixture- it did not need syrup.  In addition to adding the sliced almonds between the slices of bread…I sliced bananas…solid choice I must say!

I used Yoga Bread from the Baker– have any of you guys seen this bread in stores?  It is absolutely delicious!

whole wheat flour, water, cranberries, whole rye flour, wheat gluten, cold pressed corn oil, yeast, cultured wheat flour, wheat bran, oat fiber, sea salt, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, millet, flaxseed, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, barley malt, vinegar, natural enzyme

and of course the pictures are not as beautiful as in the magazine but what can you do?  still tasted great 😉

and just incase you cant see the recipe in the first photo…. here is how I made it:

spread about 1 T of ricotta cheese on a slice of bread.  Drizzle with honey and add sliced almonds and sliced banana on top.  Spread another tablespoon of ricotta on a second slice of bread and top with the first slice.  Whisk a mixture of 1 egg, 1 T milk, and cinnamon together and soak the “sandwich”.  Cook over medium heat on a nonstick griddle until bread is lightly browned on both sides/the cheese has melted.

Enjoy!!

off to run 3 miles and study…hope you are all having a wonderful day!

-Christina

p.s. 4 more days till the marathon!

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the GOOD and the BAD

THE BAD:

my ankle still hurts.  I was walking to my first class today at 9 AM and had slight pain while walking– but when I had to climb up or down the stairs (especially down), the pain was REALLY bad.  I honestly felt like plopping down right there in the middle of the walkway and crying.  But to avoid looking like a complete weirdo, I pressed onward. haha I did go to the gym tonight and went on the bike for a little bit, lifted (arms) and did some core work.  experienced no pain.  Ill continue to ice and take aleve tonight.  and thank you for all of your helpful comments.  I actually did just get BRAND NEW running shoes. the same exact type as I had before, too.  so that cannot be it.  who knows.   I was thinking if maybe I did something on the 20 mile run that caused this?  At one point we were on an unpaved trail and I did lose my balance and kind of rolled my ankle a little bit but it not hurt then and that was at mile 10.  I continued 10 more miles with no pain at all. the next day was cross training and the next day was rest day.  and I really noticed the pain when I attempted to run once again on tuesday.  hmmm…

THE BAD, again:

I come home from my first class (that I almost didnt make it to due to my urge to plop on the ground and cry haha) to my roommate with a mask on her face.  she was diagnosed with the swine flu. YES. perfecto. Her parents came to get her and we spent the afternoon cleaning everything.  Now our room smells of lysol and bleach…YUMMY 😉  So I will hope and I pray I do not get it!

and…inspired by holly…the good things that make me SMILE ;):

Fresh whole wheat pasta with spinach, broccoli, red sauce, and parmigiano reggiano

oh and like Holly…I too like starbucks holiday cups 😉

green monstas:

and a cup of hot chocolate:

things to do tonight: watch the phillies! and study for a microbiology quiz tomorrow…woot woot….laterrrrr

-Christina

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Happy Halloween!

Hey everyone!  Sorry for being a bit M.I.A. lately!  This weekend was very fun!  On Friday (after my classes), I took the train back home to Philly (to my sisters’ apartment).  My sister and I went to a market called Di Bruno Brothers to get ingredients for dinner.  My parents (and doggie Andie!) came over the apartment for a nice home cooked dinner.  We had cheeses, grapes, crackers, and bread to start and for dinner we had filet mignon, brussel sprouts, and sweet potato gnocchi in a brown butter sage sauce.

the sweet potato gnocchi were AWESOME.  everyone loved it.  I had about 5 more servings of this- it was addicting!!!

The next morning, my sister and I set out on our longest run of our training plan- 20 miles.  I was really nervous for this run!  Even though I ran 19 miles a couple weeks ago- that didnt really “count” since I was really sick.  I was just happy to survive those 19 miles haha…this time I was looking to have a solid 20 mile run- and that is exactly what I had!  My garmin stopped working for the last 2 miles but I averaged ~ 8:15/mi.  And it was drizzling pretty much the entire time…but it kind of felt good!  Half way through the run I started to feel pretty tired and sluggish so we stopped to buy some gatorade (which helped tremendously).  It honestly is crazy just how much a little bit of fuel helps you get through a run.  anyway- I had a blast during the run but I am definitely looking forward to tapering!   For some reason my quads have be screaming this week!!!  I need to stretch them out and take it easy in my spinning class tonight.

After the run we got showered and headed outside to find a place to get some breakfast (well actually brunch- because by the time we ate it was about 1:30 pm haha) My sister and I decided to try out a french restaurant (that we ran by) for breakfast.  This place was really cool and had some very different choices on the menu.  We started off with a bread basket...(which was AWESOME, by the way- and yes we pretty much licked this basket clean minus a bite or two haha)

We shared a yogurt parfait:

and each got creme bruleed oatmeal with raisins for our meal:

I really was not sure what to expect with this oatmeal that I ordered- but I was not let down at all…this was AMAZING. tasted like my mommom’s famous rice pudding almost. I honestly would come back to this restaurant again just to get this alone.   I loved how it was crunchy on top.  By the end of this meal- we were STUFFED. but everything was excellent.

After hanging out for a little while, my sister dropped me off at the train station to go back to baltimore so I could spend halloween with my roommates 😉  Here are some photos from the night:

We went downtown to Fells Point for halloween.  Becky had her sister and sister’s friend visiting (they are two years older than us).  They were not feeling the crowdedness of fells point and the bar that we were in was not the classiest of them all.  They wanted to leave and go somewhere else and so I decided to accompany becky and go with them where ever they wanted to go. and you know what? I am happy I did!  It was much too crowded where we were. Instead, we went to Fed Hill and had a really good time 😉

Well- that is pretty much it!  Not much going on for the rest of the day- just doing a little homework and teaching spinning at night!  This week (finally) is not as crazy as my last several weeks.  Finally I get a  chance to breathe a little bit! woohoo.  Hope your Halloween was fantastic and I hope you enjoyed  this extra hour of sleep this morning 😉  Have a nice sunday!

Go Eagles and Phillies!

-Christina

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