Winter is Definitely Here

 We have a lot of snow here now....there is no escaping winter this week after two snow storms.  Fortunately, I am someone who enjoys having four different seasons, including winter.  There are frustrations such as a blizzard timed perfectly to require 4:30AM snow removal so we can get to work, but then there are definitely some great things too.  For example, on Christmas morning I had the opportunity to take our dog, a frisky labrador retriever, out for a hike in the woods.  It was beautiful.  We just had a healthy coating of snow and there is a different type of quiet outside just after it snows.  The brisk temperature combined with the peaceful quiet and a wagging tail trotting along with me made for a nice workout and a very relaxing holiday.  The rest of the day was all family and it was wonderful.

 

With the cold weather, some comfort food has been in order this weekend.  On Saturday, myself and the little one prepared a healthy chocolate chip, banana bread.  We threw it in the oven, set our timer and headed outside to play in the snow while it was baking.  When we came in from the snowy cold, here is what was waiting for us: 

 

 

 

For this banana bread, I changed up a banana-blueberry muffin recipe from Jillian Michaels' Master Your Metabolism Cookbook.  I really like this book- it's not just about reducing calories and losing weight.  It's about using whole foods, removing the processed stuff out of your diet as much as possible and highlights so many critical physiological functions that are impacted by processed food.  Here is the recipe I used (I changed it up due to ingredients on hand and my little one's inherited affection for chocolate):

 

Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread

~Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

-Spray loaf pan with olive oil spray

~1 very ripe banana- mashed

~3/4 cup plain, low fat greek yogurt

~1/2 cup honey

~2 teaspoons vanilla extract

~2 cups whole wheat flour

~1/2 cup wheat germ (you can use all flour if you do not have wheat germ- I just happened to have some and added in the nutritional boost)

~2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder (Until I read this book, I never knew I had to look for baking powder that says "Aluminum Free.")

~1/2 teaspoon baking soda

~1/2 teaspoon of salt

~1/3 cup chocolate chips of your choice (my favorite is dark)

 

Mix all of the wet ingredients in one bowl.  Mix all of the dry together in another (except the chocolate chips).  Add the dry to wet and mix thoroughly.  Fold in your chocolate chips and spread the batter into your loaf pan.  Place in the oven and then reduce temperature to 375 degrees.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for at least 10-15 minutes & then slice and enjoy!

 

Stay warm out there!

Coming Back...

I definitely took a looong hiatus! It was a result of a few different reasons, mostly time management.  I did miss blogging though.  I missed the motivation that comes from connecting with others that are invested in fitness, training goals and healthy pursuits all while balancing motherhood and everything else life has to offer.  I regularly visited my reading list of blogs for tips, tricks, recipes and motivation and I am thankful to those writers and health enthusiasts who kept the motivation coming!  And then I decided to dust off the old blog, make some updates and give it another whirl.  Of course, I'm returning with some realistic expectations of myself.  I'm not anticipating earth shattering daily, weekly....or even monthly posts, but I do look forward to getting in the groove with this source of healthy motivation again.

So, what's been happening? Well, a few things but here are some highlights:

1. We did participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share for the 2011 summer/fall season and I would highly recommend it!  We had an abundance of vegetables and it took some getting used to in order to ensure food wasn't wasted.  By comparison, we did not sign up for the CSA for the 2012 year as I thought a weekly trip to a farmer's market might work better for us, but I missed the CSA.  The CSA is like signing up for a gym membership versus saying you will pay as you go....you're committed, the veggies are waiting for you in a basket with your name on it....you have to cook them and eat them or they will be wasted.  I definitely think we ate healthier the year we purchased the CSA.  I am already researching for this year.  We are also planning on expanding our own garden so I am trying to find the best fit for us.
2. I finished my first Olympic Distance triathlon!  Truthfully, this was not a case where I had this amazing motivation to step up my tri training to new heights.  The training time just wasn't there.  My favorite race that I have been competing in since 2008 always offered both a sprint and Olympic distance....until this year.  Early in 2012 I reviewed the registration information and to my horror the sprint distance was gone! It was now go big or stay home....what's a girl to do? I signed up.  Thankfully, with the help of a couple training buddies, I got in as much training as I could although not nearly as much as I wanted.  I comfortably finished and it was a great experience....even with the scorching, humid heat wave that was bestowed upon us on race day.
3. We participated in the 10 days of Real Food Challenge.  Towards the end of the summer, I realized that organization was slipping...and packaged foods were making more of an appearance than I would care to admit in our lunches, especially for the little one.  Again, time management was the culprit!  So, I asked for the family's support to get back on the wagon with a 10 day pledge.  It went really well.  The food was delicious.  I felt better.  I think we all felt better.  Is it possible to eat as clean as the 10 day pledge all the time? No, but it definitely brought back a much healthier balance.  More on the great things I learned during this at a later time.

So, that's a quick recap.  As the holidays approach, I wish everyone health and happiness during this very busy time of year! Take care and be healthy!

Small Change: Find a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Share!

Although we have started our own garden, we aren't seasoned enough to be able to count on growing all of our own produce.  This year, I am very excited that we have purchased a share at a local farm.  The share will consist of 17 weekly bundles of fresh goods.  This coming Wednesday is the first week and I am super excited to pick up our goodies!  I am looking forward to seeing the benefits of buying and supporting local food and learning how to cook with in season veggies that I don't usually eat or cook with.  If you are interested in this idea, here is how we got started:

1. Visit the Farmfresh.org website and search for farms offering shares in your local area;
2. Reach out to the farms of interest and ask any questions you may have about their practices, use of chemicals etc.  Many of the farms have websites that offer all of the information at your fingertips;
3. Find out information about the different sizes and costs of shares;
4. Go for it!

If purchasing a full season share feels like too big of a commitment, don't forget that websites like farm fresh also provide a lot of information about local farmers' markets. Farmers' markets are another great way to eat local, fresh food and support local businesses without the full season purchase.

For our first season, my sister-in-law and I decided to share a large family share.  This would allow us CSA rookies to use fresh, local produce for our families without risk of wasting.  As for the budget, the 17 weeks of fresh veggies breaks down to about $17.65/week for each family.  Not bad!  I'll keep you posted on the goods as they come in!

Although our CSA share is just starting this week, I am confident that this will be a small change with large benefits.  Here is how I see it:

Small Change

• Research local farms offering shares;
• Reach out to the farms to get more information;
• Plan and purchase a CSA share for the season!

Large Benefits

• Support local farms/business:
• Feed the family freshly grown produce;
• Meet the people who grow your family's food;
• Learn how to cook/bake with new foods that are fresh and in season!

Here's to a great summer!

Luxury Chicken Housing!

Check this out! My husband and brother-in-law did a seriously amazing job with building our chicken coop.

Definite curb appeal for birds, if you ask me.

They worked incredibly hard to get this project accomplished during a stretch of uncooperative weather. Thank you! Thank you!  A very short time ago, these little chickens were all cute and fuzzy.  Today, it is clear that they are no longer baby chicks and they are well on their way to being full grown chickens.

Just chillin' in the new house

The tiny toddler reminding them to drink water.  I guess she is right- hydration is important.

Check out the cute little side door!

So, there you have it.  One step closer to super fresh eggs!  I hope your week is going well.

Training Tales

Without a doubt, last week's training highlight was my first outing of the season on the tri bike.  After a couple of years on a borrowed bike full of good karma, I was fortunate to invest in an entry level tri bike of my own last year.  You will quickly learn that biking is my weakness if you check out a post on my tri training blog .  It isn't that I have physical limitations to it- it's that I'm a chicken.  I have a lot of technical cycling skills to develop and I need more confidence to stop doing things like feather the brakes the entire way down hills etc.  All in time!

Last Saturday, the weather was beautiful and I got to head out on a training ride with a training buddy.  I am always amazed at the different demands on the body between actual road cycling and spinning class.  Despite regular spinning classes and/or use of my spinning bike all winter long, the first road ride of the season brings out aches and pains in muscles that I forgot were part of cycling.  My neck ached from using the aero bars and those pesky hip flexors started to yell a little bit towards the end of the ride. 

We rode just under 22 miles on the Olympic distance course of the upcoming MA State Triathlon. For me, that's a darn good first ride of the season!

In other training, I only headed out for 2 runs this week; one not so good and the other felt awesome and finished up just under 5 miles.  Swimming has been neglected like my house plants this week (it's a work in progress) and I squeezed in couple of yoga workouts to round out with some strength and flexibility training.  All in all, not a bad week!  I hope you were able to get some healthy time for yourself this week too!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies out there (especially mine).  It's been a pretty awesome weekend around here.  Weather has been fantastic and we are shaking the winter finally!  We started Friday evening with a family run- Mom, Dad, tiny toddler, dog and all.  Yesterday, I finally got out on the tri bike for the first ride of the season! Woohoo....

Today is shaping up to be a beautiful day.  As I reflect on Mother's Day, I am very thankful for such a happy, healthy family and I wish you all the same.  We started our morning making healthy blueberry muffins (more on this recipe later).

Here is my sweet pea enjoying them....

Notice the attentive yet discreet dog under the table just hoping something is dropped....

These must be really yummy because the dog just had to make it a little bit more obvious that she was waiting for some muffin herself...

Who can resist those puppy eyes?

Have a wonderful Sunday and a Happy Mother's Day!

Sweet Pea Pancakes

Several months ago I had to experiment with many recipes to get our little one to eat anything other than rice puffs.  I needed to find a way to hide fruit so she would eat some.  One of these recipes has morphed into a weekend breakfast staple in our house.  In fact, this dish has become expected by the ruler of the roost (yep- I admit it in writing) to the point that I find myself pulled over to the oven by little hands on weekend mornings as I hear "C'mon mommy....pancake." And who can resist then?  Our little sweet pea loves them! So here is our super quick recipe and these portions make 4 decent sized pancakes- the perfect amount for 2 people to share:

-1/3 cup flour (Ideally,  we use our own ground flour but I will also substitute store bought wheat flour if we haven't kept up with grinding)

-1/3 cup of your favorite oatmeal

-1 egg

-Cinnamon to your flavor preference

-Dash of vanilla extract

-Fruit: I have used mashed banana and/or frozen or fresh blueberries but the options are endless

-enough organic milk to bring the mixture to a pancake batter consistency

Prepare a cooking skillet with cooking spray or a small amount of oil and set on medium heat while you mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Pour onto the skillet, two pancakes at a time, and flip accordingly.  Serve with a dash of real maple syrup, agave or even honey! Throw some fresh fruit on top and don't forget your coffee!

Happy Saturday! With this beautiful weather, we are gearing up for a weekend run later today!