A Sugary Sunday

Crap. Is the weekend really over? I’m pretty bitter over that lost hour – I coulda used it!

I slept in till 8am today which is pretty much unheard of for me. Except, seeing as it was well past midnight before I went to bed, it doesn’t add up to much extra sleep :(

Decided to take a rest day since I worked out twice on Saturday. Rest days call for fancy breakfasts in bed :)

 
Protein pancakes! This is a new recipe that I sort of made up as I went along, and turned out delicious!

• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 tsp baking powder
• cinnamon
• 1 whole egg
• 1/4 cup soy milk

Topped with coconut, fresh strawberries and sugar-free syrup. Remember when I was complaining about frozen strawberries earlier in the week? Well, fresh ones were on sale for $5/5lbs. And they’re pretty tasty too! They’re the giant strawberries… in season in California maybe?

 
I was pretty proud of myself for making up a decent batch of pancakes on a whim like this. However, my usual protein pancakes/waffles with oatmeal and cottage cheese aren’t quite as dry.

Lunch featured some maple smoked salmon.

On a english muffin with honey mustard, fresh dill, spinach and swiss cheese. Delicious!!! I’m on a dill kick, it adds such an interesting flavour!

Shortly after I had a chat with Holly about our upcoming adventure to Banff, Alberta! Those of you who are interested in coming, expect an e-mail soon. I booked my flights last week and will be booking our accommodations in Banff tomorrow. I am SO excited. I’ve been to California, but I’ve never been to Western Canada before. I can’t wait to see the mountains!!!

Then, it was on to more serious business. Brownie making business.

I saw this recipe from Zesty Cook for chocolate caramel brownies and knew it would make for a perfect Treat Monday contribution. I’m all for healthy-fying sweets, but not when I’m sharing them with other people. Let’s face it, healthy substitutions just plain suck when compared to the real thing :P

I didn’t double-check the recipe before I bought groceries yesterday, so I didn’t have all the right ingredients. But I still made do!

Started by mixing up a Duncan Hines chocolate fudge brownie pack as per the instructions on the box. I baked a little over half of it for about 15 minutes.

As that was baking, in a pot I melted a package of Kraft caramels with 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup soy milk (less than what the recipe calls for – it seemed like a lot!)

Poured the caramel sauce on top of the brownies with chocolate chips…

And added the rest of the brownie batter!

It took a while for the rest to bake, 20-30 minutes? I really should have timed it as the bottom got a little crunchy. I just wasn’t in a precise mood today I guess ;)

I cut it up into 25 little squares THREE of which I ate! Three brownies people!! Not to mention licking the bowl. But that’s a given.

Get these away from me asap! They are sooooo good! I actually felt a little sick after my brownie consumption as I’m not used to digesting so much crappy sugar at once :P Thankfully, I have my co-workers to pawn them off on for Treat Monday.

I made up for my mass brownie consumption with a giant salad for dinner.

• spinach
• onions
• mushrooms
• bell pepper
• tomatoes
• pickled beets
• artichoke hearts
• olives
• grilled pork tenderloin
• feta cheese
• tzatziki

I used Liberty tzatziki which was absolutely fab. Thick and creamy, with a nice garlicky flavour to it.

Might I add the pickled beets were also a wonderful addition. Thanks to Emily for helping me get the guts to try them!! (and now I officially feel like an old man for loving them)

Short and sweet post tonight folks, I’ve got a 6am date with a spin bike. I have a feeling I’ll be sweating brownie batter out my pores :P

 

Question of the Day: What’s your favourite sweet treat? Cookies? Brownies? Cake? Cupcakes? Ice cream? Donuts? Pastries? I am 100% a cookie and brownie person. You could dangle any other sweet treat in front of me and I wouldn’t care. But that is definitely not the case with cookies and brownies!!

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Out of Hibernation

Success!!

I finally ran outdoors today!! Oooh, it was awesome! But I’ll tell ya all about it in a second ;)

First, I was rudely awakened by my alarm at 6am on a Saturday because I had to work :( I’d been planning on an outdoor run this afternoon, but still did an exercise DVD in case I wouldn’t be able to squeeze the run in. 50 minutes of Jillian Michaels’ No More Trouble Zones. It’s mostly a strength-based DVD using hand weights and bodyweight. I like it!

And that “old favourite” I prepared last night? The breakfast cookie!!

 
Oooohhhh man. I used to eat one of these every single Sat & Sun when I was working the 5am shift every weekend at the radio station. It’s been too long! (for the breakfast cookie, not the 5am shift).

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• cinnamon
• raisins
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 3 tbsp butternut squash baby food

Mixed all up in a bowl, flattened on a plate, and left in the fridge to harden overnight.

I usually eat these with my hands, but decided I wanted to “frost” it with yogurt, thus a fork was required. It was awesome! My homemade protein bars by the way, are essentially breakfast cookies with extra protein powder. Easy peasy!

Work actually wasn’t that bad today. I was working with a film crew to capture a student event. I wasn’t stuck at a desk or anything :)

I was feeling experimental when I came home, so I decided to try my hand at Heather’s homemade coconut butter. An extra source of fat? Yesplease!

I started with a bag of cheap unsweetened shredded coconut.

 
Dumped into my food processor…

And processed!

 
…and processed…

I added a tablespoon of coconut oil, but it still wasn’t getting nice and creamy like I’d pictured. Perhaps it was my cheap, dried-out coconut? Would it be better toasted?

Whatever, coconut is coconut and I still have a jar of a tasty oat topper :)

I felt my intense food processing was adequate warm-up for my first outdoor run of the season!! A momentous occasion indeed. According to my blog archives, November 14 was the last time I ran outdoors (in similar conditions actually – 6C, or 42F).

After exactly four months of running maybe 5-10 miles a week on the treadmill, I had absolutely no expectations for today’s run. I didn’t get to take my favourite trail as parts of it are still snow covered. Instead, I took the more populated road to downtown along the river. A quick out-and-back route that took me about 29 minutes. One thing I noticed right away is that my cardiovascular abilities have improved a lot! I wasn’t huffing and puffing like I used to and my heart didn’t feel like it was going to beat out of my chest :P It’s definitely going to take my legs a little while to adjust again though. They were a little shocked today!

Solid run folks. Felt good to dust off my running hat :D

It was 4pm by the time I got back, and I technically hadn’t eaten a “real meal” since my breakfast cookie (ie just lots of snacks to hold me over). So I dug deep into my cupboards and came up with this:

Canned salmon and Health Valley lentil soup.

It was still missing something though, so I then burrowed into the freezer and pulled out this:

 
I never have any memory of buying these blocks of spinach, and yet there’s always some in my freezer?

After a little curry, maple syrup and 15 minutes to simmer on the stove, I had this fabulous bowl:

Impressed. I’ll definitely be buying this lentil soup again! I’ve heard people complain that Health Valley is bland because it has no salt, but I just see it as a blank canvas. I can add any flavouring I want!

After dinner I put an official end to No Grocery Week and spent a ludicrous amount of money on groceries, undoing all the savings from this past week. A stocked fridge just makes me happy :)

Then it was off to another play being put on at my university. Technically, more “work” but watching plays doesn’t really feel like work. Once again I was impressed by the talent my school has to offer!

Now it’s waaaay past my bedtime. Not to mention, losing an hour tonight with Daylight Savings! Hope y’all had a great Saturday!

 

Question of the Day: Do you exercise outdoors in the winter? I don’t. It gets cold and I just can’t handle the harsh air. Especially when it comes to running, it’s dangerous with the ice! And then there’s the summer, where I have to be out there at 5am before the insane heat sets in. Yes, I am a running princess :P