Good morning!
Thank you so much for your enthusiastic response to my Size Healthy Contest!!! Keep those amazing entries coming in. I can’t wait to do a big recap post of all the pictures. If you post about it on your blog and send me the link, I will link back to your website. :)
I was up at 5:30am this morning. I don’t know what has happened, but I am starting to find it easier (note: EASIER, not easy!) to get up very early. I think my body is finally adjusting to my new Early Rising Challenge. I get so much work done in the early morning, it has been really great for me. A big motivation for me has been some delicious things to eat in the morning. I am a girl motivated by my stomach! ;) You know the saying, ‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.’? Well, I say, ‘The way to a girl’s heart is through her stomach!’ Hrmph!
I finally got my Bone Marrow confirmation letter in the mail after two months. I thought they had lost my swab kit for a while there. [You can read all about my decision and inspiration to become a Bone Marrow Donor in this post.]
I am really excited to know that I officially qualified for the Bone Marrow Network. I am nervous, but at the same time I am really hopeful that I will be able to help someone someday.
Speaking of which, I am going to donate blood today or tomorrow. This will be my second time donating blood. I have been ramping up my iron intake with iron rich foods all week.
I had a killer Green Monster this morning in preparation!
That baby was GREEN!
Iron, Iron, Baby Green Monster
Ingredients:
- 5-6 cups organic baby spinach, steamed
- 1 cup hemp milk
- 1 scoop Manitoba Harvest Hemp Protein powder
- 1 scoot Amazing Grass wheatgrass powder
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 T chia seeds
- 6 large ice cubes
I also took it with a Vitamin C to increase the iron absorption.
Then I had a great RACE on Landy. Yesterday was a beautiful rest day from exercise so I was ready to run today.
Landy is what I call my treadmill, formerly known as the ‘running beast’ ;)
8km Race:
- Miles 1-2: 6.6 mph, incline 2%
- Water station: 30 seconds
- Miles 3-4: 6.6 mph, incline 2%
- Water station: 1 minute
- Mile 4- 4.97: 7.0-8.0 mph, incline 2%
Total time for the 8km race: 44 minutes and 56 seconds, not including 1.5 minutes for water stations ;)
It was a very, very tough run. I felt amazing afterwards.
PS- I MIGHT have a little surprise up my sleeve this weekend…
My post-race celebration snack was my motivation…
I made these cookies last night after seeing them on fat Free Vegan Kitchen. They are truly ‘keepers’!
Banana Apricot Spelt Oatmeal Cookies
I adapted the recipe from Susan V’s Banana Maple Oatmeal Cookies. (Yes, I am fully aware that I have a huge addiction with her recipes!) For the original recipe and nutritional info, see her post.
Ingredients:
- 1 Flax ‘egg’ (1 teaspoon ground chia seeds or 2 tsp. ground flaxseed + 2 tablespoons water OR 1 egg)
- 1 cup regular oats
- 1 cup whole grain spelt flour (or other flours will work too)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup chopped dried organic apricots or raisins
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 banana, mashed, leave chunky
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
- Cacao nibs (I added a few tablespoons to dry mixture)
Directions: Preheat the oven to 375F. Mix flax or chia egg in a small bowl and set aside. Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Mix wet ingredients in a small to medium sized bowl and then add flax or chia egg. Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients. Stir well and shape cookies onto a pan. Makes 18 very small cookies or about 8 large cookies. I made mine large :mrgreen: Cook for 10-12 minutes.
Are you a COOKIE MONSTA? I am!
Nanners. One of the world’s most fabulous foods. Can you believe that Eric hates bananas?!
I didn’t mash my banana too much, so it left big chunks of banana in the cookie. It was BLISS.
I had my post-race cookie slathered in heated up Artisana coconut butter. It really is like frosting, Kath!
I was sent this Green Pan to review and I tested it out with the cookies last night.
Facts about the Green Pan:
What did I think of the Green Pan?
- It worked great. The pan was excellent quality and I had no problems with it at all. I didn’t use any non-stick spray on the pan and the cookies came off easily with a spatula. The cookies all cooked evenly which was nice because I have had problems before with certain pans not cooking evenly- mainly that cookies on the edge burn. They all cooked perfectly this time. You can see the wide variety of Green Pan Products here. For info on where to buy them, see here.
Updates:
- See my first juice recipe over on Foodthinkers: Spiced Apple Pie.
- I have a short blurb in Fitness Magazine’s March 2010 issue. I was interviewed for an article on over-training and I talked about the Superwoman Syndrome. I am going to contact the masthead to see if I am allowed to upload the article on OSG! It is a great article and I think it would be beneficial to so many women.
We’re having friends over for the hockey game tonight- can’t wait! :)
Enjoy your Thursday!!!
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I am a cookie monster as well. And I collect all yummy looking & hearty recipes I can find (I had this one already from Fat free vegan :)). By the way, I’ve got my very FIRST (and not the last!) supply of GLOW BARS yesterday! Awesome, I just can’t believe I’ve waited that long to get some!! Can’t wait to eat the one I bring with my lunch! ;)
I have to put a word about binge eating. Because I tend to go overboard with cookies & baked goods, I prefer buying bars & cookies that are wrapped versus making them myself. Because the portion are wrapped I’m not tented as much to eat more than a portion size at a time. I like cooking cookies but one batch rarely last more than 2 days… and I’m the only one eating them. Like I will eat cookies for breakfast, cookies for lunch, cookies for dinner… well you get it! However, it is hard to find interesting (means healthy, homemade taste, selective ingredients, decent price) wrapped goods, but now I’ve find it : GLOW BARS!! :)
oh my gosh! so i was just watching saved by the bell the college years…and i’m not sure if you ever watched that show, but one of the roommates Leslie looks JUST like you!!
I just tried my first green monster as well: frozen organic spinach, organic baby carrots, a whole homegrown orange, 1/2 banana, fresh blueberries and a few frozen mango chunks. Aside from the slight spinach-y flavor and pond sludge-y appearance, it’s not so bad!
I’m new to your blog and love it! You’re a great motivator to eat more healthfully and exercise on a regular basis. (and um…to buy Lululemon clothes.)
I found a great recipe for whole wheat naan/pita bread, if you’re interested. It’s super easy, not too time-consuming and healthy and delicious!
Good morning!! You got an award on my blog this morning!! :)
Congrats on being accepted into the bone marrow program ~ awesome!
WTG on your run and the cookies would totally be my motivation…they look awesome! I LOVE the concept of apricot and banana as a combo – YUM!
Have fun tonight and have a great weekend,
Danica
Those cookies look fantastic! And yes, an awesome workout indeed!
Angela,
Thank-you so much for the scrumptious cookie recipe! I made a batch last night and they definitely tickled my tastebuds!
God those cookies sound great! I was actually looking for an egg-free cookie recipe. Busy packing together my apartment at the moment, and so I am trying to clear my pantry and eat up what I have (less to move that way) and I have plenty of flours, sugars etc. but no eggs so this might be great!
Btw, I never realized you manage to wake up without an alarm-clock. Super impressive. I managed to do that for about 3 months when I didnt have an alarmclock (and for whatever silly reason refused to invest in one) … but since then, I can’t wake up on time without one (though I seem to have a decent inner snooze button – however tired I am, if I need to go to work I wake up in 5min. intervals to check the time!).
Hope all is well! Glad the website is up and running again – I missed checking in every day!
x Sophicita
That’s so great about deciding to be a bone marrow donor! I signed up last year and actually got a call saying I was a match, but then the day before I was set to come in something happened and they said they didn’t need me anymore. It made me sad because I wanted to help and I REALLY hope it wasn’t for a bad reason they didn’t need me anymore – hopefully a family member stepped up instead. Those vegan cookies sound soo good! :)
Angela,
I love you and hate you right now . . . haha. The cookie monster post made me try another one of your cookie creations–the no-bake choc/peanut butter ones. WOW! I loved them, which is why I love you :) However, now I have to go run it off before it sticks to my bum, which why I less than love you ;) Seriously addictive. Thanks for sharing your wonderful creations and modifications
he doesn’t like bananas?! crazy! maybe it’s the texture, I’ve heard of that before.
I tried baking a new vegan cookie today, too! loved it.
after reading this post i thought to myself: WHYYY DID I GIVE UP COOKIES FOR LENT!!!!
haha they look AMAZING! maybe ill try them for easter!
These cookies are to-die-for!!! I made a few substitutions (craisins rather than raisins or apricots and agave rather than maple syrup) and my husband and I cannot stop eating them!!!! Thanx for sharing! I have been successful with your Power Flax Muffins ~ we LOVE them, too!!
I don’t often eat cookies but prefer home baked when I do. This sounds delicious. Thanks
Wow, inspiring! Great recipe.
it’s ok, i’m totally addicted to Susan’s recipes too! I made her mini crustless tofu quiches for the thousandth time yesterday. Mmm so good, they were gone in no time :)
Banana Apricot Oatmeal Cookies, yum.
Can’t wait to make some.
I love anything with bananas.
Thx for the recipie
Many of those items you speak of I have never heard of I must go looking for them, I cant wait to make the cookis I wish I could print the recipe though.
I have no idea how I landed here but I am glad I did.
I can’t wait to try out that cookie recipe. I found I already have most of the ingredients.
Hi Angela!
I made these last night… and ohmygoodness! They made me realize than it really IS possible to eat healthy AND bake! My husband even agreed to be the first taste tester (I wanted to see what he thought before I tried them myself hehe), and he said they were good! And he’s got a sweet tooth like you wouldn’t believe haha.
So I just wanted to say thanks for sharing your recipes! I can’t wait to try more!!
– Jessica