Single tear…

I am going post crazy today huh? Well, I just had to talk about the latest addition to my blogroll. I have just added several “new to me” blogs that are fantastic reads. One in particular is my friend Amanda’s…   I met Amanda in college, through two other incredible friends Nikki and April. I never knew that I would meet someone so talented, well-spoken, intelligent and hilarious! She has an incredible sense of humor and somehow always seems to make me laugh with everything she says or writes. She has had her own blog since 2005 and had I realized its level of incredulousness, it would have been my first link when I started this blog.  You can check out her blog to learn some french, learn some spanish, read about song reviews in 100 words or less, or just find out what is interesting or impressive. I personally enjoy her amandoocabulary  and I think all of my readers would like this one in particular too:

appl(e)anche- though the spelling is debated, this word is pronounced ‘apple lanche’ and slurred together, thus the meaning. an avalanche of apples- this happened at whole foods the other day and the guy said it. i love that guy.

associatable - things you can feel, you can empathize and you might talk about it in public, or it might linger in your heart, or it could be thrown around at the water cooler.

Check out more funny things from Amandoo at her site  and you can read a rather eloquently written , impressive post about me here:

http://www.exactasty.com/blog/2009/03/26/mmmbody-mind-soul-blog-does-a-reader-gooood/

Creative Mind: Pumpkin French Toast Hammy and Homemade Pizza Triangles

Body:

tbd…..I will update here later though!

Mind:
I finished up my guest post for Tina at Carrots N Cake! When she posts it, I will post it up on my site as well so that it can be referenced on here for you guys too! It’s all about my history of injuries, physical therapy and strengthening exercises!

Studying for Metabolism exam beginning tomorrow!

I have a mini-project for Inter-faith Food Shuttle. I am working on a PDF flyer version for one of their programs!

Soul:

It’s the weekend! No plans other than studying and running!

Breakfast:
Jay Robb smoothie with pineapples and cherries and flax. On the side, half a whole wheat sandwich thin with peanut butter, apple slices and banana slices.

I decided midway to eat an “apple sandwich” and it was really tasty!

Lunch:
 

If you read my interview questions from the previous post, you know Pumpkin French Toast is one of my favorite recipes, so of course I wanted to make it again!

my un-recipe:
3 egg whites whisked with just a little milk then added 1/2 cup ish of pumpkin puree ( add sweetener if you prefer)- whisking all of that very well. This batter was pretty thick, in a good way.

I dipped two slices in and dropped them into the hot skillet ( on medium). As they became more fragrant, I added more of the filling to the top side that had been drying due to the batter cooking on the bottoms side. Flipped both pieces.

Here is where it got creative: I had some leftover batter and just threw it into the pan – It made a flourless pumpkin pancake ( on the left side of the plate below)! How fun.
 
I added a slice of deli ham to the pan to brown. I added slices of banana and the last of the apple from this morning to the pan with, you guessed it, rum! Just a teaspoon to get some flavor- and boy-was it good!

I made a Pumpkin French Toast Sammy with Ham and Bananas. It was incredible! The browned ham was salty and tender, with the soft sweet bananas and the pumpkin toast it reminded me of how well pineapple, ham and tomato go so well together for Hawaiian Pizza.  It was such a fantastic blend of flavors!

Snack: Homemade Pizza Triangles

Here is a great, super quick snack that is healthier than those frozen pizza rolls filled with all kinds of artificial ingredients.

I took an Arnold sandwich thin ( Whole Wheat, one half) and spooned on some tomato sauce

added a slice of provolone and some pepperoni

and toasted in the toaster oven , cut up into triangles

Dinner:

tbd as well but we have leftover pasta, tilapia and chicken galore and who knows what we will be up to! I will update later!

Calling all Interviewees…

Kristen at EatingRD sent me a message saying she’d like to interview me! I am so excited, Thank you Kristen! Here are the answers to her 5 questions.  

1. What is your favorite recipe or type of food that you could enjoy over and over again?

This is so tough because I enjoy so many! I have to say recipe wise, it is my Pumpkin French Toast.

I was going to use egg whites and pumpkin for a cake type mix and it just hit me to dip bread into it ! I thought  “This would be a great batter for french toast.” Oh boy, it was. I have used it in french toast triangles, I made a Monte Cristo Sandwich with it, I made a “breakfast lasagna” with french toast. It’s one of my favorite recent recipe/ foods.

2. What is your ideal job?

Getting paid to write about healthy recipes, wellness, product reviews and food full time!

I would really enjoy nutrition research for childhood populations in schools and internationally. I hear about so many kids growing up on Pop Tarts and Mcdonalds now and that is just so sad! There are so many healthy, inexpensive options that if parents or schools could teach children earlier on, it would change the health status of the country in the future!

3. What are your favorite body, mind and soul activities that really help you feel balanced?

I love when I have a balance of all three, so when I filled up each with a little something.

Favorite Body:
A long run with a yoga session. The adrenaline and oxygen that gets flowing from a nice long run is irreplaceable in my opinion! Yoga is just so wonderful- it helps me breathe and stretch all my tightness away, especially after a run!

Favorite Mind:
My tuesday classes! I learn about the food principles we are putting to use in cooking later in the week. Afterwards, I also switch focus in a completely different way for metabolism class.The pathways are like puzzles, one thing with another creates this product, which does this , etc. It’s fascinating!

Favorite Soul:
Spending time with friends and family for sure. Dinners with the girls never happen as often as we’d like but those are always so wonderful!!

4. What is one place you’ve always wanted to visit or vacation at?

Oh good question! Hawaii. My parents lived there before I was born and my brother was born there, so I would love to see where they lived
“pre-baby bhealthier “!

5. What is something you learned this past week that you didn’t know before?

Wow, this it tough! Let’s see I posted about Vitamin A and Vitamin B 12 but I already knew some of that information. I did not know that when athletes consume a high protein diet (getting most of their energy needs from protein) that they actually require more protein on top of a high protein diet for basic functions. Because their high protein diet is used as energy compared to higher carboydrate diets, they need more protein for the basic functions like muscle repair and amino acid metabolism.

That was fun!! Thank you Kristen for such great questions. I really love her blog, so definitely check her out and I really enjoyed the interview!

So now for all of my readers, I would love to interview you! If you would like to be interviewed:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” If a few people want interviews, I will randomly pick 2.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with my blog link and answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Happy Friday, stay tuned for a product review!

flying biscuits and lemon-fig scones

before those delightful treats…

Updated for last night dessert:

some oats with cranberries, an organic medjool date!,  peanut butter and some chocolate pudding.
…

…
Breakfast:

Jay Robb! Oh it was delicious, I picked it up yesterday with all my crazy good deals and I couldn’t wait to make a smoothie this morning. I added mango, cherries and pineapple and ground flax seed. On the side I had some kashi go lean cereal with a banana and peanut butter.
Lunch:

Some leftover fish ( I intentionally made extra last night so to me, that isn’t leftover) in a sandwich thin (Arnold Whole Wheat)

Half of yet another apple ( I think I am addicted to apples as of recent) with some peanut butter.

Oganic celery sticks, carrots and hummus.

Random photography:  Celery Undercover… hee heee

Lab Snack/Sensory Evaluation: A biscuit, and half of a fig scone and half of a chocolate scone. Keep reading for details…

Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Feta, Chunky Vegetable Tomato Sauce and Chicken!

So filling, I had half of the squash ( made via microwave after de-seeding) with the sauce I had made a few days ago. It was perfect!

I am having dessert after this post and it is the exact same thing as last night, posted above!

Body:
am cardio:  run 4 miles – at the gym-

pm: 30 Day Shred, Level 1. Yep, I took it back to the start to see if it was any easier- but then I did the exercises I like better from the other levels too. So I essentially just used it as a timer , ha ha. It was fun though.

pm: Detox Yoga 1  .I  This detox yoga was perfect- it doesn’t bother any little part or is “too strenous”. It is really relaxing and just makes you feel like “ahhh that feels so good”.

Mind:

In lab today we made pancakes and scones and my old-group, my loves of lab, made biscuits!

One of my favorite things about my old group was that they are so happy to be there cooking- as I am! I mean how can you be miserable making biscuits and scones for class!? Thank you to my old group members,  sarah, april and gabe for the figs!

Why did they give us figs? Well, we put them into our scones of course!

Here is the scone recipe, adapted from Julia Child

The Scones

3 cups all-purpose flour

¹⁄ɜ cup sugar

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1½ sticks (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon zest

½ sticks unsalted (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing

¼ cup sugar, for dusting

4 tablespoons jam or jelly and/or 4 tablespoons diced or small plump dried fruits (such as currants, raisins, apricots, or figs for filling), optional

Makes 12 triangular or 24 rolled scones.

Directions

1. Position the oven racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 425°F.

1. In a medium bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together with a fork. Add the cold butter pieces and, using your fingertips (the first choice), a pastry blender, or two knives, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. It’s O.K. if some largish pieces of butter remain – they’ll add to the scones’ flakiness.

1. Pour in 1 cup buttermilk, toss the zest, and mix with the fork only until the ingredients are just moistened – you’ll have a soft dough with a rough look (if the dough looks dry, add another tablespoon of buttermilk).

1. Gather the dough into a ball, pressing it gently so that it holds together, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead it very briefly – a dozen turns should do it. Cut the dough in half.

To make triangular-shaped scones, roll one piece of the dough into a ½ – inch thick circle that is about 7 inches across. Brush the dough with half of the melted butter, sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons of the sugar, and cut the circle into 6 triangles. Place the scones on an ungreased baking sheet and set aside while you roll out the rest of the dough.

To make rolled scones, roll one piece of dough into a strip that is 12 inches long and ½ inch thick (the piece will not be very wide). Spread the strip with half of the melted butter and dust with half of the sugar. If you want to spread the roll with jam and/or sprinkled it with dried fruits, now’s the time to do so; leave a narrow border on a long edge bare. Roll the strip up from a long side like a jelly role; pinch the seam closed and turn the roll seam side down. Cu the roll in half and cut each piece into six 1-inch-wide roll-ups. Place the rolled scones cut side down on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving a little space between each one. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Baking the Scones. Bake the scones for 10 to 12 minutes, until both the tops and bottoms are golden. Transfer the scones to a rack to cool slightly. They are best served warm but are just fine at room temperature.

Storing. If you are not going to eat the scones the day they are made, wrap them airtight and freeze; they’ll stay fresh for a month. To serve, defrost the scones at room temperature in their wrappers, then unwrap and reheat on a baking sheet for 5 minutes in a 350°F oven.

These scones were FABULOUS!!!  I really enjoyed the ones I mixed with the lemon zest and my friends’ figs! I always like chocolate but the chocolate is too powerful for the scone I think.

The pancakes were a big flop because we didn’t have buttermilk, so we “made” it. While it was being made, our egg yolk and melted butter solidified- so then it became all chunky like.

Here was ours/others

…My old group still set me a place for their biscuits. They brought in honey too ( top right).

Their biscuits were deliciously small..

Soul:

I am so excited!!I am doing a guest post for Tina of Carrots N Cake about knee strengthening exercises!!

It is Jeff’s nephew’s birthday today! It was so cute, I called to wish him happy birthday and I found out that they were having “Dalton Dogs” which are really mummy dogs (which are hot dogs wrapped in pastry dough with mushroom eyes) and he had football cupcakes and he got a robot. That is one awesome birthday!

Jeff gets back soon- he got a free upgrade to First Class!! I am excited for him but he also got delayed 1 hour. Either way it will be nice to see him!!!

* Slept without a pillow again last night and this morning was a little better than yesterday. I bet it was all of you keeping your fingers crossed for me! Thank you for all the congrats and well wishes.*