The cookie recipe is from Ambitious Kitchen. I skipped the almonds.  NOTE – these have to be chilled!! I got to that step and started cursing.  : )

The ice cream! 
You need an ice cream maker for this. Adapted from Cuisinart

1 cup half and half
¾ cup granulated sugar
pinch salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Whisk to combine the milk, sugar and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the frozen freezer bowl of the ice cream maker and let mix until thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours.

I have also been looking for a great cookie bar recipe  - here it is!!!  AMAZING. Oh yeah and you’re wondering why I can’t lose weight??

My other current favorite summer desserts are popsicles. I’ll take a berry puree + sugar and then a yogurt puree + sugar and make popsicles out of them. Or I’ll skip the sugar and use banana for sweetening. The kids love them!

My sweet baby girl took us to the ER yesterday. She lost her footing and banged her head on the door hinge of a closed closet.  I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of that happening to anyone!  She had a nice laceration on her forehead and had to get it glued.

Broke my heart to watch this  She is 14 months old today. First trip there so we made it 4 years and 4 months, I guess that is okay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Clif Crunch! One of our favorite snacks to crush over yogurt, mmm!  Clif sent me a bunch of flavors. I like them for myself or the kids  for a mid morning snack, addition to breakfast or pre-breakfast, post-workout for something quick, and then crushed over the yogurt.  Weirdly enough, I like them best soft! If I open and put them in a container with homemade granola bars, they will get soft and that is how I like them best… not crunchy like their name

Here was my first post – about headphones!  Just reading that post brought me back to a summer of no responsibilities. Being a teacher, I don’t even know what I did with myself in the summers pre-kids. I wish I could go back  for a little bit! That is for sure!  This blog has documented my 1st pregnancy, 1st child, then two more pregnancies with running and races in between. Becoming a mom, debating the stay-at-home versus going back to work, identity crisis, fitness, nutrition… so glad I started it and hope to continue to document my life and entertain you!  THANK YOU FOR READING and your continual support!

This week I committed to Jess’ Summer Shape up workout – week 1 and to focusing on eating more protein (and less chocolate chips). I want to be lean for summer and those chocolate chips aren’t helping. Luckily, the peanut butter we currently have in the house is one that I really don’t love, so I haven’t been eating too much of that!   I went back to a schedule of 5-6 days of workouts and want some muscle!  I just feel like my body is more wired for being active most days of the week and one day of rest.

Some of my favorite things this week:

Homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream (colored with spinach!) adapted from All recipes

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups 1% milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup baby spinach

I first put all this in the vitamix – it looked like green milk.  Food coloring isn’t my thing, spinach did the trick!  You cannot taste it AT ALL.
Green milk into the ice cream maker. I added in mini chocolate chips – handfuls at a time during the last few minutes.
My ice cream maker seems like a standard size but this overflowed it so I would cut this recipe in half next time. Still, it’s delicious. I don’t do great with dairy but I’ve been eating it here and there!

Blueberry Coconut French Toast
This was an amazing breakfast that I made with homemade bread maker bread!  Recipe coming soon…

Jess’ Protein Bars - this has been my afternoon snack this week – they are so good! I made half the recipe and cut out some honey

I just look at the picture for these bars and it makes me hungry! They are my kind of snack. Peanut butter,
protein powder (which I haven’t had in a very long time but used to be a staple), honey, chia seeds. I omitted the oatmeal  - it tends to make my stomach bloated. (reaction!)
I want to swap out the protein powder (processed!) for hemp seeds and see how that goes. I’ll report back.

Homemade pizza
This has been our Friday night thing. We use the bread maker to make the dough and then add our toppings!

I have been super busy in the last few weeks – starting a photography business on the side, doing a ton of research and getting all set up, tutoring for end of the year finals,  trying to plan another birthday for an almost 3-year old and switching up my workouts to more strength.  My diet has been pretty horrendous ever since calorie counting for a few weeks and usually around 3pm I am starving, have a large snack and then I am not hungry again!  A few nights I have had ice cream for dinner. At least it’s homemade!

Here is my little mover – I love the flip flops!

I was sent two packets to try and all of the opinions below are my own.

Huma Chia Energy Gel is all-natural with chia seeds. It is a great great great alternative to many of the other gels on the market that contain mostly sweeteners.  The ingredients in the apple cinnamon are : apple puree, evaporated cane juice, filtered water, brown rice syrup, ground chia seeds, sea salt, citric acid and cinnamon.  It tastes like APPLE PIE. Mmmmm.
The gels taste like a real food product – fruit puree.   I tried them both pre-run and really thought they were a treat. The consistency is a little different than your normal gels, which comes from the ground chia seeds.  It might take a little getting used to but the sweet taste of the strawberries in the Strawberry Flavor and of the apple cinnamon in the Apple Cinnamon flavor will win you over. Yum!!  I look forward to the opportunity to use these for a long run or race in the fall.

#wishthatwasme

As a vegetarian, the most common question that I get is “WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR PROTEIN?” and my most common answer is, “nuts, beans, and cheese!”  I eat so much peanut butter, I wish I had a peanut allergy sometimes!  But just eating those things is not sufficient. To get enough protein as a vegetarian and athlete takes preparation! Below are some ideas for vegetarian protein sources.

VEGETARIAN PROTEIN SOURCES

Hemp seeds:  3 T, 10 g
Sunflower seeds: 1 oz, 5 g
Pumpkin seeds: 4 T,
Almonds:  1 oz, 6 g
Chickpeas: 1/2 c, 6g
Chia seeds: 4 T, 6 g

source: chiaseedszone.com

Rice: 1 cup, 5g
Broccoli: 1 cup, 5g
Tempeh*, 4 oz, 18g
Egg Whites, 2 whites, 7g

*Tempeh is a soy product. Read about soy below!

A NOTE ABOUT SOY
I used to have no problem getting enough protein using processed soy products such as Boca and Morningstar Products, however, I stopped eating processed foods.  All of these products and most soy products on the market today, promoted for their health benefits, are made with unfermented soy, which has been linked to many health issues including breast cancer, severe food allergies, and impaired fertility.  I have also read how soy formula for infants can mutate their hormones.  In addition, over 90% of the soy products that are available to us are genetically modified. Unfermented soy has been linked to phytoestrogens, which can mimic the effects of estrogen and mess with our hormones. Even small amounts of soy daily can have an effect on our menstrual cycles!  Avoid unfermented soy (tofu, soy milk, etc)  and stick with fermented soy products – tempeh, organic miso, soy sauce, and tamari.  Do you eat soy products? 

I am not a big fan of tempeh but have found a couple of recipes where you crumble it and add things to it to make it more like meat.

Check out this website for ways to prepare tempeh.

Source:thekitchn.com

PROTEIN POWDER
What about protein powder? I used to have it daily, but it is processed so I cut it out.

Below are some recommended protein goals for each meal from the Plan book.

Protein goals for each meal: 
Breakfast: 10g
Lunch: 15-40g
Dinner: 40-70g

Your turn:

Do you have a favorite protein source?  Do you use protein powder?
If you eat meat or not, what is your biggest protein source?
As a runner, do you track your protein? What is your protein goal for the day?

You add butter to your coffee?? It’s supposed to give you tons of energy and keep you going for hours. There are also claims within the group that it will fill you up until lunch time with the healthy fat content.

Check this out from the website:

” I use the lowest toxin, highest performance coffee there is (I know, because I created it and tested it!), brew it, and then I blend unsalted grass-fed butter into it. Yes, butter. All the benefits of healthy milk fat with none of the damaging denatured casein proteins found in cream. It makes for the creamiest, most satisfying cup of coffee you’ve ever had. It will keep you satisfied with level energy for 6 hours if you need it. And because I’m having it for breakfast, I’m programming my body to burn fat for energy all day long!”

What do you think?

I tried it with coconut oil, just about 1 tsp the last two days. I like the taste! Coconut coffee!  Did it keep me full? Nope! Lots of energy? Maybe.  Would you try it?

Friday faves 

Boston shirt – Did you see they raised over $25k on these shirts!

Popsicle recipe by Martha Stewart- just in time for summer!

1.5 cups strawberries + 1 T sugar – puree
1.5 cups blueberries + 1 T sugar – puree
1.5 cups plain yogurt + 1 T sugar – puree

Mix and swirl into your popsicle molds

source: Martha Stewart

New blog to read! Detoxinista!

I think she is in her 3rd trimester of 1st pregnancy but I just started reading. Great raw, paleo and all around healthy recipes!!

Additionally, I wish I had a peanut allergy lately. I can’t stay away from the stuff!!  :- )

During the down time, if I don’t have something to work on – I feel lost! There are so many things I could be doing (such as housework, but who wants to do that?) I always need something to work on or I feel bored. I don’t like unscheduled time  I have been thinking about what I will do when all the kids are in school.  I have been missing some of my pre-kids identity. Running has kept me going ever since having kids, but now I feel like I’m in the stage where I feel like I’m practically pregnant since my body can’t do what I want it to do, geesh!  Back before kids, running was huge, and now my body is falling apart slowly, which is so frustrating.   I started getting into toning/fitness last fall  after the baby and that sent my SI joint off the deep end.   Running fast after taking time off after that brought hamstring problems back that began when I was pregnant with Lindsay and marathon training. The long and short is that my body has been pretty tough over the past 4+ years and I’m starting to feel my age as it slowly breaks down. Boo!!!   I’m still running, but around 10-15 miles a week, and not without some pain. This morning I was able to run with a friend after we dropped off the older kids at school. Yay!

How cute are they?  they are 19 days apart. Love this age!

Photography has been an outlet but there’s only so much you can do.   We are starting to get ready for summer with the hot humid weather we are having and broke out our little pool yesterday and set up the jungle gym to go in it. The kids stayed cool and had a blast!

I love looking up new recipes and trying out healthy ideas, but following the plan has limited things I can eat.  I’m getting tired of the monotony of it at this point and just trying to follow some of the suggestions but eat what I want.  Drink my water! Lots of veggies, seeds and nuts still included in my everyday. I made homemade meatballs (with kale pesto, wooo) for the boys in my family for the first time, probably ever – last week – and remade them this week. Weelicious helped me with that!

Here are some recipes I pinned to check out:

Weelicious - Falafel

Veggie Casserole - Weelicious

Lauren’s Latest – Enchilada Casserole

Firecracker ice pops! – Martha Stewart

I’m looking forward to summer, but I am terrible at transitions – school to pool.
My goal for June is to get back to the gym! I don’t know what I will do there but something to get out of the funk! Maybe TRX?

What type of workouts are the most effective for you right now for toning and strength?

I leave you with one of my favorite workouts from Blonde Ponytail for sculpting your arms for summer!

In the meantime, I went back to the beginning of the plan – day 3 because I was getting off track.  I’m a believer!

On the side – I have been doing some photography! I just want to thank my mom for encouraging me with this hobby by buying me a nice camera the year I had Nick!
I was able to take outdoor pictures and newborn pictures of two of my friends’ children.  For Mother’s Day, my mom gave me an editing program.  So sweet!

Here is the adorable newborn that I spent Saturday morning with:

And the super cute kiddos  I shot pictures of on Friday:

And little 2 and 3 year olds chasing after bubbles at school one day  - LOVE!!

I created a website and put up all my pictures so far.
I have been working on it and learning the camera and editing program in my free time.

Also, I decided I would like to get back into reading books if anyone has any recommendations!  
All this “free time” has left me debating if we’ll want to add one more to the family or not (varies by the day/week)!
Things are getting easier here, but still busy!

I leave you with a Mother’s Day picture of my loves and a snack recipe.

I haven’t made them yet but they sound right up my alley!

Almond butter balls
via the plan facebook page:

1/3 cup almond butter
3 tbsp chia seeds
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup almond flour
1 tbsp confectioners sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350,
Combine almond butter, chia seeds, coconut and almond flour in a mixing bowl.
The almond butter mix should make 9 small balls.
Combine sugar and cinnamon- roll balls in sugar/cinnamon mix
bake at 350 for 10 min

I thought it was a great way of coming together to show support today. My kids stayed at home because I did not want the extra anxiety of thinking of them waiting for me at the finish, but my parents drove me to the start (my dad has done this for the past 10 years!) and stayed to cheer.  DEDICATION!!

The morning went down like this:
Woke up pretty late around 6am! : ) Had a cup of coffee with coconut milk and that was it. In the car I had a few honey rice puffins – but that was it. Big mistake and probably killed me in the end!

I got to the start a little too early, around 7:30 or a little earlier. We left just a little before 7. I had a lot of time to kill! Met up with my friend and chiropractor and we got in the port-a-potty line, which we stood in until just before the start. Took pictures of the start and hopped in to the second corral and off we went!

Here is how my miles went down

Finish: I think I am retiring

I just did not have a good day out there. My heart wasn’t into it!

Final time: 1:24:31. Honestly, I was disappointed. I feel like my body has been well rested with the less days of running, and more days off. I thought I could knock off a lower 1:20 and feel like I should be able to run a sub-1:20 with ease. I wish I could have surprised myself today. Instead I felt old and grandma like from mile 3 on.

At the finish:

Dedication – getting back to the car. Hassle!! Climbing through a hole in the fence

A favorite pic!  Just about to finish, about 1/4 mile to go!

10 years of Broad Street – kind of fun to look at

2004: first race ever: 1:26:31  training for first marathon
2005: 1:28:11 year I got married!
2006: 1:31:57  training for NYC marathon this year
2007: DNF – ran with my sis, made it less than 2 miles, sister ended up at Temple Hospital (allergic reaction)
2008: 1:18:54 PR!!  great spring!! then I got pregnant about a month later
2009: 3 months after baby #1 was born: 1:22:29

2010:  7 months pregnant with baby #2 and 90 degrees: 2:17:03!!! thanks mom and dad for waiting it out!

2011:  not pregnant and having a great spring! 1:20:00

2012: 2 1/2 weeks after baby #3 is born: 1:34:35

2013:  Less exercise, winter/spring of SI issues 1:24:12

Will there be a year 11? Time will tell…