Jogger’s Life

New Home

2013-04-18T19:27:04Z

Sort of a ghost town around here these days, huh?

My, how priorities change when your world begins revolving around poopy diapers and sippy cups rather than blogging and race training!

You see that picture over there —————>

That, friends, is my now 13-month-old little muffin child, who is a walking, talking ball of pure joy and energy. Well. Mostly pure joy. With a smattering of unabashed spunk. But she takes after her Mama, so we let it slide.

It seems like just yesterday they handed me that —————> blurry, fuzzy ultrasound photo, and showed me the little blip on the screen to prove that s/he was a real, live baby.

It seems like the time is just flying by.

How in the HELL did that happen so fast??!!

All parents say that, and I didn’t really understand the whole “flying time” phenomenon until after I was a mom. It’s heart-breaking how fast all of this happens.

In any case, now that things are feeling a little bit more predictable, I have a new blog home. And I feel as though my life has turned into a constant test of my multitasking skills.

You can find me cooking, meal-planning, and multitasking (then sharing it with everyone for free!) on my new website: 52 Menus 52 Weeks. I’ve somehow managed to devise a way to plan and cook an entire weeks’ worth of meals over the course of a few hours on the weekend.

Come over and say hi. It’s kind of a ghost town over there too.

Friday Fiver

2011-12-02T16:00:33Z

Despite the fact that I haven’t been actually blogging (and commenting on your blogs) for a bit, I have been reading blogs like it’s my job. And it’s not.

But wouldn’t that be a great job?

Since I am normally obsessed with all things food and cooking, pregnancy seems to have only exacerbated this condition. I still love food and cooking, but now I actually daydream about recipe creations, and I’m already planning tomorrows dinner while eating today’s breakfast. It’s a little distracting.

Last night, for instance, despite the fact that I am sick (again), and only wanted to lay on the sofa and watch Basketball Wives, I couldn’t stop thinking about baking Chana’s Almond Paste Cookies. I had to seriously resist the urge to drive to the grocery store for almond paste at 9PM.

Instead, I took 2 Benadryl and went to bed.

Benadryl makes us sleep instead of cough.

But then I dreamed of Almond Paste Cookies.

It’s a serious affliction, I tell you.

It’s only appropriate, given my preoccupation with food, that today’s Friday Five(r) is focused on food. Seriously. Just look at the recipes I’ve bookmarked in the past month.

Very. Serious. Problem.

1) Before I highlight some of these fab recipes, I need to first mention that I am absolutely, positively in love with Once A Month Mom. Have you ever considered the fact that you don’t have to cook every single day–that you can actually condense your monthly cooking down into just one (or three…five…whatever works for you) cooking sessions per month? You can’t do it without a plan, but Once A Month Mom gives you the plan for free. I said free. And I love free!

Every month, the website releases menus that suit every family.

I have now used the OAMM menus for 2 months, and I feel so relieved that I can come home after a full day of work and just take a home-cooked meal out of the freezer and pop it in the oven. This is especially handy for the nights when My Gazelle is home for dinner, but I want to mall walk. Priorities, ya know?

We tried the Whole Foods menu for October, and the Vegetarian menu for November (newsflash: My Gazelle is now totally vegetarian…more on this later), and we’ve loved both. I’m especially looking forward to having meals stockpiled in the freezer for when Baby Girl arrives and I don’t have the time (or the will) to cook. Next on the agenda: purchasing a stand-up freezer from Craigslist!

2) Speaking of Once A Month Mom, I have to share with you one of my new “forever” recipes, compliments of last month’s Vegetarian menu. I still have a pan of this beautiful Chickpea Pot Pie in my freezer, just begging to be eaten. In my own version, I made homemade pie crust (that refrigerated version is blasphemy), and I can’t even tell you how delicious it tastes. You absolutely won’t miss the chicken. I promise.

3) Besides food in general, this pregnancy has left me absolutely obsessed with soup. Normally, I’m not a soup kind of gal. I’d rather have something hearty like a stew. Or mashed potatoes. With mushroom gravy. Soup, normally not so much. Pregnancy, however, leaves me daydreaming about soup. Only making this “soup” problem more serious for me as of late is the addition of a local Jason’s Deli, which only has the most amazing vegetarian vegetable soup. Try as I might, I haven’t been able to recreate it just yet…but this recipe from We Live Once comes close.

4) Although I don’t follow the standard wives’ tale about how women who are pregnant with girls want to eat sweets all the time (quite the opposite, actually), I do still love me some pumpkin. I skipped the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, so maybe this recipe sounds more delicious to me than to others who may have overdosed. I’ve never seen pumpkin presented in a “Pumpkin Dump Cake” fashion, but I think it’s a genius idea. And, if you’re not already reading Cookies And Cups, you really should. She has some of the most inventive, yet simple dessert recipes ever.

5) While in Scotland, on more than one occasion, I ordered something called a “meat pie”. Normally, this would not appeal to me because of the whole “meat” part, but I found it impossible to eat primarily plant-based while we were in Scotland. Although I haven’t really talked much about it (or anything else lately, for that matter), meat hasn’t appealed to me since I was around my 6th week of pregnancy. As soon as the morning-all-day-sickness set in, meat was basically off the table. However, Scottish Meat Pies were my exception. They quickly fell into step as one of my ultimate comfort foods, although I had no knowledge of them prior to our trip. I was pretty excited to find this vegan version, packaged as a Thanksgiving Mini Pot Pie With Mushroom Gravy from Vegan Dad. This, my friends, is basically a Scottish meat pie, minus the meat. And then, my life was complete.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I’m off to Hershey, PA in a few hours, and I’m really looking forward to snagging some hand-stirred kettle corn. And several Hershey’s Minis.

Did you find a fantastic recipe online this week that you want to share with me? Link it up–I’d love to see it!

I Really Do Still [Want To] Have A Blog

2011-12-01T20:52:11Z

Did my recent absence launch you into the possibly that I had maybe decided to stay in Scotland for the rest of my life? Believe me when I tell you that I seriously considered it, but I’m just far too practical for that type of rash decision.

And I would’ve missed fresh vegetables far too much.

Much has transpired in the past month…

In true celebration of our U.K. Adventure, I made a proper Photobook on Shutterfly. I tend to be the person who takes eleventeen million pictures, uploads them to my computer (or Flickr), and then they never see the light of day again. I vowed that I wouldn’t do that this time, and I’ve even tossed around the idea of putting a few of the pictures onto canvas. That decision will come later though…

For now, I started with a Shutterfly Photobook. Baby steps.

Click here to view this photo book larger

After we got home from our vacation, I wasted no time digging into a new home improvement project. Actually, this project came in sort of a round-about way after we discovered that our living room had hardwood floors throughout.

First, I jumped for joy over the fact that we could scrap our disgusting blue carpets sooner rather than later (and save ourselves some serious cash money), and then I decided that in addition to the blue carpet, my Gazelle and his brother needed to also rip out the cat pee carpet in our sun room/dining room. It was a monstrosity, and it was making our new house smell like a farm.

That called for a complete overhaul of the sun room, naturally.

And in all honesty, I’m kind of proud of myself. This was only my second experience using grout, and I got this project (mostly) finished over the course of 2 weekends. I was so proud and excited and in love with the new room that I took a billion pictures of what a wonderful job I had done.

Then, I lost my point and shoot camera.

Shoot.

So, iPhone pictures are the best I can do.

This is the room in all of it’s “before” glory, taken before we moved in. The picture is kind of dark, but nothing about those flat-painted-white walls, 1980 ceiling fan, or berber carpet screams “dine in me”. I only wish I could convey to you how terrible this room smelled…only then could you fully understand why I was in a frenzy to paint and tile it (‘set it ablaze’ and ‘blow it up’ were two other options that I considered).

Here is a progress picture with the walls painted, but concrete floors still blazing…

Does the color freak you out? It freaked me out at first too. Luckily, the iPhone is not really doing it justice. It’s not quite as “pumpkin” as you might think. I wanted something bright and cheery, and orange seems to be my happy color lately, as also evidenced by the rug I recently bought for the living room…

I’m a new fan of orange. Maybe it’s the hormones.

I decided to use a groutable vinyl tile in the room because it was a) easy to lay, b) resilient, c) didn’t require any crazy tools, and d) quick. This is what it looked like before adding grout.

This picture is the view from the kitchen doorway, and if you look at the wall to the immediate left bottom corner, that is actually a more accurate depiction of the color.

I’ll share the fully-finished pictures with you in a bit, since I’m still deciding what else needs to happen as far as art and window treatments.

And now, I’m fully embroiled in “get the nursery ready for baby” mode! However, this project is becoming much more difficult as my belly expands, and since I am now almost exactly 25 weeks pregnant, things are getting a little wobbly. I’m starting to become even more clumsy than I was before (as if that was possible), so I’m a little daunted by the idea of climbing up ladders and such.

I also plan to share progress pictures of (spoiler alert) baby girl’s nursery, and start trying to get into the Christmas spirit. I suddenly have the urge to tell you how I’ve been too “busy” to decorate and prepare for Christmas (lots and lots of traveling lately), but we’re all busy, aren’t we?! This weekend, more traveling, but I’m taking my annual weekend trip to Christmas Candylane in Hershey, PA to spend time with my NY family (which is a major treat since I was just with them last weekend)!

So, no complaints from me about this trip. In addition to the color orange, I’m also a huge fan of chocolate these days! I definitely blame that on the hormones.

Through all of my seasonal activities and traditions this year, the one thing that keeps ringing in my head is “next year at this time, you’ll have a baby!” I still can’t really believe that I’m having a baby in ~15 weeks, and I can’t even fathom how much different my life will be next year at this time.

Scary stuff.

Hopefully, this one brain-fogged, slightly schizo update post will be the last like it, and I can begin blogging with some semblance of normalcy from now on. I feel like there is so much going on that I want to share, but it’s all happening so fast!

I probably need to get used to that…it’s not going to change anytime soon!

U.K. iPhone Photo Dump #2

2011-11-08T13:58:52Z

We officially arrived back home from our fantastic U.K. adventure on Saturday night. While I unpack, clean out my refrigerator (oops), and get an official travel recap posted for you, I thought you’d enjoy another photo dump!

The beautiful lighted bridge across The River Ness in Inverness, Scotland.

After staying overnight in Edinburgh, we decided to take a short day trip out to East Lothian, Scotland, to tour the Tantallon Castle. The nearest rail station just happened to be located in the adorable seaside town of North Berwick, which happened to be a wonderful little surprise.

Adorable! How much would you love to live here?

We wandered through North Berwick for a little while before taking a short bus ride to East Lothian. The castle was amazing (and possibly my favorite part of the whole trip). I’ll save those pictures for another post…but here’s just a little peak.

This is actually the cliff that my dear Gazelle almost fell off of. I nearly became a pregnant widow during our very first trip to the U.K. Again…another story, another day.

After touring the castle, we traveled back to North Berwick and had lunch at this cute little chip shop.

After lunch, we headed down to the beautiful beach. As calm and wonderful as this picture seems, it was INCREDIBLY windy. This is not an exaggeration. In order to walk off of the beach, we had to turn around and walk sideways to avoid the extreme sand-blaster-like action of the wind combined with the sand.

[p.s...not my best look.]

After touring the castle, having fish & chips for lunch, and getting a free facial on the beach, we sat at the train station and waited for our train.

Then, much to my surprise, I was presented with a lovely little Scottish cake that My Sista’s boyfriend picked up at a sweet shop in town. I’m not sure how I missed the fact that he procured these, but I could have possibly been completely distracted at the Oxfam thrift store.

[p.s...Oxfam, please come to the U.S. I love you].

At that point, I gave my iPhone camera a rest until we made our way into Ireland. As we sat eating our final dinner in Ireland at Quay’s Irish Restaurant in Temple Bar, I snapped this pic out the window. It looked romantic, and I was feeling sentimental.

Then I polished off most of this Cottage Pie & roasted root veggies. Very romantic, no?

Hubby’s meal of Bangers & Mash was even more romantic.

After a long flight back to the U.S. (including 4 hours of sleep, miraculously), we arrived at Penn Station, and I was WAY too excited to receive this invitation. After 8 days of fish & chips, mashed potatoes, and more chips, I was SO ready to toss my own salad.

As soon as I dig myself out from under the pile of laundry I’m buried in, I’ll post the entire photo album for you guys to see (the “real”, non-iPhone ones), and give some more details of our adventure!

U.K. iPhone Photo Dump!

2011-10-10T13:39:22Z

Here’s a quick iPhone photo dump check in from Scotland!

Honey Wheat Bread

2011-09-29T14:19:41Z

I’m leaving for vacation tomorrow morning. That means that you won’t hear much from me for at least a week, and updates will likely be limited to a picture of me eating fish & chips in a Scottish pub. Or a video of me spinning my umbrella in the rain. Won’t that be exciting? I’m sure you’ll just hold your breath and wait for that post!

Since my primary source of contentment right now (between bouts of heartburn, migraines, and asthma attacks) seems to be feeding my loved ones, I’m leaving you with yet another recipe. Are you sick of them yet? I would bet the answer is “yes”, since nobody seems to be commenting lately on my recipes.

But that won’t stop me. Ignore me all you want. I must still cook and share.

So, like Hansel & Gretel, and I’m leaving a trail of Honey Wheat bread crumbs all the way to Scotland.

If you think that you can’t make bread, you’re wrong. Try it. You won’t be sorry. This bread recipe in particular is nearly foul proof. It’s just so easy that you can’t screw it up. As long as your yeast is fresh and your water is the right temperature, you’re golden. So don’t tell me that you “can’t make bread”. I promise that it’ll be worth the 10 minutes of kneading.

Honey Wheat Bread

[printable recipe]

Yields 2 loaves

2 cups Warm water (110-120 degrees)

2 cups Whole wheat flour

1 T Active dry yeast

1 t Salt

1/3 C Honey

1/3 C Canola oil

5 C All purpose flour

2 T Honey (optional)

2 T Butter (optional)

Pour honey in to a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand-up mixer). In a measuring cup (or small bowl), dissolve yeast in water. Add yeast/water mixture to honey and stir gently to combine. Allow to rest for 3-5 minutes.
Mix (by hand or with the hook attachment on a stand-up mixer) in whole wheat flour, salt, and canola oil. Slowly add all-purpose flour.
If mixing by hand, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 10-15 minutes. If using a stand-up mixer, allow the dough to “knead” in the mixer for 10-15 minutes. The dough should be smooth and stretchy when you’ve finished kneading.
Place kneaded bowl into a well-oiled bowl (turning to coat), cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and place in a warm place to rise.
After the dough has doubled in size (about 45 minutes-1 hour), punch dough down and shape into 2 loaves. Place each loaf into a well-greased 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Set aside again, and allow to rise until the loaf comes about 1″ above the edge of the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (the loaf will turn a nice golden brown color on top).
Remove from oven, and allow to cool slightly. Combine 2 T honey with 2 T butter (optional), and brush on top of each loaf. Cool completely before slicing.

Set aside a Saturday evening to make this bread, make French toast with it on Sunday morning, and feed it to everyone around you. I promise that they will love you for life.

———

Wasa Giveaway Winner!

As promised, the winner of Monday’s Wasa Giveaway is AshleyDawn!

AshleyDawn, just send me your full name and address, and I’ll make sure your prize is sent out ASAP! Congrats!

———-

On the agenda for Scotland is of course walking the Loch Ness 15K, eating authentic fish & chips, watching the “men” of the group eat haggis (gag me), and going on every possible ghostly or haunted walking tour in Edinburgh. And of course we have to hit the Guinness Storehouse while we’re in Dublin (even if I can’t partake in the adult beverages at the end of the tour), and a trip to Dublin would not be complete for me unless I tour the Kilmainham Goal, because I am thoroughly addicted to the spooky history of jails.

So, everyone, be sure to miss me tons! I’ll definitely miss the blog while I’m gone!

Be prepared when I get back–I’m sure I will become obsessed with some new food while traveling. And have at least one embarrassing tidbit to share.

Turkey Meatballs with Zesty Marinara Sauce

2011-09-28T12:24:27Z

I’d really like to be able to tell you that I made this recipe for unselfish reasons. That My Gazelle requested turkey meatballs randomly one day, or that he had a hankering for some zesty marinara sauce out of the blue. That would be a lie. He is a simple man, and he has only ever requested two things from me: tacos and pancakes. In five years.

Tacos (because they’re kind of like a religion in our house), and pancakes.

It’s actually kind of tragic for someone who loves to feed others as much as I do, that the love of my life only requests tacos and pancakes from me. I’ve learned to cope.

Prior to pregnancy, I would often try to cook things that I knew My Gazelle would want to eat. It was more like mind-reading than anything, since my question “what would you like for dinner?”, was always countered with “ehh…I don’t care”. But at least I tried to cook food with his desires in mind. These days, I cook for me. I have no choice–when I get the image of a particular food in my head, it will plague me until I cook it or procure it in some other fashion. It’s kind of disturbing, actually.

So, although my husband would probably sell his soul for a good taco, I’ve only made tacos once since I’ve been pregnant. And I only feel mildly guilty about this fact.

In a particularly self-serving fashion, I decided last week that turkey meatballs and marinara needed to be added to to the rotation this week. If not, I was convinced that I would die. I’m not kidding you guys. It’s really that bad. I’ve walked around since early last week daydreaming about turkey meatballs in marinara sauce. I really think I might need an intervention. And my husband needs tacos. There is a compromise in there somewhere.

I’m just not ready to find it.

The only thing that makes me feel a little bit better about my selfish menu selection this time is the fact that these freaking meatballs and this damn marinara sauce is so good. So good that even when I was completely full of meatballs, I was still dipping leftover noodles in sauce and eating them. Standing in front of the stove. While doing dishes.

I need an intervention for real.

Turkey Meatballs with Zesty Marinara Sauce

Yields ~40 1.5″ meatballs

[printable recipe]

For the Meatballs:

2 Pounds ground turkey (I’ve found that the best mix is 1.5 pounds of 93/7, and 1/2 pound of 85/15)

1/2 Cup breadcrumbs

1 Cup milk (dairy or non-dairy–any milk will do)

1 Small onion, chopped

2 T Dried basil

2 T Dried oregano

1 T Granulated garlic

1/2 T Crushed red pepper

1/4 t Salt

1/4 t Pepper

For the Marinara:

2-28 oz. cans of Diced tomatoes (I prefer the pre-seasoned ones for a little extra zip)

2 T Dried basil

2 T Dried oregano

2 T Granulated garlic

1 T Crushed red pepper (more or less, depending on your love for the ‘zest’)

6 oz. (1 small can) Tomato paste

12 oz. (2 tomato paste cans) Water

1 T Balsamic vinegar

1/3 C Bread crumbs

3 T Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Combine bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl and set aside for approximately 5 minutes. It should turn into a mushy-pasty substance. It looks kind of gross, but you need this–it makes your meatballs tender.
Combine remaining meatball ingredients in a large bowl, then add the breadcrumb/milk mixture, and mix with your hands until combined.
Roll meatball mixture into 1.5″ balls (I use a medium ice cream scoop to make it easier), and place on a baking sheet.
When you’ve filled your baking sheet, place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, you can put together the marinara. Combine tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic, and crushed red pepper in a blender. Blend just long enough to combine the spices with the tomatoes. You just don’t want to turn it into tomato juice.
Place blended sauce in a pan, and bring to a simmer. Add balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, and water, and stir to combine. Bring back to a simmer, and add bread crumbs and sugar. Allow the sauce to simmer for 10-20 minutes.
When meatballs are finished baking (and sauce is finished simmering), place a small amount of sauce on the bottom of a baking dish, then place cooked meatballs on top. Pour remaining sauce over top of the meatballs, cover the baking dish (with a lid or foil), and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

You can serve these delicious meatballs with pasta, atop steamed veggies, or eat them all by themselves. If you want to be like me, you can serve them with egg noodles, garlic bread, and string beans. Even though egg noodles and zesty marinara don’t really ‘match’ from a culinary standpoint.

Why egg noodles, you ask?

Because that’s what this girl wanted. And these days, in a race between culinary sensibility and pregnancy cravings, sensibility loses every single time.

Luckily, this recipe makes enough to serve a small army. If you want to make yourself feel a little better about making selfish menu choices, just put a pan of them together for a friend. That’s what I did, and then I kind of felt like I redeemed myself.

Which means that I’ve now cleared the way for at least one more self-serving menu selection in the near future.

And it probably won’t be tacos.

Tuesday Confession

2011-09-27T14:02:07Z

As I was struggling to complete my injury-ravaged marathon in 2009, the only thing that got me through to the finish line was to continue telling myself,

“Just do 5 more minutes…you can do ANYTHING for 5 more minutes.”

And, when the 5 minutes was up, I’d just tell myself the same thing over again. It doesn’t really make sense logically, but something about consistently reminding myself that my condition was temporary eased my mind (and kept me from curling up in the fetal position in an alley somewhere in Baltimore city).

Now, two years later (I can’t believe it’s already been 2 years), I’m completing a different type of marathon. It’s a 9-month-long baby-growing marathon. I’m not feeling defeated by the slow expansion of my belly and body–I’m actually quite happy about the fact that after trying for so long and having so many complications, I’m finally growing a healthy baby. Maybe in reality, the “trying” part was the true marathon.

Despite my happiness, even after being ‘recovered‘ for so long, it’s still difficult to face the fact that I’m inevitably going to gain around 30 pounds between now and March. I will be heavier than I’ve ever been in my entire life. This isn’t a new fear–even before I was pregnant, I feared gaining weight during pregnancy. Now that I’m fully invested in this whole baby-growing journey, I’ve accepted that it’s just going to happen.

Now, as I’m steadily expanding, all I can think about is getting back in shape.

As in, being in better shape than I’ve ever been in. People do it all the time…they have babies, then they look hotter after the baby than they did before. My own Sista did it.

Up until the past month, all of the fitness magazines that I subscribe to have been thrown into magazine racks and stored on shelves to collect dust. As my belly expands more and more by the day, I’m pulling out more and more fitness magazines. Pouring over them, reading all of the articles, studying the recipes. As I struggled through the uncertainty of infertility, I cast my interest in fitness aside. At that time, half of me was scared that working out would jeopardize my getting and staying pregnant, and the other half of me just didn’t care. I was kind of feeling defeated at the time.

I don’t feel defeated anymore. I care again. I just can’t do much about it right now.

So, in the meantime, I have memorized every article in the new issue of Oxygen Magazine, and I’m gearing up for a serious comeback in 6 months.

I can do anything for 6 months.

[and please remind me of this post 20 pounds from now.]

p.s…Don’t forget to enter my Wasa giveaway (and get a ridiculously yummy recipe for Chocolate Caramel Cracker Crisps in the process)!

Chocolate Caramel Cracker Crisps (GIVEAWAY!)

2011-09-29T14:19:56Z

Here we are again…another day, another sweet recipe that I may or may not feel inclined to eat. This time, rather than throw away 1/2 a dozen Banana Oatmeal Crunch Muffins, I smartened up and threw some chocolate up in the mix. My Gazelle will eat it if it includes chocolate.

Bananas, not so much.

But he’ll gladly drink a green smoothie. He’s an enigma, that man.

Another great way to convince him that something is worth eating is to show him that I’ve made it somehow healthier than the original, yet magically made it taste just as delicious. I happen to be involved in one of the few marriages where my husband is more concerned about the state of his waistline than I am about mine. And I’m concerned, so that tells you a lot about him and his waistline worries.

This recipe came about because Wasa reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to try their “Crispbread” products. With the knowledge that I already had several Wasa products in my pantry, and that I can often be seen lately slathering any number of Wasa products with peanut butter before my workout, of course I said yes. What I didn’t know is that the product that I frequently munch on before I work out is in fact called “Crispbread”.

[cue the collective "duh" please]

Then I wondered how I can eat a product so often, yet never know what it’s actually called. I thought this “Wasa Crispbread” was new. It’s not. I eat it all the time. Especially in the past 4 months.

Since I have been back on track with my workouts, I have been scheduling in my (usually) three mall walks per week in the evenings, as well as two weight-lifting sessions during the week. However, unlike before I was growing a baby, I just can’t work out on an empty stomach these days. I get Hangry, and I need to eat first.

This is what usually saves the day (and my blood sugar).

Wasa Fiber Crispbread (because really…what pregnant lady doesn’t need fiber?), with a smattering of natural peanut butter, and raisins tossed on top. It’s quick, easy, calorie-reasonable, and it keeps me full until I can eat my planned dinner. It works miracles, and keeps my Hangry in check so that I still have a friend to walk with.

Wasa offered me some free samples of their Crispbread, and I could have just told you about how I eat Crispbread to keep away the Hangry before my workouts, but that would be boring. So, I decided instead to remix one of my old-school recipes using Wasa Crispbread.

And then, it was fun again.

I must preface this recipe by first telling you that it’s not really a “healthy” recipe per se. These days, I’m not really a fan of cutting out fat, sugar, and butter just in the name of making a recipe “look” better. Treats are treats, and they’re to be eaten in moderation, so I would rather just eat the real thing if I’m going to eat it (which happens pretty infrequently these days, since Baby #1 would rather have me eat potato chips and french fries).

For this recipe remix, the only thing I did differently is substituted saltine crackers for Wasa Fiber Crispbread. However, just by making that one little change, I added an additional 2 grams of fiber per serving. Not to mention, the ingredient list is far less weirdish on the Wasa Crispbread than it is on a standard saltine, and that is a big deal to me.

Chocolate Caramel Cracker Crisps

www.joggerslife.com

[printable recipe]

14 Wasa Fiber Crispbread Slices (or any Wasa Crispbread)

1 C Salted Butter

1 C Packed Brown Sugar

2-3 C Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1 C Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (don’t use waxed paper–I learned this lesson the hard way. Don’t be like me).
Break Crispbreads in half, and line up side by side on the baking sheet, pushing them close together to avoid large gaps.
Combine butter and brown sugar in a small pan, and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, then pour the hot caramel mixture over top of the Crispbread. Using a rubber spatula, spread the caramel evenly across the Crispbread.
Place the cookie sheet in the oven for 5-6 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Wait 1-2 minutes for them to melt, then spread them evenly using a rubber spatula. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
Cool completely, then put cookie sheet in the freezer or fridge before breaking apart (to make the chocolate less melty). Store in the fridge for the least messy eating experience.

And, it’s good. Really, really good. I know this because I actually tried some…and that says a lot these days.

Now, as if a chocolaty, fiber-rich recipe weren’t enough, here’s the really fun part. You can be the proud owner of your very own Wasa Crispbread.

All you have to do is:

Visit Wasa’s Facebook page. Check out the “Snackspiration” page, and then the “recipe gallery”. They have tons of ideas about how to eat your Wasa.
Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know how you would eat your Crispbread. With peanut butter and raisins? Would you dip it in Nutella? Spread Laughing Cow cheese on it? Melt some cheddar on it, then throw some apple slices on top?

Is this just me? Am I the only one who eats Crispbread with everything?

Tell me, and win some for yourself!

The winner will be chosen before I leave for vacation on Friday September 30th, so be quick!

Friday Five

2011-09-23T13:42:44Z

I have been a slacky blogger this week because I’ve been EXHAUSTED (and migraines, and nausea, and asthma, and, and, and…). It seems as though sleep is going to be a luxury from this point forward in my life…at least for the next 18 years or so.

In any case, this morning while I was walking down the hall at work [rubbing my belly], I announced “welp…I think there’s actually a baby growin’ inside my belly, guys.” As if this was some new revelation. As if there wasn’t a baby growing in there last week. I guess it’s just now starting to feel like there’s something growing in there, especially since my belly is now sticking out almost as far as my “bubbies” (thank you, Teresa Giudice).

I’m happy to report that I’m thoroughly enjoying this little treat right now…

I haven’t had any coffee products since July–not because I’m opposed to drinking caffeine (not an issue–I’ve been drinking decaf for over a year now), but because it made me want to barf. In fact, the only time that I actually had an “incident” early on with my morning sickness was in the bathroom at my favorite Starbucks. Haven’t been back since.

Tragic.

So, I was both surprised and overjoyed this morning when I had a hankering for an iced coffee.

It’s the small things, ya know?

Next Friday, I’m leaving on vacation for a whole week! If anyone is interested in guest-posting while I’m away, holla! I mentioned it on Twitter last week, but haven’t really been too aggressive…so if you don’t see anything in your feed next week from JL, you’ll know why [oops].

My Friday Five this week kind of drives the point home that I’m completely obsessed with food right now. I just am. I kind of always am, but right now, it’s only like a million times worse. Last night, while I was mall walking, I passed a man who was slurping on a smoothie. It was a pale purple color, and it looked delicious. I actually considered stopping to ask him what it was and where I could get one too.

Like seriously considered it.

I might need an intervention.

1) I’ve been searching the internet lately for recipes that are either a) quick, or b) freezer-friendly. These are the two winning qualities for me as of late because when I’m hungry, I’m REALLY hungry. Having dinner ready in 30-40 minutes is just not an option. Hungry turns into Hangry even quicker now than ever before, so I need to act quick. Having things already prepared in the fridge (like chopped veggies, cooked pasta and rice) has made my life much easier. I’ll be making One Dish Dinner’s Southwest Mac N Cheese next week because it’s easy, quick, and it has cheese in it.

2) Smashed Peas And Carrots made No Bake Energy Bites, and I am so glad she did. Back in my crazy “dieting down because I want to be a professional bodybuilder” days, I used to make something similar using chocolate protein powder. Now, I might be more inclined to use unsweetened cocoa powder…or both. Plus peanut butter. In any case, I’m going to make some of these this weekend, because I think they might help to ward off the Hangry that creeps up on me between 3-6PM.

3) Even though peaches are not in season here in Maryland anymore, I might be inclined to buy an immigrant peach just specifically so I can make The Noshery’s Fried Peach with Ice Cream & Honey Chipotle Sauce. Just look at it…the crispy outside, warm inside…spicy-sweet sauce…ice cream (!!). I need it.

4) I went out to lunch the other day with my friend at Noodles & Co., which I love, and she got one of their enormous (and delicious) Rice Krispie Treats. Considering that I haven’t really felt like eating sweets lately (thank you, baby #1), I didn’t partake. However, later that day, I found the most amazing-looking recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Krispies, and now I’m kinda obsessed…until I make them and realize that I don’t want to eat them either. But I’m sure everyone around me will be pleased!

5) This is not a new recipe, but it is SO worth mentioning. Mostly because I love it, but also because I love Mama Pea. So far, I’ve purchased 2 copies of her cookbook–one for me, and one because I felt like my friend needed one too. Christmas is coming, and I expect to buy at least a few more copies. The recipes are all vegan, but are so delicious that they appeal to everyone. Next month, I plan to post a few of Mama Pea’s recipes that I’ve loved so far. In the meantime, you need to make this Mmmm Sauce, and dip everything you eat into it…because it’s that good.

That’s it for this week!

Get ready for next week–although I’m leaving on vacation, I have a very fun post scheduled for Monday [it may or may not include a giveaway].

I also plan to start ‘practice packing’ this weekend. Hopefully I’ll be able to find a way to fit everything that I need for an international trip into 1 suitcase weighing under 50 pounds. But I was a Girl Scout, and I like to be prepared.

It’s going to be interesting.