I took Sophie with me to run at the park. Usually I don't take her because she likes to sit as soon as I pick up the pace and so I literally wind up carrying her. However she was as ready to celebrate today as I was, and she tried real hard to run along beside me. We ran for a mile and a half straight! Then the only reason I stopped was to take in the breathtaking views. All in all, we ran for a good three miles.
After the celebration run, I came home and took a nice, long, hot soak in the tub. Maybe tomorrow I might be feeling sore, but I gotta say-- I feel great today! Not only have I noticed improvements in my ankle, and running in general, but I feel an increased capacity in my lungs. It's like now, I can take deeper breaths; really deep breaths. While I think all that is pretty cool, my favorite thing is my decrease in size. I've lost both pounds and inches!
I'm not crazy about weighing myself because I feel like the number on the scale shouldn't be of as much importance as it tends to be. Curiosity was getting to me so, I went ahead and weighed myself and the results were very positive. I lost over 10 pounds and I am thrilled! Hypothyroidism is a problem for me and the doc warned me not to expect quick results because of the metabolic problems associated with it. Well, I feel like I am kicking hypothyroidism's butt!
In other news, the avocado oatmeal cookies that I made were a hit with the kids and the night in the fridge did help to firm them up. I think they would have eventually firmed up just from the oats anyway.
I'm still not allowed to disclose my super big news to everyone yet and it's killing me. I mean I am pulling my hair out over this news. Mainly because it's the kinda thing that is life changing.
Ok, lets change the subject before I blab to much. Oh, I have so much to tell you about this past weekend! Saturday started off with Egg in a Nest topped with a little smoked mozzarella cheese. My kids love this breakfast!
After breakfast we ventured out to do a little shopping. The kids are contemplating what to be for tricks n treats, so we decided to browse a Halloween store.
When I first spotted the iron Styrofoam maidens, I thought-- great they have a place to put the kids while I shop at this store! (Don't judge.) It didn't quite work out they way I had pictured though. Jean and I were eventually released of our punishment.
Sunday morning I wanted something really good for breakfast so I made Carrot Cake ala Mode. The recipe I used was adapted from V. K. Rees. Naturally, I made a few of my own adjustments.
First, I doubled most of the recipe. Then I added an apple and a few wild carrots, aka root of Queen Ann's Lace.
The other ingredients I kept the same except I omitted the Stevia entirely.
I topped it all off with maple syrup, which I love btw. I mean, how can anyone not love that sweet sap? and as for healthy-- well hey, it comes from a freekin tree! Gotta love the maple syrup!
Oh, another thing I changed was I cooked the cake in the oven. I don't even have a microwave in my kitchen right now.
The cake turned out fantastic, as did the ice cream! I followed the ice cream recipe to a T. It was so tasty that it's hard to believe it's healthy.
Ingredients for the Carrot Cake
- 6 T. flour
- 4 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. Ginger
- 1/8 tsp. Cloves
- 2 tsp. shredded coconut (optional)
- 1 T. Oil (I used coconut)
- 6 T. milk (I used almond)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 Cup shredded apple
- 1 tsp. Raisins (optional)
Mix it all together and pour into a 9" round greased glass pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
Banana Ice Cream Ingredients
- 1 bundle of very, very ripe bananas. The peel should be going brown!
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 very small pinch of salt
- Peel the bananas, chop them into small chunks, and stick them in the freezer until they are almost frozen (it is fine if they are completely frozen, just take them out of the freezer and let them defrost for about 10 minutes before doing the next step).
- Put the bananas, salt, and vanilla in the food processor and process until the banana mixture is smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a container and let it freeze again.
- Once the banana mixture is frozen, use an ice cream scoop to make balls somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball. Hacky sack size, maybe?
- You can store the ice cream scoops in individual containers such as cupcake liners or lined up on a baking sheet. Keep them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.
After breakfast Sunday, I took my family to Fall's Park to hangout. We get greeted by the ducks on every visit. :)
The current had a swift pace and we walked along side the creek.
Underneath the Weeping Willow looked like the perfect spot for a rest, but we only paused a moment to watch some more ducks swim and play.
The kids were busy exploring. Gladys told me she thinks this cave looks like the type of place the Olden Day Indians would be sleeping in. It was Indian-free when we checked it out. :)
As we're walking along the path, Gladys and Troy spot a graveyard and checked it out. Gladys took notes on who died when and Troy tried to convince us, unsuccessfully, to dig someone up. Both of the little ones had non stop questions. They spent a bunch of time looking over the tombstones and when it was time to go, (because Glenn was in pain, his back) they did not want to leave. The graveyard is currently there new favorite place.
We worked up an appetite from the hiking/graveyard exploration. I made a very easy kielbasa skillet dish. It's just kielbasa, tossed with cooked noodles, pesto, and cheese on a plate of grape tomatoes. I used basil pesto and smoked mozzarella. Naturally, I didn't include the maters on Glenn's plate. He ate it up like crazy.
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