Well, it is a new month! I wonder what it will hold for us. Jason and I are planning on running an 8k together on Thanksgiving day this year. We decided to use this time as training for that race. It will be in colder conditions and I can almost run the distance already, but I want to be able to run it non-stop and at a 10:00-11:30 min per mile pace. It will be a challenge! I don't know if strollers are encouraged or allowed on the course, so my goal pace is without the stroller. We'll see how it works.
So far, my training schedule includes 3 days of running a week, with 2-3 days of cross-training usually. I have a long run day that I try to go out for the distance and simply finish it within a certain time. I try not to stop, but usually I am only able to run 2/3-3/4 of the total distance. Right now my long run days are 4.5 miles long. On my shorter run days I run two+ miles and I try to walk only 2-3 minutes of the total distance. Sometimes it works, other times, I learn something from the run. :-) I would like to include some hill repeats and some interval training, but haven't figured out how to incorporate those yet. I'm going to try to work on that this week.
What's new with you this month? Do you have any plans for the fall? What do you enjoy doing for fun? Are there any exercises that you simply enjoy doing?
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
"Un" Cheesecake
Hello Everyone!
Last week we celebrated Father's Day and Jason's Birthday. One of his favorite desserts is cheesecake. I can eat some good cheesecake, also, but for him, it is the best dessert ever! Most cheesecake recipes have a lot of fat and sugar in them, so they don't fit into the ideal of what Jason needs to eat, but because there are two special days so close together, I wanted to make him something special. I wondered if there is some way to up the protein content of cheesecake. I found it!! I was so thrilled! Instead of using cream cheese, this cheesecake uses plain greek yogurt. It calls for sugar, but I substituted sucanat. Sucanat is unrefined crystallized cane juice. It doesn't bother Jason's blood-sugar levels like regular white or even brown sugars do.
I used this recipe from A Baking Girl. (I will include it below with the nutritional information) I think I may have whipped it too long in the food processor so it had a texture more like a custard than creamy cheese cake, but the flavor was amazing! It wasn't tart or too "greek" tasting. I want to try it again and see if I can make it creamier.
For on top, we had some fresh strawberries we purchased a couple weeks ago. Strawberries go out of season here just about 2 weeks before Jason's birthday, so I froze some. I simply washed them, sliced them and put them in freezer bags in the freezer. The day before, I took them out of the freezer and set them in the fridge to thaw. They created their own juice and were tender and sweet tasting on top of our cheesecake! Mmmm.... So very good! And no sugar added! Woo hoo!
Un-Cheesecake Recipe
(Thanks to A Baking Girl! Slightly adapted for our needs.)
**Please note that this is the exact recipe as found at A Baking Girl. I have made notes in italics that have helped me and I thought might help others. The changes I made to the recipe have been noted in italics**
2 cups fat free plain Greek yogurt1/2 cup sugar (I used sucanat instead....1:1 ratio)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean (seeds scraped out)
pinch of salt
1 T cornstarch
optional: sliced strawberries for garnish (I used frozen)
Last week we celebrated Father's Day and Jason's Birthday. One of his favorite desserts is cheesecake. I can eat some good cheesecake, also, but for him, it is the best dessert ever! Most cheesecake recipes have a lot of fat and sugar in them, so they don't fit into the ideal of what Jason needs to eat, but because there are two special days so close together, I wanted to make him something special. I wondered if there is some way to up the protein content of cheesecake. I found it!! I was so thrilled! Instead of using cream cheese, this cheesecake uses plain greek yogurt. It calls for sugar, but I substituted sucanat. Sucanat is unrefined crystallized cane juice. It doesn't bother Jason's blood-sugar levels like regular white or even brown sugars do.
I used this recipe from A Baking Girl. (I will include it below with the nutritional information) I think I may have whipped it too long in the food processor so it had a texture more like a custard than creamy cheese cake, but the flavor was amazing! It wasn't tart or too "greek" tasting. I want to try it again and see if I can make it creamier.
For on top, we had some fresh strawberries we purchased a couple weeks ago. Strawberries go out of season here just about 2 weeks before Jason's birthday, so I froze some. I simply washed them, sliced them and put them in freezer bags in the freezer. The day before, I took them out of the freezer and set them in the fridge to thaw. They created their own juice and were tender and sweet tasting on top of our cheesecake! Mmmm.... So very good! And no sugar added! Woo hoo!
Un-Cheesecake Recipe
(Thanks to A Baking Girl! Slightly adapted for our needs.)
**Please note that this is the exact recipe as found at A Baking Girl. I have made notes in italics that have helped me and I thought might help others. The changes I made to the recipe have been noted in italics**
2 cups fat free plain Greek yogurt1/2 cup sugar (I used sucanat instead....1:1 ratio)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean (seeds scraped out)
pinch of salt
1 T cornstarch
optional: sliced strawberries for garnish (I used frozen)
Preheat oven to 350F. In a blender or food processor, combine the eggs, sugar, yogurt and vanilla. Blend until smooth, then add cornstarch and pinch of salt and blend again. Pour filling into a 10 inch springform pan, and bake for 35 minutes. (I used a pie plate with some non-stick aluminum foil shaped to the pan. It worked just fine. I chose not to include a crust, though I am working on finding another crust that would work.)
When the cheesecake is done, it will still be jiggly in the center but will have a “done” look to it. The edges of the cake will start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Make sure you don’t overbake. It will continue to set up as it cools.
Let cool then chill for 2-3 hours in the fridge before releasing springform. (At this point, I turned the pie plate over and let the aluminum foil and cheesecake fall gently onto a plate. I then gently removed the foil. It stuck a few places, but generally came out beautifully!)
Arrange the sliced strawberries over top of the cooled cheesecake and serve. It will easily serve 8-10 people. This is a rather thin cheesecake at only about 1/2", but it is delicious and I didn't miss the extra thickness.
ENJOY!! :-)
Nutritional Info
- Servings Per Recipe: 8
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 95.3
- Total Fat: 1.2 g
- Cholesterol: 46.5 mg
- Sodium: 44.2 mg
- Total Carbs: 11.8 g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g
- Protein: 7.3 g
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Jianna's newest things and summer time fun
Hello again!
Jianna started singing this morning and it was precious! Recently she has started singing more and more. She sings her ABC's (A B C C E F E) :-) and she tries to count (two tree fo five eight nine). It is so amazing to hear her learning and putting into practice what she is learning. She has started counting more especially when I am crocheting, because I will count aloud so that I can keep the pattern the same.
This summer we are participating in the reading program at the library. Jianna has already earned a free pass to the Children's Discovery Museum. I can't wait to use it soon and see her responses to all the cool stuff they have!
Another thing she really enjoys is wading and just playing outside. It is so much fun to see her enjoy the outdoors!
Are there any fun things to do in the summer that are free or inexpensive that you would suggest?
Jianna started singing this morning and it was precious! Recently she has started singing more and more. She sings her ABC's (A B C C E F E) :-) and she tries to count (two tree fo five eight nine). It is so amazing to hear her learning and putting into practice what she is learning. She has started counting more especially when I am crocheting, because I will count aloud so that I can keep the pattern the same.
This summer we are participating in the reading program at the library. Jianna has already earned a free pass to the Children's Discovery Museum. I can't wait to use it soon and see her responses to all the cool stuff they have!
Another thing she really enjoys is wading and just playing outside. It is so much fun to see her enjoy the outdoors!
Are there any fun things to do in the summer that are free or inexpensive that you would suggest?
Monday, June 24, 2013
Running Funny...
Hey Everyone!
Dusky-dark + running + thunking a frog with my foot = "what was that!?" response. :-)
Yes, that really did happen to me... I was in the middle of the city, too! Sometimes what we can't see coming can startle us the most. But then we laugh because we weren't expecting it and it changed our focus, even for just a second. And it was a good thing. :-)
Has there been a good surprise dropped in your lap recently? Has something startled you with a change in focus, but been a good thing after all?
Dusky-dark + running + thunking a frog with my foot = "what was that!?" response. :-)
Yes, that really did happen to me... I was in the middle of the city, too! Sometimes what we can't see coming can startle us the most. But then we laugh because we weren't expecting it and it changed our focus, even for just a second. And it was a good thing. :-)
Has there been a good surprise dropped in your lap recently? Has something startled you with a change in focus, but been a good thing after all?
Can a Christian Have Joy?
Hey all!
Recently, I have been thinking about how legalism tends to sneak into my life and actions. I don't want it to, I don't intend for it to, but it does. I was watching a mini series from our pastor that brought the subject to the front of my mind, though I had been wondering about it for a while.
The sermon/lesson was titled "How To Have Joy Even Though You Are A Christian (parts I and II)" (I am not going to repeat everything he said, because he said it much better than I can, but if you get a chance to follow the links, the lessons are great!) I've realized that the legalism that I have allowed into my life is stealing my joy and I don't like it one bit! Pastor's sermons helped me identify some of the things that I need God to help me change to not continue down the path of legalism... to get my joy back. That's what I want.
Is there something you have recently learned, heard or thought about that was a light-bulb moment?
Recently, I have been thinking about how legalism tends to sneak into my life and actions. I don't want it to, I don't intend for it to, but it does. I was watching a mini series from our pastor that brought the subject to the front of my mind, though I had been wondering about it for a while.
The sermon/lesson was titled "How To Have Joy Even Though You Are A Christian (parts I and II)" (I am not going to repeat everything he said, because he said it much better than I can, but if you get a chance to follow the links, the lessons are great!) I've realized that the legalism that I have allowed into my life is stealing my joy and I don't like it one bit! Pastor's sermons helped me identify some of the things that I need God to help me change to not continue down the path of legalism... to get my joy back. That's what I want.
Is there something you have recently learned, heard or thought about that was a light-bulb moment?
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