Weekend Adventures

This weekend has been really amazing! Upon arrival, we were whisked to Point of Rocks MD where we spent a day and a half helping my fiancé's brother set up. The location was beautiful and  with some hard work and great vision from the bride the old church was turned into a wedding wonderland. The food was amazing, with many vegetarian and vegan options. In truth, the only meat dish was salmon, which we eat, so we were in heaven! I was inspired by a very tasty kale salad so I will probably be making some kale later his week. With some good family connections, the band Poor Old Shine was able to play and we enjoyed the heat in DC while sipping mint lemonade and playing lawn games. It was so nice! And made all the sweeter by he fact it was in the 50s and raining at home in Boston.

Sunday, once the festivities wound down, we were able to meet up with one of my good friends from college and have a relaxing afternoon touring the "closed" monuments. It was so good to catch up with her and her husband! Tomorrow I'll be back to recipes but for today I hope you enjoy this recipe I've made and enjoyed from Lemons and Anchovies for fennel, beets, and squash. That's all for now!

The Best Belgian Waffles

Happy Friday! For me, this is the start of a long weekend in which my fiancé and I will travel to Washington DC for his brother's wedding. At the moment I am sitting in Logan Airport, waiting for our 6am flight. I have been looking forward to this weekend for many reasons.... the weather is supposed to be gorgeous and warm (warmer than August in Boston!), my future extended family is a great group of people, I'll also get to catch up with one of my good friends from college, AND it's rare that my fiancé and I get to spend 4 full days together with our current job/ medical school situations. So I am very excited!

With my weekend starting early, I wanted to share one of my all-time favorite recipes: my very simple and amazing Belgian waffle recipe. I love brunch on the weekends and these grace our brunch table often. It all started last Christmas when I received a waffle maker from my fiancé. We wanted to make brunch so decided to try it out on new year's day. Not having a waffle recipe under my belt, since this was my first waffle maker, googled and found this recipe. We were so lucky to have found a good one on our first try! Since then I've made it my own with various iterations. The biggest change that I made was to add protein powder. I've always been an eggs-at-brunch person because having just pancakes or waffles will leave me sleepy with their high glycemic load. I use Nutribiotics Rice Protein Powder because its texture is very similar to that of flour. To be fair, with all of the talk about amino acids and complete proteins this week, rice protein is not complete. It's lacking in the amino acid lysine but just having the protein makes these such better fuel for your weekend adventures.

These crispy, fluffy waffles are most delicious hot off the iron and can be topped with berries, pears, apples, walnuts, anything you like! Always remember the real maple syrup. :)

The Best Belgian Waffles

1 1/2c whole wheat flour OR oat flour* + 1.5T cornstarch (you could also do a combination of the two)
1/2 c vanilla protein powder (if you don't have protein powder, just substitute more flour)
1 1/2t baking powder
2T brown sugar
1t cinnamon
2c almond milk (or soy milk, coconut milk, rice milk, ect)
1T canola oil

*These waffles amazing in their gluten free version. I make my own oat flour by food professing rolled oats until I achieve a flour texture. The 1T cornstarch per cup of oat flour helps the flour better stick together.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add milk followed by oil and stir. (If you're new to waffles, the batter should be thicker than you'd like for pancakes.) Since the oil content is low, grease your waffle iron well to prevent sticking. Add ~3/4c batter to your waffle iron and let cook for the recommended time on a medium-high setting. Once done, carefully remove and top with fruit, nuts, and warm maple syrup. Now you're ready to seize the day!

Cous-cous with Artichokes & Cannellini Beans

This is the first installment of my Great Grains series. As the name suggests, I'll be highlighting common and unusual grains and sharing what I believe to be their strengths and weaknesses. Grains to be covered include quinoa, rice, barley, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, faro, and more. (I'd also love suggestions!) While many of my posts avoid wheat for my gluten free friends, today we'll be starting the series with perhaps the most common and these days somewhat controversial grain: whole wheat. 

For every 100 calories, whole wheat has 4 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. It also is a good source of potassium, B vitamins, and iron. However, while nutritionally superior to white flour, it's not really a nutritional super-star. I finally found a good, thorough academic source on the amino acid profiles of various sources in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. This source reports that the quality of whole wheat protein isn't that great: it's lacking in the essential amino acids lysine and threonine. A non-academic source that gives very detailed nutritional information can be found here. 

That said, many of us who aren't allergic still eat a fair amount of whole wheat and I think that's just fine! As long as you're remembering to eat grains besides whole wheat, you will be able to balance the amino acid void throughout the day and the other minerals more than make up for this deficiency. With wheat, I think it's important though to remember what my Dad always told me growing up, "Everything in moderation." (Please of course do not eat it if you have an allergy or Celiacs... it is very bad for you then.)

Today's recipe something I often enjoy for a weekday lunch, meaning that you can make it in a tupperware container in less than 5 minutes. Whole wheat cous-cous is my favorite type of pasta because you can make it in no time at all: just boil the water, add it to the pasta, and go! I like to combine it with artichokes, white beans, and a touch of corn (which is a good source of lysine). I then top it off with some olive oil, garlic, and nutritional yeast. 

Cous-cous with Artichokes and Cannellini Beans

1/3c whole wheat cous-cous*

1/3c boiling water

1/2c white beans

2c artichoke hears

1/4c sweet corn

splash of olive oil

dashes of garlic, basil, and nutritional yeast 

(salt optional)

Before I'm done getting ready in the morning, I set our water boiler up to boil a cup of water. Once boiling, add cows-cous and water to a tupperware container. If time allows, you can go back to getting ready for 5 minutes. If not, just add in the other ingredients and go. As a time saver in the morning, the corn and artichokes can be added to your tupperware frozen, as they will thaw by lunch time when you will probably microwave it anyways. :)

*Note for my gluten free friends: This recipe is also good with quinoa, which takes a bit longer to prepare, but is well worth it! I'll profile quinoa next week, I already have my recipe ready :)

Balsamic-Garlic Lentils

This is the first post in a series that I will entitle "Laudable Legumes." Here, I'll highlight a different legumes that I think are worthwhile to include in your diet, why you would want to do so, and of course a recipe to get you started. Legumes are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein. They are also really inexpensive: it's not hard to find dried beans for $0.99/ lb. I like to buy dried beans and cook them in my crock pot, since the dried version costs about 25% of what the canned ones cost and you can avoid the added salt. 

I thought it would only be appropriate to start off with my favorite legume, lentils. I like the flavor and texture better than most beans (they are firmer) and they are packed nutritionally. In 1/4c (dry) serving of green lentils (which costs less than $0.10), you get 10g protein, 11g fiber, and 20% of your daily value of iron. They also cook much faster than most dried legumes, meaning I have to be less patient waiting for dinner! Lentils are rich in the essential amino acids lysine and isoleucine, although they are low in the sulfur containing amino acids (methionine and cysteine) so a good source such as sesame seeds or egg whites should be consumed with them or later. A good resource on amino acid content of vegetarian foods can be found here. (Sorry I can't find anything more scientific today, guys. I'll keep trying!)

Today's recipe combines lentils with some mouthwatering flavors of fall: sweet potatoes and leeks. The sweet potatoes are cooked up on the stovetop to maximize infusion of the balsamic and garlic flavors. Once the lentils are leeks are added to the pot, they took soak up the flavors for a savory fall dish. This is great as a main course, side dish, or even a hashbrown-like breakfast. This is actually a fairly inexpensive recipe, as sweet potatoes are on sale these days. The most expensive part is the leeks, which can be substituted for onions if you're cooking on a budget.

Balsamic-Garlic Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Leeks

2 large or 3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed ($0.60)
1c dried lentils ($0.50)
1 leek ($1.00)
balsamic vinegar
garlic
Total cost: $2.10

1. Wash, peel, and cube sweet potatoes. Transfer to a large, deep frying pan or pot with plenty of bottom surface area. Add ~3T water, plenty of balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally and adding more balsamic/ water as necessary to prevent the pan form drying out. It should take ~30 minutes until the sweet potatoes soften.
2. Once you've started the potatoes, wash lentils thoroughly and then bring to a boil on the stovetop in plenty of water. These should take about 20 minutes to cook.
3. Wash and slice the leek.
4. Once the lentils are soft, drain and wash them again.
5. When the sweet potatoes are soft and almost ready to eat, add the leeks and lentils. Add more balsamic and garlic and keep stirring. After about 5 minutes, everything should be ready to go. Enjoy!

Savory Cinnamon Rosemary Squash Pie

I had another post planned for today, but was so excited about this recipe that I had to share it right away! This savory squash pie is like a cross between a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie and a quiche. Almost. Except better.

This pie has it all. Squash, seasoned with cinnamon, rosemary, and garlic take the center stage, making this a sweet and savory supper that lets you know it's definitely fall. But this pie wouldn't win any awards with out the two supporting actors, pinto beans and cauliflower, to up this pie's nutritional game. Any white bean would do, but I like the heartier flavor of pinto beans. Pinto beans are a good source of vitamin B6 and magnesium, as well as fiber and protein. Cauliflower is the real star of the nutritional show. Regular consumption of cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower have been shown to actually protect you against cancer. Add that to the fiber and vitamin C that it also offers, and you know you have a winner. Even the crust takes it's game up a notch and is made with olive oil for flavor and heart health. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Savory Cinnamon Rosemary Squash Pie

Crust

2/3c whole wheat flour (or gluten free-- see note)
dash salt (optional)
1t baking powder
1T olive oil
1/4c warm water

Combine dry ingredients, then add warm water and olive oil. When dough starts to stick together, roll out onto floured surface, then transfer to a pie pan. Flute the edges or just press them down with a fork to finish.

Note: I tried to do a crust that could be pushed into the pan instead of rolled out to make this easy to make gluten free. That did not work and like all times that I've tried to deviate from one of my family's tried and true pie crust recipes it was a complete disaster. To make this gluten free, I'd recommend using Gluten Free Pantry all purpose flour, as I've had good luck with rolling it in the past.

Savory Squash Filling

1c dried pinto beans (or any white bean)
8oz frozen cauliflower, thawed
12oz frozen squash puree, thawed
1/3c nutritional yeast (or parmesan cheese)
rosemary
garlic
cinnamon

1. Cook pinto beans in crock pot by letting them cook on low all day while you are at work. You could also use 2 cans of any type of white bean.
2. Thaw cauliflower and squash. Or have the foresight to do this when you start the pinto beans...  I didn't :)
3. Food process beans and cauliflower until you achieve a hummus-like consistency. Add squash and nutritional yeast. I use the nutritional yeast for a protein boost, but parmesan cheese can be substituted if you prefer.
4. Add rosemary, garlic, and cinnamon to taste.

Put it together: Preheat oven to 375F. Cook the pie crust for 5 minutes, then fill with the squash filling. Cook an additional 30 minutes, remembering to cover the edges after 15 minutes so that they don't burn. Remove from oven, let cool and enjoy!

Performance Pumpkin Spice

Oh yes, you read that right... we're one-upping your favorite Starbucks creation and turning it into a performance-enhancing treat. The Starbuck's pumpkin spice latte is packed with sugar and doesn't have very many redeeming qualities. Today I'll share a version that you should definitely drink before your next long hammer ride (or whatever it is you do!) to see performance benefits.

Some people think coffee is somehow bad for you, but here's my conclusion: it's not and it's delicious. I am a regular coffee drinker, but I'm also a very nervous athlete so for a long time I avoided drinking coffee before races. Then one day in the spring of 2008 I was desperate: I hadn't PRed on my 2k erg test in 2 years and I had one last shot for the season. Figuring it couldn't get any worse, I downed a cup of coffee before the test... and PRed by 5 seconds. (For those of you who don't know, this is a ~7 minute test so 5 seconds is pretty significant, especially after not improving for 2 years.) Turns out, the science backs this, caffeine is really performance enhancing.

This pumpkin spice latte is made with pure pumpkin, coconut milk (those medium chain triglycerides will definitely help too!) and strong coffee. If that's not enough, it's flavored with cinnamon and ginger, two herbs that are known to be anti-inflammatory.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

1c strong coffee

2T pureed pumpkin

1/2c coconut milk

2 drops vanilla

dashes of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves

maple syrup to taste

Brew an extra-strong pot of coffee (or use your espresso maker). In a blender, combine pumpkin, coconut milk, vanilla, and spices. Puree until smooth, then transfer to a microwave safe mug. Microwave for 1 minute or until warm. Add a splash of maple syrup & stir. Pour yourself a cup of that coffee and top it off with the pumpkin spice creation. Enjoy and get ready to kill it on your ride/ long run/ hike/ life in general!

Weekend Adventures

Well, this weekend marked my last road race of the season. It was the Mt. Kearsarge Hill Climb in Warner NH. It was part of the BUMPS races that I've been competing in. I think I won the 20-29 age group for the series, but I couldn't compete in the overall standings because one of the races I was signed up for was cancelled. Oh well! It was great fun. This race was one of the best that I've been to as well. The sun was shining and there were great views all the way up the course. I put in a good effort and was rewarded with a 2nd place finish. I threw a set of running shoes in my summit bag and hiked up to the summit after the race to be rewarded with this view:

This road cycling season has been really surprising and fun for me! It was my first year training and racing. I started the year with the intent of doing hill climbs and time trials only and ended up doing a ton of road races, some stage races, and even a crit! My favorite was the Tour of the Catskills stage race, in which I placed 2nd and won the QOM jersey for the women's cat 3/4 field. It also got me an upgrade from cat 4 to cat 3!

Other than the race, my fiance have been playing it low key this weekend. We always make Sunday brunch and this Mushroom Breakfast Sandwich is one of our favorites. More recipes to come this week!