Monthly Archives: March 2012

The Good Kind of Muffin Top

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While I haven’t been blogging regularly lately, I have been getting back into baking and cooking. Anything to keep me from staring at the TV, shoving Fritos into my face!

I recently discovered Hershey’s cinnamon chips, which, to my knowledge, are a first of their kind. So when I got a hankering for something carb-y, bread-y, and sweet, I figured it would be a perfect time to experiment with these little buddies. Thus, cinnamon chip muffins were born! Super dense with a crunchy top and melty cinnamon chips laced throughout? Serious yum.

Cinnamon Chip Muffins
Yields 16 muffins

Ingredients
1 2/3 C quick-cooking oats
2/3 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C whole-wheat flour
3/4 C light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C low-fat buttermilk (can sub milk of choice and juice of 1/2 lemon instead)
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1/2 egg substitute
1/2-3/4 C cinnamon chips
granulated sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling on top

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Place oats in a food processor; pulse 5 to 6 times or until oats resemble coarse meal. Place in a large bowl.
  • Add flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) to oats; stir well.
  • Combine buttermilk/milk and lemon juice and next 3 ingredients (through egg substitute). Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
  • Gently fold cinnamon chips into batter. Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups coated with cooking spray or muffin liners; sprinkle granulated sugar and cinnamon evenly over batter. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center or toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans immediately; place on a wire rack to cool completely.


Have you guys heard of cinnamon chips? What are other baking goodies are out there that I don’t know about? Share your favorite!

Wanna Be My Pal?

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Remember in elementary school when your class would get to be pen pals with another class in some far away land…like Canada or Kansas? That’s what we did in Minnesota, anyway. And that’s kinda what Foodie Pen Pals is like. Except instead of exchanging letters about scrunchies, cute boy Eric, and your best friends Jenny and Lisa, you get to exchange boxes of deliciousness.

This was my first month doing Foodie Pen Pals and I couldn’t have been more excited! I mean, what fat kid doesn’t love free food, right? My package this month came from Stephanie over at Steph’s Bite by Bite (whose blog is equal parts adorable and inspiring). My only request to her was give me healthy yumminess. And boy. Did she ever! Here’s the spread:

It’s like the woman was reading my mind. All things I’ve been dying to try, but couldn’t bring myself to spare the extra cash. Let’s start at the Trader Joe’s Trek Mix and work our way around clockwise, shall we?

I love nuts. I love TJ’s. I love the combination of salty and sweet. TJ’s Salty, Sweet & Nutty Trek Mix is all of these things and more. Peanuts, peanut brittle, cashews, and almonds. It is so good. So naturally I had to get it out of the house before I devoured the entire bag. It’s currently residing in my desk drawer at work, where I allow myself a palm full a day as my afternoon snack.

The blueberry muffin Larabar was sooo not what I expected. I was envisioning, like, your typical Nutri-Grain type bar. This was not that. Chewy, a bit off-putting in color, but pretty dang delish.

And then there was the Clif Bar. Coconut chocolate chip. Since I’ve been doing this weight loss thang, I’ve been missing m’sweets. Like Girl Scout cookies. I kid y’all not, this Clif Bar was a not-as-cloyingly sweet version of the Samoa. It was so good, in fact, that I may have stocked up on a few more at the grocery this week. And they were on sale–score!!

Before Steph introduced me to coconut water, I had never tried it. It seemed too trendy (if US Weekly is running photos of the Gossip Girls slugging the stuff, I want no part). However, I do love chocolate. And I quite enjoy coconut. So in the interest of this post, I tried the dark chocolate coconut water. And I really like it! It basically tastes like chocolate milk or those canned protein shakes (in the best possible way). It’s meant to provide, like, ultra-hydration with no calories, so I happily chugged it after spin class on Sunday. I may get a part-time job or procure a financially sound suitor simply to pay for my new obsession.

This is TJ’s Flower Pepper, which is (according to the label) straight from South Africa!! Anyone close to me can tell you how crazy obsessed I am with SoAf, as we in the know call it, after having spent some time there in college. I haven’t had an opportunity to try the pepper yet (life’s been a bit cra cra), but according to the smarties online, this stuff can be used in just about anything–poultry, seafood, soups, fruit salad, green salads, potatoes, and I’m betting it would be amazing in a homemade vegetable stock. I’m gonna give it a test drive this weekend for sure.

The dark chocolate bar from TJ’s was way too bitter and rich for me. Thankfully, my friend Emily has a much more worldly and sophisticated pallet, so I passed it along to her. I’m sure she’s enjoying it right now :)

Thanks again to Steph for this awesome package!
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You know you want a Foodie Pen Pal, too. To get matched with your new foodie bff, click here to fill out the participation form and read all about it.

You must submit your information by April 4, as pairings will be emailed on April 5!

A Vacation in Photos II

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While in Texas, we ate good BBQ and Tex-Mex, found a vending machine that sold pecan pies, climbed a legit mountain, a task which I’m immensely proud, celebrated my mom’s birthday with a giant sombrero and a mariachi band, did our fair share of wine tasting, and visited a farm and the nation’s largest wildflower farm. We also drank a lot of coffee and clocked some serious miles on the good old Ford.

More photos from my road trip vacay to Austin, TX!

Welcome Back, Me!

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Hiya everybody! It’s me! I’m back! Finally!

Apologies for the two-ish week absence. Between leaving my old job (finally!), road trippin’ to Texas (Spring Break ’12–woo hoo!), and starting a huge, new, amazing job last week, I have been exhausted in every sense of the word. I was burned out and really just needed a 100% complete break from life. Which I took. And now I’m ready to just kill it.

I’ll be sharing more photos and such from my awesome trip to the land of George Bush and Tex-Mex (my least fav and fav thing in one state), but tonight, in the vein of my recent post about regaining focus, I want to share my plan to really kick this weight loss bullshiz into high(er) gear. Here we go!

Ok, so I did a lot of math-y stuff today trying to figure out what is a feasible amount of weight for me to lose by my birthday in September–I even called my soon-to-be-accountant brother for a little help. I decided that by the time I blow out 28 candles on my vegan sugar-free cake, I’d like to be at a total of 100 pounds lost. So another 60 or so pounds. There are about 25 weeks until my birthday, which averages out to about 2.4 pounds/week. Since I started this challenge, I’ve lost at an average of 3.1 pounds/week. And as I’ve clearly documented here, I haven’t been as consistent as I could have been. So even given plateaus, and scheduling, and maybe the occasional slight slip-up, I think it’s totally doable! And it’s basically summer here in Minny, which brings loads of fresh produce, a healthy blogging challenge with my bestie (more on that later!), more opportunities to be active, more daylight, more sweet, sweet, sweat and basically just more awesomeness.

1. Take a look at my goals page. I’ve got some new ones and they’re goodies. Here’s one of ‘em:
2. I’m signing up for my first 5K. I had planned to do the Color Run (which I am definitely doing next year!), but it filled up before I could register. So, I happened upon a tweet from one of my fave bloggers, Lindsay over at Lean Green Bean, who mentioned the Dirty Girl Run. It’s a mud run but only for chicks. And it looks badass. And me and the girls are totes doing it.

3. I’m going to be meticulously tracking my food. Obsessive may be a better word for it. It needs to be that way for awhile. PS I love myfitnesspal.com. It is such a great app/website for tracking calories, measuring progress, and connecting with others losing weight. Oh, and you can follow me on there, if you’re so inclined. I’m at MandaKayMakesIt, natch :)

4. Inspired by those Friday night lights down in Texas (lord, I miss that show…and my vaction), I’m implementing two-a-day workouts. That means I work out in the morning and then again at night. 6-7 days a week. No excuses, no more bullshit, no more days off because I don’t have time or want to watch reruns of The Hills (LC, come back!).

Here it is:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
AM – run (once it’s light enough outside) or 7 miles on the bike
PM – cardio and weights at the gym, then home for planks/abs and more bike

Tuesday, Thursday
AM – spin class
PM – 5 miles on the bike, planks/abs and free weight circuits

Saturday, Sunday
AM – spin or yoga
PM – 5-10 miles on the bike, planks/abs and free weight circuits

Every month I’ll be reevaluating and switching things up so I don’t get bored or burned out.


So there you have it. Back to life, back to reality, back on my grind!

Greetings From Kansas

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Our spring break road trip to Austin, Texas is underway! We left Minnesota around 6 pm last night and made it to Missouri before calling it a night. Now we, my mom, aunt, cousin, and I, are meandering through the great state of Kansas on our way to Austin, Texas, after a somewhat successful morning of visiting a few of the world’s largest–meat cleaver, shuttlecocks, and boot spur.

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It’s doing wonders for my spirits and my soul to feel a little warm sunshine and see a little green in the grass.

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I had a quick sandwuch at Subway last night (turkey, spinach, honey mustard) and whole wheat toast with peanut butter and an apple for breakdast today. I’m really trying to keep my water intake up, too, while remembering that we’ll never make it to Texas if we’re stopping every 20 minutes for a restroom :)

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More to come soon! Hope everyone is enjoying some beautiful weather!

Do you take a spring break trip each year?

Focus Like A Laser Beam

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I’m nearing the two month mark on my weight loss journey (I really hate that word, “journey,” by the way) and I have lost 25 pounds. This is great. It’s fantastic, even! And while I’m definitely proud of this success, I know I’m not as focused as I should be. These out of focus red flags I’ve noticed over the past few weeks must be addressed if I want to truly make this weight loss a permanent, forever change. Which I do.
Red Flag 1
Problem: While my eating is basically spot on during the day, the second I leave work, or at any point during the weekend, I feel myself starting to falter. Like others, one of my oldest and worst habits is sitting in front of the tv and mindlessly eating. Thankfully, I’ve now removed all “bad” food items from my couch potato ways, but most nights/weekends, I’m still sitting down with a bowl of salsa and tortilla chips or a bowl of frozen yogurt, while the bright lights of the television hypnotize me. This has to stop.

Solution: Having a schedule helps immensely. If I’m at the gym or spending time with friends, I don’t have time to just sit and eat. So I am going to focus on filling up my schedule–whether that means extra workouts at the gym or at home, more time spent hanging out with friends, or finding other meaningless tasks to do at home (Pinterest crafts, anyone?). Same thing goes for the weekends.
Red Flag 2
Problem: I don’t a) put in enough time exercising or b) work out consistently. Right now, I workout two or three days in a row, then take four off, then work out for a week straight, then take two days off. It needs to be every. Day. No excuses.

Solution: No excuses. It is absolutely that simple. Not working out is not an option. It’s an integral part of the process, and if I ultimately want the life that I claim to want, I have to sweat it out.
Red Flag 3
Problem: I get lost in my head. I spend hours slogging through the blogs, Pinterest, Twitter, and other websites looking for inspiration, new work out moves, the health benefits of nutritional yeast and chia seeds (yes, the same chia used to grow a chia pet, gross) and so much more. I have no focused plan and my intentions seem to change daily. One minute I’m going to go vegan and do yoga. The next I want to become a long distance runner. All of these competing philosophies and proposed lifestyle adjustments are overwhelming and leave me exhausted and unmotivated.

Solution: I know what does and does not work for me. I cannot allow myself to be distracted by what others are doing, eating, drinking, etc. I can’t hope that things will change because bought the right trainers or pinned the most inspiring quote to Pinterest. I need to worry about me, focus on me, move more, eat less. Find activities that I enjoy. Eat more whole foods. Push myself to further develop my food tastes and test my cooking abilities. Disregard what is trendy (or for that matter, my Twitter friends, trending. #NotInterested). I have the gear, I have the knowledge, I have the skill, I have the desire. Now, I need to do.
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Side note, on Friday I’m heading to Texas for a week long vacation. I’m looking to utilize this vacation as a time to mentally get myself in check, so that when I come back, I’ll be ready to get it. Good.

I’ll try and pop over here to share my vacation with you guys, but in case I don’t get to it, expect a full run down when I return. I will, however, be tweeting up a storm. So follow me @MandaKayMakesIt for my never ending wit, pics of cute cowboys and, I’m sure, some delicious Texas BBQ…pulled pork and beer is good for you, right? I kid!

Pizza! Pizza!

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This is kind of a big week for me. On Thursday, I leave for Texas for a week long, much needed vacay. Before that, though, I get to celebrate my last day at my current job! I couldn’t be more excited!


But since I am leaving for Texas this week, I’m trying to use up all the leftovers in my fridge before I go. So, looking in the fridge for dinner last night, I unearthed mushrooms, spinach, and ground turkey. Since I’m always craving bread (who isn’t?), I decided pizza would be a good way to meet all my needs.


While the prepackaged, just-add-water dough (probably not a great decision health-wise) was rising, I sauteed the mushrooms and wilted the spinach in a pan with a little salt (to sweat the mushrooms) and just a mist of non-stick cooking spray. After rolling out the dough on a baking sheet, I topped it with a bit of dried garlic, Italian seasoning, a little leftover tomato sauce, the mushroom and spinach mixture, some ground turkey and a teeny bit of reduced-fat mozzarella.


Spinach, Mushroom, & Turkey Pizza
Yields 12 pieces

Ingredients
1 pizza dough
Non-stick cooking spray
1/4 tsp dried garlic
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 C mushrooms of choice
1 C spinach
3/4 C ground turkey, cooked
1/2 C pizza sauce
1/2 C mozzarella cheese

  • Mix dough, if necessary, and work in dried garlic and Italian seasoning. Set aside to rise.
  • Coat a medium sauce pan with non-stick cooking spray. Saute mushrooms and spinach over medium-low heat for approx. 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • On a baking sheet, roll out dough and sprinkle to taste with dried garlic and Italian seasoning.
  • Coat dough with sauce, add mushroom and spinach mixture, ground turkey, and cheese.
  • Bake at 375° F for 8-11 minutes, or until crust is cooked through and slightly brown on the edges.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool for a minute before slicing.

Anyone have a great healthy homemade pizza dough recipe? What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Berry Good Sunday

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As this post title says, today was a very good day (aren’t I clever? Ha!). The sun was shining, things got checked off the to-do list, and I got a great workout in this am. I mean, I’m in a bit of pain right now, and I’m exhausted, but it’s a good pain and a good kind of exhaustion.

Sunday mornings my favorite spin instructor teaches a kick ass 9am class. She’s positive and high energy, in a non-horrible way, and plays great music–a huge plus. Today’s mix was old school vs. new school, so we pedaled through Ray Charles, The Ting-Tings, Bruno Mars, Miles Davis, and even some old, old Whitney. The Whitney song, which made me think of my Mama (she always sang it in the car), was an odd choice, but kinda awesome at the same time. I may have even teared up a bit :)

For me, the class was also a bit of a study in how to be a hot mess. Here’s what happened:
1. I felt like I was going to barf throughout the entire class, thanks to the breakfast (2 Van’s lite waffles, banana, coffee) I stupidly consumed less than an hour beforehand. Not sure what I was thinking there…
2. I spilled my entire water bottle about 5 minutes into class. Which is bad enough. But then I had to mop it up with my towel, so I had no towel for the remainder of class. And I sweat a lot.
3. I was wearing a new dark gray t-shirt which, unbeknownst to me at the time, was leaving little gray fuzzies all. Over. Me. It looked like I had chest hair.
4. A cute boy sat next to me. In spin class. Where I sweat like a you-know-what in church. Lovely.


I left class feeling pretty great, though, came home and whipped up a smoothie–1 cup each of baby spinach, frozen mixed berries (blackberries, strawberries, blueberries), a frozen banana, 1 1/2 cups of water. Super simple, super yummy. Or was it berry yummy…haha there I go again, being so incredibly witty. You’re welcome, readers!

Have a happy rest of your Sunday, folks! I’m off to watch me some Real Housewives drams. Yay!

What’s your favorite snack before/after an intense workout?

Chocolate.

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Sometimes a girl just needs chocolate. Now. Like, right now. Enter my new favorite chocolate cake, loosely inspired by my new favorite blog. Super moist, super chocolatey, super healthy. Oh, and there’s a mostly-healthy buttercream-esque peanut butter frosting to boot.

It’s always more difficult to make smart food choices on the weekends (lack of schedule), so I am all about any food that will help stave off a cupcake and potato chip binge.


Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter “Buttercream”
Ingredients:
For cake
6 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp applesauce (or vegetable oil)
6 Tbsp milk (I use vanilla almond milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla

For Frosting
1/4 C peanut butter (use any nut butter you like; I prefer PB2)
1/4 C confectioner’s sugar*
1/4 C water*
*amount will vary depending on the consistency/sweetness you prefer

  • Sift together the dry ingredients and mix well.
  • Add the liquid ingredients and mix until just combined.
  • Pour batter into small ramekins (this recipe should fill 2) or a mug. If you plan to remove the cakes from the baking dishes, be sure to spray them with non-stick cooking spray before filling.
  • Microwave for 3-4 minutes, until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
  • While cakes cool, whip peanut butter and confectioner’s sugar, adding water as necessary until desire consistency and sweetness is achieved.
  • Let cakes cool completely, then frost and eat up!