Running In Circles 365

Two things. One: look at this gorgeous plate of stir-fried veggies, garnished with feta! Tahini oil, white balsamic vinegar, sesame seeds, celery, spinach, scallion, avocado, red bell pepper, grape tomatoes, zucchini, yum.

Two: this girl only got 4 hours of sleep last night. The bags under my eyes weigh 50 pounds. Sooo, hopefully early to bed tonight.

Oh here’s the cake I made the other day. Chocolate with orange mousse frosting.

Cake recipe:
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/02/08/healthier-chocolate-cake/
I doubled it to make a two layer cake, and I also added a bunch of chopped up chocolate chips.

Frosting:
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/06/08/strawberry-frosting-shots/
Yes, this is a recipe for strawberry frosting. I used blood oranges instead (and I would’ve used regular oranges but I walked into Whole Foods and BAM there was this whole blood orange display- they were on sale- and since I’ve never had a blood orange before I decided to give them a try and wow they’re really yummy and also rather beautiful). I also doubled this recipe so that I could generously frost the cake because I LOVE frosting. But basically, I zested three oranges and then juiced them and added all of it to the other ingredients.

It’s my mom’s birthday, which means I have an excuse to try out a new secretly healthy frosting recipe. If all goes well, I’ll post pictures/recipes later!

Getting back on track today. The past two weeks have been full of crappy eating, and I can really feel it. So instead of sitting around hating myself like I would have been doing last year, I’m just going to get right back on track with eating “cleanly.” Which means I’ll probably end up making quinoa. Quinoa makes me feel healthy :)

ryleeandelle:

Dried beans and dark leafy greens are ESPECIALLY good sources of iron, even better on a per calorie basis than meat. The best way to increase absorption is by eating foods containing vitamin C along with foods containing iron.

Many vegetables such as broccoli and bok choy, which are high in iron are also high in vitamin C so the iron in these vegetables are very well absorbed. Commonly eaten combinations, such as beans and tomato sauce or stir-fried tofu and broccoli, also result in generous levels of iron absorption.

Rylee & Elle xoxo

(via almondbuttertoast)

So this is how the world will end…

Wanna know something? I really like fartleks. They’re fun. Especially this one, because the pushes are over before you know it! I had a really good run and felt great afterward, regardless of the fact that I was super grossly sweaty.

After practice, my best friend and I went to this cute little cafe for breakfast. I ordered a smoothie/juice drink called the “Bloody Good” made with plain greek yogurt, mint, strawberries, beets, and orange juice. It was so pretty! And it tasted really good, too. I also had an english muffin. When I got home, I helped myself to some plain peanuts, and then deciding that wasn’t sufficient, I had a generous spoonful of natural pb. Green tea followed suit, and then I logged on to tumblr. After like 15 minutes, I was hungry (again. God what’s wrong with my metabolism?!), so I made some oatmeal. I swear the saddest part of every morning is when I get to the end of my oatmeal, scraping the sides of the bowl and wishing I had more. But enough time on ze computer- at least for now! Oooh but a really good song just came on Pandora…. Ok ‘later, y’all!

These are the cupcakes I made for my mom’s work party. I am pretty proud of how they turned out! 

I reserved a couple plain ones for myself. So yummy after my run!

I have issues with baked goods that don’t have hidden vegetables or fruit in them. Treats that are made with butter, sugar, and white flour. Today, I kind of had to face those worries when I was making cupcakes for my mom’s work party. The cupcakes are actually somewhat healthy- they secretly have cauliflower in them, and are totally deliciouis (CCK’s recipe here). However, I made a buttercream icing. We’re talking a cup of butter and almost 4 cups of powered sugar here! Scary! But since I have tree nut, coconut, sunflower seed, and flaxseed allergies, my options for healthy frostings are pretty limited, and I didn’t feel like making a peanut butter flavored frosting. Plus, I figured strangers not used to my healthy swaps would enjoy the original. In any case, it’s fifty bagillion times better than the partially-hydrogenated crap in the store-bought kind. Anyway, to get back to the point of this post: I actually made buttercream icing. And I ate some of it (probably too much…oh well). And although it’s sickeningly sweet and rich, I liked the splurge. Sometimes I get too caught up in regulating what’s “healthy” and “acceptable” to eat and I get too obsessive over substitutions. I’m glad this made me realize that I need to be more flexible. I’m so glad that I’m even closer to having a healthy relationship with food.