This is a variation of the original Quaker Oats Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe. I am a fan of using real ingredients in baked goods. I’ll never use things like margarine or splenda. At the same time, I also don’t want 2 sticks of butter in my cookies either, so I reduced the butter and sugar by half and added some honey for sweetness. I like to use unbleached all purpose flour instead of regular bleached flour because it’s less processed. The cookies still come out moist and delicious. I love cherry and chocolate together so I replaced the raisins with dried tart cherries and just add a little bit of chocolate chips but not enough to overpower the cookie. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey (local honey if you can find it)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (like King Arthur brand)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups Quaker or other brand quick cooking oats
1 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and honey until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix well. Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well. Add the oats in a half cup at a time until blended. Add the cherries and chocolate chips and mix. Drop tablespoons of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 11 – 13 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
Other variations I’ve tried: raisins, dried cranberries, and dried cherries with finely chopped walnuts.
There was no training this week. Getting over a cold and taking care of my kids was my first priority so I pushed up my week off. Plus I don’t like the idea of taking Christmas week off. For me, when my eating is all over the place, I at least like to know that my workouts are going strong. I did get 8 hours of sleep every night though and I have to say that I think I needed a mental break as well. I am feeling refreshed and ready to take on the next week. I am changing my schedule a little bit so I can be sure to take Christmas day off. My plan for the upcoming week is to nail the workouts, eat treats in moderation, and enjoy the time with my family.
Nothing goes better with a snow storm than a delicious mug of hot chocolate! I love hot chocolate but I don’t love hydrogenated coconut oil in it. Unfortunately, this is what you’ll find in packaged brands of hot chocolate. This is a very simple recipe that you can feel good about drinking and giving to your kids. I love to spike mine with Godiva chocolate liqueur. It’s amazing! The recipe serves 1 but you can easily double or triple the recipe.
Ingredients:
a mug filled with organic milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
a few semisweet chocolate chips
a handful of marshmallows
Fill a large mug about 3/4 of the way with milk, then pour into a small saucepan. Over medium low heat, add the brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, and vanilla and stir with a whisk until heated. Add the chocolate chips and continue mixing with the whisk until melted. Pour into the mug and add your marshmallows. Enjoy!
Here’s a picture of a mug I made for my son today…
This has been a rough week! Both my kids have colds, I definitely did not get enough rest, and I was forced to juggle my training. I have to say this is why I normally never make excuses to get my workouts in. You never know when you’ll be forced to back off a bit. In my opinion, this is especially true when you have kids. The best way to ensure you are still progressing is to decide what is most important to you and try to fit that in somehow. For me, it’s NROL4W, then kettlebell practice, then sprints, and then other acitivity. Also remember that problems are inevitable and don’t get down about it. I know that can be hard to remember when you are in the middle of a crisis.
So here’s my week:
Sunday, 12/6 – kettlebell practice – 5 minutes 12kg TGUs, 12 minutes swings 16kg double, 12kg hand to hand, 8kg clean and press ladders: 4 ladders, 4 rungs
Monday, 12/7 – treadmill sprints, chin ups
Tuesday, 12/8 – New Rules of Lifting for Women, Phase 6, workout A
Wednesday, 12/9 – OFF
Thursday, 12/10 – kettlebell practice. 5 minutes 12kg TGUs, 12.5 minutes 16kg double and 12kg hand to hand swings. 3×3 8kg snatches.
Friday, 12/11 – OFF
Saturday, 12/12 – New Rules of Lifting for Women, Phase 6, workout B
Still decent considering my lack of sleep, and trying to keep myself from getting sick. Next week is the last week in Phase 6 of New Rules. Then it’ll be on to the last phase of this program.
This week was a great training week. I got in all my scheduled workouts and did 1 rep each side of 12kg TGUs which I am very excited about. Here’s my week:
Sunday, 11/29 – OFF
Monday, 11/30 – 45 minute spin class
Tuesday, 12/1 – New Rules of Lifting for Women, phase 6, workout A (time 23:40).
Wednesday, 12/2 – Kettlebell practice. 5 minutes TGUs. 1x each side with the 12kg, the rest of the time with 8kg. 9 minutes of 12kg one handed swings. A few minutes of clean and press and snatch practice with 8kg.
Thursday, 12/3 – Treadmill sprints, chin ups. 25 minutes total with warm up.
Friday, 12/4 – New Rules of Lifting for Women, Phase 6, workout B (time 25:58).
Saturday, 12/5 - OFF
I haven’t taken a spin class in over 5 weeks and I have to say after taking it on Monday, I don’t miss it too much. I may take a class once in a while but not as part of my schedule every week.
In other news, I’ve added a 10kg kettlebell to my holiday wish list. Pressing the 8kg is getting much easier and 12kg is too difficult, so my thinking is I can use the 10kg for pressing and TGUs. If you’ve missed my holiday wish list, check it out here.
Plan for next week: kick ass, take names. Until next week, train hard.
I got an interesting email today from the Institute of Responsible Technology (IRT). IRT and the Center for Food Safety created a website where you can search foods to see if they may contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This is really going to take the guesswork out of shopping for GMO free foods.
In case you were not aware, GMO foods are not labeled so you have no way of knowing that it contains GMOs. No testing or long term studies have been done on GMO safety. According to IRT, 53% of Americans said they would avoid GMOs if it was labeled. The easiest way to avoid GMOs is to eat organic vegetables and meats and avoid processed foods and foods containing the “big four”: corn, canola, cottonseed, and soybeans.
Here’s another opportunity where we can support companies that do the right thing. You can find this great website here.
Can you believe we’re into December already? The end of 2009 is fast approaching. Did you get all the things accomplished that you wanted to this year? I did, and much more! I think goal setting is very important to success. Most people set goals and have big plans for the beginning of every year but burn out quickly. I have some big things planned for 2010, and I am already thinking about interesting blog content but I need your help. I’d love to hear what you want to see more of next year. Vote now!
Thanksgiving week is always a tough week to stay on track. This year was no exception. Monday morning I showed up to the gym at 6 am only to find that it wasn’t open! I decided to go home and do a kettlebell workout instead. Then my son came down with a virus on Thanksgiving and spent the day on the couch between bouts of vomiting. Thankfully he’s starting to feel much better.
Here’s how my week went:
Sunday 11/21 – Kettlebell practice – 7 minutes of 16kg swings 30:20. 24 snatches.
Tuesday 11/23 – New Rules of Lifting for Women, Phase 6, workout A. Time 24:03.
Wednesday 11/24 – Treadmill sprints, chin ups
Thursday 11/25 – Kettlebell practice – 5 minutes of 16kg swings 20:15. 5 minutes of 8kg TGUs. A few 8kg clean + press and snatches.
Friday 11/26 – New Rules of Lifting for Women, Phase 6, workout B (time 17:47) + chin ups and 1 round of the matrix.
Saturday 11/27 – OFF
Next week is back to a regular week. I may switch off one of my kettlebell sessions for sprints or a spin class. It’s been a while since I’ve taken a spin class. So my week is looking like 2x NROL4W, 2x kettlebell practice, 1x treadmill sprints, 1x spin class.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it’s just about being with family, sharing a good meal, and remembering the things that are most important. Although I truly am thankful every single day, I wanted to share my list with you (in no particular order).
I am thankful:
My kids are healthy.
I have a supportive husband and a happy marriage.
For the supportive people in my life.
My body keeps up with all the physical demands I put on it, and I am DEMANDING!
I realized life is too short to make excuses. You’re only fooling yourself people!
My husband’s work schedule is flexible so I can volunteer at my son’s school as often as I can.
That my son gets excited about helping me cook. Cooking is near and dear to my heart.
That I’ve met so many like minded people on Twitter who inspire me every day!
That’s my list. Short and sweet. I think focusing on the positive and always being thankful brings more of that into your life, so be thankful for something every single day. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Thanksgiving is upon us so that must mean cranberry season! Instead of having high fructose corn syrup laden canned cranberry sauce this year, why not make your own? It’s extremely easy and can be done ahead of time.
There is a feature on cranberries in this year’s holiday issue of Cooking Light magazine. One fact I’d like to share with you: “The ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) score for cranberries is 9,584 while blueberries average only 6,552. ORAC is the test used to measure a foods’ antioxidant levels.” So enjoy some cranberry sauce and get some good antioxidants.
This brings me to my favorite recipe for basic cranberry sauce. I initially saw this recipe in the November, 2007 issue of Cooking Light magazine. As usual, I had to make changes based on what I had in the house but I ended up with a sauce I really liked, so I kept it.
Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 cup packed brown sugar depending how sweet or tart you like it. I use 3/4 cup.
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (12 oz) package fresh cranberries
1 (3 inch) cinnamon stick
Combine brown sugar through honey in a sauce pan and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on medium heat until the cranberries begin to pop and the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool. Cranberries have natural pectin so the sauce will thicken as it cools. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to use.
The original recipe called for dark brown sugar and orange juice. I’ve never tried it this way, but it’s rated well by others who have made it. Check out the original recipe here.
Here’s is a picture of my cranberry sauce this year.
The sauce is also delicious over a Thanksgiving sandwich the day after. I hope you’ll give this one a try!
