Carrot Tans and Carrot Cake

Aug 24, 2010

Last night my family and I celebrated my 22nd birthday at a local restaurant. It was great to catch up with the whole family (parents, sister, grandparents, aunt and uncle) after a full summer of adventures. Of course, fun presents and cake eating ensued…

Some joke gifts were just mean…

Some just silly…

and others downright fabulous!

What they don’t know is that this bag of carrots will be gone in a week. Especially with the new juicer I got. Look at that b-e-a-u-tiful Breville juicer!!

(source)

I had to find a picture online because it is coming by snail-mail.

I LOVE carrots and eat so many that I should be oompa loopa-orange.

(source)

Instead, I still reach for my ‘made in the shade’ sunless tanners… (I always thought strips were in fashion ;)

…and my glasses.

I might be immune to beta-carotene, but I’m definitely not deficient – even though my white glowing skin would lead you to believe otherwise.

For my free birthday desert at the restaurant, I opted for the only one with a vegetable in the title – Carrot Cake!!! That makes it healthy, right?!?!

Last nights glorious cake became inspiration for healthy carrot cake muffins. These were a perfect grab-n-go breakfast before I ran errands this morning.


Carrot Cake Muffins

Dry:

1  3/4 C. Whole Wheat Four
1/2 C. Ground Flax Seed
1/2 C. Oat bran (instant oats or flour can be substituted)
3/4 C. Chopped Walnuts
1/2 C. Raisins
2 t. Cinnamon
2 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Baking Soda
1/4 t. Salt

Wet:

1.5 C. Grated Carrots
3/4 C. Soy Milk
1 C. Unsweetened Apple Sauce
2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Egg Whites (See note for vegan version)
1/4 C. Agave
1 t. Vanilla

Note: 1 egg = 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp warm water. Mixed and set aside for 5 minutes. I’ve used this method many times and it works very well.

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl
  3. Mix wet ingredients in a small bowl
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients
  5. Liberally spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray
  6. Bake for ~20 minutes


    Fake-n-bake carrot confetti to the rescue.

    My birthday is officially tomorrow, but I leave for interviews (read about it in this post) early in the morning and couldn’t be more excited!! I’m crossing my fingers, bitting my nails and growing eager with anticipation. I’m off to go iron my suit, pack, review my notes and eat some ‘made in the shade’ tanning muffins. Atlanta here I come!

    “Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.”
    -Shaquille O’Neal


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Mango Salsa

Aug 19, 2010

This mango salsa is a must make. Its sweet and spicy – perfect for a summer snack!!

Mango Salsa

1 Mango, pitted and finely diced
4 Strawberries, finely diced
Handful of blueberries
4 T. Salsa*
2 t. Cilantro, minced + more for garnish

Just mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

* Eyeball it until you reach a consistency you like. Use a mild, sweet salsa for the best flavor.

I paired it with chips. Well, the remains from the bottom of the bag….

We definitely need more chips.

****

My best friend from high school just graduated with a kinesiology degree and has to teach a fitness class as part of an upcoming interview. She has been working on a Gilads-style class and I’m off to be a guinea pig for her to practice on. Knowing her, I’m going to get my butt kicked work up an appetite. At least this guinea pig brings mango salsa…I just hope she has chips!


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Home Sweet Home

Aug 18, 2010

Morning!!

Before heading to yoga last night, I finally got my car unpacked and took over the front sitting room in the process…

How did all that fit in my car?!? I must be a packing genius ;)

My room is a whole other story…it has become my own personal storage unit at La Casa de Parents. It currently has all my furniture, washing machine, dryer, books and everything else that was not a necessity for the summer. Yes Kelly, my food processor, blender and exercise ball are necessities. Priorities my friends.

In t-minus one week all this is going to be loaded up and hauled to school. Oh, the joy of moving….

Before heading out for my morning run I had AB&B toast for some energy.

I ran for about 30 minutes listening to the soundtrack from Across the Universe. Its a compilation of songs The Beetles wrote, just sung by various artists. I double checked my distance online at mapmyrun.com when I got back. This is a free online tool that allows you to enter the address of your starting point and trace your route. Its great because you can save your runs, add water stops and loop your distances if needed. My total was ~2.9 miles.

Note-to-self: DON’T run past 9am. It is WAY too hot!!

Post-run fuel was a 3 egg white puff with garlic pesto and cumin. I also had some walnuts and grapes (x’s 2)

This combo was delicious!!!

I’m off to go deal with the crazy landlord from New York that wants us to pay $300 for a spec of dirt we left on the wall : Have you ever had problems with a landlord or getting your security deposits back?

“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
-The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (<–highly recommended book I listened to on the drive home)

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