I heart carrot cake.

I have an obsession with carrot cake. If I see it or smell it you better get.out.of.the.way. I don't know when I started liking carrot cake. It must have been within the last 4 years because before that putting the words carrot with cake just didn't sound good. OHHH but it is! My friend Regina and her mother-in-law made me gluten free carrot cake for a concert we went to and it was delicious. So delicious that by the end of the night there were no plates being used... literally there were fork marks in the cake... yummm!

Realizing that carrot cake isn't the healthiest dessert for you (even though it has carrots in it) it will NOT be eliminated from my life. NO CAN DO. So I've been trying to find some healthier gluten free versions (if that's possible) of the recipe. I just started an account with My newest obsession (www.pinterest.com) and happened to stumble across the most glorious carrot cake recipe that I had to try. I mean seriously look at these puppies

My mouth literally waters just looking at these!

So, as you can imagine the next day I ran to the grocery store and stocked up on the ingredient to make these glorious gluten free beauties. (For those of you who don't eat gluten free just substitute the gluten free flour for regular or whole wheat flour) TRUST me on this one... you are going to want to make these. Even better they are super easy to make!

Here's the delicious recipe I found at King Aurthur Flour

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a standard 12-well muffin pan.

Or line the pan with paper muffin cups, and grease the cups. More on this later.

Let’s start with the filling. Place one unwrapped, 8-ounce package cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on low power for 40 seconds.

Stir in 1/4 cup granulated sugar and a few drops of Fiori di Sicilia flavor. The Fiori is optional, but adds wonderful, subtle flavor to the filling. (I did not add this)

Stir until smooth. Set the filling aside while you make the muffin batter.

Whisk together the following:

2 1/4 cups (9 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt

Place the following in a measuring cup or small bowl:

2 large eggs

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Whisk until well combined.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients

Add 1 cup grated carrots, lightly packed; about 2 medium-large carrots. (Or get the pre-grated/shredded carrots at the store)

Stir to combine.

Note the word “stir;” beating isn’t necessary, and will toughen your muffins.

 

Drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here) into each muffin cup, spreading it to cover the bottom. (You can choose not to use muffin cups if you want, I like the muffin cups because it's less clean up) **They tested both: with cups and without**

Dollop on a heaping tablespoon of filling; a level tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

Cover with enough batter to fill the muffin cups quite full. The batter will come to within about 1/4″ to 3/8″ of the top of each muffin cup.

A scattering of coarse white sparkling sugar across the top is never amiss when you’re making muffins. The sugar adds crunch, glitter, and flavor.

Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes. Notice the extra batter in its silicone cup.

When they’re done, a toothpick inserted into the cake part of one (not into the cream cheese filling) will come out clean. The tops of the muffins will feel firm to the touch.

Remove the muffins from the oven, and immediately tilt them in their cups; a fork works well here.

So delicious looking! You can eat them now but they recommend to let them cool for 30 minutes so the cream cheese filling can stiffen up a bit.

But let me tell you...eating them fresh out of the oven isn't a bad idea either!

PERFECTION!

Well, folks there ya have it! The yummiest little treat ever! I made half as big cupcakes/muffins and the other half I made in the mini cupcake pan. I kind of like the minis better... a little treat that goes a long way!:)

Enjoy! Let me know what you think/if you changed the recipe at all. 

What are some of your favorite treats to bake?!

Bordum

I'm the kinda person who likes to move 100 miles an hour and be involved in everything. So on the rare occasion that I get to sit still - I often find that I'm bored. Enter: Last night.

I had big plans for me and the hubby to finally go to dinner together. He had, however, made other plans for this evening. So at first I'm sitting on my couch, watching HGTV (amazing) and switching between my Words with Friends app on my iPad and finally getting 3 starts on all my Angry Bird levels.

After about an hour of this - I'm done. I mean D.O.N.E. I'm bored out of my mind. And since I'm not living in the city at the moment while our new house is under construction, I can't just walk out my door and go to 15 amazing stores to kill time.

I walked outside the front door to see how it felt and maybe go for a walk but - hell no. It was 101 degrees with a heat index of 110. No thanks. And the sun wasn't even up anymore. It felt like a big still wool blanket had covered the city.

What's a girl to do?

I got off my butt and instead kicked my butt! I tried a new ChaLEAN workout with the resistance bands around my ankles - HOLY MOTHER! It burned - I'm sore today, that's for sure.

Just 30 minutes but it made my night so much better and I certainly wasn't bored after it. Per the usual, she was right. Even when you don't want to work out you should. I felt so good about myself and my body afterwards.

Chalene Johnson - it's doubtful you'll even know this blog exists but THANK YOU! I love working out with you - some days more than others :). But you're a great inspiration and I would love an in-person workout one day. Thanks!

Pardon mwah

I've been MIA for 6 days... I know this... however, I'm back and have SO much to talk about!
I just walked off a plane 3.5 hours ago, unpacked, did laundry, and threw together dinner so needless to say I'm exhausted so I'll spill all the fun details of Mike and I's trip tomorrow!


Buttt I'll leave you with a little something something from our trip... guess where?

if you guessed "The Windy City" of Chicago you are RIGHT!:)  We had the best vacation and I have so many things to share.... tomorrow:)

Night!

K

Marathon Training Week #1

As my sister posted before me this was week #1 for training for the Marathon. It's been an easy week... in miles, can't say the same for the heat. It has been between 100-105 degrees with heat index so running outside (the one day I did) was BRUTAL. So I've moved my training indoors for the time being so I don't pass out. I've also realized how I have NO energy first thing in the morning, which is when I've been running. I don't want to eat anything before I run because I don't want to cramp but I need to do something to get some energy to help me get through the runs. Running later in the day I'm fine because I've had all day to fuel up. Suggestions?  Lucky for me I have my trusty yellow ipod (thanks Mike!) to get me motivated, she really pumps me up! ---->

Isn't she a beauty? Yellow is my favorite color because it's so cheery and happy! Mike got this for me a few years ago and she has really helped me get through some tough runs!

These are my running shoes that I love! They are Asics T054N GT. These are way over their mileage so tomorrow I'm going to go to the running to store to get a new pair! Whoop!

And this my friends is my oh-so-helpful Garmin GPS watch. It tracks my pace, time, distance, calories, elevation, you name it! Without this sucker I'd be lost on how far I've run and probably lying about my actual distance. No lying here! LOVE this thing!

Now that I've got everything I need... well, almost everything. I'm still deciding on a camel back or a water belt for my runs... more on that later. Cheers to training!
The official training schedule has me doing the following:

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: rest
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: Cross Train

However, Mike and I are going on vacation from Saturday through Wednesday to CHICAGO so I had to alter the training days slightly. This is what I actually did:

Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: rest (long day at work!)
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: rest/ walk around Chicago :)
Sunday: cross train or run 3 miles

Next week it's the same schedule but my long run will be 7 miles which I'll be back to do!
It was a good week of training, minus the discouragement from the heat and lack of energy but I know it's mind over matter! I'm nervous about the 6 miles tomorrow because it's been quite awhile since I've run that far and while this week was OK training I remember training being more fun... I hope it's just the heat getting me down! So wish me luck!

Half Marathon Training - 3 days in

It's been a great week! Let's recap, shall we:

First off - I've been 1 month scale free! Liberating. Seriously.

I saw this online and thought "so true!"

As you know, I had a less than up lifting doctor visit about a month ago now. In this visit, he told me, as he has for several years now, that I'm 10 pounds over weight. I went in to a deep dark hole after this visit and didn't know what to do with the feedback. I was being defined and defining myself and my health on a number. I had had enough. My day would be made or destroyed based on what happened when I stepped on the scale. It prevented me from seeing that I'm beautiful. So I threw it out.

Now rather than working out to make the scale go down, I work out because it makes me feel good for the day and because it helps me reach my goal of a half marathon. Same goes for food - now I find myself picking my meals based on what my body wants rather than trying to deprive myself. I'm finding that I'm actually making better choices for me.
-----
Back to my training -
Monday: Strength Training - so I popped in my ChaLEAN Extreme Push 1 DVD and had a great work out.
Tuesday: I got up at 6am and ran 3 miles. I love new gadgets and outfits so I decided to run my first training day all decked out:

This is my new skirt but in black. I LOVE it.

My fancy schmancy watch. It tells me how far I've run, how fast, incline, calories...everything.

I'm ADD when it comes to working out and especially running so the watch for me keeps me going. 

Wednesday: Rest (or rather...I didn't manage to get out of bed in time....)

Thursday: Run + Cross train - 25 minutes of Turbo Fire with my girl Chalene and then a 1 mile run. It wasn't supposed to be a running day for me but it was JUST SO NICE OUTSIDE that I couldn't help it. 

Saturday is my first Seal Team Training morning - wish me luck!

Half Marathon Training! And we're off....

This thing is TAKING OFF! I think people really want to do something like this (this meaning, a large goal that seems unattainable) but want other people they know to do it with them. Ken has 2 girls friends that racing - the half I think. Ally and possibly Hils will also be joining in on the fun. SR and NP are even thinking about it.

It's all about 1 mile at a time. That's it. If you break down a huge goal in to small pieces it seems more manageable.

So as my husband will tell you - I tend to sign up for this stuff without training. I have great intentions to train but it never really works out. 3 10Ks down and 2 tri's and I've yet to really grasp the prep concept. However, I wasn't built for a half marathon. As my former employee would tell you, I was built (or at least my hips were) for bearing children. Lovely. Anyway...I don't think I can get away with this same casual, anti-train mentality for 13.1 miles. So my lovely lil sis sent me my training schedule. Behold:

It can be found here:
http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm

According to the schedule, I don't need to start until August 20th but this schedule also has me running at most 10 miles. I'm going to start now and then also sign up for the actual Richmond training team to help with the motivation.

So this morning, I got out of bed (Which was a miracle in and of itself) at 6am and got ready for my work out out. I did Chalene Extreme: Push 1. Tomorrow I will run 3 miles.  Thank goodness I bought some super cute new outfits to make this more fun!

They suggest that you sign up for smaller races leading up to the big one. So I'm currently on the hunt for a 5k and 10k or two in either Richmond or DC.

And off we go....

Encouragement in all the right places

I'm going to jump right in: the other day, I got a text message out of the blue from my Aunt B: I just wanted to tell you how much I like your blog you're such an inspiration.


Talk about awesome family. And it came at just the right time - just when I needed a little nudge. So - Aunt B - THANK YOU! I so appreciate it.

And to everyone else (all 3 of you) remember that passing on some love to someone you know really helps. Let someone know that you've been thinking about them or that what they are doing in life or in the moment is really inspiring to you. Even if you think they already know - it never hurts to lift people up a little.

My favorite breakfast

I've been reading this awesome blog Clean Eating  and got the idea to post about what I eat for breakfast, after drooling at what she eats for breakfast on the reg.
I used to be addicted to oatmeal... Maple Brown Sugar... YUM-O. But right now I'm addicted to all things Chobani Greek Yogurt.



This was taking directly from their site... pretty much sums it up...

Perfect for enjoying with fruit, granola or your favorite mix ins, our Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt will have you savoring its rich, tangy taste.
Available in 6, 16 and 32 oz cups.


Here are a few of their other delicious flavors:

I haven't tried all of them but I can vouch for the Plain, Lemon, and Pomegranate. I prefer the Plain Non-Fat because I can dress it up anyway I want. Usually I put frozen fruit in it (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and I can't leave out Mango. Then I'll add Puffin Cereal which is GF to add some crunch and right now I'm really hooked on adding honey for some sweet, sticky yumminess!

I choose frozen fruit because it takes longer to finish so I can enjoy my breakfast longer and it gives it more substance.

I just recently found Puffins because a friend at work started eating them. Soon after I realized they were GF I was hooked! They have different flavors such as (multigrain, original, peanut butter, etc.) I choose the Honey Rice because they are gluten free and absolutely delicious with a hint of honey... which if you can't tell I have a thing for currently.




And then my favorite part... drizzling honey on the top. It gets sticky and hard, kind of like when you put Hershey's Chocolate Hard Shell on your ice cream. DELICIOUS! Sometimes I drizzle the honey on top of each layer so every bite gets a little love!

I had ALL intentions of taking a picture of what MY bowl looked like this morning. Actually I've had this idea for 2 weeks now and can't get the camera ready quick enough. Before I know it, it's all gone! However, I promise that I'll take a picture next time I make it (aka tomorrow morning) and post it because it really is a beautiful site and even better to eat! Here are some pictures I found that can give you a mental picture of what it all looks like when you put it all together... and experiment with toppings!

 Don't they look like healthier ice cream sundae's? (insert imagination)

It fills me up without making me feel sluggish in the morning, which some breakfasts can do! Check out the nutrition facts for the Plain Non-Fat (the other flavors are slightly different because the fruit is already in the cup but you can check them out here: Chobani Nutrition Facts

The plain 6 0z. cup has 100 calories, 18 g. of protein, 0 g. of fat (trans and sat.), 7 g. of sugar, 7 total g. of carbs, and the list goes on and on with all of its health benefits!

Some people can't get used to the taste and texture of Greek yogurt. At first I thought it taste and had the texture of sour cream, and honestly it does. However, after I started experimenting with toppings all of those feelings went away! It is a thicker yogurt but it's the healthiest kind out there... and may I add... OH-SO-YUMMY! Before you say "I'm not trying it if it taste and has texture like sour cream!" just try it! Play around with the toppings and be creative with it. I kind of imagine it to be a big ice cream sundae... minus the fat and calories!

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

xoxo,
K

What's your favorite breakfast choices?

Final Decision...

I'm officially signing up for the Richmond FULL Marathon. Yes, it's been on my blog that I'm going to do it for a few weeks but in my head I was thinking "I can always erase it and no one will ever know". Well. I started training today and I'm going to do it! (Worst case I can switch to the 1/2 Marathon the day before the race for $10). But my goal is to train and run/finish the FULL Marathon!

Here goes nothing!