banana nut muffins

i had a few in the process of going bad bananas so i thought i'd make some muffins. found a recipe online that had coffee in it: so good. these are my new favorite!

3 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup butter (vegan earth balance)
3/4 cup sugar (florida crystals, organic & raw)
1 egg (or the equivalency of one egg replacer)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tbsp coffee
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour (whole wheat)
1 cup chopped walnuts (raw)

mix bananas and sugar
then add butter, egg, vanilla, coffee, salt, baking soda & mix
add flour, mix
add walnuts, mix

put in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes! perfect muffins! (i think the secret ingredient is the coffee, gives it an extra zing!)

nut butter bliss

i am obsessed with almond butter... i might actually have to have an english muffin with some of it right now... anyways, i am a big fan of two brands: justin's, and mara natha.

















however, i was in chamberlain's (my local health food store here) today, and mara natha just started making almond butter nutella! this is such exciting news! now i can enjoy a new flavor with my english muffin, fruit or veggies.

great vegetarian cookbook

if anyone is thinking about transitioning into vegetarianism, or just wants to eat a little bit healthier, i picked up this cookbook at williams sonoma a few weeks ago. it's got a lot of great, easy recipes (grilled portobello mushroom burgers, red pepper & goat cheese frittata, lentil salad with feta just to name a few). i highly recommend it!

red cabbage taco wraps

today i completed my duathlon! as a non-competitor (just wanted to finish) i actually placed 2nd in my age group! very exciting! i rode with my hybrid bike, but i found it definitely pays to get a road bike. even pedaling super fast, people double my age were flying by me. unfortunately, i don't have the funds for that right now - a good road bike on sale can cost over $700. the race did consist of me running through knee high water from the previous days torrential downpours. let me tell you - running with very heavy & wet sneakers is not all that fun, especially when it happens the first five minutes of the race (i still had a great time nonetheless). i also took a big digger in T2 (that's transition 2, for all of you people who have no idea what i'm talking about, don't worry, i didn't about two months ago). as i was coming off of my bike, with wet sneakers & wet pavement, i slipped & fell on my left knee. everyone got quiet & looked at me as if they had never seen someone fall before (pretty funny stuff). i had to get up & yell "i'm okay! don't worry!" subsequently, my left knee has been bothering me for about a month, but only after spinning class, so i haven't thought much of it until the past few hours when it started throbbing - there's also a pretty good gash there that was under my pants that i was not aware of until after i got home to take a shower. either way, i finished & i'm totally hooked. we had beautiful weather & i had SO much fun!


















that being said, afterwards i stopped for coffee, came home & went back out to the farmers market, also cleaned & vacuumed my car, did all my laundry & tidied up little bit. needless to say, when i went to go read a book out by the pool around 2:30, i couldn't keep my eyes open! had to nap.

i did, however, make a WONDERFUL dinner. i was in the mood for tacos, so i made these:










they are red cabbage taco wraps - i found the recipe on raw nation, & was inspired by it, but did my own variation.

head of red cabbage (i only used 2 leaves though)
avocado slices
organic/raw salsa (i used black bean)
fresh cilantro (chopped)
fresh green onion (chopped)
tomato slices
lettuce (chopped)
red onion (chopped)

to be honest i just chopped up a little bit of everything & threw it all in there. i suppose a couple of tablespoons of everything would be sufficient though. these are totally raw, but you could definitely make them & then add fake meat, cheese, etc. either way, they totally satiated the craving i was having!

go raw chocolate super cookies!

i might have mentioned these before(or this company) but everyone would love these cookies, raw foodist or not. they are sweet & totally satisfying. i highly recommend them! yum!

teeccino

i've been wanting to kick my caffeine habit for quite some time, but working at starbucks makes it a little difficult (although I did do it for about 8 months some years ago). anyways, i've been hearing the buzz (no pun intended) about teeccino, a non-coffee coffee.

Teeccino Caffeine-free Herbal Coffee is a delicious blend of herbs, grains, fruits and nuts (carob, dates, figs, almonds, and chicory) that are roasted and ground to brew and taste just like coffee.



Coffee lovers are attracted to Teeccino’s full-bodied, dark roasted flavor and its nutritious health benefits. Teeccino allows coffee drinkers to keep their cherished coffee ritual with all the enjoyment and satisfaction of a freshly brewed cup!






Teeccino offers a number of health benefits to help coffee drinkers achieve optimal health:

* Naturally caffeine-free - no processing, no chemical residues
* High in heart-healthy potassium
* Natural energy boost - from nutrients, not stimulants
* Alkaline - helps reduce acidity and restore alkaline balance
* A soluble fiber in chicory root, that helps improve digestion and elimination plus increases the absorption of calcium and minerals

so, tomorrow at work, i'm going to buy a nice french press & start doing half caffeine (ironically enough, i've always been horrible at making a good cup of coffee at home, whether that be with a perculator, or regular coffee pot, but the ratio of hot water to coffee in a french press is much easier). i will then slowly go no caffeine (hopefully). this seems to be a good solution to the problem of drinking coffee, even if i have limited myself to just one 12 ounce cup with a little bit of soy. definitely would recommend this to anyone also trying to kick it!

duathlon

i haven't been keeping up with any good recipes to share lately! with my monday night get togethers over (at least for the moment) i have some goat cheese & a lot of veggies in the refrigerator, but i've been out to eat almost every night for the past week with friends (gasp!) i'd never thought i would make as many as I have - & as many fabulous ones at that. (which is also sort of bad, because it's left me almost no time to do school work this week).

i've also been busy training for my first duathlon! it's on saturday & i'm really excited! (part of a triathlon series, i just had no time to practice swimming!) 5K run, 20K bike, 5K run!













i've also signed up with some friends from florida to run the ragner relay, which is in may, over my birthday weekend! it's a run from yale to harvard, with 12 people, each taking 3 legs of the race. we run for 24+ hours straight, with 2 or 3 different people driving us in a van. i'm so excited to have met so many amazing people while getting healthy & fit! i'm also signed up for an 8K in april & i want to do a 15K in a month or so in the tampa area. this stuff is so addicting!

hopefully next time i post it will be with a delicious recipe or fun update!