A Guest Post: Train Your Life

Hello Everyone! I have a special guest post for you today. You have probably heard me talk about my baking woes. Today’s guest poster is the person who saves me from burning cookies and baking flat cakes. Enjoy!

Hi, I am friend of Mom on the Run and one half of Train Your Life.  My name is Amanda and my boyfriend Josh and I recently started a blog to help others with eating well, exercise routines, and overall personal wellness. I will be sharing a recipe I discovered in Eating Well magazine. Please feel to visit us at Train Your Life.  We would welcome your comments!

Bacon, Egg and Asparagus Pizza

Adapted from Eating Well (April 2010)

Ingredients

1 pound prepared whole wheat pizza dough

2 strips turkey bacon

3/4 cup sliced white onion

1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces

4 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar

Preparation

Be sure to cut asparagus and onion prior to anything else, so they are ready when you are!

1. Preheat oven to 500°F. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray.

2.Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about the size of the baking sheet.

Transfer to the baking sheet. Bake until crisped on the bottom, about 8 minutes.

3.Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel.

Turkey bacon takes longer than regular bacon.  This is what it looks like when done.  If you prefer a crispy bacon, use the regular thing!

4.Add shallots to the pan and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add asparagus and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes more.

5.Spread the vegetables over the crust and crumble bacon on top. Whisk eggs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until combined; slowly pour over the vegetables, trying not to let any run off the crust. Sprinkle the pizza with cheese. Bake until the eggs are set and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

Before cooking.  If you want, you can use reduced fat cheddar.

The finished pizza.  Both Josh and I loved it! 

What do you love to eat for weekend breakfast??

—Amanda

A Busy Summer Mom on the Run

Hi Everyone!!

I thought I would have much more time to myself than originally thought when summer began. Boy was I wrong!! I give so much credit to the stay at home mom’s out there. For the last two weeks I have been a Mom taxi. We joined a very nice swim and tennis club (Glenbrook for all you local readers) so that the girls would have something fun to do for the summer. My vision was for us to have a relaxing summer by the pool……Reality swim team, swim practices, and swim meets…aka always on the go and at an early time in the morning. I really do not mind and it keeps the girls very busy and active. It just has not given me a lot of personal time for myself. I realized I needed to to carve some time out of the day to take time for me. Blogging is my escape and something that I truly enjoy. So I begin where I stopped. Enjoy!

One of my favorite fruits of the summer is fresh blueberries. When I can’t get fresh I tend to stock up on frozen for the winter. In an effort to clean out my freezer I decided to use up what ever I could and fast. I also had a wonderful sample of  Organic Granola from Brad over at Nuts are Good.

This granola hails from a great company that is host to a variety of dry bulk goods.  A little glimpse into their philosophy:

“Nuts are Good! has got the goods. We’re now making and carrying hundreds of natural and organic nuts, seeds, granolas, dried fruits, and candies. It’s like going down to the farmer’s market and walking into the biggest, freshest, healthiest, and tastiest stall in the market. It’s market day every day! Our motto: Everyone Deserves a Treat!

Nuts are Good! Inc. started in 1988 as Fresh Roasted Almond Company, a tiny retail roaster in the middle of a mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lifelong Metro Detroiters, we are two brothers, Jonny and Danny Levy, who love the produce business. Ever since we were kids we spent part of our weekend down at Detroit’s Eastern Market, walking, shopping, and out to see what’s new. There is just nothing like a fresh market experience, and we aim to bring you a bit of the excitement of an open air city market, packed full of fresh foods direct from the farmers, bakers, roasters, and importers.
We are known for roasting and flavoring almonds in cinnamon and vanilla, and we’ve grown to become the #1 wholesale roaster of cinnamon almonds in the USA. Over the years, we’ve roasted dozens of different nut and flavor combinations, from a maple pecan to a toffee sunflower seed. We built our business on new recipes and quality ingredients.”

Who doesn’t like a good for you treat, especially when you can incorporate it into baked goods.

As I looked through my cookbooks I found a recipe that incorporated both ingredients in The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. This recipe is a good for you comfort food that the whole family can enjoy.

For those of you who don’t know me, I hate to bake!!!!!  Cooking is my niche! This recipe was definitely my speed. A few ingredients and not a lot of prep work.

Blueberry Crumble

Recipe courtesy of The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook (Robert Kennedy Publishing, 2007).

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup natural organic sugar or organic honey
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 4 tbsp water
• 2-3 cups granola or muesli

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Place berries in a deep oven-proof baking dish or in individual baking dishes.

In a small bowl, mix water and arrowroot powder thoroughly.

Stir in the honey or sugar and pour over the blueberries.

Top with granola.

Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve right from the oven or at room temperature.

 

If this does not scream summer…….So good! The granola was a perfect match for this recipe.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size:

Amount Per Serving:

• Calories: 189
• Fat: 3 g
• Carbs: 41 g
• Fiber: 7 g
• Sugars: 19 g
• Protein: 5 g
• Sodium: 1.5 mg

This is one of many recipes I have ready to share. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Clean Eating: Stuffed Peppers

Thank you so much for the positive feedback about the pictures and recipes. I enjoy reading your comments, so keeping bringing them on.  I am almost on my 100th post!

I have tried so many great recipes this week and this one is probably my favorite. I am going to get right to this delicious recipe because I am so excited to share it.

Stuffed Peppers

Adapted from The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno pg. 220

Ingredients:

• Water
• Sea Salt
• 4 Large red bell peppers (you can use any color- I used a variety)
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice
• 1 tsp EVOO
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 cup butternut squash (I used sweet potatoes instead)
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup of frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 cup of fresh chopped cilantro
• Juice of fresh lime
• Fresh ground pepper
• Cooking Spray

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cooked brown rice in a bowl to let cool. Make sure there is a rack in the middle of the oven.

Bring large pot of  salted water to a boil. Place the peppers in the boiling water and cook briefly. The peppers need to be just a little soft. Remove the peppers from the water and them on a plate lined with paper towels, upside down so the water can drain out.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and sauté onion, carrot, and sweet potato. Cook for 10 minutes. covered.

Add garlic and cook a few minutes more. Now add tomatoes, beans, and corn. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add vegetable mixture to cooled, cooked brown rice. Season with cilantro, lime juice, sea salt, and black pepper. Mix with clean, bare hands until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside.

Prepare a small baking pan with a light coating of non-stick spray. Place each of the peppers right side up in the pan. Stuff each pepper with brown rice filling. Don’t pack the rice mixture too tightly. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

 

The verdict: These peppers are so flavorful and filling. I actually made extra for lunches this week.

I will leave you with a picture of my two kitties sharing some love.