Gluten-Free a Borrowed Recipe

I have been following an old classmate’s blog. She is vegan, a dancer, a yogi and a runner, and she posts some pretty amazing recipes. 

Last week she posted a recipe for Strawberry Coconut Bread that looked absolutely divine!  Making it was on my weekend to-do list, but the beautiful weather, digging a garden and opening my mother’s swimming pool got in the way.  Baking, to me, is more of a rainy day activity, and yesterday turned out to be the perfect day to give this recipe a try!

Since I am gluten-free, I had to make one major modification: swap the organic whole wheat flour for organic gluten-free all-purpose flour.  Besides that, I did make a few additional modifications, experimenting with coconut oil and coconut sugar.  I also swapped the egg substitute for whole eggs. 

These muffins turned out better than I expected!  I sometimes get nervous altering the major ingredients in a recipe because you never know how the switch will affect the turn out.  Gluten-free all-purpose flour sometimes doesn’t react the same as regular flour, and I’m a newbie with coconut oil; I wasn’t sure if that swap would create an undesirable end product.  But, the end result was a light, bread-like muffin with a mild coconut flavor.  It is the perfect breakfast muffin.

If gluten-free isn’t your thing, hop on over to Holly’s blog, Finding Stillness in a Crazy World, for the original vegan recipe!  Tell her “Jackie sent you!”

 

Gluten-Free Strawberry Coconut Breakfast Muffins
Makes 16 muffins

1-1/2 cups organic gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 cup organic coconut sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh organic strawberries, diced
1/3 cup unsweetened organic shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl.  Add oil, eggs and mix on low-medium speed to incorporate the ingredients.  Fold strawberries and coconut into the batter by hand.

Divide batter between baking cups, filling 3/4 of the way full.  Top with additional shredded coconut. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Calories: 184.7
Fat: 11.1 g
   Saturated: 9.3 g
   Polysaturated: 0.3 g
   Monosaturated: 0.8 g
Cholesterol: 23.3 mg
Sodium: 121.2 mg
Potassium: 35.7 mg
Total Carbs: 21.0 g
   Fiber: 0.6 g
   Sugar: 12.3 g
Protein: 2.0 g

*Nutritional information provided by SparkRecipes.com recipe calculator.

New Take on Mexican Pizza

It's been a crazy week.  Between scraping the grass off of our future garden site and prepping for my friend's bridal shower, dinner has been on the fly, quick and simple.  Last night, however, it rained!  Glorious, glorious, wet, cooling rain.  Rain that washed away any guilt I may have felt for not going outside and working in the garden.  Soul cleansing rain.  Rain that created the opportunity to stay inside and play in the kitchen.

Now, I'm sure by now everyone has heard of cauliflower crust pizza, the new rage in guilt-free indulgence.  I'm a sucker for pizza and being gluten-free, this has been my go-to craving crusher.  I'm also a sucker for Mexican food.  Or maybe I'm just a sucker for cheese (no wonder I've had a hard time getting, and keeping, the weight off).  Any way you slice it (pun intended), I love food that's bad for me.

Anyhow, as I drove home from work yesterday contemplating my dinner options, it dawned on me.  Black bean crust Mexican pizza.  SAY WHAT?  If it can be done with cauliflower, it can be done with black beans.  And it can be.

So here ya go.  Give it a try the next time you're craving pizza and Mexican.  It won't disappoint.

 



Black Bean Mexican Pizza
Makes 4 servings

Crust
1 can black beans
1 clove garlic
1 egg white
1 tablespoon gluten-free all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, blend black beans, garlic, egg white, and flour until completely incorporated and smooth.  Prepare baking sheet with non-stick olive oil cooking spray.  Smooth black bean mixture out over the baking sheet with a silicone spatula.  Spray the top of the black bean mixture with cooking spray and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and top with 1 cup of organic salsa, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and your favorite veggies.  Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. 

I topped mine with 1/2 of a ripe avocado, 1/2 cup of spinach, 1/2 of a tomato, diced, and 2 tablespoons of sour cream.  The nutritional information for this combination is as follows:

Calories: 262.8
Fat: 10.7 g
   Saturated: 4.9 g
   Polysaturated: 0.8 g
   Monosaturated: 4.1 g
Cholesterol: 24.7 mg
Sodium: 499.8 mg
Potassium: 589.2 mg
Total Carbs: 24.8 g
   Fiber: 8.4 g
   Sugar: 0.1 g
Protein: 18.6 g

*Nutritional information provided by SparkRecipe.com recipe calculator.

My First Half Marathon

I did it.  Yesterday, the 5th of May (or Cinco de Mayo to those who need a reason to drink), I ran in the UPMC Health Plan Pittsburgh Half Marathon. 

 

Now, I have to share the back story of my participation in this event for anyone to really appreciate this accomplishment.  Back around February, I had great intentions of registering for this race.  I have done a 15k in the past, and I was just itching to do a half marathon.  This was going to be my year.  As I ran on the treadmill, thinking about registering as soon as I was done with my workout, my friend texted me and told me that the race was sold out.  He had been able to register for it, but now I was S-O-L.  Disappointed, I shrugged it off and moved on.

 

Fast forward to the first week in April.  I was browsing Facebook one afternoon when I saw a shared post from my friend Jessi's sister advertising a race bib for sale.  Immediately, I commented with, "I'll take it!"  It turned out that Jessi had registered for the race, but unfortunately suffered a case of Achilles tendonosis and couldn't run.  I felt bad because she had trained so hard, but I was also excited to get the opportunity to participate. 

 

I had been running pretty steady since January, but I hadn't really been training for anything in particular.  My high mileage days were six max and done on the treadmill.  I had four weeks to get ready.  And then I got bronchitis.  Scratch that, I had three weeks to get ready! 

 

I developed an intense three-week training schedule that included lunchtime runs around my office building, two 5k races, and some evening distance runs.  I was able to stay consistent with my lunchtime runs, but the evening runs didn't often happen.  I did manage to pull off 9.5 miles on the treadmill one Monday evening though.

 

Thursday, May 2, I was as ready as I was going to be.  I was done with my training and planned for two rest days before the event on Sunday.  I set my goal time at 2:45:00.  Pretty modest, but I didn't know how much of the race I'd have to walk.  I just wanted to finish.

 

The atmosphere in downtown Pittsburgh at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning was incredible!  Thousands of people gathered in the streets - marathoners, half marathoners and relay runners - stretching and getting amped up for the run.  "Boston Strong" bibs hung off the backs of many runners' shirts.  The energy was high, and my nerves were too!

 

I stood in Corral E, listening to the opening ceremony, the National Anthem and God Bless America.  And then the countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...the elite runners were off!  Tick, tock, tick, tock.  Twenty minutes later, Corral E made it's way to the starting line, and we were off!

 

The first six miles seemed to fly by.  I jogged at a comfortable pace and my body felt good.  I took in the sights: the Strip District, the bands that lined the streets, the spectators and their signs, the rivers.  It was a beautiful day for a run! 

 

Mile seven, mile eight.  Still doing okay.  Mile nine.  I need a boost.  Running through the South Side, heading for the marathon/half marathon split, I saw a familiar face in the crowd.  My friend Amy, along with her students, stood cheering the runners on.  Of course I had to run over and say "hi!"  And that was the boost that carried me over the Birmingham Bridge.

 

Mile 10.  Boulevard of the Allies.  I need a water station!  Mile 11.  Mile 12.  There's no sense in walking now.  I'm almost there!  I can see the finish line!  I'm behind the 2:15:00 pacer!  Mile 13.  RUN! 

 

And then I crossed the finish line.  2:37:22.  Holy shit I beat my goal!  I did it!  I ran 13.1 miles!  The feeling of accomplishment cannot even be described.  I was...proud.

 

My official finish time for the UPMC Health Plan Pittsburgh Half Marathon was 2:17:37.  My average pace was 10:30.  I crushed my goal. 

 

So, what's next on my running agenda?  Another half marathon?  You bet!  But not the Pittsburgh Half.  I'm shooting for the full next year!  And I will definitely give myself more than three weeks to train!