Hello everyone! It’s Wednesday so you know what that means…
If you missed any of my last few posts, check them out here: Weekend WIAW (3 Recipes), Sunshine in My Fridays, and Holiday Hustle: Thanksgiving Workout.
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As always, thanks to the lovely Jenn from Peas and Crayons for hosting this awesome party. Seriously, I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have this to look forward to every week!
Today’s WIAW will again feature some of things that I made over the weekend, as well as my some thoughts.
To start off… A new recipe!
As a food allergy gal, I seriously miss my daily serving of bread. I used to eat this one kind of lite whole wheat bread multiple times a day. Toast with peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled chicken sandwiches… heck I even topped my bread with Greek yogurt on occasion! Mostly though, I miss the convenience of bread, and the delicious sandwiches that it made.
So, when I saw this recipe over at The Brain and Body for a microwave English muffin, I knew that I had to give making sandwich bread a try. Now, my recipe looks absolutely nothing like Sarah’s, but it was the inspiration that I give her credit for. Okay, are you ready?
Microwave Sandwich Bread
High fiber, Gluten-free, vegan, high protein, sugar free, low sodium, corn-free
Ingredients:
- 1 scoop brown rice protein powder (16 grams)*
- 1 tbsp brown rice flour (8 grams)*
- 1/2 tsp baking powder (sodium and corn-free)
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree (60 grams)*
- 2 tbsp water (more or less if needed)
- add salt or seasonings if desired
Directions:
1. Mix together all of the ingredients and spread the mixture out in a cereal bowl. Cook for 2 minutes. If moist on bottom flip over and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
2. Let cool slightly then slice carefully with a thin, sharp knife.
3. Fill with meat, veggies, tofu, nut butters, jams, etc. and enjoy!
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*Substitution notes: The protein powder and rice could be replaced with any flours desired and should yield good results (just make sure to use equivalent amount in weight). I cannot make any guarantees though because I haven’t tried any variations. The pumpkin puree could also probably be subbed with another squash puree, banana puree (for a sweet bread), or an equivalent amount in egg.
I filled my sandwich with chicken and lettuce. It was so good! I hadn’t realized how much I had missed my sandwiches…
Oh, and what’s that in the picture?
No, not the sandwich!
Why, it’s butternut squash!
But it’s not just any butter nut squash. It’s…
Microwave Butternut Squash!
That’s right, I have now done it again. First I made acorn squash in the microwave, and now butternut. My life is almost complete.
How to Cook Butternut Squash in the Microwave
Inspired by my microwave Acorn Squash
Ingredients:
- 1 ripe butternut squash
- 1 plate
- 1 sharp knife (I actually used a butter knife and it worked!)
- 1 spoon
- 1 microwave
Directions:
1. Cut the squash in half.
2. Scoop out the seeds and place both halves on a plate.
3. Microwave the squash for 10-15 minutes and check it with a fork. Microwave for a few more minutes until soft, tender and done.
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After seeing Jenn’s butternut squash fry recipe on her last WIAW, I decided that it was a must-have for my Friday Food Finds. However, time was not on my side, so instead I decided that microwaving it would just have to do for now.
I also attempted to make some mini cookie dough cakes featuring rice flour, applesauce, and apple chunks. Basically I just mixed together those ingredients with some stevia and baking powder, and Wah-La!
They turned out alright, but not exactly what I wanted. Before I post a recipe I am going to keep on experimenting!
So, that’s 3 out of 4 recipes complete for my FFF. I’d call that a MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Now for some randomness from my weekend:
My mom and I made some Candy Corn Popcorn from a recipe on Fitnessista.
Basically you just melt some butter, candy corn, sugar, salt and vanilla together all in a pot on the stove. Then pour it over some freshly popped (plain) popcorn.
Let cool. Then EAT UP!
My mom said it was delicious. I mean, how could it NOT taste good?!
For those of you with allergies, this is not an allergy-free recipe, which is why I did not post it with the others. I’m sure that there are some ways to modify this if you are allergic to a few of the ingredients. Either way, it’s a really cute concept!
Random side bar:
I actually put away all of my things when I cam back to my dorm this weekend!
Last week I left a lot of my stuff still packed and lying around. Not this week though- I was proactive!
Look! I even got serious:
HAIR-IN-BUN = GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS.
Let’s see. What other randomness do I have to share with you all today?
How about the back of a Cheez-It box?
If that’s not random, I don’t know what is!
Alright. Not so random is the workout that I posted yesterday on Eating 4 Balance. It’s called Holiday Hustle: Thanksgiving Workout.
It’s fun, it’s fast, and it’s super easy to adapt to whatever fitness requirements you may have. I did 30 second intervals yesterday, and today I increased them up to 40 seconds. To keep time I used this handy little Tabata tool I found through a Yahoo! search.
And yes, I prefer Yahoo! over Google. Don’t judge.
Anyways, this workout is great at increasing your heart rate and working up a sweat in a small amount of time. And as a bonus it includes a plank, perfect for Carrots N’ Cake’s 4 Week Plank Challenge.
Here are the details copied straight from her site:
The Plank Challenge is actually really simple. It will take place for a total of 4 weeks (October 22 – November 16) and will only require 10 minutes or less of your time on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week. Monday and Friday will be time trial days when you hold a plank, time yourself, and record it. On Wednesdays, I’ll (Carrots N’ Cake ) post a plank/core workout (10 minutes or less) on CNC to help you build up your strength and stamina. Basically, the weeks will look like this:
- Monday: Time trial
- Wednesday: Plank/core workout
- Friday: Time trial – try to beat Monday’s plank time!
Who’s with me? I did a 30 second plank yesterday, and a 40 second plank today as part of my Holiday Hustle. I’m sure that I could go longer, but for now I’m happy with small doses.
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Boy do I have a lot of questions for you all today!
What is your favorite thing to make in the microwave? Ever tried cooking squash?
What is your favorite type of Cheez-Its? Mine used to be Sour Cream and Onion, Mozzarella, or the Four Cheese.
Have you tried out my Holiday Hustle workout yet? It’s a perfect way to get into the Thanksgiving spirit!
Are you going to join me in Carrots N’ Cake’s 4 Week Plank Challenge?
Eating 4 Balance 