Gotta get in my walk!

It is looking very very HAZY this morning.  The fog has dropped down and I am sort of waiting for it to clear a little bit before I walk.  I have been having a little hard time motivating myself to get out in the morning early. I even opted out of a walk yesterday morning (gasp) and went to the gym for treadmill and bike.  I guess technically I still walked, but it was in AC!!!   HA!

I do enjoy my dawn extra strong coffee and computer session. It sets me up to have a good day!  However, it is going to be HOT today, so I need to get out soon.  So, if I move it along I can be out the door by oh, say 6:10 and back by about 7:30 or 7:45- in time to make our Sunday pancake breakfast, which I look forward to SO much!  Even if it is only one pancake, I LOVES it, with some Greek yogurt, fruit and real maple syrpal!!  :)

I will absolutely update this with a pic later!

I think I am going to go for about an hour and a half, that will do me well, as I think there will be canoeing tonight down the Flambeau.  One week from today I leave for Minnesota and the boundary waters.  I am a little nervous, but I am getting "stuff" in the mail and from UPS, so it is a hoot. This will be discussed at length this week I am sure.  My exercise plan is to do my weight lifting all early in the week, cardio until Friday, throw in abs class on Monday, Abs/glutes on Wednesday and I will be set to rest my muscles completely Saturday and Sunday to prepare for the canoeing on Monday morning bright and early.  That's the plan at least, I really should throw in stretching too!  Hmmm.  I guess I could get up at like 3 am and do that, nothing planned for mid-late night!

So, I better move it along!

Have a joyful Sunday!!!  muah!

Fruit Salad and Muffins!

I have been doing a little cooking and baking lately. I have been trying to make things that only involve a small amount of heat, however, considering the weather and all.

So, over at the Sunday Baker, my dear friend Tanya recently made berry muffins that were flourless.  Now, I have nothing against flour, really, bread type things are a serious weakness of mine!  But these sounded really good, especially considering it has so many wholesome, clean ingredients in them.  The other thing I made was a Quinoa Fruit Salad.  This is prime fruit season and I have recently been on a quinoa kick.  Quinoa is a grain that has a lot of protein in it, and it is different and blends well with a lot of flavors.  And the dressing of lime, honey and mint sounded so refreshing, had to try it out.

Ingredients include applesauce, maple syrup, fruit and oats.  I opted not to use the white chocolate chips that is in the original recipe

I used 2 whole eggs for the extra protein

MY FAVORITE breakfast item in the world!!!

Mix all ingredients except for the fruit

 I found a cool, easy way to skin a single peach or two.  MICROWAVE 3 cups of water until it is boiling, about 4 minutes.  Drop the peach into the water and leave it in there for about 3 minutes.  Remove from water and slip the skin.  I found when I did the second one that you need to reheat the water to boiling again.  2 peaches makes about 1 cup.

Slip the skins form the peaches

Divide the batter into the 12 muffin cups

Bake until golden

Peach Oat Muffins

This recipe has oats, applesauce, yogurt and maple syrup as the main ingredients.  You can change the flavor of the muffins by changing the yogurt and fruit!!  Tanya's muffins --HERE-- are berry, I had peaches and peach yogurt so that was an easy decision!

2-1/2 c. quick or old fashioned oats

1 (6 oz.) container Chobani (or other brand) Greek Yogurt

1/2 c. pure maple syrup

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

1-1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1 c. chopped peaches (or other fruit)

  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a food processor, add all of the ingredients except for the peaches (berries). Pulse until it becomes a thick, malt-like batter. Pour into a mixing bowl.  You can also mix the whole thing in a mix master.

2. Stir in the fruit, reserving a small amount to add to the tops for a pretty touch, if desired. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling almost to the top.

3. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a soft golden color. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to cooling racks. 

I put these in the refrigerator overnight and they are YUMMO cold with a glass of almond milk for breakfast....

Quinoa Fruit Salad

This fruit salad was originally posted at one of the blogs I follow, called Two Peas and their Pod.  They have some really great food on here, worth a look to see!  I pinned it on Pinterest recently, and there was a lot of people interested in how it turned out.  It was really tasty. 

The dressing for this salad is simple, honey, lime and mint.  SO good, so refreshing.  I used agave syrup as I had no honey- weird but true.  Agave syrup is great too!  It is after all the made from the same  plant as my buddy 1800

Red quinoa- simple to make in the microwave

Dressing with mint and lime

Fresh Fruit-I used peaches strawberries and blueberries

Fruit with quinoa underneath

Lovely with a little mint garnish

 Quinoa and Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

1 cup of red Quinoa- cooked according to box directions.  Rinse several times first.  Will make 2 - 3 cups of the grain, cooked.

Fresh fruit of your choice- about 3 cups total.  Can add more.

Honey-lime-mint dressing:

3 Tablespoons honey (I used agave syrup)

1 lime, squeezed

2 Tablespoons fresh mint

Stir together dressing ingredients.  Add fruit to quinoa and dress the salad.  Tastes wonderful right away or the next day when the flavors blend a little.  You could halve the recipe for a small family.

2 more great ideas for a vegetarian way of eating- or not!  

2 more joyful things to make!!