Recipe Box

This summer, I have been spending tons of time in my kitchen. With my new vitamix and my kitchen aid mixer, I have been cooking and baking up a storm.

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“Food is very important to me, and health is my top priority. I believe food is healing, physically, emotionally, and mentally.”

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One of my favorite type of magazines to read are food magazines. But unfortunately, I have become a food magazine hoarder – Scary and embarrassing. So, I will admit there are piles of Vegetarian Times and Veg News in every corner of my house.  These stacks have got to go…

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So I have come up with a couple solutions to organize my recipes…

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One major thing I have done is clean up my pinterest profile. I will now have pinboards for each major meal. This will help you guys, my readers find my favorite recipes quickly. So make sure you follow me on pinterest!

Recipe Page 

I also now have a recipe page on this blog. This page will be organized in a similar way. It will be simple and easy for you, my readers. I will have it organized in sections by meal. Then I will have the name of the recipe listed with a link connect to the blog post. Each recipe will also be labled V for vegan/vegetarian, GF for gluten free, P for paleo.

Recipe Box

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At home, to get rid of the magazine stack I now have a recipe box. I have wanted one of these for a long time now, but they are actually really hard to find. With the internet being my generations main source for recipes, the recipe box, has become an old fashion technique to store and organize recipe ideas.  However, it is something my mom and grandma always had.

I like this idea because I will now be able to hand write my favorite recipes on index cards to store in the box, which I later will always have on hand. I also will be able to share recipes easier with friends, when I entertain.  And the ultimate best thing about this box is that I can clip my favorite recipe from the magazines and store these magazine recipes in the box eliminating my magazine stack.

e83ee7b181f01d67789b0d3c35a6da7eSo thats my plan for my recipes… That way I can cook the best I can and eat the best I can.

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How do you keep your recipes organized? Where do you find your favorite recipes?

© 2014 sweat1xdaily

 

Summer Running… Why I may defer my MCM bib.

I can’t believe how fast this summer has been flying by. Honestly, it has been really busy and I can’t believe this summer girl is saying this… But I am ready for summer to end. Normally, I love summer, but because my wedding was at the end of June, my first month of summer was consumed completely with planning our big day. I definitely had a love/hate relationship with the planning process.

I loved everything about my wedding, but because of my wedding, I took off 9 days of work, which has made it swamped for me once I got back. So I am ready for things to slow down, and for the crisp air to make an appearance.

I know I haven’t blogged much this summer. And most of my blog posts have been about my wedding. It has seemed like I have been pretty obsessed. But, in all honesty, I have been. Every bride-to-be or newly wed is… It only happens once so might as well be.

Anyway, I haven’t had much free time this summer. In the small amount of free time I have been squeezing in runs, cooking up a storm, knitting, reading, and trying to do some design changes to my home.

This summer has not been too hot. In fact, I’m considering this summer straight up cold. Being from the DC area, I am use to sweltering record breaking, code red days. But this summer has actually been perfect running weather. Most runners have been in heaven. That is why it disappoints me that I have no desire what so ever to run far. Instead, I have been enjoying faster shorter runs. Unfortunately, I also have been having some minor health issues, that I have seen the doctor about. Because of this, I may defer my bib for MCM until next year. I have until August 31st to decide.

This isn’t the first time this has happened to me. A couple years ago, when training for the  Chicago Marathon I had some digestive track issues which left me unable to fuel my body for long runs. When it comes to running and training, I do it to be healthy and have fun, not to injure myself. Plus, I have run MCM 3 times before, I have already proved to myself that I can finish the 26.2 distance. With that being said, if I can’t train to PR, and my training isn’t at the intensity level I want it to be at, then it is best to defer until next year when I can really train at the best of my ability. In other words, I don’t half ass my training, and I definitely do not run a race I don’t train for. The training is part of racing, and it is one of my favorite parts.

So the year before last I felt the same thing about long runs. I was tired of running slow and far. So I decided to switch it up and sign up for half marathons and 10 milers. I switched to a natural barefoot running shoe, (out of being bored) and focused on running form. I worked on speed, cadence, and started lifting weights. I became a faster, stronger runner. This change made me happy. And being able to change… is also the reason I love running. If you are bored switch up your shoe. If you are tired of running slow and far, start running shorter and faster. If you are tired of city running, hit the trails. This sport has something for any runner’s mood, for whichever type of runner you choose to be. And it is perfectly okay to be a marathon runner one year and a half marathon runner, or ultra marathoner the next year. Switch it up, keep things exciting.

If any of you have been reading my blog over the years, you would know last year, was quite the opposite. I was pretty excited, and ready to really consume myself with marathon training. I looked forward to longer runs, and higher mileage weeks. I was sooo obsessed about my marathon training that I annoyed a few people with my daily  facebook and instagram running posts.

Anyway, one thing I want to make clear, is that I love MCM. This race is my absolute favorite! And I’ll be involved in it in some way, whether that means running it or showing love and support.

A lot of people are running now. My coworker just started training for her first half marathon (Go Katie). My other coworker is running as well.  My running buddy is doing her first full marathon (MCM.) Seems like everyone is running and racing. And although, training for a race and then racing it, is my favorite thing to do, I don’t feel the need to run every race in the area.

Racing all the time can be fun, but it also is expensive and time consuming. Trust me I know, last April I ran two 10 milers and 1 half marathon. It was fun, but it was expensive. But, once April had ended I was happy to sleep in. I will admit I definitely got tired of waking up early and trying to get to a race, then rushing into work right after.

This fall I only signed up for MCM. When I train for a marathon, I am very disciplined. I run long runs when I am scheduled to, I taper when I am scheduled to. Because of this, when I run MCM, I don’t normally sign up for any other races, unless it lines up with my training plan. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that signing up for a race and running it, doesn’t make you any more of a runner than someone who is still running daily to stay in shape and have fun.

And at the end of the day, even elite runners and professional athletes sometimes need to pull out of a race… 

So with that being said, I’ll keep you updated on what I decide about MCM.

If I decide NOT to run MCM….

there is always next year! There are always other marathons to run… Trust me I have plans… Plus, I have some other fun exciting things I will be doing to get my running fix…

But in the mean time enjoy some of these summer running photos below…

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That’s it for now… Hope you are enjoying your summer.

Do you have a race this fall? Who is training for a marathon?

© 2014 sweatdaily

Change is good!

September is right around the corner. I can’t even express how excited I am. I love fall, it is my favorite. I don’t know the technical first day of fall, but in my book, once September begins, fall begins. So with the start of September and the start of fall, I’m going to change a couple things on this blog.

I’m a hair stylist. It is my job to transform, make over people all the time. However, for some reason I have not changed the look of this blog since it was born. With that being said, this little blog of mine needs a fresh new look. So these last couple days in August I am going to be working hard on this much needed transformation.

If you are one of my dedicated readers, you may know that the main focus of this blog has been about running. This focus will NOT change. So don’t worry I still am running and will be covering my training, reviews on running gear, and I will never neglect writing posts about my race experiences. However, I have much more to offer. Although, running is my passion, I have other passions as well, so along with writing running posts there will be a variety of other posts, such as, more recipes and nutritional posts.

Summer has been overwhelmingly busy, so I haven’t had much time to blog. Honestly, I also have been bored with writing posts on this blog. I’ve come to the conclusion that if I have been bored writing then you must be bored reading. So my idea is to transform this fitness blog into a healthy lifestyle blog. This healthy lifestyle blog will cover the same fitness posts as before, but I will be adding other type of healthy lifestyle posts as well, including recipes, and a little hair/beauty and fashion/design/art posts. I’m really excited for these changes and can’t wait to get started!

I hope you all enjoy the changes!!!

Help me out…
What do you want to see on this blog!?

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Cinnamon Rolls – A Recipe

Lately, I have been cooking and baking a ton. I love using my Kitchen Aid Mixer and my Vitamix. I tend to make more baked goods (sometimes not so healthy) with my Kitchen Aid Mixer. However, when it comes to my Vitamix it is all very healthy eats.

So the other day, I pulled out my Kitchen Aid Mixer… After I was done playing… I posted this photo on Facebook and Instagram…

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It got a lot of attention. A couple different people asked about posting the recipe… so here it is.

These cinnamon rolls are from the cook book, Cook’s Baking Book. They are quick because they do not contain yeast. Yeast is an ingredient that makes your pastry fluffy, however it takes time for yeast to rise. These cinnamon rolls are also egg free. Buttermilk is used in place of eggs and yeast.

To make it easy to understand, I’m going to break this recipe down in three different parts, dough, filling, icing.

Dough Ingredients:
2.5 cups of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Now let’s make the dough…

Whisk all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in bowl. Whisk all wet ingredients (buttermilk and 2 tablespoons melted butter) in other bowl. Mix wet ingredients with dry (use a mixer or wooden spoon if you don’t have a mixer.) Transfer dough to a floured service and knead until smooth.

Filling Ingredients
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of ground clove
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of melted butter

Now let’s make the filling…

Combine all ingredients and stir with fork or hands until a sand consistency.

Assemble the cinnamon rolls and bake…

Pat dough flat into a 9×12 rectangle. Brush melted butter on and lay filling on top of melted layer.

Roll dough long ways so it becomes a narrow cylinder with cinnamon filling in center. Pinch seam to seal in filling.

Cut cylinder in to 8 pieces (cinnamon rolls.)

Arrange in pan. I used an 8×8 square pan and buttered the bottom and sides so it became non stick.

Butter the top of rolls with melted butter. Place on the middle rack in an oven preheated to 425 F.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Icing Ingredients
2 tablespoons cream cheese
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 cup powder sugar.

Now let’s make the icing…

Combine cream cheese and buttermilk, stir until smooth. Add powder sugar slowly while stirring until smooth.

Top off the tools with icing…

Once the rolls have baked for 25 mins. and are golden brown, take out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Once cooled smother with icing.

Enjoy.

P.S. These cinnamon rolls are very fatty, lots of sugar and butter, but I promise you… You’ll love them and your whole house will smell sweet like cinnamon!