Vegan Strawberry Waffles

February 10, 2013

“That’s when I heard part of the secret. What we eat is a matter of life and death. Food is who we are.” – words of wisdom by Scott Jurek

Along with doing Jamie Eason’s, Livefit trainer, I am currently reading Eat and Run, by Scott Jurek. I have to get my run fix in somehow, and because Phase 1 of livefit bands running, I decide to read about ultrarunning.

Eat and Run, is about Scott Jurek’s life as a ultramarathon runner and his transition of becoming a vegan. This book is perfect for me because I too am a runner, who eats mostly a plant based diet. I am always challenging myself to cook as many vegan dishes as possible, and this book is full of amazing recipes.

I plan on trying every recipe in this book, and so far I have tried the Vegan Chili, and the Apple Cinnamon Granola. What I love most about his recipes is how full and satisfied you feel after eating them. When people think of vegan meals, most of the time they think it will be a light meal, lacking protein – but that doesn’t have to be the case. Scott Jurek doesn’t just proof that, but he out does himself with each new recipe I try.

Today, I attended my friend’s baby shower, which in our world, is translated into a vegan brunch. So I woke up early to prepare the food I was bringing. Normally I don’t plan ahead, but because others would be eating my food, I decided to test it first. So earlier this past week I whipped up a batch of Scott Jurek’s Vegan Strawberry Pancakes.

“Then one Sunday morning, after a 20 mile run… I served them my first batch of banana-strawberry vegan pancakes. They were golden brown and sweet dense, and hearty. The fruit flavors met on my tongue, then tangled together in a way fruit flavors had never done before. That is when I decided I could live without butter and eggs. ” – Scott Jurek

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour (I didn’t have this one, so I just omitted it and added extra oat flour.)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oat flour. (I used a 1/2 a cup of oat flour to make up for the buckwheat flour I didn’t have.)
1/4 cup millet flour
1/4 cup rye flour
1/4 cup barley flour
1/4 cup corn meal (You can use either yellow corn or blue.)
1/4 ground flax seed or chai seed (I used flax seeds and ground them up in food processor.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 cups of rice milk
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
strawberries and bananas (I used fresh strawberries not bananas, but you can do any fruit you would like or add nuts.)
wheat germ (I added this, for additional nutrition.)
maple syrup for topping

DIRECTIONS

Combine flours, baking powder, salt, wheat germ, and ground seeds in a large mixing bowl.
Add rice milk, olive oil, agave nectar, and vanilla. Mix well.
Grease a skillet with coconut oil and heat for 3-5 minutes.
Pour 1/2 -3/4 cup of bater onto the skillet for each pancake.
Cook until golden brown and then flip.
Top with strawberry or maple syrup or both. I made strawberry topping by throwing a bunch of strawberries in a food processor.

I was beyond impressed with this batter, however for the baby shower, aka, the vegan brunch, I used the same batter recipe, but made waffles instead. The reason I went for the waffle over the pancake is simply because it looks prettier. I guess it is my artist side coming out, but no matter what I make or create it has to be visually beautiful. And although, Scott Jurek made pancakes, my pancakes always look sloppy, while my waffles always look perfect.

At the brunch everyone loved the waffles.

As for a brunch beverage, I juiced a bunch of minneolas. Minneolas is a fruit that is part of the citrus family. It is a mix between a grapefruit and tangerine. They are very juicy, so they make for a good fruit to juice. I bought them fresh and organic from MOM’s organic market. One of the employes there let me sample one, to make sure it was sweet and not sour. They ended up being very sweet and made a wonderful juice.

Both the batter and the juice are two recipes that you have to try.

Questions for You?

What is your favorite fruit juice?
Do you like pancakes or waffles better?

SweetGreen Obsessed

January 31, 2013

I want to share with you my new obsession…

sweetgreen…

Finally, there is a restaurant that has food which is convenient and fast, but also raw and organic. sweetgreen is this place. This company sources ingredients, that are fresh and organic, which comes from local farmers.

Their menu consists of a wide variety of organic raw vegetables- arugula, spinach, kale, beets, avocado are to name a few. They also have some plant based proteins, all organic – black beans, chickpeas, lentils, tofu. They have an array of organic grains to choose from, spicy quinoa, and soba noodles. They have a variety of nuts, cheeses, dried fruit, and meats. If you don’t want to make your own combination, choose from some of their signature salads, such as the Misoba. Bored of salad, you can make it, into a wrap.

sweetgreen also has a variety of cold pressed juices to choose from. Because they are simply made from only veggies and fruits, the sooner you drink it the better. By drinking it with in the day you by it, your body will absorb more of the health benefits. If you wait to long, you risk the growth of bacteria – that is how natural it is.

LOCATIONS

I am one lucky girl… sweetgreen is not a big chain. It is only located in DC, MD, VA, and PA. I feel so privileged to live in an area that has not just one sweetgreen but many. It has become a popular place, in the area, which makes me so happy. I am a DC native. And people in our area are becoming more health conscious, then ever before.

Are you curious how health conscious your city is? Check out this article that lists the top 10 healthiest cities. DC made number 4.

If you ever visit the DC area you must stop in to sweetgreen!

Do you have a place like sweetgreen in your area?

Running or Flying…Was it the Watermelon or just me?

July 21, 2012

This week I had some really amazing runs. Lets talk about today’s…

This morning I hit the Mount Vernon Trail. On average I run this trail a couple times a week, so I guess you can say I am a regular on it, or lets put it this way, normally if I am on a trail, I am on this one. The Mount Vernon Trail is my favorite because it runs along the Potomac so it has beautiful views of DC. It is also refreshing to run by the river. Another great thing about the trail is that it is surrounded by trees, so it has some shady areas, which is nice on hot summer days.

It totally relaxes me when I am surrounded by nature, and even though, the trail is a paved path, I sometimes feel like I am on a trail run, through the woods. When running on this trail keep your eyes open WIDE, you don’t want to miss the Wild Life.

The Mount Vernon Trail has many different entrances, and each entrance has a different vibe. Today I drove to the entrance south of Old Town. I parked at the Bell View parking lot and ran 2.60 miles south and then headed back.

Running 2.60 miles south is a mix of up hills and downs. It is mainly shady on the trail. In a couple places you have to run over wooden plank bridges that carry you over some swampy marshy areas. It ends in a residential area, with some gorgeous houses.

Today, my run was amazing. I ran a total of 5.11 miles in 41 minutes. That is super fast for me. I don’t know if my speed is because I have been running in my Newton running shoes since the end of April, and I am just getting faster. Or maybe it is because it has been 100 degrees the last couple weeks and today was a refreshing cool 79 degrees. Or maybe it was the Watermelon I ate for breakfast. Whatever, it may be, it felt cool, breezy, and I was running, but it felt like I was flying.

During this run I figured some things out…

If I am going to run some serious distance like 10 plus miles, I usually eat a bagel with peanut butter, because it is a good source of calories, fat, protein, and carbs.

But today my pre run meal was Watermelon. And this was a fabulous choice. I recently saw on Dr. Oz that watermelon is a super food. Why?

Because it cleans your arteries. Dr. Oz says swap your morning glass of water with watermelon juice, because it reduces body fat, lowers LDL cholesterol, cleaning heart -threatening plaque from arteries. I juice mine fresh with my Breville Juicer.
It drops blood pressure and boosts circulation. It is one of the few foods that has a powerhouse protein called citrulline. Citrulline produces powerful stuff called nitric oxide, that opens and relaxes arteries. It helps heal wounds and divide cells. It helps with blood flow enhancing circulation to all your vital parts. (just like Viagra does)
Watermelon is loaded with lycopene, which fends off heart disease and cancers (other than prostate.) Tomatoes are considered lycopene superstars, but watermelon has 40% more.
It makes you think faster.
It is low cal.
Another great tip: Always keep your whole watermelons out of the fridge. Watermelon stored at room temperature delivers more cell-protecting antioxidants. They continue to ripen and build antioxidants even after they are picked.
It is also made up of mostly water. So before my run I was pretty well hydrated. I literally had to pee 2 x before I hit the trail. I also sprinkled a little salt on my watermelon chunks before I ate them. I just like the taste, a little salt won’t hurt an athlete, its actually good for electrolyte balance.

Picking a Watermelon: A common question I have always asked is, How do you know which watermelon to pick? Well this is what I have discovered. When picking out a watermelon, always look for one that has a flat yellow side. This side is where the watermelon was sitting on the ground, and if your watermelon does not have this, then it was picked too early.

My boyfriend’s grandma once said, “The way to find out if your watermelon is sweet is to look for bug bite marks.” Every time I look for bug bite marks on my watermelon, it ends up being really sweet. I promise.

This morning I ate watermelon cut up in cubes with a little bit of sea salt sprinkled on top. Right now as I type this I am sipping on some fresh watermelon juice that I just juiced with my Breville juicer. I added a hint of mint fresh from my garden. Add cucumber for additional flavor.

Watermelon the Superfood! Great for pre run meal.

The Breville Juicer is amazing. Buy it and then try juicing watermelon.

Crush ice, pour juice, top it off with fresh mint.

Enough about watermelon… more about what I learned on my run…

While running I really got into my music. Music for me is a tool I use to enhance my running. Sometimes when I run I use my music as background sound, and when I am done I realize I am barely listening. Today I listened hard and found a rhythm. Sometimes it is really nice to get lost in a run, in your breath, in your music.

I also became one with my hills. That may not make since to you, but I’ll try to explain. Hills bring me variety, a total flat course makes me bored. Just as I use music as a tool, I use hills as a tool as well. I take them one at a time. Sometimes it hurts running up, but it feels amazing running down. Sometimes I feel slow running up, but boy can I fly running down. After a down hill I try to use that momentum on the next up hill. Some hate hills. I actually quite enjoy them. Some think a flat course is a fast course. I think the opposite.

I know I was a little all over the place in this post, but I had a lot on my mind. I hope you learned a little bit about watermelon, and juicing with the Breville juicer. I look forward to sharing more juicing tips and recipes.

I also hope I motivated you to run a little further, a little faster, a little harder. Today I ran an amazing 5.11 mile run in 41 minutes in my Newtons. This isn’t far for me by any means but it was super fast. It was cold today, 79 degrees, but should be even colder tomorrow. So take my advice: Get out there. Don’t hold back. And just run… run as fast as you can.