FitFeat

Posts Tagged baked kale

You Found Me!

Oct 17

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking | 4 Comments

Happy Saturday blog buds! :)

If you are reading this post then some of the propagation changes have occurred or your subscription is working.  (woohooo! and thanks for finding me!) At our house, the blog change hasn’t hit our ISP provider server yet so I’m having to use a workaround to put out this post.

Who’d have thought moving a simple little blog/website from one WordPress platform to another would be such an involved process?  I won’t go into details because then a full-on venting session may ensue…  I guess I take a while to ‘embrace’ change.

I spent a good part of yesterday working on setting up a new theme so that FitFeat would have a neat new look for you when you got here today.  Being that I’m not someone versed in CSS or PHP coding, it was a slow process.  I did learn a lot and had the whole thing pretty much set up but there was one thing that I just could NOT customize and it drove me nuts.  So I ultimately decided to revert to the ‘theme’ that you are used to seeing.  Maybe in the near future when banging my head against a wall for a few hours won’t hurt so bad, I’ll give it another shot.  I’m going to set up a test environment first and play with it.

So all that said, this is of those days where yesterday morning feels like FOREVER ago!  Lots to catch you up on.

My Friday started out with my beloved energy elixir (aka java).  I think the selection of my “drama queen” mug may have set the karma for the day.  I certainly became one by the time 7:30 PM rolled around when I was hungry and ready to STOP being in front of the computer.  I may or may not have thrown a temper tantrum in poor MSP’s direction.   ;)

img 291

After my jolt of coffee, it was time to head downstairs to the gym for some upper body weight training.  Immediately following I had this pretty little pluot to put a smile on my face.  VIBRANT is all I can say about this little cutie:

img 292

Changed and ready to start the ‘workday’, it was time for my real breakfast, an EXTRA-green smoothie. Holy-tastes-like-grass-clippings Batman!  It was cucumber, avocado, sprouts, spinach, celery and only 1/4 of an apple (because I seriously sliced the rest and FORGOT to add it to the blender… didn’t notice till I went to put everything away and then took a sip of my smoothie!)  It tasted green, that’s for sure!  I did love the texture the avocado gave it, though.

img 294

I realized when I posted about having all those avos, I didn’t explain that normally I buy one or two at a time.  I happened to be at Costco last weekend and they had bags of 5 for a bargain.  So I bought a bag, and they all ripened together.  I didn’t want to waste any of them so I was frantically trying to find a way to use them all and not get sick of the flavor!

Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions about things to do with avocados!  Did any of you happen to read about the dryer lint smoothie in Cindy’s comment?  I’m linking you to her site so that you can see it… it DOES look like dryer lint!  Too fun!

One of the things I decided to make since I happened to have all the ingredients was a Mango-Avocado Salsa from allrecipes.com.  I made a few adjustments:  used agave in lieu of white sugar, and rice vinegar in lieu of white (because I didn’t have any white!). I don’t think it made any difference which vinegar was used in it.  Got all my prep stuff lined up:

img 295

All made and ready to rest in the fridge so the flavors can “mingle”:

img 297

I also still had some leftover kale that I wanted to use.  I was going to try the great recipe Alexandra wrote about in the comments section recently… only I realized too late that I didn’t have any cashews!  So I improvised and mixed up about 1/4 cup of roasted red pepper hummus, some olive oil, little squeeze of lemon juice and nutritional yeast, put it all in a gallon ziploc bag, then added the kale and shook it all around.  Then baked.  Here’s the end result:

img 298

Wow, it was GOOD!  I ate the entire batch for lunch. SO good!  Thank you Alexandra for being the inspiration.  When I get some cashews, I’ll be trying yours next! I also want to try the sauteed kale that Joan mentioned in her comment too.

From there it was all PC work the rest of the day.  A Gingersnap Larabar mid afternoon…

img 299

That was it until I was done with the blog move.  At that point, it was out of my hands.  I’d done everything on my end.  As I’d mentioned, I was SO ready for a glass of wine.  I chose a little organic table red called “Our Daily Red” which MSP so kindly picked up for me on the way home.  (When he offered to help me earlier in the day, my response was BUY ME SOME ALCOHOL ON YOUR WAY HOME FROM WORK! That’s the kind of help I need right now!)  No I do not turn to alcohol to relieve my stress.  :)   Just this time, I swear!

img 300

I munched on a couple of pieces of raw goat cheddar with my glass of vino.  Then this:

img 302

I just felt the need for some ‘naughty’ food.  And believe it when I say I did read the ingredients and selected this because it did NOT have any partially hydrogenated gunk in it.  It had other gunk, but at least it was semi-real gunk.  ;)    It was time to park it in front of the TV for a bit in order to let my brain stop clicking… so I turned on the episode of “The Office” that I’d missed most of Thursday night and what happens?  I FELL ASLEEP AGAIN!!  Twice I’d missed this episode!  Guess if I ever have a bout of insomnia again, the trick is to watch a little Michael Scott and Dwight!  :)

Well my friends, it is a BEAUTIFUL Saturday here.  Not a cloud in the blue sky, and WARM!  You know what that means!  Shari needs her vitamin D fix!!  Have a SUPERB Saturday and thanks so much for sticking it out with me during the blog move!

Stay tuned this week for the first FitFeat Contest Giveaway!!

–Shari B.  =)

»crosslinked«

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The Case of the Rogue Kombucha?

Oct 12

Posted by in Hiking, Keeping Fit | 9 Comments

Good Monday morning to you!

Hope you had a very nice weekend!  Mine was very relaxing due to the chilly weather … there was a lot of indoor lounging going on in my house Saturday and Sunday!  We did get out quite a bit too, but it was so nice each time to come home, get our “comfies” on and relax by the fire with some football on TV.

The 2.7 mile “social-cizing” session yesterday with my good friend Jen was great!  It was definitely cold out, but I bundled up in my down jacket, mittens, earband and new trail runners.  It was like hiking on little pillows.  Perfect!

Sunday eats were rather random, as they often are.  Mainly because we aren’t on any kind of regular schedule and we are usually running errands or out and about.

MSP made me a wonderful breakfast of cage-free eggs with Ezekial toast (and Earth Balance vegan ‘butter’).

img 218

On the side was a small glass of my BUBBLY but for some reason this one wasn’t!  (bubbly that is)  Which freaked me out a little… kombucha tea is made of live cultures.  If it’s not fizzy, does that mean the seal was broken?  Does that mean bad bacteria gets in with the good bacteria? Or do the good live bacteria go all rogue in there and end up bad for you?  AAAAACCCKKK!  So I had a few sips then just had to dump the rest because I was scared!  Additionally, I don’t think Mystic Mango is a flavor I’ll have again.  Odd, I know – seeing how I’m the MANGO-HOLIC.  I’ll stick with my go-tos:  Gingerberry and Divine Grape

During errands out I had a Lemon Larabar.  And a goodie from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (a dark chocolate dipped Oreo).  MSP had a milk chocolate dipped s’more.    Love our Sunday treats!

After the chilly chat session with Jen I came home to watch the remainder of the Broncos game with this plate of goodies:  kale chips, a big plop of hummus, baby carrots and baked pita chips.  Then I went back for seconds on the kale chips and have used up the whole batch I made Saturday.  I’ll have to make some more today!

img 225

When dinnertime rolled around I felt I was really lacking in greens for the day, so I made a supersized green smoothie.  This one had cucumber, kale, green leaf lettuce, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, celery, pepitas, half a banana and half a pear.  Plus about a tablespoon of hemp oil.

img 227

It made two huge glasses … and I couldn’t finish it all!  I got about halfway through the second glass and cried uncle.

I was apparently quite tired because I was out like a light at 8:30.  Which meant I woke up rested and ready for this morning’s workout:

Weight Training (Back/Traps):

  • TM Warmup 5 minutes, followed by arm circles
  • DB Rows 4 working sets of 12, 12, 12, 11 reps
  • Upright Rows 4 working sets of 15, 11, 11, 11 reps
  • DB Shrugs 3 working sets of 16, 15, 15 reps
  • Lower Trap Pulls 3 working sets of 20, 15, 15 reps
  • Rear Delt Flyes 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Tricep Dips 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Ball Crunches 3 sets of 20 reps

***

I have another crazy-long list of Monday To-Dos as usual, one of which may be to get started on my “sprouting experiment“.  I bought some cheesecloth yesterday and I have one glass jar set aside and want to try to sprout something.  I happen to have some millet on-hand and have heard that can be sprouted, so that might be my first try.

Do you do any of your own sprouting?  Have you had success?  Any tips you’d like to share with the FitFeat readers? Please drop a comment in the comments section!  We’d love to hear from you!

Also just another quick reminder that FitFeat will soon be going self-hosted, so the web address may change a bit.  I hope to ‘flip the switch’ this coming weekend but will plan to put out a post just prior to the move so you’ll know where to find me!

Thanks again for reading and commenting!  Have a great day and I’ll see ya tomorrow!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Kale Yeah!

Oct 6

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Recipes | 4 Comments

Making kale into chips is my favorite way to get people started on adding kale to their diets.  The taste is AWESOME and it’s an EXCELLENT way to get even more greens into your day.  Rather than digging into a bag of potato chips, try this guilt-free snack (one that’s even OK to eat the whole batch!).

Baked Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale (Tuscan or curly, whichever you prefer), washed, dried and stems removed (save the stems for the juicer!)

1 to 1½ tablespoons oil of your choice (grapeseed, macadamia, almond, etc.)

Splash of either balsamic vinegar or lemon juice

Airtight container (such as a 1-gallon Ziploc bag or large Tupperware with lid)

Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a couple of large baking sheets with unbleached parchment.  Tear the kale into bite-size pieces (or larger if you prefer big ‘chips’).

Add the oil and the vinegar (or lemon juice) to the airtight container, then add in kale pieces.  Seal the container and toss well to coat.   Unseal and then, using your hands, gently “squeeze” the kale to massage the pieces.  This will break down some of the fibers and also allow for it to be coated well.   Arrange the kale pieces in a single layer on the baking sheets.  Then sprinkle with nutritional yeast and very lightly with sea salt.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes – but be sure to start watching them at the 10 minute mark because the kale chips go from crispy to burnt in the blink of an eye!

Variations:  you can use soy-free coconut aminos in place of the balsamic for a “soy sauce” flavor (or use soy sauce if you don’t have any soy issues).  You can sprinkle with your favorite spices/seasonings:  garlic powder, chipotle powder, nutmeg, ginger, etc.  I like to use lime juice and chile powder sometimes, and also sesame oil with Sriracha sauce to change things up.  I also like to mix chipotle powder and a little agave into the oil to make a “BBQ” style chip.

img 101

img 102

img 105

 

– Shari B. =)

Tags: ,

What Does Being Fit Mean to You?

Oct 5

Posted by in Cooking, Keeping Fit | 3 Comments

Happy Monday friends!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend – it went by too quickly as usual! 

As I mentioned yesterday, I was saving the current FitFeature for a weekday since the blog is a little slower on the weekend.   I’d like to start a discussion on what fit means to each of us.  Being fit and aiming for good health is a very personal experience, so I’d love to hear what being fit means to you!  Post your thoughts in the comments section.

My personal definition of “fit” has evolved over the years.  Currently, being fit to me means:

  • Being active most days of the week, doing something I enjoy like running, walking the dogs, hiking or lifting weights.  I no longer participate in any kind of exercise I don’t like “just because that’s what other people do” or because that’s what other people think I should do “because I’m a trainer”. 
  • Eating foods that are healthful and nutrient-rich that taste good to me and are nice to my digestive system.  
  • Not being restrictive for the sake of “dieting”.  I will eat occasional treats, or I’ll have days “off-the-wagon” if that’s what I chose to do.  When I choose not to eat something, it’s because it’s full of processed ingredients or because I know it won’t make me feel good after I eat it (but NOT because “I’m on a diet”.)
  • Regularly feeling energized after a workout instead of completely zapped.  I believe in having energy left over for living life. 
  • Listening to my body.  If it tells me it’s not the right day to push hard, I don’t.  If it tells me that it doesn’t agree with a certain food, I avoid it the next time.
  • Exercising to be injury-free now, and functional in my “golden years”.  I don’t subscribe to the ‘no pain, no gain’ philosophy. 
  • And yes, being fit to me also means staying trim.  Not solely for vanity’s sake. I’ve just learned that when I look good in my clothes, I feel better about myself overall and it does affect my mood.  If I feel uncomfortable in my clothes or in my skin, I’m just not going to feel good.   Period.   

How about you?  What’s important to you on your fitness journey? 

Speaking of … did anyone exercise during football commercials yesterday?  I did!  During the Broncos game, for the first quarter and part of the second.  (Then we got hungry!)

Here are the exercises I chose — most of the commercial breaks were 90 seconds to 2 minutes:

  • Squats to the Couch (or cOUCH squats)  :)
  • Mod. Pushups / Tricep Dips / Crunches
  • Jumping Jacks
  • Donkey Kicks
  • DB Hammer Curls (biceps)  
  • Static Wall Squat (Can I say BURN here!?)
  • DB Row (lats, 57 reps!)
  • Overhead DB Shoulder Press (72 reps, then switched to side raises!)
  • Plank
  • Calf raises on the stairs

I got a very effective full body workout that primarily hit my slow-twitch (muscular endurance) fibers.  It was surprisingly painful!  :)   Reminded me of when I used to run outdoor circuit “BOOTY CAMPS”.

Now on to Sunday’s Eats:

I was in the mood for a savory breakfast, so I made scrambled eggs with a side of Ezekial toast (and Earth Balance vegan spread) with a side of goat cheese.  My eyes were bigger than my stomach because I couldn’t finish the eggs.  It was 2 whole eggs + 2 whites, whipped with a pour of MimicCreme.  Toward the end of cooking, I added nutritional yeast flakes to the eggs for some cheese flavor.

img 091

Mid-morning we snacked on some Halloween fare:  CANDY CORN!  I’m starting to get in the mood for fall… but am dismayed to see CHRISTMAS displays already in the stores.  Can’t we get through Halloween first, before we are bombarded with Christmas music?

After my football workout, it was time for some football food:  PIZZA!  This was definitely a winner in the ‘recipe’ department – it turned out SO GOOD, I know I’ll be craving this a lot!  (I’m going to put out a separate blog post so that I can link it to the “Build-A-Meal” tab.  You have to make this one!)

img 104

Alongside my super-healthy pizza I made some crispy kale.  I bought the kale recently to put in my smoothies and salads, then found that I didn’t care for it as much as I thought I might.  Lo and behold, this month in “Woman’s Day” magazine, there was a recipe for crispy kale, which I tweaked a bit to my own taste/liking.  I’ll soon add that recipe to the new “Build-A-Meal” tab as well.  It looks a little scary, but it really tastes great!

img 105

My late afternoon snack was the last of the Immaculate Cookie Co topped with a squirt of chocolate syrup and a spoon of raw organic almond butter.  Scrumptious!

img 106

And then my “Lazy Girl Dinner”:  leftover Amy’s Organics Split Pea Soup, with a big spoon of leftover rice mixed into it.  I wasn’t in the mood to fix a dinner and we were just vegging on the couch by this time.  It was perfect for a slightly chilly evening.

img 107

Well friends, off to tackle the Monday To-Do list which is quite lengthy!  Have a Marvelous Monday and I’ll see ya next time!

And be sure to leave your comment about what being fit means to you!  We’re still aiming for the 30 comments to get the GIVEAWAY going!  (see the right sidebar of the blog!) 

– Shari B.  =)

Tags: , , , , , ,