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The evidence:

I was looking around in the pantry the other night and noticed I had two boxes of unopened, unloved Quinoa sitting in there.

I had just eaten the last of my Baked Apple Cinnamon Oat Bars, so I decided it was time to get creative and bake myself a new snack!

Cranberry Quinoa Peanut Butter Power Bars

Not only are these tasty, they are healthy! Quinoa, masquerading as a grain but actually a seed, is a complete protein, and it’s high in magnesium, fiber, and antioxidants. Combined with the healthy fat from the peanut butter and the vitamin E, zinc, selenium, copper, iron, and fiber in the oats, these make for a great power breakfast or afternoon snack. Yum!

Ingredients:

• 2 C cooked quinoa
• 2 C raw oats
• 1/2 C dried cranberries
• 1/2 C smooth peanut butter (or nut butter of choice)
• 1/2 C skim milk (or non-dairy substitute)
• 1/3 C brown rice syrup
• 1/4 C ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

You’ll need to either have some leftover cooked quinoa on hand, or cook some up before you start this recipe. Two cups cooked quinoa is equal to roughly 1/2 cup uncooked, so prepare that amount according to the instructions on the box. Be sure to let the quinoa cool a bit afterwards.

Preheat your oven to 350.

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl together and stir until everything is well mixed. Use some muscle!!

Scoop it all into a baking pan – I used my 7×11 pan, but you can use whatever size you have.

Pop it in the oven and bake about 12-15 minutes. ENJOY!!

Once you’ve tasted them and they’ve cooled a bit, I’d recommend storing the bars in the fridge covered in tin foil – it will help them to harden and stick together better. You can even cut them into bar-sized snacks and store them separately for easy grabbing and going!

TGIF! It’s rainy and cold here in DC, but the tree outside my bedroom window is looking quite lovely and fall-esque:

Plus, I went in to the office this morning, so instead of working at home in sweatpants, I got to put on a cute work outfit I don’t miss sitting in an office all day, but I do sometimes miss getting to dress up cute! Isn’t the day just better when you like your outfit?

Have a great weekend everyone!

So last night I decided it was time for a show down with my basil plant.

It was just begging to be eaten. Not in the “a leaf here, a leaf there” sort of way I’d been eating it, though.

No, it told me it was ready to be plucked clean. So that’s what I did. Enter your basic pesto… with a twist!

Spinach Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 C fresh basil leaves (packed)
• 1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 C olive oil
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• juice 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 C spinach

The spinach was a last minute addition. I was feeling creative

Instructions:

Toss it all into a food processor and give it a whirl!

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Ahhhh, I love food processors.

Enjoy! I sautéed some veggies in it…

..and had them with cannellini beans over spaghetti squash, which I cooked in the microwave.

I just cut it in half, scooped out the seeds, placed half of it inside facing down on the plate, and microwaved on high for 8 minutes. Done and done!

Voila!

The pesto was really yummy. However, I decided spaghetti squash is just not my favorite, at least when it’s substituted for pasta.

I just like pasta better! I think I’d like spaghetti squash much better as a side dish as opposed to the main course I’ll do some experimenting with the leftovers!

What do you think of spaghetti squash? If you like it, what’s your favorite way to eat it?

Stay tuned… I made something else very creative in the kitchen last night that I think ya’ll will LOVE!

I’m back for another of my favorite exercise moves! I learned this one from my friend Jess, who actually just asked me to be in her wedding next October! How cute is this?? When I opened the envelope, there were two envelopes: one held this puzzle to put together…

And the other held a piece of paper with the wedding’s date and a really sweet note. Adorable! Heart you Jess

Anyway, back to the sweating! This is a variation of my Weighted Push-Up with Arm Lift and is another great move for toning not just your arms, but also your core (including those pesky obliques!). Give it a try

Weighted Push-Up with Side Plank

Instructions:

1) As with my other push up move, you need some weights that have a square edge so you aren’t rolling all over the place. I picked these up at Target for a few bucks, but most gyms have them too. I use 5 or 6 lb weights for this move, but feel free to adjust that!

2) Get into a plank position with your hands holding/on top of your weights. Your feet should be a little less than hip distance apart. Be sure to keep your abs tight and lifted to support your lower back.

3) Next, slowly lower yourself into a pushup – try to get your body perfectly parallel to the floor in a straight line. Make sure your hips don’t droop down and that your abs are still tight. Try to hold it a few seconds if you can.

(The lighting in that room makes me look tan! I’m totally not.)

4) Raise yourself back up into a plank position, and then slowly lift one of your arms up while turning towards that side, bringing yourself into a side plank position. You have two options: you can either place one foot on top of the other, like I’ve done here:

Or you can place your top leg in front of the other, like I’ve done here. Whichever feels more comfortable! This staggered feet version is easier to do in a fluid motion, and also easier in terms of balancing.

5) Hold yourself in the side plank for 10 seconds, or as long as you can.

6) Come back into plank, hold for 5 seconds, and repeat on the other side. Continue until this happens:

And you know I wouldn’t end an exercise post without this!

CONGRATULATORY THUMBS UP!!! he he

Oh and check out how sexy my knee is now as a result of my epic wipeout last week:

The other one is scab-tastic. So hot!!

I’m off to class and lab! We’re hydrogenating olive oil today in Chem lab to make it into solid vegetable shortening… trans fat, here we come!

Give my new workout move a try and let me know if you like it! Has anyone tried the Eagle Ab or the original Weighted Push Up with Arm Lift yet?? What’d you think?

Ta-ta!

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::Drum roll please::

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I used Random.org to generate a random number between 1 and 58, since that’s the number of comments I got. And here’s the result!

What are the odds of that??!?! #1 is the winner! The lovely Whit will be receiving a case of Chobani yogurt to enjoy Here’s what she said:

Apparently being the first person to comment DOES sometimes give you the win! Whit, email me your address! And YAY you can finally try the pineapple!!! Congratulations

For those of you that didn’t win this time, don’t worry, there will be many more giveaways to come

In other news, Steph from The Silly Nutrition Undergrad awarded me the Over the Top blog award last week!!! How fun Thanks, Steph, I’m honored!!

I’m so happy that you’re all enjoying my blog

According to the rules of the award, I will now try to answer the following 35 questions in one word!

1. Where is your cell phone? Table

2. Your hair? Wavy

3. Your mother? Visiting

4. Your father? Runner

5. Your favorite food? Fruit

6. Your dream last night? Forgotten

7. Your favorite drink? Tea

8. Your dream/goal? Dietitian

9. What room are you in? Bedroom

10. Your hobby? Running

11. Your fear? Uninspired

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy

13. Where were you last night? Theater

14. Something that you aren’t? Dramatic

15. Muffins? Pumpkin

16. Wish list item? Camera

17. Where did you grow up? Everywhere

18. Last thing you did? Gchat

19. What are you wearing? Sweatpants

20. Your TV? Nonexistent

21. Your pets? None

22. Friends? Awesome

23. Your life? Fun!

24. Your mood? Satisfied

25. Missing someone? BFFs

26. Vehicle? Jetta

27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes

28. Your favorite store? Target

29. Your favorite color? Blue!!

30. When was the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Forget?

32. Your best friend? Many

33. One place that I go to over and over? Gym

34. One person who emails me regularly? Dad

35. Favorite place to eat? Yummy!

Thanks again Steph That was actually challenging to do all that in one word answers!

And finally, I’d like to pass this award on to… Amy at Eggs on Sunday! So many awesome recipes… I love her blog

Have a great day, friends! Stay tuned for some new exercise moves to keep you motivated now that the weather is getting colder!

p.s. Don’t worry I changed Google Reader back to the full feed! Partial feed was totally annoying and lame!

Hope you’re having a great weekend I went hiking yesterday with my friend Ashley and a bunch of people from a hiking club I belong to – it was so awesome!!

GORGEOUS weather, and beautiful views. We hiked about 10 miles – holy crap – which included lots of fun rock scrambling and extreme uphill and downhill!

The hike was in Luray, VA, which is about two hours from DC. Virginia is so beautiful! It’s awesome how close hikes like this are to the city.

We did a big loop which included two offshoot rock scrambles up both Duncan Knob and Strickler Knob. If you’re in the DC area, I highly recommend this hike. It was strenuous, but SO fun. The rock scrambling is my favorite part!

Duncan Knob’s elevation is 2,200 ft, and Strickler Knob’s is 2,240 ft! Hot damn!

Goofing around at the top of the first peak, obviously.

What a fun day. This is definitely one of my new favorite hikes in the DC area. Nothing better than sitting on top of a mountain on a gorgeous day Met some really cool new people, too!

We were gone from about 7 a.m. until 8 p.m., which included almost 7 hours of hiking plus a pit stop for much needed dinner & shenanigans once we got out of the park!

I came home, showered, and basically passed out immediately, which meant my hair looked ridiculous today because I slept with it wet

I’m off to run some errands! Tonight I’m going downtown with some friends to see a play, “The Alchemist,” at the Shakespeare Theatre. I’m super excited.

Ta-ta, friends! What did you do this weekend?

p.s.

Don’t forget to enter my Chobani yogurt giveaway if you haven’t already! You have until tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. when I will draw the winner Also, I found out that the lovely Katy at These Beautiful Feet is also doing a Chobani giveaway right now! Head on over to her blog for a second chance to win. Two chances are better than one, right?!

I bought a ton of apples the other day and knew I wanted to do something apple-cinnamon-baked ish, and this is what I randomly threw together! It’s definitely a keeper.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Oat Bars

Ingredients:

Dry:

• 1.5 C whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 and 1/3 C oats
• 1/3 C walnuts
• 1/4 C ground flaxseed
• 1/4 C raisins
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Wet:

• 2 apples, chopped
• 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
• 1 C skim milk (or non-dairy substitute)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. In two separate bowls, mix dry and wet ingredients.

Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring until mixed. Add mixture to a non-stick or sprayed baking pan (mine was 7×11, but use whatever you like).

Don’t forget to add a sprinkle of raw oats on top to make it look pretty! (Clearly I forgot and threw them on last minute!)

Bake about 30 minutes, but fork check it once you get close to see when it’s ready! Mmmmmmmmm…

My mom is in town for a couple weeks for work, and she came over the other night just as these were coming out of the oven! We dove in immediately… mmm… warm baked apple pieces…

She was a big fan We couldn’t stop eating it!

The aftermath These are going to make an awesome breakfast or afternoon power snack!

Enjoy

p.s. Don’t forget to enter my Chobani yogurt giveaway!! You have until Monday morning at 9 a.m. to enter.

CHOBANI GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

As you may remember, Chobani sent me some of their nonfat greek yogurt to sample last week. It was a pretty joyous day.

No nasty fake sweeteners here! Here’s my reviews, in order of favorites:

#1: Plain greek yogurt. I just love the endless topping options! Granola, fresh fruit, honey… whatever! Chobani’s plain 0% greek yogurt is great, nice and thick and creamy.

#2: Pomegranate (wasn’t in the package, but I love it) & Pineapple. Both are freaking amazing. Seriously. I’d never tried the pineapple until now!

#3: Blueberry, Peach, & Strawberry… I especially enjoyed the blueberry, as it’s always been one of my favorite yogurt flavors!

#4: Vanilla – Also tasty, I just missed the pieces of fruit

So, want to win some for yourself? Here’s the deal:

To enter, check out Chobani’s website, pick out a flavor you’d most like to try (or one which you already know is a favorite), and leave a comment below about it!

I’ll be randomly picking a winner on Monday morning. The winner will receive a box of Chobani of their very own!

Feel free to tweet or write about the giveaway on your own blog

(And I’m sorry to my international friends, but this contest is only open to U.S. residents.)

Good luck!!

Okay so this is going to be a totally random post. Get ready

1) I went out for a run today at 10 a.m. Yes, 10 a.m. One of my favorite things about working from home and being in school is being able to run in the late morning. The sun is shining, it’s warmer, and it’s just generally awesome.

So today I went out for a run in my hilly neighborhood. I went without my headphones or anything and it was great to just listen to the sounds of nature (and trucks… whatever) and I was thinking about how lovely it was outside, brilliant sunshine, cold but crisp, the kind of day I dreamed about while I was living in Prague last winter (it’s really gray there in the winter). When all of a sudden… the sidewalk came up to attack me. Vicious sidewalk. What did I do to you? And then…

BAM!!!!!!!

I fall flat on my face. Yep, the whole, hands out in front, skidding on knees type of fall you used to have all the time when you were little. You know what my thoughts were? First – “Thank goodness I’m wearing my Road ID!” Then – “Crap, this better not have messed up my favorite Lululemon running pants!!” And then, finally “Ouch.”It was actually pretty funny. I landed (skidded) in a huge pile of leaves, and was totally covered with them after. LEAF MONSTER!!

Here’s the damage:

Damn you, sidewalk. You have won this round. But I’ll be back!!

You can’t tell in the picture, but the right knee is mega puffy. Sexy. I also picked some gravel out of my hands. I think the 12 year old in me is proud

But you know I didn’t let it ruin my run I got up, brushed myself off, and once I decided my legs felt fine besides being scraped up I continued on my way!

Oh, and since you were wondering, my Lululemon pants are fine.

2) My prize for winning Caitlin’s BSI pancake mix contest with my Special Ingredient Falafel arrived yesterday!!

She sent a fun package that included some milled flaxseed (yay I’m almost out of mine!), OhSheGlows Glo-nola, and some Vega drink mix! Thanks, Caitlin!

3) I’ll be conducting my Chobani yogurt giveaway TOMORROW! I’ll also provide reviews for the rest of the yogurt flavors I tried. Get pumped!

I’m off to relax – it’s chilly and cloudy here now in DC, and I have already put on sweatpants and have plans to make my Veggie-tastic Minestrone Soup again for dinner!

What’s your best falling down/wipeout story?? I was always terrified of falling in the cafeteria at college, but thankfully I never did.

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffin Tops (that won’t give you a muffin top!)

Ingredients (makes 2 dozen):

Dry:

• 2 C whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Wet:

• 1 C canned pumpkin
• 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 C real maple syrup
• 1/3 C dried cranberries
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. In two separate bowls, mix dry, then wet…

…and then combine, adding wet to dry.

Spoon the batter onto a non-stick or sprayed cookie sheet (this makes 2 sheets worth – about 24 muffin tops).

Bake for about 15 minutes – fork check to see if they are done.

Mmmm this might be my new favorite pumpkin muffin recipe! They came out sooo delicious, very soft and moist (this is one of my most hated words… along with chunks and flesh. yick!!! what words gross you out?)

ENJOY!!

I think I’m going to make more of these to have as snacks

Sigh, time to get back to studying – big Organic Chem test today! Doesn’t this look like fun!?

Kath, I know you feel my pain!

Have a good one everyone! Stay tuned for my Chobani yogurt giveaway later this week, and of course more fun recipes!