Since my last blog centered on coffee and a certain coffee house, it makes sense for me to continue with another coffee house themed post. For my 3rd day of Homemade Christmas, I would like to share my, Almost Cranberry Bliss Bars.
Recipes
Hearty Potato Skillet
One of the things every person needs to have is a recipe for a really great breakfast. I often fall into the make pancakes or waffles for breakfast but my family often wants something different and a bit heartier, more on the bacon and eggs side of things. Something like a skillet with all of their favorite things so a Hearty Potato Skillet is what they got. With potatoes, bacon, sausage, cheese and an egg on top, it fulfills any breakfast craving
Almost like Grandma’s Zucchini Bread
There are a few foods that remind me of my grandma, they were always the ones she had made and in the house when we would visit. One of those was Zucchini Bread. I’m not even sure when my love of her zucchini bread began. I can tell you that after I got married my grandma sent me a handwritten copy of her recipe on an index card after I asked her for it and I still make the same recipe. Well, almost, I know make it gluten free and a wee bit healthier by subbing apple sauce for some of the oil. Even with my minor changes it taste just as good as her’s.
Crater Cake aka Mom’s Coffee Cake
The other day my daughter was begging me to make coffee cake. In her sweetest voice she said please and told me I could even take pictures and put it on my blog. How can I say no to her when she asks so nicely and gives me a blogging idea, so of course I made her a coffee cake. Not just any coffee cake, my mom’s coffee cake, what my siblings and I called, crater cake.
Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin Peach Cobbler
It’s been a busy few weeks around these parts but I can now say school is out for summer! The craziness that abounds in my house has already started. Who am I kidding, it is crazy around here all the time. This time all I said was that I was going to make a Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin Peach Cobbler.
Cheater Spicy Chicken Penne
A few years back, when my oldest and youngest still ran USATF track I was introduced to a pasta dish at a team dinner that I fell in love with, Spicy Chicken Rigatoni. I came up with my own version and my family loved it. Then when I gave gluten the boot I stopped making it. Truth is there really aren’t a ton of different gluten free pasta shapes. There is penne though and it is similar to rigatoni. Well, it is close enough for me. Spicy Chicken Penne is now something that has been added back into my families meal plans and is a meal my kids would eat weekly if I would let them.
Simple Roasted Edamame
Back in 2009, I was introduced to edamame at an Army conference I had gone to. I was with a group of other Army spouses and we were hanging out after working all day and having dinner. The hotel had a couple options for dinner and the one was sushi. The one spouse explained how she hated sushi but her husband loved it but she discovered edamame and that is what she eats when her husband needs a sushi fix and she proceeded to order some. As someone who is anti-sushi myself and generally avoids it I was intrigued by these bean looking things but soon fell in love with them. I immediately knew I needed to buy some and make them for my family when I got home.
Diabetes, Taco Salad, and Glucerna
I have been compensated by Glucerna for this post; however, I am sharing my own thoughts. All opinions are my own. #SteadyIsExciting
Back in 1999 was the first time the words diabetes ever entered my life. At that time it was gestational diabetes, I had failed my one hour glucose test and I was being put on a special diet and had to go take the 3 hour test. I passed that one, barely. The day my son was born I was told that I did have gestational diabetes. Fast forward through my next three pregnancies, I had gestational diabetes with each one. With my boys it was diet controlled, my daughter I was put on medication. After she was born I was told my risk of having type two diabetes was very high since I had gestational diabetes with all 4 of my kids. I did what I needed to do and set out on my journey of healthy living. I started running and eating healthier and for almost ten years I did pretty good then this past summer as I began marathon training I began noticing different symptoms. At first I began pricking my finger and testing my blood sugar. Consistently my fasting blood sugar was high and after meals it was borderline. The only time it was any where close to normal was after a long run, and then as my miles grew my blood sugar would be low. So I took myself to the doctor to find out what was going on with me and I was told I had prediabetes. I wasn’t shocked, I had been told it was most likely going to happen but now I needed to work even harder to balance my blood sugar levels. After finishing my marathon last week, I now find myself refocusing my health goals for the year. One of those goals is to lose weight. I am one of the lucky ones who gained weight while marathon training. That weight needs to go! I just need to figure out how to do it and keep my blood sugar levels in check. One of the ways I am working on that is trying to keep quick meals like taco salad and Glucerna Hunger Smart Shakes in my fridge.
Country Girl Gourmet’s Top 12 Recipes of 2015
The end of the year is here again and here are the top 12 recipes of 2015 from Country Girl Gourmet. There are some recipes that have been on the top of the year list since I started posting the top of list back in 2013 and there are others that were new additions to my blog in 2015.
Simple Black Bean and Sweet Potato Salad
My marathon training has definitely been an adventure. If it is not one thing it seems to be another thing going on and my plans just have disappeared. I’m trying my best but it seems as though time is just slipping away. Then again maybe it is just because i’m a grown up now and time moves fast the older you get. There is one thing that is not getting past me while i’m training, it is my nutrition. I am doing my best to eat as healthy as I can. It’s easy to say, well I just burned XXX calories I can eat whatever I want but in the end it catches up to you. I don’t know about you but when I eat like crap I can tell in my run. I will never be the girl that can eat whatever without it affecting me in some way or form. Thankfully I have an arsenal recipes that I can turn to like Simple Black Bean and Sweet Potato Salad.
This recipe is very simple to make and the flavors all go very well together. It is a favorite of mine to have during the week to have for lunch. Even my homeschooling 13 year old likes it. The recipe is also vegan and gluten free making it a healthy option that many can enjoy. You simply roast some diced sweet potatoes and then when they are done throw in a bowl with onion, black beans, cilantro and toss with some lime juice and olive oil and some salt and pepper. Can it get any easier? This recipe takes about 45 minutes to make and the majority of that time is waiting on the sweet potato to roast.
So there you go one of the many ways I try to eat healthy while training for my first marathon, Simple Black Bean and Sweet Potato Salad. It is simple easy and best of all tasty. Plus you are getting a healthy dose of carbs to fuel your run and protein and antioxidants that help with muscle recovery.
What do you eat while you are training?