There’s been so much focus on Willie cooking, I think people may have forgotten that I like to cook too. I must admit he’s been picking up a lot of the food slack in the house because marathon training has kept me busy. He keeps me well fueled. I’ve had a little bit of free time to make some food lately and I wanted to share with you what I’ve been making.
The Runner’s World Cookbook hit stores in October and I couldn’t wait to get a copy. I was trying to find one in stores but no luck so I just ordered it. When I got it, I had this brilliant idea I was going to cook my way through the book so I started out some of the recipes.
It’s basically a collection of 150 recipes used in the magazine over the years. I like how the book is divided up into sections for each meal and then it’s got helpful things like prerun, recovery, etc. Fueling is very important part of an exercise routine and it’s something we all should educate ourselves on.
The first thing I tried was the “Long Run” cakes that are supposed to be made with a peanut butter cream cheese frosting. I didn’t make the frosting because I am NOT a frosting type of girl…and we had no cream cheese in the HAUS house!
These suckers are made with black beans and agave syrup for sweetness. Yes, it sounds really weird but they were actually pretty good. The black beans are used a binder with apple sauce and I will think it helps with the fudge consistency. There is also cocoa powder in it to make it chocolaty! We just smeared some peanut butter on top of this suckers and called it day. I really enjoyed them. We should have stored them in the fridge though to prolong the life because the airtight container was great but mold started growing very quickly.
The other thing I tried out of the cookbook was maple glazed brussels sprouts. Willie hates them but he didn’t loathe these. It was a very simple recipe and a great way to change up the sprouts. Of course, I used sugar free syrup instead and it turned out ok. Have you ever tried to heat up anything that’s sugar free? It turns to a rock so I was pleasantly surprised these turned out great. It was probably due to the mixing of the mustard and the syrup together first before dressing the sprouts. I sued the shaved brussels sprouts from Trader Joes but you can use whole ones that are cut too!
Moving away from the cookbook now, I’ll tell you about my own creations.
Last week and still a little now, I’ve been really sick. I’ve been taking meds (which I normally don’t do) and started adding EXTRA veggies into the diet to make sure I was getting everything to make my body stronger. Also, I was sick and very tired so I needed something quick. What’s better than a stir fry?
Willie loves to cook asian influence food. He thinks it’s a problem but I think it’s totally OK! Back to the point, so that means we have a lot of new things in the house that I’ve never tried before. I did this quick stir fry of carrots, bell peppers, pineapples, brown rice, green onions, grated ginger, white onions, broccoli, and spinach with a half a tablespoon of hoisin sauce and a little low sodium chicken stock. I mixed it all together and had a meal very quickly. Ok, it took a little time to make the rice, but we usually just keep some in the fridge all week just in case we need a quick meal.
I enjoyed it so much that I had it three times last week, twice for dinner and once for lunch. I even added some leftover diced chicken in one of those rounds. It was delicious. See, I can make good things too!
So what’s your favorite quick and easy meal?
