It happened again.

On Friday, I spotted a box of cake mix sitting on the kitchen counter. Remember when I told you about Peter’s [not so] passive way of getting me to bake him a cake?

Reeeeal subtle .

Except this was the box I saw on the counter…

Me: Did you buy this cake mix [containing trans fat!]?

Peter: Yeah, I’ve been craving cake. I need to eat cake. Every. single. day.

Dear God, why didn’t you let me inherit Peter’s metabolism? I got his wide feet, rough hands and big honkin’ nose. You couldn’t have thrown in his speedy metabolism too?

Me: Do you want me to bake you a cake tonight?

Peter: Suuuuure, when you get a chance. Only if you have time. (Code for: Uh yeah, why else would I put a box on the counter?)

Me: Okay! Will do. (Code for: Uh yeah, as long as I get a slice too!)

So at 11 PM, we had the mouthwatering aroma of melted butter, flour and sugar wafting throughout the house. I used the leftover TJ’s Golden Yellow Cake Mix from Peter’s birthday.

No trans fat in this one! Sorry, Dough Boy.

Instead of water, I used almond milk. I also folded in ~1 cup of walnuts, which was an excellent last minute decision.

Peter promptly devoured 1/4 of the cake, Mmmmmmmmmmming through every single bite. He said he could easily demolish 1/2 of it…or even the whole thing. This was at midnight!

God, are you there? There’s still time to change up my DNA. Just a little metabolism boost. I won’t tell anyone, pinky promise.

I enjoyed a slice as well. Gosh, that cake mix is incredible. TJ’s, you rock.

***

So I might have to take back what I said about the effectiveness of my compression tights. I woke up with a set of super sore legs after wearing shorts on my run on Wednesday.

Then I ran 6 miles in 54:19 (avg pace: 9:03 min/mi) in my Spidey tights on Friday and I woke up the next day not nearly as sore. So perhaps they do help decrease soreness? Or perhaps it was the cake filling up my glycogen stores?

I’ll run some more and let you know.

***

Yesterday was a cold, wet and snowy day.

As a result, everyone and their mama was shopping at Costco.

Costco carried these Almond Pops with Blueberries last year, which I loved to death. They suddenly disappeared from shelves before I could snag another bag. Major sad face.

Much to my delight, the cranberry version appeared yesterday. Squeal! These are the bomb. I want to sit and eat the entire bag in one sitting.

Apparently, there’s also a mango version somewhere out there? Ahh must try.

I also loaded up on:

• Mary’s Gone Crackers–on sale this month.
• Basil, Chicken & Mozzarella Meatballs–SO SO good.
• Spring Mix–what I live on
• Gigantic tub of cinnamon—only $2.65. Incredible.
• Gummy vitamins–because I’m 5 years old/love candy/get tummy aches from pill vitamins.

I made the trek to Harris Teeter late last night and was rewarded with discount bananas again! I swiped all 4 bags.

30 bananas for $3.24. Now that’s s deal.

Alrighty, time to go for a freezing cold run. Then watch the Duke vs. Miami basketball game. Then watch the SUPERBOWL! Busy day.

Tell me: Who are you rooting for tonight? Are you going to a fun Superbowl party?

I must say, gearing up for Christmas is not quite the same when you’re older. We all know Santa isn’t actually coming to town. We’ve seen The Santa Clause, Elf and Charlie Brown a hundred times over. Are we even buying presents this year?

(Well, I was informed Santa was actually Mommy and Daddy at a very young age, no thanks to Mommy! That’s a story for another day…)

This year, however, I get to relive the magic of Christmas with little ones. Santa is real again (there’s a letter addressed to him en route to The North Pole), we stop to admire the reindeer in the front yard every single day, and cookie baking day may just be the most exciting day of the year.

Baking cookies is fun, but baking cookies with children is magical. All of a sudden, sprinkles and spatulas are hot commodities.

Yesterday was cookie baking day at the house. We made gingerbread men and Butter Cookies, two cookies Mama D grew up baking. I love all things gingerbread, but the Butter Cookies [unexpectedly] stole my heart!

While some of us were busy decorating gingerbread men, others were busy eating sprinkles and playing with “play doh.” I’m willing to bet a few bites of gingerbread play doh were consumed while I wasn’t looking!

Ready to bake!

Fresh outta the oven…

Next up? Butter Cookies! Think melt-in-your-mouth soft shortbread cookies.

I got to use a cookie press for the first time ever. A very cool gadget!

We dyed half of the batter green for the Christmas trees and wreaths.

The Butter Cookies are small, so I’d say about 10 cookies = one serving .

Let’s see how long this plate lasts!

Have a great weekend, y’all. Bake some cookies!

Tell me: What kind of cookies/desserts does your family bake every year?

Yesterday, I ran on the treadmill…for 8.2 miles! For why?!

‘Cuz Duke Basketball was on TV. That’s why! You veteran readers know how much I love to run while watching basketball games. I get SO wrapped up in the game that I forget I’m even working out. They’re great entertainment for long runs, especially when it’s cold and windy outside.

I ran 8.2 miles and walked 3.2 miles. 15 min. upper body weights during halftime. I ran at 6.6-7.0 mph during the game and 6.2-6.6 mph during commercial breaks (1.0 incline). Good thing I ate a HUGE breakfast because it was an unusually long game for some reason.

I was so proud of my tummy yesterday. I ate ~600 calories a couple hours before heading over to the gym and had ZERO cramps!!! That’s a big deal for my highly sensitive stomach. Recently, I’ve been eating more and more before my runs (I used to have to wait 4 hours after eating only ~300-400 calories or else I’d have major cramps while running. Since it’s difficult for me to abstain from food for that long, I started running first thing in the morning with just 1/2 a piece of toast in my stomach. I can only run so far on a piece of toast!).

It seems like I’ve slowly (and unknowingly) trained my stomach to be able to handle more food. I never believed people when they said you can train your stomach to be stronger, but it is possible! I love being able to eat more because it means I have more fuel to keep me going. Also, I can wait a couple hours until it’s a bit warmer outside before I head out. Win win.

Fuel for yesterday’s treadmill extravaganza came in the form of TJ’s Spiced Apple Bread that Kat Lobes bought me a couple years ago for my birthday. <--I can't believe I found that post!

Taste--okay. Running Fuel--excellent!

It could've used some chopped pecans though, that's for sure.

Or maybe some butterscotch morsels…

I fell in love with butterscotch chips this summer while working at the bakery—Mmmm oatmeal scotchies. I finally bought a bag to do some baking…or just to snack on straight up.

Cocoa Roast Almonds + butterscotch chips make for great running fuel, too. Love butterscotch.

Alrighty, I gotta dash! I have my first ever food photography gig today. <--EEEPS!! I'm excited, but a teensy bit scared too. Have a great Sunday!

***

The winner of the Shabby Apple Giveaway is…

Hi there! How’s your weekend going so far?

I’ve gotta work tonight, so I spent the afternoon doing laundry and baking Peter’s birthday cake (we’re officially celebrating tomorrow).

Lots of buttercream icing and slivers of cake were consumed in the process (hey, I had to level the cake!).

I took a shortcut and used TJ’s Golden Yellow Cake Mix. SO GOOD. It was my first time using this mix and it will not be the last.

It tasted like it was made from scratch!

Peter loves cake…especially from a box. We used to have boxes of [expired] cake mix sitting in our pantry. Occasionally, Peter would leave a box on the kitchen counter, hinting to me that I should bake a cake. I wanted to, but I figured I’d make one from scratch instead since the mix contained trans fat…and then I never got around to it.

Anywho, TJ’s cake mix is free of trans fat. Finally, Peter can have his cake and eat it too!

Cake baked in the toaster oven, of course. Just how Peter prefers it .

The time I saved using a box mix for the cake, I devoted to making buttercream icing.

Powdered sugar (1.5 cups, sifted), butter (1 stick) and vanilla (2 tsp). Simple, though sifting the sugar took forever.

(I only had salted butter on hand, but it turned out just fine.)

Have you read the book The End of Overeating? I read a few chapters last year and learned that we as humans are most drawn to foods that are sweet, high in fat, and salty.

Ummm, yeah. That would explain all the spoonfuls of icing I just consumed (3 in 1…triple threat)!

Eat all the cake you want because the world is coming to an end!

While baking, I watched a History Channel program on what the world will be like in 2100. It was followed by a program on the Mayan Doomsday Prophecy, which predicts the world will come to an end on 12/21/2012. Um, yeah. Say your goodbyes now, folks!

Kidding…not really. I’m kinda scared. Google it…at your own risk.

The program talked about the Mayan calendar found at Chichen Itza in Mexico.

Remember when I visited Chichen Itza last year? Good times.

Alrighty, I gotta go!

Tell me…the birthday cake of your dreams!

You know it’s getting chilly when…

You can’t figure out if you have a cold or you’re just cold.

Your space heater never leaves your side.

You can’t stop drinking hot tea because if you stop, your goosebumps will make a triumphant return.

The most dreadful moment of your day is when you have to turn off the water and step out of the shower.

The most wonderful moment of your day is when you faceplant in a pile of fresh laundry.

All you want to do is fire up the oven and BAKE!

I wanted to bake something that required minimal ingredients. 5 ingredients to be exact.

Don’t forget the vanilla! We got this vanilla extract in Mexico last year and it is the bomb. I used to think good quality vanilla didn’t make a difference, but boy was I wrong!

This recipe is a simple one. Whisk together ingredients and shape into cookies. Easy, I told you.

I made them into thumbprint cookies, so I could fill them with fig butter. I also made them into regular cookies and they actually tasted better that way (don’t tell my thumb that).

Along with fig butter, I filled some cookies with orange marmalade just for kicks.

They cookies turned out darker than I envisioned because well, I used dark brown sugar. Duh. It also meant they tasted a little gingersnappy. Mmm!

These cookies are very delicate. And by that, I mean they’re crumbly and they melt in your mouth.

Almond Butter Thumbprint Cookies (gluten free)

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond butter
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Jam, marmalade, fig/pumpkin/apple butter (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350* F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl or stand mixer, whisk together all ingredients except jam/marmalade until smooth. Shape dough into 1.5 inch balls and place on baking sheet 2 inches apart. Press down in the center of each ball with your thumb. Fill indentation with 1/2 tsp. jam/marmalade. Bake at 350* F for 15 minutes or until cookies are set. Allow the cookies to cool before serving. Enjoy with a mug of tea.

Stay warm!

Howdy! Happy Friday + 1st day of FALL!

Look what I made at work last night. Mmm hmm! Good ol’ apple pie. The family for whom I’m nannying went apple picking last weekend and the mom wanted to make a couple apple pies [from scratch!] with the kiddos.

I mean, she didn’t have to twist my arm…

I believe this was my first time ever baking apple pie completely from scratch. It was also my first time baking with young kids. How fun!

When they weren’t snacking on apple slices and raw pie crust (!!), they were a big help. The kids helped the mom and I peel + core apples and roll out the crust.

I would have taken photos of the baking process, but I had my hands completely full!

We made two pies, so I could take one home too.

All the credit for the beautiful crust goes to the mom. She was a pro.

This pie was incredible. There’s nothing quite like eating sweet cinnamon-y apples wrapped in a flaky crust…on the first day of fall.

Oh it’s officially FALL now!

I ate a GIANT slice o’ pie after my 5 mile run this morning. I almost escaped the rain, but it started coming down pretty hard during the last mile and I got completely soaked!

I love running in the rain now…as long as I have a ziploc bag for Garmy and I’m not wearing a white t-shirt…

This bag of edamame, the ice pack and I have become fast friends the past few weeks…

Ice, ice baby! <–I still haven’t finished learning that

I’d love to stay and chat but I’ve gotta get to work. I’m nannying until late tonight!

Have a great weekend, y’all (clearly, I’ve been listening to too much country music).

Tell me: Are you doing anything fun/exciting/interesting this weekend? Do tell!

When I first started working at the bakery, everything was new to me and I wanted (needed!) to try everything. I’m talking about the baked goods, of course. I was in a deep sugar coma for weeks on end. I gained several pounds pretty quickly. To be honest, I wasn’t worried about it at all because I knew I’d eventually get tired of all the bread and sweets and everything would balance out again.

I trusted my body to let me know when it had enough.

Sure enough, one day after ~6 weeks of eating all things bread, cookies, scones, muffins, Savannah bars, and brownies, it happened. I looked at a cookie and it no longer called out to me. Sure, I still ate slices of bread and sweets here and there, but it was just like any other food to me (Okay, maybe not the butterscotch chip cookies! Those things are crack.).

Along with my desire to consume large quantities of sugar, I temporarily lost my desire to bake as well. I didn’t get the urge to bake at all because I was surrounded by baked goods all day, every day. I still ate enough bread and baked goods that I didn’t need any more carbs in my life.

My poor KitchenAid mixer was neglected for months. I’m pretty sure it had a midlife crisis. Will I ever mix dough again? Am I just going to sit here on the kitchen counter and look pretty or what? ALLIE!! Please put me to work!

Will came over yesterday and we dusted off the ol’ KitchenAid. Alright, let’s talk about this. To all you curious folks out there…we are not together. We actually dated once upon a time when we were 16 (we were babies!), but that ended and we didn’t really talk again until we reunited this past summer…7 years later (!!).

Anyways, we baked cookies yesterday to celebrate my half birthday. But first I have to show you the card Will gave me. We are always joking about how OLD I’m getting…ha! I’ll definitely need a fire extinguisher or two in 6 months .

Back to the cookies…

We didn’t just bake just any ol’ cookies. We made Great Harvest Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!

We added 3/4 cup butter, 1 egg, and 2 TBSP water, exactly as the label instructed. We both agreed it would be wise to add chopped pecans.

Great minds think alike!

Lots and lots of cookie dough was consumed…

Lots and lots of cookies too. Clearly, I did not lose my sweet tooth completely while working at the bakery!

The cookies came out great! A little more crumbly than the ones sold at the bakery, but equally as delicious.

I ran a TOUGH 5 miles this morning. I really don’t know how I got through it…

The sun was in full force (burning my cheeks and giving me a hott shin sleeve tan), I was pretty dehydrated and my legs/hips were sore from yesterday’s squats and lunges. Phew!

P.S. Looking back at that shin sleeve tan post, I ran today’s 5 miler a whole 4 minutes faster than I did back in April. Sweet!

It’s been pretty simple here on the food front. A lot of leftovers from Peter’s Kitchen.

Lunch yesterday involved a romaine salad topped with shrimp and grilled calamari with basil fresh from the garden.

…and Momma’s kitchen, too. More on that later. It involves a cute story about how my parents met and fell in love .

Though my slightly burnt cheeks are telling me Summer is most definitely still here, I am doing something very Fall-ish with my friends today. It involves beer, greasy food, and loud cheering. I’m pumped!

See ya later!

…or Pack It Up Granola

…or Everything But The Kitchen Sink Granola

…or I’m Moving and I Need To Get Rid Of A Bunch Of Grains and Seeds in the Pantry Granola

…or This Granola Keeps Me So Full I Don’t Have An Excuse To Stop Packing Granola

This granola was created to use up some lingering ingredients in the pantry…and to energize me through all that packing.

It’s crunchy, crumbly, nibbly, and nutty (not clumpy!). It’s not like traditional granola that is mostly made of oats. Rather, it’s a collection of various grains and seeds, that makes for an interesting texture.

This granola is delicious served atop a heaping scoop of ice cream…or yogurt…or frozen yogurt…or banana + almond butter toast. It’s also delicious eaten straight up with or without milk. I’m telling you all this from experience.

You see, while this granola has a lot of staying power, it doesn’t have focusing power. Well, not focusing on packing and cleaning power, that is.

Grainy Seedy Granola

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup buckwheat*
• 1/4 cup millet
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds*
• 1/4 pumpkin seeds*
• 1/4 sunflower seeds*
• 3 TBSP honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 TBSP coconut oil
• 2 pinches salt
• 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut

*get these ingredients raw if you can find them

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients (excluding shredded coconut). If using any already roasted ingredients marked with an asterisk (*), leave those out as well to prevent burning. Remember to wash the millet and quinoa, if needed!

In a small bowl, combine wet ingredients (honey/syrup, vanilla, oil). Microwave for 15 seconds and whisk together with a fork.

Pour honey/syrup mixture into the granola mixture and stir until fully combined. Bake at 300* F for 20-30 minutes. Stir every 5-10 min. to prevent burning. Halfway through, stir in shredded coconut and any roasted ingredients left out.

Makes ~3 cups

***

It’s

As Easy

As

1-2-3

Now go dig through your cupboards and get rid of some grains and seeds.

See? I can give out cleaning advice too!

I didn’t get to packing my suitcase until midnight! Things came up. Dinner, Dancing with the Stars, educating Peter about the wonderful world of Twitter, and of course procrastibaking…

I made a batch of Nikki’s Healthy Cookies from 101 Cookbooks to fuel me through a late night of packing…which wouldn’t have been a late night had I not baked. A catch-22! (or batch-22? )

These are indulgent-tasting cookies that happen to be healthy. There’s no added sugar aside from the chocolate chips. The sweetness primarily comes from the mashed bananas. I recommend not mashing them all the way so they have little pockets of gooey melted banana inside (!!).

I wouldn’t call these cookies. They’re more like little oatmeal truffles.

They can easily be made vegan and gluten free by using dairy and gluten free ingredients.

[I used sweetened coconut instead of unsweetened because that's what we had. I also halved the amount of chocolate, which came out to be just the right amount. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly.]

***

Packing didn’t take long because I’ll only be gone for 2 days. Meaning I don’t need 4 pairs of shoes and a back up camera, right?

I’m traveling to NYC today to attend an event hosted by Kelly Ripa and Tom Colicchio. Pinch me!

The actual event isn’t until tomorrow so I have all of today to let the city girl in me run wild. I’m crossing my fingers it doesn’t rain on my parade (100% chance it will…boo). Actually, not even a hail storm could ruin this for me! I’ve got my walking shoes on and my umbrella packed.

See you from New York, New York!

My mom grated way too many carrots yesterday while making pad thai to bring to a party. You know what that means, right? Oh yes, procrastibaking.

But…what to bake? I brainstormed the possibilities. A loaf of bread? Muffins? Cookies? Cake? Granola? Macaroons? And then…

Ding ding ding! I suddenly remembered I cut out a recipe for Carrot Cake Squares [many many moons ago] from the Mini Page of The Washington Post Sunday Edition. Yes!

The Mini Page may be for young children, but carrot cake is most defintiely for everyone. This recipe somehow survived our move last year and I knew exactly where to find it in all my [lovely] clutter.

See? There are benefits to hoarding.

Boy am I glad I kept this recipe in a safe spot because these squares are the carrot’s ferrets. What? You know…like “the bee’s knees?” Uh huh.

These squares are the halfway point between carrot cake and carrot muffins. Dense like cake but snackable like muffins.

The best part of all? The carrot strings!

Oh bee tee dubs, I adapted the recipe so they’re 100% whole grain and vegan.

Want to eat carrot cake for breakfast? Here’s your chance. Go right on ahead.

Carrot Cake Squares

Adapted from Rookie Cookie’s Recipe (The Washington Post Mini Page)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 TBSP coconut oil (or butter)
• 1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• cream cheese spread (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325*F. In a large glass bowl, mix carrots, sugar, spices, raisins, water, orange juice and coconut oil. Microwave on high for 2 minutes and stir. Allow to cool for 10 min. or until lukewarm. Add flours, baking powder and salt to the mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Fold in nuts.

Transfer batter to a greased 8×8 in. baking pan. Bake at 325*F for 25-30 min. Spread cream cheese on top when cool (optional).

Makes 12 squares.

Note: I made a second batch using 1 cup white whole wheat flour and 1 cup oat bran. It worked but the whole wheat and oat flour combination above came out better. Softer and more cakey.