Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake

Oh darlings, this is scrumptious.  I won't be making this again for a while because of my strict Spartan training, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't share it with you!  My recipe is adapted from this one.  I used to look up vegan recipes, but then realized I could get much better results by finding non-vegan recipes and making my favorite substitutions.  Vegan substitutions are easy - especially in baking!  With this recipe, I substituted rice milk for low-fat milk, flax meal mixed with warm water for egg, and vegan butter for dairy butter.  Always use organic, all-natural ingredients of the best quality. This is a magnificent, moist, flavorful coffeecake with the perfect streusel topping.  Enjoy warm with a delicious hot cup of Montavida coffee!

Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated unrefined sugar (evaporated cane juice)  
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
3/4 cup rice milk
2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 tablespoon flaxmeal mixed w/ 3 tablespoons warm water 
1 cup diced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 1 apple)

Streusel:
1/4 cup packed unrefined brown sugar 
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
2 tablespoons chilled vegan butter, cut into small pieces

Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, melted butter, vanilla, and flaxmeal mixture, stirring with a whisk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in apple. Pour batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.  To prepare streusel, combine brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack before serving.


 

Love Potion

Happy Valentine's Day, lovey dovies!

I'll take a break from my Spartan talk today to chat about this beautiful day of amor! Whether you're married, dating, or single, everyone can benefit from spreading a little extra love around.  Even my kiddos got into the Valentine's Day spirit this year for the first time and got busy hand-making cards for those they love.  This is also the first year that I purchased Valentine's Day gifts for them.  Each of them got a special book about how much God loves them...because He is the greatest love of all.  They're all wrapped in pretty paper complete with my own hand made cards and a little bag of healthy cookies, waiting for them to wake up from their naps!

       
I woke up this morning to a HUGE "I Love You" balloon, roses, and a funny card from the hubinator.  I'm blessed, he's adorable :)  Unfortunately it's going to take another week or so before his gift arrives...I have something special up my sleeve.  We'll just have to do Valentine's Day all over again!  More lovin'.

As for you my dears, I did not leave you out!  I have made you a delicious love potion that you can share with those you love.  This drink is refreshing, sugar-free, rich in nutrients, and dare I say...sexy!  It also packs a punch with plenty of antioxidants, and anti-aging properties. Hello!  Enjoy!

LOVE POTION

2-3 cups coconut water
1-2 cups mixed frozen berries
1/2 lemon squeezed
2 pitted dates
ice

Blend it all up and enjoy!


You could strain it to remove the extra berry seeds if they don't dissolve to your liking in the blender.

 

Becoming a Spartan - the WORKOUT!

Thank you so much for following along with me on this journey. I will definitely post recipes on this site again; at least one a week for your tasty pleasure.  We'll make it "Tasty Tuesdays" - I like that!

Yesterday I told you guys about the warm-up, the workout before the workout. Today I'll delve a little into the Spartan workout itself.  So far I've only been training for 3 days. The first day's workout was really easy compared to the warm-up. The next day got a little more serious. It started with that same fabulous warm-up, then proceeded to do this:

Run 1 mile
10 burpees
15 crunches
5 burpee pull-ups
10 hanging knee raises
3 15sec sprints w/ 30sec rest in between
Run 1/2 mile fast
Stretch

That was just Day 2. So yeah.

Burpees get a lot of bad press, but I honestly don't mind them. Crunches are a cinch for me as well. It's all that running...and pull-ups...and hanging knee raises. My core is strong, my legs are pretty strong, but my arms are the weakest link right now. I can't even hold my weight on a pull-up bar, let alone pull up. I did a little research and found out I can modify my pull-ups and still get the same affect until I'm strong enough to do the actual thing. I purchased these resistance bands from Amazon that I can hang from the door and pull up on at an angle to strengthen my arms.

The running is currently slow.  I'm doing about a 15 minute mile and still have to take a 30sec breather in there every so often to continue.  I've trained in running before and know that I'll see improvements in that area rather quickly as my body gets used to it again.  I'm also fortunate enough to have a pretty great treadmill in my basement, which is awesome because I don't know if you know this, but this is what it looks like outside in these parts:

Honestly I have to say I'm having a lot of fun.  I'm grateful to the whole Spartan team for putting these events together and sending out their Workout of the Day.  My mind is not focused on losing weight, exercising, or eating healthier.  My mind is focused on that June 7th day where - as they say - I will know at the finish line.  Sometimes we focus too much on the steps and call that the goal, and we lose our way.  I know I have.  Setting definitive goals and working towards them is the absolute BEST way to break out of the rut and exceed your own expectations!  I'm well on my way...

Becoming a Spartan - the WARM-UP!

Yesterday I received my very first Spartan Workout of the Day (WOD). I immediately had to cast down fear. The workout itself was simple - your basic jogging and burpees. The thing that filled me with fright was the Warm-Up.

If you're like me, you've started workouts in the past with stretching. After doing my fair share of workout videos I learned that getting the muscles warm before a workout is best; stretching is to be left for the grand finale. In fact, stretching before a workout while your muscles are still cold can cause injuries. Always warm up before a workout. In the videos I've done, these warm-ups are cute little dance moves at best. This, my friends, is the mother of all warm-ups.

I understand that some of you are the sveltest, buffest, strongest people in all the land so you would scoff at this warm-up - but if you read yesterday's post you know that is not my story. The first thing I did when I saw this thing was tell myself that God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of POWER, love, and a strong MIND. I AM AN ATHLETE. I CAN DO THIS. I must.

The warm-up itself was more exercise than I had done in one session possibly ever. It was dynamic stretching with movement for 20 yards or 15 reps for the stationary movements. I had no idea what 20 yards was so it was a good thing I asked my handy dandy hubby Pierre. I was bundled up and prepared to hit the cold hard streets for the entire length of my cul-de-sac. Turns out it was a distance I could do inside my home (phew!). Granted these crazy moves garnered plenty of giggles from my kiddos, but all I could do was lovingly ignore them and purpose to stay focused. Laugh now, family. Laugh now.

Survive Day 1: Check!

I AM A SPARTAN! ...In the making.

This post was going to be about a scrumptious vegan coffee cake I made recently, and I might still post that because it will change your life. Seriously. Today's post instead is about a decision I've made to compete in an upcoming Spartan race. I say "compete" quite lightly - it's more like "survive".

When I became a Christian in 1996, one of the first things I ever heard God speaking to me was that I am an athlete. After choking on my powdered donut, I thought He must've gotten the wrong girl. Surely the Heavenly wires got crossed because athlete was not a word that anyone in their right mind would use to describe me. Class President? Yes. Honor Roll Student? That's me! Great public speaker? Why, thank you! Athlete? LOL.

I was always an overweight junk food junkie. I literally got involved with every extracurricular activity that would allow me - except sports. I was the girl that dreaded gym class. Remember those yearly Presidential Physical Fitness exams? While my friends effortlessly breezed through the different obstacles, laughing at how much fun they were having, I felt like I was being tortured for every bite of pernil I'd ever eaten.

When I became a vegan and started working out in my early 20s, I got closer to that athletic image. I lost over 40 pounds and became the healthiest I'd ever been. I even ran a full marathon...yes, folks...26.2 miles of RUNNING. Unfortunately that physical training has only occurred in small spurts since I first heard those faithful words from a Father that knows me better than I know myself. Which leads me here.

A couple friends of mine signed up for the Tri-State Spartan Sprint much like my childhood classmates participated in those dreaded physical fitness tests. "This'll be FUN!" they said. "Oh we're not even doing half of what the training requires...it's just something nice to work towards." I wish I was genetically equipped to show up on race day and just have FUN. If I had continued the last decade becoming an athlete, surely this would just be another notch on my belt; the challenge that would bring me to the next level.  And although my eating habits greatly improved as an adult, in essence I just graduated to an organic junk food junkie.

So I've made the decision to be who God said I am...one event to the next. I'm not the type of person that will workout for the rest of my life simply for the pure "joy" of it. Nope. Been there, done that, 4 months at a time tops. I'm the kind of girl that needs a challenge. I need a team. I need an event. I need accountability. From now until June 7th, I have a reason to wake up every day and train my body like my life depends on it. After that, I will train for something else.

This blog is simply so I can have a record of the precious day I decided to start turning the ship around. I've been heading in the wrong direction, but I'm turning. If you can relate to my story at all, if you've made better choices in your eating but still feel tired, lethargic, unfit, even weak, maybe you're like me and need something to train for. Maybe you need to jump passed the exercise videos, workout classes, and treadmills. Maybe, just maybe, you need to launch into the deep and be a SPARTAN.

Chocolate Chip Cookies? Yes, Please!

There are plenty of recipes online that claim to be the best vegan chocolate chip cookie out there. I've tried many of them, but by trial and error I believe I truly have THE BEST. Hopefully you'll follow this recipe and it'll result in an amazing cookie for you; one that melts in your mouth and makes you yearn for an ice cold glass of rice milk so you can cuddle up in front of the fireplace with a good book. If not, use it as a starting point to develop your own "best" cookie. Everyone needs one.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup softened vegan butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp flax meal mixed w/ 6 tbsp warm water (let it sit until congealed)
1 12oz pkg vegan chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Heat oven to 375°F. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. Add flax meal. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes MAX. GENTLY remove from cookie sheet and place on wire rack to cool (they should still be super soft, will form more as they cool).

Makes 2 dozen big cookies.

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Have you ever tried to find a recipe for vegan pancakes? Have you ever eaten them? I lost count on how many recipes I tried that were a FAIL to the highest degree. They were dry, hard, grose excuses for pancakes and we had given up on this family delight - until now.

This is a recipe that I've altered and perfected. They are absolutely delicious, no one will ever know they are vegan - unless you feel like spilling the beans.


APPLE CINNAMON PANCAKES
1/2 cup vegan butter (we use Earth Balance)
2 cups rice milk
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup raw sugar (or agave)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil (like grapeseed)
2 tsp vanilla
1 large organic apple, peeled and sliced thin
Cinnamon to sprinkle

Melt butter and set aside to cool. Stir flour with sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in center. Add milk, lemon juice, oil and vanilla and stir until just blended. The batter should be a bit lumpy. For fluffy pancakes, mix as little as possible.

Lightly coat a large frying pan with butter and set over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan (you can also use a pancake griddle). Place apple slices on pancakes and sprinkle with cinnamon.



Cook until bubbles form on the top of each pancake and edges begin to brown, about 2 min. Using a wide spatula, flip and continue cooking until the bottoms of pancakes become golden, 1-2 min. Don't press or they will become tough. Serve right away or place on a plate and keep warm in a low-temperature oven while cooking remaining pancakes. They're delicious drizzled with maple syrup!