Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins

With the first cool day in Florida here today, it might actually start to feel like Fall soon! You know what that means... time to start picking out your Halloween costume. Okay, it could mean a lot more, like fleece vests, hearty soups, earlier bed times, and awesome weather. Thank you Florida.

Here is a great healthy, vegan recipe for pumpkin muffins that you can bring to all your festivities this fall. Enjoy.

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins (from VegNews)
Makes 12 muffinsWhat You Need:


1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup firm tofu, mashed
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup dried cranberries

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin purée, maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, and tofu. In a separate bowl, sift all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sea salt, and cloves. Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in dried cranberries.

3. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Managing Stress

Stress is a beast. It can cause major health problems. We must all learn how to manage the stress that enters our life. I admit. I'm horrible with stress. The second stress creeps in my life, my brain starts going a mile a minute, and so does my body. I feel everything change in an instant, and I can't control it. It sucks.

I juts lived through 2 very stressful days with work. I've been having anxiety over these days for over a month now and when the time finally came, I faced the music. I was expecting the worse, hoping for the best. Guess what? I got the worst. The part that kills me the most is my hands were tied. I was at the mercy of techonlogy which failed me. I guess there is much worse.

Right now I'm trying to decompress. My brain is fried. I have a headache. I do get to sleep in tomorrow which is good, and I hope to wake refreshed and out of this shock.

How do you manage stress?

Here is a song by Michael Franti.... he always makes you feel good.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

I'm attending MIT, Stanford, Yale and other Ivy League Schools for FREE!

READ. Free academic courses from IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITIES! I know, I know. How can you find time in your busy schedule to attend courses that aren't going to give you a Master's degree or help you get your undergrad? But why not make time!

Academic Earth is a website where you can take full university courses from Ivy League Universities in a wide range of topics. I feel if it is a course that I WANT to take and am not forced to take, I am more interested in it. Plus, I have all the time in the world to 'attend class.'

Currently, and for the past few months, I have been taking a Yale Literature course, The American Novel since 1945. Honestly, I've only listened to 1 out of 26 lectures so far, but I have read about 1/3 of the books on the list plus a couple I read while in college (although I will end up re-reading them).

I am so excited about my reading list, I just had to share.

Richard Wright - Black Boy
Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood
Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
Jack Kerouac - On the Road
JD Salinger - Franny and Zooey
John Barth- Lost in the Funhouse
Thomas Pynchon - The Crying of Lot 49
Toni Morrison - The Bluest Eyes
Maxine Hong Kingston - The Woman Warrior
Marilynne Robinson - Housekeeping
Carmec McCarthy - Blood Meridian
Philip Roth - The Human Stain
Edward P. Jones - The Known World
Jonathan Sanfran Foer - Everything is Illuminated

There are other sites out there like Academic Earth. Check out TED, which is a site that has "riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world" or iTunes U, which distributes digital lessons to the palm of your hand.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

"Ice Cream" without the guilt

This yummy treat is the grand finale to any meal. Yes, you can even have this dessert after breakfast without the guilt. This 'ice cream' is not ice cream at all, but it sure mimics the look and feel. It leaves your sweet tooth satisfied, but it doesn't come with all the guilt of eating a big bowl of traditional ice cream.

You can make this yummy vegan treat with only frozen bananas, but there are many ways to jazz it up.

In a blender, blend 2-4 frozen bananas (when the bananas are very ripe, remove the peel, place in a plastic bag and freeze). You might need to add a very small amount of water when blending to push things along.

To jazz up the dessert, you can add any of the following to the blender with the frozen bananas:
- Organic vanilla, peppermint or almond extract
- almonds, pecans, or walnuts
- a big scoop of organic peanut butter or almond butter (tahini is yummy too!)
- raw cocoa powder
- organic honey or agave nectar for an extra sweet treat

To top off this treat, you can add any of the following once the 'ice cream' is in the bowl:
- fresh fruit
- chopped nuts

You can also layer the 'ice cream' like a parfait and enjoy it between layers of yumminess.

Enjoy this guilt free dessert, and let me know what toppings and additions make your treat a success!

Eat well,
carolyn

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Swimming World Workouts

Visit the Swimming World Magazine website to get motivated and inspired in the pool. You can enter different search criteria to get a customized swim workout that will keep you busy in the pool for days.
I know it is getting cool in Florida, so either find a heated outdoor pool and brag to your friends in the snowy North that you swam outside or find a nice indoor pool.

My fiance and I are big fans of the YMCA. We both grew up swimming at Y pools. With the holidays around the corner (and our upcoming wedding), we are making sure to spend lots of time hitting the gym to offset the extra holiday feasting.

Happy swimming.

You can run a marathon. I promise!

If you notice in my list of "thing to manifest in 2009" it doesn't say anything about running a marathon; however, I ran 1 marathon and 2 half marathons in 2009.

It all started when I saw an ad in our local health magazine advertising a marathon training group which is run/walk. I had just ran a 10 mile race with a friend - Blessing of the Fleet in Narragansett, RI - in which we did a run/walk method, and I really enjoyed myself. Not only did I finish 10 miles with a smile on my face, but I surpassed any distance I had ever run.

I knew training for a marathon shouldn't be a solo adventure. I would need a training group to stay motivated to finish a 26.2 mile race. So in September 2008, I joined a Jeff Galloway marathon training group which ran from Fleet Feet Sarasota every Saturday morning.

I got so much more out of the experience than crossing the finish line at the Disney Marathon in January 2009, I gained many new friends, two of which I consider very close now, and I gained a new perspective about how to achieve things I never once thought possible.

I even made the local news for the Sarasota Marathon (which I ended up doing the half since I had injured myself. )

I am not one of those people who said "one day I want to run a marathon." In fact, I still can't believe I ran one. But I did. And you can too.

What do you have to lose... besides some lbs? You should look into joining a training group now. Marathon season is around the corner, so start training now so you will be ready for the 2010 marathons from January to May.

live well,
carolyn

Friday, September 11, 2009

Always be prepared...to eat healthy.

In order to maintain a healthy diet you must always be prepared. I am on the road often for work so I've developed quite a routine for preparing myself to eat well.

Here are some tips to make sure you are always prepared whether at your house or on the road:
1. Have fresh fruit cut and in Tupperware containers for easy snacking at home and for easy packing & later snacking while traveling.
2. Never leave home with out a bottle of water and a healthy snack. A banana or trail mix makes a great snack.
3. If you have to get on an airplane ALWAYS have a meal packed. I find a veggie wrap with hummus travels well.
4. Freeze very ripe bananas (remove peel first) for easy smoothie making. Ripe, frozen bananas are the key to yummy smoothies.
5. Have a fridge full of fresh fruits and veggies so you are not tempted. This not only helps you eat well but it is friendly on the budget too!
6. Granola bars make great snacks and pack well.

eat well,
carolyn

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Adventures of a First Time Triathlete

I signed up for the Trek Women's Triathlon many, many months ago when I got an email telling about a discount for the first annual event. I tried to convince friends to do it with me. After all it was something I had to do in 2009. I had to cross this sucker off of my 'manifestations' list.

Well, the time has come (and gone now!) and here are the adventures of a first time triathlete.


I knew swimming would be my strong suit. I was a swimmer growing up. A very competitive swimmer to be exact. And I know how to race this event.

Before the triathlon I had dreams I came out first from the water. I didn't come out first (mainly because I was in the 10th heat) but I did kick ass! 10th out of 935 women!!!

Things start to go up hill after the swim...





I mean, come on, could I convince you that I was NOT a first time triathlete? Look at that crooked helmet!


And then there was the run. This was the first time I've run in 6 months due to a foot injury. The tri was a sprint tri so only a 5k. The run felt pretty good, and I am debating whether to start training for a half marathon this weekend or giving my foot more time to heal. Along with completing a triathlon in 2009, I told myself I would heal my foot 100% also.








And a happy first time triathlete... crossed that finished line and crossed completing a triathlon in 2009 off my list.


Maybe you could give competing in a triathlon a try. An all woman's race is a great place to start where you will fell comfortable and supported!

Before we jumped in the water for the swim, Sally Edwards told my heat our mantra, "I am a bad ass." And I am.


Be well,
Carolyn

Things to Manifest in 2009

This is my first post. And it is quite fitting that this post takes me to a nice starting point in time. New Year's Eve.

Each year when most folks are thinking up resolutions, I think up manifestations. Every year after I celebrate New Year's Eve in style I begin my list. I save my list on google docs so I can access it anywhere for inspiration, additions, or deletions. After all I want my list to manifest with the times.

Without further ado, here is the list I made sometime in the New Year 2009.

1. to heal my foot (I suffered a running injury after training for a marathon)
2. Be healthy and happy
3. Look good - slim, trim, and buff!
4. Lose 5 lbs.

To achieve my goals, I will:
1. Get a personal trainer to improve my core strength
2. Compete in one triathlon
3. Avoid eating past 7:30 pm
4. Eat lots of fresh fruits & veggies and avoid sweets
5. Check my weight every Friday
6. Reward myself with at least monthly massages

Well, I can't say that I've followed everything to a T. In fact tonight's dinner was eaten at 8 pm; but it was a plate full of fresh veggies and for desert I had a yummy Choco-Banana smoothie. (recipe coming soon, but I fear my new finding will cause some of my successes to slip!) I haven't been diligent about checking my weight EVERY Friday. And in fact I might check my weight on a Saturday if I'm feeling like it. (Truth be told... I only check my weight when I feel 'light' and always first thing in the morning naked!). And I haven't been able to treat myself to monthly massages mainly because I'm busy with life and can't afford it right now (I'm planning a wedding!)

I do though keep track of how much I exercise each day (fortunate to have a dog that LOVES being outside and lets me know atleast 4 times a day it is time for a walk!), work out with a personal trainer once a week, excerise daily, and eat a vegan diet heavy in raw fruits and vegetables.

As of today, September 10, 2009 I can report that I have manifested:
healing my foot (about 95%... I still have some more to do)
am healthy and happy
look slim, trim and buff!
have lost 5 lbs (8 to be exact)

How is that for a first post?

be well,
carolyn


Ringing in the New Years at dinner in downtown Sarasota with my fiance, his brother and his brother's wife.