I made these Granola Chews tonight, and they are SO GOOD!! If you like Nature Valley Trail Mix Bars, you will love these...'cause they're even better!
1/4 - 1/3 C. butter
1/2 C. honey
1/2 C. each raisins & unsweetened grated coconut
1 C. coarsely chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, or pecans)
1/2 tsp salt
In saucepan, stir butter & honey on low heat until melted and blended.
Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients, mix well. Spread into an ungreased 8 x 8 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes until set.
I pulled these out of the oven about an hour ago, and we've already eaten about half the pan - they are that yummy & addictive. Enjoy!!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
That's it, I commit!
This afternoon, I am fully charged with a sense of renewal, excitement and energy! Today’s sunshine and mild temperatures are a powerful intoxicant to my weakened system, and for that, I am truly thankful.
For several years now, a personal goal of mine has been to complete a half-marathon. Plagued with self-doubt, fear and lack of 100% dedication, I have put it off. This year, though, the niggling in my brain has been getting more irritating to a point where I simply don’t want to let myself down; I want to prove it to myself that I can do it!! What initially gave me the push to go for it this year was the call for applications for CBC’s Gotta Run weekly segment. As some of you know, I sent in an application to be part of a 12-member group that trains for the Ottawa ING half marathon in May as a tv crew follows the group’s progress. Unsurprisingly, I was not selected from the 500+ applicants, and for a week or two, I let my goal slip from consciousness.
A few weeks later, I got an email from the CBC inviting me to participate in a special Running Room clinic organized just for those 488 applicants who weren’t selected for the group. I hummed and haahed about registering, because once I registered – that was it, I’d be committed. Well, after a few days, I sucked it up and registered. And now, to ensure complete commitment and to reassure myself that I have support, I am telling people I’m doing this. No backing out now!
BUT – today! – with this incredible warm, mild sun shining in my face, I finally feel thrilled at the prospect of accomplishing this goal! I am excited to join in the Running Room group run tomorrow (it’s only 3km, haha!) and to finally get this ball rolling. I know there will be hard days that will challenge me physically and mentally, but today, I don’t care about that. If I can climb an endless Himalayan mountain for 7 days straight, I can certainly train 3 months for a 21.1 km race. Besides, I’m already running 15km during my weekly long runs, so I’m ahead of the game! (I think my biggest challenge will be running outdoors in the winter…can’t say I’m a fan of those artic winds blasting my face and numbing my joints).
Plus, tonight I begin Level III in boxing. I am so looking forward to progressing to this level…time for more of a challenge!
Bring it on, I say! I am ready for spring; I am ready for new important, personal challenges; and I am ready to commit!
And I have decided to revamp the name of this blog, seeing as there is a keen lack of "he said" on the site. I have decided to make it my own. So stayed tuned on it's new name....just have to figure that out....
For several years now, a personal goal of mine has been to complete a half-marathon. Plagued with self-doubt, fear and lack of 100% dedication, I have put it off. This year, though, the niggling in my brain has been getting more irritating to a point where I simply don’t want to let myself down; I want to prove it to myself that I can do it!! What initially gave me the push to go for it this year was the call for applications for CBC’s Gotta Run weekly segment. As some of you know, I sent in an application to be part of a 12-member group that trains for the Ottawa ING half marathon in May as a tv crew follows the group’s progress. Unsurprisingly, I was not selected from the 500+ applicants, and for a week or two, I let my goal slip from consciousness.
A few weeks later, I got an email from the CBC inviting me to participate in a special Running Room clinic organized just for those 488 applicants who weren’t selected for the group. I hummed and haahed about registering, because once I registered – that was it, I’d be committed. Well, after a few days, I sucked it up and registered. And now, to ensure complete commitment and to reassure myself that I have support, I am telling people I’m doing this. No backing out now!
BUT – today! – with this incredible warm, mild sun shining in my face, I finally feel thrilled at the prospect of accomplishing this goal! I am excited to join in the Running Room group run tomorrow (it’s only 3km, haha!) and to finally get this ball rolling. I know there will be hard days that will challenge me physically and mentally, but today, I don’t care about that. If I can climb an endless Himalayan mountain for 7 days straight, I can certainly train 3 months for a 21.1 km race. Besides, I’m already running 15km during my weekly long runs, so I’m ahead of the game! (I think my biggest challenge will be running outdoors in the winter…can’t say I’m a fan of those artic winds blasting my face and numbing my joints).
Plus, tonight I begin Level III in boxing. I am so looking forward to progressing to this level…time for more of a challenge!
Bring it on, I say! I am ready for spring; I am ready for new important, personal challenges; and I am ready to commit!
And I have decided to revamp the name of this blog, seeing as there is a keen lack of "he said" on the site. I have decided to make it my own. So stayed tuned on it's new name....just have to figure that out....
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
A big sheet of ice 'neath my feet
Every Canadian, or at the very least every Ottawan, should skate the Rideau Canal. There is nothing like it.
I laced up my skates last night for the first time this year. It was a beautiful evening – not too cold, no wind, and not too many people on the ice. The first skate of the year is always a little shaky, a little uncoordinated as I try to find my balance.
I love gliding along, listening to a multitude of skate blades slice crisply through the ice, seeing people huddled around picnic tables eating their beavertails with numbed hands and unsteady feet, and enjoying the skate for the unique cultural experience that it is.
I also get a kick when I see people around the city carrying skates because you know exactly where they are going or where they are coming from; in what other city do you see so many people carrying around skates?
Today was an absolutely gorgeous sunny, mild day and I laced up again during my lunch hour. I didn’t skate the length of the canal like last night due to time constraints, but still had an invigorating skate. People of all skills and abilities skating around….sun reflecting off the ice, blinding me….the wind on my cheeks….ahh, such freedom!
I laced up my skates last night for the first time this year. It was a beautiful evening – not too cold, no wind, and not too many people on the ice. The first skate of the year is always a little shaky, a little uncoordinated as I try to find my balance.
I love gliding along, listening to a multitude of skate blades slice crisply through the ice, seeing people huddled around picnic tables eating their beavertails with numbed hands and unsteady feet, and enjoying the skate for the unique cultural experience that it is.
I also get a kick when I see people around the city carrying skates because you know exactly where they are going or where they are coming from; in what other city do you see so many people carrying around skates?
Today was an absolutely gorgeous sunny, mild day and I laced up again during my lunch hour. I didn’t skate the length of the canal like last night due to time constraints, but still had an invigorating skate. People of all skills and abilities skating around….sun reflecting off the ice, blinding me….the wind on my cheeks….ahh, such freedom!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Quotes of note
Here are a few interesting quotes I've come across recently that I thought I'd share.
You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others - Anonymous
Resolve to be thyself; and know that he who finds himself, loses his misery - Matthew Arnold
Nothing makes us more productive than the last minute - Anonymous
If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again - William Penn
And this one by Mark Twain particularly speaks to me, inspires me, moves me -
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain
You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others - Anonymous
Resolve to be thyself; and know that he who finds himself, loses his misery - Matthew Arnold
Nothing makes us more productive than the last minute - Anonymous
If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again - William Penn
And this one by Mark Twain particularly speaks to me, inspires me, moves me -
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain
The monkey on my back
It's the start of another week; another cold morning. What's nice now, though, is that the sun is rising earlier and setting later. I can't believe how much of a difference that little bit of extra light makes on my sense of well-being.
This morning I am tired, uninspired and droopy. I don't know what's wrong; I didn't feel so great last week either. This morning, I think the feeling stems from being very tired and also that 'hangover' feeling after pigging out on junk food. Yesterday, I fell off the wagon, so to speak, of our new diet, and maaan, does the effect just knock me out - mentally, physically, emotionally. The guilt, self-loathing, and sense of worthlessness is just as intense as it always was. And now that I've been free of that mental punishment for about a month now, I realize just how liberating it is to just feel good about myself, just to 'be' and not suffocate myself with nagging, negative self-talk.
*****
Saturday we had friends over for dinner, so we got our apt tidied, and spent the afternoon getting the meal ready. Our apt looks really nice right now, very cozy and homey. If only we could keep it that way - clutter free!! Anyway, we prepared a very yummy meal and had a nice evening. Next weekend, I'm going to New York City with another friend of mine and I'm quite looking forward to the adventure. We're bussing down, which we both agree will be tortorous. We're arming ourselves for the trip with Gravol, ear plugs, eye masks, and chocolate.
This morning I am tired, uninspired and droopy. I don't know what's wrong; I didn't feel so great last week either. This morning, I think the feeling stems from being very tired and also that 'hangover' feeling after pigging out on junk food. Yesterday, I fell off the wagon, so to speak, of our new diet, and maaan, does the effect just knock me out - mentally, physically, emotionally. The guilt, self-loathing, and sense of worthlessness is just as intense as it always was. And now that I've been free of that mental punishment for about a month now, I realize just how liberating it is to just feel good about myself, just to 'be' and not suffocate myself with nagging, negative self-talk.
*****
Saturday we had friends over for dinner, so we got our apt tidied, and spent the afternoon getting the meal ready. Our apt looks really nice right now, very cozy and homey. If only we could keep it that way - clutter free!! Anyway, we prepared a very yummy meal and had a nice evening. Next weekend, I'm going to New York City with another friend of mine and I'm quite looking forward to the adventure. We're bussing down, which we both agree will be tortorous. We're arming ourselves for the trip with Gravol, ear plugs, eye masks, and chocolate.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day!
"All things respond to the love and care you give them...in their own time...and in their own way. Believe in love."
I thought this was a nice quote; it's today's inspirational quote on my desk calendar.
Happy Valentine's Day!
I thought this was a nice quote; it's today's inspirational quote on my desk calendar.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Saturday, February 3, 2007
A brand new day!
Mark and I have been taking an extremely interesting health course that examines all components that affect our health and well-being and how they impact us ie: nutrition, exercise, stress, sleep, digestion etc. Based on the things we have learned in the course and on reading the book on which the course is based, we have overhauled our diets. Mark especially. We are eating organic as much as possible, eating out less, reducing the grains we eat (like bread), and cutting out sugar as much as possible.
I'm leaving out the important "why" for some of these choices. But let if suffice to say that we both feel really good these days; healthy, energized, happy. And food has become exciting again! We're trying out lots of new recipes, particularly fish like haddock, orange ruffy, tilapia, and sushi-grade tuna (which we had tonight - so good!). And food even tastes better - I mean, free range eggs taste far superior to regular eggs, and they're bigger too.
My baking hobby is taking a serious hit with this overhaul since baking is filled with butter, fat, sugar, etc etc. However, I've found a few recipes that use nut flour instead of grain flour, no sugar and little fat. But those two recipes are gonna get old fast.
I also find that instead of craving jujubes and cookies, I am now developing a dependence upon honey and fruits like pineapple and mango (which can't be good! the cravings, I mean). Cutting out bread was a good thing for me, as I actually don't feel that good when I eat bread. Sometimes I miss my morning toast, but overall, I actually don't miss it that much! When I pass bread in the grocery store, I glance at it fondly, nostalgically, like an old friend that is still dear to me but that I've had to say goodbye to for awhile, but will revisit briefly, fleetingly, again down the road (say, when I go to an Indian restaurant & have naan).
My biggest obstacle is trying to get adequate sleep. According to the author of the book, we should be in bed, relaxed, before 10:30pm. This is a challenge for me, but a challenge that is well worth the undertaking, as I have been sleep deprived since, probably, the age of 18. I swear lack of sleep has aged me well beyond my 28 years....that's probably why I have the memory retention of an 80 year old (no offence meant to anyone). And ironically, I'm staying up way too late writing this blog.
On that note, I'm off to bed.
I'm leaving out the important "why" for some of these choices. But let if suffice to say that we both feel really good these days; healthy, energized, happy. And food has become exciting again! We're trying out lots of new recipes, particularly fish like haddock, orange ruffy, tilapia, and sushi-grade tuna (which we had tonight - so good!). And food even tastes better - I mean, free range eggs taste far superior to regular eggs, and they're bigger too.
My baking hobby is taking a serious hit with this overhaul since baking is filled with butter, fat, sugar, etc etc. However, I've found a few recipes that use nut flour instead of grain flour, no sugar and little fat. But those two recipes are gonna get old fast.
I also find that instead of craving jujubes and cookies, I am now developing a dependence upon honey and fruits like pineapple and mango (which can't be good! the cravings, I mean). Cutting out bread was a good thing for me, as I actually don't feel that good when I eat bread. Sometimes I miss my morning toast, but overall, I actually don't miss it that much! When I pass bread in the grocery store, I glance at it fondly, nostalgically, like an old friend that is still dear to me but that I've had to say goodbye to for awhile, but will revisit briefly, fleetingly, again down the road (say, when I go to an Indian restaurant & have naan).
My biggest obstacle is trying to get adequate sleep. According to the author of the book, we should be in bed, relaxed, before 10:30pm. This is a challenge for me, but a challenge that is well worth the undertaking, as I have been sleep deprived since, probably, the age of 18. I swear lack of sleep has aged me well beyond my 28 years....that's probably why I have the memory retention of an 80 year old (no offence meant to anyone). And ironically, I'm staying up way too late writing this blog.
On that note, I'm off to bed.
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