Tuesday's Eats #1

I have posted a couple "what I eat in a day" blogposts before (here, here and here), but recently my mom and I were talking about how much we love reading these so we are both going to try to post what we eat weekly (check out her blog). I am going to try to post what I eat every Tuesday for every week this year. It will be interesting to see how what I eat changes with the season and based on where I am living at the time. I love counting my fruits and veggies, so this day we got 12 different kinds! With that being said, here is Monday's food while being at home.

Breakfast: Greek Yogurt w/ blueberries, raspberries, kiwi and blackberries topped with flaxseeds + granola

Every day I wake up looking forward to breakfast, it is by far and away my favorite meal of the day. I can never decide on what to eat because there are too many options. (oh the struggle) My dad had recently went to Costco and bought so many out of season fruits and veggies, something my mom rarely does. I knew I had to take advantage of the berries in a way that I would fully taste them. I made a big bowl of fruit, added yogurt for protein, and flaxseeds with granola for texture. 

Lunch: Mexican Inspired Kale Salad (kale topped with corn, carrots, tomato, cauliflower/sweet potato rice, spiced black beans, tortilla chips and cilantro) 

I always try to make some sort of interesting lunch when I am home over break to make up for all of my boring meals at school. Today I just decided to make a kale salad as kale is one of my favorite foods. I threw in almost all of the veggies I could find, and made a big, colorful lunch. Lunch like this can keep me happy for hours, especially with addition of beans. 

Lunch Dessert: Dried Mango

I have such a sweet tooth, but recently I have found that cookies and chocolates make me feel sick if I eat them in the afternoon, but for some reason they don't later at night. For that reason, I have found new sweets to enjoy. Unsweetened dried fruit has got to be one of my favorite ways to satisfy this craving.  

Dinner: Hummus Encrusted Chicken + Buffalo Cauliflower + Simple Salad

I was in charge of making dinner so I decided to try some new recipes. The hummus chicken turned our really well, at least to me. The non-chickpea lovers didn't care for it, but I loved the creamy hummus on the chicken. I wasn't as big of a fan of the cauliflower, but only because it was so spicy. That being said, I am really happy with how the dinner turned out and will definitely be keep that chicken recipe. 

Dessert: GF Gingerbread Cake + brown sugar syrup

I am so excited about this gingerbread cake. My mom has always made the best gingerbread cake in the winter, but I was worried I wouldn't be able to eat anything like it anymore. I found this recipe from Boulder Locavore (here) that was almost the exact same as my mom's. It turned out so well that no one knows it is gluten free! 

Finished with the first day of eats! 

xoxo, 

Maddie 

Thursday Three

Two days are now in the books for 2019, but I can safely say I enjoyed the ending of 2018. This week was pretty much focused on friends and family. I loved spending time with my family while they were on Christmas break, and it was so nice to see friends that I haven't seen in a long time. This week was pleasantly busy ie I had thing to do, but I was never too busy or really bored. Here is what I was up to:

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I have been having a lot of fun over break experimenting with different types of foods. I have made soups, fun tacos, new pancakes and even green juice. Now, I love my greens, but separating and eaten as a food not a juice. I have always avoided juices because I know eating all the parts individually would be more entertaining. That being said, this juice was really good. It had a grapefruit, half an avocado, spinach and cucumber. My favorite part about this juice was that it was made in a blender not a juicer, so while it was still liquidy, all of the fiber was retained making it more filling with a better texture.








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It has been disheartening not being able to run at all for over a month now. I really love to run and it stinks knowing that I ran a marathon and won't be able to run a mile. That being said, I have starting lifting weights and am finding that more fun than I remembered. I like to find different circuits online, and combine them to make an interesting workout. I hope I can gain muscle through this which I know will help me when I can finally run again too. 

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No New Year's is complete without a trip to Door County. It has become our family tradition to spend the weekend there while the only goal being to relax and spend time as a family. Most of the days were spent curled up near the fire while reading books or watching football. I also enjoyed walks along the golf course my grandparents live near. One night there was a big snow storm which made the entire area so pretty. For me, there is nothing quite like fresh fallen snow on pine trees to make the perfect winter picture.

Now on to 2019, 

xoxo,

Maddie

2018 Favorites

I can't believe that 2018 is pretty much over. So much has happened that has made this year fly by. I figured out I need to be gluten free (kind of a big change). I got more involved with my sorority, and have gotten so much closer with the other girls. I completely changed one of my majors, and now my life plan is looking a little different. All of these changes have had a big impact on my life, but mainly for the better. 2018 was a hard year for me, but it taught me a lot and I am pleased with the results. 

| Cottage Cheese | I mentioned this on the blog earlier, but I have been loving cottage cheese. I randomly decided to try it one day, and ever since I eat it almost daily. Daisy is my favorite brand. The texture is perfect and there are no gums or thickeners added. My favorite ways to eat cottage cheese is either plain with pepper, or topped with chia, flax and hemp seeds. 

| Kale | I have no idea where my love for kale came from. One day I hated it, and then suddenly all I want to eat is a kale salad. Kale was a staple for me this summer, and continues to be the first thing I ask for when I come home for breaks. I love the versatility of a simple kale salad, so that it can be eaten for any meal of the day. 

| Booties | I got these shoes for Amazon Prime Day over the summer for a great deal. I wasn't 100% sure I wanted them, but now I wear them quite often at school that I know I made a good purchase. They make any outfit look a little nicer. It is also nice that these shoes are comfortable enough that I ca walk in them all day and my feet don't hurt. 

| Agenda | I have always loved my agendas and this year is no different. My agenda is used everyday and I can't imagine what a mess I would be without it. I love how it has hour by hour lines so I can plan out my time, and the to-do list is long enough to actually fit everything I need to accomplish. It helps that this agenda is absolutely gorgeous and the sight of it sitting on my desk is so pretty. 

| Adidas Shoes |  I have never really had a pair of sneakers that I have liked before, but seeing everyone walking around campus wearing them has made me intrigued. I found this pair for $30 on sale, so I decided it would be a perfect way to try out the trend. I have ended up liking these shoes way more than I thought I would. They are so comfortable with such a good color.

| Perfect Bars |  I tried Perfect Bars when I was training for my marathon as a way to get enough calories during the day without having to put too much thought into it. I have never found a protein bar that I actually liked, but turns out these are so good. My favorite flavor is the coconut peanut butter or the pumpkin pie, but they all taste good, somewhat like cookie dough. Even though I am done with my marathon, I still like to enjoy one every once in a while. 

| Madewell Sweater | My dad and I got a red version of this sweater for my mom earlier this fall, and since then I have been eyeing the sweater so you know it was a great surprise to get it for Christmas. It is so warm and soft I never want to take it off. The color is also so nice and different from anything else I own that it is a great addition to my closet. I know I will be wearing this a ton this winter. 

| Gold Earrings | I have had these gold earring for a couple years but only recently have I started wearing them again. I used to consider myself more of a silver person. I typically wear a silver colored necklace, pearl earrings and a watch with silver lining, but recently gold has starting being appealing to me. I would really like a small gold necklace, but in the meantime I loved wearing these earrings. 

| Books | I haven't read a lot during the school year, but during every break I have loved being able to snuggle up and read some good books. Plenty was one of my favorites. It is about a couple that decides to live on a 100 mile diet. It is every interesting, especially someone who loves local eating. Make sure to check back later on as I will make a post about what I have read recently. 

What are your favorite things of 2018?

xoxo,

Maddie 

What I Ate on Wednesday

 Today might not actually be Wednesday, but this is what I ate on Wednesday so I guess the title works. You know what yesterday also was? My first full day of winter break. This semester was crazy, so this break is definitely needed.  

     I love being home because it means I can cook. I spend most of my days in the kitchen either looking into recipes, reading cookbooks or making something to eat. Right now I am loving to make Christmas treats. Last year I came home so late that I didn't really have time to bake for Christmas, so I am making up for it this year. With that being said, here is what I have been up to in the kitchen. 

 I had been craving good eggs for a while, so this was exactly what I wanted. My family buys their eggs from a local producer, so ours are always really fresh. I also had an orange and toast with homemade raspberry jam. Our oranges are also bought from a special producer from the south, so these are extra juicy. They make all of the clementines I have been eating at school seem awful. 

I wanted to make something special for lunch, so I decided on baked falafel. For some reason it was sounding really good to me, so I just went with it. I used a recipe from MegUnprocessed, and they turned out pretty well. I also added cauliflower rice, lettuce, yellow carrot, canned tomato and avocado to my bowl. I then finished it off with lemon juice. This was a tasty and filling lunch that I will be making again. After this yummy bowl, I had a piece or two of homemade fudge. 

The best part about being at home is my mom's dinners. Last night, we had chicken puttanesca, polenta and roasted Brussel sprouts. It wasn't a crazy fancy meal or anything like that, but it really hit the spot. I love the variety of food that I get when I am at home, so I plan to take full advantage of it this break. 

Lastly, and most importantly, dessert. I made the gluten free sugar cookies that my mom had made earlier this month, so that was my dessert. My favorite cookies are soft and fluffy, so I always look around the batch to find the perfect ones. 

I am so happy to be eating like this again. I joked with my family that my new "diet" for the season will be desserts and vegetables because that is all it seems like I eat. When its not Christmas I don't normally eat as much dessert (ie not 3x a day) but right now, I am loving finally eating and making my favorite treats. 

xoxo,

Maddie 

Thursday Three

And we are back with the Thursday Threes! I always try to be good about writing a post at least every once in a while, but really that never happens. A lot of times, if I have to have a couple spare minutes, I am so tired of looking at computer screens that writing isn't appealing. That being said I am at a weird break in classes where I don't have tons of work so I'm going to try to make the most of it. 

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Ask me what my favorite season of the year is and my answer is always the Christmas season. Everyone who has known me for a while knows this, and more than anyone else, my mom knew it would be hard this year not being able to eat my favorite cookies. For St. Nick's Day she surprised me by making gluten free sugar cookies which involved her even making her own flour blend. They taste so good and this is definitely the highlight of my week. 

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Cottage cheese is officially my newest favorite snack. I remembered liking it when I was a kid, and after reading about it a lot on Bon Appetite recently, I knew I wanted to try it again. I found some for sale at a market on campus and gave it a try. Needless to say I love it. It is a great way to add protein to any meal. I typically just add pepper on top and enjoy.

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This semester has really just consisted a lot of studying and homework. Taking science classes for the first time in years is definitely different then all of my poli sci classes. A lot more math, a lot less reading.  For the most part its been going well, other than the day I had to dissect a rat and then everything with chemistry in general. I have no idea how people choose to be chem majors. With finals starting next week I know I'll just keep studying a lot, but the end is in sight. 

xoxo,

Maddie 

Recent Eats: Thanksgiving

Every Thanksgiving, there is nothing that I am more thankful than my mom's cooking. Coming home from college makes this even more special. My mom always makes whatever I want when I come home, and this year she put in extra work to make sure that my first gluten free thanksgiving was all I wanted it to be. I ate a lot of really good food last weekend, but these were my favorites. 

Thanksgiving dinner of course was great. I don't love turkey, but I am all about the sides. I had sweet-potato apple puree, kale salad with apples and dried cranberries, cranberry sauce and a mix of roasted veggies. It was so nice to have a full, delicious plate of food. I loved how it had so many colors and flavors. 

I ate a lot of kale salad when I am home, but that is because it is one of my favorite foods. I made sure to change it up every time because I had so many options. The first salad had avocado, honey crisp apple, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds. The second salad also had avocado and pomegranate seeds, and I also added leftover roasted veggies and cauliflower rice. If I always had my way in life, I would be eating big fancy salads like this almost everyday. 

I never get pancakes anymore, so my mom made these yummy oatmeal-based pumpkin pancakes. Even though I eat a lot of oatmeal, these really hit the spot and were one of my favorite parts of the weekend. I ate these pancakes with local maple syrup and local pears. Putting maple syrup on fresh fruit is always so good, and is one of my favorite parts of eating pancakes, well and the pancakes of course.

 

 

My mom and I wanted to make a fun but simple appetizer one night, so we made these brie apple bites. We used almond flour based crackers, sliced brie and then topped each cracker with sautéed apple. After the picture, I decided they all needed cracked pepper as well. This made them so good. I love cooking like this where it is't a recipe but instead going by what might taste good. 

 My roommate at school is also gluten free, and she had been telling me about a certain gluten free pizza at Costco that has a cauliflower crust. I decided to try it out last weekend, and let me tell you, it was so good. I have been craving pizza for so long and this hit the spot perfectly.

Now for my favorite thing I ate all weekend, over and over again- pumpkin bread pudding. I have always loved bread pudding and since it is so easy to make gluten free (just substitute the bread), my mom made sure we had it as the gluten free dessert for thanksgiving. This bread pudding has a really good caramel sauce that goes on top, and is actually the best fall dessert. I ate this every night and it was disappointing to not have a yummy dessert being back at school. 

I was not let down this Thanksgiving. I was surrounded by the people I love, eating amazing good food and having a great time. This year really showed me how much I have to be thankful for, even if I did have to spend of a lot of the weekend studying for a chemistry exam. 

xoxo,

Maddie 

Madison Marathon in Review

      I have officially finished with my 4 months of marathon training! (Well, I finished it a couple weeks ago, but better late than never) I had previously posted (here) my game plan for training along with possible set backs I might comes across, and of course my goals. Training started off really well, but didn't continue that way. My training pretty much had two phases, marked by everything going well and then getting hurt. 

      To start, everything was going perfectly. I had no problem making long run routes and finishing them fairly quickly. No matter how far I was running, my pace was typically around an 8:30 mile. I easily found gels that I liked for mid-run fuel, which are Stinger. Fun enough, the first brand I tried was GU since that is was is given during most races and I couldn't stand it. I actually had to spit it out in the middle of a park (oops). Now the idea of those gels makes me nauseous but the Stinger Gels did the trick. I was really enjoying my runs and not having any problems with motivation. This was all happening through my 16 mile long run... and then I raced a half marathon. 

     The week before the half, my hip had been starting to bother me so I took a day or two off to see if that helped. I was feeling alright for the half marathon, so I decided to go for it. My mom and I had been planning on running it together, but since my pace was getting faster, we decided to do it separately. Within a couple miles my hip flared up again, but being the super competitive person that I am, I kept running. I ended up doing really well with a PR of 8 minutes and finishing second in my age group. 

      After the half my hip kept getting worse and worse, until it came to the point where I couldn't finish my long runs, let alone the short ones. I went to a physical therapist through my school to see if I could figure out what was wrong, but nothing seemed to be an exact problem. I was told by the doctor that I shouldn't continue training for the marathon, and that instead I need to take a month off of running. Well, I am not the person who is going to give up on a goal, especially one that I have been looking forward to for almost a year. I ended up taking a little over a week off, stretching a lot and resuming hip exercises. The problem never went away, but it was minimized enough I could handle running.  

     The week before the marathon I was a mess. I was so nervous that there were moments I would be getting nothing done as I scoured the Internet for advice on marathon recovery, what to wear and almost anything you could think of. Let's just say I am sure Runner's World saw a massive spike in viewership. What got me through the week was how so many people kept telling me how excited they were for me and were wishing me luck. I couldn't have gotten through the last four months without the amazing support system that I have.

      The marathon itself was hard, there is no better way to put it. My knee and hips flared up by mile 6 and got worse as the run progressed. By the end of the run, I could barely lift up my right leg which made going up hills difficult. This proved to be a large annoyance as the second half of the race primarily consisted of hills. Throughout the run I just kept reminding myself of how hard I trained and how long I have wanted to do this. I made sure to enjoy the pretty views and take in the fact that I was finally running a marathon. I was able to finish the marathon, get third place in my age group, and even though it involved walking, I am so happy that I was able to complete it.
      Now after the marathon, I have my 26.2 sticker on my laptop, my medal hanging on my wall and am going to end up taking a long break from running for my hip. It will be weird not running all of the time after running almost everyday for several months, but I am hoping to find fun, new ways to workout and have my hip heal quickly so I can get back to running.