THE MOST DELICIOUS PANCAKE RECIPE EVAR!

Over these past few months I have learned a great deal. At first when I started eating healthy, I was super OCD about counting my calories, making sure I didn't eat past 7, and just being extremely strict in general with what I ate (no sweets ever, nothing with processed flour, no extra little snacks here and there). Let's just say, it was probably about to get unhealthy if I kept it up for too long... But then I went on a two week vacation to visit high school friends, and I all of a sudden began eating too much probably. But it taught me a lesson. When I got back home to Savannah, I was eating healthy again, but I wasn't as worried about counting calories as I was about just making sure I wasn't eating anything too awful in large amounts. Like, yesterday I ate a little bit of Cinnamon Chex cereal around 11:30 PM with my boyfriend. The day before that, I was at a gathering that was handing out free candy to everyone, and I ate three squares of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate. And maybe a blow-pop.

And honestly, with all this intense running I've been doing, I think I'll be fine. As long as I don't start allowing myself to have a giant dessert everyday all the time. I just have to keep control over my eating habits, while still allowing myself a little slack. It may be difficult to find this balance and stick with it, but hey! I have my whole life to figure it out right? I have confidence in myself to do what's best for my body.

But, ahem. Back to baking.

Today after my gym workout (no running today - instead I used the Nike Training Club free app on my phone for circuit training and it was awesome!), I decided to get creative. Pulling from a few different recipes I had heard of before, I threw together an awesome pancake breakfast for one. I'm not exactly sure how much of each ingredient I used because I was so frickin' excited to try my creation that I just threw everything into a bowl and got straight to mixing!

NOM-NOM PANCAKE MESS

Cool name, huh? 

What you need:
1/3 C old fashioned oats
1/3 C 2% small curd cottage cheese
1 egg white
A splash of vanilla soy milk (to thin the batter)
A splash of vanilla extract
Cinnamon to taste
Half sliced banana (to add to the pancakes once they are already on the griddle)

What you do:
Mix all ingredients (except the banana!) in a small bowl. Use a hand mixer to soften/break up the mixture a bit, then pour onto greased/"cooking-oiled" pan or pancake griddle. Add banana slices. Let each pancake cook for about 2 minutes on each side on medium-high (depending on thickness), then flip! (Mine ended up being super messy when I flipped it because I absolutely suck at flipping pancakes.)

When I made it, the recipe produced about 2 medium sized pancakes - good for one person :) I topped mine with a bit of syrup and a few sprinkles of Kashi Go Lean! cereal. MM.

Also, I strongly recommend Stash Premium Tea's Chai Spice Black Tea, especially with a splash of Silk Vanilla Soy Milk. Soo good - and it gives me a caffeine kick in the morning!

Happy breakfast-ing!

Zucchini "Pasta," and other ramblings

Sorry for the couple day break! It's been a long weekend, working as an Orientation Assistant (helping incoming freshmen out) at my college!

Anways! I have heard about the recipe for a long time, and I thought I'd try it myself. I sort of played it by ear. It's a great and VERY QUICK recipe that works really well for days you don't feel like thinking too much about cooking. It's also an awesome way to incorporate veggies into your diet without really noticing it!

ZUCCHINI "PASTA"

One zucchini makes approximately one serving.

Soo basically what happens here is.. you make pasta. Out of zucchini. Yep.

What you need:

Salt (to add to boiling water.. I used sea salt)

1 medium to large zucchini 

Whatever toppings you would normally put on spaghetti! (e.g. mozzarella, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, etc.)

What you do:

1. Slice zucchini into skinny "noodles." Usually this can be done more efficiently (mine were thick, so I had to cook them for longer). I had misplaced my peeler for this meal, but I would suggest using a peeler if you have one (just don't make the "noodles" too thin!).

2. Bring about half a pot of lightly salted water to a boil (uncovered).

3. Add "noodles" to pot, and turn down heat to medium/medium-high. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, uncovered (the length of time will change depending on how thick or thin you sliced your zucchini). The key is to make sure that your zucchini is wilty/droopy and acts "pasta"-like when you hold it on your fork. 

4. Take out the zucchini and strain the water out. 

5. Put in a bowl, add toppings, and enjoy! (I used mozzarella and way too much Italian seasoning.. thanks to the lid falling off of the bottle. Blech.) 

ON TO THE NEXT...

I ran 10 miles this morning. At a 9 minute pace. In the sun - not my usual 6 AM dark, dark, dark run. I had two buddies (a trainer and a friend) to help push me out there. I love days where I challenge myself and push myself to the limit. If I can keep up a 9 min pace for my final half marathon, I will be as pleased as cheese (just made that up... wah).

By the way, I highly recommend the Nike+ GPS app for iPhones. It's amazing. I've never had any problems with it. Ever.

Love you guys!