Chickpea Soup

This recipe originally looked like this, but of course I made some modifications. Below is what I ended up with. Sorry, no pic (unless I update this tomorrow after lunch...), but just imagine a good, hearty chicken noodle soup, minus the noodles. It could easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock and omitting the chicken.

Chickpea Soup
modified from this recipe on allrecipes.com
serves 6-8

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped potatoes
2 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped
2 ribs celery, scrubbed and chopped
6 cups chicken stock or broth
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
1-2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat and saute the onion, potatoes, and garlic until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.

2. Add carrots, celery, broth, bay leaves, basil, thyme, and paprika. Cover and bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, brown chicken in a large skillet. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

4. Stir chickpeas into soup and taste for seasonings; adjust as needed.

5. Dish up individual portions, adding chicken to each bowl desired. Serve with clean eating whole wheat bread. Don't eat the bay leaves!

Nutritional information for the unaltered recipe can be found at the original link above.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

(That's from a nursery rhyme... don't ask me to remember the rest!)

After two full weeks of travel--minus last weekend for the race--The H is home again, which means I have to shape up a decent meal plan. Unlike I was last week, he won't be happy eating the same thing four nights in a row.

Sunday lunch - leftover tomato soup and gluten-free bread

Sunday dinner - turkey sausage ragu with sausage and kale from the co-op and fresh Romano

Monday - out with The H for a shoes-and-clothes buying date

Tuesday - chicken soup with chickpeas in the CrockPot

Wednesday - breakfast dinner (GF blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs)

Thursday - pesto pasta from The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno, with garlic bread

Friday - I'm going to a girls' night at a friend's house, so my guys will have something easy--like something at Grandma's house. :)

Saturday - as usual, no idea...

For lunches - chicken beet salad, leftovers

Marathon training update: FINISHED!

On Sunday morning at 7am, I joined the ranks of crazies who ran the 33rd annual Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 5K. And about four-and-a-half hours later, I was sporting a shiny (awesome) medal that says FINISHER on it! What a ride. I finished in 4:35:33, without taking any walk breaks except at the water stops (I have yet to perfect the run-and-sip, even with the cup pinched). That surprised me; I've been a big run/walk advocate this whole time.

We got into Detroit on Saturday afternoon and easily got checked into our hotel. The little guy was staying with my parents at their house, about 20 minutes from downtown. My friends met us at the hotel and we walked to the Expo for our packets and a little window shopping. This map of the course was posted on the wall, and I know I ran this thing, but WOW does that look like a long way!



We had dinner at a pizza place, figuring pizza is pretty standard and non-offensive to my system, and got back to our room before 8pm--plenty of time to get things ready for the morning. I laid out all my gear, as much as possible



and checked weather.com for one last race-day report.



Then I posed for a shot in my official race shirt (knowing I wouldn't wear it for the run) and got to bed before 9:30.

On Sunday we woke up to what had to be the most beautiful, perfect day for a race. It was clear, high-40s at the start, and climbed to the low-60s with a brilliant blue sky the whole time.

My friend Jillian and I had planned to run together (her first as well) and were in our corral just after 6:30am. It was dark out there! The H talked me out of running with a throw-away sweatshirt on, which was fine, but I wish I hadn't given up on the gloves I'd brought, too. My hands were chilly for at least 4 miles.

It took us about 20 minutes to cross the start line after the first waves went, which I expected. What we didn't expect was the huge bottleneck about 1.5-2 miles in, as we approached the Ambassador Bridge to get into Canada. It was packed; we were practically standing still. I saw people still trying to jog and jostle their way through, and just had to shake my head... there was no room, and really, what a waste of energy so early in the race! We probably could've finished a few minutes sooner if not for this slow-down, but whatever. Maybe something else would've gone wrong later anyway. The sunrise over downtown was a brilliant glowing orange. If we'd been going faster, I probably wouldn't have taken it in as much.

We stopped for a potty break at 4 miles once we got over the bridge and didn't have to wait long. The next few miles along the waterfront in Windsor were really beautiful and peaceful. Before too long, we were already at mile 7, and heading into the underwater tunnel back to Detroit. At first it felt nice to be out of the breezy cool morning, but it got hot FAST. I was so ready to be out of there! I did look down at one point and noticed an orange D-tag (the timing chip!) on the ground, which made me sad for whomever it belonged to. :(

Coming out of the tunnel at 8 miles, we saw our husbands. The H offered me a refilled Gatorade bottle (I brought my own since I hate the flavor they had on-course) but I didn't need it yet. The next thing I really remember is coming up to mile 12 and calling The H to let him know. He said he and the little guy were at the halfway point, and my mom and sisters were between 12 and 13. Watching for them helped pass the time; when I did see my mom, I grabbed a Gatorade refill and handed her my empty one. My sisters had a sign that said "Just Keep Swimming" which is something my running friends and I have used on long runs to lighten the mood. Fun!

Then I saw my son on The H's back at 13mi, and heard him yell, "Go Mommy! You racin' GWEAT!" It was very sweet. After the half-marathoners split from us, the course got very quiet. The next few miles, 14-17, were fairly lonely. The dramatic side of me used the word "desolate" in telling The H about it. I took some Tylenol at mile 16; the bottoms of my feet were really starting to ache. Jillian stopped for another bathroom break and I stretched while I waited for her. Then we went through a beautiful neighborhood, and at mile 17, I said "We have SINGLE DIGITS left, you know that?" It was a mental boost. Well, that and the jelly beans that some lovely man was handing out from his front lawn. I told Jill not to let her kids know that we'd just taken candy from a stranger.

At mile 19, I was surprised (and thrilled) to see another friend who drove 2 hours that morning to run the last 4 miles with me--but she joined us at 19 instead of 22, which was awesome. I was SO happy to see her. She took a pic of me with her phone and sent it to The H.

The two of them kept in contact from this point until the end of the race. Having her there was such a boost. I made it past 20 (my longest ever) still feeling strong. At mile 22, things started to catch up to me. The bottom of my left foot was burning (where I had some nasty blisters from my rainy race on September 18th) but not enough to stop and put another blister cover on it. A spectator was smoking a cigar, and the smell of that plus the smell of *beer* at the next fluid station was more than a little grody to me. I took my last Gu and kept on trucking.

Miles 23 through 26 is where I slammed into The Wall. I kept trying to use my mental games ("it's mind over matter, and the mind is going to win... no retreat, no surrender... you GOT this! just another girls' run...") but the negative thoughts were quickly outweighing the positive things I'd rehearsed. My friends were incredibly supportive, and thanks to their encouragement, I didn't walk (even up the HILLS at miles 25 and 26! how rude...) despite almost crying that I.couldn't.do.this.any.more.

But I did "do this." At 25 miles, I saw my mom (with the little guy on her shoulders--choke up time!) and sisters, with the Swimming sign plus another one that said, "MARATHON: OWNED!" I needed that. I don't know why I didn't turn on my iPod at this point (or before). I didn't use it at all during the race, which REALLY surprised me. An upbeat song would've been well-placed about now! My dad was a bit further up the road, with my brother-in-law, which was awesome because he had missed me at my half in May since he was looking for the wrong outfit. He looked so proud.

Just before 26 miles, another friend, who had finished in 3:33:35, joined our little crew and helped talk me through the last--no doubt hardest--part of the race. "I know it doesn't feel like it," he said, "but you really ARE almost there now. Just a right turn here, then a quick left, and you'll see it." Too bad that right turn was up a hill. A few swears left my lips at this point.

When we could see the finish, I told Jillian to just GO. She had a kick left, but I had zero in my tank. She grabbed my hand for a "good job" squeeze and took off. She had started to cry. My other friend dropped behind me a bit and took a 30-second video of me coming up to that blessed, so very far away, finish line.

I crossed the mat and heard "Kate, KATE!!!" and there was another friend--a race day volunteer--with the coolest medal ever. I raised my arms for my finish photo, tried to smile, and yelled "STEPHANIE!" She gave me my medal and a hug, and I wobbled off to find The H.

He hopped the barricade along the sidewalk and scooped me into a huge hug. Poor man was all choked up. I just kept saying "I'm done. I'm DONE. I never have to do this again!" Jillian had finished a few seconds ahead of me so we caught up with her easily and grabbed our Mylar "space blankets." We knew we had to keep walking, such as it was, so we hobbled to grab some food. I chowed a string cheese and some water.

The rest of my family met up with us not long after that, and I was handed a COFFEE!! My amazingly wonderful mom remembered that I adore coffee post-run, and she had a half-coffee, half-hot-chocolate with extra whipped cream waiting for me. Complete with straw, so I didn't have to worry about coordinating hand-to-mouth without dribbling. Sweet, huh? She also gave me a small yogurt that tasted really good.

On the way back to the hotel, we passed a Chinese restaurant called Wah-Hoo, and I posed for another victory picture.

I'm glad my first is behind me; it was a lot of work to get here. Another marathon is not out of the question, but I'm not in any kind of hurry for it. My feet need a chance to rest and recover from the beatings I've put them through four times a week since May, and I need to remember what it's like to sleep in on a Saturday! Hopefully a few of my friends decide to tackle their first 26.2 soon. I would be glad to return the support and encouragement they provided me; I know this wouldn't have been nearly as wild and fun of a ride as it was without them.

No food, just fun...

As I was pouring my berry puree into its ice cube trays, the little guy was coloring with his markers. This I knew. What I wasn't aware of is just *what* he was coloring. I had set him up with a piece of white cardboard that he was having fun decorating. But then this is what I looked up to find.



He was sitting not four feet away from me, in the same room! Note to self: this kid works fast. :) I had been chatting with him while I made dinner, and heard him crow at one point, "I painted my handses!" I don't even want to know how he got it on his chin (and in his ears)...



However, he did a good job washing up, and then we enjoyed our very filling pumpkin-blueberry pancakes.



And yes, I tossed him into the tub after dinner. The blueberries didn't do his already-technicolor hands any favors!

Berry puree

At any given moment, there are usually no less than three types of frozen berry in my freezer. I got tired of shoving bags of them out of the way to reach other things, so I decided to combine a bunch and make a puree that I could use to flavor plain yogurt, pour over pancakes (The H doesn't care for syrup), and who knows what else.



This began as roughly two cups of strawberries (thawed), one cup of blueberries (semi-thawed), and 1/2 cup blackberries (frozen). To cut the tartness, I also added 2/3 teaspoon of stevia.

When it was smooth, I poured it into ice cube trays, with the intent of popping them out into a freezer bag once they were frozen.



Today I pulled out two cubes to thaw in the fridge throughout the day, then mixed with about 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt as part of my afternoon snack (total thaw time was approximately four hours).

Shrimp Noodle Salad

If you don't like shrimp, I feel a little bit sad for you right now. This recipe blew past the Asian Noodle Bowls from last week and shot straight to the top of my list of "favorite noodley things in a bowl." I was seriously cramming it into my mouth in a very uncool manner when it was done. My kitchen smelled so good! It kind of surprised me for what little seems to go into this dish.



Shrimp, Edamame, and Cellophane Noodle Salad
from Clean Eating Magazine, Fall 2008

serves 4

2 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (I decreased to 2T as this is not my favorite flavor)
1 Tbsp agave nectar
2 cloves garlic, smashed but not cut
12oz raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used 8oz cooked frozen "salad shrimp")
8oz dried cellophane or mung bean noodles (I couldn't find these and used thin rice ones)
1 1/2 cups shelled edamame (I used 1/2 cup edamame and 1 cup peas)
1 Tbsp refined safflower oil (I used another oil I had)
3 shallots, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/4 cup sunflower sprouts (omitted)



1. Fill a large pot with water. Add garlic and bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine vinegar, soy sauce, and agave. Set aside.

2. When water is boiling, remove from heat and add shrimp and noodles. Cover and let stand until shrimp are barely opaque, about 3 minutes (same time if using cooked/frozen shrimp). Stir in edamame. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Remove garlic and discard.

3. In a large wok or skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and stir in noodles, then add vinegar mixture. Toss well to combine.

4. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with sprouts.



OK looking at all my italics after the ingredients, it looks like I made a totally different dish. But I didn't make any changes that I feel compromise the integrity of the original recipe. When I make this again, I will use all peas and skip the edamame altogether. I didn't care for the texture and, really, lack of flavor the soy beans had in this dish, but the peas were great. I added them to the water when I stirred in the shrimp and noodles. Looking forward to leftovers!

Nutrition information per 1-cup serving (when made without substitutions):
Calories - 290
Fat - 7g
Carbs - 30g
Fiber - 3g
Sugars - 7g
Protein - 25mg
Sodium - 455mg
Cholesterol - 129mg

At least they tasted good...

Friday's dinner was *almost* a fail. I've had my eye on the chicken nuggets from the Eat-Clean Family & Kids book for a while, and planned all week to make them. While The H and little guy were playing outside, I got to work cutting the chicken and mixing up the breading. I was a little skeptical that the amount of breading I had would coat the amount of chicken, but I went with it. And yep, I was right. See those mostly-nekkid chicken pieces on the bottom right? Oh well.



These did not become "golden," as stated in the last step of the recipe, until I turned the broiler on them 20 minutes after they'd been in the oven. Next time, I'll do that before I get irrationally frustrated with the floury lumps of poultry adhering themselves and their ill-stuck breading to my baking sheet.




Despite all that, these did taste really good! I will gladly make them again, perhaps with the intent to coat in buffalo sauce for a game-day appetizer or filling for a wrap. This time I served them with sweet potato fries, from the same cookbook.



Crispy Chicken Bites
from The Eat-Clean Diet for Family & Kids by Tosca Reno
makes 24 nuggets

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 18oz total
1/4 cup oat bran (used oat flour, and added some poultry seasoning)
1/4 cup wheat germ (omitted)
1 Tbsp coarsely ground flax seed
1/4 cup coarsely ground almonds
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
Pinch of garlic powder
1/2 cup water or low-sodium chicken stock (I think this was unnecessary)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten (next time I will increase this)
Eat-Clean cooking spray (oil in a spritzer)
1. Preheat oven to 400*. Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or coating with cooking spray.

2. Cut chicken breasts into nugget-sized pieces, about 1 1/2 inches square. Set aside.

3. Next, combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Combine water and egg mixture in a small bowl.

4. Dip pieces of chicken into egg/water, and then into breading mixture, making sure each piece is well coated. Place on the baking sheet and place in oven. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Nutrition information per 4 nuggets:
Calories - 100 Fat - 3.5g Protein - 12g Carbs - 7g Fiber - 2g Sodium - 370mg Cholesterol - 0mg