WIAW #3 On The Fly...

It's been busy 'round here...no surprise...

Only SIX more days till we head to the Big Island for some Ironman fun and even more relaxation!!!!  AHHHHH!!!

I'm more excited then I could ever explain...but prior to the vacation comes lots of planning...and working...

So today is another What I Ate Wednesday...I'll highlight some of the fab food I've been cooking up lately as well as give you a long awaited recipe....at the end ;)



I've been digging breakfast lately...in any form...at home or out and about...

Breakfast on the Boardwalk at the Wavehouse...good food, great views

This morning's tofu scramble at good ole' standby Snooze...no pic of the bloody Mary...but it was great too!



The usual morning standby at home...soyrizo with veggie galore!

Can you see a theme in my breakfast choices??  A little spice and a whole lotta veg...but occasionally I do splurge on some pancake love....

Smores pancakes anyone?????  Recipe's at the end...keep reading...

I've also been loving on salads for my work dinner...especially during Powercakes challenge (join us!)...

Or if I'm not at work I'm possibly at Casa De Luz eating from their fabulously vegan and gluten free menu...

And when all is said and done I enjoy my version of "ice cream"...frozen bananas, almond butter, and almond milk thrown in the Vitamix until creamy...talk about a treat!!

So there you go...lots of my goodies from the past week or so...now I'm hungry and need to go make some dinner...on the menu??  Roast cauliflower, broccoli, lentils, and I'm not sure what else yet...what are you eating tonight?

Oh yeah...here's the recipe...maybe you can eat dessert for breakfast tomorrow morning...hmmm...maybe I will too!

Smores Pancakes

by Jaclyn Trosper

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients (6 pancakes)

• 2 cups multipurpose gluten free flour (try to find a brand that includes xanthan gum)
• 2 scoops protein powder (I used Sprouts generic soy vanilla)
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum (only if your flour doesn't include it)
• 2 tbsp flax
• 3 tbsp warm water
• 2 tbsp applesauce
• 1 tbsp honey (not considered vegan but needed for that graham taste, use agave if you avoid honey)
• 8 drops liquid stevia
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 C almond milk
• 8-12 vegan marshmallows
• 1/2 bar organic dark chocolate (you can also use carob chips but the flavor is a bit different)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

In a large bowl mix flour, protein powder, xanthan gum (if using), applesauce, honey, stevia, vanilla, cinnamon, and almond milk. In a separate small bowl mix flax and warm water. Add flax "egg" to large bowl, mix well. In a well greased pan drop large spoonfuls of mixture to form pancakes. Cook on medium heat, flip when bubbly and brown. Meanwhile in a double boiler heat marshmallows with 1 tbsp of the coconut oil, stir often to create a creamy mix. In microwave (or another double boiler) heat chocolate with other tbsp coconut oil until melted. Serve marshmallow and chocolate between layers of pancakes...you can even sprinkle cinnamon on top!

Powered by Recipage

First Foodie Pen Pal!

I am so excited to share my first Foodie Pen Pal experience!!

Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean created the program as a means to share the foodie love throughout the nation...well the program is now huge and I'm stoked to be a part of it...here are the rules...

-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!
***If you’re in the UK, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!

 



 

Now onto my first experience...I was paired with Claudia.  She's a blog reader from right here in my area of San Diego.  I found out her preferences and sent her these goodies...

 

 



 

 

Yum, right??

 

Here is what she had to say after receiving the goodies:

 

Hi box came today and it was perfect! TJ's is one of my favorite stores and you found things I had never seen!  A colleague at my office saw my box and got so envious that she signed up to be a foodie pen pal!

All my best,

Claudia

 

 

I'm so happy she liked it all!

 

As for myself, I was the foodie pen pal to Jay over at www.jaytravis.com  He lives in New York and had to work to find me some gluten free/vegan goodies...but he excelled!  He found a local bakery called XOXO Vegan Bakery and sent me a fudge brownie, an "ice cream" pie, and another awesome find of black bean spaghetti.  Please don't mind that both bakery good are already partially eaten...couldn't help myself!  Seeing as there is a $15 price limit the contents may seem sparse but trust me...you can taste the goodness in these baked goods!

 

 

So there you have it!  My first foodie pen pal experience!  It was a blast!

 

I'll be taking October off since I'll be HAWAII for most of the month!  But I plan on being back for November and already have some tasty treats lined up for my next pen pal...will it be you???

 

XOXO

 

Jackie

 

Any Given Sunday

It's a phrase my buddy Bex and I started saying often a few years back...

Every race can be great...

Or horrible...

Really, really fast...

Or you can't seem to find your speed at all....

On any given Sunday (since most races are on Sundays).

You never know who will show up to race against you, or what kind of day they will have...geez...you may have stellar training leading up to a race and you might have a painful day out there. 

You can do everything right...and the day unravels in front of you.

Or sometimes....

Just sometimes....

You reach really deep into your gut and pull out a great performance.

And on that given Sunday you did your best...and so did everyone else.

That's how today went.

Today was my 5th time starting the Mission Bay triathlon.  It was my very first race in 2007.  I skipped last year due to some serious overtraining and lack of motivation issues.  But this year, on less training...more fun...and some serious ultrarunning base...I came back to where it all began.  I even had my whole family there for support...and their support really means the world...it was the recipe for a great race... 

I knew immediately that the 25-29 age group women had brought their A game.  The pace on the swim was FAST...girls were pulling away from me (and I've really stepped up my swimming)...but luckily I started to reel them in as I went.  I ended up with a 1 minute PR on the swim and since I didn't wear a wetsuit I had a great T1!

I flew out on the bike and just tried to hold on to a few girls I saw in front of me.  One girl in particular was going just slightly slower...I didn't want her to think I was hanging on her wheel so I passed her and told her I was sure we would leap frog for a bit (she didn't pass me on the bike...but on the run...so we DID leapfrog-ish).  I was passed at mile 2 or 3 by the blazing fast Team CEC's Ashleigh Bordwell (who won our age group by a landslide).  I wasn't passed again until the very end but ended up catching her later.

I came into T2 knowing I had some work to do.  I had a solid bike but it wasn't a PR (at least I don't think it was since official results aren't posted yet).  I changed as fast as I possible could and headed out.

The run was hard...really hard...

And I was only putting down 7:20's (not my fastest but certainly not cruising either).  But they hurt!  Luckily I had my amazing mom there as I headed out yelling to me that I was in 6th place and to pick them off one by one (love her and her belief in my abilities).  I passed the first girl within the first mile...so now I was in 5th.  Then I was passed by the girl I had passed on the bike...she was also in a Catalyst Endurance kit (as were many of the top finishers...seeing as I used to train with them I should probably look into that again...they got some serious results!).  I couldn't hold her...so I just stayed at my pace and looked to the next girl since I was in 6th again.

I passed another girl as we went up the hill after mile 2...and I held that position till the end.  But I never had a moment where I could let up...they were always back there...fast, determined, amazing women.  I had to WORK out there.....

When I race (run specifically) I tell myself over and over that unless I'm fainting or dying I'm not allowed to slow down.  I used to put puke in there but after Oriflamme I had to take that bit out...

So that's was I was doing out there...not giving an inch...thankfully since the next girl was less then 30 seconds back from me!

After I crossed the finish line I dry heaved a bit (enough that they grabbed a garbage can for me...luckily I didn't need it!)...and then walked myself straight to the med tent to fix up a gnarly blister that had bled all over my shoes.  Shockingly I didn't REALLY feel it till I was done.

Mom was there and told me I probably got 4th or 5th (she was almost right on!).

And I was tired...

I found another friend Kaili, who had finished only a few minutes after me...I asked her immediately if she thought the field was super tough today...she agreed...the fast girls were out and we were forced to step up to the challenge.  My A game was good enough for 5th place today...and I couldn't be prouder.

Some people may only feel successful if they win...or place...but not today.

Today I raced my best (and got a 30 second PR in the process)...nothing to be ashamed of there.

Another day...another race in the books...another PR...and I'm happy.

Any given Sunday...you never know what can happen...as long as you try your best it's bound to be great...

XOXO

Jackie