Vegetable Lentil Stew

I love making things in my crock pot. It gives me a chance to get rid of excess food I have sitting around, makes enough food for 8 or so meals at once, and is extremely easy. Using my crock pot allows me to get creative, and try new combinations of foods I haven't tried.



Technically, this recipe isn't really a "recipe". I mean, sure you can follow it, but let's be honest... stews and soups aren't really a science. I tend to just kind of throw anything I have in my kitchen that I think will go together into a pot, and to this day it has yet to let me down. So, while you can certainly follow the recipe I used, feel free to just kind of use it as a base and make your own version.

Ingredients:
-4 cups vegetable broth
-1/2 cup brown rice
-1/2 cup quinoa
-1/2 cup green lentils
-1 small bag broccoli and cauliflower florets
-1 cup diced carrots
-1 large potato diced
-two cups of chopped kale
-1/2 cup nutritional yeast
-any seasonings you want to add

I just threw all of this into my crock pot and turned it on high for about 5 hours. That's all you need to do! I also made some cornbread muffins to go along with this stew.

My Top 25 Favorite Running Quotes

I love running, plain and simple. Running has made me a stronger, more confident, more motivated version of myself. It has helped me realize how much of my life I have spent underestimating myself, and that I really can accomplish amazing things I once never thought I could. In short, running has changed my life. It's taught me so much about myself, and has given me a new outlook on life. That being said, I think every runner can admit that some days it's just hard to get out the door, or to overcome those voices during a long run to just throw in the towel early and quit. Fortunately, I have an emergency stash of my favorite running quotes I have accumulated to go through when I lack motivation or forget why I choose to run in the first place.

It's truly amazing what just a few motivational words can do to your attitude and your mindset about something. This is why I felt it would be a good idea to share some of my favorite running quotes, in hopes that they could motivate others as well. Some are heart-felt and inspirational, and others are just kind of a nice kick in the pants!

So, here they are:

1) Ask yourself: "Can I give more?" The answer is usually yes. - Paul Tergat

2) Sweat cleanses form the inside, it comes for a place a shower will never reach. - George Sheehan

3) Never underestimate the power that one good workout will have on your mind, keeping the dream alive is half the battle. - Kara Goucher

4) The human body is capable of amazing physical deeds. If we could just free ourselves from out perceived limitations and tap into out eternal fire, the possibilities are endless. - Dean Karnazes

5) It's important to remember that each footstrike carries you forward, not backward. And every time you put on your running shoes you are different in some way than you were the day before. - John Bingham

6) Just move your legs. Because if you don't think you were born to run, you're not only denying history; you're denying who you are. - Dr. Dennis Bramble

7) Some of the worlds greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible. - Doug Larson

8) Running is a big questions mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, "Are you going to be a wimp, or are you going to be strong today?" - Peter Maher

9) Running isn't about how far you go but how far you've come. - Bart Yasso

10) There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people. - Bill Bowerman

11) I am building a fire, and everyday i train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match. - Mia Hamm

12) The best way to become a mentally tough runner is to believe you are a mentally tough runner. - Ryan Hall

13) The first person you have to inspire everyday is yourself. Running will do that. - Marc Parent

14) That's the thing about running: your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are the moments in time when runnin gallows you to see how wonderful your life is. -Kara Goucher

15) Running is not, as it so often seems, about what you did in your last race or how many miles you ran last week. It is, in a much more important way, about community, about appreciating all the miles run by others too. - Richard O'Brien

16) Running requires endurance, character, pride, physical strength, and mental toughness. Running is a test, not a game. A test of faith, belief, will, and trust in one's self. So hardcore that it needs a category all to itself to define the pain. Running is more than a sport; it's a lifestyle. - Jessica Probst

17) Remember the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running. - Sarah Condor

18) Running should be a lifelong activity. Approach it patiently and intelligently, and it will reward you for a long, long time. - Michael Sargent

19) We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves. The more restricted our society and work become, the more the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, "you must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that." The human spirit is indomitable. - Sir Roger Bannister

20) To keep from decaying, to be a winner, the athlete must accept pain - not only accept it, but look for it, live with it, and learn not to fear it. - Dr. George Sheehan

21) Running unites us and brings us together because, in the words of the great Bill Rogers, "We sweat the same. We struggle the same." Running is a simple, primitive act, and therein lays its power. for it is one of the few commonalities left between us as a human race. Toeing the starting line of a marathon, regardless of the language you speak, the God you worship or the color of your skin, we all stand as equal. Perhaps the world would be a better place if more people ran. - Dean Karnazes

22) Believe you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself. - John Bingham

23) There are a million reasons why you can't. Focus on the few reasons why you can. - Kara Goucher

24) I want to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. I want to get more confident in being uncertain. i don't want to shrink back just because something isn't easy. i want to push back, and make more room in the area between I can't and I can. Maybe that spot is called I will. - Kristin Armstrong

25) I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired just a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go. - Dean Karnazes

If you somehow are still in front of the computer at this point, I hope these quotes have at least given you some inspiration and something to think about and hold on to for future reference! Cheers, and happy running!

Long Run Playlist

Let's face it, as nice as it is going out for a quiet peaceful morning jog, sometimes we just need music to power through our workouts. I tend to do all of my short runs (anything under 5 miles) without my ipod, because I think it's good to listen to yourself regularly. Running without music forces us to find other ways to "tune out", or in some cases it helps us focus and work on problems we might have not noticed otherwise. It's easier to forget you are running when you can tune out your heavy breathing and pounding footsteps, and much easier to distract yourself.

This is why I only use my ipod for long runs. Since I am now regularly running about 20 miles each weekend, I really rely on my ipod to help me through my long runs and to keep me motivated. That being said, you can't just listen to ANY type of music when you are running! You need songs that are inspirational and motivating to you. Songs that are going to pump you up and keep you going when you're 15 miles in and still have 5 more to go.

So, I figured I would share some of songs I enjoy listening to during my long runs.

ACDC - Back in Black

ACDC- You Shook me all Night Long

Avicci- Wake Me Up

AWOLNATION- Sail

Beastie Boys- No Sleep Til Brooklyn

Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run

Cake- The Distance

David Guetta- Play Hard

Daft Punk- Get Lucky

Elvis Presley- A Little Less Conversation

Eminem- Berzerk

Falco- Rock me Amadeus

Fall Out Boy- My Songs Know what you Did in the Dark

Flux Pavilion- I Can't Stop

Fun- Carry on

Green Day- Holiday

Guns N' Roses- Sweet Child O'Mine

Guns N' Roses- Welcome to the Jungle

Imagine Dragons- On Top of the World

Imagine Dragons- Radioactive

Katy Perry- Roar

The Killers- All These Things that I've Done

Macklemore- Can't Hold Us

Michael Jackson- Beat it

Muse- Madness

Lostprophets- Rooftops

Quiet Riot- Come on Feel the Noise

Ram Jam- Black Betty

Robin Thicke- Blurred Lines

Safe and Sound- Capital Cities

Selena Gomez- Come and Get it

The Script- Hall of Fame

Three Days Grace- Animal I Have Become

Three Days Grace- Riot

Toto- Africa

Young the Giant- Cough Syrup

Well, there you have it. Feel free to share any of your favorite running songs!

Vegan BBQ Wings!

Let's face it, when someone first makes the decision to go vegan, they typically expect most of their meals to consist of salads, bean burgers, pastas, and soy based "meat dishes". However, this healthy vegan twist on a dish that's no where near vegan or healthy is a nice way for animal lovers and health advocates everywhere to change things up!

I found this recipe on a site called gluten free vegan girl, which is a healthy vegan blog ran by a wonderful and talented young lady. All of her stuff is awesome, vegan, and healthy... plus gluten free! I have a link to her blog listed under my blog roll, I highly recommend you go by and check out all of her recipes, because they are awesome!

Okay, so anyhow, on to this awesome recipe!

You will need:

1 Large head of cauliflower
1 Cup total of flour (I used half cornmeal half brown rice flour)
1 Cup any non-dairy milk
1 TBSP Garlic powder
1 TBSP Onion powder
About 2 cups Vegan BBQ Sauce (recipe to follow)

First, you are going to want to preheat your over to 450 degrees. Then you will want to wash and cut your cauliflower into smaller pieces. I typically cut most of the stem part off and only use the cauliflower heads because that's the part I like, but you can use whatever parts you want. In a large mixing bowl you will want to combine the flour, milk, garlic and onion powders until you get a well mixed batter.

Then, just pour in the cauliflower and carefully mix until every piece is evenly coated. Place coated cauliflower on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. While the cauliflower is baking, you can start on making your BBQ sauce.

BBQ Sauce ingredients
1/2 Cup non-dairy milk
1/2 Cup dates
1/2 Cup yellow mustard
3 TBSP Braggs liquid Aminos
1/2 Cup canned tomato paste

Place dates, milk, and liquid aminos in a blender and blend until dates are completely blended (this might take a little time and work). Pour mixture into a small bowl, then stir in tomato paste and mustard until it becomes thick and evenly mixed. Once your wings are done baking (the batter will be crispy on the outside), remove them from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Then just use a spatula to move them back into a large bowl, and coat them with the BBQ sauce.

Move the wings back to the baking pan, and bake another 20 minutes or until the outsides become slightly crispy. Let them cool on the pan for a little while (although it will be hard because they smell amazing!) Then transfer to your plate and enjoy!

This recipe makes about 2-3 servings, but I devoured the entire delicious batch within about an hour because they were so wonderful! I hope everyone else enjoys this recipe as much as I did!

Cheers!

The truth about carbohydrates, and why you should eat more.

By now we have all probably heard someone we know talking about how they don't eat a lot of carbohydrates anymore because "Carbs make you fat!" As someone working towards a degree as a registered dietitian, this drives me crazy! Carbohydrates should be the bulk of our diet, accounting for over half of our daily total calories. Carbohydrates supply our bodies with fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, healthy proteins, antioxidants, and disease fighting phytochemicals. So why is it that everyone is hating on carbohydrates?

With the Atkins diet currently being one of the most popular diets in the country, it seems like almost everybody blames carbohydrates for unwanted weight gain. Many people have been turning to extremely low carbohydrate diets to lose weight, and while low carbohydrate diets are usually effective for weight loss if followed correctly, they certainly aren't healthy.

It is recommended that about 60 percent of our daily calories come from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are our bodies first choice and main source of energy. People who follow low carbohydrate diets are setting themselves up to constantly feel tired and fatigued. Along with a lack of energy, people who follow low carbohydrate diets are more than likely missing out on a lot of essential vitamins and nutrients that our bodies get from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Fiber is also something that people who follow a low carbohydrate diet are probably not getting enough of, and all of these nutrients are important for overall digestive health and proper immune function.

Not only are low carbohydrate diets usually low in essential nutrients that come from most fruits, vegetables, and grains, but they are also way too high in fat and protein in order to compensate for the lack of calories coming from carbohydrates. Eating too much fat and protein and not enough carbs can cause serious health issues such as heart disease, and ketosis. Ketosis is a state that your body goes into when it doesn't have enough carbohydrates to burn for energy and starts converting fat that is stored in your body into glucose to be used for energy instead. While this does help people lose weight, it is not healthy for your body, and can cause a variety of serious health problems. Ketosis is basically your body going into shock from lack of energy from carbohydrates, and results in people feeling fuller with less food, and their metabolism slowing down in order to compensate for the deficit, which can result in long term effects on a persons metabolism and body.

Problems caused by low carbohydrate diets-

Kidney Failure- Due to the extremely high amount of protein being consumed, the kidneys are constantly forced to do too much work and become easily strained. Along with the kidneys, other organs can fail too as a result of an altered metabolic state and ketones constantly being released in the body.

High cholesterol- High protein diets (especially those high in red meats and dairy products) causes an unsafe rise in cholesterol levels.

Osteoporosis and kidney stones- High protein diets have been shown to cause people to excrete large amounts of calcium through their urine, increasing a persons chance for developing kidney stones or osteoporosis.

Cancer- The lack of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains causes an increased risk for cancer since these foods contain the best cancer fighting nutrients.

So, what percentages are recommended for overall healthy? Well, about 60 percent of your overall calories should come from carbohydrates, about 15 percent from protein, and about 25 percent from fat. This type of diet is recommended by the for overall health, wellness, and disease prevention.

For weight loss and overall wellness, the quality of carbohydrates, fat, and protein should also be just as important as the percentages you are getting. Part of the reason carbohydrates have been given such a bad rap is because the majority of the carbohydrates that the average American consumes are refined and indeed unhealthy. There is a huge difference between the carbohydrates from an apple and the carbohydrates from chocolate cake. Instead of cutting back on carbs, people just need to use good judgement to pick the right ones instead of treating them like they are all equally bad.


Whole Grains!

People who are dieting tend to avoid breads more than anything else, however, whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and oats are great sources of carbohydrates. These grains will supply your body with healthy unrefined carbohydrates that will stabilize blood sugar levels, give your body the energy it needs to do daily tasks, and help keep you full without supplying too many calories or too much fat. In countries where whole grains are the main dietary staple, rates of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are a lot lower than in America. The key with grains and breads is to avoid heavily processed and refined grains, such as white breads and white rice. Contrary to popular belief, breads and grains are extremely healthy, and is is recommended that we get 6-11 servings of whole grains a day.

Fruits and veggies!

Everyone knows that vegetables are healthy, but many people avoid fruit because they are convinced that sugar is bad. While too much sugar is not a good thing for anyone, the natural sugar found in fruits is the healthiest sugar you can possibly eat. Fruits and vegetables supply the highest percentage of vitamins and minerals per calorie. Dark leafy greens are especially important in a healthy diet, and provide a lot of cancer fighting nutrients. A colorful diet that consists of a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables is one of the healthiest diets you can follow. The average American should be getting at least 5 servings of vegetables a day, and at least 3 servings of fruit.

Low carbohydrate diets have been proven useful to help people lose weight, but overall are hard on our bodies, and can be very dangerous if followed long term. I would personally recommend a diet high is complex carbohydrates, and rich in fruits and vegetables to promote healthy weight loss instead of cutting carbohydrates down to an unhealthy percentage that will more than likely leave you feel tired and irritable. Consuming whole foods, and limiting your intake of fat to 25-20% along with regular exercise is the best way to reach a healthy lean weight.