June 06, 2011

In the kitchen

Today was the first official day of summer vacation for my kids. Instead of sleeping in, like I'd hoped, I was awakened at 6:00 to the sound of Noah screaming that he was bleeding--which, upon inspection, was a tiny little dot of blood from a hangnail. By the time my kids finally start sleeping past 7 or so, it'll be time for school again!

As I was making my breakfast this morning (oatmeal with coconut milk and banana), all of the bananas fell from their hanger because they were SO ripe. The stems were still hanging there, but the bananas all fell off. I decided that I needed to bake something with overripe bananas.

I chose Breakfast Worthy Banana Bread, because it's sugarless (the only sweetener is the bananas themselves!) and because it uses a fuckload of bananas (I used 500 grams, which was 5 1/2 overripe bananas). When it was done, I actually stayed away from it until lunchtime, which is a shocker.

Banana bread with coconut butter... yum!
Instead of using a loaf pan, I used an 8x8 pan. The first time I made this bread I used a loaf pan and I could NOT get it to cook all the way through--the outside was burned and the inside was still raw. So this time, with the 8x8 pan, it cooked through very evenly. The recipe says 30 minutes for a loaf pan, but I'd say 30-40 for an 8x8 pan.
It was much easier to cut into even pieces in this pan than in a loaf pan.

For lunch, I decided to make Lemon Lentil Soup. I haven't made it in a long time, and I forgot just how good it is! My recipe is just 4 simple ingredients, and it is as easy as opening a can of soup, but SO MUCH TASTIER! Not to mention HEALTHIER.

Ingredients for Lemon Lentil Soup... so easy!



Lemon Lentil Soup

1 cup of red lentils (sort and rinse)
1 quart of vegetable broth (I've tried this with chicken broth, and it wasn't very good--it had a metallic taste)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (this amount gives a small kick--if you like it spicy, use 1/2 tsp.)
juice of one lemon (plus the zest, if you like!)

Combine the lentils, broth, and pepper flakes in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until lentils are soft and the soup has thickened. Add the lemon juice (and zest, if you're using it), stir, and heat through. Makes 4 small servings (about 1 cup) or 2 main-dish servings. For 1 small serving: 162 calories, 0 grams fat, 7 grams fiber, 30 grams carbs, 11 grams protein.

I counted calories (successfully) today. And I knocked 3.25 more miles off the Summer Challenge. I did three back-to-back treadmill workouts that were 15 minutes each. The 15-minute workouts are HARD--the incline goes up as high as the treadmill goes (mine goes up to 12%).

I saw Renee today and she mentioned doing a half-marathon on October 2nd this year, since I won't be able to do the Detroit Free Press Half-Marathon on October 15th (I'll be in Arizona for Sarah's wedding). I'm pretty sure I'll register for the one she was talking about. It'd be nice to do a half in the fall and again in the spring when I do Indy.


5 comments:

  1. Sounds like you've got your mojo back Katie. I'm working on getting mine back--I feel a little more motivated lately. Rode a bike last night, for the first time in 30 years (I know, I know, that's LONGER than you've even been alive) and LOVED it. Can't wait to do it again tonight, and go a little further than last night!
    I'm going to try those recipes, they both sound delicious! Especially that banana bread--YUM! Thanks for sharing.

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  2. AnonymousJune 07, 2011

    I just wanted to tell you how much I love your blog! I love how real you are! My favorite was the lego one because I do the same thing with my hubby and it was nice to see that I'm not the only one that does that! You are amazing!

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  3. omg that banana bread with coconut butter looks so good!!

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  4. That banana bread looks fantastic! And I JUST bought coconut butter for the first time.... omnomnomnomnomnom. It might be my downfall... best stuff EVER.

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  5. I use chicken broth every time I cook lentils and have never had any issues. Maybe you were using expired broth or an off brand.

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