She Runs By Faith

It has been quite a while since I last shared a recipe and these Frozen Energy Bites are just too good not to share! My youngest brother sent me this recipe and I had to try it for myself using  Once Again nut butter . I had the privilege of enjoying Once Again's Cashew Butter, Peanut Butter, Almond Butter and Sunflower Seed Butter. Their products are organic and contain minimal additional ingredients, which I really appreciate. Their main ingredient: Nuts! Now on to the recipe. Because you know you want to try these: Frozen Energy Bites 2 mashed bananas 1/2 cup nut butter 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 cups quick oats 1/2 cup chocolate chips Optional: add 1/4 cup honey or applesauce  It really doesn't get more simple than this! I mixed everything together in my Kitchen Aid starting with the bananas and moving down the list. I did try the recipe with two different nut butters: first with Once Again's Almond Butter and second with the Peanut Butter. They bot...

I am taking a little siesta from writing while we are in this early time of adjusting to life as a family of four. I will post now and then as I have this recipe and a product review to share with you next month. Oh, and in case you hadn't heard the news, take a second to meet Baby W ! In an earlier post , I mentioned that I made my first batch of caramel rolls for Mother's Day and they were a success! Here is the recipe I used: Caramel Cinnamon Rolls Rolls: Frozen or fresh, homemade bread dough 1 cup white sugar, mixed with 2 Tablespoons cinnamon Topping: 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream Start out with a batch of homemade bread dough (I use a version of this recipe ). Don't allow bread to rise. Break off into bun-sized pieces and roll in the white sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place rolled dough in greased baking pan. After all of the dough has been broken into pieces and rolled in cinnamon sugar, set rolls aside and make topping. Melt the...

It's time for another Fit Dish Tuesday ! Today's [optional] topic is: My latest baking adventure has been chocolate chip banana bread muffins with a healthy twist. They are my "healthier pregnancy craving alternative" (somewhat healthier than eating straight-up chocolate chip cookies) and are also perfect to freeze for after baby's arrival. To healthify this dessert or snack, I cut the amount of sugar in half and added Greek Yogurt to one of my favorite banana bread recipes. Of course I couldn't leave out those chocolate chips. Bananas and chocolate chips are made for each other. Choco-Banana Muffins with Greek Yogurt 1 cup Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt 1/2 cup water 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup butter, melted 3 eggs 4 bananas, mashed 2 cups flour 2 cups quick oats optional: 1 cup chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350°. Pour yogurt and water into mixing bowl and mix until smooth consistency. Add baking soda, suga...

It's been feeling like winter this week! I woke up this morning and was contemplating going out for a run with the dog. The temp was at 5°F above and I opted for the treadmill - I'm just not ready for cold running yet! E and I made it outside to play for only 15 minutes this week on one of the "warmer" days (+20°F). Hope you are staying warm! Here are my favorites for this Fitness Friday ... 5 Blessings This Week Snow. I really enjoy winter for the first few months. It's around March or April that I really get sick of the snow and cold! As for now, thank God for snow! It's beautiful and E looks like a cute little snowman when he's all bundled up :) Determining My Value. In my Bible study we are going through a book called "Chase" by Jennie Allen and it teaches on chasing after the heart of God. We talk about all that we are chasing in this world that doesn't satisfy because nothing is more satisfying than God. This paragrap...

This weekend is deer hunting opener in our part of the country so I chose to hit the treadmill instead of running outside with the stroller. You never know where a stray bullet could end up and I'm super cautious when little man is with me! Even though it's National Stroller Running Day, I opted for the treadmill this morning. My re-organized "home gym".  I usually just listen to music while running but decided to get crazy today and watch a grown-up movie. I watched "Run for Your Life" , the story of Fred Lebow (founder of the NYC Marathon), for approximately one mile and then little man woke up. After he woke up, the movie choice changed from running-related to Veggie Tales Sweet Pea Beauty. Give E his milk, a breakfast muffin and some Veggie Tales and he's as content as could be. Yesterday I made some banana carrot spice breakfast muffins for the guys because I knew I wouldn't want to wake up early to make them pre-hunting breakfast. Wen...

Well, I'm back to report that the homemade energy gel trial was a success! Monday morning's workout was 4 x 1600 meter intervals at 7:00~7:30/mile for a total of 6.5 miles. About 15 minutes before heading out the door, I took in 1/4 cup of energy gel. Before most weekly training runs, I don't eat anything but I was antsy to try this recipe out (and I was extra hungry yesterday morning)! Overall, the taste was great and the energy gel didn't bother my stomach at all. Whew... GI distress is the worst, especially during speed workouts. I look forward to using this in the upcoming half marathon! Speaking of my upcoming half, I just switched from the Blue Ox Half Marathon to the Wild Hog Marathon which is coming up on September 27th. This race is closer, we won't need to have hotel reservations, and my best friend is going to watch little man! Win, win, win. Here is my energy gel recipe if you are looking to try it yourself: Homemade Mocha Energy Gel 8 ...

This past weekend has been full of good things >> Food and Fellowship. E helped me bake round #2 of our energy bars that I mentioned in the last post . He was much happier while helping than he was 5 minutes prior having a meltdown on the floor. Hand the boy a measuring cup and all is well in the world! Craisin Date Energy Bars: After this weekend's long run, I found that these bars work great for me pre-run but not so well during the run. Chewing and running at the same time just don't work for me... or my stomach. Gel texture has worked in the past so I will share my experimental energy gel recipe below :) Carrot Cake Cookies: I made a batch of these cookies plus butter cream frosting for girls' night on Friday. This was my first time baking carrot cake anything and they were delicious! The recipe was super quick and easy, too. E, Leo and Uncle Wayne approved of them. Girls' nights need to happen more often. It's been way too long since ...

After quite a dry stretch, we finally got some much-needed rain on Monday and the weather was just cool enough for some baking. It was about time because we have been lacking baked goods in this house! So here you have it - my first go at baking "blondies" or "blonde brownies". These bars are the perfect sidekick for afternoon coffee! Choco Chip Blondies 2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1 stick butter 2 cups light brown sugar 2 eggs 2 tsps. vanilla 1 cup chocolate chips Optional 3/4 cup chopped pecans Preheat oven to 350°F. Flour and butter 9x13" pan (I used a smaller pan). Mix flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, melt butter and then add sugar; stir together. Add eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and mix well. Slowly add flour mixture. Pour into pan and spread out evenly. Sprinkle chips and/or nuts on top (I added the chocolate chips into the batter instead). Bake fo...

Even morning runs have been hot this week and I am praising God for it! After a winter like we recently had, I can't complain about any temps above 0°F. We put on 6.25 solid stroller-miles for this morning's tempo run and I knew today was a smoothie-making day. Now that the weather is comfortably warm, E loves to have his shoes off in the stroller and let the windy blow on his stinky little feet. At least he's staying cool while I'm a hot mess! This was my first try at making a "green smoothie" and it turned out really well - even my husband liked it! Tropical Green Smoothie 1 cup mango, fresh or frozen 6 oz. Chobani peach Greek yogurt 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen 1 cup spinach, shredded 1/2 banana 1/2 cup cold water Place all ingredients in the blender. Blend until smooth. Stir with spoon to make sure the frozen fruit is well-blended. Serve as a smoothie OR pour into small containers to place in the freezer for frozen yogurt. Servi...