Pizza Makes me Run Faster

Marathon training began today! I'm 22 weeks out, and ready to get the party started. I picked a pretty terrible day to sleep in, though, since by the time I hit the road for a 5-mile run, it was close to 90-degrees and a humidity level of ridiculous (that's a technical term). But it's Memorial Day and the last day of a 3-day weekend...no need to get up too early, right?

I've been craving comfort food this weekend, and gave in to some temptations. The "recipe" (not too complicated - one might be able to figure that out on their own!) below is something my mom used to make for us. It's such a typical Midwestern meal -- kind of cheesy, but the kids love it. I'm still a kid at heart, though, so decided it was totally socially acceptable to fix for dinner tonight. :) That, paired with some waffles for breakfast (using my pancake recipe), it's been a carb-o-licious day. So the calories burned on that brutal run are much-needed!

English Muffin Pizzas

• English Muffins, sliced in half
• 1-2 veggie dogs (sliced into small, "sausage-like" pieces)
• Bottle of pizza sauce
• Small can of mushrooms
• Daiya vegan shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Slice english muffins in half. Spread pizza sauce over each half. Next, portion out veggie dog slices and canned mushrooms (any other pizza ingredients you want!) and place on top of each english muffin. Finally, top with a handful of shredded Daiya. Place in oven for about 10-minutes, then move to broiler for ~2 minutes, to melt and brown cheese.

The Best of Both Worlds

I'm pretty stoked for tomorrow - I'm running the Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary's "Run for the Animals 5k". Last year, I was the captain of Team PETA for this race. This year, I'm running as a member of Team COK. All of the funds raised go to support the rescued animals living on the farm. But not only is a great fundraising event, but it also is just a really fun time. A lot of people coming together to share their passion for animals. And afterwards, there are various awards given out for the fastest finishers, highest fundraisers, fastest team, etc. and tons of great food - including Sticky Fingers desserts!

So in anticipation of binging on sweets tomorrow, I wanted to get some veggies in tonight. I recently came across this great recipe for -- wait for it -- KALE CHIPS! My favorite food combined with a salty snack?! YES, PLEASE! I found this recipe on the same website on which I found the delicious biscuits recipe that I posted recently, called Savvy Abby. I used some of the comments on the original blog post to tweak my recipe a bit and I think it was a success. These chips are crispy and salty, just like potato chips, but made from kale...so much healthier - and baked, not fried. And with the vinegar, it gives it a taste similar to salt & vinegar chips. YUM, right? :) You can also use less salt if you want to watch your sodium intake. Enjoy!

Kale Chips

• 1 large bunches kale, washed and de-stemmed
• 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop or tear kale into chip-size pieces. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix to coat.

Spread kale onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until crispy (kale will wilt down.) Serve immediately.

Concrete Jungle where Dreams are Made of...

I spent this past weekend with friends in New York City. I had such a great time!
I took the BoltBus from DC to Manhattan on Friday afternoon ($40 round-trip!), where I met a good high school friend (who now lives in Chicago). Then we took the subway over to Brooklyn, where we stayed with one of my college/sorority friends & her roomie for the weekend. She lives in Prospect Heights (just north of Prospect Park -- the Central Park of BK). Her neighborhood is adorable! On Friday night we wandered a few blocks away for a delicious Thai dinner. I experienced a new favorite dessert - coconut sticky rice with fresh mango. YUM.

Then we spent Saturday afternoon with another high school friend who now lives in Manhattan - we ate lunch at Grimaldi's Pizzeria (under the Brooklyn Bridge), then walked across the bridge to spend the afternoon wandering and shopping in SoHo and the East Village. Such a gorgeous day out, too (which translates to: "pasty white kid got sunburned"). Oh! And we found this little vegan bakery in the Village where we stopped at to get some sweets. I love patronizing cute little local businesses.
Saturday night back in Brooklyn, we ordered the best Mexican take-out I've ever had from a local restaurant. Then we went out to a few bars in the neighborhood for drinks.

Such a fun time spent with good friends. I hope I never take for granted all the amazing friends God has blessed me with. I've always been someone who tries to keep in touch with EVERYONE, but it can sometimes be hard to do. I think it's definitely worth the effort. Friends make every life experience that much sweeter and adds so much more to my everyday life.
Alright, enough of the mushiness, huh?

Working on some new recipes this coming weekend, so I'll get to posting those soon!

PS Yesterday (5/19) was Jakers' 8th birthday and the 3-year anniversary of his adoption. (Obviously I don't know his real bday, so we just lump them all together.) I also don't ever want to take for granted such a great dog. I can't imagine what my life would be like had I not walked into the local humane society shelter that day.

Classiest of Taste Buds

Fundraising is going well! I've already raised over $1,800!!! I am so grateful for my family and friends - such generous and loving people. I cannot wait to run the Marine Corps Marathon this fall, knowing that I have been supported by so many people who also care so much about animals. Or they just want me to stop mooching - either way, the animals win! :)

Anywho - I have some other fun happenings in my life. My brother, who was a 4-time Jeopardy! champ last December (winning nearly $92,000) appeared on the Tournament of Champions this week! He unfortunately lost in the first round, but I was absolutely bursting with pride. I like to say he got the brains, I got the looks. :) (We won't get into what the other two siblings got. Ha!) So I needed to give him a shout-out on my blog. Because I think we all know you ain't nobody, 'til you've been mentioned on Eat Your Kale. Can I get an 'amen'?

I've got a new recipe to share! Because I had scheduled a last-minute blood donation last weekend (givelife.org - do it NOW!), I wanted to eat something very rich in iron, to ensure I would be able to donate. In case you're not aware, before donating, they test your hemoglobin to be sure you have enough iron in your blood. I looked through my cupboard and discovered that black beans are a really good source of iron! I immediately thought about how much I love the rice and beans that Chili's restaurants serves. (Sad, but true. I'm a chain restaurant kind of girl.) So decided to try and recreate those. I did some Googling and created my own beans creation and it was SO GOOD. As for the rice, I just prepared some Rice-A-Roni Rice Pilaf. I loooove this stuff and it was a cheap, easy and guaranteed tasty rice to pair with my beans.

Recreation of Chili's Black Beans Side Dish

• 1 can of black beans, drained but leave a little liquid with the beans
• 1 can Rotelle (or any brand of diced tomatoes w/ peppers), drained
  
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• Salt & Pepper to taste
  

Combine all ingredients in pot or sauce pan and let simmer for 25 minutes. Pair with any rice side (I like Rice A Roni!).