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!).

Early Launch on the Blog

OK, so maybe this isn't so exciting because (a) I have very few readers on my blog and (b) the news isn't THAT exciting, but it's the first I'm speaking of it....

I'm aiming to raise $2,600 for my favorite nonprofit, Compassion Over Killing, through my 2010 Marine Corps Marathon training!!

Check it out:

http://www.firstgiving.com/beckychaffee

I'm going to start soliciting donations tomorrow, and I'm really hoping some friends and family can support me with $26.20 donations. I'm really excited to combine two of my passions - running and animals. I've always liked fundraising for causes I care about, and this is a biggie!

Never a Dull Moment

April is a crazy busy month for me. Vegas was A BLAST. I survived the bathing suit. :) Then this past weekend I flew to Minnesota for my niece's 2nd birthday party - which was also A BLAST...in a different sort of way. This coming weekend, my mom and sister are flying out to stay with me. So much going on! And with that, I haven't been grocery shopping because I can't stand to throw out produce, but I can't get through an entire bag of spinach or an entire bunch of broccoli in under a week. So, I'm making due with what I have in the house already.

Tonight I'm waiting for my roasted potatoes to come out of the oven while enjoying some delicious biscuits. I found these biscuits on another blog, through VegNews - a great magazine. They are super duper simple - I made them, start to finish, in under 15 minutes. They remind me of KFC biscuits, which I loved as a kid. I now realize KFC is an evil empire, so am glad to find a vegan and delicious replacement for their goods! Give 'em a try - they're a great supplement to any meal or a stand-alone snack! Besides, now that Vegas is out of the way, we don't have to be quite as stressed about carbs, guys. :)

5 Ingredient Biscuits

1-2/3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup non-dairy milk

1/3 cup oil

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and oil, and mix until just combined.
2. With a 1/4-cup measuring cup, ice-cream scoop, or your clean hands, drop dough onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until bottoms are golden brown.
3. Top with non-hydrogenated margarine, syrup, jam, peanut butter, gravy, or anything else that you could possibly put on bread. Devour!

Check out the Savvy Abby blog for some fun twists -- I can wait to try the garlic/cheese version of them!

What Happens with Arugula, Stays with Arugula

This is it! Off to Vegas tomorrow. And although my CrossFitting and dieting has definitely shown some results, I'm still not quite ready to slip into a bathing suit. Too bad, 'cuz it's gotta happen. I bought a couple of new tankinis, so I think we can keep things decent. :)

I do want to share a new favorite salad recipe before I head out for the weekend Just in case you're under the gun to fit into a bathing suit amongst 15 of your skinny friends. Not that I'm bitter - I'm happy to be the chubby friend. Really. *sigh* :)
Anyhow, I made this several times last week. I got the recipe from this month's issue of Vegetarian Times. Sounds like some sexy reading, eh? In all seriousness, I'm a huge fan of this magazine. It's the only subscription I'm still willing to pay for these days. I always get at least one recipe that I love from each issue. And there are lots of ideas and health tips.

What drew me to this recipe is the artichokes. I LOVE artichokes. The canned ones (used in this recipe) are tasty, but even better are fresh, steamed artichokes. If you've never made them before - do it! Or at least order it from a restaurant and have them prepare it for you. :)
If you haven't worked arugula into salads before, you may not expect the strong, peppery flavor. But I think it adds a perfect contrast to the salty kalamata olives and sweet vinaigrette here.

Sliced Artichoke and Baby Arugula Salad

Vinaigrette

• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. aged balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

Salad

• 8 cups baby arugula leaves
• 8 oil-packed artichoke hearts, drained, patted dry, and cut in 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives
  
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 4 Tbs. chopped fresh chives (I used green onions)
  

1. To make Vinaigrette: Whisk together oil, vinegar, and garlic in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
2. To make Salad: Toss together arugula, artichoke hearts, olives, and Vinaigrette. Top with tomatoes and chives. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serves 8