Tag: Cooking
I fared pretty poorly at working on my goals for 2021. Last year, I was exhausted and had little free time. It’s difficult to make certain things like reading a priority when working seven days a week and typically 16-18 hour days. So my goals for this year are all about moving onward and upward! A better and healthier balance to how I spend my time.
I will read a minimum of 12 books this year. And I have a new strategy to motivate me: I set up a challenge with two of my best friends on the Goodreads app. First person to complete 12 books wins a prize, and the person who reads the most books wins a second prize. This taps into my competitive nature so it’ll keep me reading (I’ve already finished one book!).
I will get my running back on track. I usually run at least three times a week. In 2020, I ran the most ever in one year (thanks to completing the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee), and in 2021? The least I’ve run, I think, since I started running. I ran regularly at the beginning of the year because I had the Peloton Tread to test out. Having the Tread meant I was able to squeeze in a run at about midnight (the only time I could make for working out before falling into bed). But once I returned the Tread after my three-month trial, I barely ran at all. some months, I ran twice. All month. I completed only 307.7 kilometres all year long in 2021. As a result, while I have been working out, I haven’t been running and my pace is about as slow as it was when I first did the Learn to Run clinic. To get my runs done regularly, I will run-commute more (which has the bonus of saving on transit costs and avoiding the TTC, which has become an unsafe place with encounters with maskless, unhinged people every single ride). To also motivate me, I’ll register for an in-person race if I can find one that’s happening (i just find virtual races much tougher to be motivated for).
I will cook at least twice a week. Cooking regularly has never been an issue for me, until last year and I ended up eating much more instant foods and frozen stuff. So this year I will cook at least two meals a week. I’m doing more research for recipes online, and I just scored an Instant Pot at a thrift store so I’m excited to have this new gadget to play with this year. And when I need to I’ll make it easier to prepare my meals, whether that’s using a meal delivery plan like Chef’s Plate or Evive smoothies (pictured above).
I will blog at least twice a month. After only posting a handful of times last year, this year I’m committing to creating more content both for Instagram and the blog. Since I’m not traveling much or eating out much (what with the ongoing restrictions in Toronto, I’ll likely be covering more cooking and fitness and sharing favourite products.
Every day is a new day. I think one of the chefs on Top Chef said this in an episode I watched recently, and that’s how I’m approaching every day in 2022, as an opportunity to crush your goals and make your life better. I’d love to hear about any goals you’ve set for yourself this year!
Oh, and if you’ve got favourite Instant Pot recipes, please do share! And if you’re interested in a certain type of content from me, slide into my DMs!
January 16, 2022
When I was in Chicago last weekend for the Chicago Marathon (have you checked out my race recap?), one of the many awesome things from my weekend with Nike (besides Nike Chicago surprising me with my own Nike billboard on Michigan Ave.!) was getting to attend a session on Friday with Elyse Kopecki, co-author with Shalane Flanagan of Run Fast, Eat Slow and its sequel Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow.
I got a copy of the second cookbook signed and personalized and chatted a bit with Elyse about carbloading, which I’d been stressing about that week after being recently reminded by an article about the daunting amount of carbs that is recommended. “In the days before a race, you don’t need to force feed yourself,” she said. “Eat so you feel good and don’t feel overstuffed. Eating easy to digest carbs like rice and sweet potatoes, and the treats we have in here, the sweet potato breakfast cookies in our first book and the superhero muffins in this book, and in the final weeks leading up to a race, adding in an extra snack per day to get those extra carbs will help you, but you don’t have to force feed self to eat huge bowl of pasta day before the race. You don’t want to change your diet too much.”
On Saturday, the Nike crew hosted us for a family-style brunch so we could fuel well for the race, and we all received a signed copy of Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow…and since I already have my own copy, I’ve decided to give this one away!
You can enter on my Instagram (details on how to enter are on the IG post — look for the pic that is at the top of this blog post on my Insta feed), but here on the blog, you can get one additional entry by commenting on this post and sharing what you like to eat before a run. For me, if it’s in the morning, i’ll have some toast with peanut butter, or some steel-cut oats. If my run is after work or mid-aft, I might have an apple or a Kind Snacks bar.
This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, October 22. The winner will be chosen at random. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada and the U.S. and the prize is awarded as is.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy the cookbook as much as I have so far! I’ve made the superhero muffins and a soup from the first book, and the slow cooker beef and minestrone from the second book, yum!
October 15, 2018
Is this dish full of veggies and fibre? Nope. Paleo? Nuh-uh. A rainbow of ingredients chockfull of vitamins and minerals? Not really. It’s pretty beige. But sometimes, like when it’s colder than -30C out and a bomb cyclone is hitting the east coast, you just crave plain old comfort food.
I didn’t grow up eating Hamburger Helper. I actually am not sure if I’ve ever had it. I have always thought it looks delicious in commercials, though. Meaty, creamy, carby. So I suppose I should state that I am not sure if this tastes at all like the boxed HH.
In any case, my recipe is inspired by this one from Dinner Then Dessert, except I added milk to make it creamier and some spices. And the result is everything I wanted for my winter dinner (warm and hearty), eaten tucked under a blanket all cozy, while watching The Mindy Project. It’s the ultimate winter hibernation meal.
Homemade Hamburger Helper
- 1 pound large elbow macaroni
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- ½ cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (depending on how cheesy you want it!)
- Cook the macaroni according to the package directions and drain.
- Meanwhile, brown the beef in a large skillet. Remove beef from skillet.
- Add butter to the beef fat in the skillet and saute onion and bell pepper for about five minutes.
- Add beef back to the skillet.
- In a bowl, mix the beef broth, milk and cornstarch together.
- Add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika and beef broth mixture into the skillet.
- Cook about three minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Add the macaroni to the skillet and mix together gently.
- Remove from heat and stir in grated mozzarella.
I’d love to hear from HH fans if this is at all what the boxed variety tastes like. I like the idea of making it from scratch versus using the powdered ingredients and am so pleased with this stick-to-your-hones results of this meal. I rounded out my dinner with a glass of Cabernet but a nice crisp green salad would be a nice side (I just didn’t have anything for a salad in my refrigerator at the time).
Happy hibernating!
January 5, 2018
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