17 kinds of produce in the HOUSE

Hi everyone!

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I hope you all had a fun Friday!

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I spent today hosting Day 1 of a 2-day garage sale with my MIL and grandmother-in-law. We had the garage sale at Mike's aunt's house, so let's just say there was enough Greek going around today to fill the Acropolis! Not too lucrative though........ today's earnings was a measly $75 :-/

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After an early 5am start to the day, I groggily fixed myself a juice. And... YUM!!! I was surprised to find that this gave me quite a boost of energy, at least for a little while. That morning I snacked on tons of fruit - a peach, some blueberries, and some blackberries.

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I also ate a banana bread flavored Larabar, which was just ok - "B" ok. I think I am comparing everything to the delicious cashew cookie flavor and that is a high bar to meet!

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Here's the pretty view through the trees above me that I wanted to capture.... not a view I get to see much in the city!

I see some of these in Chicago, but I still found them to be photo-worthy :)
Lunch was fresh from the garden!! I was served up some spinach with lemon and EVOO and some roasted peppers, while the Greeks feasted on - what else? - lamb ;) The peppers were really good, and it was my first time having purple peppers. These were sooooooo delicious.

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Have you ever seen or tried a purple pepper?!!? Somehow the flavor is out of this world!! It has a lot more of an intense flavor than regular peppers and is a bit sweet and kind of meaty tasting. I loved it and am now fixated on where to find these but I have never seen them at the grocery store! Does anyone in Chicago know where I can find these guys?!?!

I left the garage sale for a bit to go to the grocery store since going to the suburban grocery stores are like taking a trip back to the 1950s! As in, I got 7 bags of food and 17 kinds of produce (plus other stuff) - for only $85.00!!!

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I am psyched about all of the goodies I stocked up on!! Aside from some of the usual stuff, these are some things I am excited to use (most that I have never bought before):

- Yuca

- Daikon

- Beets

- Young coconut

- Rutabaga

- Ginger (surprisingly I've never bought fresh ginger since it's usually so expensive and since I have about 4 half-used jars of the dried stuff!)

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I am really looking forward to make some exciting dishes with these items!! Any ideas? What are your favorite ways to prepare these items?

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Later, the MIL and I basically attacked the mulberry trees like a lion on its prey. Have you ever had fresh mulberries?? I've never seen these at the store, but my dad used to grow these at our old house and eating them reminds me of my childhood! We literally were groping at these berries for about 20 minutes until all of the ripe ones were eaten. Sooo good, except for the telltale blue hands (and feet) - that stuff doesn't come off easily!

After a tiring 2 hour drive home, dinner part 1 was comprised of leftover coleslaw.

And tons of dates, snacked on while I type this! This is the plan for dinner part 2.....

I'm sure you are all sick of leftovers, so it will be nice once I start cookin all of those newfangled, weird veggies I bought today ;)

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Tomorrow is a 13 miler - yikes!!! That's like running a half marathon, yet I am approaching it as a regular old training run which is kind of funny. Then, it's back to the garage sale - let's hope I have better luck tomorrow!

Gratitude Journal:

1. Was able to wake up today without coffee.... thank goodness for Cornelius the rockstar juicer ;)

2. Despite not making a lot of moolah it was nice to sit outside in the sun today with Mike's fam

3. I know this is dorky to say but I could NOT be happier about all of the cheap but great produce I bought today!!!

4. Today ended up being an "off" exercise day since I had to get up so early, but while I missed the exercise it was a nice break and I know it will give my body the rest it needs for its 13 miler tomorrow

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The next time I talk to you guys it will be AUGUST..... crazy!!!!

Rooftop fun

Hi everyone!

Today I got up super early - 6:15 (ok, that would be normal during work but this is my summer break yo) which was a bit painful.

I did an hour of spinning class, which was good and hard! I loved it, but didn't push myself quite as much as I usually do since I've been so sore the last couple days and I want to feel my best for my 12 miler tomorrow!

I wanted to do more cardio after class, but I reminded myself that an extra 20 or 30 minutes today won't be worth it if I am stiff during my long run tomorrow.

Once I got back, I was really hungry for a MEAL - something savory - but I also hadn't maken a juice in a couple days, so I broke out Cornelius.

This morning's juice was comrised of 3 stalks celery, 1/2 lemon, an orange, a small handful of spinach (I would have used more but we go through spinach VERY fast in our household and I want to 1 lb. box to last a few days!), and a plum.
This juice was really good! It was slightly too tart - probably due to having a lemon AND orange - but it was super refreshing. I swear I almost get a bit of a buzz after drinking a glass of freshly made juice. Are you sure there is no caffeine in celery???

I also snacked on 2 kiwis. I have never had a golden kiwi before, and found that the flavor was a bit less sweet than regular kiwis but still very good. I was just saying the other day how I probably haven't bought a kiwi in over a year -I LOVE them, but they are not the cheapest fruits out there, and I always feel like I waste half the darn fruit when I peel the skin.

Many of you who read Meghann's blog have probably seen her eat kiwis without peeling them..... I've seen her do this a few times and have been skeptical, but I finally tried it today. Let's just say that I will never go back to peeling my kiwis!! The skin dind't bother me at all, and it was immensely easier and less wasteful this way.

I'm going to have a light lunch and then I'm going to take the El to meet Mike, Anthony and Robyn at a Cubbies ROOFTOP event!! I have been to many 'a Cubs game in my day, but I have never been to a rooftop game. These are coveted spots, and Mike was lucky enough to get this opportunity through some of his work clients.

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I'm very excited for a fun day - hope it doesn't rain on us! ;)

Day 5 without a camera: The Big Fat Greek Kids Birthday Party

Hi everyone! Today was a beautiful day in Chicago! I slept in a bit which was fabulous - it's surprising how little sleep I've been getting this summer. During the working school year I always plan to get a good 8+ hours a night, but once summer rolled around I started slacking in this area, and it has been great to catch up the last couple of days.

I quickly ate a banana while checking my email, made Mike a Green Monster per his request, and then went to the gym for spinning class.

I haven't been to spinning in weeks, and part of me was dreading it - spinning always kicks my butt in a major way! It's always amazing that I can run an easy 10 miles, but will huff and puff my way through an hour-long spin class. However, though it started a bit tough, today's class was great! I felt as if I had an abundance of energy that sustained me through the class, which was noticeably different from the last few times I attended spinning. I can tell that "cleaning up" my diet is definitely helping my workouts!

Then I snacked on another huge, avocado salad, this time made with avocado, carrots, homemade dressing, spinach, and turnip greens. This was my first time buying turnip greens (I got them by accident!) and they worked out ok. They were a bit tougher than spinach, but not as thick as kale. I probably would prefer spinach for its milder flavor, but it's nice to switch things up to get the benefits from different nutrients!

Mike and I hit the road, and our first stop was Sports Authority where I stocked up on Body Glide, and Mike got a new pair of roller blades. This is great news as it means that we can resume going for our run/rollerblade excursions along the lake together! :)

The rest of our day was spent at a Greek fam birthday party for two siblings. Our godson was turning one years old, and his brother turned six. Like all good Greek parties, this one lasted well into the night and involved large quantities of alcohol, about 56 different types of desserts (no galaktabutiko, to Mike's chagrine), and of course,

The wet t-shirt contest!! What, you don't do this at your family parties?!?! And all this time I thought this was normal....

Yes, my adult husband was the unofficial winner of the wet t-shirt contest that he apparently entered into with his toddler-aged cousins. It basically involved a lot of young children trying to attack my husband with water balloons and squirt guns. Clearly, college Greek systems across America stole the wet t-shirt idea from Mike's Greek fam - the nerve. "Hey IU, I want my wet t-shirt contest back!"

Aside from watching my poor husband get pummelled by small children, the other highlight of the night was that my fabulous Greek (and Italian :) ) in-laws told me that they bought me a JUICER!!!! Not just any juicer, but the head honcho of all juicers, the Breville!!!

I haven't seen this marvelous piece of machinery yet, but my understanding is that it is the Brevile Fountain Plus. I was soooo excited to hear about this and I would like to give a shout-out to Yaya, John and Dora!!

The party was stocked with an enormous amount of delicious-looking food, but I stuck to the basics - tons of veggies with guacamole, a HUGE plate of Greek salad, and some fresh watermelon. I also snacked on an Amazing Meal bar and some awesome samples of yummy-flavored walnuts and almonds that I received in the mail this week - once I have my camera back I will write more about the company that sent these.

When Mike and I got home tonight it was late but I of course was still hungry for something to snack on, so I made my version of a Raw Almond Joy.

So simple - In a food processor (although you could probably mix this easily by hand), add 1/2 c. almond meal, 2 T. cocoa powder, 2 1/2 T. agave nectar, a pinch of salt, and a splash of vanilla.

Blend, and this becomes just like a melted, gooey Almond Joy. I was too impatient and dug in immediately, but I would imagine that you could easily make these into cookies - either by baking them "traditional" style, or dehydrating them to make them more "raw-acceptable". Since I don't have a dehydrator, I'm going to start experimenting with using my oven on a low temp and leaving the door cracked - have any of you tried this before?

Tomorrow I don't know what I am more excited about - getting my hair cut, or getting my camera back!! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend :-) and don't forget to enter my Holey Donuts giveaway!

You know you're a runner when...

...you relish being outside while it's raining with no umbrella, while watching your fellow pedestrians run for cover! This morning I woke up determined to get right back to my normal diet and exercise regimen, after taking a bit of a hiatus for our fabulous weekend getaway! This may sound like a negative thing to some people - after having an indulgent vacation - but I was sooooo looking forward to it!! We had a great time, but I love feeling healthy and accomplished, and I am much more apt to feel that way when I am eating right and exercising on a regular basis.

Here's a quick recap of yesterday: Mike and I had breafast at the Village Deli, which is one of the restaurants along Kirkwood in Bloomington that has probably been around since my dad went to school there decades ago. I had an egg white omelete with tomatoes, mushrooms, and advocado, a chocolate chip pancake, and some OJ. I was a bit worried that the chocolate chip pancake would be tiny since on the menu it said "one pancake", but have no fear - this guy was bigger than the plate! It was a great "last vacation meal".

A few hours into our drive home, we snacked - yet again - on some veggies with hummus. Until recently I had forgotten how much I love hummus, but now that I'm back home I'm going to go without it for a while - I plan to really give this RAW thing a shot (hummus isn't raw because it is miscombined). For those of you who missed my earlier posting, I am trying this for a few reasons, but mainly because I frequently get terrible stomach pains after eating various foods, and I'm going to try this out to see if it helps with that.

We stopped at a Costco in IN on the way home, and let me tell you, NOTHING makes this girl happier than buying food in bulk, and on top of that, not having to pay taxes on it! Illinois, puhlease take a lesson from Indiana will ya....

We mostly got huge quantities of produce, some salsa (Mike goes through the regular sized jars in ONE SITTING), salmon (for me) and hot dogs (for Mike) to grill, etc.

Once back in Chicago, I unpacked all of my stuff and decided to go to Best Buy to look for a juicer. I have my little heart set on a Breville Fountain Juicer, and there are two kinds - the compact for $100, and the "Plus" for $150. Since I'm pretty sure they have the same functions but one is simply large, the smaller one will suffice for me since I'm not juicing for a large family here. Unfortunately, they were out of the smaller one! I'll have to go back at another time.

Today I went for a run first thing, and knocked out an easy 5 miler. It was a glorious, party-rainy day and it was great!! It really does crack me up to see the walkers running for shelter from a few rain drops, while us runners get an extra spring in our step at the first drop, and hope for more! I had planned to run to the gym to go to a yoga class afterward, but I was so wet from the rain that I felt I owed it to the other yogis not to go to class smelling like a wet dog.

Breakfast today was FAB. U. LOUS. I'm sure many of you have heard of Gena's creative idea to throw a frozen banana into a food processor, blend for a few minutes, and it makes what tastes exactly like soft serve ice cream - well, I am here to tell you, that it DOES!!! When I was little my mom always threw frozen bananas into milk shakes so I know that they had great flavor, but I had never tried that sans milk. It helped to cut mine up a bit first since I was using the mini foood processor, but it was sooooooo good that I made two bowls full.

Then, I went downtown to take my camera to get fixed... the flash is broken :( and I know i owe it to my readers to provide quality pix, unlike the blurry nonsense that I have been posting the last few days! Cross your fingers I get it back soon!

I'm sad that I don't have my camera since I made a pretty awesome raw lunch today, if I say so myself. I threw some frozen red peppers (some hard-core raw-ists don't buy frozen veggies because they have been flash-cooked, but these were just frozen because I threw my fresh peppers into the freezer last week to store them), a bit of celery, one tomato, and some water into the blender. Ialso a 1/2 scoop of nutritional yeast, to make it a bit cheesy. I spiced it up with some salt, garlic, paprika, cumin, and some Penzey's BBQ seasoning spice. I also threw in about 1/3 c. pepitas and blended this too, to give it a bit more of a texture.

This soup rocks! It is super light and refreshing. Salads sometimes bore me, but lately I've been obsessed with cold, gazpacho-type soups. Sorry I don't have a picture of this!

I have a ton of random bits and pieces of produce sitting around our place (leftover from our fam party last week) - do you have any favorite cold soup recipes?