Holiday Drinks

It's starting to get cold in the Windy City. I know I shouldn't complain since we are just now getting our first snow (it usually comes in November), but I am not mentally prepared for cold weather. Oh, well here goes nothing!

Thankfully, I have plenty of Choice Organic Teas to keep me warm. Remember last week when I told you that Choice Organic Teas sent me 96 tea bags?! Yeah, that will last me a while. On Sunday, I decided to transform the black tea into a Pumpkin Chai Latte. It was delicious! You can omit the pumpkin and make it a regular chai tea if you are "pumpkined" out for the year, and  you can also change up the the skim milk with any milk alternative.

Another thing that I've become obsessed with these past couple days is Earth Balance Soy Nog. I am not a huge fan of eggnog, but this one has blown me away. Kyle loves the holiday drink, so I figured this would be a better alternative to the original fat filled version. This one only has 80 calories per serving and 1.5 grams of fat!

I was a little nervous to see if he would like it because he's not a huge soy milk fan, but he loves it! It's also on sale for $2 at Whole Food this week, so looks like we will be taking another trip back. I'm thinking about transforming it into a holiday protein shake. Carrots N Cake recently made one with Fitmixer and the Soy Nog, so maybe that's in the near future?

Have a great fit day, and stay warm!

                                                                 Pumpkin Chai Tea Latte
                                                                               Serves 1
Ingredients

1 C Skim Milk
1/2 T Maple Syrup
2 T Pumpkin Puree
Pinch of Cinnamon
Pinch of Cloves
Pinch of Ginger
1 Black Tea Bag

Instructions

1. Bring the milk, syrup, and spices to a slight simmer in a medium sized pan.
2. Stir occasionally until the milky becomes frothy.
3. Remove from heat and steep the tea bag for 3-4 minutes.
4. Remove the tea bag and serve immediately.

It's Always Happy Hour At Work

It's National Pumpkin Day!! I know, the whole month of October has looked like National Pumpkin Day on my blog because every recipe includes it, but that's just because I love the ingredient. I think I'll celebrate the day with pumpkin lentil soup. Don't worry, I'll report back with a recipe this weekend! In the mean time, celebrate this day with some of my other pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin Banana Muffins
Pumpkin Quesadillas
Pumpkin Oats 
Pumpkin Butter

Yesterday at work we had our monthly cocktail competition. Every month 5 people concoct the best cocktails, and we have a happy hour. This month I decided to participate with Apple Pie Punch. A couple years ago, the Coleman family knocked me off my feet (literally) with this drink at a tailgate, and since then I've been obsessed.

I'll admit, I don't drink a lot since it throws me off of my training and because I'm a health freak, but I do enjoy a fine glass of red wine at least once a week and a good tequilla on the rocks. (Thanks for making me a wine snob mom!) Anyway, this drink is one exception I make during the fall because it tastes like straight apple cider, and it's perfect for tailgates!

I won this nutcracker trophy. I fits in well on my bookshelf with my Butler stuff. 

Well, I knew they would be a crowd-pleaser for the competition, and I was right. I won!! I know many of you have tailgates and Halloween parties coming up, so I figured I'd share the recipe with you as well. Let me warn you now, be careful drinking these!! You cannot taste the alcohol, so they will creep up on you quickly. A little goes a long way.

                                                                  Apple Pie Punch
                                                        Inspired by the Coleman Family
Ingredients

1 Gallon Apple Juice
1/2 Gallon Apple Cider
4 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Liter Everclear

Instructions

1. Combine the apple juice and cider in a large pot. Add the cinnamon sticks and cook on a medium setting for 2 hours. Make sure not to boil the mixture, just let it simmer. Stir occasionally (every 30 minutes or so).

2. Let cool to room temperature.

3. Add 1 Liter of Everclear and cheers!

Fall in Love with Pumpkin Butter

Happy Thursday! Last Thursday greeted me with strep throat and this Thursday decided to top that with a sinus infection. I can officially say that I now hate Thursdays! I'll admit, sinus infections suck, but I did get the chance to use a neti pot for the first time today. I was apprehensive about using it, but what a life saver that thing is! While doing research about the neti pot I even found that a lot of yogis (people who do yoga) use them for inner purification. I love yoga, but not sure I am going to go to that extreme with my neti. Pretty neat to learn, though.

Well, enough complaining, I have another pumpkin recipe for you - Pumpkin Butter! It has a similar consistency to apple butter, but of course, it's made with pumpkin. Just imagine the taste of pumpkin pie in a jar. It's pretty close to fall paradise!

There are a lot of pumpkin butter recipes out there, but most are loaded with sugar. I cut the sugar in half for mine, so it's not too sweet and the pumpkin flavor really comes through. If the natural pumpkin flavor is too strong for you, you can add up to a cup of sugar. Just add it wisely. 

The best thing about pumpkin butter is that you can pair it with so many different things! Try it on: pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, toast, rice cakes, yogurt, etc. I even enjoy peanut butter and pumpkin butter sandwiches. They seem to complement each other well. Let me know what you plan on eating it with, I am always up for suggestions.

                                                                 Pumpkin Butter
                                                                  Makes 2 Jars
Ingredients

3 1/2 C or 1 29 oz Can Purred Pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie spiced filling)
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 C Apple Cider
2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 tsp Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes. Stir often! 

Fall into this Comfort Breakfast

Is it weird that I absolutely love waking up at 5:15 every morning to workout? For me, there is nothing like getting out of bed and going straight to the gym to start the day with a good butt kicking workout. I actually enjoy the days where I have such a hard workout that it's difficult to walk into work or when my arms won't stop shaking while I am doing my makeup. 

Yes, many think I am crazy. I mean how many 23 year olds really wake up before dawn when they don't have to? Better yet, how many 23 years olds go to bed around 9:45 to make sure they aren't too tired when the alarm goes off? I'll admit, I'm not normal, but I love my routine.

I love my Butler Power shirt! I got this for hang cleaning some major weight(when I used to lift really heavy for volleyball).

I also love that the same people go to my gym at 5:30 AM. You almost feel like they are your friends because you see them everyday. When I was out for heart surgery, an older lady (note: she is in killer shape) noticed I was gone and ran up to me on my first day back because she missed seeing me. It's the little things like that, that make my day. 

After my morning workouts, I refuel with protein oatmeal. I shared one of my recipes with you a while back, but lately I decided to change things up. I threw together a hodgepodge of ingredients yesterday, and made Pumpkin Pie Oats. I know, you are probably tired of seeing my pumpkin recipes, but you can't pass this one up. It's not everyday that you get to eat "pumpkin pie" for breakfast! 

You can eat this "pie" without feeling guilty too because it is filled with protein, carbs, and healthy fats. The perfect fueling strong combo. Give it a try, and let me know what you think below. Who knows, maybe you'll love it so much that you'll serve oats instead of actual pie at Thanksgiving this year. -Ha...I'm not sure that would work in my house. 

                                                                      Pumpkin Pie Oats

                                                                            Serves 1

Ingredients

1/2 C Rolled Oats

1/2 C Water

1/4 C Pumpkin Puree (don't use the pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

A dash of Cinnamon

2 T Chopped Walnuts (or Almonds)

2 T Vanilla Almond Milk

1/2 tsp Honey

1 T (or 1/2 Scoop) Vanilla Protein Powder

1 tsp Flax Seed

Start Cooking

1. Mix the oats and water in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the oatmeal for 2 minutes. 

2. Stir in the remaining ingredients, and start fueling strong. 

Yoga Pants & Pumpkin Muffins Brighten My Day

I came home to a wonderful surprise last night! Kyle knew I did not have the best day, so he stopped by Athleta on his way home. This guy knows the way to me heart, yoga pants! Here is the newest member of my wardrobe. If I had it my way, I would never get out of them, but unfortunately yoga pants are not looked highly upon at work.

Speaking of work, we closed out summer today with an office outing to the putt-putt course. My golfing partner and I managed to dominate the course and won the competition! Not only did we win the competition, but we also won the "green jackets." They aren't nearly as attractive as the Master's jackets, but we are pretty darn proud of them.

For those of you who read my last post, Kyle is healing well. Don't worry, I was also able to make the pumpkin muffins that I intended to make the night he cut his eye open. Many pumpkin muffin recipes are filled with fat and sugar, but I found this recipe from Alida's Kitchen that cuts the fat and sugar in half by adding bananas. Don't worry, the banana flavor does not over power the pumpkin, it actually enhances it. Give this recipe a try, and let me know what you think.

                                                              Pumpkin Banana Muffins
                                                                 Makes 14-16 Muffins
                                                            Inspired by Alida's Kitchen

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Start Baking

1.  Set your oven to 350 degrees and line the muffin pan with paper holders.
2. In a large bowl, mix together both flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
3. In a separate bowl, mash the banana and add pumpkin, oil, eggs, and vanilla together.
4. Add the pumpkin mix to the dry ingredients. Make sure you do not over mix or the muffins will be tough.
5. Divide the batter between 14-16 cups and bake for 13-15 minutes.

Apple Picking and Pumpkin Quesadillas

I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend. I spent the a lot of time outside on Saturday at my brother in law's outdoor wedding. They had a beautiful ceremony, and could not have asked for a better fall day! It was the first wedding I have been to since my own, so it brought back many wonderful memories of June 4, 2011!

My good looking date

Before heading home on Sunday, we drove up to Tree-Mendus (an apple farm) to do our annual family picking (Abbey, we missed you!). The trees are pretty bare this year because of the drought, but they are still delicious. For those of you who have never been apple picking, I highly suggest going. The experience is fun, and I personally think the apples taste better than the ones you get from the store. We came home with about 20 pounds of Golden Delicious apples, so get ready for some apple recipes!

Korbin loved eating his apple

Korbin and the first apple he picked with assistance from Uncle Kyle

I decided to keep with my fall themed day while making dinner last night, so I made Pumpkin Quesadillas.  I saw the original idea in Rachael Ray's new magazine, but decided change it up a bit. I filled mine with pumpkin, spices, sauteed onions, spinach, and light mozzarella cheese. The best thing about this meal is you can add a variety of fillings. For example, you can easily make it vegan by using vegan cheese and vegan tortillas, or for you carnivores, just add chicken. Enjoy this fall recipe, and let me know what you think in the comment box below!

                                                                Pumpkin Quesadilla
                                                              Inspired by Rachael Ray                                                                 
                                                                Makes 1 Quesadilla

Ingredients

2 Whole Grain Tortillas
1/3 C Pumpkin Puree (Not the pumpkin pie spiced kind, just plain pumpkin)
1/2 tsp Chili Powder (If you want is spicy, add a little more)
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 C Raw Spinach
1/2 Sweet Onion, Sliced
1/3 C Low Fat Mozzarella Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Start Cooking

1. Saute half of an onion in 1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil for 5-7 minutes, or until it begins a caramel color.
2. Heat up a griddle pan over medium high heat and spray with cooking spray.
3. Mix together the pumpkin, chili powder, and cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spread the pumpkin mixture on one tortilla.
5. Top with spinach, onions, and cheese.
6. Place the tortilla on the griddle and place the other tortilla on top.
7. To speed up cooking and to make sure everything stays together, place a pot on top of the top tortilla while it is cooking. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until the tortilla is nice and brown and the cheese is melted.