Happy Birthday Yule Log

I am really doing more than just baking - although today it feels like that's all I've been doing.  Baking and visiting. But.... yesterday I ran.  I wanted to bail - it was really cold outside.  It was minus14 with the wind chill.  A bunch of runners from my group were doing a 10k route that I've ran a bazillion times and is not my favourite.  And another smaller group was going around 15k.  I ended up running with the 15k group.  The first 5k of the run I ran on my own, and the rest I ran with Mike and Bob.  It was fun, we chatted about running (ironic) and Mike talked about all the different races he's ran.  It didn't feel like an hour plus long run.

Today I baked a yule log for my mother-in-law's birthday.  I named it a Birthday Log.  I combined a recipe for the cake with my own recipes and it turned out amazing if I can toot my own horn.  I didn't get a really good picture of this cake before everyone arrived, but take my word for it - it was delicious.  This cake is really really rich so make sure you have lots of people around to help you eat it.

Birthday Yule Log

Cake - inspired by Joy the Baker

Ingredients

4 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped fine
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Melt the chocolate in the microwave.  Stirring every 30 seconds until smooth, making sure chocolate doesn't burn.

Beat egg yolks with sugar until light yellow and they form a ribbon like texture - about 5-7 minutes.  Stir in melted chocolate.  Beat egg whites with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and salt until stiff peaks form.  Fold chocolate mixture into egg whites.  Spread on a parchment lined jelly roll pan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Cover cake with a damp tea towel.

Filling

250 ml (half a package) of cream  cheese softened
3/4 cup of icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of whipping cream - whipped

Beat cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth, stir in vanilla.  Fold in whipping cream until mixture appears uniform.

4 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped fine
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar3 cups of icing sugar
3/4 cup of cocoa powder sifted
1/2 butter softened
1/4 cup coffee

Using electric beaters, whip butter until fluffy, gradually add icing sugar and cocoa powder.  Gradually add coffee until the icing is the desired consistency.

Assembly

Carefully peel cake from parchment paper.  Spread the cream cheese filling evening over the cake.  Roll the cake into a jelly roll from the long side.  Once rolled, place the cake on a serving tray.  Ice the cake making it look like bark on a tree if you would like.  Dust with icing sugar to look like snow.

A Little Christmas Procrastination - maybe

I have reluctantly started to read my manuals for my personal training course.  I'm not sure why I've been putting it off.  Normally I'm all over any on line articles about fitness.  Maybe its because there is a test involved and my performance anxiety is creeping up again.  I made a deal with myself that if I read the first chapter and completed the on line component I would post about something fun. 

So my lesson is done and no - I didn't get everything perfect.  Nothing happened when I got the answer wrong by the way.  I'm not sure what I thought would happen - maybe some super fit trainer with chiseled abs would yell "WRONG ANSWER!" at me.  I actually did enjoy it and contemplated going ahead with chapter two over posting... but I have pretty pictures.

This post has nothing to do with running... again.  But it is about travelling.  Over the past few years I have travelled a bit.  Some of my trips were with my kids and some without.  We decided on our first trip to buy a Christmas ornament for wherever we were.  I've read that some people think its hokey, but these decorations are some of my favourites.  Every year when we decorate our tree and pull out these ornaments, they remind me of the trip I was on when I bought them.  I find that I am usually reflecting on the past year during the holidays and the ornaments help remind me of the amazing vacations I've been on.

So in my order of vacations here are the ornaments.

St. John's Newfoundland

I went on this trip with my family when my girls were 15 months old and 3 years old in 2007.  It was a fun trip.  We saw icebergs and toured around the island for a bit. 

Banff

We went to Banff in 2008.  We stayed in a condo style hotel which had a great water slide and indoor playground for the kids.  The scenery was beautiful, but the hotel made the trip for the kids.

Jamaica

Our whole family went to Jamaica for my sister's wedding in 2009.  It was beautiful.  The resort we stayed at was a family resort with a great water slide and pool for the kids.  The girls have been asking to go back every year.

New York City

My husband and I went to New York in 2009 and 2010 - without the kids.  I love love love this city. 

Greece

You all know about Greece this year.  There were tons of ornaments being sold at all the tourist places, but I only saw this bell in two shops.  I thought it was perfect for our tree.

As you can see not all of the decorations are typical ornaments - the key chains from Jamaica and the bear bell from Banff, but each one brings back great memories.  And hokey or not I love this tradition.

Big News - for me at least!

Remember a week or so ago when I said my friend Gina came over and I'd talk about our discussion later well...
yesterday a package came in the mail for me

and inside were these !!

 OK not quite as hip looking as I had hoped but still exciting for me nonetheless.  

In case you haven't guessed I've decided to take a personal training course.  I've been talking about signing up for this course for almost a year now.  Whether I switch careers and become a personal trainer or not isn't really on the horizon.  But I am really excited about starting something new and learning ways to improve my overall fitness and knowledge.


The timing of the course has meant a few changes to my overall running plans for the rest of the year.  I had almost signed up for the Boxing Day Race in Hamilton, but when I was at Gina's party, she mentioned she was going to take this course and I asked if I could tag along.  The course runs from December 27-29th and is in Toronto so I felt I couldn't drag my family to a race and then leave them for three days during the holidays.  

We are actually going to work this into a bit of a get away for the girls.  We'll be staying in the big smoke for two nights.  Dan will take the girls to the ROM and an ice show while I'm at the course and then we'll all go swimming and hang out in the evening.  Gina is staying at the same hotel and is an 'Aunt' to my girls so they will be thrilled.


I'm really hoping that I learn techniques in this course to help balance the stress running puts on my body.  I am also hoping to get strong in other areas besides my legs (ie my upper body) and hopefully improve my overall running skills.  As the year is winding down, I've been reflecting on my past accomplishments and missed goals and where I want to go for next year.  I think I'm going to look at this course as an early New Year's resolution.  The timing of this course has also created a bit of extra work for me during this Christmas season because I have to review the course material before the classes start.   Oh well, at least I find this stuff interesting.

Chocolate Covered Protein Balls

I used to make at least 5 different types of cookies each Christmas.  I would eat a ton of cookies and then package them up and take them to my co-workers, neighbours and family members.  Now I make my favourites - chocolate chip shortbread, chocolate covered peanut butter balls, ginger cookies and sometimes chocolate almond bark.  Typing that out, it sounds like a lot but they are all very quick cookies to make -  none require rolling out or cutting.

This year I decided that I would try to modify my chocolate covered peanut butter balls from basically a mixture of peanut butter and icing sugar to make them a bit more nutritionally dense.  I decided to use non bake protein bars as a base.  There are tons of recipes on line for protein bars.  I modified mine from this recipe .http://ohsheglows.com/2010/12/02/chocolate-dipped-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-balls/ from Oh She Glows - I seem to have a cooking crush on this website lately.

 I added my favourite protein powder that I used in a lot of baking  - cookies, muffins or pancakes and it works great.  Since all of the baking I use it in is sweet, the vanilla flavour works perfectly.

Chocolate Covered Protein Balls

Ingredients

2/3 cup of cashews
1/2 oatmeal
3/4 cup protein powder
3/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
5 medjool dates pitted & chopped
5 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup hemp hearts
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tbsp margarine

Directions

In a food processor, process the cashews and oatmeal until they form a fine powder.  Add protein powder, peanut butter, dates, syrup, vanilla and hemp.  Process again until the mixture forms a rough ball.  Roll dough into bite size balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Place cookies in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate chips and margarine either on the stove top or microwave, watching closely as chocolate can burn quickly.  Using two forks, dip and roll the protein balls in the chocolate.  Once coated, put back on cookie sheet.  When finished, return to the freezer until the chocolate has set - about 30 minutes.  Store protein balls in a covered container in the freezer. 

Follow up taste-test

I do wish these were a bit more peanut buttery tasting but they are still great and I'm happy to add a bit more protein to my diet.  Maybe next time I would add less cashews and more peanut butter.  I did taste the vanilla flavouring in the protein powder, but it was not over whelming.  The real taste test will happen when my husband discovers these.  If I still have some left in a week - either he didn't find my hiding spot or doesn't like them.

Burlington Santa Claus Run 2009

I haven't posted any race recaps for a while.  So here is a suitable seasonal one.  My tenth and final run of 2009 was the Burlington Santa Claus Run.  This was a fun run.  Everyone in this race is dressed in a Santa Suit including a beard.  I have to admit that I had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction.  My belt (along with hundreds of others) broke in the cold weather.  They ended up all over the course.  But given the fact that thousands of inexpensive Santa Suits are required, a quality belt may not be high on the priority list.

This race is pretty cool to run in because everyone is in red and white.  I did not consider this race anything more than a training run or a form of entertainment.  You are wearing a Santa suit after all.  I would suggest having a meeting spot picked out for after the finish line prior to the the race in case you end up separated from your group. 

There is a great breakfast following the race and given the popularity of the race in recent years, new venues have been added to accommodate the increase in runners.  The year I ran this race, you could not buy breakfast for spectators so we ended up going somewhere else for breakfast, but the people who I spoke with who did stay said the food was great.

Group shot before the race - a perfect day for a run

Look the real Santa even made it for this race!

I would love to run this race some year with my kids.  I think they would love it.  Maybe next year....

Still Chilling Out? - Maybe

I have been trying to follow my own advice from my last post.  My workout schedule for this week has been:
Monday - 50 min plyometrics class
Tuesday - 5k run (easy) & 90 intense yoga class
Wednesday - 7k tempo run
Thursday - 1 hour gentle yoga class & 5k run (fast - for me 23min 30 sec)

Tomorrow I will do a step class and Saturday I will run at least 10k at an easy pace.  So the working out is covered.

I also recreated the ginger beet juice I had in Greece.  I'll post that recipe later along with a few other juice recipes.  Other than that I have been eating pretty well.  Nothing too outrageous.  Next week may be another story.  I have 2 lunches out and a Christmas party both Friday and Saturday.  But like I said in my last post - its not worth stressing about overeating, just try to balance it out.

As for the chilling out part.... today was one of those crazy days.  The full moon is supposed to be Saturday so maybe weird things were just getting a head start.  My husband left this morning on a guys weekend and I had to have him dropped off on my way to work to leave for the airport.  We also had to put our kids on the bus.  Here's where the wheels fell off... I forgot my parking pass in a different vehicle (long story), when I put my daughter on the bus, I forgot to hand her her skates she needed for school today.  When I dropped her skates off (which made my husband late) I didn't see her teacher.  No one noticed the skates in the classroom, my daughter was calling me and my father-in-law to bring her the skates... you get the picture.

Remember this guy... that was me this morning.

By the time the afternoon rolled around things were much better.  I was feeling like Murphy's law was no longer ruling my life.  In fact, I had survived the morning and what doesn't drive you batty only makes you... who knows.   I felt brave enough to take care of some of the stuff I need to for Christmas.

First I made this for the party I'm going to tomorrow night ..

Here's the link to the recipe -  http://ohsheglows.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6005705  Its a brownie pumpkin pie with pecan topping and its vegan! This is amazing

While the brownie was baking I also made this for my front door.

I know its like Martha Stewart invaded my body. 

After my craft time I was left with a bit of a mess

No worries - I own a Dyson.  That baby can suck up anything... well maybe not...

Yeah - that stuff that was stuck in the power head is from Halloween.  Awesome.

So here's to number 5 on my list.  No words necessary.



Keeping it Together Through the Holidays

What I am about to post is not life changing or anything you haven't heard a million times before about avoiding weight gain during the holiday season.  This information is more like my goals I am going to try to achieve during the holidays to avoid having to add loose 5 pounds to my New Year's Resolution list.  Feel free to join me or add your own thoughts.

1. Get enough sleep.  I put this first because I really believe that sleep is the foundation to good health.  I know how crappy I feel if I don't get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. (I know to some of you that is a lot).  But when you feel tired you don't have energy to work out and speaking for myself, I will reach for sugary foods or coffee after coffee to give me the pick up I need to get through the day.
2. Exercise - duh!  I am aiming to workout everyday even if it is just a half an hour walk.  My workout schedule for the next few weeks is pretty intense to finish up some of the classes I've signed up for.  Some days I am working out twice, but its usually yoga and running.  If I feel tired I lessen the intensity. I think its a pretty safe to assume we are all exposed to and eating foods that are higher fat and calories than normal.  These extra calories need to be burned.  Also exercise releases endorphins and helps us cope with the extra pressure we feel this time of year.  I know its easy to think - I don't have time.  But if you make yourself I priority, I feel its much easier to handle the extra stress that we have around this time of year.
3. Eat right - duh and duh.  (Told you this wasn't earth shattering).  I love food.  I don't think its a big secret that I do.  I like buttery, sugary cookies and rich creamy stuff and sometimes I eat it a bit like cookie monster.  But I try to balance out big dinners and treats with the good stuff.  If I'm going to a party I make sure I have healthier breakfasts and lunches partly so I feel less guilty about indulging later and partly so I don't feel like crap from eating terrible food all day.
4. Chill out.  This is the last and most important point in my opinion.  This is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year - right.  So why are we so uptight about buying the perfect gift for our kid's bus driver, baking 80 dozen different cookies and sending Chirstmas cards to your fifth cousin who you haven't actually ever talked to.  (I don't actually know anyone who does those things, but you get the point).  The bottom line is that we need to figure out what is really important at Christmas - your kids, your hubs, the parents - YOU.  The rest are nice to haves.  The thing I am looking forward to the most in the pre Christmas frenzy is watching Elf with my girls, baking cookies with my mom and my 'work' dinner with my husband.  I will have fun at the other engagements and will enjoy being with my friends and family but all of those events are happening because I've decided I want to attend those other events as well and am grateful to have those people in my life.

That's it for my unsolicited advice on holiday weight and stress gain.  Its really about balancing all of the above.  We need to cut ourselves some slack and not expect perfection.  Chill out and have a happy festive season.  As for me - I'll try not to completely lose it when I bake my absolute favourite Christmas cookies.