Doggy Fro Yo Cubes

Makai used to think ice cubes were the coolest things ever. See exhibit A:

Now, even on the hottest days, he shuns plain ol’ ice, but will gobble up one of these fro yo cubes in a flash.

(From Everyday with Rachael Ray)

16 oz. (or so) plain yogurt (We used organic fat-free yogurt because, ya know, Makai is spoiled)

1 banana, mashed

1 cup (or so) frozen berries

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

2. Smoosh the mixture into an ice cube tray (or two) and cover with plastic wrap.

3. Freeze.

Recovery Smoothies

As all endurance athletes know (or are learning), recovery is key. There’s plenty of back and forth about the benefits of ice baths, compression clothing and post-race massage, but it’s pretty well accepted that what you put in your body after a race or hard workout really matters. Of course, I haven’t always known this. After swimming or water polo in high school and college, I’d gorge on whatever the dining hall offered. When I first got into triathlons, I pretty much neglected recovery altogether. Eventually, I started using commercial recovery drinks…and now I’m all about the recovery smoothie—and I’m pretty sure I’m recovering faster than ever before.

My ingredients change with the contents of our freezer, but overall, the recipe looks something like this:

Disclaimer: I don’t measure the fruit or the juice, so the amounts listed below are just guesses.

Combine the following in a blender:

1 banana

~2 cups of organic frozen fruit (mango, pineapple, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries*, blackberries*, whatever floats your boat)

1 tbsp. hemp protein

1 tbsp. ground flaxseed

Water or cranberry-pomegranate juice** (Enough to reach about halfway up the fruit)

optional: 1 tsp. gelatinized maca and a glob of agave syrup (Maca tastes kind of burnt to me so I need the agave syrup to mask the flavor.)

1. Blend.

2. Pour.

3. Drink.

*Raspberries and blackberries can be annoyingly seedy.

**If you use pineapple, I recommend using water. If you use peaches, I recommend using juice. If you’re using pineapples and peaches, go with water.

Five-Minute Cookies

Why do all the nutritious chocolate things I make look like turds? Trust me, they are all delicious.

Sometimes you want a cookie. Other times you need a cookie and you need it NOW (or at least in the next five minutes). When such emergencies strike, make these.

(Adapted from Forks Over Knives: The How-To Companion)

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup skim milk

¼ cup cocoa

3 tbsp. natural peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ½ cups gluten-free oats

¼ cup chocolate chips

1. Combine maple syrup, milk and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer over low heat for three minutes.

2. Add peanut butter to the pot and stir until it dissolves.

3. Take the pot off the burner and add the vanilla, oats and chocolate chips. Stir until completely combined.

4. Use a spoon to form little turds.

5. Give ‘em a minute to cool—or don’t. Live on the edge and eat your cookie dammit.

Oatmeal Options

I love breakfast. I’ve always loved breakfast. In Italy, my roommates made fun of me for being excited about breakfast the night before. In college, my friends laughed at the mounds of fruit I poured over my cereal. But, throughout my lifelong love affair with the first meal of the day, I’ve never been all that excited by oatmeal. And I never put fruit on oatmeal. In fact, I told my Dad (a lover of fruit-topped oatmeal) that the combination of fruit (wonderfully fresh fruit) and mushy oatmeal was just wrong. Sorry, Dad. It turns out you were right on this one.

I’ve been on an oatmeal kick for the last few months. Here’s my favorite variation:

1/3 cup Gluten-Free Quick-Cooking Oats (Gluten-Free Rolled Oats are perfectly fine too)

2/3 cup water

maple syrup

shredded coconut (unsweetened)

dried cranberries

strawberries

sliced almonds, toasted

1. Cook the oatmeal. (I zap it in the microwave for two minutes.)

2. Top with yumminess.

My friends Lisa and Lisa (not Lisa Lisa) have also become fairly oatmeal-obsessed. Here are their concoctions:

Oatmeal:  Banana Oatmeal Cookie Style

1/2 cup oats (multi grain, porridge style, or Irish oatmeal are all delightful)

1 cup water

Small banana cut up into small bite size pieces or mashed*

Honey or agave nectar

Chopped walnuts

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Chia seeds (optional)

Put the oats and water in a saucepan and cook on medium-high heat for 3-4 min (or as the container of oats suggests). When done, turn off the heat and add the banana, a generous squirt or two of honey or agave (depending on preferred sweetness/calorie level), and a few chopped walnuts.  Sprinkle in some cinnamon and nutmeg according to taste preference, but go heavier on the cinnamon and lighter on the nutmeg.  Add some chia seeds (whole or ground) for some added nutritional benefit.  Stir it up and enjoy!!

*This is also delicious with a large handful of frozen raspberries (or mixed berries) in lieu of bananas.  Frozen is better than fresh in my opinion.  As the berries heat in the cooked oatmeal, they add additional juiciness (not to mention a fun color) which only adds to the decadence.  If you go this route, I would suggest not turning off the heat entirely as you stir in the frozen berries and other ingredients so that the oatmeal stays sufficiently warm prior to indulgence.

Cranberry-Maple Slow Cooker Oatmeal (makes 8 servings)

Non-stick Cooking Spray

4 ¾ cups water

1 ½ cups steel-cut oats

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup golden raisins

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup chopped dried pears

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. salt

Combine everything in a 3 ½ -4 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Potato and Leek Soup with Crispy Shallots

This recipe is totally inappropriate for today’s hot and humid weather, but this is May in Maine so we’ll probably have another cold and rainy day soon. And it’ll probably happen on a Tuesday because, as everyone in my run group knows, it rains every Tuesday.

So anyway, this soup…it’s delicious. We’ve made it at least five times since our friend Anne introduced us to it a few months ago.

(Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics)

2 Lbs. Yukon gold (or similar) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

4 leeks, white and light green parts chopped and washed (FYI: Our preferred de-grit-         ifying method is to put the chopped leeks in a bowl of water, stir them around and         then remove with a slotted spoon. The dirt will sink to the bottom of the bowl.)

EVOO

3 heaping cups of baby arugula

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. dry white wine

6 cups vegetable stock (or vegetable broth)*

¾ cups heavy cream

6 oz. (more or less) organic fat-free Greek yogurt

2 oz. (more or less) low-fat or fat-free ricotta

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (plus more for the table)

5 shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rings

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 ½ cups olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Dump the potatoes and leeks into the biggest bowl you have. Toss with enough EVOO (not more than ¼ cup) to coat the veggies and then spread the whole mess out in a single layer on two rimmed sheet pans.

3. Roast for 40-45 minutes, flipping the veggies at least once during cooking. While the potatoes and leeks are roasting, start the shallots (recipe below).

4. Add the arugula to one (or both) of the sheet pans and continue roasting until the arugula is wilted (about 4 minutes).

5. Scrape the contents of the sheet pans into a Dutch oven (or large soup pot) over low heat.

6. Add ½ cup of wine and 1 cup of vegetable stock. Stir and cook over low heat for a couple minutes.

7. Add the rest of the vegetable stock and, using an immersion blender puree the contents of the pot.

8. Stir in the heavy cream.

9. Mix the ricotta and Greek yogurt together in a small bowl, and then add the mixture to the soup. Stir (or blend) to combine.

10. Just before serving, stir 2 tbsp. of wine and ¼ cup of Parmesan into the soup. Divide into soup bowls and serve with shredded Parmesan and crispy shallots for sprinkling.

For the shallots:

1. Combine butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan and heat at medium-low. (If you have a candy thermometer, you’re shooting for 220°.)

2. Turn the heat down to low and add the shallots.

3. Cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown. (Candy thermometer folks: keep the temperature below 260°.) 

4. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shallots from the oil and spread them out on paper towels until they’re dry and crisp.

*Vegetable Stock and Vegetable Broth are almost the same thing. Click here for an explanation.