Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Almond chocolate cookies. {vegan} {gluten free}

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Cookies, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Nuts, Party Foods, Running/Races, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free 1 Comment

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Today, altho quite sunny and hot, has been a lovely productive day for me indoors.  We had a swim meet last night which left us getting home quite late.  I gave myself an extra 30 minutes to sleep and then hit the gym to test out my new Mizunos.  I got in a lovely 8 mile run on the treadmill (5 more to go for my 25 weekly mile mark) and then came home to taxi to swim practice.  I walked while practice went on and then came home to start cleaning and whipped up this batch of cookies.  I’ll admit, I just started throwing things in a bowl and prayed it worked.  Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t!  Thankfully… this one was a winner.  These are NOT overly sweet.  Honestly, they don’t need to be.  The almond butter and maple syrup are the perfect amount of sweetness with no added refined sugars necessary.  Perfect, vegan and gluten free cookie.  You can actually see the goodness and ingredients right in each cookie.  I’m smitten.
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— Knead to Cook

Sweet Kale Almond Smoothie.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Raw, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free 6 Comments

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His & Hers.  Yours & Mine.

Do you see that bright green color???  OHHHHHH I love it!  You can see the nutrients!  The fact:  I drink a lot of smoothies… in fact most of family does too.  It basically comes down to this… they’re fast, nutrient dense and I can throw pretty much anything in them and they taste so good.  Fast food my style!  Perfect for on-the-go lifestyles.  My kids drink them for breakfast or before practice.  We have them for breakfast or quick lunches while running out the door.  Plus my garden is brimming with fresh spinach and kale and I promise you… if you add it your kids won’t taste it!  Other flavors dominate it and it is virtually undetectable.  Plus getting extra nutrients from dark, leafy greens is essential.  I added cinnamon to this recipe which is a great anti-inflammatory.  Great post workout!  Also, it’s been shown to lower cholesterol  and lower blood sugar.

This recipe, like most of my recipes as of late, are vegan. You can always use whatever milk you prefer.  I make all of my smoothies in my Vitamix Pro 750.  Regular blenders may be used but may require a bit more liquid to thin it out the consistency.  One last note on smoothies, for now, they are great post workout to allow your body to focus on healing your muscles you tore up during your workout v. digesting a big breakfast post workout.  Turnover and recovery so you can get back out working out sooner is my focus.
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— Knead to Cook

Garlic Basil Three Bean Salad. {vegan} {gluten free}

by Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Party Foods, Running/Races, Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 1 Comment

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Happy Summer!  Are your kids out of school yet?  I had my youngest finish last week – with all A’s and one B+ (happy mom) and my high schooler finish her exams on Monday morning.  Summer has arrived and I always have this weird apprehension having everyone home and the barrage of weird schedules take over.  I’m an admitted control freak and when they’re in school, I have said schedule down pat.  Now, we need to re-adjust and figure it all out.  And my oldest is working now and my youngest has decided to take on two other sports and not swim.  My only static schedule is my 5 am workouts.  My sane time.  It allows me some time for myself and to come home and refuel before the craziness ensues.  My summer confession!
I feel neglectful of my blog adjusting to our new schedule.  Prepping for my new fridge to arrive (which for some reason made me nest and clean my kitchen incessantly for hours) and then restocking that.  My youngest is away this week.  Time just seems to be flying by.  Okay so I’m reigning it in today… new tasty summer recipe on board.

Okay so you’re at a summer picnic and the buffet of salads are laid out before you.  What do you gravitate towards?  I admit, I’ve never been into creamy salads (I never liked mayonnaise). I love bean salads!  I recently had one at a swim meet that was so shockingly good I thought I would whip up my own version.  Beans are an awesome way to get protein v. traditional sources.  This recipe is so easy to make and only gets better when it marinades in the fridge for a day or two.  My husband and I would eat this for dinner and for the rest of my family, I would serve it as a side dish.  Easy and perfect summer dish.  And use fresh herbs from your garden for extra summer freshness.  You can sub out the basil for parsley or cilantro.

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— Knead to Cook

Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Gluten Free, Party Foods, Product Review., Running/Races, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

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This is NOT a paid ad or sponsorship I’m just passionate about sharing great products when I find them and this one was it!  I have always been told how awesome Cup 4 Cup flour was for gluten free baking but the sad reality was that it had dairy in it and wouldn’t work for my daughter’s dietary needs.  I was thrilled when they announced that in May they were coming out with a dairy free/gluten free flour.  Fast forward to June and I was at my local Williams Sonoma and snatched up a bag to test out some recipes.  Yesterday was my first recipe attempt.

I wanted to make my oldest some chocolate chip cookies.  We had some awesome cookies while we were in NYC and thought it would be a welcome treat for her. They were a different texture, more grainy but the flavor was awesome!  They are completely vegan and I will definitely be making these again.  She was also a fan!  SCORE!
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— Knead to Cook

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. {gf} {vegan}

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Fruit, Gluten Free, Muffins, Nuts, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 2 Comments

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Snacking in my house is crucial.  The snacks I make are used for breakfast out the door.  Pre-swim or tennis snack.  After school snack.  Dessert.  With a cup of coffee treat. I just got home from a killer run and I’m starving snack.  You name it.  And with 5 people in my house… we go through a lot of snack items.  I prefer to make them so I know they’re gluten free and vegan for my oldest who has given that up for health reasons.  These are totally yummy. Easy to make.  Quick to bake and don’t last very long because they taste so good.  You can’t go wrong with bananas and chocolate in my book.  I hope you enjoy!

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— Knead to Cook

Chocolate Cashew Protein Smoothie.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast, Desserts, Fitness., Gluten Free, Nuts, Running/Races, Smoothies, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free 2 Comments

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Want a sip?

It’s Friday!  It’s a long weekend and I’m so excited because today we head out to my favorite city, New York, to visit my best friend in the whole world and her family who are going to be there this weekend touring the awesomeness that the city has to offer.  Since getting our puppy in December my trips to New York haven’t happened.  I love NYC in the spring.  I’m also so excited to be surrounded by vegan restaurants to try!  I’m so happy I could burst.

Today I got up at 5 am and headed out for a run knowing I was going to be in the car for a bit today not moving around (I hate that).  I haven’t been feeling my runs lately mostly because the heat and humidity have arrived and I’m so not a fan.  But happily when I stepped outside, I found the weather cool and crisp.  I was thrilled.  I wanted to do 8-10 miles and at a slower pace around 8:30 mm.  I just ran and loved it.  I was faster than I wanted to be but I felt great.  It went pretty fast and I arrived home and couldn’t wait to whip up a smoothie to speed along my recovery and energize me for a long day ahead.

This recipe is super delicious and totally kid-friendly.  It’s packed with protein for muscle recovery and tastes so decadent that it feels like dessert – which it should feel like on a Friday of a long weekend when you’re husband takes Friday off too!  [Read more…]

— Knead to Cook

Post races and a Harvest Snaps Month Supply Giveaway.

by Filed Under: Giveaway!!!, Gluten Free, Product Review., Running/Races, Vegan, Vegetarian 30 Comments

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I’ve been resting my legs the past three days post my second race in a week’s time (not a good idea, I admit).  I had a massage yesterday and thought I would be good to run today.  I just wanted to go out and just run.  No speed work.  No monitoring my pace… just go.  I was tempted not to wear my Garmin but wanted to log my miles for May so I did.  Despite feeling really tired my short, sweet run was good.  I was happy to get it in and hope to have my running legs back by the weekend.  I’m really trying to listen to my body as opposed to a schedule for running.  I’m also looking to do a few short 5 and 10ks to work on different muscle groups in the next few weeks.

I also had to retire my beloved Mizuno Wave Rider 16’s.  After 400 miles it was time to go.  Today I got back to breaking in my Saucony Rides.  I won’t lie, it felt good to get into new sneakers.  Plus these can be seen for miles warding off any more cars from hitting me.

Okay onto my next fun giveaway.

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— Knead to Cook

Philadelphia & the Broad Street Ten Miler.

by Filed Under: Fitness., Running/Races, Vegan, Vegetarian 6 Comments

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Spring racing continued for me this weekend.  The Broad Street Run has been the only race that I will consistently do year after year without fail (with the luck of the lottery of course).  I’m not a fan of doing the same races year in and year out.  This race, to me, is the perfect distance.  Great running conditions, typically and the support of the community is second to none.  This year I set up a team so other friends could get in on the lottery with us.  Thankfully, another successful year and we were accepted.  My friends Jessica and Cindy joined us along with another friend and elite runner Kelly.  A friend from Instagram was supposed to meet up with us but unfortunately got strep throat and couldn’t run.

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— Knead to Cook

Flu. Running. Upcoming races.

by Filed Under: Life., Running/Races 2 Comments

 

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Runners are a different breed of people all-together.  I realize that many non-runners look at runners like we are crazy!  We run at strange hours.  We run and push ourselves to crazy mileage.  In the rain, snow and even ice.  I get it.  Sometimes, I know personally, I haven’t used my best logic when training.  For instance, when we were training for our first marathon, I had a surgery 4 weeks prior and then one week after the race.  My doctors thought I was crazy and maybe I was or it was just dedication (and there is a very fine line there).  Training for my second marathon, I ran through tearing my medial quad on a 15 mile training run not stopping till I was done.  My doctor flat out called me stupid.  Ha!  He is also a runner, which was the only reason I permitted this comment to flow from his lips.

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— Knead to Cook