Gym Buddy

So I lost my gym buddy and this has seriously derailed my exercise routine.

My friend Mandy joined the gym with me a year and a half ago, at that time I was the #1 cheerleader. I got us motivated and kept us that way for the entire workout.  But the days that I was low energy or wanted to bail Mandy kept me on track.  I can honestly say that without her I would have never completed the IronGirl last summer.  We trained together we supported each other and we completed the race together.

Recently Mandy switched gyms.  She wanted a place that had a pool and was closer to her house. While I totally get that, I am using her defection as a major excuse for my poor attendance at my kick butt classes.

I have little spurts of energy like last week where I somehow made it to the gym 3 times. Unfortunately, it is now Thursday and I have not made it at all this week.  I am signed up for the IronGirl in August so I actually HAVE to get my butt to the gym or I will never beat my time from last year. I am not sure what is wrong with me but I have this terrible habit of getting totally obsessed with something and donating 150% of my energy to it and then completely losing interest.  A perfect example of that is the Game of Thrones books. I read the first 3 books back to back completely devoted.  I made my husband read them so that I could talk to him about them, I made us watch the entire first season. Then I got 100 pages into book 4 and turned off. My husband has bow completed the book and is dying to talk to me about it and I have no interest in finishing the book. I am not sure what happened but I just got tired of reading about missing limbs and treachery.  Crazy, cause after months of calling my BFF and rehashing the previous nights pages I don’t even care what happened to the Starks of Winterfell.

So here I sit blogging instead of wrapping my kids in their coats and boots and shoving them in the car and going to the gym.  I have every excuse in the book: it’s too cold, my kids don’t cooperate, I don’t have a workout buddy,  I have too much to do, it’s too cold.  Oh did I mention it’s too cold??

It’s still January and my goal was to get to the gym 3 days a week and I am totally not achieving that goal. I really need Bob Harper to come over and whip my ass into shape.  Honestly I am totally feeling like the Biggest Loser and not the good kind! So today I might not make it to the gym but I am going to try really hard to get rid of the excuses and find some love for myself. I need to find my inner energy to carry me through this dry spell and stop blaming everyone and everything else for my lack of motivation. Maybe I should just curl up on the couch and finish that book!

Pumpkin Pie MM MM Good

So after 3 side dish alterations I have moved on to Dessert!  When you think about Thanksgiving the first dessert most people think of is the Pumpkin Pie. Now made the traditional way it is still usually the lowest calories option at our dinner.  A few months ago we took a cruise with my husbands brothers and one of my brother in laws Joey & Jerry mentioned that last year they altered a Pumpkin Pie and brought it to Jerry’s family dinner.  So naturally they were my first call as I started my Turkey Day experiments. The response I got back was um well there really isn’t a recipe we just made a few substitutions.  So I took their substitutions and worked up a recipe.  I hope you like it.

All the fixins!

You will need the following:
1 Can 100% Pure Pumpkin (29 oz)
3/4 Cup Agave Sweetener
1 Container Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt (17.6 oz)
4 Large Eggs
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves
Nutmeg (to sprinkle on top)
2 Pie Crust (I cheated and bought one)

Ready for the oven.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and either make 2 pie crusts or open a package and pres them into 2 shells. (I know Mom and Sunny are cringing that I used a Pillsbury crust.) In mixing bowl beat 4 Eggs, add Agave Sweetener, Salt, Cinnamon, Ginger & Cloves. Mix together. Add Pumpkin & Yogurt mix together. Scrape the sides and bottom and mix thoroughly. Split filling into 2 pie crusts and sprinkle a little nutmeg on the top.  Put into a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 250 degrees and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Pie Crust Shield

I have this really handy dandy pie crust cover upper from Pampered Chef.  It is the bomb!  It protects the crust from burning if you don’t have one then put a little foil around the edges of the pie or your crust will be black! Place on cooling rack for 2 hours before scarfing it down!

Ready to eat

I will tell you this pie was actually a little sweet for me.  My first try I used a cup of the Agave so I cut it down to 3/4 cup.  It also is not as firm as a traditional Pumpkin so my knife never came out 100% clean. I think it tastes great though and it got 2 thumbs up from my stepson and my husband so that is pretty good. It’s certainly a nice little twist on the traditional pie.  It certainly is loaded with protein!!  Thanks Jerry & Joey for the idea I think I will be using this recipe for Thanksgiving as well as the Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes.  What could be next? I really need to brain storm.

Looking for something to do with Peaches?

Anyone who has known me for very long knows that I make Banana Bread almost every week sometimes twice! Banana Bread was one of the first things I every baked and baked well. I remember in my early 20’s making it for a bunch of friends on break from a musical rehearsal. I brought in in hot with butter and a knife and the entire loaf was gone in about 10 minutes. From that point on it was a hit! When my first son was born he had terrible allergies, he was allergic to Dairy & Soy. This made it very hard to find breakfast foods. My little Noddle loved my Banana Bread and thus begun my weekly baking. Thankfully he has grown out of his allergies but not his love for my bread.

Two days ago I was gifted a GIANT bag of freshly picked peaches. They are ripe and juicy and the kids and I have been enjoying their deliciousness. I realized yesterday that we could not eat them fast enough and that they were going to turn if I didn’t come up with something. Now I have never ever baked anything with a peach so I was kind of at a loss. Not to mention no one in my house except me would eat a cobbler or a pie so that idea was quickly nixed. So after about 30 minutes searching the internet for ideas I came across a recipe for Peach Bread! After reading a bunch of reviews I decided to do a few tweeks of my own and it came out pretty good. So I decided to share!!! Here is what you will need:3 Eggs 1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract 1/2 Cup Apple Sauce 2 Cups Fresh Peaches Mashed (Or Canned and drained) 3 Cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder 1 Teaspoon Salt 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda 3 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon 1/2 Cup Walnuts Chopped (Optional) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour 2 loaf pans (or use cooking spray for baking!) In large bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Blend sugar, applesauce & Vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon; mix.

Peal and pit peaches, smash with fork and drain juice. Add 2 cups smashes peaches and nuts if you choose them. MIX!! Pour batter into the 2 pans.

Sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon on top before you bake and pop into the oven! Bake for 1 hour and let cool. I was very pleased withe the way these came out. My first attempt was with 2 cups of Brown Sugar and I felt it was a bit sweet so I reduced it the second batch and liked it better. Of course you can switch up some ingredients if you need to. Brown Sugar/White Sugar, Apple Sauce/Vegetable Oil, Fresh Peaches/Canned, White Wheat Flour/Whole Wheat/All Purpose Flour. I do my best to make whatever “healthy” substitutions I can. The bread does not have a strong peach flavor unless you bite into the peaches but it has a nice sweet flavor and it’s something different from the Banana!!! Enjoy!!

Family in Summertime

When I was a kid I remember summer as a long stretch of lazy days. Staying outside all day long only coming home for lunch and dinner. Playing for the entire day without toys or video games or scheduled activities armed with only our imaginations. My brother and I would roam the neighborhood with our friends creating adventures and going on long walks. We would roll around in the grass and pick dandelions. When the sun went down we would catch fire flies and watched them light up the night. I can close my eyes and smell the honeysuckle on the vine and feel the sticky sap on my skin from climbing trees all day. SUMMERTIME!

My Dad has been visiting with us for about 5 weeks and my brother and his family have been visiting at my mom’s for about 3 weeks. They all live far away and they only get to visit once a year. They all left this morning so yesterday was our farewell day. We spent the entire day together and it was the first time in many many years I felt SUMMERTIME! We spent the entire afternoon at the lake laying on the grass and jumping off the dock. Eating chips and sandwiches on a blanket and playing tag in the grass. A long walk on the pier a trip to the shops in the village. The day was full of ice cream and burned noses. I packed up my kids about 5PM and we headed home to throw some food on the grill. We ate on the back porch and then my best friend and her kids came over and we all went to the Town Hall for a free concert.

I sat in the grass on my lawn chair listening to music from the 70’s that I didn’t recognize while my kids tore it up on the playground. My Dad was singing every song as my brother was playing Frisbee with all the older kids. As I sat there eating the free popcorn and tapping my foot to the music I was completely relaxed which for me is rare. I wasn’t freaking out that I needed to get my kids home to bed, I wasn’t worried that I needed to get anywhere or do anything. I was simply enjoying my family and listening to bunch of middle aged guys rockin out. After the sun set and the band packed up 3 car loads of us descended on my house where we sat around my living room saying our goodbyes. Everyone was sunburned and tired from the day but not one of the 6 kids cried or whined. None of the adults got cranky or anxious. The little kids went right to bed and the big kids went downstairs to watch a movie. My dad my BFF and I sat and watched some made for TV movie from the 80’s and cried and laughed. Since my husband is out of town my BFF and I ended our night like many a summer night of our childhood. Well past midnight we were on opposite sides of the bed each of us reading a book while the summer breeze blew through the window. I felt 14 again as I turned off my light. I had a perfect day with my brother and my best friend going on long walks, sitting in the grass, playing tag and creating adventures. SUMMERTIME!

Road Trips & Best Friends

Yesterday morning I started a new adventure and as usual I had my best friend by my side. For 25 years Ellen has been my partner in crime. We have gone through all of life’s major ups and downs together. She is closer to me than a sister would be and I know I can always count on her to be there when I need her and can usually count on her to make me laugh. Yesterday I started a new career. I gave the first of what hopefully will be a long list of seminars. I had to be in Buffalo at 8:15 yesterday morning, YIKES! When I called Ellen to tell her I had a booking the first thing she said is “Can I go with you?” Ellen lives 25 minutes in the opposite direction, but she was at my house ready to go yesterday at 6 am.

For the entire 2 1/2 hour drive she patiently listened to my speech over and over again. She prompted me when I lost my train of thought and she encouraged me whenever I got nervous or frustrated. When we finally go off the thruway in true Aubry & Ellen fashion we spent 25 minutes lost. Driving back and forth, backtracking and rereading the directions. The entire time trying desperately not to pee our pants.

We arrived at the college and thankfully found our way to the event without any other issues. Once we set up my Power Point presentation and checked all my handouts we had an hour to kill. Ellen sat in the front row searching the Internet on her phone and telling me I was going to be great. One of the things I love the most about Ellen is that she has a very calming spirit. She really helped me to relax and not freak out. We sat there for an hour and laughed and joked, it was the best medicine. She brought her video camera without me even asking and she set it up quietly on the front table. When it was time for me to speak she smiled her GIANT smile and fed me positive energy throughout my entire presentation.

I was able to remain calm and focused for the whole morning and I attribute so much of that to her. Thank God she was there with me.

After my event we hopped back in the car for the ride home and of course promptly got lost again. Relieved of the stress of the morning we turned into 15 year olds and laughed our butts off the rest of the ride home. We stopped for directions twice once from a farmer who just said “Well….go that way and take a left then take another left then go over a bridge and then around a corner and then you will go right and then a left it’s real easy.” I had him repeat it 3 times but still we ended up lost again and luckily came upon a Harley Davidson Store where we stopped for directions and souvenirs. We got lunch on the thruway where the women at Arby’s seemed to work on their own planet. When Ellen went to the bathroom I somehow made friends with several truckers and a lesbian.

Back on the thruway Ellen changed her clothes in the front seat and then listened patiently to me practice my music for Scream Queens. We rolled into my driveway at 1PM and my bestie hugged me and thanked ME for the morning. Has there ever been a better friend? I think not!