Monday, November 18, 2013

These Shoes are Made for Running...

Guess what I splurged on yesterday????

New running shoes! Yup, a nice pair of Brooks Ghost :)



I'm ready to take up running again--slow and steady most likely--but it turns out I was running on one of the worst types of shoes for my stride type. Funny right? No wonder I got injured. If I'm going to take running seriously again (which I obviously will) I need the right shoes, so I hauled my butt over to Marathon Sports to get fitted.

Next topic? Food.

I bought a bag of cranberries this weekend on a whim; I didn't realize that I really didn't have much use for it. Then I read about cranberry salsa. So I grabbed the jalapeño in my fridge, chopped half an onion and threw everything into my Ninja blender. A few minutes later I had a delicious relish-like salsa.


A ton of it is still in a mason jar my fridge, but it seems this salsa goes well with everything: chicken, brussels sprouts, kale, wasa crackers, etc. I'm excited to try it in a sandwich, but that'll have to wait until later this week. For now, here's the recipe. Enjoy!


Spicy Cranberry Salsa
Active/total time: 5 minutes!
Makes about 16 oz.

  • One 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
  • 1 jalapeño, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 small sweet onion, roughly chopped
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • 1-2 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
  1. Put first 4 ingredients into a powerful blender or food processor; pulse 10 times to mix the ingredients. Starting on low, process in intervals, moving up in speed, until ingredients are finely chopped. 
  2. Add sugar and process until just blended. Season with salt and pepper. 

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Protein-Packed Scones

After five days since I got my admission letter, I think it's officially sinking in: in one year I'll be a law student. **Let me take a second to jump around like the excited crazy person that I am.**

Ok, all set. For now.


For most people at home (Mexico), this means nothing other than going back to school--so they probably wouldn't understand my excitement. Law studies in Mexico are just like any other undergraduate degree, so they really don't receive additional merit or recognition. But in the US, law school is whole different ball game. One that garners and deserves due recognition.

Why is that you ask? Simply because of the time and dedication devoted to getting a law degree. I'm no expert, but people who spend an additional three years in school after having gone through a grueling application process a second time around (assuming they went through it once before attending college) must have at least some dedication towards the study of laws.


So where am I attending law school? University of Texas School of Law. And despite the fact that Texas may have been one of the last states I would picture myself in, I couldn't be more thrilled to move to Austin and become a Longhorn.

Now let's talk about food. I've recently taken up a new eating plan which revolves around eating more protein--not just any protein, clean protein. I'll post more about it soon, but in the spirit of protein, here is a recipe I adapted this afternoon. I subbed protein powder and quinoa flour for regular flour, for a healthy protein-packed version of cranberry scones. Enjoy!


Protein Cranberry Scones

  • 2 cups vanilla protein powder (I used PerfectFit)
  • 1/2 cup quinoa flour
  • 3 tablespoons baking powder
  • 3 tablespoons sugar or stevia
  • 1 ripe banana mashed
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup egg whites
  • 1/4-1/2 cup almond milk (as needed)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with baking oil or greasing.
  2. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients and mix well. Add mashed banana and coconut oil, stirring until combined and mixture resembles coarse meal. 
  3. Stir in egg whites, 1/4 almond milk and vanilla extract and mix well, just until combined. Add more almond milk a little bit at a time if necessary; dough should form, but it should be slightly dry.
  4. Fold in dried cranberries until just incorporated. 
  5. Scoop out batter using wet spoons or your hands--if needed, wet your hands so that the dough doesn't stick--into 12 equal sized scones. Using a spoon, slightly press down on the scones to flatten slightly. 
  6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until crispy on the outside. Let cool and store in airtight container.