And another . . .

For those who aren't aware, I'm currently in the midst of a scone obsession. I just can't seem to satisfy my craving for scones; if I could I would have them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner--and snacks, duh!



The bad news is I can't do that--my overly conscious runner self won't allow me that luxury. The good news is, however, I've found friends that enjoy scones as much as like I do. This means I now have a justified excuse to plunge into the depths of Pinterest--and the plethora of cookbooks on my shelves--in search of the perfect scone recipe.



Well, turns out my search is going well: see this recipe and this other one. And then there's the following one. It claims to be a copycat Starbucks scone recipe; it's definitely up to par. Enjoy!



PS, keep an eye out for upcoming scone posts!



Healthy Wild Blueberry Scones (adapted from Babble)
Makes 8 scones.
Active time: 30 minutes; total time: 55 minutes.

• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup no fat Greek yogurt
• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
• 1 1/2 cups frozen wild blueberries
• Coconut oil cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 425 F; spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and yogurt until fully combined. Refrigerate mix until ready to use. 
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Using a large-hole grater, grate the frozen butter and toss with fingers until butter is well coated. 
4. Fold in the liquid mixture until combined. Transfer dough to a well-floured work space and dust with more flour. Knead 6–8 times, adding more flour as needed. Roll out the dough into a 12" square. Fold into thirds as if folding a business letter; fold in the short ends to create a 4" square. Transfer dough to a floured plate and freeze for 5 minutes. 
5. Roll out dough again into a 12" square. Sprinkle with blueberries, pressing lightly so they adhere to the dough. Roll dough into a tight log and lay seam side down; lightly press to flatten into a rectangular form. Cut crosswise into 4 even pieces, then cut each piece diagonally into triangles. Place triangles onto prepared sheet; spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with remaining sugar. 
6. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool before serving. 

Drowsy Mornings

WARNING: part of this post was written under the delayed influence of a "pm" pain medication.



8:47 a.m.: Last night I took one of those over-the-counter pain turned sleep-aid medications. I'm not talking about a hardcore sleep aid, or a doctor-prescribed medication. This was a run-of the-mill naproxen (pain reliever) combined with some sort of "sleep" substance.



I took the pill at 9 p.m. thinking it would help with back pain and (really) hoping it would give me a 10-hour (or longer) sleep. My back pain is more-or-less gone, but my 10-hour sleep is still lacking. And, I now find myself feeling tired and not fully sober; I'm drowsy and all I want is a large cup of coffee and a large pasty.














9:05 a.m.: coffee is in hand and scones are in the oven.



1:32 p.m.: breakfast was delicious, and after a long morning of binge-worthy tv (namely Homeland and Young & Hungry), my body has seemingly assimilated the sleep-aid substance. I'm no longer feeling stupefied or lethargic.



I've decided to only take sleeping pills when my mind is prepared to really let go. Otherwise, on days like today when I'm anxious about anything--for example an upcoming marathon--I should avoid such pills at all costs. If I don't I not only won't get the rest I long, I'll also have a dazed aftermath during which I can't rest or be productive.



Blueberry Scones (adapted from Racing Weight Cookbook)
Active time: 15 minutes; total time: 40 minutes.
Makes 8 scones.

• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (use white whole-wheat flour if you want more traditional looking scones)
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 5 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or butter)
• 1/3 cup almond milk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup egg whites, at room temperature. *Make sure to have ingredients at room temperature so that the coconut oil doesn't harden. 
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or other berry)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger; stir to mix well. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine melted coconut oil, milk, lemon juice, and egg whites; stir to mix. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients bowl and mix well. 
4. Gently fold in berries just until combined with batter. Spoon batter onto prepared pan in 8 equal mounds. 
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops and edges of scones are golden brown. Cool scones before serving (but still serve warm!). 

Wake up to the smell of muffins

Houston, we have a problem. You know those days--or weeks I should say--when you're all of a sudden not at all inspired to do something that you're usually very passionate about? Almost like those times when you have to write an essay and the harder you try the worse your sentences seem to sound.

Well thats how I've been feeling lately about blogging. It's been so hard for me to come up with ideas for new posts--the pre-food content part, because come on, how hard can it be to come up with delicious food to eat?--that I'd rather make up stupid excuses for not blogging. I've used the classic, "I don't have time," or "there's things that have to be done." Then there's the "nobody is going to ready it on a Friday or Saturday, so why bother?,"or the overused "I'll post tomorrow" lines. But worse of all is that I've used these excuses on myself.

Nobody is on my back pressuring me to write up a post on a daily--or even weekly--basis; no one is sending me annoying emails asking why my work isn't done in time. It's all me and my type A personality--although lately its been fading.

But look at that, I just took my lack of inspiration and turned it into a blog post! So now I can go on to ramble about the yummy bran muffins I made yesterday morning. Very easy, very healthy and quite tasty. Pair one with a bowl of raspberries and a mug of steaming Ristretto coffee--yes I do own a Nespresso machine--and you've go yourself a gourmet breakfast! Enjoy!

Blueberry Bran Muffins (adapted from Spark Recipes)
Makes 12 muffins.
Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 50 minutes + cooling

• 2 cups All Bran cereal
• 1 1/4 cups almond milk
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, combine first four ingredients and let stand for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile place liners in a regular cupcake pan or spray with non-stick spray.
2. Add egg whites, vanilla, applesauce and blueberries; mix well. Mix in dry ingredients until well incorporated.
3. Distribute batter among prepared cupcake pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool and serve warm.

Healthy Morning Treat

Remember how I told you I was going to trivia the other night? Well I did and it was as fun as last time.

Only difference was this time we came in third! We actually won something. We won two $10 food credits to the pub, which means next time we'll have free food--and hopefully get first place!

Anyways, Tuesday night was fun, but Wednesday night was yummy. I was invited to a Yom Kippur dinner at a friend's house and the food was delicious. My favorite? Kugel. I have to say, when one of my friends described a sweet-and-salty pudding, I was skeptical, but once I tried it I was amazed. It was scrumptious. Who would have thought a combination of pasta, vanilla, sugar, butter and Corn Flakes--yes Corn Flakes--could taste SO good.

I didn't just have kugel for dinner though, I ate matzo-ball soup, turkey and a lot of Challah--one of my absolute favorite breads. Oh and a hefty slice of cheesecake. Needless to say, Wednesday night was enjoyable. But come Thursday morning, I was in need of a fresh and healthy breakfast. Cue muesli.

Muesli is a combination of soaked oats, nuts and fruits. Before yesterday, I had only ever had it at hotel breakfast buffets, but every time I did I would end up wanting more. So now that I learned how easy it is to make it, I'll be having it at home more often than not.

The recipe calls for fresh ingredients, so it's best made the night before you want to eat it, but it will last in the fridge about 3 days. Just add the fresh fruit until right before eating it.

Alpine Muesli (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Active time: 25 mins. Total time: 4 hours or overnight
Makes 4 servings.

• 1/3 cup non-fat plain yogurt, not Greek
• 1/3 cup low-fat milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup rolled oats, not quick-cooking
• 3 tablespoons honey 
• Juice from one orange, about 1/3 cup
• 1 Granny Smith apple
• 1/2 cup skin-on almonds, chopped
• 1-2 cup mixed fresh fruit, such as sliced strawberries, raspberries or bluberries

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, milk, vanilla and salt until smooth; stir in oats. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. 
2. Stir together honey and orange juice in a medium bowl. Peel apple and grate or finely chop. Add apples and almonds into juice mixture. 
3. Combine juice mixture with soaked oats and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Divide muesli among four bowls and serve topped with fresh fruit.