Breakfast

Setting Intentions For The Day & Low Sugar Morning Challenge

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Life has been hit with a state of chaos. The change of the seasons, new rhythms for the day and of course the weekly changes that come with a new baby. This month I am focusing on setting mindful and healthy intentions each and everyday to help calm the chaos. Setting small intentions each morning can translate into a calmer, more positive day.

This week instead of heading to the kitchen and opening the fridge and cupboards 10x trying to figure out what I’ll have for breakfast and end up gulping two mugs of coffee and eating the crusts of my kids toast I am making my life easier and starting my day with a Splendid Spoon smoothie.

For the next five days I will be enjoying a Splendid Spoon smoothie that I can easily grab from the fridge and sip without having to do any of the work. Instead of chaos I am being intentional with my choice to have a breakfast that is low in sugar, filled with fiber and rich in protein and healthy fats. 

What do I hope to get out of this challenge?

  • Steadier Blood Sugar Levels. Have you ever been around me when my blood sugar plummets? You have a cranky mama on your hands. 
  • More Energy! Being a mama to two small children and a baby is exhausting (especially when the baby doesn’t want to sleep) so I can use all the energy these days. 
  • A More Intentional Day. Did you know just by starting your day off with positive intentions you are setting the stage for your entire day. So positive, intentional morning means that you are more likely to make healthy, positive decisions throughout your day. 

If you’d like to join me in 5 Low Sugar Mornings leave me a comment below! I’d love to hear about your experience and why you want to challenge yourself! 

You can follow my entire journey over on my Insta-Stories and I’ll be sharing my full challenge experience on the blog next week. 

Save $20 off your first Splendid Spoon Plan. 

This post contains affiliate links. Purchases you make through these links will help fund the work I do here on Running With Tongs at no extra cost to you. Thank you sincerely for your constant support

Hood to Coast & belVita Prep You for a Morning Run! | +Giveaway

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I still can’t believe that I am a mom of two and that at 15 days postpartum I am feeling pretty good, especially compared to how I felt at 15 days postpartum with Edith. We have had a busy two weeks and I have shared our first week over on Naturally Family.  This week has been just as busy especially now that I am finally feeling up to doing a little bit more moving around, oh yeah and we are moving tomorrow. Don’t worry though I won’t be doing any of the actually moving we have a wonderful group of friends who are going to help us move out and into our new place which is luckily not too far away.

Edith Kisses on Alder's Nose

One thing I have learned over the past two weeks is that starting my morning off with a nutritious breakfast is essential. Having two kids is no joke a huge life change and I need to have steady energy in the morning to make it through the day. I know it’s going to be even more important when I am finally cleared to get back to working out and running.

belvitayogurt

Edith and I have been enjoying coconut, soy or almond milk yogurt with belVita Breakfast Biscuits most mornings and Neil has been enjoying the biscuits as a midmorning snack. These are seriously tasty! The big claim with belVita Breakfast Biscuits is that they provide nutritious steady energy all morning long and you know what I am here to say it’s true! I was skeptical at first but paired with a non-dairy yogurt (or dairy if that’s your thing) and a piece of fruit they are perfect for long lasting energy.  As any mom will tell you energy is a must to make it through until lunch and/or naptime – seriously how do toddlers have so much energy?

belvitabiscuits

A few other tidbits about belVita Breakfast Biscuits:

─ 18-20g of delicious whole grain per serving

─ Good source of fiber (3g per serving)

─ Part of a balanced breakfast with fruit and low-fat dairy

─ Crunchy belVita Breakfast Biscuits are available in five flavors including my favorites Blueberry and Golden Oat.

Having (lots) of steady energy throughout the morning and day is going to be essential for me to make sure that I fit my workouts in while taking care of two kids and a house. I want to be a healthy, active and inspiring mom though so I know making time for me is important. My own happiness and my kids inspire me to achieve my goals for the day especially my goals to be active and healthy.

htc_logo

Are you an Oregon local? Hood to Coast  (a race on my bucket list) is coming up August 22-23rd and belVita is the breakfast sponsor! belVita will be providing samples of the crunchy biscuits to runners and spectators so head on out and cheer on the amazing runners and pick up your own sample of belVita.

GIVEAWAY:

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit belVita on their social networks and website: Twitter: @belVita | Facebook: facebook.com/belVita | Website: belvitabreakfast.com

Disclaimer: I was provided with the same giveaway package from belVita in exchange for this post. As always all opinions are my own.

{Recipe} Creamy “Sausage” Gravy

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INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
  • 4oz (1/2 package) tempeh, grated
  • 8oz mushrooms, quarter and pulsed in a food processor 5-6 times
  • 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  •  1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp dried crushed fennel
  • 1/4 tsp dried rubbed sage
  • 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
  • Water
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup vegetable broth + 1 tbsp cornstarch, whisked together
  • 1/4 cup non-dairy creamer

Directions:

1. In a small skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat; add in the onion saute for 5-6 minutes until the onions begin to caramelize. Transfer the onion to a large mixing bowl.

2. To the mixing bowl, add the grated tempeh, mushrooms, wheat gluten, parsley, spices, salt and pepper; stir to combine. With a wooden spoon stir in the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke and 4 tablespoons of

water. Stir until the mixture begins to come together as a dough; if the mixture seems dry add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time.

3. In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil oil over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage mixture into the pan and cook until browned. Stir in the vegetable broth mixture and non-dairy creamer and simmer until the sauce has thickened.

Serve the gravy over your favorite savory baked good.

{Recipe} Avocado Tofu Benny

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One of my favorite breakfast to get out as a vegetarian was the California Benedict at Sneakers in Winooski, VT. Since becoming vegan I have tried to recreate the dish to be as similar as possible and I finally made something tasty and very similar. This is wonderful for any meal but I love to serve at brunch and both veggies and omnivores have been known to love this dish.

 For the marinated tofu:

  • 1 cup low sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/4teaspoon chipotle chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  •  1 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  •  6-8 ounces extra firm tofu, sliced into 4 triangles (1/2 block)

Marinate the tofu:

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the vegetable broth and red wine vinegar. Whisk in the chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, thyme and nutritional yeast, if using.
  2. Place the tofu slices in the broth mixture and marinate for about 30 minutes.

For the Hollandaise sauce:

  • 1 cup soy, rice or almond milk
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons dairy free margarine substitute
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup low sodium vegetable broth
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • a pinch salt
  • a pinch black pepper
  • a pinch cayenne pepper

To make the Hollandaise sauce*:

  1. In a medium bowl mix together the milk, lemon juice, margarine, cornstarch, vegetable broth and nutritional yeast, if using. Season the milk lemon mixture with pinches of salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
  2. Place the milk lemon mixture in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the Hollandaise has thickened to preference, whisking occasionally to ensure a smooth sauce. Remove the Hollandaise sauce from heat until plating the Avocado Tofu Benedict

To complete the Avocado Tofu Benedict:

  •  a spritz olive oil or cooking spray
  • 1 avocado, thin sliced
  •  2 cups arugula, divided
  •  4 whole wheat English muffins, toasted and lightly buttered with vegan margarine
  •  hot sauce, to taste, optional

To complete the Avocado Tofu Benedict:

  1. Prepare a skillet with a light coating of olive oil or cooking spray. After the tofu triangles are done marinating, place the skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the tofu triangles to the skillet and cook for 5-7minutes, or until the tofu begins to brown. Flip the tofu triangles with a spatula and cook 5-7 minutes on the other side or until both sides have browned.
  3. Top each side of the toasted English muffins with 1/2 cup of the arugula and 2 slices of avocado.
  4. Top the avocado with 1 piece of tofu and a drizzle of the Hollandaise sauce* per side. Complete the dish with a few drops of hot sauce, if using, and enjoy.

* If a significant period of time has passed between making the Hollandaise sauce and plating the Avocado Tofu Benedict, warm the sauce on the stove over low heat before serving. You may need to add a bit more milk to thin the sauce during reheating.

Weekend Granola

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This weekend I have been preparing for a new workshop that I am doing next week on natural sweeteners.  Part of preparing for the workshop is making up some tasty treats for my participants to try out.  This granola is made using maple sugar and brown rice syrup.

Makes 8 Cups

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups quick-cooking oats
  • 1/2 cup maple sugar
  • 1/4 cup golden flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup flax meal (ground flax seeds)
  • 1/4 cup nibs
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup black sesame seeds
  • 1 cup Thompson raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil (liquid form)
  • 1/3 cup brown rice syrup
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Spread the oats on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. While the oats are baking combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir to combine.  Add the oats to  the dry ingredients and stir to evenly distribute.  Add the wet ingredients to the oat mixture and mix until everything is evenly coated.
Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper (optional). Spread half the mixture on each of the baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes, stir after 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow granola to cool on the baking sheets.  Store in an airtight container.

Race Weekend Pt 1 & 2: Portsmouth

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Friday after work Neil and I headed to Portsmouth, NH to meet up with my parents for the night. We got to the hotel and jumped on the treadmill for a 2 mile run before getting ready to go out for dinner. For dinner we decided to dine at The Portsmouth Brewery where we all started with a beer; I got the red, it was okay-not great.

While I looked over the menu we snacked on some chips and salsa:

For dinner I had to make a choice out of a few vegan friendly options:


Although both of these sounded good Neil and I both decided to get this:

The wrap was full of veggies and tempeh but I was not too impressed with the flavor, or rather lack there of. It was pretty bland so I added the salsa from my chips, which I didn’t eat since I had chips and salsa already.

Overall the food was okay and the beer was blah not my favorite. I probably wouldn’t return to The Portsmouth Brewery and  I definitely wouldn’t order a beer from there again.

Saturday morning we headed back into Portsmouth for breakfast at The Friendly Toast  a retro dinner with (over priced) breakfast. The restaurant has a fun 60’s/70’s theme and a huge menu but it’s a little expensive for my pocket.

Neil and I had tofu scramble, coffee and water for breakfast.  Overall the food was pretty good, the coffee was great and the water cold.  The Friendly Toast is a fun place but it is a little pricey and can get crazy busy.

After breakfast we did a little window shopping and then headed to the farmers market where I got the best black iced tea ever.

That concludes our visit to Portsmouth! Stay tuned for Portland and Race Re-cap posts!

Good Morning Berry Muffins

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Good Morning! This morning I was in the mood for a tasty baked good and  to my delight when I went to the pantry I had everything to make muffins.  To go with the muffins I decided to try the Godiva coffee from Foodbuzz Tastemakers.

I tried the Chocolate Truffle, it was not bad hot but I had extra to try out a tasty iced coffee tomorrow.  I always find that to me flavored coffee is always better cold.  I guess we’ll see!

To go with my coffee I made up a batch of Berry Good Morning Muffins.


Inspired by Babycakes Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:

  • 2 & 1/4 cups light spelt flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking bowder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Himalayan salt (you can use regular)
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted- however do not melt in the microwave; heat some water and place the jar in a hot water bath to melt)
  • 2/3 cup agave nectar
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract or almond extract
  • 2/3 cup frozen mixed berries (no sugar added)
Preheat oven to 325F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease with coconut oil.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Then slowly beat in the coconut oil, agave nectar, almond milk, and extracts; mix until combined. Using a spatula, gently fold in the berries until evenly distributed.
Pour 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup.  Bake the muffins on the center rack for 22 minutes, rotate 180 degrees after 15 minutes. You will know the muffins are done when a toothpick is inserted in the center and comes out clean.  Remove muffins from the oven and let them stand in the tin for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (if you can wait that long).