Homemade GOO

Ok friends.. since there are over 6 of you asking.. here is my homemade GOO recipe.

I ordered my LEMON LIME HAMMER NUTRITION HEED online. (i do not recommend any other flavor.. this is the best one). You can buy at http://www.hammernutrition.com/ or at REI or the Tukwila bike store or ebay or amazon. It is $46.95 for 80 servings. Try to avoid paying shipping on the 5lb container though. I can't remember exactly where I purchased mine.

I bought my AGAVE from Costco. (this is a slow release glucose, better than sugar or honey and doesn't spike your blood sugar)

I ordered my black CHIA seeds online. White chia seeds are ok too. (I bought mine from therawfoodworld.com and bought three 2-lb bags to have a large enough shipment to avoid paying shipping charges). I knew I would use this on cereal, smoothies, salads and more. It is super good for you.

I went to walmart for my re-usable 3oz shampoo bottles.

Buy real lime at the grocery store and you are set.

You really won't screw this up, so you will learn to alter how you personally like it.

Start with 3 cups of water in a pitcher
Put in 4 scoops of HEED
This mixture alone is a great electrolyte drink and even if you never add chia or agave, you can use this as you would gatorade, yet without the high fructose corn syrup.

Then, add in 1/4 cup of agave.
juice of a fresh lime
Add in 1/4 cup of chia seeds and whisk.
Whisk at 5 min, 10 and again at 15, to avoid clumping.
Refrigerate for 4 hours.
Then add to your shampoo bottles and use when you like.
Good in the fridge for 2 weeks, although I have gone longer and had no problems.

Chia seeds hold 12x their weight in water, so it gels up and gets goopy.

See how thick it is.. you can do yours as thick or thin as you like.

Enjoy! You won't go wrong.. so just get the ingredients and you will be on your way to a great sports supplement.

My new favorite hike

Today, we took an 11 mile hike,(Talapus Lake, Ollallie Lake and Pratt Lake). What an amazing day and boy am I wiped out. We saw children younger than 5 and we saw a fast tracking 87 year old man that gave me 50 years of hope. What an inspiration to see him move so well through the uneven grounds.

Drive to exit 45 on I-90, go under the freeway, take fire road 9030 up to Talapus Lake trailhead. Be sure to either have a forest parking pass or use the self-pay station. We did see a ranger today about 5 miles into our hike.
First, you get to travel through the forest and on some nice boardwalks!

Next, you get to walk along side the creek and hear the loud rushing sounds!Then, you arrive at Lake Talapus about 1.8 miles into hike. Next, we passed some Earth Corp people working on the trails. Thank you for your time peeps! Here is Ollalie Lake and we hope to camp here in a few weeks. It is about 2.5 miles in. See Mt Rainier in the background.

Next, pass by wildflowers.

Then, you will pass over boulder fields where you can hear the water rushing under them somewhere.. super cool sound.

Finally, arrive at Pratt Lake about 5.5 miles into hike! We met up with 3 men hikers that spent Friday night here and we met boy scouts that were planning to spend Saturday night here too! The men had spotted a bear yesterday.

What a gorgeous day and a quiet serene trail. We will go back and the water can be swam in!

Our trip to Iowa

It was very important to us to document that Alyssa has gotten to know 4 of her great-grandparents, so we took a trip to Iowa while they were all still healthy.

This is Troy's Dad and his parents.

This is Troy's mom and her parents. I wish Alyssa would have smiled. :( It was hot and the sun was hard to squint through.

This is Troy's step-brother and his wife and their baby Henley. They live in Missouri, so we took a quick overnight trip there to spend time with them! Troy's step mother Cindy celebrated her 60th birthday! She was fabulous to us all week long cooking us steller Vegan meals.

Red Rock Lake was only created about 40 years ago since the Des Moines River kept flooding everything. This is an earth dam. The three biggest floods in recent years, were 1993, 2008 and 2010. We saw 2008 and 2010. The raging water was amazing. We timed our visit perfectly since it rained heavily for weeks before we arrived and it rained the day we left, but we had perfect tolerable weather while we were there for 7 days.

The family in front of the dam.

The fish were going crazy.

Cordova Park Observation Tower - The tower features the world's longest and tallest continuous set of fiberglass stairs, ascending from the ground to the observation deck built atop a converted 100-foot-tall (30 m) by 15-foot-diameter (4.6 m) stand-pipe water tower. The structure stands 106 feet (32 m) in the air, making it the largest observation tower in the Midwest. The tower, completed in 1998, offers a breathtaking view of the Des Moines River valley. The structure has been awarded to Iowa for engineering excellence.

A random buffalo in the midwest.

We went to Winterset, Iowa, birthplace of John Wayne. There are only 4 stoplights in the entire county.

The home he was born in!

And he posed with me.

While in Madison County, we had to see the covered bridges. Imes was built in 1870.

Holliwell, built in 1880 and is the longest bridge.

Roseman bridge, most famous from the movie. Built in 1883.

And we posed with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.

We visited the Grotto of the Redemption in northern Iowa, near Minnesota.

Apparently, Alyssa had never seen a phone booth. She had to have her photo in there and feel what the booth felt like. FUNNY. What I love about Pella, is the quaint-ness and all the kissing dutch figurines on porches. I love the windmills on the signs too. This little town was settled in the 1800's by about 900 dutch folks and all of Troy's heritage comes from this settlement. Alyssa is going to pose by this sign each year. We just decided to do it this year, so bummed we missed 2009. She looks so lean, athletic, and grown up here in 2010 compared to 2 years ago. Here she is in 2008.

We had a wonderful visit. Alyssa gets to stay there all month. She is also taking a road trip to Washington DC with her grandparents. What an opportunity for her and for us! Thank you family for the great time.

Overnight Breakfast Bars

Overnight Breakfast Bars

Bars:
1 1/4 cups flour [used white and whole wheat]
1 1/2 cups oats
2 tablespoons flax meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar [used 3/4 cup]
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter [used 1/2 cup applesauce]
2 eggs [ used egg sub]
1 1/3 cups buttermilk [used rice milk with 2 tablespoon vinegar]
2 medium granny smith apples peeled, chopped

Topping:
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts [used 1/2 cup]
1/2 cup brown sugar (i used 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Grease 13 X 9 pan.
2. Combine flours, oats, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon in medium bowl; set aside.
3. Combine sugars and butter in large bowl. Beat at low speed til just blended. Beat on high speed well. Bend in eggs and buttermilk. Slowly add flour mixture. Fold in apples. Pour in pan.
4. Combine nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon for topping. Sprinkle over batter in pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
5. Preheat oven 350.
6. Uncover pan and let stand for 30 minutes. Bake 45 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serves 18.

Three bean salad

15 oz white kidney beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
15 oz garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
15 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1/2 red onion finely chopped
1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 T finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 t kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

large bowl, combine beans, celery, onion, parsley and rosemary

small bowl, whisk lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper

drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss.

serve

(i added some black eyed peas that I had too)

Cookie Dough Hummus

1 c hot water
1 T raisens
1 pinch cinnamon
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 T peanut butter
1 t vanilla
1 t maple syrup
1/2 t canola oil
1 t cinnamon
1 T ground flax seed
15 oz garbanzo beans drained
1 T instant oatmeal
1 T shredded coconut

Pour the hot water over the raisens and cinnamon. Let stand for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Place the applesauce, peanut butter, vanilla, maple syrup, canola oil, ground flax seed in a food processor until smooth. With motor running, add in garbanzo beans, drained raisens, instant oatmeal, and coconut.

Process until smooth or to your desired consistency.

Sweet Potato Barley Salad

1 C regular barley (not quick cooking)
1 C frozen sweet soybeans
1 L sweet potato
1/3 C olive oil
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
1 t garlic salt
1 C fresh baby spinash
1C golden raisens
2 M carrots shredded
1/2 C thin red onion wedges

Rinse barley in sieve under running water until it runs clear. In medium saucepan bring barley and 3 cups of water to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 20-25 inutes or until tender and drain. Rinse cooked barley in colandar under cold running water until cooled, drain well.

Meanwhile, prepare soybeans according to package. Scrub potato and pierce with fork several times. Wrap in paper towel and YES, use microwave. (we baked ours and it was too mushy) You don't want a mushy potato. When cool enough to handle, remove skin and dice.

For dressing, in small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic salt, black pepper. Mix to your personal taste however much dressing you like with the Barley mixture. Arrange on plate, spinach and top with the barley mixture.

SO YUMMY

Vegan Pesto Sauce

It is so versatile and always adds a delicious touch to any dish! Spooned it onto a pizza or toss into pasta, or spread on a sandwich. The options are virtually endless! Pesto couldn’t be easier to make if you have a food processor, and it is truly worth making from scratch if you can get fresh basil.

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of basil (about 3 cups, loosely packed)
2-3 large cloves garlic
6 Tbsp raw pine nuts or walnuts (or a combination of the two)*
3/4 – 1 tsp salt, or to taste
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)**

Preparation:
Place all ingredients except the olive oil and nutritional yeast into a food processor. Process to a finely ground consistency. Add olive oil and process again, until smooth and creamy. If desired, add nutritional yeast and process again until creamy. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

*Classic pesto is made with pine nuts, but it is also delicious with walnuts or use 3 Tbsp of each.

**Nutritional yeast is a delicious addition to this classic pesto and will give it a kind of “cheesy” flavor and a more rich and creamy consistency.

White bean chili with jalapeno bulgar

1/2 cup bulgar wheat
1 T fresh lemon juice
2 scallions
1 jalapeno seeded and chopped
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper
1 large onion chopped
1 green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 t ground cumin
1 t chili powder
14.5 oz diced tomatoes
30 oz cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

bring 1 cup water boil, add bulgar, simmer, cover until all water is absorbed and bulgar is tender about 12-15 minutes.

stir in lemon juice, scallions, jalapeno, 1 T oil, 1/4 t of salt/pepper

meanwhile - heat remaining oil in large saucepan, over medium heat. add onion, bell pepper, cook until tender, 6-8 minutes. add garlic, cumin, chili powder, 1 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, cook until fragrant, 1-2 minute.

add tomatoes and their liquic and 1 1/2 cups water to the onion mixture, bring to boil. add the beans and simmer until slightly thickened 8-10. Divide the chili among the bowls and top with bulgar.

Vegan must haves - who says eating healthy is restrictive?

Sharing this list with my friends and family that have asked my new favorite staples:

Best Life - buttery spread (olive oil) - so amazing.

Chia Seeds - nutty whole grain flavor, omega 3, antiocidents even more than blueberries, keep blood pressure and blood sugar stable, good for joint pain, skin conditions, Chia provides fiber (about 2 tablespoons--25 g--give you 7 g of fiber) as well as other important nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, niacin, and zinc. sprinkle on salads or soy yogurt, shakes, or make your own energy gels to resemble GU.

Nutritional Yeast - nutty cheesy flavor, good as a parmesean cheese substitute, yummy on popcorn. it is a complete protein, source of vitamins, especially B complex.

Quinoa - Great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods.[4] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.[4]

Flaxseed - among the oldest crop in the world, dietary fiber, abundance of micronutrients, omega 3 oil. 1 TBSP of flaxseed with 3 TBSP of water, substitute for 1 egg in baking recipes. use in soy yogurts, top salads, put in protein shakes,

Rice Milk - Compared to cow's milk, rice milk contains more carbohydrates, but does not contain significant amounts of calcium or protein, and no cholesterol or lactose. Commercial brands of rice milk, however, are often fortified with vitamins and minerals, including calcium, vitamin B12, vitamin B3, and iron.[2] While most rice milks do not contain protein and are not a whole grain. Good for baking.

Almond milk - promoted as a healthy alternative to cow's milk for reasons including:
It lacks casein, It is safe for people with lactose intolerance or milk allergy , Contains far less saturated fat than cow's milk.

Light olive oil - used for frying

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) - used for salad dressing

Egg Substitute - Ener-G is an incredibly versatile and easy to use commercial egg replacer available in most health food stores and larger well-stocked grocery stores. Despite the instructions on the package to mix Ener-G with two tablespoons of water, some recipes will need a bit more moisture when replacing eggs using Ener-G, so you may need to compensate with an extra tablespoon of water or soy milk. Ener-G and other store-bought egg substitutes are relatively flavorless and work best in baked goods, such as cookies, muffins and cakes, and can also be used to bind ingredients together in a vegan casserole or loaf. Ener-G is vegan and certified kosher, but be sure to read the labels carefully on other brands, as some may contain egg whites.

Sunbutter - from sunflowers, like peanut butter, good for people with nut allergies

Overnight Vegan Oatmeal

1 cup steel cut oats
1 cup mixed dried fruit (apples, prunes, apricots, raisens, cranberries)
4 cups water
1/2 cup rice milk
1 TBSP cinnamon

in a slow cooker, combine all ingredients and set to low heat. Cover and let cook for 8-9 hours. S

Stir and remove to serving bowls. This method works best if started before you go to bed and having it creamy by morning.

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

These were super yummy and healthy!

1 cup oats
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg substitute
1 cup & 2 TBSP rice milk & 1 TBSP vinegar (gives it a buttermilk effect)
3 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups blueberries
1 tsp sugar

preheat oven to 400 and spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray
place oats in blender and blend to finely ground
large bowl, combine everything else, mix, then fold in berries
spoon batter into pan, bake 23 minutes.