Cooking with Chloe: Avocado Toast
I started a series called “Cooking with Chloe” as I cook through Chloe Coscarelli’s cookbook: I plan on cooking all 125 recipes and using some of them to enhance my meals.
Today’s recipe is Chloe’s Avocado Toast.
My goal is to cook her recipes while the ingredients are in season and since avocados are in season and plentiful right now, this delicious and simple combination hit the spot!
I used my favorite bread, Ezekiel Sesame, and dusted the top with a great olive oil, sea salt, lemon, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
This will be definitely be a new favorite meal in the rotation!
When I saw that Ms. Chloe Coscarelli herself had stumbled over to my blog, I was doing my excited dance!
But I am also quite intimidated because well, she and her cookbook are awesome and I need some knife skills. :D
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Since we got back from New Orleans, I’ve been surviving on one meal a day and hot chocolate. I made it to the grocery store and started my Monday with a tropical smoothie.
In the mix: almond milk, Fage Greek yogurt with mango and guanabana, small frozen banana, strawberries, and a teaspoon of sugar-free lemonade + a slice of whole wheat toast. Taste the islands peeps! :D
And here’s my first plant of summer - oregano! Oregano can be grown easily on a window sill (and can withstand mercurial temperatures) because it’s a hearty little guy.
Lunch was a large plate of mixed greens and wasabi-miso dressing, a slice of whole wheat toast, and a cheddar cheese stick.
I had a pretty great Monday - guess where I spent my evening?
John and I went to the Cubs - Brewers game at Wrigley, our first game of the season!
A partner was giving away tickets to the associates and John grabbed two last week for a fun date night!
They were giving away these awesome hats but we were too late to get one. :(
Sadly, it was a cold game and people were snuggling under blankets. I can’t wait till we got to a hot weather game!
I love this series of photographs because I never realized how specifically the pitcher turns his body when he throws the ball - it’s like a ballerina on one leg!
I love watching the Cubbies play and I love getting our dinner at the stadium - I shared this popcorn box and a pretzel with John - and came home and drank two liters of water!
(I hate the no water bottles in stadiums rule and buying the plastic bottles feels so wasteful!)
Nigel Bear was extra cuddly when we got home and was butt-wiggling all over the place.
Today’s Workout: 1 Hour, Yoga at Home (Hatha + Routines from Stiles’ book)
Hope you had a great Monday!
Running Bunny Weekly Report: Half Marathon Junkie
There was a huge plus running my long run on a cold and grey Sunday: the lakefront was abandoned. I counted about 20 runners and my favorite part, only a handful of bicycles.
I ran my fastest 13.1 miles to date. I’d love to say it felt like fluffy bunnies and My Little Pony curls but it was tough nuggets towards the end. I gave myself a couple of pep talks to keep my legs moving fast.
I love the half-marathon distance, it’s short enough to do often without injury but long enough to still leave me in awe, “Did I just do that?”
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Fast forward to Monday: I didn’t feel like lunch so I ate a slice of Ezekiel toast with a wedge of Laughing Cow and strawberry preserves - and some black pumpkin spice coffee. :)
I ate a plate o’ yum for dinner with red bell pepper slices, avocado, cucumber, and mixed greens dressed in balsamic vinaigrette from Maple Groves - lean, mean, and green!
Today was a bit funnier - I got dressed in the evening and went to hot yoga but something about the teachers at the desk touched me the wrong way so I turned around and came home.
I went back later for a Candlelight Hot Power Fusion class a few hours later- one of my faves because the class is only lit with flickering light.
Off to drink some hot chocolate and hit the sheets!
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Running Bunny Weekly Report
This was a kick in the teeth training week for me because my mileage is slowly creeping up (my training log is here).
With two 6 milers, a 5K, and the 13 miler, I completed 28.45 miles of running (Argh! Almost had the .5). I think I am doing this really carefully and inching my miles up VERY slowly.
But I am wondering - do I make this week’s long run a 10 miler to let my legs absorb the training I’m putting them through?
Or do I barrel onward and bump up my mileage to a 14 or 15 miler? Will have to figure this out!
Strawberries & Cream Cold Oats
My cold oats floweth over!
I’ve written before how I dislike the texture of overnight oats so I call these shower-time oats! I add my oatmeal to my cold base and it softens while I’m in the shower and do my make-up.
In the bowl, I chilled almond milk, Chobani Greek yogurt with vanilla extract, pureed strawberries (courtesy of Fresh Picks!), and a full cup and a few tablespoons of water!
I keep my fridge pretty low and in the morning the mixture had an ice cream like texture and the bowl was really puffy!
I added the oatmeal in the morning, went about my routine, and a half-hour later added two tablespoons of yummy Bear Naked granola to the top which added a lovely cinnamon note.
Cold, creamy, smooth, and crunchy- Perfection!
This was the first toy Nigel got from his grandparents (John’s parents). At 10lbs he couldn’t lift it up and would push it around with his nose, get tired, and abandon it.
Now he flings it around the room.
I think shark week is here because I’m about to start crying because my dog is growing up.
Hope you are all having a great morning.
Look How They Shine for You & Everything You Do
Good evening and happy Thursday!
Rest assured, where ever you are right now, you wish you had Nigel’s job.
Patrollin’…Trying to catch me eatin’ mom’s stuff…
Rewinding to this morning, I started my day with something new!
So Delicious Coconut Milk! It was very yummy and very rich tasting because it was much thicker than my almond milk. I drank a cup and one fifty calorie serving has nearly four grams of saturated fat (eek!). According to this article in The New England Journal of Medicine, saturated fat may not be all that bad for you though.
But it’s filling. SO Filling. Like “you just ate an entire tofu block by yourself filling.” I’m thinking this is a winner for smoothies or homemade frozen yogurt!
I still prefer a splash of almond milk in my pumpkin spice coffee. Even though the days are finally longer in Chicago, I can’t give up the pumpkin.
Workout
My morning workout was a a glorious five mile run in 46:59. It was 46 degrees and getting sunnier so much sooner in the morning and I rocked the shorts - with gloves and a thermal - but still, the shorts!
I’m splitting the day today because I’m busy so hot yoga will happen in the p.m.!
After my run, I enjoyed my delicious Chai Tea Oats!
Would you like some oatmeal with that Chai? :D Yeah, I made it extra liquidy today - a full cup of almond milk and a quarter cup of boiling water from my tea kettle. It was really warm and yummy!
I enjoyed a packed salad for lunch - a ton of baby spinach and half and avocado with fat-free wasabi-dijon dressing! Oh my goodness. My salads are so sexy delicious - seriously.
I am obsessed with avocados lately and they are another fruit quite high in good, natural fats. It’s amazing - my skin and hair are glowing.
Back to the to-do list, lovelies! :D
It’s a Beautiful Night, We’re Looking For Something Dumb To Do
Hey baby, I think I wanna run with you!
Is it the look in your eyes, or is it the running shoes?
Hey baby, I think I wanna run with you!
(What? You change song lyrics too).
Today’s Workouts
C2 Intermediate Hot Yoga - no doubling up today because it was a run day! I worked
Run 3.1 Miles, 30 minutes exact (!): A nice easy run to prep for my five miler tomorrow.
I didn’t feel like running but John kept me company - he reminded me I never have to run, I get to run.
This one tried to eat my new finger bling and is in trouble. Don’t let that face or those wrinkles fool you - that’s where he hides the diabolical.
Today suffered from an attack of THE BEIGE. Not my mood - my food. Yesterday’s nice dinner, copious champagne and chocolates celebration were in my system beating me up all day. I needed to soak it up and started with a slice of Ezekiel toast and vegan ramen.
God bless mama, papa, and vegan ramen.
And pumpkin spice coffee with unsweetened almond milk got me through hot yoga. I made a few attempts at hurdler pose and had some lift offs - will that become part of my practice in the next few months? Weeeee!
Lunch was a sammie made with slice of Ezekiel bread and a vegan Chipotle sausage and it was delicious - I refuse to photograph it though because sausage, even the vegan kind, looks funny to me.
I fought the beige with some mixed greens and wasabi-dijon dressing on the side.
And another salad for dinner - mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, Ezekiel croutons, and a Morning Star Chicken patty - all dressed with the wasabi dijon dressing from Maple Groves. My food is yummy. :D
I hope John wants to share some hot chocolate and watch HGTV. :D Have a great night lovelies!
Valentine’s Morning
Blooms in the front room!
Mini-chocolate chip waffles from Van’s Natural Foods stuffed with peanut butter for breakfast.
With maple syrup for dipping!
Our Abs Fitness streak continues with Routine 44 and 45 inspired by Tara Stiles. I did the routine five times through and added plank pose, side planks, and crow pose.
My sweetie is on my mind while I drink my morning coffee. :D
Hope you had a great morning!
Learning the Hard Way!
Yoga Puppy says “Oh hai, expensive pro mat for me, cheapie Michael Scott mat for you.”
I got my turn on the mat at hot yoga in an intense C2 class. Today’s class was demanding of my body and my favorite part was when the entire class moved their mats to the windows to practice different handstands!
I needed the release in hot yoga today - when my computer crashed last week, I had to take it in to be repaired. Sadly, everything had to be erased and I lost all my photos from the past month which I hadn’t backed up yet, including all our photos from Disney’s Goofy Challenge, New Year’s Eve, a girl’s night with some friends. Sigh.
I don’t know why, but I couldn’t stop crying over a bunch of photos that were nothing special. They aren’t posed, they aren’t for the blog, they are just those moments, you know?
I always learn the hard way!
Skipped a full lunch in favor of snacks - an orange and string cheese and a few hours later, a banana and half a tablespoon of peanut butter!
After hot yoga, dinner was two Morningstar “Chicken” patties, sauteed cello spinach with garlic, and fresh red cabbage tossed with balsamic vinegar and tons of black pepper. And two pears for a sweet note - I’m starving today!
All my produce is from Fresh Picks and it is so nice having it when I come home and not have to think about dinner.
Grumpy side eye or not, someone is going to be cuddling with me on the couch and watch The Bachelor to make me feel bad about all my lost photos.
Would you call me if the Walkers were here?
Probably not.
No, I’d be about as useful as this guy if the zombies were here. And no, this isn’t the same picture as before. This would be what John and I call, the fourth nap. He does have stiff competition in the wrinkle snorgling department.
John brought his brother’s XBOX home after Christmas so I could experience some zombie games since I enjoy survival novels like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. I wasn’t allowed to play video games growing up (thanks for nothing parents!), and I have no hand-eye coordination.
Left for Dead 2 was a challenge for all fifteen minutes of game play. I was killed once every three minutes by a new zombie - how does one look in all directions while moving a character around?
I think I’m going to get a game where you open a pet store or a zoo and feed the animals.
After going to the gym with John, we dug into one of these pears from our Fresh Picks delivery today - our fridge is bursting with produce.
This delivery contained the teensiest and sweetest cherry tomatoes I’ve ever seen.
I’m also the very proud owner of my very own watercress plant -one of my favorite treat salad greens! Irv and Shelly’s has been a fun investment because I would normally only eat these veggies in restaurants - now I get to make my own exotic salad!
And produce looks very different when it hasn’t been prepped and cleaned already - makes me appreciate all the prep work chefs have to do!
I’m excited to make some new recipes for New Year’s eve dinner before we go out and hit the dance floor! :D
After running some holiday errands (returning and exchanging some gifts), we came home and Nigel got one of his holiday treats, licking the bottom of the peanut butter jar. Followed by the sad look we all know - the gaze towards the bottom of a peanut butter jar.
Dinner featured goodness from our Fresh Picks order. I never knew cippolini onions were this adorable - like small doughnuts. They are as intense as a white onion but don’t have the “hot bite.”
I sauteed the onion along with two zucchini (they weren’t seasonal but from an organic farm in Mexico!) and added some garam masala and sea salt because I was craving Indian. Piled on a slice of rye bread from Red Hen Bread with a spread of hummus and I was in heaven!
Heaven will no doubt have sweet potato fries and sriracha sauce, I hope!
I had an apple sauce craving but didn’t want to make it from scratch - dessert was a little treat.
I’m off to practice some yoga - hope you are all having a good night!
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
Can you imagine what our house smells like right now? Here’s a hint. My banana bread with two, yes, two types of chocolate chips.
And banana bread is in the grey zone - you can eat it for breakfast because it is a bread, not a cake, and I made this version healthier by using whole wheat. ;D
And trust me, I will never use chocolate chips from the yellow bag again. These blocks are tastier - and even Baker’s blocks or Valrhona chocolate are cheaper over time when bought by the block.
I also roasted the bananas - I got a question about why last time and I believe the article titled “A Sweetness Beyond Nature” answers my questions. :D
As Colicchio writes, “you’ve already baked off the excess moisture so you wind up with fruit that has much richer flavor and texture.” I also think they taste sweeter like in my peanut butter and roasted banana snacker! Roasting bananas for banana bread lets me use 3/4 cups of sugar for two loaves instead of the 1 cup or more featured in some recipes.
Butter and brown sugar - the holiest of food amalgamations.
Sadly, brown sugar is not “healthier” then white sugar - it is less refined but it doesn’t up the nutritional profile. I prefer the flavor - it’s richer and darker.
I worried about keeping the bread moist but the the mini-cup of Fage 0% kept things smooth.
The recipe has two whole eggs but didn’t taste eggy. I would love to use a flax egg next time - by next year, my banana bread is going to be so clean, it will squeak. :D I’ve also subbed healthier options below if you are looking to make a lower fat product!
And the star of the show: whole wheat pastry flour from Bob’s Red Mill! I’ve never baked with whole wheat flour before so I was excited. I didn’t bother sifting it because it was so fine and I really couldn’t tell the difference after the bread was baked - except, this bread was tastier.
Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
6 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup melted butter (replace with apple sauce for less fat)
1/2 cup canola oil (or coconut oil) (2tbsp oil is enough if you are using apple sauce)
1 mini container Greek yogurt, 0% or 2%
3/4 to 1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs beaten (flax egg to make vegan)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda + 1tsp baking powder
4 cups whole wheat flour
2 blocks of chocolate, semi-sweet and dark (Vegan options include using cocoa powder in the batter and making a streusel for the top with cocoa powder and sugar OR adding carob chips).
Just blend ingredients together by hand (don’t overwork) and bake in an oven for an hour. I was able to make two small loaves from this recipe!
Happy Holidays Tumblrettes! I hope your days are filled with treats, family, food, and love!
