No Bake Graham Cracker Almond Bites

We introduced the Little Guy to peanut butter a month ago (after the recommendation to wait until he was a year old) and he got mild hives. That really worries me; I am a BIG peanut butter eater, so I hope it was just a one time thing.

(We'll try again in another month under medical supervision.)

That being said, if I had to cut peanut butter out of my diet and home, I'd be okay with it. I just know that I'd go through a long mourning period so I decided to start now just in case that's the life we'll have to live.

I came up with these almond butter bites because the Little Guy has a cookie problem. Well, maybe it's me and the A-man that have the problem. We eat cookies, in some fashion, on a pretty regular basis and Little Guy asks for them in his adorable, clingy way (by climbing on us, whining and grabbing), so we give in.

I feel a whole lot better about giving him "cookies" when they're these. With the crunch of the graham cracker and smoothness of the almond butter (and hints of maple syrup and chocolate) I'm really, really digging them.

Gluten-Free No Bake Graham Cracker Almond Bites
Makes 13 balls

1/2 cup crumbled (by hand; you still want them to be crunchy) gluten-free graham crackers
1 cup crunchy almond butter (smooth will work too)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
pinch of salt (if using unsalted almond butter)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 

Combine the graham crackers, almond butter, maple syrup, flax seed, salt and chocolate chips and mix until thoroughly combined. Using a melon baller scoop into about one-inch balls and roll until round. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and then roll in the coconut. Keep refrigerated. They make a great post-workout snack. 

He likes them! He really likes them!

This post is being shared on the Gluten Free Homemakers Gluten Free Wednesday series. 

My relationship status with running: It's complicated.

I have a love/hate relationship with running.

Our current status? In blissful love.

The past ten years? Off and on.

High school and before? Deep, deep hatred.

I should clarify that when I talk about running, I usually mean middle-distance and distance running, not sprinting. Sprinting and I have always been on pretty good terms. Sprinting was always a part of the sports I played: soccer, basketball, tennis... you sprint to chase after a ball. I understood it. There was a goal, something to go for. But then I decided to follow in my (record holding) sister's footsteps and try track my freshman year of high school.

That was a mistake. I didn't care for the coach and I was way too immature to appreciate that running itself is a sport. I was told, because of my body shape at the time, that I should be a middle distance and distance runner; I did not agree and therefore held a grudge the entire season and dreaded going to practice. I barely got through practice runs and had incredible anxiety before and during meets. The only event that I enjoyed and that quenched my desire to sprint - the triple-jump - was the one that my sister (a senior when I was a freshman) also competed in. I did okay with it. She'd always place first and I'd sometimes place third; that was pretty cool.

But the middle distance and distance events? I was always one of the last ones to finish. It sucked and I didn't go back.

(In hindsight it was a good thing, the next year I picked up tennis, captained the team my junior and senior year and went on to play in college.)

Fast forward to post-college: my main forms of exercise became rec soccer and training for sprint triathlons. I began to run and I began to like it. I'd still rather bike, or swim, or play a team sport. But I'd run in some 5ks and 5 milers, and one half-marathon, because I had friends or family running in them too. I never came close to finishing in the top quarter of the race. I was lucky if I finished in the top half of my age group, but I was growing okay with it.

In fact, my rocky relationship with running also probably has something to do with the fact that I have some really amazing runners in my life: my husband (a sub 3 hour marathoner), one of my best girlfriends (sub 3:15 marathoner) and my sister (a stud Div. 1 track athlete) - I'd compare myself to them, and figure everyone else was too, so I decided since I wasn't near any of their levels, the sport just wasn't for me.

Fortunately, with age comes wisdom, or, more accurately: as I grow older, I care less and less about what other people think.

When I became pregnant with the little guy I had a small base of running under me. I was running to keep in shape for roller derby, but my fast twitch muscles were definitely more formed than my slow ones. I ran (off and on) for probably the first 14 weeks of my pregnancy. Then it just got too uncomfortable (I still worked out, almost daily, just in other ways). I ran again for the first time probably 8 weeks postpartum: little by little, one mile at a go.

Maybe it was because I had a break from running, or because I had to start from zero postpartum, but during the last year I really began to love it. It was a struggle, getting back to the point where I could run three miles consistently again, and stroller running was pretty difficult to get used to, but it's working for me. I've ran a few 5ks (With the little guy in the stroller and without. With friends and racing for myself). And I finished the Ragnar Adirondacks (a 200 mile relay race) with a group of 11 other amazing mamas.

I mentioned it briefly in my last running post, but I'm enjoying running so much, and the camrederie it creates, and the good it can do (both mentally and physically) that I'm helping to organize a 5k run around here, and it's for a great cause.

If you made it this far, thank you for letting me work through my running issues! I'll be sure to keep the blog updated with our tumultuous relationship.

On that note, here's my favorite running workout that's easy to do on a treadmill (which is where most of my running is taking place due to the frigid cold right now). I find the "break" after each mile really makes the running part go by quickly:

A local 5k run for Sandy Hook

On Saturday morning I took part in a 5k that I'll likely never forget. It wasn't timed, there was no swag bag and the course wasn't particularly scenic. It was in my town, put together by mothers, in honor of some very special people.

A 5k in Newtown, Connecticut was planned for January 19th, but for a variety of reasons, an "official" run couldn't be held so the organizers encouraged other communities to have 5ks of their own in honor of those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary. Some amazing women in my community - the Niskayuna Moms on the Run, decided to put together their own 5k and 1 mile walk, and at the urging of those organizing the Newtown event, donate proceeds locally as well. A $25 donation was suggested; the money went to build a memorial in Newtown, to the local fire department, and to a program at a middle school in Niskayuna that a local girl, who just passed away, was a part of.

I was touched, and my eyes teared as people spoke before the race - about Sandy Hook, about 14-year-old Grace who recently passed (she loved going to a local party store and an employee recalled how she'd visit weekly and loved filling up her balloons - they handed out pink and purple balloons after the run) and they spoke about "helpers," and quoted this from Mr. Rogers:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."

Fred Rogers' words were "shared" and "retweeted" on social media a lot around the time of the Sandy Hook tragedy, but no matter how many times I read and hear it, I get emotional because it emphasizes the good in people, the good in most people. The good in the organizers and in those that ran and walked and donated on Saturday.

When I got home I gave my purple balloon to the little guy. I was happy to watch him drag it around all day; grateful we live in the community we do.


I was recently asked by a friend to be the co-director of a 5k that will take place in our area in September. I was slightly hesitant at first to do it; afraid of being overwhelmed by the work it takes to put something like that together, but after Saturday, and after taking part in other races that benefit great causes, I couldn't feel better about my decision.

Workout Wednesday: The Gift that Keeps Me Moving

My sister got me a pretty awesome present for Christmas. In fact, she loves the little gadget so much that she also got one for herself, her husband, my husband, our parents and her in-laws. It's a FitBit, and in simple terms, it's a suped-up pedometer. In more elaborate terms, it's an activity tracker that monitors your steps taken, floors climbed, and hours slept. It's simple to use, has a free app for your phone and puts all your info in easy-to-understand graphs and stats.

Which is good for me because I haaaaate complicated graphs. 

You can also "friend" your friends on your FitBit profile and compete with them. Now I see why my sister got me one. (I've never known anyone more competitive than her.)

I wear my FitBit when I remember - which is most days. There have been days where I know I won't be moving much (say, I'm driving all day) and I choose not to wear it because the numbers will just depress me, but on normal days when I do wear it, it's a motivator. My goal is 10,000 steps a day; I never get that without exercising and in the winter months, it's hard to get outside, so it's been kind of fun to walk around the house and home gym like a crazy woman and watch my numbers go up. (Okay, maybe some of my sister's competitiveness has rubbed off on me...)

And here's a testament to its durability: My husband wore his when he was snowblowing our driveway. Somehow it came off of his pants (I'm not sure how this happened because mine hasn't ever come loose - he must have been snowblowing pretty aggressively) and it was missing, in the snow, for a good five days. We looked and looked and finally, Allen took a rake to the snow and found it. With a quick charge it was back and running again.  

Here's a great Scientific American blog post on the 'bit.

Deconstructed Veggie Roll & PB Banana Sorbet

Due to the hot weather I was debating whether I should do my run outside today or at the gym. I chose the gym because of the air conditioning, and boy am I glad. It's not as hot outside as it has been in the past few days, but running five miles in this heat would have probably done more bad than good in the short term. This past Saturday I raced a 5k with my sister (who gave birth a little over two months ago -- blows my mind too, I want to be like her) and we both went our separate ways after the race. Well, we both later realized that we had killer headaches for the rest of the day (which made me Debbie Downer for a bit since I was at a graduation party). We drank tons of water after the race and were peeing clear (TMI, sorry) but still had horrible, horrible headaches. We realized later it was the nutrients that we were missing, so the next day when we had an outdoor soccer game in the 94 degree heat we loaded up on the electrolytes, care of Gatorade. This just reminded me how important keeping your nutrients in check is when you're working out.

So, after my run and core workout today, I chugged my water, had some Gatorade and scarfed down these two dishes:

Deconstructed Veggie Roll (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

Wild rice, which is actually a grass is relatively high in protein. It's the most nutritious rice I've discovered, too.

salad:
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice (sushi rice or brown rice would work well too if you're not a fan of wild rice on its own)
1/2 English cucumber, seeded and sliced
1 carrot (or 5 baby carrots) julienned
3/4 cup chopped cabbage
1/2 sliced avocado

dressing:
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons wheat-free soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 tablspoon grapeseed oil

Put all of the salad ingredient, except the avocado, together in a bowl and combine. Whisk together the dressing and add to the salad. Serve immediately, or chill and serve later. Garnish with the avocado.

Peanut Butter Banana Sorbet (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

This dessert really hit the spot. Bananas are loaded with potassium which, in addition to sodium, you can lose a lot of during workouts, so eat up!

2 ripe, frozen bananas, slightly thawed
2 tablespoons almond milk
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 teaspoon agave nectar

Place all of the ingredients in a mini food processor, blender, or Magic Bullet and blend until smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides to evenly incorporate the ingredients. Serve immediately or place in the freezer until ready to serve.

Just had to share

So, I'm a pretty athletic woman. I workout quite a bit. I currently play competitive soccer twice a week, played tennis in college and managed to get voted "most athletic" in high school and never before have I been so impressed by one simple exercise.

While preparing some chili and carrot-coconut soup yesterday morning, I was watching a segment on the Today show with wellness expert Jorge Cruise. The title was called "shrinking your waist" which turned me off a bit, but his ideas and the simplicity of the exercise hooked me. I tried this simple sit-up and did ten reps, and now my stomach has been twitching ever since. Most people might find a twitching stomach annoying, but I think it's pretty darn cool because it means that the exercise is working and has exhausted my abdominal muscles and is therefore building more muscle. I'll keep at it daily, and see if I notice a change in the upcoming weeks.

Click on the video segment to see the sit-up: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22465951/

I'm alsmost tempted to videotape my twitching stomach so you all can see, but that might be a little too much information.