Check out my progress on Run Hard, Eat Hearty
As the New Year commences, I’ve put together my annual resolutions list.
1. The Ellie Project. As I mentioned a few months ago, I have been contemplating a cooking challenge for myself involving Ellie Krieger’s recipes. Now that I’ve had some time to refine my goal a bit, I’ve decided that I could feasibly prepare all of the recipes in Ellie’s book, The Foods You Crave. This is not a vegetarian cookbook, so some degree of tweaking will be necessary, but I am looking forward to expanding my repertoire and honing my culinary skills with this project. The first two recipes are featured later in this post…
2. Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon. When I started running nearly 3 years ago, I advanced pretty quickly, running 3 miles per day in the beginning to 6 within a year and a half. Despite setting a goal to complete a ten-mile run last January, however, I never fulfilled it. Thus, I decided I need some finite deadline to get me out of my running rut. I’m entering the Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon on April 10th. I spent much of Friday afternoon obsessing over a training schedule and ultimately designed my own—it all starts tomorrow morning!
3. Skincare. Last year’s list of resolutions included wearing sunscreen, and I totally failed on that front—so it’s going on the list again this year. This time, however, I’m prepared. I finally found a facial moisturizer with SPF, and while I was at it, I picked up a new cleanser and another bottle of my favorite alcohol-free toner. God bless you, Neutrogena.
4. So-long soda. I successfully weaned myself off of soda in 2009, but over the past few months, it snuck back into my routine. Damn those vending on-campus vending machines! So this year, I’m returning to my tea, water, and juice beverage regimen.
5. Volunteer. There are so many nutrition-related opportunities in the Raleigh area, and I would like to take advantage of them. As we all know, I love sharing my passion for nutrition with others!
6. The Margot Fund. This will also be a year about saving money so that the Broccoli Hut family may expand. In light of how much I miss my pooches and the slight sinking feeling I get when I return to an empty apartment, I’ve decided it’s time I get my own dog. Puppies can be expensive, so I have decided to start a fund to save up for my future pup (to be named Margot).
Whew! I’ve got my work cut out for me. I can’t wait to run hard and eat hearty:)
What are your resolutions for 2011?
We rang in the new year with a pretty low-key weekend. Check out the eats along the way…
Friday
Seth has a tradition of making pizza on New Year’s Eve, but we were more in the mood for eating out. Hence, we hit up the Mellow Mushroom again.
Saturday
Yesterday morning brought the first Ellie recipe of the year, her Peach French Toast Bake.
My tweaks:
-1 cup soymilk instead of 1 cup nonfat skim milk
-I added chopped almonds upon serving.
It was the perfect brunch meal and amazingly easy! In addition to its inclusion in The Food You Crave, this recipe is also available from FoodNetwork.com: Peach French Toast Bake.
For dinner, I tried my hand at making lasagna. I’ve never made one before, and I didn’t have a precise recipe to follow, so I just improvised. Thus, my Improv Vegetable Lasagna was born. Recipe to come…
Sunday
With half a bag of mozzarella remaining in the fridge from last night’s lasagna, so the breakfast menu was obvious: a cheese-y asparagus omelet!
Amidst composing this afternoon’s blog post, I wolfed down a kidney bean salad.
Tonight, I tried Ellie recipe #2, Sweet & Spicy Peanut Soup.
My tweaks:
-I scaled it down to feed one—I was on my own tonight.
-I added chickpeas for protein.
Yet another fantastic recipe! I really enjoyed the hot & sweet combination, and the fresh taste of the red bell pepper really shone through in each bite. This recipe is also available from FoodNetwork.com: Nutty Sweet Potato Soup
Alright, I am off to pick out a few recipes for this week of the Ellie Project and finish watching Pretty Woman. Ciao!
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
I love Elli Kreiger!! She is one of my favorite dieticians!!
Hahaha the look on Seth’s face is priceless. He is one lucky guy
.
Looking forward to more of Ellie’s Project and the lasagna recipe
That soup looks so good!!!
I used to make my “vegan love lasagna” in college…the extra ingredient was love…
But the special must have ingredient? Silken tofu. I hope yours involved some and also nooch.
~Missy
Oh…Mama Pea has an awesome rep for zucchini lasagna if your down.
BroccoliHut Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
I bet silken tofu would be the perfect stand-in for ricotta cheese. Thanks for the tip!
You are a cooking machine! I want to come over
My resolutions are to: meditate, run a half marathon, and pick up publishers for my next two books. Good luck with yours – the sunscreen one is vital!
Wow, I love all of your goals! Am I seeing the moisturizer right? Is it really oil free AND spf? I have really sensitive skin so usually the moisturizers with sunscreen burn my face.
Your lasagna looks AMAZING! I love making lasagna! It’s different every time I make it! I think I will have to try that peanut soup recipe. It sounds yummy!
BroccoliHut Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
It is indeed oil-free and has SPF! I’ve been searching for a product like this forever–so glad to have finally found it.
My goals include using moisturizer and no gum chewing. I’m also thinking that I may give up running altogether and stick to yoga/Pilates, walking and weight training. Crazy, right?
i need to focus on trying new recipes rather than resorting to the familiar. yours area great, too! lasagna is so eay, recipes arent required at all. glad you gave it a go. i make them for kyle weekly because they freeze well and he can eat them whenever im not around to cook.
BroccoliHut Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Not a bad idea–I might to have to freeze one or two for when I just don’t feel like making dinner…
What a cool resolution- to get a dog! I know how you feel, and I decided to put an end to my misery last week and got a cat from the shelter, she is adorable!
That lasanga looks great! Looking forward to the recipe.
Great sounding new years resolutions. Good luck with the Ellie Project!
great goals! lots of great food in this post
that seth- I bet he’s falling in love even more. you know what they say.. the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.. definitely the case here! 
I have heard wonderful things about Goddess dressing, but haven’t found one that I really liked! Do you make your own or what brand do you recommend?
My biggest resolutions this year are working towards ending my own “fat talk” and starting regular yoga practice. This is the first year I’ve made “official” New Year’s Resoltuions because I have found them to be so stigmatizing in the past – but I am giving them a fresh try this year and approaching them with a different attitude!
Happy New Year!
BroccoliHut Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
I really should try making my own Goddess dressing, as it is quite expensive. However, I usually buy Annie’s Goddess dressing–so creamy and delicious!
A half marathon is one of my resolutions too!!!!
Good luck!
I love the idea of a cooking challenges! I bought a few new cookbooks in the past several months and need something to push me to get in the kitchen
Your goals all sound great and best wishes on them all, especially getting yourself a cute little puppy
I’ve made that peach french toast before- isn’t it SO yummy? I think the Ellie challenge sounds like fun. I love her recipes. And pups are the best. I wish you best of luck in saving up the $$. Josh and I ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom two nights in a row (not really by choice, friends picked it…but we didn’t complain
. I always get a salad and eat some of Josh’s crusts
i recently rediscovered a love for french toast!
my goal is to run a half marathon as well, so long that i properly refuel, right?!
happy new year
Good goals! I can’t wait to see you cook your way through Ellie’s recipes
i get really sad when you talk about mellow mushroom because i ALWAYS want to go so bad whenever you talk about it and i know it can never happen haha
Ryan says you might be using Hal’s training guide? You will have to let me know what you think. I’ve used Hal’s guide for a while (and you can get the workouts on your watch for a pretty penny) and have been trying out other plans for the last month but haven’t made my mind up on one.
As I told Ryan, you will breeze right through a half!
BroccoliHut Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
I actually ended up making up my own training plan, because so many training plans start out with such low mileage (<10/wk). I didn’t want to lose fitness (I’m currently accustomed to 25-40 miles/wk) so I just improvised my own with longer runs thrown in as the race day gets closer.
Your lasagna looks soooo good, can’t wait to see your recipe!
That is one dish that my husband loves but that I don’t like making it very often as it is usually loaded with sat. fats.
I like to make mine with butternut squash, or with tons of veggies inside, but that is not usually my husband’s first choice for lasagna. Another thing is that my son cannot have dairy, so it is hard to make lasagna without much cheese.
Nice to see your review on the peanut soup, I want to make that too, I think my son will like it!
Ana
BroccoliHut Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Hm that does sound like a conundrum–a dairy-free lasagna. There are so many cheese alternatives out there, but none of them really melt in my experience; plus many of them are pretty processed. Anyway, I wish you the best of luck in finding the perfect recipe for your family:)
I love your resolutions! I also want to cook my way through some of the cookbooks I got for Christmas this year.
Good luck with the half!
love the photos. and the resolutions