gear talk!

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Wake up ---> Wash up ---->  Hamstring tiiiight ---> 30min Hip Opening Yoga Flow from yogadownload ---> ahhh much better

This was ---> So.Not.Cool.  I only had 1/2T left of my Maple Cinnamon AB this morning!!  ---> Must.Make.More.Pronto!

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2 bowls of oats??  It was a rare morning…Chris wanted oats as well!  I get really excited making people oatmeal.  How strange is that? :) 

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I made my super creamy oats, but doubled the recipe.  Chris likes his oats with a glob of PB and nothing more. 

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My gussied up bowl!  I didn’t add in as much cinnamon as normal when cooking, so I added more at the end.  I topped it with 1/2T of the AB [scraped the jar clean] and 1/2T PB, along with Galaxy Granola and a little plain almond milk.

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I wish I would have had double the AB!! However, overall, it was still delicious + creamy :)

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We were supposed to have stormy weather late in the day.  I never really saw any rain but definitely heard thunder.  Chris + I hopped on our bikes early afternoon while the weather was clear.  It was perfect riding weather today.  Partly sunny + low 60’s

Post-ride.  This was my 2nd time ever riding a road bike!!  I am seriously loving it and it is SO much harder than I thought it would be.  My legs were a bit tired and the bones under my arse were suuuuper sore, even with the padded shorts!!!  I tried to stay in one spot on the seat and it wasn’t as bad.  Youch!  The ride was great though, despite a lot of wind! 

We rode:  14.2 miles in 54min, which is about 15mph

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I don’t know how many calories that burns but I was FAMished!!!  Working out more the past few weeks has upped my appetite even more!!  What do I do?  Feed it!  I am not one that can ignore hunger.  I haven’t lost or gained weight, so I must be doing okay!  I weigh myself maybe twice a month, but lately have been checking in weekly to make sure I’m not losing much/any weight with the extra calories I’m burning.

Which brings me to Lunch #1 – I was in a hurry to eat + run to an appointment.  I shoveled this leftover pesto pasta into my mouth!  I added leftover roasted veggies, extra pesto, sun dried tomatoes, and a glob of tomato paste.

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The tomato paste rocked in this.  Loved the flavor contrast. 

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Love sun dried maters!!!

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Ahhh, much better than kitchen lighting :)

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So, you have leftover pesto, now what do you do???

  1. Freeze in a freezer bag or tupperware in whatever serving sizes you want.  If you freeze in a bag, make sure to squeeze out all of the air.  If you freeze in a container, lay a piece of saran right on top of the pesto and then close with the cover.  Super convenient!
  2. Make up a new recipe utilizing pesto!

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Kale Pesto Chips!!!!!!!

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  1. Whisk pesto and veggie broth to thin out a bit.
  2. Pour over kale.
  3. Toss and spread on a pan.
  4. Cook at ~300* for 30-45min, depending on your desired doneness.  Toss every 10min.
  5. Crunch + enjoy!

Pre-cooked pesto kale chips.  They turned out DEElicious!!!!  Very similar in style, but not taste, to the Nutrtional Yeast “cheesy” Kale Chips, that I have made before.

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A reader asked about my “pour, poke + spread” egg cooking method.  While it doesn’t look pretty in a pan, it is my FAVorite way to cook eggs.  It all started from a sandwich Kelsey + I always ordered, back in Charlotte, at our favorite French Bakery Amelie’s.  We were baffled at how the eggs were cooked in the sandwich, until one day Kelsey figured out what to do! 

So, here is better documentation of this method.

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Farm freshies :)

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Spray that pan! [love this cooking spray, when I’m not using my Misto with olive oil]

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Pour.

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Poke. Spread.

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Cover. Cook.

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Done!  A little overdone because of my photo-taking ;)

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Slide onto a plate! 

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Pour, Poke, + Spread Eggs

  1. Heat a pan over medium heat and lightly spray your pan to prevent sticking.
  2. Crack however many eggs in a bowl, and pour into the pan.
  3. Poke the yolk[s] with a metal spatula.
  4. Spread around the pan, and cover with foil.
  5. Let cook until desired doneness.  [Because of the foil, you do not have to “scramble” or “flip” the eggs to cook them.  The heat will circulate and cook the top.]
  6. Slide out of the pan with the spatula.   

Biking gear overview time!!  I tried on numerous helmets at REI the other day.  This one fit the best.  I would recommend to buy your helmet in store, rather than online, so you can properly fit it to your noggin.  Or, you can always try them on in store and then search for a lower price online.

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Padded gloves are quite important!!  My hands are sore even with these.  There is a lot of pressure that is put on your hands from the position you ride in with a road bike.  I snagged these gloves at a local bike shop and they gave us a great discount on a few items.  I can’t find them online, but they were $30 [pre-discount]. 

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If you’re looking for craZy deals on gear, check these 2 sites:  Bonk Town – Chain Love – They sell one item at a time, DIRT cheap but it changes alllll the time throughout the day.  If you see an item, you have to act quiCK!!  I already got this sleeveless Pearl Izumi jersery for $15!!!  The original price was $60…SCORE! 

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Also, extremely important to the biking outfit are padded shorts.  Seriously, they are really important.  I’m still really sore but know it will dimish with time.  These are the shorts I bought, which I’m loving.  They are really comfortable and were in the mid to low price range for biking shorts.  I love that they are a slightly shorter style too! 

Look at what the original bike owners threw in with the cost of the bike!!  We got a steal of a deal, especially with all of these extras thrown in.  Chris said that if for some reason I don’t like biking, we can definitely sell the bike for about $200 more than we bought it for!  The bike is around 5 years old but literally looks brand new.  The woman said she rode it 4 times. 

Clip-less Shimano Pedals - $140!!! I’m not ready to use these yet.  I’m going to get really used to riding and then eventually [in a few months] invest in a pair of clipless shoes.

Portable Bike Pump - ~$20

Bike Computer - ~$20

Bike Tool - ~$15

All of that was included!!  Yippeeeee

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As was this pouch that costs around $20 as well.  My bike is a Cannondale R600 SI.  It is lightweight and perfect for a starter bike.  The frame is used on Cannondale bikes that cost $1,000’s but the rest of the bike has somewhat cheaper/lower-end parts.  It’s great for right now but also allows me to upgrade piece-by-piece which is nice.

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Okay…Swimming gear!!  Not much to talk about here :)  I highly recommend a swim cap.  I think this cost $9 at REI.  While I had trouble getting it on the first few times, it is SO helpful in the water.  My hair would always loosen from my rubberband while swimming and then spread all over my face when I would turn my head out of the water.  Also, my loose hair would drain water into my mouth when I breathed to the side.  HUGE difference when I started wearing this!!

I had a pair of goggles from college that I thought were okay, but gave me bruises on my nose when I started wearing them.  It pinched really hard and loosening didn’t help.  I also grabbed these goggles at REI.  I talked about my 1 piece suit on this post and I’m still absolutely loving it.  It’s super comfortable and dries quickly once out of the pool.

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Aaaand by this time, my index finger was quite tired, so dinner when un-photographed.  I made tempeh burritos and they were quite delicious.  You’ll just have to take my word for it!

Let me know if you have any gear-related questions!

Off to bed!

~Ashley