Where's the Beach?

Lately I've been cooking with quinoa quite a bit. What I like about it, other than the fact that it's a complete protein source, is that it cooks up fast. It's also super versatile and can be used in many different ways, such as a base for a veggie burger. I try to keep veggie burgers in the freezer for a quick meal. I'll admit that I used to buy them out of convenience. But they can be quite pricey. Plus, if you make your own, you can control the ingredients and choose whatever flavor combos you fancy most. Did I mention it's a lot cheaper too? Since I make veggie burgers often, I try to get creative with ingredients and flavor profiles. I had an eggplant on hand that needed to be used quickly, so for this veggie burger recipe, I decided to go with more of a Mediterranean flair. While I used chickpeas, you could use another bean of your choice, but I like the texture of chickpeas for veggie burgers. Other beans can often be too soft I find. But, it's abso...

I tend to make a lot of veggie burgers. For one thing, homemade veggie burgers are a lot cheaper. Also, you know exactly what's going into them. Plus, you can flavor them however you prefer. I think once you have a general technique down, you can really play around with so many different flavor combinations. One flavor that I've been enjoying is a smokiness from chipotle peppers combined with chickpeas. For this recipe, I use tempeh to boost the protein, but it could easily be omitted, just use a second can of chickpeas. Chipotle Chickpea Tempeh Burgers Ingredients: 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1 package tempeh 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (depending on heat preference) 2 tbsp tomato paste Liquid smoke, to taste 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (may need more if too thick) 1 roasted red bell pepper To taste: salt, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, ground red pepper, garlic powder, onion powder (note: it's ok to be heavy handed with spices other than...

Two-a-Day Tuesday This morning I did indeed get out of bed and get in an early morning run. It did help that I had a running date with a friend. Jason was going to bike while our friend Thad and I ran. I finally had a really great outdoor run too. Maybe it was the cooler temps (only about 64 degrees), being completely over the sinus infection, or the good company. Either way, I'll take it. We got in 5.4 miles. We had to turn around just a hair early because part of the path was flooded. I was ready to run, not swim this morning. I have to give major props to my friend Thad. I know he's been worried about going out for a run with me, thinking I'll just run off and leave him. But we were there to run together. I let him pretty much set the pace, and he's much faster than he gives himself credit for. So high 5's Thad!!! Today was another 2-a-day Tuesday. I am trying to fit in all of my weight workouts before we leave for vacation. So I decided to go with bicep...

2 on Tuesday Last night I set the alarm for 5:22 am (I have an issue with setting it at odd times like 2 mins extra sleep makes a difference) so that I could get up and do 30 minutes of kickboxing and abs. For once, I only woke up one time during the night and was snoozing hard when the alarm started going off. I thought I could quickly reset it and go right back to sleep. The stupid thing would shut off though. At first I thought I was hitting the wrong buttons, but I wasn't. I simply would not turn off. It does really quirky things from time-to-time when I try to set it (it was a cheapo purchase). But it's never not turned off. So, needless to say, I did indeed get up after all. I ended up doing 35 minutes of Kick, Punch, and Crunch plus stability balls abs. Jason and I had planned on a lunchtime run today as the weather was supposed to be nice. He was complaining about a bad crick in his neck though, so I wasn't sure the run was going to happen. But, he said he'd g...

New Shoes Means Lunchtime Run This morning when the alarm went off at 5:15, I was snoozing hard. I had already told myself that if I was tired enough to fall back asleep after the alarm, I'd allow that luxury. So, off went the alarm and I was out immediately startled again at 6:15. This is the time I would normally wake up if not working out. So, I thought today was going to be my rest day. However, I just couldn't pass up a lunchtime run with Jason. I seriously needed to try out my new running shoes right?! The fact that it was sunny and 60 degrees also helped get me energized. I also knew that I wouldn't be able to get a run in tomorrow because we have a co-workers lunch celebration. So if I skipped working out today, that meant my workout tomorrow would have to be before work and it'd likely be step. Inside vs outside, morning vs noon...the decision was practically made for me. The run was so much better today than the other day. I had pep in my step, maybe it was t...