I Came in FOURTH

FROM LAST~!

I did it! What fun! I had a blast! And that is all that matters :)

My pace for the 10K was 12:13 per mile- Its a start. It only gets better from here! 

 The blur to the right is me!

Homemade Kombucha- Continuous Brew

Here are directions on how to make a continuous brew of kombucha, if you don't have a crock, a large glass container will work just as well.

What you will need to start: 

-1 SCOBY- (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast)- You can either grow your own or acquire one from a friend. Feel free to message me if you need one I might be able to mail it to you for cost of shipping.

- 2 cups Starter liquid (Kombucha)- I had about a cup from the person I obtained my SCOBY from and I also added a bottle of Original GTs Kombuch from the store.

- 12 cups Filtered Water-  Tap water contains additives such as chlorine and fluoride that will compromise the SCOBY. Filtered well water works good too.

- 4-6 bags of Tea- Black, Green and Oolong Tea are most common. Do not use teas that have oils or flavorings as they can kill the SCOBY

-1 cup of Organic White Cane Sugar- other sweeteners dont work well or kill the SCOBY, if you dont have organic, non-organic white cane sugar will work as well. Keep in mind most sugar will be consumed by the SCOBY by the end of the brew. 

- Crock with a spigot. I purchased a lead free crock from Amazon. Make sure it is lead free! If you dont want a continuous brew, you can also use a glass jar (no lid  needed)

-A piece of tight woven Cotton Cloth large enough to cover the top of the crock- I started with a kitchen towel until I obtained a nice quilters cloth.

-Large rubber band- I re-used one from a produce purchase.

-Glue gun or duct tape to help the rubber band not come off the top of the crock.

-White vinegar- Use this to clean hands, crock, pot. Soap will also damage or kill the SCOBY.

- Wooden Spoon - To stir the Sweet tea, metal will damage the SCOBY. 

- Pot to boil water

 -Measuring cup

Directions

Read here (link coming soon!) about how to prep the crock with glue gun so the rubber band doesn't come off. 

Clean everything with vinegar and warm water and dry completely.

Boil filtered water in pot, remove from heat and add black tea and sugar, stir will. Cover with a clean towel to keep particles from contamination. Let sit for 3 hours or until it has cooled down to at least 95 degrees. 

After tea has cooled, mix in started liquid. Pour into crock and add SCOBY. 

Cover with clean towel and tightly fasten with rubber band.

Leave in an undisturbed place away from the garbage and in an area that has good air flow for anywhere from 5-10 days depending on the temperature. The best temperature is around 80 degrees, or ranging from 75-85. Anything below will take more time to ferment and above might ferment faster. 

I always take a look inside every couple days to make sure things are growing good but making sure not to disturb the liquid. It is very normal to have brown pieces or even 'balloons' come off of the SCOBY- this is the good yeast. The only thing you dont want to find is black, blue or green fussy growth on the surface of the tea. This would indicate that your culture has been contaminated and would need to be disposed of- SCOBY and all.

After your tea has fermented to your liking (PH will be around 2.5 if you have litmus strips), make a new batch of sweet tea (make sure to cool it!). Pour finished tea  into glass containers that have a lid (make sure to leave at least two cups of finished tea for starter liquid for next batch), and either put in the fridge or flavor your kombucha with a second ferment (link coming soon!).

Comment and let me know how your kombucha turns out!

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If you notice in the first photo, I have the spigot hanging over the table for easy access later.

Here is the start of the new SCOBY, a thin film on the surface of the tea.

Here is my SCOBY hotel (link coming soon!), where you keep extra SCOBYs with a few bottles in their second ferment (link coming soon!).

A Review- My Favorite Leafy Greens Recipe

Take a quick look at Just A Taste's  Raw Kale Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette  recipe.
Maybe even print it out for later. 

Let me be honest. I had never had kale in my life until winter 2010, about two and a half years ago. I started out with Kale Chips. And I loved them. But now I've graduated to actually enjoying kale in its raw form.

Behold- the Kale Salad. So many recipes and dressings. I've had a few and liked them. My stomach and digestive system really enjoyed some hearty and super healthy greens. Even WebMD claims Kale as one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet!  Cant go wrong with that!

I stumbled upon the recipe and listed among the ingredients were bacon (who can resist the B word?), and pepitas, otherwise known as the pumpkin seed. These seeds pack some great nutrients.  Kale + Bacon and Pepitas = I just HAD to try this recipe!

I honestly wouldn't change a thing. The punch from the mustard and apple cider vinegar in the dressing is amazing. And warming the kale just enough to turn them bright green is most ideal!

After making this a couple times, I don't need to look at my printed recipe any more. This is one of the few recipes that make it into my brain and stick there for when I'm craving an easy and delicious nutrient packed salad.

Fuel your run! Eat some leafy greens!

7 Days Until My First Race

Here is my new outfit. I feel like I just bought a dress for prom. Excitement, nerves and all!

Chocolate Dipped Fruit with Almond or Coconut Butter and/or Medjool Dates

I stumbled upon a couple recipes that looked delicious, Frozen Chocolate Covered Bananas
and Coconut Butter and Almond Butter Cups. 

Undecided on which recipe I would make, I decided to make a hybrid of both-

Chocolate Dipped Fruit with Almond or Coconut Butter and/or Medjool Dates. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup of Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate Chips (mine were Enjoy Life allergen friendly chocolate chips) 

4 tbls Coconut Oil
2-3 Ripe Bananas cut into disks
7-8 Strawberries cut in half or in circles
Homemade Almond Butter or Justins Almond Butter or Coconut butter
Medjool Dates, pitted and cut into half circles or circles

Cut Fruit and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.

Pit and cut Medjool Dates

Arrange cut figs and almond/coconut butter on frozen fruit

Place in Freezer for a minimum of 2.5 hours. 

When everything is frozen, prepare chocolate by melting chocolate and coconut oil slowly in the microwave or on stove.

I used the microwave, 50% for 1 min, stirred and then 100% for 20 seconds.

Drop frozen and decorated fruit into melted chocolate and turn with a spoon.

Place back on wax paper to cool. The chocolate will harden almost immediately and a hard chocolate shell will form. 

Once hardened, place in a Ziploc bag and keep in freezer until ready to eat.

Perfect for an after run treat to cool you down! 

ENJOY! 

Printer Friendly for copy/paste:

~Chocolate Dipped Fruit with Almond or Coconut Butter and/or Medjool Dates~

Ingredients: 

1 cup of Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate Chips (mine were Enjoy Life allergen friendly chocolate chips) 

4 tbls Coconut Oil

2-3 Ripe Bananas cut into disks

7-8 Strawberries cut in half or in circles

Homemade Almond Butter or Justins Almond Butter or Coconut butter

Medjool Dates, pitted and cut into half circles or circles

Directions:

Cut Fruit and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.

Pit and cut Medjool Dates

Arrange cut figs and almond/coconut butter on frozen fruit

Place in Freezer for a minimum of 2.5 hours. 

When everything is frozen, prepare chocolate by melting chocolate and coconut oil slowly in the microwave or on stove. I used the microwave, 50% for 1 min, stirred and then 100% for 20 seconds.

Drop frozen and decorated fruit into melted chocolate and turn with a spoon.

Place back on wax paper to cool. The chocolate will harden almost immediately and a hard chocolate shell will form. 

Once hardened, place in a Ziploc bag and keep in freezer until ready to eat.

Perfect for an after run treat to cool you down! 

ENJOY! 

Andréa