PB&J Protein Smoothie

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It was your go-to snack as a kid. Whether you're the fancy pants who got mom to remove the crust and cut your sandwich into diamonds or the regular joe who ate whatever you got, crust and all, there is something nostalgic and comforting about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Your parents didn't just drown you in PB&Js because it was easy. They did it, at least in part, BECAUSE YOU LOVED PB&J. 

Now's the time to bring back that lovin' feelin' for your PB&J - but this time, instead of sandwiching it between carbohydrates, combine it with some protein and drink up!

PB&J Protein Smoothie
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or any berry of choice - just as you had your favorite jelly back in the day, others work here, too!
• 1 tbsp peanut butter (feel free to substitute other nut butters if you have a peanut allergy)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder or 3 tbsp Great Lakes Gelatin
• 1 cup water or coconut water

Directions:

1. BLEND
2. SERVE

^Yeah. It's that easy.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What's your favorite smoothie recipe?
• What's your secret ingredient?
• Do you like to add protein to your smoothies or just use them to get your vegetables?

Memorial Day Weekend

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After a couple of eventful and exhausting weekends, Justin and I were pretty thrilled to have a long weekend to relax at home. I worked from home on Friday, and was done working by 3, so I decided to take the pup on a run over to Wicker Park.

I shamelessly stopped at Six Corners to take a "selfie" with my dog in front of strangers.

There's something really energizing about running with my dog. That huge happy grin she's got in the picture above? It is pretty much glued to her face any time she is taken on a walk or run. For some reason, it makes me really happy to see her so happy. Plus, she's a fast one, so it makes me push myself a bit harder.

"Mom! Can't I get in?!"

Once we got to the fountain in Wicker Park, she wanted to drink and get in. Let's just say I only let her do one of those things.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, cut your damn hair.

When we arrived back home from our run, Justin was already home from work, so I hopped in the shower and got ready as fast as I could. This included half-blow drying my hair.

We went back to Grange Hall, because they are known for their huge burger selection and my fiance loves burgers, so I wanted to take him there. It's about a 15 minute walk, so we headed over and got seats at the "bar." I ordered the summer salad and had a side order of baked navy beans. Both were delicious.

You're tasty and I love you.

My fiance got a really good burger on rye (he informed me that this is actually called a "Patty Melt?" I had no idea). The burger, I hear, was very good... but the comical part of it is that it doesn't come with fries. $13 for a burger with no fries. So, we paid the extra charge and bought a side of fries and guess how big it was? Get ready...

Why are you so small?

Yeah. I was a good wife-to-be and managed to not steal his fries as I usually do. BUT, this move on my part meant that we were still a smidge hungry. We decided to turn it into an excuse for a long walk, so we headed from West Loop over to Michigan Avenue, where we walked around for a while before popping into the Forever Yogurt on Chicago Ave.

Where have you been all my life?

They had a new flavor - salted caramel popcorn - and it is not a joke. I seriously cannot stop thinking about it. Hint hint, Justin. #TakeMeBack

Let the Pain Begin

The next morning, we slowly ramped up to the day, and then I went over to take a class at The Mercury Method in Wicker Park. Since it was a pilates class, I decided to just run over there and get some cardio in. As it turned out, I got an awesome 15-20 minute run in going there... but then on the way back, I was so freaking tired (the class is almost 100 degrees, so it's draining) that I just walked crawled home.

I speed showered and then got ready for book club, which was just around the corner at Lindsay's house.

As usual, the spread of food was delicious. Generally, there is some very healthy stuff, and some naughty (but still fairly natural) stuff. This time, as it turned out, everyone kept it pretty light and low calorie. Which meant it worked out perfectly that I brought CHOCOLATE CHILI TRUFFLES! Recipe coming this week. They are #yumstown.

One thing that beats good food? Good company.

After book club deteriorated into a few of us playing Fruit Ninja on Kinect (I'll spare you the action shots, but I have them for future reference blackmail), I went home to retrieve my fiance, and we walked to dinner.

You know how sometimes, it's just impossible to find a place to eat? That's what happened. I suggested Lush, Jaipur, Mana, Habana Libre, and Shaman, before my fiance finally agreed to FatPour... which, as it turned out, had an hour long wait once we got there. Unwilling to wait for that long, we called Old Oak Tap and they said they could get us in immediately. Good decision, for sure.

I went with Shrimp 'n Grits for my meal and it was absolutely delicious. I cannot recommend it enough. The shrimp was perfectly tender and had its tail removed (I hate doing this myself because, quite frankly, I just find it to be too slimy and gross and I don't like touching my food).

I also went with our server's suggestion and had the Champfleur to drink. It's champagne with elderflower liqueur. It was like a slightly sweeter and more floral champagne. #chwinning.

Watching the chefs prepare your meal = My Jam

On Sunday morning, we headed over to Jam in Logan Square to meet my fiance's cousin for brunch. There are so many brunch spots in Logan Square that we want to try, so it was hard to choose just one, but we made it happen.

I had the server's suggestion (apparently this is a habit of mine) and ordered smoked salmon with poached eggs and potato latkes. The eggs were poached perfectly and the salmon was wonderfully smoked.

There was a farmer's market right outside the restaurant, so we walked around for a bit after brunch. I almost bought asparagus and heirloom tomatoes, but we only had a few dollar bills and didn't want to deal with credit card machines at a farmer's market, so we ended up coming home with one thing: dill cheese curds. Priorities...

Once home, I changed and went to the gym for a Ballet Burn class. It was awful and boring and made me really crabby, so, once I got home, I decided to go on a run  (and make my puppy happy).

Best friends should run together, that's how it ought to be

Apparently, she now associates my running shoes with happiness, so as soon as I picked my shoes up, she got excited and started grinning and walking around in circles. So happy.

After my run, I realized that my parents were going to be downtown very shortly, so I hopped in the shower while Justin did a CostCo run. Send that man to CostCo and what does he come back with? Flowers. I am so blessed.

Once my parents arrived, we walked over to Randolph Street Market. It's like the pop-up-shop Disneyworld of vintage and DIY furniture and decor.

How many Carlys does it take to send a text?

I didn't make any big purchases, but there are a few items I'm interested in. They are there every month, so I figure there's no rush. My mother did buy some fresh potted herbs and a topiary, though.

After dropping my mom's purchases off at the apartment, we hopped in a cab and headed over to Southport. We put our name in at Tango Sur and then had a drink at Deleece.  

The drinks were wonderful, and dinner was filling. For the most part, everything was delicious, apart from some issues my dad had with his steak (first it was red and screaming on the inside, then they tried again and brought him a super fatty piece).

By the time we left, we were tired (red wine = zzzzzz) and ready for bed. I slept a solid eight hours before waking up to head to the gym for a Spin class and Bodypump class. After eating a Quest bar at an alarming speed, I made us a nice, healthy spread to chomp on as we marathon'ed a few of the new Arrested Development episodes.

Sabra Hummus, Wasa Crackers, Veggie Straws,
and tons of strawberries.

After more cooking (meals for the week) and TV watching, we finally watched the Blackhawks vs Red Wings game. I was really not into it, so I got ready for bed early. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Happy pup. Sleepy pup. How are you so flexible?

What did YOU do over Memorial Day weekend?

Coconut Kefir Cornbread

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*Disclaimer: Lifeway Kefir sent me the kefir used in this post. It was mighty tasty.*

Guys, I've got a loaf in the oven. A super tasty one with some pretty abnormal ingredients. And I've got one word for you: Cornbread.

 

If you're from the North (where I reside, so no judgment), you might be thinking... "Ew, really? Cornbread? Where are we, insert-least-favorite-southern-state-here?"

And if you're from the South (where I went to school, so again... no judgment), you might be thinking... "Hah! That chick from Chicago think she can make cornbread?"

So basically, from the beginning, I was fighting an uphill battle with this recipe. Then, I decided to swap coconut oil for the butter and plain Lifeway Kefir for the milk. Now I've divided you in a new way: the traditionalists are rolling their eyes. The food bloggers are wondering if it turned into a mess or worked out.

Well, go ahead and clap! This cornbread is incredibly moist and dense, thanks to the Kefir that Lifeway sent me to try out recently. And there is just the slightest added bit of sweetness, thanks to the coconut oil. Moist, dense, slightly sweet cornbread? Let's file that one under #winning.

I do have to warn you, though, there are no chunks of corn. Lawd, how I wanted to dump a little fresh corn in there, because I love the way it surprises you when you bite down and "pop" it. But, alas, it is Wintertime in Chicago, and I didn't want to do the canned corn thing, so I opted to skip it.

You should also know that this recipe is not from scratch. It's a total twist on a "Natural" boxed recipe. That said, it's also an easy thing to make - takes about 3 minutes to mix up and 20  minutes to bake - so it might just be the fastest cornbread you've ever met.

Coconut Kefir Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1 box Krusteaz Natural Honey Cornbread
• 2/3 cup Mixture of 90% Lifeway Kefir, 10% water (You can eyeball this. I just filled it almost all the way to the top with kefir and then added some water to thin it out)
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (if you are using the cold-pressed oil, microwave it for 30 seconds and stir, then microwave again for 15 if it is still thick)
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir with a spatula until moistened. If you like a bit of variation, just stop here. If you want it to all be the same consistency, stir for longer, until well mixed.
3. Divide between two greased bread loaf pans. You could also pour into one 8x8 pan, or pour into small muffin tins.
4. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean. 
5. Cut slices to eat. Serve plain, with butter, with jam/jelly/fruit preserves, or with nut butter!

Notes/Substitutions:

• If you are making muffins, your cooking time will be more like 14-16min.
• Feel free to use regular milk instead of the Lifeway Kefir. If you do choose to make this change, omit the water and do the full 2/3 cups milk.
• Feel free to use vegetable oil/olive oil instead of the coconut oil. Proportions are the same.

And now for that gratefulness we've been working on:
Dear J. K. Rowling,
Thank you for reminding me that there's never just one hero. Instead, there are always lots of people who have to step up and play their card along the way to make life work out. You reminded me that life is a shared burden.
Love,
Carly

Basil, Ginger, and Cinnamon Cranberry Jam

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Happy Monday, friends! Or, for those of you who are stumbling upon this recipe on a different day of the week, Happy ______day! I hope you're having a wonderful day and week. 

I had a totally relaxed weekend that consisted almost exclusively of "dating" my fiance. Instead of making plans with other friends and couples (which I have a tendency to fill up our calendar with), we spent the weekend together. And, instead of bumming around in sweats during the entire weekend, we made it a point to go on meaningful dates and explore a bit more of our wonderful city. We kicked off the weekend with our "old favorites," stopping by a local pub for dinner on Friday and going to our neighborhood "Breakfast Club" for breakfast on Saturday. After a relaxing day, we then tried out West Town Tavern (seriously to die for) for dinner on Saturday, and Meli for brunch on Sunday. 

In the middle of all of this relaxing, I have to admit I got sucked into wedding planning. Sometimes, when you've got something exciting on the books, it's hard to not revolve around it. It's like everything I see reminds me of it. Cool candles on our dinner tables at West Town Tavern? Sends my mind to wedding mode.

You may not be planning a wedding (if you are, let me know!), but there's probably something you're obsessing over lately. Just admit it. Your mind is spending too much time running on that wheel.

Sometimes, we just need a welcome distraction. Something we can put our effort into that will have more short term rewards, to remind us that we are creative and inspired and competent in this moment. Something to snag our mind off of the obsessing-over-this-or-that path.

That's where this recipe comes in. It's a fairly quick recipe, so it won't eat up your entire day or leave you feeling guilty for spending too much time on a jar of jam. But, it is homemade, and it will give you a break from your stressful or monotonous day.

Not to mention how darn proud you'll feel as you share with friends or take a bite yourself!

I made this jam to give as part of a Christmas gift for my soon-to-be in-laws. But, it was so delicious, that I made some for my own fridge as well.

Basil, Ginger, and Cinnamon Cranberry Jam
Ingredients:

• 1 bag whole/fresh Cranberries (A 4 cup, 12-oz package. Do not use dried cranberries)
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 2/3 cup Stevia Powder
• 1 tablespoon Basil, finely chopped (fresh or dried)
• 1 tablespoon fresh Ginger, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon Honey

Directions:

1. Rinse the cranberries and place in a medium to large sauce pot with water, sugar, and stevia powder. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. 
2. Once the water reaches a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer for approximately 10-14 minutes, or until all the cranberries seem to have burst.
3. Stir in basil, ginger, cinnamon, and honey and stir well. On the lowest heat, continue to stir very frequently for an additional 2-4 minutes.
4. Test for sweetness and drizzle additional honey (or add sugar) to increase sweetness level.
5. If you'd like to can your jam so that it will last longer, follow these directions: Be sure that your glass jar and top are all clean (I boiled everything in a separate pot to ensure they were all clean). Then, place jam in a jar, filling almost all the way to the top but leaving about 1/4-1/2 an inch of air. Seal well and place in a pot filled with enough boiling water to cover the top of the jam jar. Boil the jam in the water for about 10 minutes (I did 15 to be safe). Remove and let cool.

Notes:

• If you "can" it properly, it will stay good for a full year before being opened... but once you open it, it is just like any other jar of jam and will need to be refrigerated.
• This is a low sugar recipe. I didn't cut out sugar entirely, but I did replace some of it with stevia powder, so that it's not too high sugar (which is a common culprit when it comes to jams). If this swap isn't your thing, feel free to replace stevia powder with sugar.