2014 in Pictures

In 2014 I

took care of these psycho kittens for a while,

had visit from my sister Carolyn,

and my parents,

ran (swam) a 50k

got to see Betsy,

ran Hood to Coast in Oregon,

left my 2nd job at the Boys and Girls Club, but continued coaching recreational gymnastics and doing social media for Seattle Gymnastics Academy,

went on several hikes but wished I did more,

got to go to Austin for Thanksgiving and see the other Elizabeth Peckham, my grandmother,

won Employee of the Year at my job,

and ended the year with another great Peckham Christmas (28 of us!) in Chicago

Meow.

Luda says hi.


I finished Week 1 of the cleanse! I had a few slip ups, but for the most part stuck to it. This week is the hard week though. No grains or legumes. I woke up and ran with the No Meat Athlete running group, and then I just really wanted cookies for breakfast. Maybe because I was looking up recipes to make my sister for her birthday... Anyways, I made my morning tonic (hot water with lemon, ginger and a little cayenne) and then made coconut snowballs. I put equal parts unsweetened shredded coconut, almonds and cashews in the food processor and added coconut oil and a little vanilla and maple syrup. Roll into balls, freeze until firm. They were yummy! But would definitely be better with chocolate. Only 1 6/7 weeks...

I took all my school work and walked to a coffee shop, and stopped on the way for a green smoothie. I wasn't planning on it, but I wanted a treat. Green smoothies I don't have to make taste way better. Then I got some mint tea and did so much school. I still think I need to figure out a better study schedule but it kind of works well for me to just sit down and work for several hours.

Then I made the loaded sweet potato from the cleanse (yummy) and snacked on some carrots while I was making it. I made sweet potato fries with no oil because I don't have any spray oil and Kate's didn't work and I was too lazy to put oil on the old fashioned way. I need to put that on my shopping list. I had some almonds almonds after. The dry roasted almonds are so good... but Kate basically bet me I couldn't lose 6 lbs in a week (well not exactly) so I'm trying not to overdo it on the nuts.

Kittens, February Challenge and a recipe!

Guess what. We have kittens! We're fostering two cute kitties for a couple months named Vito (pictured) and Momo. They remind me of my old kitties Mille and Mango when they were best friends!

For my challenge in February, I decided to do the green smoothie 30 Day Challenge. Basically, you eat green smoothies every day for 30 days. I started on the first and so far so good! The same people also do a 21 day cleanse, so I decided to take that next step and join the cleanse as well. I've been enjoying all the recipes so far and haven't really experienced any withdrawal symptoms, besides being tired and not being able to drink caffeine.



Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

I actually got this from the carton of So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut milk which was on sale at the bargain grocery store. The milk really grew on me, and it's especially delicious in these pancakes!

1 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
3 tablespoons natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ cup pumpkin purée
½ very ripe banana, mashed
1 cup So Delicious® Dairy Free Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vegetable oil + extra vegetable oil or coconut oil for pan
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl,
whisk together wet ingredients.
2. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined. If using nuts, fold
them into the batter. Let sit a couple of minutes while your skillet is heating up.
3. Lightly oil a large skillet with vegetable or coconut oil and preheat over medium heat.
Pour batter in ¼-cup measurements into the pan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until edges are firm. Flip and cook other side 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with maple syrup.

They were so good! But, I wanted chocolate with mine. So I started my making a simple ganache with melted dark chocolate and a splash of the coconut milk, and then had the brilliant idea to add almond butter. It was so good! I layered the pancakes with the chocolate almond butter and sliced bananas.