Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 05:46 PM
On Thanksgiving, my aunt gave me a big Ziplock bag full of batter to make Amish Friendship Bread. At first, I had no clue what she was giving me, but my mom reminded me that we used to make this type of bread back in my Girl Scouts days. (I sort of remember making it!) So, what is Amish Friendship Bread, you ask?
Amish Friendship Bread is a delicious sweet bread made with a live starter. You make the bread and then pass on the starter and the recipe to your friends so they can make the bread themselves. That is why it is called “friendship bread.” It’s a great way of reaffirming friendships that originated with the Amish but is now practiced by persons of all nationalities and religious affiliations.
Amish Friendship Bread Recipe
The Amish Friendship Bread recipe can be modified in many ways. I decided to add cranberries to my loaf.
Other Amish Friendship Bread Variations
The Amish Friendship Bread recipe requires that you add certain ingredients and bake your bread on specific day from when you receive the batter. Today was the day to bake mine, but unfortunately, I was missing a lot of the ingredients that the recipe called for… which didn’t stop me from baking! I made do with what we had in the house, and out came a wonderful cranberry loaf!
My variations from the original recipe:
- Instead of 3 eggs, I used 2
- Instead of milk, I used eggnog
- Instead of all-purpose flour, I used whole wheat
The changes and substitutions to the recipe didn’t seem to matter; the bread came out great! The outside was golden brown and slightly crunchy, and the inside was very soft and moist. The flavor was sweet, but not too sweet. And the cranberries were a wonderful addition! Very yummy!
Now I just have to figure out which three of my friends want to do some bread baking! 
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized, recipe
Tags: bread, cranberries
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 09:51 AM
This morning’s bowl of oats closely resembled my autumn-inspired placemats with its similar colors and shapes. 
In today’s oat bowl:
- 1/2 cup dry oats
- 1/3 cup cranberries
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
- 1 tsp of honey
- 1/4 cup trail mix (almonds, peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds)
- 2 spoonfuls of Barney Butter
At work, I made myself a mug of Italian roast with vanilla soy milk and agave nectar. It’s gray and rainy here in Beantown today, and I am having trouble getting going, so it’s most likely going to be a 2 mug morning.
Workout
After finding my Nike + iPod piece yesterday, I was jazzed to run again. I woke up bright and early this morning for a 5-mile run on the treadmill. While running, I caught up with the news and watched a little Exposed on MTV (what an awful show!) I also did a 5 minute walking warm-up and cool-down with some stretching afterwards.
Run Stats:
- Distance: 5.01 miles
- Time: 45:17
- Pace: 9:01 min/mile
- Calories: 492
Ecto
I am recently obsessed with Ecto, a blog editor that works both on- and offline. I think it’s pretty much like Windows Live Writer, but for Macs. Ecto is a “feature-rich desktop blogging client for MacOSX, supporting a wide range of weblog systems, such as Blogger, Blojsom, Drupal, MovableType, Nucleus, SquareSpace, TypePad, WordPress, and more.” With Ecto you can write and manage entries for your blog offline. When you have internet access again, you can upload your entries from Ecto to your blog. Ecto offers the same sort of features as most other blog systems, such as spellcheck, creating links, uploading media, and more. It’s super easy to use! It’s also a wonderful time-saver. It was great for blogging on the Bolt Bus– the internet was in and out at times, but, thanks to Ecto, it didn’t take me forever to upload my photos and I never once lost a blog post.
Ecto offers a free 20-day trial of their program, so definitely check it out! You can download it right off their website.
Question of the Day
With Thanksgiving in just 2 days…
Who in your life are you most grateful?
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized, workouts
Tags: cranberries, trail mix
Monday, November 24, 2008 at 09:45 AM
Good morning, blog friends! I still can’t believe that the weekend is over! I had been looking forward to our NYC trip for weeks and weeks, and just like that it’s all over! It was an amazing time, but why did it have to go by so fast!? Time flies when you’re having fun! I have a 2.5 day work week ahead of me, so THAT’S something to look forward to! Am I right!? 
Workout
I struggled to get out of bed this morning, but managed to have a decent workout. I walked on the treadmill, varying inclines and speeds for 60 minutes. I had planned to do some running, but my body was not in the mood to do so. I finished-up my workout with 15-20 minutes of various upper body strengthening exercises using free weights.
Walk Stats:
- Distance: 3.87
- TIme: 60:00
- Pace: 15:30 min/mile
So, my 5K training has recently gone out the window. Let me explain why… I lost that stupid transmitter piece to my Nike + iPod gadget! I had been faithfully using it to track my runs, and honestly, it kept me on track and motivated to pick up the pace and increase my distance. The Nike + iPod gadget/program is especially awesome because you can set running goals for yourself– either by distance or time, and it provides you with constant updates about your running stats (distance, pace, and time). It’s great! Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I lost the tiny transmitter piece that is needed to connect the iPod with the tracking piece in your sneaker. I had used it for a run in our building gym, but knew that I brought it back up to our apartment. I’m one of those people who hardly ever loses things, and I was especially careful with this small piece for just this reason. I looked and looked and looked, but basically, the stupid thing disappeared! However, this morning, I was taking out the trash near our desk, which is mostly paper, and found it in the midst of junk mail! Sa-weet! I knew it would eventually turn up! I only have a couple of weeks to the Jingle Bell 5K, so I need to get my butt back in gear. Finding this little, plastic piece is hopefully just what I need to get back on track!
Breakfast
Mmmmmm… cranberries! I can’t wait for cranberry sauce mixed with stuffing on Thanksgiving! 
This morning’s bowl of oats was cran-tastic!
In the mix:
- 1/2 cup dry oats
- 1/3 cup cranberries
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
- 2 scoops of Barney Butter
Holiday Quick Tips
Over the weekend, a reader left a comment on the blog asking for some advice for staying on-track, being healthy, and enjoying the holiday season. You guys know that I love to eat, so the holiday season is tough for me as well, but here are a few of my favorite tips that help me indulge, but not over-do-it.
- Use a plate! In my opinion, this is the post important piece of advice for dealing with all of that wonderful holiday food. If I start picking at appetizers and platters, I never seem to stop. However, if I get myself a small plate, load it up with goodies, and enjoy it, I’m much less likely to go overboard. Once the food on my plate is gone, I know that it’s time to stop munching.
- Only indulge in the once-a-year goodies. I wait all year for my mom’s pumpkin pie, so when Thanksgiving rolls around, I make sure to leave room for a piece. Instead of filling up on everyday appetizers and treats, like store-bought cookies, chips, cheese and crackers, etc., I save the calories for a piece of warm pumpkin pie (with ice cream). Similarly at holiday parties, I will only eat things that I really, really love or have never tried before.
- Exercise (on the day of the holiday party). If I plan to splurge, I will make sure that I have a good workout to help balance-out any extra calories. Plus, exercising always makes me feel good and more confident about myself.
- Don’t beat yourself up. If I indulge too much at a holiday gathering, I try not to feel guilty. I just eat lightly the next day, exercise, and get back on track. The holidays are supposed to be enjoyable, and for me, eating and drinking is the best part!
More Tips for Navigating the Festivities:
Question of the Day
What’s your eating “game plan” for Thanksgiving?
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized, motivation
Tags: cranberries, pumpkin seeds
