Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Gym, Cook, Pancakes (GCP)

Buckle up friends, I have lots of interesting things to share with you tonight so I'm just going to get started. I hope you'll stick around for it all!

First, thank you for your well-wishes with my accounting exam. It's over after an intense 90 minutes of pure focus, problem solving, and a bit of guessing. I'm just glad that's all behind me now. I feel 10 lbs lighter without the stress of that class hanging over me! It's hard to believe it was just 24 hours ago.

Anywho, today had been great. The morning kicked off with a delicious, extra yummy bowl of hot cereal. To the standard mix of 1/4c Bob's Red Mill hot cereal and buckwheat, 1/3c almond milk, cinnamon, splash of vanilla, and 1/2c water I added 1/2T chia seeds, fig and berry jams, and 1/2T of peanut butter. Plus an egg white.



The morning flew by and it was time for lunch. I threw together a salad with roasted beets, carrots, a couple of forkfuls of adzuki beans, a slice of cheese toast, and a serving of Amy's Chunky Tomato Bisque (low sodium).




The afternoon progressed and I snacked on some grapes and then 1/4c of brown rice with broccoli and peas. Random but both were exactly what I was craving.



After work I headed out on an exciting errand. I haven't been mentioning exercise as much on the blog because truthfully, it hasn't really been happening. Between commuting and errands I average about 3.5miles of walking a day and with school and some laziness I just didn't feel like going to the gym. It probably didn't help that I can't do my good ole favorite classes either because of my stress fracture recovery. SO.... I joined a NEW GYM! This one makes a lot more sense for me because it's 2 blocks from work (I could even go for my lunch break!!) and I can attend another location on the weekends that's just a few blocks for my apartment. Super convenient, right? Especially with the cold weather coming I won't have to schlep myself in the cold across town and I have access to 2+ gyms' worth of classes. The machines are nice and new, the locker rooms clean, and I feel pretty good about this decision!

After a short treadmill workout (more on my plan later this week) I headed home and tried to think of something to cook for dinner. The folks at MyBlogSpark were kind enough to send me a box of the new Gluten Free Bisquick. I had seen word of it floating around online and was eager to try it for myself.

Despite having a fantastic pancake option that I love to this day, I was always slightly envious of the golden, fluffy pancakes my mom used to cook for her and my brother. So, at the chance to have my own gluten free version, I decided that tonight was the night for Breakfast for Dinner. I whipped out the goodies that the folks at MyBlogSpark were kind enough to send - Bisquick, a silicone spatula for easy flipping, cast iron mini-pancake pan, and a pancake pen and got to work.


You can see the size of the box compared to the small mixing bowl and applesauce I used. I made 1/3 the recipe (which is 1 serving of the mix itself) and subbed in applesauce for oil and used only egg white.


You can see how white the mix is, which was surprising and not the most thrilling discovery. However, they cooked up beautifully in the pan. All golden and pretty!


I topped one pancake with chia seeds, one with crushed pecan pieces, and one with blueberries. All topped with a small drizzle of almond butter and maple syrup.

 

I was excited to dive in. The first few bites were exciting, mainly because it was a new food and the cakes were light and spongey - just like the pancakes my brother used to eat. Yet, after a few bites I realized that they had 0 taste. Not a bad taste or an "off" taste, literally they tasted like nothing. I debated tossing them or finishing them and eventually the trash won. I really hate to admit that I wasted about half of this serving but I couldn't justify eating something that had no taste (aside from the toppings which were the best part) that I wouldn't normally choose to put in my body.

I guess I'm glad to know that I'm not really missing anything by not eating Bisquick. I think there are other mixes on the market that provide the same convenience with less sugar and whole ingredients, 2 things I look for in a processed gluten free product. Oh well...

I ended up eating a mixture of beans and rice alongside my kale chips and leftover egg white instead of pancakes. It was a good dinner but I feel a bit disappointed by my pancake flop.



I'm relaxing with the Biggest Loser and Parenthood before calling it a night!

Do you belong to a gym? How did you choose where to join?  What are your favorite pancake mix-ins and toppings? Have you tried GF Bisquick?

1 comment:

  1. I don't belong to a gym, but have one at the office. I really want to join WSC this winter though bc I have one near work and home like you.
    Too bad the mix was gross - have you ever found a GF pancake recipe online? You need to find one just so you can keep using that cute pancake pan!

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