Before I recap my weekly workouts and updates, I want to give a shout out to Coach Laura, who has been an incredible source of information and support throughout the past month and a half I spent beginning my marathon training plan. If you’ve been reading along this summer, you’ll know that I began having some hip pain in early July that turned into a full-on injury, and as a result, I’ve decided to focus on recovery and will be deferring my entry to the New York City Marathon until next year.
Yesterday was my 25 birthday, and we spent much of the weekend prior celebrating a quarter century of my life. Aside from all the jokes about how I’m really old now, it was a lot of fun and I’m grateful to the friends and family who make every day of life special, not just my birthday.
Since I’m currently contending with a hip flexor injury, my marathon training has scaled back. I only ran twice this week, both for much shorter and easier runs, and I plan to continue resting my hip for the next week or two until I see a sports medicine specialist and get to physical therapy. I’ll keep sharing my more limited weekly workouts and updates on how I’m healing in my Monday posts.
Hello, everyone! I’m just checking in today to let you know that I did indeed emerge from the second day of the New York Bar Exam at the Javits Center, alive and relatively well. I wrote most of this recap of the past month over the weekend, because let’s face it, the only plans I have today are to go for a nice easy run now that I’m safely back in Connecticut, eat lots of delicious food, and pop over to the doctor’s office later to get that little stitch taken out. I refuse to let my brain do anything that requires mental acuity, and all I’m thinking about how this July flew by for me. I’m pretty sure the reason is the exam-which-shall-thenceforth-not-be-named, which is now blessedly over (fingers crossed I passed!)
Just checking in to share a few of my birthday eats and treats from yesterday. I shared a few snapshots from my pre-birthday dinner on Saturday, but wanted to showcase a few more and bask in my birthday glow a little longer. And also, it gave me something to do today while I prepare to take the New York Bar Exam tomorrow and Wednesday. I decided treating this test like a race was the best idea, and that tapering was a good call, so I spaced out my studies and gave myself plenty of time, and took most of the weekend off from Friday through this morning. This afternoon, I’ll review a bit more before having dinner and getting to bed at a decent hour (we have to be at the test center at 7:30am tomorrow, so I need to leave my apartment by 6:30am). I’ll check back in when it’s all over, but until then, I leave you with these morsels of deliciousness…
It’s a beautiful morning, and I’m about to head out for what I hope will be a glorious run. It’s raining at the moment but it will have to clear up soon and the weather will need to match my mood. You know why? It’s my birthday!
I’ve always thought of life as a book. Everyone has a unique story, so their book is a little different, but no matter what, every day is a new page and every year is a new chapter. The thing is, every page beyond the one you’re currently on is stuck together, so there is no peeking ahead to see what happens next or how the story ends. You just have to keep living to find out.
As I sit here typing this, I honestly cannot believe it’s the first day of JULY. June was a month of studying for me, and this month there’ll be a lot more of that, but it really feels like time is flying by. I always say that, but it’s so true. So today, I’m thinking out loud about what’s to come.
I tend to try and see the best in people, and want to make sure that all my friends and family are happy. I’m often told that this is an impossible goal. But whoever said you can’t please everyone underestimated my skills in dessert experimentation, because I’ve finally concocted a recipe guaranteed to please any birthday boy or girl AND all of their friends and family, no matter what allergies or dietary restrictions they have!
It’s hard enough to make gluten-free and nut-free cakes and treats, but these are not the only allergens that can cause problems. So I came up with a recipe that is free from all of the ‘Big 8’ allergens. Obviously, you won’t use fish or shellfish much in baking, and I already eliminate gluten and tree nuts. But these fairy cakes are also made without dairy, eggs, soy, or peanuts. They’re vegan and kosher too. And you know what? Even without all of these ingredients, they taste exactly like a classic vanilla birthday cake! I call them fairy cakes because they’re smaller than the typical cupcake and made without icing, instead using allergen-free sprinkles for a pretty top. But the recipe is adaptable for a full-size birthday cake or larger cupcakes with icing (recipes for those coming soon). They’re a guaranteed palate-pleaser and they’re safe for most people, with little tweaks in the event that someone you want to bake a treat for has other dietary restrictions. I hope one day to be a mom who can make birthday treats for my kids that EVERY one of their friends can enjoy – making these for a good friend’s birthday for a group that includes gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and soy-free eaters was a perfect test run!
Birthday fun(fetti) for everyone!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup organic cane sugar OR stevia OR other sweetener (if you need a sugar-free substitution)
1 cup So Delicious vanilla coconut milk (or equivalent if someone has a coconut allergy!)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1/2 tbsp olive oil
Allergy-free rainbow sprinkles (optional, but who DOESN’T love birthday funfetti?)
Extra olive oil or cooking spray (to grease the cupcake wrappers)
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray 12 cupcake wrappers with cooking spray or lightly brush with olive oil and place in 12-muffin tin.
3. Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl.
4. Add in coconut milk, applesauce, olive oil, and vanilla extract.
5. Pour batter evenly into cupcake wrappers.
6. Top with sprinkles.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
8. Let cool.
9. Enjoy!
…or scrumptious as they are!
Delicious with icing added…
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