Think About it Thursday

New Year New Things

Last night I took a Zumba class for only my second time. The first time I had a friend go with me and we felt like we looked so clumsy and dis coordinated (which we did) but it made it even worse that it looked like everyone else in the class had been coming for a long time and had all their moves down. Needless to say we didn't show our faces or tripping bodies again. So this week I decided I would give it another shot. I had been getting burnt out on just weights and cardio. I went it to it by myself and ended up loving it! The fact that it was the first of the year had not crossed my mind until I got into the class and it was packed with tons of new people like myself. I also found the trick to not be embarrassed-Don't look at yourself in the mirror DUH! I just stayed focused on the instructor and what she was doing and I felt like I was somewhat looking as good at my cha-cha. It was a nice change up to say the least. For my lunch today I brought half of a turkey and provolone sandwich, strawberries, apples, and applesauce. I bought this container at buy for less this last Saturday and thought it looked so handy. Usually I don't like messing with a lot of containers, mainly because I can never find the lids. This is a great container to pack several things into one. Especially if your a weird-o like myself who has a problem with touching food. I blame it on my brother, he started the trend. It was only $3.99 for two containers and a great find I might add for staying on the healthy track and making life easier.

Better Breakfast

This morning before work I woke up and ran 3 miles with my Golden Retriever Doc. 3 miles is about all I have time for from when the sun comes up to the time I need to get ready for work. But 3 miles is all I need to start off my day right, that and one delicious breakfast. For the last 6 months I have taking a slim fast meal bar to work for breakfast. While it is only 200 calories, it has 32g of carbohydrates and 13g of sugar. It's basically like eating a candy bar for breakfast. This year I am trying to wake up earlier so I can cook my own breakfast, or make my breakfast ahead of time with foods like muffins. Not to be confused with the muffin-top that has been slowly creeping over my jeans since eating my candy bar/ slim fast bar. This morning I made an egg-in-the-hole. I used 100% whole wheat bread and one egg. Normally I would use egg whites, but I was running low on eggs and decided after my run one whole egg wouldn't hurt. I cut the center out of the bread with a circle I use for cake decorating, you can also use a biscuit cutter. Some people like to cook the leftover center, I usually just toss it. This can save about 40 calories of whole wheat bread that is usually 90 calories. Just put the bread onto an omelet pan that has been sprayed. Crack the egg into the middle of the circle. Depending on how you like your eggs will depend on how long you keep each side cooking. I like mine a little runny so I flip it after about a minute. Flip the toast and the egg together. Cook on both sides and serve up with some bananas and strawberries for an after workout refuel.

Me and Dupree

For those of you who have seen You Me and Dupree, you can totally laugh at this picture of Jeremy's new Christmas gift. In that movie Owen Wilson plays this goofy character who gets really into his new stationary bike. He starts wearing Livestrong gear and even wears his helmet indoors. When Jeremy put this on his Amazon wish list I called him Dupree every time we talked about it. Well now that it's in, I'm a little on the jealous side. It is a piece that you hook your own bike up too and it transforms it into a stationary bike. It's pretty nice having a workout machine that you can set up in front of your tv and watch your favorite movie to. Yesterday we watched Ted while we alternated 15 minutes lifting weights while the other person was on the bike. We continued this for one hour and enjoyed the time together while laughing hard to a pretty crud teddy bear.

"Sure I can"

I got a call from one of the ladies I have previously made birthday cakes for. She tells me she is needing holiday cookies for her daughter's Christmas daycare party, and are cookies something I do. I have been feeling more confident with my cakes lately so I'm thinking oh cookies piece of cake (no pun intended). So I reply "Sure I can do that no problem". Well I have no problem admitting that it was harder and took a lot longer than I had imagined.

I started off by making the royal icing two days ahead of time. I used the same recipe as the royal icing crown post (don't forget to sift the powdered sugar!) The morning the cookies were to be delivered I took the royal icing out of the refrigerator and let it thaw it a bit. Next, I started on the cookies and here is the recipe I used.

3 C unbleached, all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 C sugar
2 sticks butter, cold and cut into chunks
1 egg
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl. The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl. Roll on a floured surface 3/8-1/2 inch thick. My cookie cutters were a little on the small side so I rolled the dough out about 1/2 inch thick to make up for it. Next, cut the dough into shapes and lay out on a cookie sheet that is covered with parchment paper. Freeze the cookie shapes for 5 minutes. Next, bake for 10-12 minutes. After taking them out, let them sit for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

When you are ready to start piping around the edge, dye the food coloring and keep the icing at the stiff consistency. I like to keep the outline thinner by using a #3 tip. If you are wanting to use that same color for the filling, just add water 1 tbs at a time. The filling icing should be thin enough that you can "flood" the inside. To do this put the thinned out icing into a squirt bottle (I did not have one handy so I used a piping bag with a large tip. After this I was wishing I had spent more time at Walmart searching for that dang squirt bottle). Squirt the icing into the middle and once you have about 90% covered, just take a tooth pick and smear out the rest until it has reached all sides. When you have finished wait one hour and apply the shimmered powder (shown on the royal icing crown page) this will give it a softer, finished look. Don't forget to make extras because you obviously have to try them out before giving them away to friends and family:) these cookies taught me to never underestimate anything in the baking community, next time I will definitely save myself some stress by not being on a time crunch and enjoy the fine arts of cookie decorating.

New Year New Resolutions

2012 came and went- another year of saying wow this year flew by! We spent our New Year's with a big group of friends and had a ball. At the end of December I started off thinking that I wouldn't be doing a New Year's Resolution, but when the first rolled around I thought to myself why not? This year I want to eat healthier:) sound familiar? I have never been one to just take the health route. I love food, the taste, going out to restaurants, I love it all. This new year I am taking the approach that food is just something that I consume to give me energy. With that said, my next resolution is to cook more. I am off to a pretty good start so far. On the 1st we had fajita chicken wraps for dinner, the next day we had chicken stir fry, and tonight I am making vegetable soup. To make cooking more easier I have started planning out my meals on Sundays, my usual grocery shopping day. This way when I get off work I can't use having to go to the grocery store as an excuse. So far it has worked and I am feeling healthier all ready. Not to mention I feel like quite the housewife cooking each night for my hubby. With these healthy meals I have been planning out, I should be seeing a healthy change to my body as well. Maybe I will even have an abb show? Just one? I'll be happy with just one.

Royal Icing Crown

HOW TO MAKE A ROYAL ICING CROWN

 

    This is a cake decor that is fun to try and looks great.  This was my first time making this edible crown and it surprisingly went off without a hitch!

    I first started off by finding a princess crown template online.  Next, I attached it to a paper towel roll.  I am an administrative assistant at the Y, so I had easy access to a giant paper towel roll.  For any body else, a coffee canister would do just fine.  After taping is to the object, cover the template with wax paper.





 

 

Here is the recipe to make royal icing:

 

3 Tablespoons Meringue Powder



1 lb sifter pure cane confectioners' sugar

5-6 Tablespoons of lukewarm water

 

Place confectioners' sugar and Meringue Powder in a bowl.  Stir or mix at low speed until blended.  Add water and mix 7-10 minutes at low-medium speed until icing loses its sheen.  To prevent drying, be sure to cover the bowl with a damp cloth while working with icing.

This will give it a nice stiff consistency so it will apply better.  If you feel you are having a hard time squeezing it out of the bag then add more water one Tablespoon at a time. 

 

Depending on how detailed the crown you chose will depend your tip size, I used a #5.  Make sure you get your template at eye level and begin slowly piping onto the wax paper.  Making sure that all the pieces are touching and try not to lift your hand too much.  After you have done the first layer wait 1 1/2-2 hours and begin with the next layer.  The more layers you put on the crown the less fragile it will be.  I applied 5 layers waiting 1 1/2- 2 hours between each layer.  I was not sure how great it would turn out so I did two crowns.  My other attempted crown (not pictured) only had 3 layers and it ended up braking as I was getting it off the wax paper.

After the last layer has been applied, dust the entire tiara with a shimmer powder.  This will give it a softer look.

 

 

Wait 24-36 hours after applying the last royal icing layer before removing the tiara off of the wax paper.  The longer you wait the easier it will be to take it off.  When removing, gently peel off the wax paper slowly.  If a few pieces brake off don't panic, you can always reapply them with the remaining icing.  If you are placing this onto a cake, then go ahead and dust the back of the tiara and VIOLA an edible piece of beautiful art!