Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Lucky Laces 5K in Denver 2015

Last Saturday, my in-laws, my husband and kids ran the Lucky Laces 5K in Denver City Park. It was
my older two kids first 5k race and they did a great job! Both of them placed in the top 30 for their age category (although my daughter was actually in the wrong category, but whatever). I was proud of both of them that they tried hard and ran the race with very minimal whining.

 We had a rough start. Of course we were struggling to get everyone out the door. Then after we packed the minivan it wouldn't start. So we split up between our car and my in-laws. While we were still trying to find parking, they pumped up our stroller tires and one of the inner-tubes popped. Fortunately, I had an umbrella stroller to put my toddler in instead of carrying her, but it's not really great for running. After all of that we got to the start line as the tail end of the main crowd had just past.

 The weather was brisk, but not too cold. And the park is beautiful to run through. The path goes past multiple statues and the lake (pond?), and for sections of it there is a good view of the mountains. Being able to see the mountains always inspires me to keep running, and do it with a smile on my face. The support was good, the post race breakfast was great and the kids were very excited to have their own racing medals. It's also the fun kind of race where people get decked out in St. Patrick's Day trappings. (I had a good excuse to wear my piranha plant pants, but really does one need an excuse?)
Denver City Park Statues & the Finisher Medal

Denver City Park and the mountains in the background


 If anyone is considering doing this race next year, I would recommend it. (There is also a separate fun run for younger kids.) We had a good time.


Thursday, March 5, 2015

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

These pancakes are my family’s favorite healthy breakfast. (They still prefer  super-sugary stuff like crepes or sweet rolls, but I only let them have those on special occasions.) Even my uber picky son gets excited about eating them. I originally got the recipe from my friend, who got it from  Vegan with a Vengeance : Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock, which inspired me to purchase the book myself. The original recipe calls for pecans instead of butterscotch chips, but you can use chocolate chips or peanut butter chips or craisins or leave them plain. I love that these pancakes are low-sugar and low-fat. The sweetness comes from the bananas, and if you’re using baking chips, you don’t need syrup. I even use less chips than the original recipe because the bananas and baking chips just make these really sweet. Over time I have decreased the amount of chips I put in (from what is listed below) and my kids still love them. If you use nuts instead of baking chips, it is not hard to have an easy healthy breakfast. The original recipe also called for white flour, but my kids still willingly eat them with whole wheat flour.
Banana Butterscotch Pancakes
Food Storage Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vinegar
1/3 cup butterscotch baking chips (or chopped nuts or whatever floats your boat)
cooking spray for pan
Fresh Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1. Mix milk and vinegar, let set for at least 5 minutes.  2. Sift together dry ingredients. 3. In a separate bowl mix mashed banana and other wet ingredients. 4. Mix wet and dry ingredients together, don’t over-mix. Fold in baking chips. 5. Make into pancakes in a skillet over medium-high heat. Spray pan between pancakes.