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2 Years Strong!
We have a big bad birthday celebration in the house…..
Strong Like My Coffee turns 2 years old today.
My blog is a toddler!
Despite what you’ve heard about those Terrible Two’s I think exciting things are in store ;)
Anniversary…Birthday…whatever you want to call it….we need a cake! Because, I say so. (Who made the rules?!)
Last year, SLMC’s first birthday brought you this “healthified” Raspberry Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake. In keeping with my coffee cake theme, I searched for something equally cute. I adapted Chocolate Covered Katies “1 minute coffee cake in a mug” with a recipe down below :)
The blog statistics:
- In the past 365 days….
- 77 blog posts
- 278 pictures
- 14,562 cups of coffee
Stats on this recipe:
- Healthy (low-sugar, low-fat, portion controlled)
- Convenient (microwavable!)
- Quick (5 min. tops)
- Adorable (it’s a cake in a mug, c’mon!)
- Coffee-themed (how appropriate.)
And that is as statistical as it gets around here :)
The Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake in a Mug Recipe:
(Serves One)
- Combine the following:
- 3 Tbs. flour of choice
- 1 Tbs. water
- 1 Tbs. coffee
- 2 tsp. unsweetened applesauce
- 1 Tbs. Stevia (or sugar)
- tiny pinch of salt
- pinch of cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla
- 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- Spoon 2/3 of the mixture into a mug (I recommend lightly spraying with cooking oil first.)
- Combine the following in a separate dish:
- 1/2 Tbs. cinnamon
- 1 Tbs. brown sugar (or stevia)
- 1 Tbs. pecan pieces
- 1 Tsp. applesauce
- Spoon half of the cinnamon mixture over cake mixture.
- Add remaining layer of cake batter.
- Add remaining layer of cinnamon.
- Microwave for 1 minute 15 seconds. Increase by 10 seconds if needed.
Bring on a brand new year of coffee, celebrations, cake, hanging out on New York rooftops and many more mornings of blogging :)
***Cheers!***
And if you are on Instagram, I just joined your world. You can follow along @stronglikemycoffee if you’re into that sorta thing :) I’m looking for good fitspo accounts to follow too!
Fresh 4th of July Dessert!
4th of July means a Friday off of work to celebrate. If you’re making a festive and patriotic menu (nothing like a theme party, right!?) then you’ve probably taken to Pinterest to plan. Red, White, & Blue Overload!
I contemplated dipped & decorated pretzel rods, a berry cobbler, and a parfait before deciding on cute fruit skewers. Who doesn’t love shish kabobs! (I actually just like the word “shish kabob.” SHISH KABOB. Okay I’m done.)
This dessert is easy breezy because it takes 4 ingredients, minimal time & effort, and the skewers keep the portion control in check. Light, fresh, and beauuuuutiful if I say so myself.
Strawberry slices and whole blueberries are interupted with fat chunks of Angel Food cake. Angel Food cake mixes require only water. Can’t get much simpler than that. I set out a dish of light whip cream for dipping.
I like the simplicity and summery quality to this dessert.
Last year I brought you Light Cherry Berry “Pies” which I can’t wait to recreate now that cherries are back in the produce section. Loooooove me some summer fruits! I used to say without a doubt that peaches were my favorite summer fruit. Then it became a close tie with strawberries. Now I’m hooked on cherries…grapes…apricots…pineapple. I CAN’T CHOOSE. Luckily, I don’t have too. :)
Spaghetti Squash Pasta
I think the reason I’ve postponed another blog post for so long is because I couldn’t really top my first marathon recap. I wanted to relive the experience as long as possible! But now, the lactic acid is almost drained from my legs and I cut the tracking tag off of my training shoes for today’s easy run. Time to move on… ;)
Last night’s dinner was purposefully extra healthy because of my lack of exercise all week. Post-marathon, I gave myself 7 full exercise-free days to let my body recover. (Though that did mean turning down frozen yogurt on girl’s night out and bypassing the chocolate section at this week’s Sprouts spree in order to compensate for the lack of energy-expenditure.) Today though, I reintroduced my legs to jogging with a 5 miler on some trails and sidewalks. I am ready to get back to my fitness routine! Now that my marathon is over, what is my next goal? I’m giving myself a week or two to figure that one out….
In the meantime, I’ve cleaned up my fridge with about 15 pounds of fresh produce. I’ve got Acorn squash to Zucchini and everything in between. My dinners are usually a medley of vegetables, like this amazing spaghetti squash pasta. Trust me, you don’t even miss the carbs.
Nope those aren’t noodles!
After you slice the squash open, it’s the easiest thing in the world. Wash it and use a really good knife because cutting into the dense raw squash is slightly frightening…
Scoop out the seeds and guts like a pumpkin. I line a baking sheet with foil, lightly spray with olive oil cooking spray and some seasoning. Lay the squash halves on the tray, face down and bake at 375 for about 50 minutes. They will be super soft when they are done!
For the sauce, I sauteed my own blend of chopped zucchini (green & yellow because the more color the better!), tomato, orange bell pepper, garlic and spinach. Plus we added some pre-cooked shrimp for a little protein. After it all cooked down for about 8 minutes, I added it to some marinara sauce that had been simmering the whole time.
The fun part! Once the squash is removed from the oven, use 2 forks to pull apart the insides into its little “spaghetti” strands. Who ever thought that shaping vegetables to look like a more substantial dish would actually be so filling.
Hah I just couldn’t resist….. ;)
Talk about squash on squash on squash. Here’s the nutritional facts!
Spaghetti Squash has 10 grams of carbs per 1 cup, compared to regular pasta’s 50 grams per cup. It’s also naturally fat-free, low-sugar and largely composed of water. (Hydrating!)
Happy Sunday :)
