Almond milk ice cream

I love ice cream, but haven't had it in a very long time.  I have a few health conscious reasons but the main one is that I don't tolerate dairy, at all.  If you've shopped alternative milk ice cream, you know that it's not cheap and most of the time, not tasty.  For my birthday, my husband bought me an ice cream maker and we've been making our own ice cream creations a few times per week.  I thought I'd share the recipe that we've created using a few different recipes we've found.  Let me know if you have an exciting flavor--we're always up for new ideas.

Almond Milk Ice Cream
3/4 cup coconut milk (we buy lite)
1 1/4 cup soy creamer *
1 cup almond milk (can also substitute other alternative milks)
1/3 cup agave
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp guar gum **
pinch of salt

* You can make it without the soy creamer, it just isn't as rich.
** I buy Bobs Red Mill brand. Again, you can do without this. It makes it creamy in texture and guar gum is in almost all ice cream sold at the grocery store. 

If I am going to enjoy some ice cream, I might as well make it as healthy as I can! 

P90X

I thought I'd give you an update on what I've been up to. You may have heard of this home workout DVD set. Tiffany did P90X before she had her last baby and had fantastic results. After finishing my half marathon in May, I borrowed a friend's DVD set and have loved it! I am currently finishing week 12. I completely love it. I needed something to switch up my workouts and to allow me the flexibility to workout at home during my kid's naptime. The things I love the most:

1. It's convenient and you don't need a lot of equipment.
2. I have loved building muscle tone.
3. I love pushing myself to do hard workouts...and some are really tough!
4. Fast results. I could tell a difference in the mirror in the first 2 weeks.

I cannot say that I have the fabulous results I hoped for, but I have come to recognize that my snacks (even on the healthy options I choose) add up to more calories than I am burning. I've made some changes and have seen better results. I plan to do it again in November or so. I am going to train for my second half marathon in October while we are living in Hawaii.

Lemon Chicken with Rice Pilaf

I had a request to post this recipe. It is a favorite at our house. My husband picked it to have the night before his marathon a week ago. So, I think it's safe to say it's husband-approved.

LEMON CHICKEN
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 fresh lemons
2 T olive oil, divided use
4 chicken thighs (I use chicken breasts)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 tsp of tumeric
1/2 pound Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes), peeled (I use quartered potatoes in the off season and it's yummy)
10 garlic cloves, peeled and halved (You can use less if you want)
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/8 cup pine nuts

I turned this recipe into a crock pot dish because it's easier and keeps my house cooler. I put it on high for a few hours and then turn it down to low for 4 hours more or so. When chicken and sunchokes (potatoes) are tender, stir in thyme leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning, if need be. Then cook an additional 10 minutes. Sprinkle with pine nuts to garnish (or use pine nuts in the rice recipe below). Serve on top of rice pilaf (below).

RICE PILAF
(from Lion House Cookbook)
¼ cup celery
¼ cup onion
1 cup rice
2 TBSP butter (I use olive oil)
2 cans chicken broth
1 T. dried parsley
¼ cup slivered almonds or pine nuts

Combine butter, onion, celery and rice in a deep frying pan. Cook until onion is translucent and rice is starting to brown. Add in Chicken broth and cook for about 20 minutes on low heat or until liquid is gone & rice is done. Stir in Parsley and nuts.