Tag Archives: healthy

A Healthy New Year’s Resolution

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FullSizeRenderMy New Year’s resolution includes my mountain bike which has been in our garage unused, for a very long time. I can’t even tell you when I last rode it. At one time I competed in sprint triathlons, and enjoyed training six out of seven days a week. Each training session was different. I either swam, ran, or rode my bike, and because of the variety, it was never boring. Six years ago I had a serious bicycle accident, and if I hadn’t  been wearing a helmet, I would not be here now writing this post. So, first of all, if cycling, please wear a helmet. I wasn’t a novice to the world of cycling, but a small dip in the bike trail sent me flying. That was the end of my days as a triathlete. It took months to work up the nerve to get on my bicycle again, and when I did it was on my wide tired mountain bike. No more skinny tires, or racing for me. At the time of my fall, I was in great physical condition, which helped me to heal quickly, but since then I’ve been unable to stay with an exercise routine. I belonged to a very nice gym, but could not drag myself there and on top of everything else, I felt guilty wasting the monthly dues, so I quit, even though I knew how important exercise is for everyone. Those of you who read my blog, know that I have been a motor scooter rider for two years, and now, ride  a can-am Spyder 3-wheeler  motorcycle, but neither gives me any real exercise, and when I pass cyclists going up hill, I feel a little sad about the work- out I’m missing. Recently I was out on my scooter and saw a woman riding her bicycle and I knew then and there that I was going to get my bike out of its corner in the garage. Next, I had to locate my bicycle helmet and other bicycle gear that was stored away. When I found my helmet I was surprised to feel how light it was. I am used to wearing a motorcycle helmet now, and the bicycle helmet felt rather flimsy in comparison, even though my bicycle helmet is sturdy and covers more of the head than most. Here you can see my two helmets, side by side. Continue reading →

Delicious Ginger Snaps

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Tea and cookies

Ginger snaps were my Nana’s favorite cookies. I must have inherited a love of  ginger from her. They are delicious, and perfect with a cup of tea. I have not made them for several years, but with fall almost here,  I decided it was time to do some baking. The oringinal recipe was from the London Free Press newspaper which is published in London, Ontario, Canada. In a previous post I wrote about Molasses Brown Bread, which was another recipe from the Free Press.

Today I decided to try something new and mixed it in a food processor instead of using the hand mixer. It worked well and was a lot less work. I also made two changes to the original recipe. Instead of all purpose flour, I used whole wheat and instead of 3/4 cup butter/margarine, I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce. I believe these two changes make for a slightly healthier recipe, without losing any of the wonderful flavor. Next time I may go for just applesauce and omit the butter all together. I certainly hope you give this recipe a try.

 

1/2 cup butter                                                 3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup applesauce                                        1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 7/8 cup sugar                                              1 Tbs. powdered ginger

2 large eggs                                                   1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup molasses                                           1/4 tsp. cloves

1 Tbs. vinegar                                                1 cup raisins optional

Measure sugar and butter into food processor bowl. Mix until creamy.

Mix in eggs and applesauce. Add molasses and vinegar. Next add all of the dry

ingredients and mix slowly until combined. Fold in raisins last if used.

Drop dough from teaspoon onto greased cookie sheets in one inch mounds.

Bake at 325° F. for 9-10 minutes.Watch carefully, because the molasses tends to make them burn easily around the edges.

After I finished my baking, I just had to sit down with a cup of tea and a cookie. Well, actually two cookies. I just couldn’t help myself. I do hope you will try this recipe for my Nana’s favorite Ginger snaps.