Essential refrigerator baking items

Every morning I literally have to tell myself to stay positive and be happy.  I hope one day this will come natural for me and I don't have to tell myself.  Rock bottom is not where I want to ever re-visit.

I don't know if I mentioned that the reason I am doing this baking challenge is because I have literally watched Julie and Julia 1,000,013 times!!!!  I absolutely adore that movie.  I used to watch Julia Childs when I was younger.  

Alright moving on, this is not a complete list of all the items you could possibly need, just what you should have on hand when baking.

BUTTERMILK- I use the cultured lowfat version which can be purchased at any grocery store.  Also if you are in a bind you can make your own buttermilk at home by taking one cup of milk and mixing in one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.  I actually tried this one and it worked great.  

BUTTER- I have used sooooooo much butter these last two weeks, like five pounds.  There are basically two types of butter salted and unsalted.  My recipes all call for unsalted so that is all I have on hand.  NEVER use margarine in place of salt, you will be cheating yourself, real butter makes everything taste better.

EGGS- I use regular large eggs from the grocery store.  I actually used dozen in one day making two recipes. So back to the store I went to get more.

HEAVY CREAM- I keep a small container on hand because a lot of other meals I cook call for heavy cream.

PLAIN YOGURT- Many of the quick bread recipes use yogurt to keep the bread moist.

That is pretty much all you really need to have on hand in your refrigerator for many recipes!!!!

Guess what I have planned today!!!!!  Long run wohoo!!

What do you eat on your long run? I love gummy bears

Do you eat everything in your house when you get back from a run?

Do you use butter or margarine?

Change is good

Over the past few months I have had to change my way of thinking, working out, and eating.  I realized that the prescriptions I take that have the warning "DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL" were not a suggestion. 😁😁😁 Kinda had to learn that the hard way.  I was not drinking excessive amounts just an occasional cocktail, well NO DRINKING means NO DRINKING.  So I drink lots of water, coffee, and an occasional Coke. 

Meat is not a part of my diet anymore.  It was a choice I made for accountability and personal reasons.  It is very hard giving up something that you enjoy eating.  It was an ongoing joke with Zachary about who could eat more chicken wings him or I.  I realized that I was going overboard on meat.  It has been an easy transition. Currently some of my favorite eats are fried egg whites, sweet potato hash, and of course salad. Again this is my personal opinion but I feel a lot better and have actually been running faster.

My life has been filled with negative people since I can remember.  My mother sees doom in everything, and I mean EVERYTHING.  Growing up around that day in and day out took a toll on me.  Then being a police officer for so many years, all you see is negative.  It took many times falling to rock bottom for me to see that negative thinking was why.  Instead of seeing the good, I immediately searched for the bad.  I no longer live in the past or worry about the future, because I am too busy living now.  I surround myself with happy positive people. 

This positive way of living has transformed my life in so many ways. I feel so full of life.  My running has improved so much.  This morning I ran 4 miles to the gym, took a very intense spin class (the instructor is an Ironman, I love her classes) and ran home.  My pace was 8:25 per minute which is under Boston qualifying time!!!! So I see progress and that makes me so happy. The weather has been gorgeous in Memphis.  

Have you ever stopped eating a certain food? 

Where do you live and is the weather changing there?

What is your next race?