If you know me (Jeremy) you know i’m an amateur homebrewer, if you didn’t know that, you need to come over and brew with me. Anyway, one of the biggest wastes in the beer making process is all the spent grains you end up with. I have this bag about the size of a basketball full of grains that normally just get tossed…until now. I went on a mission to find some uses for those left over grains and this granola recipe is the first of 3 things i made after my most recent brew day.

• Whey (milk)
• Sugar
• Potato Starch or Modified Corn Starch
• Citric Acid
• Maltodextrin
• Autolyzed Yeast Extract (a sneaky name for MSG)
• Natural Flavor
• Caramel Color (sulfites)
• Cellulose

Some of these are not too bad for your health, but beg the question, WHY? And just the fact that they’ve taken to calling MSG, “Autolyzed Yeast Extract” is shady at best…And natural flavors? Why can’t they just say what flavors they are?

So if you want to avoid these weird, unnecessary ingredients in your next taco night, you can start making your own. It’s probably one of the easiest recipes since all you have to do is mix up a bunch of spices. We usually make a pint mason jar, which lasts a while. Click here for our Taco Seasoning Recipe

In our house we love hard-boiled eggs, but Jeremy despises mayonnaise or any substitute for it and it doesn’t rank very high on my list either.  So egg salad is not something we ever make.  But just a week ago we were preparing to go on a weekend trip.  We usually try to pack all our food for the road in a cooler and stay somewhere that we can eat at least a few meals in.  In addition to that we are currently getting a surplus of farm fresh eggs.  This made me start thinking that egg salad if done without mayo maybe a perfect solution.  I looked up various recipes took what I liked and made my own recipe.  I was nervous because I have heard Jeremy say that he doesn’t like egg salad, but it turned out he loved it!  This is an item that will most likely make it into that weekly or bi-weekly rotation for us.  It will be something that I make a the beginning of the week just like hummus or re-fried beans to be eaten as a grab-and-go meal.  And it will definitely be a staple in our cooler on road trips! Hope you enjoy too!

Ingredients:

• 6 bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded
• 1 lbs. ground beef or venison
• 1 cup cooked brown rice (I use basmati rice. It cooks in just 15-20 minutes)
• 14oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4.5oz fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup taco seasoning (click here for taco seasoning recipe)

Directions:

• Cook brown rice according to directions.
• Chop onions and garlic.
• Sautee onions and garlic 2-3minutes add ground meat and brown.
• Stir in taco seasoning (link) and tomatoes.
• Add spinach. Stir in spinach until wilted.
• Add and stir in rice.
• Fill pepper with mixture and place upright in crockpot for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
• Serve.

These are great cut up and topped with avocado, chopped cilantro, crushed corn chips or guacamole.

Now that you have hopefully made your own chili powder (click for chili powder recipe), you can take it to the next level and make your own taco seasoning. Most taco seasonings contain MSG and the dreaded “spices” (which is where the government has decided it is fine for companies to not actually tell you what’s in your food.)  Once again I multiplied this recipe and may even double it the next time around.  Also, a little tip chili powder and taco seasoning use a lot of the same ingredients so I recommend making them at the same time so you only have to get the ingredients out once.

• 4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions: Place in a airtight glass jar, shake, store and use as needed.

I love to use lots of spices in my recipe which means that I have start to buy them in bulk.  I have also learn that some of the spices on the grocery shelves are a blend of spices.  Many of these blends have additives in them that just aren’t necessary or good for us.  One such blend is chili powder.  I have greatly increased this recipe because I use it so often and I think next time around I will double it again.  Most store bought brands have anti-caking agents so if your chili powder starts to harden just give it a good shake and scoop out what you need.

• 5 tablespoons paprika
• 5 teaspoons oregano
• 3 teaspoons cumin
• 3 teaspoons garlic powder
• 3 teaspoons cayenne
• 2 teaspoons onion powder

Sometimes great recipes are found in unexpected places. Anyone who knows me well, knows that one of my favorite places to shop for food is Aldi. This recipe is based on one from the back of a bag of Clancy’s Organic Blue Corn Chips by ALDI Inc. This is a great recipe to make early in the summer when mangoes and pineapple are cheap.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans black beans rinsed and drained or 1 cup dried bean, prepared
• 1 mango, peeled and cubed
• 1 fresh pineapple, cubed
• 1 medium red onion chopped
• 1 fresh or frozen jalapeño, chopped (omit if you don’t want it spicy)
• 1/4 cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbs lime of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt (Note: add more to taste if you used dried beans)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Toss gently to coat.
3. Chill 15 minutes to an hour before serving.
4. Serve and enjoy with chips, over salad or on top of steak, chicken or venison.

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.  -Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire)

Tomorrow March 10th at 6am, I make my attempt to become an ultra-distance runner. I can hardly believe it.  Running an ultra is something that for years I thought I would never want to do, and I often wondered why anyone would want to run for 50 miles or more. That all changed when I listened to the book “Born to Run” in 2010.  You may be familiar with this book that almost single handedly popularized barefoot running and ultras.  The challenge started to seem tempting.

My first Ironman Finish in 2007

Then in early 2011, we moved to Tennessee and a number of things came together which seemed to point to me in the direction of ultra-running.  One, I found myself running 2-3 times a day for no other reason than I had people who wanted to run with me.  Two, we met our friend Travis who was doing his first ultra, a 50 miler in Nashville which made it seem more attainable.  Three, the Land Between the Lakes Ultra was only an hour away, eliminating any travel concerns.  Finally, I ran the Huntsville full marathon in December where I had one of the best races of my life.  Not my fastest, but a strong effort and fun. This race finalized the decision and so here I am ready to give this ultra thing a try.

In my mind, this race is no different than most marathons. I go back and forth in my mind thinking, why did I think this was a good idea? Or, I’m not so sure I can do this very well.  I just keep coming back to this one thought: When you bite off more than you can chew, how do you handle it?  The answer, one bite at a time.

So now that I’ve signed up and paid (which makes this endeavor seem even crazier) to run 50 miles, how do I finish it?  The answer, one step at time.  Really that applies to everything in life.  It’s about the steps, the forward progress, the present moment.  This is why I love running so much because the lessons learned on the road correlate back to life.

Life becomes so much clearer when all you have is the sound of your feet hitting pavement or trail, the cadence of your breath and possibly a friend sharing the joy of running. So with the support of my family, friends and prayer, I will toe the starting line with confidence knowing I will finish my race.