President's Day and Beets in Breck

We decided not to do anything "touristy" today since most people would be leaving or cramming one more activity before leaving.  So today, we went to the local dog park with Abby and Harry (Steve & Kathy's dog).  Harry had a winter jacket on and I couldn't help but to make fun of him.  Fortunately, Kelley didn't buy one for Abby, but I think she would if given the chance.

Kathy handling both dogs trying to pose for a picture....the dogs were camera shy.

After a quick breakfast of carrots, squash, and lima beans, followed by mashed banana mixed with pumpkin seeds, yogurt, and homemade baked oatmeal donuts, we headed for the park.  Oh yeah, there was coffee too; that's always a must! The dog park wasn't too packed with other dogs, but Abby enjoyed playing with a few other dogs and Harry briefly got about 5 feet away from Kathy....then quickly ran back to her protection.  I climbed the same hill nearby just to do it and capture a great view.

View from the top of the hill.

The climb had my heart going a little, which is always a good feeling.  I saw someone running (slowly) down the same hill, and I decided to follow suit.  Afterward, we put the dogs back in the condo and went to Blue River Bistro for lunch.

What happened to all the dogs?!? Oh well, I can run alone...

As usual, I was reluctant to go to any restaurant since it requires me quizzing our server and scanning the menu multiple times.  But, it's vacation and always nice to be with the family.  Plus, I can't be so selfish; I am usually pretty good about eating little during the day until back home to make my own things.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by how willing Blue River Bistro was to add and remove ingredients from their menu items.  I saw a beet salad, but didn't like other things it had, so I asked for the beets added to their garden salad.  It would've been nice to add a protein, but that usually costs more than I'm willing to pay and prepared a way I don't like.  Enough of my rambling, they added the dry roasted beets to a nice-sized plate of spring mix salad greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green peppers.  I always request no dressing and either ask for salsa or oil and vinegar on the side; that way I control how much or little to add.

I forgot to take a pic before eating, so this is all that was left at the time. So good!

The salad was great and the beets were perfect!  Just like Brussells sprouts, I enjoy eating beets plain with nothing added.  I don't know where it came from, but these are comfort foods to me.  Adding beets to your diet is highly recommended; they are good for your heart, helps avoid birth defects, prevents certain cancers and respiratory problems, good for your liver, and helps boost energy levels.  The list goes on, but hopefully you can find a way to try these today.

The World's Healthiest Foods has a great way to simply prepare beets and retain much of their health-promoting properties....

"We recommend healthy steaming beets for 15 minutes to maximize their nutrition and flavor. Fill the bottom of the steamer with 2 inches of water and bring to a rapid boil Add beets, cover, and steam for 15 minutes. Beets are cooked when you can easily insert a fork or the tip or knife into the beet.
Peel beets by setting them on a cutting board and rubbing the skin off with a paper towel. Wearing kitchen gloves will help prevent your hands from becoming stained."

If you buy canned, make sure to check the ingredients only say beets and water.

It's supposed to be windy with more snow tomorrow here in Breck, but we're going snowshoeing no matter what.  We are the Lively Lileys and can forge through the worst of weather!

Do you have any favorite veggie you can eat just plain without adding any flavorings? Or maybe just a little cayenne....

Good Food and Fun on Road Trips

Kelley and I are in Breckenridge, CO; it's just a bit cooler than Texas. Her parents have a cozy condo in an excellent location and they have happily allowed us to come with Abby (our Golden Retriever) for the week. We made the drive from Fort Worth to Breck in almost 14 hours flat; a new record for us!  This is easily going to be a lot more enjoyable than last year's trip to Breckenridge.  MRSA on your nose and face can really put a damper on things...

This is how happy Annie's Bunnies made us while driving.

The drive was pretty uneventful (a good thing!) and we switched-off to make sure the driver was alert. In our past treks, the roads were iced over for most of the way and conditions were unfavorable; but besides rain, it was a great drive.  We packed our own food to take along the way so we didn't have to stop at those crappy places lined along major roads...ok, my view is a little biased, but I am entitled to an opinion.

I had to take a pic of this....yeah, I had little sleep.  That's a dehydrated carrot, by the way.

I told Kelley I would make sure to bring all of the food we wanted.  Since we rarely go out to eat, even on vacation, I needed to make sure we had our staple foods.  I was so focused on getting our favorite baked whole wheat rye bread and goat cheese from a local store near home, that I completely forgot several other items that Kelley always uses.  Kelley, I'm sorry....but at least you have goat cheese!

She didn't get any bunnies....it shows.

I brought the Zevia Baked Donuts I made earlier this week for the drive.  Cut in half with peanut butter and a banana in the middle made for a quick and tasty belly pleaser!  The few packaged foods we brought included original Corn Thins, Annie's Homegrown Chocolate Bunny Grahams, and Uncle Jerry's Whole Wheat Pretzels.  I recommend trying all of these if/when you get a chance.

Kelley's power road trip fuel. Annie's Chocolate Bunnies in Oikos Plain Greek yogurt.

Other foods for the road include dry roasted pumpkin seeds and pistachios, organic Gala apples, bananas, baby carrots, and Oikos Greek yogurt cups.  Oh, and yes, I brought my own bottle of cayenne powder...it's a must!  I had dehydrated canned beets and carrots during the week to bring on the trip; besides being very very crunchy, I enjoyed them mixed with other crunchy items.  With this assortment, Kelley and I definitely had some fun with our food...as you see in the pics.

My power road trip food.  Baby carrots make great yogurt "spoons"...sometimes. I confess, I had some bunnies too.

Today, all four of us went tubing in Frisco, CO (right next to Breck) and had a blast going down alone and with our tubes connected.  The more weight we had, the faster we went...fun!

Kelley and I riding the conveyor belt up the tubing hill.

After tubing, we felt a little hungry went to Downstairs At Eric's afterward.  Since I'm not a fan of eating at most restaurants, I opted for a nice Guinness Stout to "hold me over" until we got back to the condo.  I brought frozen veggies and some sardines I quickly made when we got back.

Lunch is served poured!!

We plan on doing a lot of walking while here and I really look forward to having a great time with Kelley and her parents, Steve and Kathy.  Ok, I'll add the dogs too....

We have been really excited to try some coffee shops around the quaint town.  I think we'll visit a few of these tomorrow.

When going on a road trip, do you plan ahead and bring your own food or depend on whatever's around along the way?