Cinnamon Rice Pudding with Cherry LARABAR Sauce

March 17, 2011 By Leanne Vogel July 21, 2015

Cinnamon Rice Pudding and Cherry Larabar sauce3

I never in a million years thought I would ever be interested in marathon training. Yet here I am, 6 months after tearing my patella(s), accomplishing the long recovery, pushing myself to the max, all with this large end goal. As with learning anything new, there’s bound to be a couple of bumps along the way. But I never expected that I would be that bump. Over the past week or so I’ve put every possible barrier in front of me in an attempt to halt my training. I’ve talked myself down from continuing to run because of fear that my knee would start hurting, I’ve told myself that I couldn’t go hard enough on my bike, even though I had loads of energy left, and I’ve taken shots at my confidence by telling myself I’m just not good enough to do this. Somewhere along the way I stopped believing in myself.

Cinnamon Rice Pudding and Cherry Larabar sauce5

How did this happen? I’m stressed. It’s stressful when you take on something you’ve always thought was insurmountable and then decide to tackle it head on. I’m scared. What if my knee starts hurting again? What if it can’t make it through the long runs? I’m not ready for change. Change means learning new things and adapting my lifestyle to fit something new. It’s freakin’ me out! I’ve lost sight of my progress. I feel like my body isn’t responding to all the training I’m putting it through. But, a goal cannot be accomplished if you don’t believe in yourself! And giving up shouldn’t be an option. Anytime we set our sights on something, we owe it to ourselves to keep going. We need to remind ourselves:

I’m good enough. I can accomplish anything. I can do this, and I will do this.

Setting small goals

Instead of stressing over the larger picture, I’ve decided to come up with 5 goals that I hope to accomplish in the next 30 days. Once the 30 days are up, I’ll come back to these goals, assess, and make my next set.

Run for a consecutive 15 minutes without pain in my knee.
Increase treadmill pace from 5.2mph to 5.5mph with no knee pain.
Complete spin class at an average heart rate of 155bpm.
Increase swim pace from 28 seconds to 25 seconds per 25 meters.
Increase weights from 10lbs to 12.5lbs when completing upper body exercises.

Setting these smaller goals will help remind myself how far I’ve come and give me the boost I need when I get down on myself. I can do this, and I will do this. [We can all accomplish your goals! A little belief in yourself can go a long, long way!]

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Cinnamon Rice Pudding with Cherry LARABAR Sauce

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free, Yeast free

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 2 servings

This soft and sticky rice pudding is the perfect way to begin a relaxing Sunday morning. Have the leftovers double as a warm breakfast on the go, just add a handful of granola and you’re ready to rock! Inspired by: My Recipes

Ingredients

Pudding

1¼ cup water
¼ cup uncooked jasmine rice
½ cinnamon stick
pinch himalayan rock salt
½ cup non-dairy milk – I used almond milk
1 tablespoon raw honey – to make vegan use maple syrup
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon almond extract

Sauce

1 cherry pie LARABAR soaked in ¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Optional toppings

because I ate half of this one day and the other the next, I didn’t get to take pictures of the toppings I tried with this pudding! I sprinkled on some omega granola, shelled flax seeds, coconut and stirred in a bit of maple flavoring. It was delicious!

Instructions

To prepare pudding, combine first 4 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Drain remaining liquid and return rice and cinnamon stick to the stove top.
Stir in almond milk, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and almond extract. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 20 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and discard cinnamon stick.
To prepare sauce, combine soaked LARABAR and vanilla in a blender and process until smooth.
Pour sauce over pudding and serve.

View Nutritional Information (once on page scroll down) Nutrition stats [1/2 cup]: calories 350; fat 17g; carbohydrates 40g; dietary fiber 5g; sugars 20g; protein 5g

Cinnamon Rice Pudding and Cherry Larabar sauce

As you’ve probably noticed, my recipe today is not green. This is because I totally forgot about St. Patrick’s Day when I was planning this weeks recipes. Eh, there’s always next year. And really, rice pudding could practically be the food of St. Patrick’s Day, it being a perfect breakfast after a long night of drinking Guinness… right? How do you encourage yourself to continue pushing toward your BIG goals? What are some big goals that you’ve set for this year?