12-Miler #3

Half marathon #3 means 12-miler #3! 🙂 The San Diego Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon is in 18 days, which means my 12-miler (the longest of my training) took place last Friday. I am running this race with Team in Training again, and our big official event for this 12-miler (or the 21-miler for the marathoners) was on Saturday. Since I am a mentor for TNT, I was out there supporting instead of running, and I did my run on my own the day before.

Truthfully, I was really worried about this run because I had a solid two weeks of unspectacular runs. And not just unspectacular, but bordering on bad. I have no idea what it was, but it was the biggest running rut that I’ve had so far. I had to do run-walk intervals for the second half of an 8-miler, and the next week I could only finish half of my scheduled 8 miles! Of course I am still thrilled that I can run that, but it’s not good news five days before I’m supposed to run 12!

However, I was pretty darn determined that I was going to finish my 12. In the couple days leading up to the run, I focused super-hard on my water, my food, my rest, and my positive thinking. All of which I think contributed to my awesome 12-miler! Granted, I didn’t run it as fast as I would have liked. But my time was better than my previous two 12-milers, and considering the variables (it was so hot) I am thrilled. San Diego, here I come!

Besides running, I’ve been keeping up with the weight lifting as always. My current favorite workout is this one from Women’s Health. (Especially those Spider-Man pushups. ;)) I pick that magazine up on a whim every once and a while—I have subscriptions to Shape and Self—and I really like it! They have great workouts.

Of course, I’ve also been doing a lot of eating. It’s been so exciting to have a kitchen to cook in again, and I’m eating it up (pun completely intended). Plus, I have no idea what my options will be in Australia so I’m taking advantage of all that I can! Get ready for a whole lot of random eats…

This is one of my very favorite recipes; I had it for lunch a few days ago. It’s even on my recipe page! For two servings, I mixed a can of wild salmon (skinless/boneless, I buy it at Costco) with a few tablespoons of Greek yogurt, chopped apple, chopped carrot, dried cranberries, salt, and paprika. Yum. 🙂 It’s really delicious on toast, but I ate it this time with Kashi crackers.

I’ve also been really obsessed with green monsters. I’ve always liked them, but all of a sudden I’m usually drinking one a day. I just love them, and I’m digging the simplicity right now.

I make them right now with one banana, one cup of milk, and a few handfuls of spinach. That’s it! (Every once in a while a frozen strawberry or two.) And I promise you can’t taste the green. 😉

Ooh, this was a good lunch, too! It doesn’t look too appetizing (my fault…I grilled the wrap too long and it ripped) but it was tasty. I stuffed a wrap with spinach, hummus, and chopped carrot before grilling it for a few minutes longer than I should have. I love pretty much anything that’s warm and has hummus in it.

Oh my goodness, then there was this breakfast. Disclaimer: it may have tasted extra delicious to me because I had just finished a hot run. But I bet it tastes amazing no matter the circumstances. I really, really love these waffles. I don’t buy them that often because they’re expensive and I have no qualms about eating them every day. This is the brand (I get the HempPlus ones) and they’re just awesome. But the really amazing part of this breakfast was the “sauce” I made.

In a small bowl I mashed together half a banana, a tablespoon of almond butter, a tablespoon or two of milk, and a couple drops of maple syrup. Then I microwaved it for about 20-30 seconds and stirred until it came together to the consistency you see above. It was SO. GOOD. I want to make it all the time and smother everything with it. I am not ashamed at all to tell you that I licked the little bowl.

And I used the other half of the banana to make a green smoothie—told ya I was obsessed. Plus half a cup of milk and some spinach.

And last (I promise) was this dinner. First a confession: I had never made tofu before! But I followed this recipe/guide, and it turned out great! Next time I’ll definitely marinate the tofu or make a sauce because it tasted pretty plain, but I like the taste of plain tofu. (For lunch the next day, I mixed the leftover tofu with hummus and made another grilled wrap. Yummy.) Rounding out this dinner was roasted broccoli and zucchini with some sweet potato chips. Love me some sweet potatoes.

And that’s it for tonight! See you tomorrow for some more eats…and maybe some more of that banana-almond butter sauce. 😉

Two-Course Meal

Happy Tuesday! 🙂 I woke up this morning and was eager to try out Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred DVD again. It wasn’t as hard as I remembered, so I guess that’s a good sign! And then my grumbling stomach reminded me that it was time for breakfast.

I usually tend toward smaller meals and more snacks, but today I decided to try a bigger breakfast and see how that changes the day. Experiments are fun.

Course one was oatmeal. On the stove, I cooked 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 sliced banana, and 1/2 tbsp. chia seeds. After a few minutes when the oats were done, I added cinnamon and a tbsp. of almond butter on top. Yummm. There are not many things—if any—that I like more than oatmeal.

And on the side I had another green smoothie! I made this one with the other half of the banana, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 tbsp. chia seeds, a handful of frozen strawberries, and a couple handfuls of spinach.

Simple but delicious. Yeah, it looks a little like swamp water, but you cannot taste spinach at all, I promise. Just tastes like a strawberry-banana smoothie.

 Quote of the day: It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.

Veggie Power

I’m pretty much obsessed with any and all veggie and/or bean burgers, so I was plenty excited to see this recipe on one of my favorite blogs. It was on the menu for lunch today.

I halved the recipe and only made a few changes: I didn’t have any pumpkin seeds, so I subbed almonds and chia seeds. Also, I added paprika and garlic powder while omitting coriander, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.

Yum! I served the burger on a toasted Oroweat Sandwich Thin with hummus and spinach. On the side, I had sliced strawberries and a few baby carrots with more hummus. The burger was awesome; the flavor with the spices was really nice and I loved the texture. I’m so glad I have two more left over!

And then came dinner! I was in the mood for veggies, so veggies it was.

I roasted broccoli and mushrooms, tossed with a little olive oil and salt, at 375*. The broccoli was in the oven for 30 minutes; the mushrooms for 10. Love roasted vegetables.

And on the side I made a mixture of whole wheat couscous and bulgur. To 1/2 cup of grains (for two servings), I added 3/4 cup water, brought it to a boil, then removed the pot from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes. I fluffed with a fork, added two tbsp. each of sliced almonds and dried cherries, and dinner was done!

I’m Baaaaack!

Why hello there! 🙂 Long time no see (type?!).

“School’s out for summer…”

Now that school’s done for the time being, I’m excited to get back in the blogging swing of things. And hopefully I’ll have some exciting things to talk about since I’m running the San Diego Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon in less than a month and then in July…

(drumroll)

…I’m leaving to go to Sydney for a semester abroad! 🙂 Yup, I’m headed to the University of Sydney in Australia for the fall semester, and my goal is to blog my way through it.

But I’ve got many things to keep me busy until then, including a lot of cooking and eating yummy food.

Yes, it’s green, but it’s yummy, I promise. Perfect Saturday morning breakfast if you ask me.

To make this tasty concoction, I threw the following into a blender:

• one frozen banana
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• a few handfuls of spinach
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• chia seeds
• ground flaxseeds

And of course I topped it with some Kashi Heart to Heart and tossed it in a bowl for some “smoothie in a bowl” action.

Warms my heart to get some greens in me in the morning. Plus, let’s be serious, anything that’s a fun color is fun to eat. 

I wish I had some pictures from my food yesterday, but rest assured that I appropriately pampered my mother and made her banana pancakes for brunch and almond-crusted salmon (which was amazing; I’ll be making it again soon) for dinner.

Now onto this morning’s breakfast. I went for a run this morning (got to break in some new sneaks) and since it’s May in Texas, it’s super hot and I was in the mood for something cold. I saw this fabulous idea and knew I needed to try it ASAP. Last night, I mixed 1/3 cup rolled oats with 3/4 cup almond milk, 1 tbsp. chia seeds, vanilla, and cinnamon.

This morning, I pulled a banana from the freezer and threw it in the food processor until it resembled a soft-serve consistency. Then I layered it all up and added a blob of almond butter on top. (And margarita glasses just make Monday mornings more fun.)

This was really delicious! Next time I think I’ll try it with my traditional overnight oats recipe (equal parts oats, milk, and yogurt) but I actually really liked the texture of this. Having the banana separate instead of mixed in was really good.

I’m off, but lunch is already in the oven and it smells awesome. I’m trying a new recipe, so stay tuned.

Quote of the day: Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

My favorite quote of all time. And that means a lot considering I’m a quote fiend.