Too Much Nature For Me
Sometimes, I have to look at how my post makes me seem and laugh; I swear I’m not too crunchy granola, really 😉 I do have limits to my love of nature. Bloggers, do you feel like your blog persona is never the true you?
Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
I snacked on vegan peanut butter fudge before my run. Not only was I nervous about the thought of a 14-miler after 3 days of not running, but to make things work I looked out my window and say a big, black ball in my draveway. It turned out to be a wild turkey, and this one looked mean 
He left and soon enough I was off.
14 Miles
The highlight of the run, by far, was running past a beautiful, big brown cow who looked straight at me going by. The decaying possum on the side of the road I had to pass twice? Yeah, not so much. Oh, and the joy of everything was just finishing!
Raw Salad With Cherry Tomatoes And Olive Cashew Cheese, Multigrain FTSG Chips
Since raw food takes no cooking, why not have a raw meal for quick post-run recovery? I mad a simple salad with arugula, spinach, basil, and olive oil, and tossed grape tomatoes in sea salt and black pepper.
Raw Olive Cashew Cheese
We bought this cheese on this occasion at Grezzo’s and I finally dethawed it. Wow, is it delicious! It doesn’t really remind me of cheese, or cashews. It’s so unique. And somehow I insist I’m not that crunchy granola 😉
Red Delicious Apple
Dessert was an apple, and then I was off!
Wolf Hill Farm
Raw Local Honey
I went down to the local farm to get more honey. Apparently, I can go through almost a pound of honey a week–who knew?! I love supporting a local farmer, but… I really wish the middle aged woman running it would buy a support bra with all that support I’m giving. Now she is that crunchy granola.
Plain Chobani With Honey And Crunchy PB
This afternoon snack was a no-brainer: yogurt with honey and peanut butter. So good! It helps to mask that plain favor I despise so much. Have you seen the new blue containers? I think I dig them more than the pink, but it’ll take some getting used to.
Coconut Ice Cream With Crunchy PB
And before dinner I polished off a coconut coconut milk ice cream to make room in the freezer. Adding peanut butter to ice cream is never as good than ice cream with peanut butter already in it. I think it needs a little extra sweetness.
Black Beans With Daiya, Peppered Potato Wedges With Caramelized Onions
Dinner was a lot of carbs with a new recipe! I’ll be posting it Saturday night, so potato fans keep an eye out 😉 I have just come to love the white potato over the past few weeks. Maybe I was Irish in a past life? The only thing that disgust me is cleaning the potato itself, especially once it’s started to grow stars. Ew, ew, ew! Too much nature for me.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 12 so far )“I’m A Runner. I Can Eat Whatever I Want”
I hear it all the time, either on the Runner’s World forums or in real life: “A runner can eat whatever they want”. Let me tear this one to shreds. First of all, are we all really “runners”? at least in this sense? I do think that there’s little difference between anyone who runs a mile for fun or 10 miles for fun. But there’s a BIG difference between people who run for fun and people like Ryan Hall who run for a living. Now those are runners.
OK. Let’s assume we are all runners. The same rules of life still apply. That’s why my first point is to listen to what mom always said and have your 3 balanced meals each and every day.
Black Bean And Potato Salad With Daiya And Salsa
Dinner last night was a simple medley of black beans and organic russet potato over spinach and topped with Daiya. Yes, I really was just eating everything else as a way to have Daiya. But I thought this would be better than eating it straight from the bag to get more nutrients, don’t you think?
Moldy Chobani
Some things none of us can eat, like moldy yogurt. Yeah, this wasn’t the most pleasant way to start my day.
Vegan GF Midnight Chocolate Cupcakes
And other things we could eat but probably shouldn’t. Case in point: these cupcakes for breakfast. I know people who would call a cupcake a “muffin” if it’s eaten before 10am. But with no whole grains, and little of–well–anything, these would not have been kind to me during my 14 miler I have planned. That’s when I made a new plan for breakfast:
Oatmeal With Vanilla Peanut Butter
Pomegranate Chobani With Dark Chocolate Almonds
Much better. A new yogurt, topped with Tierra Farm‘s organic dark chocolate almonds, and oatmeal topped with vanilla peanut butter made with Madhava vanilla agave. Sure, there was sugar here. But there was also 30+ grams of protein, 20g whole grains, 20g bran, healthy fat and antioxidant from cacao and pomegranate. This was most definitely one of my “balanced meals”.
I don’t want to make the case that a runner always has to eat healthy; that’s a dangerous mindset I hear too much, too. The truth is, balance is the key. At a certain point, a calorie is a calorie and a runner might just need more to do more. That’s where dessert comes in.
Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream With Coconut PB And Coconut Oil Chocolate
Indulgent? Sugary? Delicious? All of the above. Still, I try to find some nutrition in my desserts, which is why I often reach for coconut products. The saturated fat in coconut is medium chain, making it easier for our bodies to break down to energy than long chain. And it’s plant based so it has no cholesterol. Besides that, it just is easier for me to digest than dairy. What more could I say to get you on the coconut train?
Oatmeal With Chunky PB And Organic Dark Chocolate
And if I’m notorious for anything, it’s my nightly bowl of oatmeal with nut butter. Do what you want. But the warm carbs are great for a good night’s sleep. And this is nothing but a healthy dessert. And those squares of Endangered Species organic smooth dark chocolate–all for the antioxidants 😉
Fudge
So I guess I can’t play the runner’s card to attack this pan anymore, huh? Well it will still be there if and when I finish running 14 miles. The sun is shining and things are heating up so if ever that’s happening it will be soon. Tonight’s post will be a recipe-packed post with all of your ice cream suggestions and what’s in the pan above.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 21 so far )Target Finds And 10 Reasons To Love Home
Hey, all! As if I couldn’t be more confusing, I’m back to blogging from my dorm. I felt good enough today to come back for my Thursday classes. In all honesty, I wanted to come back early today to go to the classes I missed, but common sense prevailed and I needed to rest. Would you believe those are the only 2 classes I’ve missed all year?! I’ve always been the type of person who hates missing classes and trumped to school when he was sick >:-( Were you like that? Or were you more than happy to have an excuse to miss class 😛
Newman's Own Organic Super Dark Chocolate
I knew I was feeling more like myself when I wanted to snack on some Newman’s Own Organic Super Dark Chocolate before lunch…
Grass-Fed Burger, Indian Fries, Sea Salt & Vinegar Pop Chips
The weather today was lovely. It took every ounce of my strength not to break rest and move around outside. Instead, we gassed up the grill to enjoy the sun. I prepared sweet potato fries with EVOO and indian spice last night before I got sick, so we reheated those up along with a grass-fed 85/15 burger. And then there were Sea Salt & Vinegar Pop Chips with extra sea salt. Yum! I think I’m addicted to chips in the good weather.
Jokerz Candy Bar
Jokerz Candy Bar
As we drove around town to run some errands, I cracked open a Jokerz candy by from Go Max Go Foods. Love these! If I didn’t limit myself to 1 a week I’m sure I’d be in the poor house before I knew it. Speaking of the poor house, my favorite store, Target, will do that to you. And look what I found!
Luna Protein Cookie Dough Bars
S'mores Z-Bars
Disclaimer: I didn’t actually buy either of these; I have enough bars to last me through a snow storm and more. But I did find it interesting that 6 cookie dough Luna protein were only $5.99! Also, remember Spooky S’mores? They’re now a permanent flavor! Wahoo! I think I’m going to base my diet around bars now just so I can run out and have an excuse to buy these(not really(sort of)).
Fruit & Nut Boomi Bar
Boomi Bars are a good deal more natural than the Luna’s, anyway. I loooved the nutty flavor of this one; something about whole hazelnuts really put a smile on my face 🙂 And it was a good deal fruity, too. It just seemed to have too many sesame seeds 😦 I’ve never been a fan, and this wasn’t Fruit & Nut & Seed.
Yummi Bears Sourz Multi-Vitamin
I made one last purchase at Whole Foods that was a tough decision to make: Yummi Bears Sour multi-vitamins. In the past, I’ve always been somewhat against multi’s, saying that it’s better to just pay and get your nutrition from the foods you eat! And I still believe that. But lately I’ve been frustrated with the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in my diet. And, short of going to Whole Foods every few days and dropping way too much $$ on produce, I haven’t been able to find a fix for this. The sudden illness just put that all over the top, so I thought for my last month on campus I’d keep the nutrition up by taking a multi-vitamin to ensure nutrition. Yes, I realize these are children’s and yes I realize they’re sour bears. Why else would you think I’d buy them 😉
Tofu And Tempeh With Broccoli And Coconut
Dinner was a simple 5 ingredient meal:
- Soy Sauce
- Tempeh
- Tofu
- Broccoli
- Coconut Shreds
I cubed the tofu and tempeh and threw those in a pan over medium-high heat. As they were cooking, I added the soy sauce to sauté them in. Meanwhile, I steamed broccoli in the microwave for 3 minutes and then threw that in the pan for the last few minutes while everything cooked down. Over the top, I added shredded coconut for the nuttiness of it(it probably would be more flavorful toasted but I already had washed the pan and moved upstairs. I don’t normally love tempeh, but from time to time it’s a nice change of protein.
Going home reminded me of all the reasons it’s a great place to be. In fact, I’ve found it easier not to want to go home simply by forgetting all the reasons it’s a great place to be. But, alas, I can’t fight those feelings anymore, and so I made a list of the 10 things I’m looking forward to about living at home over the Summer.
- Montana(and the other people, potentially)
- A bigger refrigerator
- A quiet room and bed
- Fresh produce and food
- Grilling
- Baking
- All my wonderful neighbors
- Farmer’s markets visits
- A paying job(?)
- Less expectations and more time to be lazy 😛
Why do you love home?
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 23 so far )Oops, Was I Supposed To Fast?
I’m 110% distracted by my breakfast and reading the closed captioning on the Today Show right now, so if this has a bazillian typos, that would be why.
Chococonut Nature's Path Chewy Granola Bar
Nature’s Path sent me a few of their granola bars to try and this one had been freakin’ call my name: chocolate and coconut? Yes please! This bar was super sweet–like a candy bar. I’m surprised it actually had more whole grains than sugar, too; that’s a plus. But it wasn’t very “coconutty” even if the chocolate was pretty amazing. If you want to avoid the Quaker Oats bars and have your kid not know the difference, the Nature’s Path ones are brilliant. Otherwise, I think there are better and more nutritious bars.
Pumpkin Oats With Mighty Maple, Maple Cashews, And Maple Butter
2 things were amazing last night: Grey’s Anatomy and this bowl of oatmeal. And neither of them were very pretty, either. But I assure you the combination of mighty maple, whole roasted cashews, and gritty/sweet maple butter was a little bit of heaven. It was weird not having my pumpkin oats salty; I don’t know if I liked that part. But otherwise this was divine chocolate.
I started watching The Marriage Ref with Kirstie Alley, Jimmy Fallon, and Sheryl Crow last night; to my great surprise, they were actually pretty funny! But I was beat, so I turned in early and was asleep probably by 10:30. Glorious.
For breakfast, I wanted a big slice of German’s Chocolate Cake. Not happening? I can do better.
Coconut Milk Oatmeal With Dried Cherries, Chocolate Cherry Greek Yogurt
Coconut Milk Oatmeal With Dried Cherries
After making this, I remember hearing that you’re supposed to fast on Good Friday and have 1 “meal”. 1 meal?! I have like 5 or 6 a day. If I ate 1, I don’t know how I’d function; even if I took a rest day, my hunger would be haywire. Then it occurred to me that I’ve never actually fasted on good Friday or any other day. No one enforced it in my house, so why start now? Have you/do you fast? Or how do you fast?!
Besides that, the breakfast was amazing; could it even be called a breakfast without Green & Black’s chocolate? Clearly not. In a plain Chobani went cherry butter and a little sweetener. I think that’s why I like plain yogurts the best: You can doctor them up however you want. And I’m still working on that can of coconut milk I opened a while ago, which tastes just as fresh; coconut milk on oatmeal makes it incredibly rich and satisfying. For me, a “German’s Chocolate Cake”, even though it gets its name because of German’s Brand Chocolate, entails chocolate, coconut, and cherry. But apparently it isn’t those flavors for everyone! So what makes a “German Chocolate Cake” to you?
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 15 so far )Would You Eat It?
*Tonight’s your last chance to enter the wellness giveaway!*
My jaw dropped when this ice cream creation popped up on my Google Reader.
Yes, you see that right: turkey ice cream. They describe it as “super premium chocolate ice cream with morsels of real turkey covered in dark chocolate swirled with sweet potato, chocolate fudge and cranberry sauce“. It’s set to be released in October, and you might not believe my first thought: Awesome! Yes, I was actually excited by this. Letting the shock past, I realized this will probably have a lot of less-than-natural ingredients in it, and the meat will be from questionably treated animals, so I will not be partaking in Turkey Day ice cream when it’s out. That’s not to say I might not try to recreate it in the kitchen with some vegan chocolate ice cream and Tofurkey 😉 It then occurred to me that the reason I wouldn’t eat this might very well be different from a lot of yours. Maybe this doesn’t sound exciting to you. Or maybe you don’t want meat, ethically raised or not. That had me thinking all day what would other people not eat that I am and why?
Maplemazing Salad
Maplemazing Salad
Could I interest you in a maplemazing salad? This was something I threw together on a whim and it was so damn good. It was also vegan, sodium-free, and did I mention amazing? The center was a bed of spinach surrounded by maple baked tofu On top, I mixed together 1/2 can chickpeas, carrot shreds, golden raisins, maple syrup, and no-salt indian spice blend(the secret ingredient), and topped it off with Tierra Farm‘s maple glazed nuts. Holy yum! I was worried about the indian spice blend at first but it added just the right level of heat and a twist to keep it interesting. Meanwhile, I think nuts on salads are my new addiction.
Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
For the first time in days the rain stopped; to celebrate I grabbed some So Delicious coconut milk chocolate ice cream. This is creeping up to be my favorite chocolate ice cream; there are only a handful of recognizable, non-GMO ingredients and it has a great sweetness for such a low sugar content. This was dreamy to scoop on and enjoy the day.
Coconut Chocolate Chip Oatmeal
I might have been a little too excited for my oatmeal this afternoon. This was just a flavor combination I’ve been dieing to try: coconut shreds and chocolate chips This did not disappoint, either. The coconut on its own was nutty enough for the salty oats, and the chips were just bursting with sweetness. I also forgot what a great snack oats can be when you have the time to sit down and enjoy them–so filling!
Grass-Fed Burger, Mustard Sweet Potato Chunks Over Spinach
My first dinner back was about as classic as they come a burger with sweet potatoes. To keep things interesting, I tossed the cooked sweet potatoes with mustard and then microwaved them for 3 minutes(they were a little hard). It wasn’t quite as flavorful as I was hoping but it was good for a change of pace. The burger, of course, was cooked to perfection, though now I’m looking forward even more to grilling over the weekend.
So, back to the opening question, would you eat the turkey ice cream? I’d also be very curious to know which dishes from today of mine you’d not eat and why. Call me curious 🙂 On a much different note, I’d gladly eat these snacks or any of this prize giveaway
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 27 so far )Starting Off On The Right Foot
Good morning and happy Wednesday! It’s Wednesday, March 17th, so you know what that means–new Whole Foods sales St. Patricks day! Did you remember to wear green to work? I have on a green shirt right now, and it even says Ireland Rugby League! For the record, I’m a big, fat 0% Irish and haven’t played rugby in my life 😉
Jokerz Candy Bar
There are 3 kinds of bars that come to my mind. There’s the kind too many people will be spending too much time in celebrating tonight, if you know what I mean. There’s the blogger’s “bar” as in health food, often granola or date based bars that we all pack 5 or 6 of at any given time just so we’ll have something to suit our flavor cravings. And then there’s the biggest flirt of them all–the candy bar.
Jokerz Candy Bar
Don’t these Jokerz look just like a Snickers? I can’t get over them! Sure, they’re not at all “healthy” and completely ironic to eat while watching The Biggest Loser. But if my biggest vice is 1 of these a week, I think I’ll manage quite well 😉 This was the perfect way to start off my short-lived night(reaaally not a night person as if you haven’t noticed). Go Max Go Foods makes 4 different all-natural candy bars; I’d be curious to try the other 3. It’s great to have 1 company that suits this sort of diet but a little competition wouldn’t hurt.
Pumpkin Oatmeal With Raw Cashew Butter And Sweetened Coconut
As quick as the night had started, I did some work and called it good enough. Wouldn’t want to overexert now would we? I made a bowl of pumpkin oatmeal topped with my new obsession–Love Raw Foods‘ Raw Cashew Butter. How sad that it’s almost gone, too 😦 I’ll have to whip out the food processor and try something raw myself. For some added richness, I mixed shredded coconut with agave nectar and added it on top; this is nice and sweet, but without any weird preservatives like in Baker’s coconut; it’s a small detail but if you’re a coconut it’s something to look in to doing.
Jolly Beans
This morning, I started my day off on the right foot by grabbing a handful of jelly beans for some prerun energy. What am I going to do when these aren’t on the bulk bins anymore? I’ve actually managed to track down the company and product page here! Now I just need to locate them in person out of season.
10 Miles in 89:05
I did have skepticism about hitting the gym today when it’s supposed to be 60 degrees at some point, but I think this was the right choice in the end. I managed to knock out 10 miles; I honestly wanted to be able to do more but the same GI issues that made me think the gym would be a better bet cut me short and led me straight to the restroom. If it’s worth anything, I think I’ve finally gotten over the troublesome gluten from that great cookie I grabbed at Garden Grille; if so, now that would be starting the day off on the right foot. And I can’t really complain about 10 miles, either.
Mashed Avocado
Of course, since it’s St. Patricks Day I needed to start my day off with something green. Chocolate avocado pudding anyone? Well, not quite. I made it the fully raw way with just avocado, raw cacao, and raw xagave as termed by Averie a “mousse“. It’s a little thicker and a lot of sweeter 😀
Pumpkin Oatmeal With Mighty Maple
Raw Chocolate Avocado Mousse And Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt
Celebrate good times, c’mon! This felt a little bit like a feast; it’s a holiday at least? I made some pumpkin oatmeal and topped it with Mighty Maple to satisfy that mighty craving. And since you all seem to love your oatgurt(of which I am not a fan), I thought I’d try out avocadgurt! Doesn’t that sound delightful 😉 1/2 of the bowl was chocolate avocado pudding mousse and the other half Voskos honey vanilla bean greek yogurt. Oh my stars–this was amazing. It was so sweet, and the combo of raw cacao with real vanilla beans was like magic. I’m still not even 1/3 the way through and very happy I have that much more to savour.
Fun Fact: My Confirmation name is Patrick! I chose this name for several reasons at the time. Always on my mind was Patrick Star; how could he not be? St. Patrick is also the saint who drove all the snakes out of Ireland and consequently became known as the protector of snakes. Snakes are my number 1 phobia, so he seemed perfect for me. Obviously, I feel very obligated to celebrate it up today with green foods! What about you? How will you be celebrating today? Now, if you’ll excuse me, because I have so very many important things to do, I’m about to spend the rest of my morning figuring out what the flavors of each Jolly Bean are even if it kills me.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 21 so far )I’m Trying To Be Profound Here
What can I say to be profound? The early bird catches the worm? Well, unless you’re willing to get up before 3am, Al Roker’s going to get that worm.
They say You are what you eat…
Grass-Fed Quarter Pounder With Sweet Potato Hash
Therefore, I’m a cow with a sweet potato farm. Since I didn’t have my planned meal of a burger last night for dinner, I was excited to cook one up for lunch today. In lieu of fries, I cubed a sweet potato to bake for 30 minutes, and then cooked in the beef fat for another 6-8. Magnifique. I love this method for flavor and clean-up. And since the sweet potato isn’t over cooked, it feels more like a meal; I loooove the flavor of long-roasted sweet potato but eating that is as filling as eating shuga’ to me.
Maybe slow and steady wins the race, but I rushed and by 3pm I mailed in an essay due at 3pm on Wednesday. Why? Because I was done with it and wanted it out of my mind to tend to other things for the rest of my week. Best. Decision. Ever.
Vanilla Bean So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream With TJ Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Where’s the lesson here? It definitely isn’t the best things in life come free, because this So Delicious coconut milk ice cream is pretty pricey(but definitely one of the best things in life). No, I think the lesson is good things come in small packages–clearly whoever said that had Trader Joe’s mini peanut butter cups in mind. Aren’t they the cutest? And so flavorful. I have could eat the whole container.
Chocolate Chobani With Peanuts And 70% Organic Dark Chocolate
I’ll give it to the man who said you can have too much of a good thing. This yogurt got a little overloaded when I remembered I really don’t care for cocoa powder in my greek yogurt with vanilla stevia(I know–you’d think I’d like this, right? But I can’t stand it). To rectify the sitch I threw on some roasted peanuts and a few squares of my favorite dark chocolate–organic, 70% cacao, and saving the rain forest one nibble at a time.
Roasted Broccoli And Vegan Coconut Crusted Baked Tofu With Toasted Coconut
I assure you that whoever said time flies never roasted a vegetable in his life. Otherwise he would have said something like time’s a fly on a glue trap.
Coconut Tofu
A rolling stone may gather no moss, but rolling tofu in agave will gather shredded coconut. I tried to recreate coconut baked tofu from Caitlin’s blog by tossing it with agave and shredding coconut. It was “meh”; really the flavor came from toasting coconut and adding it at the end. I’ll add this profound thought: When you have time to toast coconut, do. Really, what do philosophers have on me?
Alright, maybe I’m not the most profound blogger, BUT I have added a new page that lets you see what I think are the most thought provoking or inspiring posts thus far. Sometimes I try to put down the oatmeal and discuss real matters, and I think those moments should be saved somewhere so that your voices in conversation can ring out. And if there’s any post that you recall that was particularly poignant or educational that’s not there, please bring it up; I’ve only looked back through February.
After spending all too long at the Wikipedia proverbs page, I think the truest proverb is…
The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach
While the most ridiculous…
There are more ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream
Of course there are more ways to kill a cat. I’ve got two in my trunk and I ran out of cream 3 weeks ago.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 22 so far )Balance And Contradiction
Sometimes two things balance each other out; sometimes they’re downright contradictions. C’est la vie.
Root Beer Zevia
I used to think natural diet soda was a contradiction before Zevia. Sure–I still think there’s a contradiction when popping one of these back while enjoying a greasy, fattening burger. But contradictions make the world more tasty. Milk chocolate on soy yogurt, anyone?
High Raw Chocolate Avocado Pudding
There’s nothing wrong with the balance in Chocolate avocado pudding when it’s made completely raw utilizing 3 ingredients: avocado, Xagave, and Navitas Naturals‘ raw cacao powder. There might, however, be a contradiction in eating it next to these…
Fudge Mint Back To Nature Cookies
So maybe Fudge Mint Back To Nature cookies aren’t the most raw thing around. Sue me. And let’s gloss over the contradiction of having a gluten intolerance and eating wheat cookies; I pay for that one enough as is. So what was in balance? Well, chocolate always goes good with more chocolate. Duh 😉
Pumpkin Oatmeal With Mighty Maple And Sea Salt
This was basically one big bowl of balance. Where can you go wrong with oats and peanut butter? Or maple with pumpkin? Or the sweet taste of Mighty Maple with some coarse sea salt for contrast? Yes, yes, and yes.
Raw Mint Chip Macaroon With English Breakfast Tea
Later last night ended up being full of contradictions and out-of-balance experiences. I think the jury is pretty much out on the contradiction of drinking decaf English breakfast tea when you can’t sleep on a Saturday night 😦 The Emmy’s Organic Mint Chip Macaroon? A perfect balance of mint and chocolate, and all deliciously raw 🙂 Oh, and me and college living and anything besides a nursing home are 100% out of balance. Call me a grandpa if you will but I do not want to hear “Tonight’s gonna be a good night” at 12:30. I want it to have been a good night and have gone to bed by 11. The fact that I was having insomnia on the 1 night a year we lose an hour’s time: What was up with that?
11 Miles In 1:36:46
Waking up after a mish-moshy 6 hours of sleep, part of my body felt like running, and the other part wanted to laugh. Really? Guess which part one. I did reach a good balance between training and rest by taking a rest day yesterday, if you didn’t notice. Apparently, all it takes to keep me from running is 50mph winds, a museum tour, and more work than I know what to do with. That left my legs well rested for 11 miles in 1:36:46.
To balance out the boredom, I listened to a monster long playlist while watching a Tom & Jerry 90 minute movie on Cartoon Network(yes, they have one of those). This is a pair who really balances each other out, don’t you think? I couldn’t help but notice the contradiction in describing sounds in the closed captioning(presumably mostly for deaf viewers) with other sounds; if I were deaf, how would I have known that Tom & Jerry bouncing around sound like a pinball machine?
Peanut Butter Perfect Foods Bar, Oatmeal With White Chocolate Wonderful
Perfect Foods Peanut Butter Bar
Breakfast is always my most mentally balancing meal of the day. What goes better together than honey and peanut butter in the Peanut Butter flavor of the Perfect Foods Bar? Or the flavors of cocoa butter and peanut butter in White Chocolate Wonderful, which truly is, as my European hopping hip blogger would say, wundebar! Or just the flavors of peanut butter and more peanut butter? I know PB&Co. would agree with me on that one.
What about you? Are you feeling balanced or a little contradictory this morning? Either can be good(and tasty) as I think I’ve shown. Or, any excited Sunday plans? It’s still raining 😦 But I have le familia scheduled to arrive soon now to taxi me to Bellingham to pick-up something I preordered I’m excited for, the ever-exclusive store Target for a new oats bowl(!!), and then the usual goodies and groceries with maybe a meal in between. Sounds like a plan to me! And you can also check out this Pirate’s Booty giveaway. Or even a giveaway for Blackwell’s gelato from 100 Cafe Street!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 17 so far )Exhausting Friday
Hello! How was your Friday? In a word, mine was exhausting. Funny when you have no class on that day. I guess I just forgot how rough 13.1 miles make the rest of your time! After this post this morning, I had a meeting to catch at Au Bon Pain. When that was done I was wiped out and wanted to fall back on my bed. I was also staahhhving, so “lunch” was a quick and voluminous bowl of oats.
Pumpkin Oatmeal With Butter Toffee Peanut Butter And Sunflower Seeds
I don’t even normally like oats for meals other than breakfast, but this was so necessary at the time. A filling bowl that’s healthy and not something I needed to cook? Yes, please. I got to open a new bowl of pumpkin, mixed 1/2 a cup with 40g cooked grains, and added a big spoonful of Butter Toffee Peanut Butter from Naturally Nutty and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds. The sweet and savory seeds definitely made this meal–yum! After lunch I got to “work”.
Making Raw Cacao Coconut Butter
I only wish I were talking about real work; instead I made up a recipe that’s been on my mind for a while. I tried making my own raw cacao coconut butter, using products from Tropical Traditions like their coconut creme concentrate and Coconut Oil, and raw cacao powder and butter I bought from Navitas Naturals all sweetened with agave nectar. If it works out, I’ll be happy to share the recipe when I talk more about the coconut creme concentrate(the main ingredient).
Red Delicious Apple
While I waited for that to sit and harden(hopefully), I snacked on an apple–never filling. Ideally, the butter would be the consistancy of peanut butter or cacao bliss. The grinding process warms the oil and shreds the cacao butter so that it’s a smooth sauce right after grinding. Since I obviously have no attention span, I started using it while it was still soft.
Chocolate Avocado Pudding With Raw Cacao Shell Sauce
This was one of those “Oh no I didn’t” “Oh yes I did” kind of snacks. I made chocolate avocado pudding and topped it with the sauce, which immediately cooled and hardened when it touched the cold pudding; magic shell sauce anyone? It was all very tasty and gone far too fast. I only hope it hardens at room temp, and if not it will make some good refrigerated chocolate. If you want to read more on the Coconut Creme Concentrate, you can click on that link, or wait until I figure out more to say on it.
18 Rabbits Nibble A Sultana
Right after that, I broke in to my bar stash and grabbed an 18 Rabbits Nibble A Sultana granola bar. I love how this had only 9g of sugar! But the flavor was a bit flat–fruity but flat. The pumpkin seeds at least were nice and savory. I definitely need a good meal in the afternoon to get me through to dinner. After that I had to step out to meander Thayer Street. When I was finished, I realized it was almost dinner and I did not feel like cooking after all this exhaustion. I grabbed something for dinner(and something for dessert) and rushed home hoping to use up what’s left of the day.
Red Bean Chili And Soy Tofu Over Broccoli
From the dining hall, I grabbed precooked broccoli(as in, yes, I usually cook my own but why bother tonight?) and some vegetarian chili, and supplemented more protein with tofu tossed in soy sauce and microwaved for 5 minutes. Since the chili is vegetarian I don’t have to worry about ethical meat, and since there’s no soy I don’t have to think about my Lenten give-up. I couldn’t imagine them using any artificial ingredient. And, if there’s gluten–well–I haven’t been too good on that one as of late anyway, so I’m assuming it was fine–not the tastiest but I’m not energized enough to be picky.
Like I mentioned, I did pick up a little dessert while I was out, so that’s definitely pushing me through. I should probably deal with everything I threw on the bed though first, huh? Before I sign off for that, I’ll mention you can go to www.tazo.com/zero to enter a contest for Tazo’s new line of stevia sweetened products! I’m glad to see stevia is hitting main stream companies. You can also enter this giveaway for a chance to win Zevia.
I guess this prompts the question, how do you feel about the mainstream adoption of stevia sweetened foods? Honestly, I love it. When I gave up artificial sweeteners, I thought I’d go nuts without Diet Mountain Dew or Coke Zero; Zevoa has made the transition so much simpler. Obviously, I don’t think the stuff should be knocked back like bottles of water. But if we’re talking swapping stevia for sucralose or aspartame in the American diet, sign me up. Since I’m an open and honest blogger, I’ll mention my intake of stevia today has been in my coffee at 6:50am, chocolate avocado pudding at 3:30pm,  and a decaf English breakfast tea at 4:30pm.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 12 so far )Oh Really?
Some things recently have made me question the sanity of certain humans(myself included). I stumbled on a Mythbusters marathon last night and watched it for 3 hours. I love that show, but I have to wonder who’s funding The Study For How Much Popcorn It Takes To Blow Out A Window. Oh really?
Chocolate Avocado Pudding With Coconut + Vanilla Macaroon
I took my mind off those things by making some chocolate avocado pudding made with almond milk and NuNaturals‘ vanilla stevia. I don’t know why, but this particularly batch tasted amazing On top I broke up my last Emmy’s Organics Coconut + Vanilla macaroon. These had SUCH a good vanilla flavor to them; if you can find them, I’m jealous and would highly recommend grabbing them if only to flaunt in my face.
While I was doing that, I was of course playing around on the internet. I haven’t even been away from Facebook for very long, and already I wonder things every time I log in. Like since when can you become a fan of any random object such as brownies? And for the love of God if I get one more invitation to be a farmer, or a vampire, or a vampire farmer…
Better Than Roasted Sprouted Almond Butter
I wasn’t cute sure whether to have oatmeal or more pudding after that. I debated this for 10 minutes like it was a matter of life or death. Oh really? Do I have nothing better to do? Apparently not. And then after decided I wanted pudding, I realized I was out of avocadoes. Oatmeal it was!
Oatmeal With Sprouted Almond Butter And Sweetened Chocolate Coconut
Call me coconut-crazy if you want; I mixed some organic unsweetened shredded coconut with raw cocoa powder and raw vanilla agave. Oh really? Did I just discover how to make quick and sloppy macaroon shreds? Because that tasted a little too good to be true… Concerning the sprouted almond butter by Better Than Roasted, it took me a good 5 minutes to decide what it tasted like: raw almonds. I know–aren’t I a genious? But after chocolate almond butter, roasted almond butter, and white chocolate cherry almond butter, this was definitely unique and delicious in its own right. I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “Oh really? He got in to Brown?”
Maple Butter
I woke up at 4 and couldn’t get back to bed. I knew I was hungry, but was hoping I could shake it off and fall back to sleep. Eventually, I told myself, “Evan, you’re an A——. That’s right, you’re an athlete. If you’re hungry now at 4:30, for God sake’s stop being lazy and eat something.” Clearly, I also thought that maple butter, which is pure sugar, would be another good choice for falling back to sleep. Oh really?
French Toast Oatmeal
I went downstairs to the basement to make french toast oatmeal. And you know what? This was actually perfectly cooked; apparently the secret is to do it at a ridiculous hour, half in the dark, and not involved–go figure. And the secret to a “keeper” of a photo? Moving the red Solo cups out of the way.
Morning Apple
I can say that, after that, I fell asleep nicely. And for the first time in longer than I can remember, I overslept. I got up, looked at the clock, and realized it was 9:30! OK, can you oversleep when you really don’t have any “plans”? Probably not. But that’s later than I prefer. I decided the weather looked perfect for another outdoor run, gobbled down this apple, and hit the outdoors.
9.55 Miles In 1:20:53
Before I get into the run, I’d like to point out that’s 3 1/2 minutes faster than yesterday, meaning I shaved off 20 seconds per mile. Wow! Where did that come from? When I looked at this, my first thought was Oh really? Apparently! It was just so gorgeous out again how could I not get into it? I also had motivational support via a country playlist with Taylor Swift telling me “These things will change” and Brooks & Dunn that cowgirls(and cowboys?) don’t cry.
March/April Whole Deal Flyer
Can I also mention my favorite part was running in to Whole Foods, grabbing the new Whole Deal flyer, and running out? I think I got odd looks, but it was worth it. There are fantastic coupons in here, including $1 off their 365 peanut butter! With only peanuts and salts for ingredients, it’s delicious, and that’s a steal. When I first heard about that sale, I had to thing “Oh really? Have they lost their mind?”
Oatmeal With Chocolate Cherry Peanut Butter And Coconut Milk, Cherry Vanilla Greek Yogurt With Cherry Dark Chocolate
And then I made breakfast, right at 11:50. I’m glad to have slipped under the wire; I’d have hated to have missed this and then feel like I should eat “lunch”; breakfast is better anyway. I sweetened the plain 2% yogurt with cherry butter and vanilla agave in an effort to keep stevia out of my breakfast. For the oatmeal, some chocolate cherry peanut butter and coconut milk was perfect! Coconut milk keeps forever if you put it in a thick plastic container sealed off in the fridge. And it makes fats more readily available as a fuel source! Perfect for fueling.
I have to sound like “Much to do, gotta run” but… much to do, and gotta run(not literally)! There’s a Vitamix presentation at the Whole Foods nearby today I might get to see(along with some friendly faces), and my grocery list is turning in to a catalog. But first, I need to ask, breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Clearly, breakfast foods are my favorite!
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Food Makes Fun Fuel 