Kale Chips & A (Good) Week in Running

Good morning everyone! I am so glad that today is Friday! I have a ton to do this weekend, and it's supposed to rain ALL weekend so I suppose that is fine by me...although I would prefer that it holds off until about noon tomorrow when I'm done with my long run...

I already posted about my easy 8 miler last night, I finished 8.0 miles in 1:19. I have been so worried about my upcoming marathon recently, but this week has really helped to ease my mind. Although my long run Sunday didn't go as planned, I almost made up for it with my 11+ miler Monday night that went swimmingly. Then Wednesday I had a short track workout (pretty tame, wish I had had time for more sprints), and of course last night's run which went great.

The only running regret I have from this week, is that I couldn't have done more on Wednesday at the track. Next week I would like to run 5-6 miles then do 2x100m, 2x200m, and 2x400m.

I haven't really been doing anything more than 6 miles during the week up until now, so from here on out I will be on schedule by adding one (at least) 8 mile run (easy or tempo), one 5-6 mile + sprints track workout, and one 6 mile hill run.

Last night after my run, I wasn't all that hungry but we had pulled some salmon out to cook so I baked some of that up with some Jamaican Jerk Seasoning and breadcrumbs. Didn't really love it with the breadcrumbs, but that seasoning is always good. The I finally made kale chips! They have been all over blogs lately, and if you google 'roasted kale' you can pretty much find a dozen or more articles on it.

So simple and yummy. It's even Matt approved!!* Here's how you make 'em:

Roasted Kale or "Kale Chips"
-Preheat oven to 375
-Wash and dry as much kale as you want (I used about half a bunch)
-Chop it up into desired pieces and try to remove the hard stems
-Toss with extra virgin olive oil
-Bake on baking sheet for about 5 minutes; take out and turn kale over and bake for another few minutes. (If it's turning too dark, it's burning so just be on the lookout.)
-Take out and drizzle with sea salt.

Finished Product:



Not the best picture, but these do kind of taste like potato chips! I will be making this a lot in the future. Too, too good! (LiLu, I have even seen people putting ketchup on these babies! You especially need to try.)

And if you didn't know, "the beautiful leaves of the kale plant provide an earthy flavor and more nutritional value for fewer calories than almost any other food around." To read more about why kale is one of the world's healthiest foods, click here.

Some other pics from breakfast this morning:



I made a mixture of oats and multi-grain hot cereal with milled flax and soy. I used 1/2 mushed banana, 1 packet Splenda, some light vanilla soy milk, water, 1/2 scoop vanilla soy protein, spoonful of natural chunky PB, some cinnamon and vanilla, and one chopped plum on top. It actually wasn't all that great. I think I had too much hot cereal and not enough oats! But the plum was FANTASTIC. I cannot believe I haven't been eating those until recently.

This week has truly been a fruit-filled week! I mentioned yesterday all the fruits I had eaten that day, and realized after posting that I had forgotten to mention the tangerine! So I really probably ate too much fruit yesterday (if that's even possible).

I have really been putting an effort into eating fresh fruit and veggies in almost every one of my meals lately, and I can definitely tell a positive difference in how I feel, my energy level, and my metabolism (i.e. how often I poo...hehe). I think Matt is even enjoying eating more fruits and veggies lately.

Well must get to work, but I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and an even better weekend. I probably won't be running today, to give my legs some rest for tomorrow's long run. But since I have my big test coming up on Tuesday, so I will be studying (and running) ALL weekend.

*My wonderful boyfriend Matt has been described by his family as only eating things that are "round and covered in cheese." We have been living together for almost two years now and I am pleased to say that he now likes most vegetables, especially squashes, loves fruit and is generally eating many more things that are not round and not covered in cheese. He has also always said that he hates "all beans, especially green ones," but I have even wooed him with a green bean recipe that now he begs me to cook. Although he still loves his pizza and burgers, he is also pretty open when it comes to trying my health-nut recipes. So if something healthy is "Matt approved" you know is damn good.