MCM + Farmer's Tan + Purple Sweet Potatoes?

First off, thank you all for your comments/suggestions on yesterday's post about whether or not I should sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. I was also excited to have some new visitors! I hope I don't bore you guys too much and you decide to stick around...

I am pretty sure that I want to do this race, and now I realize that I don't have to hurry up and register if I run with a connected charity. After posting, I contacted our local TNT rep who answered some of my questions and gave me a better idea of how TNT works. I am planning on attending an informational meeting the week after the NC Marathon so at that point I will be more likely to make a decision.

As RunningLaur so kindly pointed out, there are dozens of other charities that partner with MCM that I could run with that also have spots reserved for their participants. My first thought was to run for troops wounded in action in Iraq and Afghanistan, as my boyfriend Matt was wounded in Iraq in 2006.

I really want to make this next marathon mean something to someone other than myself, and for that reason, I really want to take my time researching the charity that I decide to run with. Obviously I would love to have the team aspect that TNT would provide, but that isn't as important to me as raising money for a reputable cause (not that TNT and the Leukemia Lymphoma Society isn't, I just want to research them a bit more first).

Tuesday's Hill Workout
OK, that being said...last night I was trying to decide whether to head to the track for a speed workout, or do my usual 5-6 mile hill workout over the Ravenel Bridge. I was feeling kind of lazy so I chose the hill workout.

I set out after work and immediately discovered that my headphones were only working in one ear. Great. Fantastic. Must spend more money on yet another pair of those. (My cat likes to chew the wires, I have lost about 4 pairs that way.) So that was crap thing number one about the run.

Then once I started up the first climb, I realized that it was considerably windier than I had previously thought. Awesome. I was still sore from Sunday somewhat so my legs were already tight and heavy, add on some wind and I was in for an unpleasant run.

Well, I generally don't like to let weather conditions make decisions for me too much, so of course I kept on going. Plus I figured that on the return trip the wind would be to my back.

With wind, comes the bearing of Kristin's ass/thighs (which are particularly white with farmer's tan compared to the rest of me. I'm actually quite worried about the beach this weekend) as my shorts basically become non-existent. I try not to worry about this usually, but it was rush hour traffic time on the bridge and there were three lanes of vehicles stopped in traffic sitting there waiting to stare at this crazy girl with white thighs huffing it up the bridge (with some difficulty, I might add).

So that was crap thing number two. I finally made it over and started climbing down the other side and the wind was still there, pissing me off. When I turned around at the 2.5 mile mark I was hoping that the wind would be to my back, but of course, it was a side wind so it was still there to make me angry.

I was in such a bad mood yesterday, definitely not even wanting to run, that this added irritation just made me so mad I wanted to just shout out THIS F***KING SUCKS! as loud as I could, but instead I just kept tugging at my stupid little shorts and hoping that the end would come soon.

I don't have my totals or splits but I did look at them last night, and basically every mile was in the 10s except for the last mile which I finished in like 8:20 or something rediculous.

Obviously, I was so over that run and just sprinted as fast as my legs would carry me back to my car.

Nom Nom Nom
When I got home, all I wanted was something fried to make me feel better. So I settled for the next best thing, Baked Spicy Purple Sweet Potato Fries. I have been making these fries for a while with regular sweet potatoes based on this recipe, but last night I changed it a bit and woofed these babies down.


Basically, I get out my coffee/spice grinder and pour in a bit of the following spices: fennel seeds, coriander, oregano, red pepper flakes, and rosemary. I grind them up (I have added the sea salt to the grinder before, but I like big chunks of salt so I left that for last this time) then I mix these spices together with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, toss the fries/wedges in the oil/herb mixture and then sprinkle them with sea salt.

Then I spread them out on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil, and bake for about 20-30 minutes at 425, check on them and turn them over and then continue baking for another 20 minutes or so. I like to keep an eye on them so they don't get burnt because sometimes they don't take quite that long.

Last night I only used one small potato, so I just eyeballed the spices based on what I know I like :) If you haven't noticed, I don't really follow recipes and so if I post any, I will most likely just say, 'I used these ingredients and threw it together." So there ya go!

These definitely are worth trying though, and they kind of made me feel better after my pull-my-hair-out-irritating run. I will say that I think I liked the purple sweet potato better than the regular! It just seemed to taste better, but maybe that was my mind tricking me out. I picked mine up at Whole Foods, I haven't seen them anywhere else.

Sorry for the poor photo quality, but I was starving and was in no mood to deal with my testy iPhone camera. The purple color was really bold once you bit into the fry!

One the running schedule this week:
Tonight I am going to attempt an easy 6 miler, do a TON of cleaning for our guests who are arriving tomorrow, and make sure I have enough groceries stocked for the weekend. I have not been doing so well with my ab work & calisthenics, but I plan on doing some of that after my run tonight and trying to get back into the groove.

Tomorrow at around 2, our guests arrive so running after work is out of the question. If I am feeling up to it (which I probably won't be) I will run my 5 mile speed workout before work tomorrow morning, otherwise I will take Thursday off and try to make up the miles later on in the weekend. I don't do well with running at night and then immediately again the following morning.

I have 12 miles on the agenda for this week's "long run" and will do that whichever morning this weekend that we didn't drink too much the night before. So, there's that. Since I am off Friday I would love to get it over with that morning before everyone wakes up.

Ideally, I would like to fit in both my speed work and my long run at some point this weekend. Did I confuse everyone yet??

***Question: How do you guys generally respond to comments on your posts? I want to answer the questions/comments you all leave, but if I answer them as another comment I feel like no one would go back to read that. How do you guys do it?

More Planks + 8 Miler + Eggplant Marinara

Yesterday was a pretty decent day for me. I ate well (minus the 3/4 of a blueberry donut someone snuck into our office kitchen), I finally took the plunge and got back on MyFoodDiary.com for this month to kick start some summer bikini-bod weight loss, and I ran an easy/speedy (for me) 8 miler after work.

Wednesday's Run:

Time:	01:19:00
Distance:	8.22 mi

Avg Pace: 9:36 min/mi

Best Pace: 6:33 min/mi

Split	secondsTotal Time	milesTotal Distance	feetElevation Gain	feetElevation Loss	minutes per mileAverage Speed	minutes per mileMax Speed
Summary	01:19:00	8.22	940	1,003	09:36	06:33
1	9:54	1.00	140	164	09:54	08:23
2	9:36	1.00	69	76	09:36	08:20
3	9:55	1.00	84	95	09:55	08:32
4	9:48	1.00	62	71	09:48	08:33
5	10:06	1.00	46	41	10:06	09:13
6	9:54	1.00	87	52	09:54	08:16
7	9:20	1.00	180	196	09:20	07:31
8	8:44	1.00	262	295	08:44	07:24
9	1:38	0.22	11	14	07:28	06:33

The run was just great. The weather was cool and windy (a bit too windy actually) and I started out with a 4 mile loop around Hampton Park and back. For me, usually the first half of the run isn't that great. This one was no different as I could feel the soreness in my legs from Tuesday's speedwork (did I mention that I got spat on at the track from one of the super runners? Yep! Not on purpose of course, plus he apologized so it was all good) so it took me about 4 miles to warm up.

But once I got past mile 4 I started to kick it into high gear and the rest of the run was cake. I managed to sprint it in for the final stretch down Calhoun Street to my apartment and I felt good once I stopped.

I made sure to stretch well and then came inside for some ab work...more PLANKS!

Wednesday's Abs:

• 1 x 60 second regular plank
• 1x 60 second left side plank
• 1x 60 second right side plank
• 20 reverse crunches (I think this is what they're called? When you raise your butt and legs in the air while on your back??)

My abs were pretty sore all day yesterday from doing ab work Tuesday night. And I liked it! I don't do nearly enough ab work, and my goal is to start seeing some impovement in a month or two (in time for hot weather/bikinis). You may have noticed that I have been doing a lot more ab work and leg calisthenics. Since I don't have a gym membership (oh to be poor) and I think I have decided not to get one for a while, I have made a goal for myself to work with what I've got. So every day I am going to try to do some sort of exercise on my own other than running.

I would like to do some sort of ab work every day and possibly alternate days of doing leg work (squats, lunges, leg lifts, etc.). I'm just going to go at my own pace with it and see where it takes me. I would like to find some hand weights this weekend to get some arm work in, as well as to aid in squats/etc.

Wednesday's Dinner:
I made another super easy dinner last night for the boy and I (vegetarian even!) with our groceries from Sunday and unfortunately I forgot to take a pic, but if you're interested here is my (somewhat) recipe.

What's good about this recipe, is that you can add in many other ingredients to make it your own. I added Worchestershire Sauce this time, but last time I made it I carmelized the onions with white wine. It would even be super tasty (but not as healthy) with some melted provolone or goat cheese.

Eggplant and Veggie Marinara

• 1 medium to large onion, sliced into thin half moons
• 2 yellow squash (or any other seasonal veggie) diced
  
• 1/2 large eggplant cut into thick slices
• Bread crumbs
• Whole wheat flour
• Egg whites
• Rosemary
• Garlic powder
• Minced garlic
• Worchestershire Sauce
  
• 1/2 to 3/4 jar basic spaghetti sauce (or you can make your own!)
• 1/2 box whole wheat rotini
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray
  

Preheat the oven to about 400F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside. Pour a small amount of egg whites into a bowl (large enought to fit the eggplant slices), fill another bowl with some whole wheat flour, and another filled with some bread crumbs. I usually mix the bread crumbs with some sort of spice, and last night I used some rosemary and garlic powder.

Dip the eggplant into the flour, then the egg, and then finally the crumb mixture. Place onto baking sheet and then spray the nonstick cooking spray over the slices so they will turn golden. I use an olive oil based spray. Pop the eggplant into the oven for about 30 minutes, just keep your eye on them to make sure they don't burn. When they're golden and tender to the touch they are done.

While the eggplant is baking, start boiling some water for the pasta. Let the pasta cook while you prepare the onions and veggies.

Heat a large skillet with some olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the onion and let cook on MH heat until transulcent. Then add in your veggies and turn up to high heat (I have used acorn squash in that past, but I used yellow squash last night) and also the minced garlic (about 2 cloves).

The first time I made this, I used a white wine to carmelize the onions. This was excellent, but last night I went a different route. While the veggies were cooking, I added some Worchestershire sauce! Probably just a few turns of the bottle. (I was going to use balsamic vinegar as I usually add this to my pasta sauce, but we were out, so i went with the next dark liquid we had in the pantry...oddly enough it worked!). I kept stirring the veggies until they were good and charred.

Once the pasta is done, drain it and return to heat. Add in some tomato sauce and let heat through. You also might want to add some more sauce seperately (heat it up in the microwave) to pour over the eggplant. I would suggest this!

To plate this dish, I usually put the sauced pasta on the bottom, then start adding the eggplant while adding the extra sauce between each eggplant slice. Then top it off with the veggies and possibly some sea salt.

I might have poured some BBQ sauce onto mine as well, possibly. If I did, it was really really good that way.

***
I am taking today as a rest day from running and will only do some ab work and calisthenics. Tomorrow morning I am heading out early for my final long run of 20+ miles before I start to taper for my first marathon on May 2nd. It's getting closer!

Recipe: Gnocchi & Chicken Vegetable Soup

I posted about this a few days ago, and got a request to share the recipe so here goes! This is simple and easy and could easily be adapted to add different veggies and a different starch. I also used most of the meat from a rotisserie chicken that I picked up last minute, but I could have eaten this without the meat as well. (I have to satisfy my carnivore boyfriend!)


Gnocchi & Chicken Vegetable Soup

• 2/3 of the meat from one store-bought rotisserie chicken, skin removed
  
• 3 carrots, cleaned, skinned and sliced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 bag frozen corn
• 1/2 bag frozen okra
• 1/2 bunch kale, washed and chopped (stems removed)
• 4 low-sodium chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 bay leaves
• 6-7 cups water
• 1 package gnocchi (potato dumplings)
• Herbs & spices (I used what I had on hand, dried oregano, basil and a bit of cumin)
• S & P to taste
• Olive Oil
  

Start by heating up some olive oil in a large soup pot, and then add the onion and garlic. Sautee until translucent. Add in the carrots and cook for a bit in the oil and onion mixture. Start adding in the water, a few cups at a time until the pot is about 1/2 full. Add the bouillon,* stir and let cook through until the cubes are dissolved (just a few minutes). I added a few pieces of the skin here to add flavor and then removed it before I added the veggies, but you can skip that if you would like. :)

Then add the rest of your frozen veggies, the bay leaves, and your other spices. Cover the pot and let cook on medium to medium high heat for 10 minutes. Then Add in the chicken and the kale and cover and let cook for 10 more minutes.

You can actually let the soup cook for an hour or more, the longer it simmers the longer all of the spices and other flavors will mingle together. It just depends on how much time you have and/or how hungry the mouths are you're feeding. :)

Add the gnocchi at the end, and when it floats it's done! Usually only takes about 5 minutes. Add S & P to taste (remember that the chicken and the stock are probably already heavily salted). Remove bay leaves before eating.

A note here on gnocchi:
This was my first time cooking with these yummy dumplings, and I just happened to pick up a package from the pasta aisle at Target a few weeks ago. Upon further inspection, I realized they were made with dehydrated potato flakes and some other unappealing things, and I could definitely taste that in the soup! Apparently they are super easy to make, so here are a few links to some recipes. (I think Sweet Potato or Pumpkin would be a serious UPGRADE! I plan on trying that sometime soon.)

Mario Batali's Gnocchi
Sweet Potato Gnocchi!
Pumpkin Gnocchi from Delicious Days
How to Make Homemade Gnocchi from Bitchincamero
Crisp Gnocchi with Lemon and Garlic Greens (Kale!)

Here is a video showing you how to make your own!

Italian Food:How To Make Gnocchi


*You can also use powdered bouillion as well, it's harder to find in low-sodium though and more expensive so I usually stick to the cubes. They also sell veggie bouillion, but still harder to find in low-sodium.

Tuesday's Eats & Acorn Squash Risotto

Tuesday's Lunch:Butter lettuce salad with tomato basil feta, black olives, alfalfa sprouts, leftover diced onions & green peppers, and cucumber slices. Red grapes and Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus. I also had a half of a Mediterranean Whole Wheat Flat Bread with the hummus.


I also snacked on a nectarine and a Sargento Colby Jack Cheese Stick.

Dinner: Acorn Squash Risotto

This picture doesn't do it justice! Sometimes the iPhone isn't the best camera for everything :)

Recipe:

• 12 oz. risotto (Arborio rice)
• 1-2 T butter (I used Smart Balance Light)
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 4 cups heated reduced sodium stock
• 1 acorn squash
• 1/2 bunch kale, washed and chopped
• Dash of fat free milk
• Generous shake of parmigiana cheese
• Red pepper flakes
• Ground flax seed
  

Preheat oven to 375. Chop acorn squash in half, scrape out seeds and place cut side down in a casserole or baking dish with 1 inch of water. Bake for 30 minutes then take out, remove water, and turn over to back for another 30 minutes.

While the squash is baking, preheat a large saute pan and melt butter. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add risotto and toast until shiny and translucent. Ladle in heated stock to risotto mixture one ladle at a time and stir until all liquid is absorbed. Continue this throughout the 18-20 minutes of cooking time and until all stock is absorbed.

Once all stock is added and the squash is finished cooking, scrape out the squash pulp and add to rice. Stir and combine. Add in kale and cover for a few minutes to steam. Pour in some milk, cheese and the red pepper flakes. I also added some salt and pepper, but taste first as some stock is pretty salty. Stir everything to combine and let cook on low for a few minutes. Sprinkle flax on top and mix in.

Serve warm, top with parsley or dill.

*I added grilled chicken, but I wouldn't recommend it! Matt actually LOVED this dish, which I was a bit worried he wouldn't, and he said that he would even eat it WITHOUT the chicken!! He never wants to eat anything vegetarian so I was happy with that. I think this would also be good cooked with some pancetta or sausage.

Dessert:
Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt, Total Cereal, 1/2 Mango

Yum! I ate a lot of good food today. I have been soo hungry all day and as I type this, I want something else! Maybe we will make some popcorn. :)

I am also excited to report, that Matt has been running the past two days! He doesn't like running but he is making a good effort at eating healthier and working out. He has so much energy tonight that he just completely cleaned out the fridge and sanitized it! He even half way posed for me :)


I know I'm enjoying my off day, I hope everyone else is having a great Tuesday night!

TGIF (and happy off day to me)

Well folks, it's been a tough running week. Monday I had a rough run over the bridge (shins are feeling much better today, thank you), Tuesday I was entirely too lazy to run (yet still managed to cook a fab dinner for the boo and I), and Wednesday evening I had a good run through the almost-dark almost-ghetto area of Chas, but managed to lose my left contact rendering me almost-blind for the runs entirety.

I was worried on Monday about my running this week because I had been out of town last Thursday-Sunday and had not done ANY exercising and had eaten way too much food (especially food that was not good for me). But now that it's Friday, I'm feeling pretty solid about my long run this weekend.

I did a short and sweet 4.5 miler last night on flat ground, and felt pretty good about it. Although lately I have been doing a great job of listening to my body and not starting out too fast, I was over-confident last night and started out thinking I could run the whole 4.5 at a 8:30 to 9 min pace--this was not to be.

After 1.5 miles I was like WHOA! slow down...which I did, and the rest of the run went smoothly. I don't have exact split times as my Garmin failed me yet again...or rather, I failed it by starting and then STOPPING it without realizing until about a mile in. But I'm going to assume I ran between 9:30 and 10:15 pace, not too bad.

On other fronts, the weekly budget of groceries has been going well! I only needed to stop by the Teet once to grab a few personal items, and I also picked up a cucumber (for Wednesday's night's salad, more below) and a package of fresh strawberries that were on sale (to add to my morning oatmeal). I also snagged a bunch of green bananas since I haven't been able to find an entire bunch of green ones in months! So all in all I would say that yes, we could survive on around $70 a week.

I haven't even eaten lunch out at all this week! It's amazing what you can do if you only prepare.

So although I am not going to post about everything I eat/make (it's just not my style, plus I am way to lazy to keep up with all that) I will share with you all a few things that I either managed to grab a pic of, or was particularly proud of.

Wednesday night was salad night (marinated portobello for me, marinated chicken breast for the BF) which I had prepared the night before, by prepare I mean I had started the toppers marinating in a balsamic/olive oil/garlic marinade. Boy was that worth it! They were delish.

I didn't get any pics of my salad but I did make enough portobello to use yesterday for a sandwich.

It was very good! I used:

• 2 slices of regular wheat bread, toasted
• 1 slice of provolone cheese
• A few slices of cucumber
• A few slices of tomato
• 2 marinated portobello mushroom caps, small ones
• Tribe roasted garlic hummus
• A small bit of low fat mayo
• A dash of sea salt

All in all a definite winner, I want to make these tasty fungi more often. :)

This weekend's running schedule:
I think I might switch it up and start running my long runs on Saturday's for a few reasons. 1) The actuaal marathon I am training for is on a Saturday, 2) This would make it much easier to go out Saurday night and not worry about drinking/coming in early and most importanly, 3) To get it OVER with!

So I am conflicted over what mileage I should run this weekend. My training schedule says 16 (my last long run was 15, two weekends ago), joyRuN's schedule that she so graciously shared for me says to do 11 this weekend and 17 next weekend, and I am thinking maybe I should try for at least 17? Input welcome! So I will be doing one of those distances, hopefully tomorrow morning.

Otherwise, I have a relatively simple weekend planned. Lots of running, lots of cleaning the apartment, and possibly a fun Charleston day with my boyfriend, complete with picinic! I have a few things on my list to (finally!) get done this weekend, now that we aren't traveling/hosting anyone from out of town:

1. Organize the area underneath our bathroom sink so more stuff stays there rather than on the counter.
   
2. Purchase and install two ceiling bike hooks so mine and the BF's bikes aren't taking up precious floor space anymore.
   
3. Finally buy some litter box liners. That thing smells rank.
4. Mop the kitchen floor!
5. Do laundry--wash all of my work pants. They seriously need it.
   
6. Buy som WIN! detergent for my stinky running clothes. I think everyone would appreciate that.
   

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Tuesday Night's Dinner + My Laziness

Short and sweet tonight, didn't go on a run after work cause...well I just didn't feel like it! So I cleaned up a bit and cooked some dinner instead. Here is Tuesday's meal from this week's eating healthy on a budget.

Quinoa and Ground Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash with Goat Cheese

Yum! This was very simple, tasty and healthy. Here's the run down:

Preheat oven to 350. Ground some turkey in a skillet. Add some herbs (I used herbs de provence, some dill, some basil and s & p). While you're doing this, cook one cup of quinoa according to directions.
Cut your acorn squash in half and scrape out seeds, place in a baking dish with 1 inch of water, cut side down. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.


When quinoa is done, mix with turkey. Add in one can of no salt added diced tomatoes (liquid removed).


Let this warm through, and after squash has cooked for about 30 minutes, take it out and (scoop out a bit more of the pulp if necessary to fit in stuffing, you also might need to cut the point ip off so it will stand up straight) add in as much stuffing as will fit. There will be leftover stuffing...perfect for snacking while this is cooking :)

Return stuffed squash into baking dish (drain out water first) and bake for another 20-30 minutes. You may want to cover with aluminum foil so stuffing doesn't burn.

When it looks done (squash will be pulling away from the green outer skin) add on some goat cheese to the top, turn oven to BROIL and let the cheese get melty.


Then...enjoy!! Back tomorrow with hopefully a run report.