Blog Archives
Recharge Button
In the midst of a 40-hour work week and 80-mile training week, I gotta squeeze in some fun for the sake of my sanity. (Not that I don’t consider running “fun”….it’s usually a blast. But I need to wear something other that a skirt & heels or spandex & tennies. The fun half of my closet is being neglected!)
Running every twelve hours on 7 hours of sleep leaves me A.) constantly hungry and B.) sleepy, until I’m ready to go to bed (like right now.) Oh and C.) a little moody (due to A. and B. – duh!) I take it one week at a time, until my summer job ends next week. But a much-needed boost came when I found out that two of my best friends from school were coming out to California this week!
Kerri and Emily are super great friends from school (and teammates!) on a girls’ road trip to Disneyland with their sisters. Too close to my house for me not to meet up with them! Considering Kerri and I lived just 30 seconds from each other for the first two years of college, this whole being-in-separate-states-for-three-months has been a major bummer. Our mini reunion on Monday was too short but totally worth the diversion from the office and the gym. Gotta be goofy sometimes! And seriously…what’s a better escape than Disneyland? I am counting down until we can all run together again :)
Not even ten hours later I was up in the dark hours of the morning, cranking out a tempo run. My dad rode his bike ahead of me, my “pacer” and simultaneous crossing guard. Whether it was the excitement from the night before or the jams on my iPod, I don’t know; but my tempo was almost a minute improved from 2 weeks ago (55 seconds to be exact) and a lot faster than I anticipated. That’s one way to start the day! :)
Post-workout fuel is almost as important as the workout itself. The actual “gain” from your workout comes from your muscles’ recovery from whatever you just traumatized them with. Muscles need to recharge too.
There are a lot of fancy supplements, protein shakes, protein powders, energy drinks, recovery bars, blah blah blah. I’ve never really experimented with post-workout protein drinks (unless my chocolate-covered-strawberry smoothie counts). I prefer something natural – Fruit and Yogurt Parfait. Simple.
Pretty Parfait: fat-free vanilla yogurt, diced apples, sliced bananas, green grapes, flax seeds, cinnamon, shredded coconut.
Yogurt contains the protein. Fruits contain the carbohydrates. Plus a dozen other vitamins and minerals.
Yogurt covered with all these super-food toppings is not only wildly colorful but extremely healthy and filling due to the amount of fiber and vitamins. Rounded out with PB2 (this stuff is life changing!), whole grain crackers and cuties to make it a meal (this is two yogurt parfaits pictured, just in separate-shaped containers).
I have made it a mission to get the majority of my snacks from “clean” foods while in this peak training phase. Admittedly, I’m a huge fan of the convenience of grabbing a granola bar, bag of pretzels or box of cereal. But I’m trying to be more conscientious and today I’ve brought a slew of goodies to keep me full at work before I go out for my double run this evening.
My thought process is this: Running as many miles and as often as I am understandably leaves me tired, particularly around 2pm when work slows down, the office is quieter and I just want to take a nap. Eating something sugary like a granola bar, trail mix, or worse – a candy bar – comes with the inevitable “crash” further extending the sleepiness effect. We eat more when we are tired, mistaking exhaustion for hunger; the cycle is perpetuated. Knowing I have a second run after work, I want to make sure I’m energized and alert.
Today I brought myself options! Banana, apple, nectarine, plum, bell peppers, cucumbers, Greek Yogurt, oats, almond slivers.
There is no recharge button. You have to eat/sleep/rest/run/laugh/cry/dance when your body tells you too! I’m learning this myself. Though it would be a lot easier if we had naptime at work ;)
Butterscotch Pumpkin Granola Bars
This recipe is TOO GOOD not to make. Seriously, if you like the Nature Valley Oat n’ Honey bars, you will fall in love at first bite with these homemade creations that are pretty easy and muy delicioso. The recipe originally came from Heatherchristo.com, which I found on Pinterest.
My mom and I made these bars together for our awesome (and painful) 10 mile hike on Friday. Trail mix always seems like the perfect go-to fuel for long hikes, and these bars are like bringing all the trail mix flavors together for an on-the-go snack. The flavors were fantastic for fall, and the butterscotch is really powerful and sweet! Good combo of nuts, seeds, sweet and salty going on here :)
You will need a large bowl and the following:
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup pure pumpkin
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 (heaping) tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup of pepitas (or sunflower seeds)
- 1 (11 oz) bag of butterscotch chips (chocolate or white chocolate would be just fine!)
- Optional: shredded coconut, dried cranberries, cherries, or pineapple
1. First, in a LARGE bowl, combine oats, oil, pumpkin, brown sugar, honey, cinnamon and salt.
2. Throw the pepitas and almonds in to the mix.
3. Add in butterscotch chips and any additional fillings.
4. Line a 9 x 13″ baking sheet with parchment paper; evenly spread the granola mixture onto the parchment paper and use a spatula to flatten it as much as possible.
Best with a warm cup of coffee!
5. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and use spatula again to press down and flatten the sheet of granola. Place back in the oven for an additional 20 minutes.
6. Let cool completely!
7. Slice into bars; make approximately 24.
These bars do go soft after storing in a container or plastic bags, so they are best wrapped individually before storing in an air-tight container.
The oat texture, the bites of almonds and pepitas, the sweet butterscotch chips – it’s ridiculously good. So good that I’ve had two a day since Friday. With coffee of course.
How good would these be just broken up in a bowl with milk, eaten with a spoon? Mmm I think I just found my next breakfast for when I return home over winter break ;)
Don’t forget to pin these here:
Sweet Potato Pasta
Where I grew up, there is no fall. There is only extended summer. Which is unfortunate because now that I am blessed enough to live in a 4-season town, Autumn is one of my favorite times of year. It’s the beautiful colors and gorgeous trees, the fun a festive flavors and comfy sweaters.
Sweet Potato is one of those flavors that pops up around this time of year, but I like to eat them all year long. Kerri and I once again experimented in the kitchen, a little cautious after our failed cheerio disaster. The result: A Creamy Sweet Potato Pasta made with greek yogurt, sweet potatoes, whole wheat rotini, spinach and some flax seeds.
Sweet Potato Pasta:
2 Cups Whole Wheat Pasta
2 medium Sweet Potatoes
1/2 Cup Non-fat Milk
1/3 Cup Plain Non-fat Greek Yogurt
1 Cup Spinach
Drizzle of Olive Oil
Garlic and Herb Seasoning
Pinch of Flax Seeds
1.) Wash and pierce sweet potatoes. Microwave for 10 minutes until soft.
2.) Peel off skins (eat or discard) and mash together the sweet potato, milk, greek yogurt, and seasoning.
3.) Meanwhile, boil noodles until cooked. Drain, leaving 3/4 Cup of water with noodles.
4.) In a large saucepan, drizzled with olive oil, add sweet potato mixture. Add Spinach. Bring to heat until spinach cooks down.
5.) Add in pasta and water. Mix until well-blended; top serving with flax seeds.
It was easy enough to make even in the dorm kitchen and we loved it! Even though it’s only the beginning of October, it already feels like Thanksgiving is near. All the stores have their festive fall decorations and so many websites have their Thanksgiving recipes…I like the holiday as much as the next person, but geez can we slow down?! I need all the time I can get to bake the ridiculous amount of autumn recipes I found on Pinterest ;)
If you like sweet potatoes, you may also like: Stuffed Sweet Potato
