Weekend Recap

Posted in Food, Restaurants, Run by chicken nugget girl

Big news today. I ran 8 miles outside and didn’t die.

Though I kind of thought I was going to during miles 6-8.

You can tell I was dying by my ~~even slower~~ slow splits.

I was glad I got to run outside on my fav new beautiful trail, though. We all know that long runs on the treadmill can seem like torture.

*****

On Saturday afternoon, Tuna and I went to the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria to check out his sister-in-law’s awesome art exhibit.

It was pretty cool that we got to tour the exhibit with the artist!

Afterwards we headed over to RedRocks Pizzeria for some beer and fancy pizza.

I sampled the Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale (not gonna lie, I picked it just because of the name) and it was delish.

It’s a good thing that the pizza was amazing, because Tuna and I were pretty pissed about our appetizer. We experienced a terrible injustice when our “bacon wrapped scallops” order arrived with ONE measly scallop.

We ate our nine dollar scallop in one bite.

*****

New obsession = Homeland.

If you haven’t started it yet, you have to. End of story.

(original via)

Let’s cross our fingers that I wake up tomorrow! It always seems harder to get out of bed the day after a long run. My clean sheets are calling – catch ya later!

Tell me about your weekend! What did you do?

23Jan2013

The Chronicles of Tofu

Posted in Clean Eating, Food by chicken nugget girl

I was talking to my BFF Vicki the other day and she was telling me about how I should try tofu.

Tofu? Hmmmm.

But then she told me:

it tastes like nothing
it costs $3.00 for a block of it = cheap ass protein
it absorbs soy sauce really well

(source)

Trust me, I surprised myself too when I started wandering around the aisles of Giant looking for tofu.

Not ashamed (well…maybe a little ashamed) that it took me approximately 17 minutes of wandering to find it.

I had no idea whether it was in the frozen section, the coldish section near the eggs, or sittin’ on the shelves next to the ramen. I was even too embarrassed to ask a worker where it was, since I didn’t want to look like a wide-eyed dumbass next to the ramen.

(original via)

Once I finally found the tofu aisle, there were so many options to choose from. Extra lite tofu? Extra firm tofu? Wtf.

I settled for middle-of-the-road FIRM.

Lies.

It was not firm.

A little less gross than cooking raw chicken though. Speaking of chicken, I ~~only semi-freaked out~~ had to double check that I didn’t need to cook the tofu for a certain amount of time in order not to get salmonella. Thank god for Google.

I tried to cut it into little pieces like the kind that come in Pad Thai.

But it turned into the kind that looks like cat food.

The result:

I can’t decide whether I like it or not.

Vicki was right about the above bullet points, but I’m not so sure about the texture.

I think I need to try EXTRA EXTRA FIRM next time.

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

What is your opinion on tofu?

Love it? Hate it? What do you eat it with?

22Jan2013

Magic Anti-Flu Tea

Posted in Clean Eating, Food, Health, Recipes by chicken nugget girl

We’re in the midst of flu season, which makes me paranoid. I’ve already had a cold recently and couldn’t do my long run, so I better not get sick again until April!

My foodie aunt found a magic tea that protects you from the flu. I had one every single day last week, and it’s working so far!

Ingredients:

green tea
1 lemon slice
a pinch of cayenne pepper
a small handful of goji berries
1 squirt of honey

How is it magic? Look at all the benefits of what’s in it!

Green Tea

(source)

“Green tea’s health benefits — particularly its potential to fight cancer and heart disease — has been more than intriguing, as have limited studies about green tea’s role in lowering cholesterol, burning fat, preventing diabetes and stroke, and staving off dementia” (source).

Lemon

(source)

“The two biggest are lemons’ strong antibacterial, antiviral, and immune-boosting powers and their use as a weight loss aid because lemon juice is a digestive aid and liver cleanser. Lemons contain many substances–notably citric acid, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, bioflavonoids, pectin, and limonene–that promote immunity and fight infection” (source).

Cayenne Pepper

(source)

Though cayenne pepper has many health benefits, some specifically relate to the flu.

“Cayenne pepper aids in breaking up and moving congested mucus. Once mucus begins to leave the body, generally relief from flu symptoms follows”(source).

Goji Berries

(source)

I didn’t know that goji berries existed before last week! Why are they healthy? They’re full of antioxidants, which “boost the immune system and lower cholesterol”(source).

Honey

(source)

Honey is an immune booster. It has a “type of antioxidant that helps to protect cells from free radical damage. It can also contribute to heart health as well as protect against cancer”(source).

All I know is if you need me – you can find me chugging this tea all week!

17Jan2013

Getting Location

Posted in Clean Eating, Food, Run, Running Gear by chicken nugget girl

I realized yesterday that the Shamrock Half Marathon is in less than two months!

That is kind of terrifying.

I did feel more like a real runner this past weekend though because I finally got to use my brand-new Garmin Forerunner 10 that my dad got for me for Christmas!

It is pretty cool that I will be able to show you sweet charts and stats from my runs now – though I may not want to because they are embarrassingly slow. But I did read in Runner’s World that the first few years of distance running are about building your mileage, not freaking out about your time.

Of course I messed up the stats from my first Garmin run. I accidentally pressed “save run” in the middle of it, so the run was split into two separate stats!

The lap button also seems to hate me because it said I did 13 laps and I only ran 6 miles. Whoops. I’ll have to figure that out this weekend

It is interesting that I am not at all concerned with my times with the Garmin, but waaay more concerned about my pace (and distance, of course).

The other very exciting part of my run on Sunday was the new trail I ran on! I finally ventured over to the very flat, very awesome trail leading into D.C. near Tuna’s house.

It had such cool scenery – like this ancient brick tunnel.

I’m definitely going to start running on this trail more often. Can spring please come asap so it won’t get dark at 5pm and we can all run on the trails outside all night long?

I refueled this weekend with Tuna’s cheesy chicken. He had the genius idea to shove a bunch of cheddar cheese inside of it.

I may start shoving cheddar cheese inside all of my food.

Do you use a Garmin?

Are there any good trails to run on near you?

16Jan2013

DNF Banana Chips

Posted in Clean Eating, Recipes, WIAW by chicken nugget girl

Ummm…guys? I have something to tell you.

I had a What I Ate Wednesday fail. #wiawfail

I made a new recipe to brag about today and it sucked.

Here’s the deal.

Last night I attempted to make banana chips. You know, the kind at the store for like $5.99? Well, I was really excited because I saw a homemade recipe for them online.

I’m not going to tell you which blog I found it on because I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus.This is serious business.

This was the recipe (basically):

Ingredients:

3 or 4 bananas
1 lemon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200º F
Slice bananas
Squeeze lemon juice on banana slices
Bake the bananas for 90 minutes

Easy enough, right? How hard can it be to chop up some bananas and put them in the oven?

Hard, apparently.

They were slimy and gross and smelled like rotten bananas. I thought they might harden in the fridge overnight. Nope. They just made my apartment smell like rotten bananas.

I feel like it has got to be the recipe though…or perhaps I am just cursed when it comes to bananas.

Anyway, why am I posting a shitty recipe?

Let’s think about this from a running blog perspective. If I ran a marathon (ha) and didn’t finish it (DNF in running lingo), I would probably still post about my marathon and how it sucked and what I leaned from it.

It should be the same thing for food blogs, don’t you think? Not everything you make is going to be delicious. Blogs shouldn’t just about our successes – they’re about our failures too.

I’ve tried some new recipes lately that I am just not a fan of. I could refrain from posting anything I don’t really love, but I want to! I want to show you what I did and share
my thoughts with you.

Ok, so my thoughts this week: What I Learned From My DNF banana chips…

I need to start making my own recipes.

Let’s get confident in our food skills and be creative. Who’s with me?!?

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

14Jan2013

FitKit Monthly Guest Post – How to: Make A Frittata

Posted in Clean Eating, Food, Guest Posts, How To, Recipes by chicken nugget girl

Remember when I told you about FitKit awhile ago?

FitKit is a place where nutrition is made personal for everyone. Their mission is to build a community around making health and fitness transparent.

https://fitkit.me/

http://fitkit.me/blog/

I’m super pumped because I’m going to be a monthly contributor to the FitKit blog!

Want to know how to make a frittata? Of course you do….

Check out my guest post here!

9Jan2013

Cajun Sweet Potato Fries

Posted in Clean Eating, Food, Recipes, WIAW by chicken nugget girl

If I had to pick one food to eat on a desert island every day for the rest of my life, I would choose french fries.

I certainly love noshin’ on a tub of fries, but it’s definitely not the best thing for my waistline.

Subbing in sweet potatoes instead of regular french fries makes all the difference health-wise, as sweet potatoes are considered a “super food”(source). Sweet potatoes are chock full of antioxidants and vitamins that our bodies need daily.

Fries and super food in the same sentence? Yes, please.

This spicy recipe is adapted from Cookie and Kate (Um, I like that blog name!)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp hot chili powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into fries.

Place the uncooked fries into a mixing bowl or a plastic bag.

Add cornstarch, olive oil, and additional seasonings and spices to your bowl/bag o’ fries. Mix everything so that the fries are evenly coated.

Pour the fries onto a baking sheet(s) covered with parchment paper or a non-stick baking sheet(s) and spread the fries in a single layer with some breathing room.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Take out and flip the fries with a spatula.

Put back in the oven and bake for 15-20 more minutes. Remove when fries are crispy.

Add ketchup and enjoy!

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

If you had to pick one food to eat on a desert island every day for the rest of your life, what food would you choose?

8Jan2013

How To: Seed A Pomegranate

Posted in Clean Eating, Food, How To by chicken nugget girl

I wasn’t feeling very good this weekend, but lucky for me, my friend Mal stayed in with me on Friday and did cool things with me like figuring out how to get all of the pomegranate seeds out of a pomegranate.

It all started with a trip to Whole Foods to pick up ingredients to make quinoa sliders.

Since pomegranates are currently in season (in the winter) they are all over the grocery stores right now. We were thinking about buying one of the small tubs of pomegranate seeds, but then looked at the price tag.

Yeah, not going to buy a bunch of seeds for $8.00. (Unless they’re chia seeds, of course).

So instead, Mal was nice enough to buy us a fancy Whole Foods pomegranate for $2.99 and ~~she~~ we studied multiple youtube videos of how to cut open a pomegranate and get out all of the seeds.

Thank you for being my pom model, Mal!

First, cut off the nubbins at the end of the pomegranate.

Cut the pomegranate in half vertically – the ends where the nubbins were should be horizontal (don’t cut through those).

Look at all those juicy seeds!

Put the pomegranate in a bowl of water (or over-sized Tupperware of water) to soften it up. Be careful, because the seeds can pop and stain clothes, counter tops, and cutting boards.

Start breaking the seeds out of the rind.

Go slowly – and peel ’em all out!

Once the seeds are out, toss the rind.

Rinse the extra bits of rind off of the seeds and dry them on a paper towel.

Perf for a little snack during Law and Order SVU…

with some dark chocolate chips. 🙂

7Jan2013

Not Feelin’ So Hot and A New Food

Posted in Clean Eating, Food, Goals by chicken nugget girl

Ugh. I have not been feelin’ so hot the past few days.

I caught the mid-winter cold that everyone else has, with a stuffy nose, low fever, and achy joints. But instead of being concerned about where to find my misplaced Airborne, I spent my Saturday morning stressing about skipping my long run.

(original via)

Last week was only the second week of half marathon training, and I really really wanted to stick to my very important New Year’s resolution.

(source)

A 5 mile run was on the agenda, and my brand-new Garmin was still desperately begging to be played with.

I was good though, and didn’t try force my sickly self through a long run in the cold.

Yes, I felt guilty, and my mind really wanted to get the run in.

But my body most certainly did not. So I came up with a new theory to make myself feel better about missing my run.

A training schedule is a guide to prepare yourself for a race.

Um, duh?

Hold on, I’m going somewhere with this.

So is that schedule about successfully executing each individual run or rest according to the plan? Well, maybe. But not if you’re sick, or injured – that would actually make your body less prepared for a race because you’d be hurting it!

Sticking to a training plan is exactly what you should do if you are healthy – and not because you HAVE to write in the exact mileage that is on the spreadsheet to make your chart look pretty. I’m going to get through this training cycle by looking at the big picture.

I want to best prepare my body for 13.1 miles which means taking care of its needs first. And sometimes those needs are hot cocoa and sitting on your ass.

I’ll be back to making my chart look pretty tomorrow, when I’m feeling 100% back to normal.

*****

In other exciting news, I tried grapefruit for the first time this weekend.

I was hoping the vitamin C content would fix me right up.

After two bites, grapefruit is now on my: “Food I Have Actually Tried and Do Not Like” List. I figured I would treat you with this lovely video of me eating a grapefruit:

(source)

Do you skip or push through runs when you’re sick?

5Jan2013

New Year’s Resolutions

Posted in Goals by chicken nugget girl

Yes, yes, I know everyone is probably sick of hearing about New Year’s resolutions by now. But I still have to tell you mine!

Every year I always make tons of resolutions – some I keep, some I don’t.

Let’s take a moment to think about what a resolution really is.

I had to go elementary and break out Webster’s.

(view of)

The act of resolving. Ok…so to resolve:

(view of)

Found it!

To me, New Year’s resolutions are #5: “to reach a firm decision about.” Resolutions aren’t about just doing good things for yourself and others because you feel like you have to keep them just to keep them, or about feeling bad when you break them.

I think resolutions are just about making a firm decision in the moment toward something better. To really think about what you’re doing and try to live the best way you can.

Cheers to our aspirations of 2013.

A few of mine are: