Pumpkin Bread

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

I can’t decide which is a better perk of the fall season: good running weather or pumpkin-everything. It’s a close call.

Not only is pumpkin amazingly delicious, it is also sups healthy.

That means I can eat a lot of pumpkin and it’s still okay, right?

Makes 1 loaf

You will need: 9 in x 5 in bread pan

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup almond slivers
1/2 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Spray pan with cooking oil.

Beat together sugar and oil In a large mixing bowl beat sugar. Beat in eggs.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves in a separate mixing bowl.

Add the water and half of the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Dump the remaining dry in the wet and mix well.

Beat in pumpkin and almonds.

Bake for 50-55 minutes.

Let cool before serving.

I also used this batter recipe [and added some dark chocolate chips 😉 ] for some perfect little muffs!

The mini-muffins bake @ 325° F for 20 minutes. Also let these guys cool.

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

18Oct2013

Friday’s Five

Posted in Friday's Five by chicken nugget girl

an icing experiment gone horribly wrong, #pinterestfail

trying Trader Joe’s famous Minestrone soup my fav blogger always talks about

discovering a place to easily donate old furniture that I need to get rid of

my first pumpkin spice latte of the season

this late night chocolate froyo masterpiece

We made it to Friday! 🙂

Do you ever have failed attempts when making something from Pinterest?

Are you doing anything fun this weekend?

17Oct2013

PRR Training Week 7: The Treadmill Sucks

Posted in Health, Run by chicken nugget girl

For some reason last week was a lil’ rough in the running department due to lack of motivation.

On Tuesday night I could not bring myself to go on my run until it was already dark outside. When I finally got around to putting on my running clothes, I wandered down to my gross apartment gym (instead of my fancy gym I to drive to). The one working treadmill was taken so I felt like it was a sign to skip my run.

Great photo.

*****

Since I was going out of town on the weekend, I knew I had to do my long run during the week or it wouldn’t happen.

I usually run at night because I am not the biggest morning person (HA) but the fall sunset time has already started. Now it is getting dark around 6:45pm = no trails. Also, it was hurricane-ing outside.

So that meant: the treadmill.

9 long, miserable miles on the treadmill.

They were pretty darn ugly and slow, but I got through it. Though I kind of felt silly downing my fuel right from the cup holder on the treadmill. I alternated listening to music and reading my Nook every other mile (and finished the last book in The Maze Runner trilogy!)

My evening with the treadmill got worse when I went home and was super nauseous and cold. I got wise and googled “nausea after a long run” while laying on the bathroom floor and found out from HERE that it means you are dehydrated and your electrolytes need to be replenished with fuel or a sports drink. I guess the jelly sports beans either weren’t enough or I should try sports drinks instead. Luckily, I had some Cucumber Mint Nuun in the cabinet and slowly sipped a glass of it. All in all it took almost an hour and a half after the run to feel better.

Damn the treadmill.

Week #7 Recap

Monday: yoga, 8 – minute abs

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: 3 mile run

Thursday: 9 mile run

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest

(from daily mile)

Do you ever lose motivation to run during a training cycle?

What is your favorite form of fuel? GUs and gummies or sports drinks?

Have you felt sick after a run before?

16Oct2013

Sunshine Crepes and Beachy Shrimp

Posted in Food, Restaurants, WIAW by chicken nugget girl

Tuna and I ventured to Bethany Beach in Delaware last weekend with some friends and we managed to have a lot of fun even though it rained the entire trip! At least we could still enjoy one of the best things at the beach: the food.

On the Saturday after we arrived we went down to the boardwalk area for brunch. We found a good crepes place on yelp called Sunshine Crepes and they were perfect. Just the right amount of everything (especially cheesy goodness).

I got the Supreme: with egg whites, bacon, green peppers and onions, and cheddar – so, without the mushrooms. 🙂

I like how there are egg whites…and bacon.

At first I was only going to get a savory crepe, but then decided that how could I go to a crepe place and only get one crepe?

Had to get a sweet one too.

*****

Nancy’s bf is quite the chef (he grew up on the Maryland shore) and made us a protein snack Saturday late night.

These were THE best old bay steamed shrimp I have ever had. And no, that’s not just because it was 2am…

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

What is your favorite thing to eat at the beach?

11Oct2013

Friday’s Five

Posted in Friday's Five by chicken nugget girl

the first pumpkin protein bars of the season

weather.com telling me when I need to get my run in by (sunset)

trying steel cut oats for the first time

accidentally setting my alarm for 6:40 PM

heading to the beach with bffls

TGIF!!!!

Are you doing anything special for the long weekend?

9Oct2013

Garlic Orzo

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

I don’t think this quite counts as a ‘real’ recipe because the main ingredient is store bought (kind of like last week….) but I don’t really care because I am loving whipping up quick dinners lately.

By the time I get off of work, do my run, and finally get home for the night, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour making a meal from scratch.

Enter the magical ready-made sauce:

Perfect for throwing together savory pasta when hangry.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo
1 cup frozen broccoli
1 1/2 cups frozen shrimp, cooked
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup trader joe’s garlic sauce
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp olive oil

Directions:

Cook orzo.

Heat a large skillet with olive oil and onions.

Zap the broccoli in the microwave and add to skillet, along with the thawed shrimp.

Let simmer for 3-4 minutes Add salt and pepper and garlic sauce and stir.

Pour sauce over pasta to serve.

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting WIAW!

8Oct2013

PRR Training Week 6: Take a Stepback

Posted in Run by chicken nugget girl

Even though not running for almost a whole week was tough, I got better from being sick quickly and was able to do everything on my training plan last week.

Also, it was extra nice since last week was a stepback running week, which meant no long run. Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point explains exactly what a stepback week is HERE.

Thank goodness a long run wasn’t on the schedule, because a heat wave swept through DC and it was HOT out.

Instead of a long run, I was supposed to do a 5-K on Saturday. But I am currently trying to save some moolah at the moment, which meant hosting my own personal 5-K on the trails.

Per usual, I got overexcited at the beginning and ran faster than I should have and died on the second mile. Sound familiar?

Overall, the run was a little slower than I would have liked – but I really did try my best. And in the end, that’s all we can do!

Week #6 Recap

Monday: 3 mile run, 8 – minute abs

Tuesday: 3 mile run, under goal pace w/ Mal

Wednesday: yoga

Thursday: 4 mile run

Friday: rest

Saturday: 5-K run

Sunday: rest

Be my friend! Add me on daily mile

What did your training look like last week?

Do you ever go out too fast on a run?

4Oct2013

Friday’s Five

Posted in Friday's Five by chicken nugget girl

doing a mini-manicure on my 5-year-old cousin

pasta salad salad

my bro and his gf getting engaged (!!)

finding an antique pearl necklace when cleaning out my desk

GOOD LUCK to MAL at her marathon on Sunday

Happy Friday!

Are you running a race this weekend? How far is your long run this week?

2Oct2013

Veggie Mac and Cheese

Posted in Food, Recipes, WIAW by chicken nugget girl

This meal was inspired by our very own What I Ate Wednesday hostess, Jenn @ Peas and Crayons!

Though her Confetti Mac is fancy, mine could be eaten (and made) by a child.

Perf, if you ask me. 😉

Plus – I used boxed mac and cheese from Trader Joe’s, so at least it was whole grain pasta, right? I was glad to get my veggies in on this easy Friday night meal.

Ingredients:

boxed mac and cheese
1/3 cup baby carrots, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas, heated
1/2 cup frozen broccoli, heated
1 tsp garlic power
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp red pepper taste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook mac and cheese according to directions on the box.

Stir in veggies of your choice.

Season and stir again.

Yum. A classic with a healthy spin.

1Oct2013

PRR Training Week 5: The Week That I Only Did My Long Run

Posted in Health, Run by chicken nugget girl

I came down with a gross sinus infection early last week and spent most of my time blowing my nose with 1 ply.

Unfortunately, running took a backseat to getting healthy. I debated doing some yoga but decided downward dog wouldn’t be the best thing for my aching head.

I felt a little guilty for not getting off of the couch, but I thought I was okay with the whole not running thing. Then later in the week I ended up stomping my feet at life while sobbing “I don’t know why I’m getting so upset, I haven’t been running, wahhh.” Embarr.

This week taught me that I truly NEED the endorphins my body gets from moving in order to function. I’m not saying I need to run every day or that I should run when I’m sick, but that I’m personally much less of a basket case when I exercise. Maaaybe I should have taken a walk or done some sitting-down yoga to go along with my Vitamin C binge.

Going from working out several times a week and then NOT AT ALL really affected my mood for the worse and made me realize that running is a stress reliever and my way to decompress from the day. It lets my brain wander and relax into an almost meditative state that helps me stay sane.

Not running for even a few days showed me how important it is to me and that I want to keep my body healthy so that I can run for the rest of my life.

Thank gawd I felt almost 100% better on Saturday and could spend the whole afternoon on the trails!

For some reason I got it in my head that I wanted to run all of the miles in under 12 minutes, which is hard for me to do on a long run (I am slow).

Damn that last mile. It felt good to push myself though, and I was very proud of myself for putting in the effort on my one run for the week.

Miles 4 and 5 were very exciting because I ran them on a part of the trail that the PRR Half Marathon will be on. I can’t wait to get more practice trail runs in because the actual trail (and not asphalt) was throwing me off a little bit…