Run for the Water

This morning my mom, sister and I went down to Town Lake and ran the Run for the Water. We ran the 10 mile course along the lake and then into what must have been one of Austin's most expensive neighborhoods. There was one house that literally had a moat- for real life. The course was a bit more hilly than I would have liked, but the scenery was so awesome it really made up for it. The last 2 miles was where I really hit the wall- I was getting hungry, my energy was just about drained, and all the aches and pains were really starting to hit (I'm icing my knee as I type). All in all though, there were no huge issues and I think this was a really good experience before I do my half marathon on November 13th!

I am super happy with my time- I came in 6 minutes under my goal time, woohoo!

There were almost 1500 runners total, 700-something of those were women!

This was the fourth year for the Run for the Water. It's for such a great cause and the course was really nice. After we crossed the finish line we loaded up on bananas, breakfast tacos, and coconut water! YUMM!

Yaaayyyy!

"The Run for the Water is produced by and benefits the Gazelle Foundation. Thanks to participation in the last four years we have been able to provide over 8,000 Burundians with access to clean water for their remainder of their life through the implementation of water systems. For every registrant in the race the Gazelle Foundation is able to provide clean water to one additional person in Burundi. For life.  

To learn more about what we do, visit http://www.gazellefoundation.org/#!projects."

Day Before Race Day Thoughts

Run for the Water is tomorrow morning! It's going to be quite chilly at the 7am start time!

This is the longest race I've done yet and I'm pretty excited/nervous/little scared. If I can do this one with no problems then maybe I can do my half marathon with no problems? Or if there are problems tomorrow I can fix them before the half!

My favorite thing about the day before a race/long run? That four letter C-word.

CARB

:-)

If it's a carb, I'll be eating it today!

okay, that might be an exaggeration....

Breakfast was oatmeal with dark chocolate raisinets- deeelish!

courtesy of Pinterest

saw this on Toned Curves and loved it.

Wish me luck tomorrow! Or tell me to break a leg! My goal really is "just don't die"

Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal cookies

My run this morning was disappointing- and that's an understatement. My injury from the spring seems to want to make an appearance again. No, thank you! Run for the Water (10miles) is one week from today and my half marathon (13.1 miles) is 3 weeks from today, I cannot be injured, thanks!

so what was supposed to be a 9 mile run turned into a not even 5 mile run and a dog walk afterwards.

*SIGH*

So tonight I'll just act like I know yoga and give myself a good stretch....after I eat more of these cookies, of course.

Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup cinnamon chips

optional: a sprinkle of nutmeg or apple pie spice

Whisk applesauce, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in one bowl. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, oats and cinnamon chips. Pour wet into dry and mix until well combined.

Plop some well rounded spoonfulls onto a greased baking sheet and cook in a preheated oven (325*) for 12 mins. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool on a cooling rack before inhaling them!

FYI: Because there is no oil or butter they wont spread out on the pan, they will be more cake-y than crispy cookie-y, but replacing the oil/butter with applesauce cuts some fat and cals!

Channeling my inner Melissa on this one- she does it WAY better.

Not a super special recipe, just something a little different.

I wont lie, I will probably eat them for breakfast every day this week.

:-)

Deb's Pumpkin Pie with Caramel Pecan Topping

This past Sunday I hosted my second recipe swap.

The rules are: everyone makes a dish and brings it to share. They also bring that recipe and we literally swap the recipes as we eat. And no boys allowed.

This swap's theme was "Holiday". I asked the girls to bring any holiday dish they loved, be it Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, Kwanza, Boxing day, whatever!

We got a pretty decent spread of food. Actually I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of the whole spread, it was really great. Good food, good company, the wine was flowing and then the spiked cider was flowing. I think everyone had a good time.

There's a few recipes I want to share, but the first is a super tasty Pumpkin Pie from Deb. It's not the normal pumpkin pie, the caramel pecan topping makes it (and I am not normally a nut person)

SO, because attending the recipe swap meant that they were agreeing to my using their recipes for the blog, here it is!

Pumpkin Pie with Caramel Pecan Topping

15-16 oz pumpkin

3 slightly beaten eggs

1/3 cup heavy cream

½ tsp vanilla

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar, packed

3 Tbsp flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp allspice

1/8 tsp cloves

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup chopped pecans

¼ tsp salt

2 Tbsp softened butter

Single crust pie

Step 1: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, salt, and spices.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, eggs, half-and-half, and vanilla.

Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and lightly beat by hand until well combined. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pastry-lined pie plate. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes.

Step 4: While the pie bakes, stir together the brown sugar, pecans, salt, and butter until combined. Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top of the pie.

Step 5: Bake for 20-30 minutes more or until the center is set and the topping is golden and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.

I may or may not be eating it right out of the pan...

It's deeeeeelicious! :-)

Sorta-Shepard's Pie

Generally, you cannot go wrong with meat and potatoes. Especially in my house.

Ground beef & turkey is great for groceries on a budget. Then top it off with some carrots (cheeeeeap!) and some mashed potatoes (super cheeeeap!) and you've got a rib-stickin meal for nota-lota moolah!

I realize that this is not traditional Shepard's Pie- I have had the real deal when I was in England, but I think this one is pretty darn close for me being not British 

:-)

Sorta Shepard's Pie

serves 8 (or 4, whatevs)

1lb lean ground beef

1 lb lean ground turkey

several tbs of garlic powder (to taste)

several tbs of onion powder (to taste)

3 large carrots (washed, or peeled)

Potato flakes (enough for 8 servings)

+milk, water, butter

Handfull of cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425*

If you're Rachael Ray or have 3 sets of hands you can do this all at once, otherwise start with the carrots.

Chop the carrots and throw them into a pot of water. Boil until al dente- you don't want to boil all of the vitamins out of them. Drain, mash and set aside. Saute the ground beef and turkey with the garlic powder and onion powder. Make the potatoes according to directions. Once mixed, fold in some shredded cheese.

Layer meat, then carrots, then spread the potatoes on top in a 9x13" pan. Sprinkle some cheese on top of potatoes if desired- and you will desire it. Throw in the oven for about 20mins- even thought everything is technically cooked already please don't skip this step! Once the top of the potatoes are brown and the side are all bubbly it's ready to come out for a cool down.

*If you like peas, do it. Thrown them in with the mashed carrots. You could also throw in some pearl onions, if you wanna get crazy.

Sleeping better- another tip of the week

It's been awhile since I have shared a Tip of the Week. This comes from a weekly email I get from Mario Mendias, owner and creator of My Fit Foods. 

Here are seven tips to better controlling cortisol in the body and sleeping better at night!

The average American is popping out of bed with five hours of sleep, waking up with several cups of coffee, skipping breakfast, and rushing out the door to face the morning rush hour.  Does this sound familiar to any of you?   Add in a diet of processed foods, disturbed sleep, and little exercise and you are faced with a cortisol nightmare.  Cortisol is a hormone made by your adrenal glands and secreted in times of stress.  Unfortunately, many of us are dealing with chronically elevated cortisol levels causing high blood sugar and fat storage.  There are particularly high receptors for cortisol in belly fat cells.  Cortisol also causes muscle breakdown further damaging our metabolism.  So, what can we do to buffer this rising hormone? 

Watch the timing of your meals.   Eating every three to four hours is a very powerful way to control blood sugar, insulin levels, and also all stress hormones.  The body will release more cortisol when it feels it is faced with a sporadic food supply.  Eating smaller meals more often will calm the entire hormone symphony down.  Don't forget to eat a good protein based breakfast 30 to 45 minutes after waking. 

Eliminate sugar and caffeine as much as possible.  One source claims that one cup of coffee can raise your cortisol levels for 14 hours.  Another study concluded that women on a high sugar diet will elevate their cortisol level by 300 to 400 percent.  Clearly, the daily Starbucks run is not helping elevated stress hormones in our society! 

Reduce alcohol intake.  Alcohol, like sugar, will raise cortisol levels and also use up many nutrients like B vitamins, zinc, and magnesium that are much needed to deal with stress.  We tend to gravitate towards alcohol to relax not realizing we are affecting our stress hormones and our quality of sleep.  No wonder we use the phrase "beer belly" literally describing the influence of cortisol increasing fat stores. 

Watch the excessive salt intake.  Around 75 percent of our dietary sodium comes from eating processed foods, so focusing on natural fresh foods will easily lower your sodium intake.  Excessive sodium turns on the enzyme that makes cortisol, so staying within 1500 to 2400 mg a day for most people can be very helpful. 

Include Vitamin C and B-complex.  Studies done on animals found that Vitamin C can buffer the rise in cortisol from stress.  Cortisol levels were three times higher in animals that did not receive Vitamin C.  Taking a B-complex, which includes all the different B's, can fuel the adrenals and help with natural energy production. 

Exercise regularly.  When we first begin exercising, we may release more cortisol than usual, but as our body adapts the opposite effect begins.  Regular exercise will help the body process stress hormones and improve feel good neurotransmitters like serotonin which help us mentally deal with daily stress.  Research on the benefits of yoga has shown that it can dramatically lower stress hormones.   

Sleep 7 to 8 hours in complete darkness.  This may be the most overlooked tip to lower our cortisol levels.  We are often getting into a vicious cycle of 5 hours of sleep, which will naturally raise our cortisol levels the next day, and then supplementing all day with caffeine, which causes an even greater spike of all stress hormones and poor sleep quality.  One study showed that cutting back on sleep will lower fat loss by 55% in those trying to lose weight.  Sleeping in darkness is key.  Even the smallest amount of light in our sleeping environment inhibits important night time hormones and causes elevated cortisol the following day. 

Stress is a modern day reality that at times we are powerless over, but these 7 steps will give you a fighting chance to physically buffer the damaging and fat promoting effects of cortisol.  With cortisol levels under control you can look forward to a calmer mind, a leaner figure, and more restful sleep at night. 

These tips are written by Meg McCall, Corporate Nutritionist for My Fit Foods. Visit www.myfitfoods.com for more information and store locations.

Protein vs Fiber

This past weekend while at the grocery store with my sister and mom, I was trying to explain the difference between protein and fiber and what they do for the body. As we all remember, first there was the Atkins diet AKA: the war on carbs, then there was the Fiber Fad and toilet paper sales went sky high, now we're being told that carbs are good and to moderate our fiber intake. Are you confused??

Here's the truth- diets are fads.

Diets. Don't. Work.

photo from fuckyeahfitspo.tumblr.com

They may be a temporary fix, but if you're really serious about losing the weight and/or getting healthy it's going to have to be a lifestyle change- not a 12 week program. It's completely up to you on how strict you are with this new lifestyle change....but, of course, you get out of it what you put in to it, right?

So, protein vs fiber. Well, here's the simple breakdown. Fiber keeps you "full" and protein keeps you "satisfied". The difference between the two is this: you know that feeling when you've eaten too much too fast and you think you may pop a button? You're bloated, maybe a little gassy? This is "full". When fiber digests, it creates gas and, without getting graphic with the toilet talk, it....moves things.... Now, it's true that this digestion of fiber can take awhile and this means that you won't be hungry for awhile.

Protein, on the other hand, takes longer to break down in the stomach which means that you will feel satisfied, AKA: not hungry, for longer. You will not feel full, because there will be minimal gas creation during this breakdown. The majority of proteins come from animal products- meat, dairy- however, there are plant proteins. The difference here is in the amino acids, but that's another blog post. The idea behind the high protein lifestyle is that consuming lean proteins can keep your calorie consumption down because you're not feeling hungry all the time. You need protein in your diet to build and maintain muscle. Think of it this way: no protein, no gun show. :-P

Bodybuilding.com posted a really good article today on packable snacks with protein. I always try to make sure my mid-morning snack is something with lean protein to hold me until lunch and that my mid-afternoon snack is something with a little fiber. There was one recipe in there that I am going to have to try, however, it sounds almost candy bar-like.

3. Homemade Protein Peanut Butter Balls

Protein Peanut Butter Balls are quick and easy to prepare at home and will quickly provide your muscles with the nutrition they need.

Mix 2 scoops of protein powder, ½ cup peanut butter, 1 cup of dry oats, and ¼ cup dried cranberries. Once a sticky mixture is formed (note that you may need to add a small amount of water to moisten), form into balls.

Form a coating by rolling each ball in oats mixed with another scoop of peanut butter.

Store in a Tupperware container.

yummm, love peanut butter.


Hopefully I have cleared some confusion.
I, obviously, stick with high protein so as to keep my calorie count low. This works for me, but it may not work for everyone. This post was written from my own knowledge from doing a lot of research and and seeing the results in my own body. I am by no means a doctor, dietitian, or nutritionist, though I could be classified as a wannbe :-)

"Healthified" Apple Muffin Cake

Some of you may remember my recipe for Apple Cinnamon Muffin Cake (which is totally delicious) but I knew that there was a way to keep it delicious and make it healthier for you. Well, friends, I've done it, and I'm in a sharing kind of mood-- lucky you!

So here's the "Healthified" Apple Cinnamon Muffin Cake, because I love you, and your waistline ;-)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of sugar substitute (splenda)

2 eggs

1/2 cup veg oil

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 tbs vanilla

1.5 cups whole wheat flour

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups peeled, cored, chopped apple

Brown sugar and Nutmeg for sprinkling

Directions:

In a medium bowl, cream together sugar, eggs & oil. Mix in the applesauce and vanilla.

In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients- batter will be very thick- fold in all the apples. At this point, don't be scared to get your (Clean!) greased hands in there and work in any stubborn bits. Spread in a greased 13x9 pan and sprinkle the top with brown sugar and nutmeg.

Bake at 350* for 20-25mins

See? Looks almost just like the other one!

Homemade Pizza Sauce

I wish there were a "Sautéed Garlic" scented candle. Does anyone make those? I think it would be an excellent Xmas present to get me....or columbus day present...Thursday present.....

blogger needs to add a
"scratch-n-sniff" gadget, for reals.

This pizza sauce created all kinds of great smells in my kitchen.

Especially when I began making some apple muffin cake while it was simmering.

Mmmmm garlic, apple, italian seasoning, cinnamon.....

I found a homemade pizza sauce recipe online and decided to try it out. I can't seem to keep enough pizza sauce in my house and I have been saving up my pickle jars for reuse. (reduce, reuse, recycle!) This recipe was great, I bet you have just about everything you need already in your pantry- I did. It's super cheap to put together, has no processed junk in it, and made enough to cover two pizzas with an entire jars-worth left over!

In true Susan fashion, I read the recipe and only saw things I wanted to change. Here's my version:

Ingredients:

as many garlic cloves as you want!-minced

(no vampires in my house)

3 tbs olive oil

1 (29oz) can tomato puree

3 medium tomatoes chopped

2 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs dried basil

1 tbs oregano

1/2 tbs red pepper flakes (honestly, it could've done with more) 

1/4 cup water

Directions:

saute garlic, drool over sauteed garlic. add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil on medium heat. Bring heat to low and simmer until it reaches required thickness. If you don't like it chunky, throw it in the blender when it's all simmered and lovely. If you do, please wait until it's cooled a bit before funneling it in your mouth. Because when you smell your kitchen, this is what you'll want to do.

Feel good fact: tomatoes have copious amounts of vitamins in them, so homemade pizza sauce is good for you! yippee!

Motivation Monday #8

I have very little words to share today. Mostly because I keep reminding myself of what Thumper's mother used to say,
"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all".

So here's a little food for thought instead:

RESPECT YOURSELF
try new things, step out of your box/comfort zone, be safe, take care of your body & mind

RESPECT OTHERS
personal space, manners, the golden rule

RESPECT YOUR SURROUNDINGS

be responsible for the energy you bring to the space, clean your own mess, do not destroy or harm other people's property

These are my rules for the kids, but the grown-ups

(any grown-ups)

should follow them as well, right?

chew on that

Happy Monday!

Big Blog News!

Are you ready for my

BIG BLOG NEWS!???

Check THIS out.

I have been asked by the wonderful Melissa of the blog 20 going on 80 to be a featured blogger. I will be doing a healthy, tasty and wallet friendly recipe for her every now and again. 

I am stoked, flattered, and all around giddy about this whole thing!

Stay tuned for more recipes-- for now, it's time to go tidy the house for my sister's cake tasting tonight- woohoo, cake!