How’s that for a blog post title? Be prepared (and warned) because this post is all over the place.

A few hours and a short nap after posting yesterday, I walked over to the Printers Row Lit Fest, the largest free outdoor literary event in the Midwest. The lit fest is pretty awesome and consists of booth after booth of booksellers, publishers, and literacy and cultural organizations (source).

While I enjoy walking around and looking at all of the booths, I really go to the event for the cheap books. Last year I spent $30 and walked away with 5 books. This year I bought two for $15. Considering one was hardcover, thats not too shabby!

After purchasing my books, I met Ian and we went grocery shopping for the week. After a sweaty walk to and from Trader Joe’s, we were both ready for some lunch!

I made a millet salad with brussels sprouts, cannelloni beans, and hummus and then ate it on top of arugula.

I also had a nice juicy peach! I wanted to make sure my lunch was substantial as I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to find anything at the game.

We digested, watched part of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (it was on tv), and then headed to U.S. Cellular Field.

It was a wonderful day to be at a baseball game! It was hot no doubt (and our seats were in the sun) but we had good seats and great company. Can’t beat that!

While everyone else enjoyed beers and concession food, I drank a two waters. Gotta stay hydrated!

Look at this man with the margarita backpack. It had a little dispenser that he used to fill cups. How cool is that? Although, I do have to say, if I had his job and it was 87 degrees out, I’m sure more margarita would end up in my mouth than in the cups!

The game was tied until the 5th inning when the Sox scored 5 runs. The game was basically over after that and the Sox ended up winning 10-1. We even got to see a grand slam!

When we got home I put together an easy dinner of mixed greens, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and lentils. I also had some oil & vinegar dressing on the side.

I really need help with these lentils, I just don’t love them, but I bought a pack of pre-cooked ones and need to use them. Any suggestions?

Dessert was a cup of puffed millet with a little almond butter. I’m loving the texture of the millet.

And then I got baking!

Apple Baked Oatmeal
(serves 4) based loosely off Sarah‘s baked oatmeal recipe.

2 cups raw oats (I used gf)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 flax egg
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1.5-2 cups chopped apples
1 banana mashed (use 2 bananas for sweeter oatmeal)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make flax egg by mixing 1 T ground flax-seed and 3 T water. Set aside. In a larger bowl mix raw oats, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add applesauce and stir until most of the oats are coated or look wet. In another bowl whisk together almond milk and the flax egg. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir. Fold in apple pieces. Next, mash banana until it has the consistency of an egg (I use a fork for this), add into the batter and whisk until there are no more banana pieces (this naturally sweetens the oats, if you prefer sweeter oatmeal, add two bananas).

The batter will look like this:

Pour into sprayed casserole dish and bake for 35-40 minutes (mine took 37).

I enjoyed a serving this morning, post-run, with 1/2 sliced banana, 1/3 cup rice milk, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Delicious.

And speaking of that run. I woke up at 5 a.m. to get in a 9 mile run before the heat (although it was already 78 degrees) and the air quality alert went into effect. I felt fine for the first 5 miles and then I started to feel the heat. Luckily, I was still on the lakefront path and stopped by a drinking fountain to splash some water on my face and neck before heading into the city. My Garmin started to malfunction around then so I have no clue what my actual pace was like but there was a much nicer breeze and more shade in the city. I ended up running between 9 and 9.5 miles (Garmin says 9 but gmap-pedometer says 9.5) so my guess is that I ran somewhere in between. Do any other Chicago runners have problems with their Garmins in the city?

Ah! I have another busy day today. Enjoy your Sunday!