Tag Archives: waffles

Monday Things {11-12-2012}

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1. I haven’t yet posted my training for last week but it should be up later today or tonight. I will most likely back post it and link to the page in this post so keep your eyes out if you enjoy reading those recaps. I back posted my training from last week and you can read about it here.

2. On Friday night Ian and I went out to Pasta Bowl to have a nice, relaxed dinner. The Pasta Bowl is actually where Ian and I had our first date so even though it’s not our favorite restaurant in the city, we have some good memories there :) .

I started off with a glass of wine and Ian and I split sauteed calamari in an olive oil and garlic sauce. For my meal, I enjoyed their vegetarian salad (grilled veggies, olives) and Ian had their gnocchi. We were both happy campers.

3. I managed to sleep in until after 9 on Saturday morning and while I could have kept sleeping, I woke up starving. I wanted to make something special and different from my usual weekday breakfasts but I was incredibly indecisive and eventually just ended up making a big old bowl of pb2 oatmeal.

4. Saturday morning was incredibly lazy. Ian and I just lounged around in our pjs until the Michigan vs. Northwestern game started at 11. Unfortunately, while I was sitting on the couch I did something to my back and spent most of the game face-up on my yoga mat on the wood floor trying not to twist my body the wrong way. Not fun.

5. A hours and two Tylenol later I decided to try to go out for a run. Surprisingly the 6 miler didn’t hurt my back (although it didn’t make it any better) and I had a good run. My Garmin was dead so I tried out a new to me app, RunKeeper and I actually liked it. If I didn’t have a Garmin, I’d probably use it all the time. I was also in love with the fact that I could run in shorts in November. Crazy.

6. I pretty much snacked my way through Saturday afternoon and by the time dinner rolled around I wasn’t too hungry. With a long run on Saturday morning I figured I should eat something so Ian and I walked over to Pita Heaven for a light dinner. Honestly, I forgot how much I liked Pita Heaven the first time we went over a year ago. I ordered the Mediterranean salad that was topped with avocado, cherry tomatoes, dates, almond slices, and peppers. Usually it comes with feta cheese but I asked for it without. I also gave my pita bread to Ian.

7. After dinner Ian and I finished Arrested Development. I’m so bummed. I miss it already. I can’t wait until the Netflix-only episodes are released next Spring. I’ve also heard talk of a movie *fingers crossed*.

8. On Sunday I woke up and my back/shoulder/neck was still really hurting. I decided to try to squeeze in my 16 miler anyway and fueled up.

My shoulder didn’t get better but it also didn’t get worse so I kept running. I probably should have skipped it entirely though and my body was not happy with me. My back hurt, my legs were tired, and I was just mentally not in it. To make things even better, my sports bra chafed my mid-back and I didn’t even feel it until I stepped into the shower and it burned. Lovely.

9. Post-run I was in a bad mood and despite my back “injury” I decided to deep clean our kitchen. I pulled everything out of the cabinets and cleaned them and also scrubbed our microwave and toasted oven. It feels so good to have a really clean kitchen.

10. Finally after my cleaning frenzy and a shower, I sat down to my post-run meal, a huge salad with avocado, butternut, roasted & salted pecans, hemp seed, and TJs goddess dressing. Amazing. [I also had a piece of cornbread + some cereal].

11. Sunday was spent running errands, laying down with Icy Hot bandages on my back, and watching lots of Breaking Amish. Eventually I decided it was time for dinner and whipped up some spaghetti squash bad thai. I liked this recipe but it wasn’t peanut-ty enough for me and I ended up adding some pb2 to the sauce.

12. Dessert was one of my new favorite combinations: pumpkin + 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder, pumpkin pie spice, maple syrup, roasted & salted pecans, and Enjoy Your Life chocolate chips with a spoonful of peanut butter. Yum!

13. I woke up early this morning to gauge the status of my back. Unfortunately it’s not getting much better and I decided to take some time today to get it checked out. Bummer. While waiting for the doctor’s office to open, I ate some waffles topped with crunchy peanut butter, banana slices, and maple syrup. Delicious!

What did you do this weekend?

Five Things Friday {11-09-2012

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1. Earlier this week I received my confirmation of acceptance card in the mail for the Boston Marathon. I have to admit, even though my name has been on the entrant list since a few days after I registered I always get nervous that something went wrong during registration or somehow my name was left out etc. It was nice to get a reminder in the mail– if only the Goofy Challenge/Disney Marathon would do the same!

2. On Tuesday night Ian decided that he wanted pizza. We usually keep frozen dough and other ingredients on hand but we were all out so after a quick trip to the convenience store in our building, Ian returned with a DiGiorno. Unfortunately, we do not own a circular baking sheet so we had to get a little creative and used a flipped over circular casserole dish (so the solid side was up). Obviously neither of us really thought this through because as the dough softened it molded to the pan making a nice pizza casserole!

Ian said it tasted the same but the crusts were doughier. Hmmm….

3. I almost never go out to lunch during the week– in fact, yesterday was only the second time I’ve purchased lunch since starting my current job in late-July. Yesterday morning I was not feeling packing a lunch so I decided to pick one up from the fancy grocery store salad bar near my office. I felt like a kid in a candy store (flashback to college cafeterias) and I loaded up my salad with the most random things (raisins? ok! marinated mushrooms? sounds good!).

When I got back to my office though I was disappointed. First, my crazed put-everything-on-salad mindset hadn’t created a coherent meal and second, it did in fact taste like a college salad bar (nothing wrong with that but for almost $5 I should have picked up a salad elsewhere).

4. This week was a good week for mail. On Tuesday night I was informed that I had received a package and I was in no way expecting one (while I was/am but I knew it couldn’t have gotten there by them). Yay surprise package! I walked over to the package pick-up place in my building and found a large and somewhat heavy box. I was so excited to open it!

Turns out it my Muir Glen Tomato Gift Basket that I won from Blonde Bostonian. Yay, chili for everyone!

5. You know when you have a good idea for a meal so you make it and it looks good but unfortunately it doesn’t taste half as good as you thought it would? Yeah, that was my breakfast this morning.

I toasted two gf waffles and topped them with pumpkin mixed with protein powder, honey, and pumpkin pie spice, banana slices, and pb2 sauce. It looked so good but tasted kind of bland. Boo.

What are your plans this weekend? Ever won a blog giveaway?

Three Things Thursday {10-18-2012}

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1. I started reading Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places last night and just like Gone Girl I can’t put it down! Dark Places has a different, creepier (in my opinion) vibe than Gone Girl but I’m really enjoying it. Looks like I’ll be reading her other book, Sharp Objects, soon as well.

2. My soreness/stiff legs from the treadmill finally went away! I can’t believe how much that 16 mile treadmill run wrecked my legs. It’s funny because I ran 16 miles a few weeks ago and I wasn’t running a speed out of my reach but my legs were so sore afterwards. I even had to rearrange some runs this week to accommodate extra recovery time. Good thing this week is designed to be a cutback week! My guess is that I was striding differently on the treadmill than I would outside? I sincerely hope that I won’t have to do any more long runs on the ‘mill until after training is over!

3. I tried a new kind of waffles today.

I forgot to pick up the usual ones at TJ’s last week and after 4 days of oatmeal, I was really missing variety [... in the form of waffles]. I stopped by Whole Foods on my way home last night and grabbed a box of these guys.

This morning I had two with sunflower seed butter, banana, and microwaved frozen strawberries. The waffles had a richer flavor than the kind I usually buy and I enjoyed it!

Also, can I ask how is it only Thursday? I keep seeing all of these blog posts or Facebook statuses claiming they can’t believe it’s already Thursday. No no no.. this week isn’t flying by it’s dragging on :P .

Either way I’m going to look on the bright side and say that we only have two more days until the weekend, that’s pretty exciting right?

Because I want to get ahead of myself, what are your fun plans for the weekend? I’m going home to Michigan and going to Ann Arbor for the Michigan vs. Michigan State game. I can’t wait!

Running in the Dark

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This morning, after finishing up a shorter run, I realized that I suck at running in the dark. It’s not that I’m scared to run in the dark (although I used to be) or that I run slower (I actually run faster) it’s just that I am totally unprepared for anything that could happen.

Take today for instance. It was chilly when I woke up so I put on my running tights (black no reflector stripes), a long sleeved tech shirt (also black with dark purple panels), and my running shoes (blue, red, and black with no reflector stripes). With me I took my watch, my keys, and my iPod. I didn’t have any identification or my iPhone with me and Ian was fast asleep at home with no knowledge of what route I’d run.

Now I am usually totally fine and nothing strange happens to me but I’m not sure it’s worth taking that chance anymore… weird and scary things have been known to happen to runners. Plus, when I’m running in the morning most stores and businesses are not open, if I’m uncomfortable or feeling nervous there is really no where for me to go.

Here are some basic things that can be done to improve the safety of your early morning/evening run?

  • Try to run in well-lit areas as much as possible. In Chicago, most parts of the Lake Shore path are pretty well-lit. If you’re running on streets make sure to run against traffic.
  • Be visible- this means wear a reflector vest/headlamp at all times. Also wear brightly colored clothes.
  • Always carry identification and a cellphone.
  • Vary your routes and/or run with a buddy.
  • Listen to your instincts, if it doesn’t feel safe to run in a certain area don’t run there.

In terms of how I plan to make my morning runs safer, I’m going to finally purchase a Road ID so that I always have identification and emergency contact information with me whenever I’m running or cycling. Also, I think my mom might also have an old reflector vest that I can steal. I like to run early even during the winter and given that my running jacket is black, having a neon vest might be a good idea.

Do you run in the dark? How do you make sure you feel safe?

This week has been mentally exhausting. I’m not more tired than usual but feel wiped out by the end of the day. What gives? Hopefully the weekend will reinvigorate me!

Given that by my mind has felt like mush, I haven’t wanted to cook much of late; however, I’ve still managed to pull together some pretty tasty AND easy-to-make meals! Food success!

On Wednesday I wanted something carby and toasted some gf waffles and topped them with almond butter, banana slices, strawberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup. It only took about 5 minutes to throw together and tasted awesome!

I also made Emily’s Black Bean Quinoa. I didn’t have enough mushrooms left so I used the ones that I did have and then added a bunch of dino kale. It was so good with a drizzle of hot sauce!

After my midweek long run on Thursday I tried something a little different, an avocado smoothie. I blended 1/2 an avocado with less than a quarter of a banana, 1/2 scoop protein powder, almond milk, and a drizzle of honey. You could just barely taste the avocado and it was super creamy. Along with a brown rice cake with almond butter and banana slices, the smoothie held me over for a looong time.

This morning all I wanted was a bowl of oats. I cooked 1/2 cup oats with 1 1/2 cups water, 1 tsp chia seeds, 1/2 packet Amazing Grass Chai powder, 1/2 banana, some blueberries, and frozen strawberries. Topped with peanut butter this was a delicious breakfast.

Luckily, lunches have consisted of leftovers and fruit. I love when packing a lunch is so easy!

What are your favorite quick and tasty meals?

Pumpkin Waffle Stack

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Yesterday started out just like any other Wednesday. I woke up, put on my new running shoes and headed out the door for 4 recovery miles. My new shoes felt great (as they should, they’re the same model as my old pair) but I have a major dilemma. I was sent red shoelaces along with the black, what do you guys think would look better?

Anyway like I mentioned, Wednesday was pretty normal until I had an absolutely amazing breakfast idea and created a pumpkin waffle stack!

(P.S. sorry to anyone who thought I actually made pumpkin waffles, I would love to but don’t have a waffle maker or even the kitchen space for one).

I took two TJ’s gluten free waffles and threw them in my toaster oven. While they were toasting, I whipped up some pumpkin pie pudding (less milk so that it would be thick enough without sitting overnight). Once the waffles were done, I spread on waffle with the pumpkin pie pudding, topped it with banana slices, and then placed the other waffle on top. Next, I added some more pumpkin pie pudding, a few more banana slices, and then a hearty spoonful of sunflower butter. Perfection!

I also like to put the entire creation in the microwave for about 30 seconds to warm everything up and melt the nut butter.

I even played around with the filling and found you could sub the maple syrup and maybe even the chia seeds with protein powder (mine has ground chia in it). This makes a thicker pudding that might actually be a better filler for the waffles. I ended up eating it as pudding with some granola and it was really good!

While I’m very much an oatmeal girl, these waffles stacks are super fast and convenient to make in the morning, especially when the filling is made before. I can see myself eating this more frequently during the pumpkin fall season.

What is your favorite quick breakfast? How do you eat your waffles?
Red or black shoelaces?