The Runner's Kitchen

I've Moved!

2009-02-04T11:34:00.002-05:00

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January in the Kitchen

2009-01-05T22:59:00.009-05:00

Spinach, maple-roasted brussel sprouts, caramelized onions, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegar. So good.

Caramelized Onions:

Preheat sautee pan with 1/2 Tb canola oil

Cut an onion into small slices

Cook onion over medium heat about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked down and deep golden brown.

Maple-Roasted Brussel Sprouts:

Rinse 1 cup brussel sprouts, cut each sprout in half.

Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil, 1 TB maple syrup, and place on baking sheet sprayed with Pam.

Roast at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until tender, flipping once after 10 minutes.

Whole Wheat & Oatmeal Raisin cookies - perfectly chewy!

Shopping trip - chocolate hazlenut butter, 0% greek yogurt, coconut water, apples, frozen sweet cherries, Promax, Clif z-bar, TJ's fruit & nut bars, goat cheese.

Yes this is a VENTI starbucks coffee. I don't want to talk about it.

I love ketchup so much. Especially with parmesan cheese, egg whites, and toast.

Hello 2009!

2009-01-05T22:42:00.012-05:00

New Year's Eve Sangria

On the train to BrooklynThis is how my sink looks every day....

Chocolate cupcakes, vanilla frosting, and peppermint sprinkles. Glazed lime zest cake from Bon Appetit Magazine: This quick and easy cake gets a tropical kick from the lime glaze.
Zesting limes for the New Year's Eve glazed lime zest cake.

Christmas Wrap-Up

2008-12-28T18:47:00.008-05:00

Christmas gifties! (a selection of my favorites)

Asics Gel-Nimbus, running socks, mittens, and gloves.Polar Heart Rate Monitor
Finally used my Crate & Barrel b-day gift card: Modena balsamic-vinegar, microplane grater, peppermint bark, mini spoons!

Culinary presents: recipe binder, Cook's Illustrated subscription, Vegan cupcake cookbook, coffee bean grinder, cake stand, lemon zester, cookie spatula, Barney Almond Butter (!!!), and cranberry butter.
This might be my last year with a real Christmas tree - ugh, so many pine needles to clean up!
Dinner creation with my new mini spoon! Plain Stoneyfield Farms yogurt, 1 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch, 2 Tbs almond butter, 1 Tbs pumpkin butter, and small handful of chocolate chips.
NYC Reunion!

Holidays at Home!

2008-12-28T18:34:00.012-05:00

Christmas Traditions - My family always has baked ham, potato salad, and baked beans for Christmas Dinner. Yum! This year I was the master chef :-)

Classic Potato Salad:

Ingredients: 5 small all-purpose potatoes

3 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 hardboiled eggs, chopped

salt, pepper, low fat mayo (to taste)

Directions: bring large pot of salted water to a boil, carefully drop in whole potatoes

boil 10-15 minutes or until fork tender, remove from pot, and cool

Peel and cube potatoes and place in large bowl

In a small bowl - mix celery, onions, S & P, hardboiled eggs, and about 1/2 cup mayo

Add contents of small bowl to potatoes - stir gently until combined

Skillet baked beans

Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp canola oil

1/2 of a large yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp sea salt

8oz tomato sauce

15 oz can lima, drained and rinsed

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2) In a cast iron skillet or non-stick skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions and sauté for about five minutes or until soft and translucent. 3) Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds more. 4) Add the maple syrup, tomato sauce, salt, mustard, and ketchup and simmer for five minutes. 5) Add the beans , stir, then cover the skillet with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, stirring once during the baking process. 6)Allow to cool and serve warm.

Note: if your skillet has a plastic handle - cover it with aluminum foil and it becomes oven safe!

Baked ham with pineapples, cherries, and brown sugar glaze.

Instructions: Score ham and insert about 2 dozen cloves. Prepare glaze by mixing 1/3 cup brown sugar, tsp of mustard, and a few Tbs of pineapple juice. Drizzle over ham. Place pineapples and cherries on top. Cook for 8-10 minutes per pound (for a pre-cooked ham) at 350 degrees. Baste with extra pinenapple juice half way through cooking.

Christmas Eve Apple Pie

I used a modified version of a Bon Appetit recipe (because I forgot my Whole Foods recipe in NYC!). The filling and homemade whipped cream turned out great, but I still need to perfect the crust. I used all butter (vs. shortening) and although I added a tsp of vinegar, the result wasn't as tender as I would have liked. I also used a "deep dish" pie pan which may have affected the crust texture. In any case, the pie was well received and every last crumb was devoured :-)

Me and Kiwi!

Pies, Pies, Pies - December 2008

2008-12-13T10:54:00.012-05:00

Happy Holidays!

Seasonal Fruit Basket - grapefruits, oranges, apples, and pears. Thanks Mom and Gram!
Peach-Blueberry Peanut Butter Crisp

Recipe from: The Peanut Butter & Co. cookbook
On Saturday, December 6th I took a Pie Baking Fundamentals class at the Whole Foods Bowery Culinary Center. The 4 hour course was taught by Judiann Woo (chef and creator of the Haagan Daaz ice cream flavor - sticky toffee pudding!). We began with a brief lecture/discussion on pie baking techniques and a demonstration on making apple pie with crumb topping. We then proceeded to make our own blackberry hand pies and coconut cream pies with animal cracker crust. After everything finished baking, we sampled some of the warm apple pie with homemade whipped cream - I think it was the BEST piece of pie I've ever had.

My finished coconut cream pie (in a professional pastry box!)

Homemade whipped cream, yum!
Blackberry Hand Pies with turbinado sugar topping

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients: 12oz fresh cranberries (rinsed in water)
3/4 cup sugar (original recipe called for 1 cup)
1 cup water
Directions: Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 1/4 cups. This was great - you couldn't even tell it was reduced sugar!

Quick wheat loaf

This recipe uses 1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, Tb sugar, 12 0z beer, and a bit of butter. It's really easy to make - I found the recipe on the back of a King Arthur flour bag.

Caramel-Apple-Walnut pie from Sanitary Bakery (Nanticoke, PA)

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-28T10:15:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving dinner! Turkey with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, homemade (healthy!) stuffing, lightened-up sweet potato casserole, and green beans.

Healthy stuffing recipe
Ingredients:
6 slices lite bread
1 cup each of chopped onion, chopped celery, chopped Granny Smith apple
1 cup fat free chicken broth
1/4 cup egg beaters
1 Tb butter
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Salt, Pepper, Sage to taste (~1tsp each)
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degress
Cube the bread (make sure it's stale or lightly toasted), place in greased casserole dish
Cook onions and celery in broth on medium heat for about 8 minutes
Add apples to pot, add seasonings, allow to cool for a few minutes
Add egg beaters and butter - stir to combine
Pour over bread in the dish
Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes
Remove foil, fluff stuffing mixture, and cook for 15 more minutes un-covered

Lightened-up sweet potato casserole recipe:
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup egg beaters
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup lite maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mini marshmallows
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Peel and cube sweet potatoes
Place sweet potatoes in a bowl with 1/2" water, cover, and microwave just until tender
Combine cooked sweet potato cubes with all ingredients EXCEPT marshmallows
Bake for 45 minutes
Remove dish from oven, sprinkle marshmallows on top, bake for 5 additional minutes

Mid-November Baking

2008-11-28T10:01:00.011-05:00

Chocolate chip-banana bread pudding!

Ingredients:

3 slices lite bread; lightly toasted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1 cup skim milk

2 tbsp. brown sugar; not packed

1/3 cup Egg Beaters, Original

2 tbsp. peanut butter

1 sliced banana

Chocolate syrup (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place toasted bread cubes in 4 ramekins coated with nonstick cooking spray; sprinkle with chocolate morsels. Combine milk, brown sugar, Egg Beaters, and peanut butter in a bowl. Pour mixture over bread cubes (make sure all bread is covered); let stand 5 minutes. Top with banana sliced. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until pudding is firm. Eat warm. Serves 4. City Bakery's semi-famous cookies and hot chocolate (with homemade marshmallow!). The thick hot chocolate had to be eaten with a spoon - very similar to the cioccolatta calda con panna that I was obsessed with in Italy!

Trader Joe's truffle brownies - yum! This recipe is easy to make - just add 2 eggs and a stick of melted butter to the mix.

Caramel Apple Butter Oat bars -

I brought these to the Slow Food NYC Annual Meeting & Potluck

Ingredients
2 cups flour (1/2 whole wheat if desired)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
Topping:
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Caramel Apple Butter
1 1/2 cups apples, peeled, cored and chopped (approx. 1 1/2 apples)
1 cup chopped pecans or almonds
Directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8" x 8" pan.
Using a food processor or a pastry blender, combine flour, powdered sugar and butter. Blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press crust mixture into the bottom of a 8"x 8" or square baking pan, saving 1/3 of mixture for topping.
Sprinkle apple pieces over bottom crust.
Pour Caramel Apple Butter over apples; then top with pecans.
Crumble remainder of topping mixture over apple mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool and cut into squares.

26.2!

2008-11-07T08:08:00.016-05:00

I finished and qualified for Boston!

Race report November 2, 2008

The start: Woke up at 4:45am, drank coffee, got dressed and headed to the subway. Took the 6:30am Staten Island ferry and then shuttle bus to the start at Fort Wadsworth. Ate a banana, cinnamon raisin bagel, 1/2 power bar, and some water. The start was crowded and quite windy. I curled up on a curb and put my blanket over me like a tent to keep warm. I was scheduled to the 1st wave start at 9:40am, so about 40 minutes prior I started looking for my corral. However, I began hearing announcements that said "wave 1 corrals are now CLOSED - if you are not in a corral you will have to wait for the 2nd wave start at 10am". I started freaking out! If I had to start in wave 2 at 10am - I would be with much slower runners and my family and friends might not be able to find me (I was very specific about when I would be passing certain mile markers). Luckily a nice volunteer let me duck under a barricade to catch up with wave 1 runners. Phew! We stood on the bridge for about 30 minutes and everyone began tossing their sweatshirts, pants, etc.

The race: After the national anthem was sung, a cannon boomed, and Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" began playing. We were off! The first mile was pure adrenaline, but I was conservative - 8:35. The second mile, however, was down hill and probably too fast - 7:25. eek! The next few miles flew by and despite some knee/IT band twinges I felt great. I ate a pack of clif shot bloks between miles 8 through 15. Around mile 13 I stopped to pee in a port-a-potty (~30 seconds) and I hit the halfway point (13.1 miles) in 1:46:36 After running over the Queensboro bridge and rounding the corner on to 1st avenue I saw my mom, sister, and Hannah. I was still feeling great! However, around mile 18 my legs started to feel the pounding, ugh. For the next 8 miles they felt like jell-o and I knew my muscle glycogen was depleted. I had a chocolate power bar gel at mile 20. For the next few miles I was in a daze - luckily the weather was beautiful (sunny and 50 degrees) and I just let the crowd carry me a long. For miles 21-23, I had some great support from Saturday, Tom Hammer, Nate, and some CPTC spectators. FINALLY, we were in the last mile - I saw my mom, sister, and Hannah (and Mad Dog!) again more at mile 25.5 on Central Park South. I crossed the line in 3 hours, 38 minutes, and 41 seconds.
Post-race: After I finished I felt quite dizzy and lightheaded. I don't think I've ever felt so depleted in my life. I told a volunteer that I was going to pass out and he said "no, you'll be fine. you look better than any of the finishers i've seen in the last hour". umm. lucky for him i did not throw up on his shoes. Volunteers passed out mylar space blankets, medals, and food bags. I ate an apple and some gatorade and met up with Nate (gave me warm clothes!) and my family. We proceeded on to Firehouse for burgers and then I came home, showered, and was asleep before 8pm!

Room for improvement: more carbohydrates & salt (and maybe less halloween candy) in the days leading up to the marathon, try to drink more during the race, do at least one long training run of 21-22 miles, and do more core strength work and stretching (IT band!!) during training.

Apple Crisp, yum!

Beautiful crisp jona-mac apples.
Apple Crisp recipe:

Ingredients -

5 medium apples, sliced

1/2 cup sugar

6TB butter(or smart balance)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

cinnamon

Directions -

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Slice apples and place them in pie plate

Sprinkle apples generously with cinnamon

Mix together oats, flour, and sugar (and more cinnamon!)

With a fork, cut butter in to dry mix

Top apple slices with crumb mixture

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is crispy and apples are tender

Cool for 15 minutes - enjoy!

Marathon Monday: Red Velvet Cake from Penelope Bakery

Flowers, finisher's medal, and heat sheet.

CPTC uniform and race number #13462.

Pre-race dinner: whole wheat bagel, peanut butter, honey, and banana.The night-before-the-night before: oatmeal, soymilk, raisins, and peanut butter.

The Home Stretch! Wednesday October 29, 2008

2008-10-29T07:55:00.005-04:00

I'm counting down the days! Getting plenty of sleep, running easy, stretching, icing, and taking ibuprofen to keep my IT band happy. Below: the "stick", ibuprofen, and an ice pack.

Sugar Cookies! I used a basic sugar cookie recipe (mmm butter!) and some mini halloween cookie cutters. However, I had the toughest time with the dough - it kept sticking to the table top! Maybe my kitchen was too warm? After a few cookie cut-out attempts, I just made round cookies (with sprinkles!)

My Dinner: Trader Joe's turkey chilli, ak-mak whole wheat crackers (with lots of teddy peanut butter!) and baked sweet potato fries with ketchup. Plus some pretty gerbera daisies from Whole Foods (didn't eat those!)

October 22, 2008

2008-10-22T07:28:00.010-04:00

Per Nate's request, Chocolate Chip Cookies were my weekend baking project. Back in July, the NY Times ran an article describing the art of the "perfect chocolate chip cookie". I halved the NY Times recipe and used whole wheat flour instead of bread flour. Despite the modifications, the cookies turned out well. My only change for next time might be to use milk chocolate chips rather than semi-sweet. I think that the key to this recipe is the refrigeration period between mixing the batter and baking the cookies. Refrigerating the dough allows the egg and butter to soak in to the flour and brown sugar - producing more depth in flavor and a better texture. I baked 12 cookies after 12 hours in the fridge and definitely noticed an increase in caramelization and chewiness. I left the remainder of the dough in the fridge for 36 hours and have frozen it for future use. I can't wait to bake them and see if the cookies are even better!

Cookie dough in my fridge:

Yum!

And just for fun - last Friday I packed a really spectacular breakfast and lunch (or at least I thought so!)

breakfast: apple, Pure Protein bar, hardboiled egg white

lunch: roasted mushrooms, whole wheat pumpkin macaroni and cheese

snacks: yogurt, raisins, banana bread

Home made banana bread! I used Cooking Light's classic banana bread recipe. I modified it a bit by using 1/2 whole wheat flour. This turned out really well - moist and delicious!

Fall Traditions and Another 20-miles 10/11/08 & 10/12/08

2008-10-11T16:30:00.013-04:00

Columbus Day breakfast: 2 eggs, spinach, light cheddar, ketchup, flax and fiber toast. Yum, protein! Plus a GREAT McIntosh apple w/ maple-peanut butter.

Pre 20-miler/Post 20 miler fuel: Pumpkin Spice Pancakes!!
These pancakes were GREAT. So light and fluffy - almost like pumpkin muffin tops. Mmm, I loaded mine up with maple-peanut butter and maple syrup. Recipe adapted from http://www.allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1.5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg white
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. Serves 2.

Homemade apple pie: I've made my own apple pie for the past 4 years - it's becoming quite the tradition! As usual, I followed my Better Homes & Gardens classic apple pie recipe. However, this year I couldn't resist using some whole wheat flour in the crust. I also decided to use 100% butter (vs. shortening). I prefer eating real butter over crisco, but the all butter crust isn't as flaky and tender as the butter-shortening combo. Oh well! It's still very yummy. The Granny Smith apple filling provided a pleasant tart contrast to the sugar and butter.

A Northern Manhattan Autumn

I took my camera for a run along the Hudson River. So pretty!

High Mileage and Cookies 10/04/08 - 10/08/08

2008-10-10T08:08:00.009-04:00

This week marks the height of my marathon training - less than 30 days to go! I'm aiming to run 60 miles this week (highest mileage ever), so hopefully that works out. I'm hungry and tired most of the time. On the bright side, that means nap time and double desserts!

Maple syrup-peanut butter and banana on whole wheat. What a yum dinner!

Mmm, frosted pumpkin spice cookies. I used 1/2 whole wheat flour to bump up the fiber content, canned pumpkin added plenty of vitamin A, and the organic eggs/skim milk contributed some protein. These cookies were soooo good - very moist.

This is the recipe that I used: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Iced-Pumpkin-Cookies/Detail.aspx

Weekend grocery store round-up: mixed greens, Stacy's pita chips, diet Snapple, TJ's organic honey crunch & oats, caramel brownie Luna bars, portabello mushrooms, Newman's Own lite balsamic dressing, TJ's unsalted peanut butter, orange juice, Peanut Butter & Co maple pb (excited about this!), Do-Goodie organic brownie, vanilla Chobani greek yogurt, bananas, mint Promax bar, pb and apple pie Larabars.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

2008-10-03T07:27:00.008-04:00

World's Healthiest Macaroni and Cheese: I started with an Ellie Krieger recipe and then made some tweaks. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb whole wheat pasta

15oz canned pumpkin

2 cups skim milk

6oz reduced fat cheddar cheese, cubed

1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese

1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano, shredded

1 tsp salt

1tsp mustard

black pepper (to taste)

1 tsp olive oil

2 Tb whole wheat bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and coat 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until "al dente" or about 8 minutes

In a large saucepan, combine pumpkin and milk until just about simmering

Remove from heat and add 2Tb parmigiano-reggiano, 6oz cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, salt, pepper, and mustard - combine until sauce is smooth and melted

In a large bowl, combine cheese sauce and pasta

Transfer to the baking pan

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, bread crumbs, and 2Tb parmigiano-reggiano

Sprinkle crumb topping on top of macaroni

Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes (until top is brown and crispy)

Makes 8 servings (about 325 calories, 8.5 grams of fiber, 18 grams of protein per serving)

Whole Foods shopping trip: whole wheat pasta shells, low fat cottage cheese, parmigiano reggiano, canned pumpkin, luna bars, coconut cream pie lara bar, and cranberry-almond-white chocolate cookies. Yum!

My running shoes! Asics Nimbus. 200 miles and counting...

20 miles and other projects September 24-29, 2008

2008-09-29T21:25:00.007-04:00

Dinner - Monday, September 29, 2008: pigs in a blanket a.k.a. turkey hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls. I've been craving these for a week! I sliced a few franks down the middle and stuffed them with reduced fat cheddar cheese. These guys were kind of high in sodium, but relatively healthy. The turkey franks had 45 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 6 grams of protein each and I used Pillsbury reduced fat crescent rolls (90 calories, 4.5 grams fat, 2 grams of protein).
Sunday, September 28, 2008: 20 miles! Weather was yucky, rainy, humid, and GROSS. I felt pretty sorry for myself for the first few miles. Pulled myself together around mile 7. Legs and feet started to ache around mile 15, but nothing serious. Tried Clif shot bloks. Grade: A+ for taste, A- for convenience, B for digestibility (must drink more water with these guys).

Below is a photo of my post-run refuel: sprouted grain bread with pb and 1/2 banana, greek yogurt sprinkled with Kashi Go Lean Crunch, celery with pb, powerade zero. Not pictured: small plum, kashi chewy bar.
Skillet Cornbread: This was pretty healthy - I used skim milk, organic eggs, smart balance, and whole grain corn flour. The result was a bit dry - next time I'll use 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 corn flour.

Birthday Cake - September 21, 2008

2008-09-22T22:01:00.007-04:00

Wednesday 9/17/08 Avocados & Truffles

2008-09-17T21:42:00.008-04:00

Chocolate Truffles :-)

The toppings: cocoa, powdered sugar, and crushed almonds.

Homemade midnight truffles! Semi-sweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, butter, and cream.

Dr. Prager's Veggie Burger, avocado, and ketchup on whole wheat.

Avocado!

Assorted 9/14/08-9/17/08

2008-09-17T06:58:00.006-04:00

A picture perfect gala apple from the farmer's market :-)

Oats, Cranberries, Almonds, & White Chocolate, yum!

City Girl, Country Girl cookies from whole foods - SO good.

Sunday dinner: brown rice, kidney beans, and spinach!

Long Run report: 4:45am wake-up, coffee & breakfast at home, and then a cab ride to Queens - arrived by 6am. 16 minute warm-up, Queens 1/2 marathon starts promptly at 7am, 20 minute cool-down afterwards. Total: 17 miles

Mile-by-Mile:

Mile 1: Sweat. Mile 2: Sweat some more. Mile 3: More sweating. Mile 4: Is it raining or is are those sweat droplets from the guy in front of me? Mile 5: Feeling a little hungry. Mile 6: Gatorade up my nose at the water station. Mile 7: Smells like old person bad-breath. Hope it's the long island sound and not me. Mile 8: Coffee flavored gel, less awful than I expected. Mile 9: Gotta pee, maybe I should stop. Mile 10: Only 3 miles left, I can wait. Mile 11: Feeling ok. Mile 12: Ready for this to be over. Mile 13: Yay, done (well, almost.)
Felt a little out of it and sick after my cool-down. Probably dehydrated/low blood sugar. I drank SO much water/gatorade during the remainder of the day. I also probably spent too much time on my feet (walked across Central Park to the subway, walked ~2 miles to meet Agnes for coffee, laundry, errands, etc).

Weekend! September 6th & 7th 2008

2008-09-09T21:49:00.011-04:00

Homemade berry-almond granola, yum!

Finished apple galettes - so pretty :-)

Adding apple butter to the tart crusts.

Apple Galette crust.

Finished focaccia bread pizza, yum! Whole wheat crust, olive oil, reduced fat mozzarella, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, olives, and parmesan.

Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. Love this book!

whole wheat focaccia bread- after second rising and pre-toppings.

And then the culinary adventures began! whole wheat foccacia bread - first rising.

Long Run....15 miles....pouring rain and wind...so I did it on the treadmill. Struggled with this one mentally, but got it done. Phew. I refueled with an AWESOME Whole Foods salad. Yay. Salad included: spinach, grilled onions, beets, bell peppers, baked tofu, chickpea salad, feta, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Thursday 9/04/08

2008-09-03T22:20:00.010-04:00

Dinner: Kashi mountain medley granola w/ soymilk, whipped cottage cheese and triscuits.
Post work-out: 1/2 whole wheat bagel w/ pb.

Lunch & Snacks: GIANT Salad (not pictured), cinnamon sugar pretzels, and PB lara bar.

Breakfast: cantaloupe, whipped cottage cheese, cranberries & almonds, Clif Z bar, calcium supplement.

Wednesday 09/03/08

2008-09-02T23:03:00.008-04:00

Dinner: cantaloupe, whole wheat bagel w/ whipped cottage cheese and raspberry jam, cocoa rice krispies treat.
Snacks: cinnamon pretzels, pb granola bar.

Lunch: The picture is from yesterday, hehe. Today my salad consisted of spinach, red onion, tomato, mushroom, broccoli, kidney beans, cranberries, tofu, blue cheese, and balsamic vinegar. Yum!
Breakfast: Post-7 mile run. OJ, Fage 2%, cranberries, Clif kid z-bar.

Tuesday 09/02/08

2008-09-02T22:39:00.012-04:00

Dinner: Chocolate milk (no photo), whole wheat toast with pb and banana, yoplait light with Kashi Mountain Medley granola.

Shopping trip: diet snapple (4), vanilla soymilk, whipped cottage cheese, cantaloupe, banana, and tiscuits. Snack: fun-size snickers, although it would have been more "fun" if it were larger!
Salad consisted of spinach, red onion, mushroom, carrots, chickpeas, cranberries, egg whites, blue cheese, and balsamic vinegar.
Lunch: Post-3 mile run. Salad, Stacy's pita chips, green iced tea.

Breakfast: Crazy morning!!! coffee, apple, fage 2% , peanut butter granola bar.

Monday 09/01/2008 or the day I turned 24

2008-09-02T22:27:00.014-04:00

Max Brenner dark hot chocolate mix.
Snickers' "marathon" protein bar.
Belgian dark chocolate spread, caramel apple butter, and pumpkin butter. Yum!
My gifties! From Nate. I had two of the Boston chocolate chip cookies (they're vegan!) before bed.....
B-Day presents- all wrapped up :-)
Veganomicon cookbook, heart shaped cake tins, and a cupcake tester!
Kitchenaid stand mixer. Oh, the fun I will have!
Dinner: Blockhead's! Corona light with lime, chips and salsa, mini whole wheat spinach burrito with brown rice, black beans, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. Yum! Rice pudding sample for dessert.
Snacks: Sorry no photos! Iced tea and a carrot-raisin-pumpkin muffin from Think! coffee in the village. Later - peach yogurt from Ronnybrook Farms (local dairy).

Breakfast: DD iced coffee, apple, promax protein bar (tastes like a candy bar!)

Nike Human Race - Just DON'T Do It

2008-09-02T22:24:00.004-04:00

After the run, I tried the new Powerade Zero (strawberry flavor). So cold and good! Then I ate some Fage 2% with a peach and dried cranberries. Later on, I had Kashi crackers with cheddar cheese and some baked potato wedges with ketchup. Before I went to bed I had my last Magnolia cupcake.

To make my "homemade french fries", I washed a potato and cut it into even wedges. Then I put the wedges in a plastic bag (gallon size) with a tsp of olive oil and some salt. Shake bag until wedges are evenly coated. Bake on a greased cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven until crispy and golden brown (25-35 minutes).

Nike Human Race 10K: Ugh. The 4 mile warm-up to Randall's Island went pretty well, but upon arrival at the starting line it was madness. 10,000 runners (plus spectators and other sports teams) were crammed on to a 3 mile diameter island. The race started about 30-40 minutes late and the course was very narrow and mostly concrete/gravel. Things moved along ok, until mile 5.5 when we came to a COMPLETE STOP. As the walkers finished lap 1 and runners finished lap 2, a foot bridge became seriously clogged with people. This cost me about 3 minutes. After finishing (51 minutes, ugh!!!) I was really pissed. To add on some mileage, I ran across the tri-borough bridge and through Harlem (in the dark...eek) This brought me to about 12.5 for the day.

Sunday 8/31/08

2008-08-31T15:51:00.007-04:00

Photo of the Farmer's Market raisin bread loaf.
Nike Human Race 10k @ Randall's Island - 6pm tonight!

Breakfast: Coffee, OJ, banana, peanut butter, whole wheat bread with smart balance and raspberry preserves, Farmer's Market raisin bread (2 slices).
Snack: Mom's homemade fudge (not pictured). Pre-race/long run fuel. Obviously.

Saturday 8/30/08

2008-08-31T15:32:00.005-04:00

Dinner: apple (not pictured), whole foods salad - spinach, bell pepper, celery, sesame broccoli, chickpeas, cranberries, baked tofu, blue cheese, and a splash of miso dressing.
Late night: whole wheat bagel with cream cheese (1am - was starving!)
Breakfast: coffee, banana, peanut butter, vita muffin, calcium supplement.
Snack: Dunkin' Donuts latte lite (while walking to Farmer's Market, sorry not pictured!)
Lunch: No picture - out with my mom at the Park View Diner :-) Grilled portobello mushroom with fresh mozzarella, tomato, lettuce, and pesto mayo on whole wheat. French fries on the side!

Peachy Pink roses in my make-shift vase :-)

Lunch, Dinner, & Cupcakes!

2008-08-29T22:26:00.003-04:00

Lunch was an office pizza party - veggie pizza, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and a small scoop of cheesy baked ziti. yum!

Snack: Chocolate vitamuffin a spoonful of PB while waiting at the bus station for my mom.

Dinner: Fred's (puppy dog-themed!) Restaurant on the UWS. I had a great salad: spinach, red onions, wild mushrooms, grilled apple slices, pecans, blue cheese tossed with balsamic vinaigrette. I also had some great sourdough bread with sweet butter (x2). The presentation of the salad was very aesthetically appealing. The greens were mounded in the center and everything else was carefully arranged on top. It reminded me of a little mountain :-)

Dessert: Magnolia Bakery pink frosted cupcake! A smidgen of mom's peanut butter blondie.

Breakfast 8/29/08

2008-08-29T08:01:00.005-04:00

Breakfast: The usual coffee w/ fat free half-n-half, apple, OJ, and a promax protein bar. We're having an office pizza party for lunch!

Late night

2008-08-29T07:57:00.004-04:00

The Central Park Track Club workout went pretty well - 2 miles warm-up, 1.4m "pick-up", 3 x 600m hill charges (600m recovery), 3 x 400m short hills (400m recovery), 2-3 miles of cool-down. Total: somewhere between 9 and 10 miles

Afterwards I was wiped out. Refuled with some OJ and 1/2 pb sammy on the subway. Zico coconut water and a red velvet cupcake when I got gome. Yum!

Thursday 8/28/08 - Busy Day!

2008-08-27T19:38:00.013-04:00

New Peanut Butter Review: I've been buying Trader Joe's PB for a few months now (can't beat the $1.29 price!), but I was at Whole Foods yesterday and decided to give that brand a whirl.
Price: $2.19 for 16oz jar
Description: All natural PB - Just peanuts and salt!
Consistency: The oil seperates to the top, so a good stir is necessary upon opening.
Taste: Yum! Very rich and peanut-y. I like this a lot better than TJ's brand.
Grade: A

Post-workout: OJ and 1/2 pb sandwich on whole wheat

Snack: Cranberries and Fage 2% yogurt

Lunch: A BEAUTIFUL salad made with: mixed greens, onions, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, chickpeas, cranberries, blue cheese, and fat free honey mustard dressing. Sorry no photo - use your imagination! A caramel nut brownie luna bar on the side.

Breakfast: coffee with half-n-half (at home), Dunkin' Donuts caramel iced coffee with milk (at work), nectarine, raspberry light n' fit yogurt, 1/2 cup Kashi heart2heart, and a cran-bran vitamuffin.

Dessert!

2008-08-27T19:34:00.001-04:00

Edy's Slow-Churned Cookies & Cream bar (the last one!)

Pretty Salad and Carbs

2008-08-27T18:52:00.007-04:00

After my salad, I was craving carbs! I had 1 cup of Kashi Heart2Heart, a Kashi Pumpkin Spice granola bar, and 1/2 peanut butter LaraBar.

The base of my salad is spinach and red/yellow bell peppers. The four corners consist of approx. 1/4 cup scoops of: black bean salad, sesame broccoli, BBQ tempeh, and feta-blueberry quinoa salad. In the middle I added some celery and blue cheese crumbles.

A sweaty run ends with...

2008-08-27T18:44:00.004-04:00

After cleaning the bathroom, taking out the recycling, and some other odds and ends - I hit the road for an 8 mile run down the West Side. My right hamstring and IT band were giving me some trouble, but the weather was gorgeous. I stopped near Broadway & 86th to stretch and get some Tasti D-Lite (the photo is not my own...but it's a good reenactment). I chose a small peanut butter Tasti D with waffle cone pieces, yum! Then I walked for a few miles to Whole Foods - Columbus Circle.

Breakfast Wed 8/27/08

2008-08-27T11:22:00.009-04:00

Today is a Megan holiday! I am taking the day off of work to get some sleep, clean my apartment, and hopefully go for a run in the beautiful weather. Yesterday, an early birthday surprise arrived from my mom: 4 boxes of VitaBrownies and a basket of Vitamuffins.

For breakfast today, I had a latte lite from Dunkin' Donuts, OJ, a blueberry bran muffin top, and a chocolate muffin top with 2 Tb Justin's peanut butter. Yumm! Off to clean and run!

The Typical Dinner

2008-08-27T11:17:00.008-04:00

Dessert: Whole Foods chocolate dipped biscotti
Dinner: Toasted Ezekiel whole-grain bread with almond butter and strawberry jam (x2).

The Typical Lunch/Snack

2008-08-27T11:11:00.007-04:00

Snacks: Cinnamon Teddy Grahams and Carrot Sticks.

Lunch: Whole Wheat tortilla with turkey, reduced fat cheddar, carrot sticks, and mustard. Served along with mini gherkin pickles and veggie chips.

The Typical Breakfast

2008-08-27T11:01:00.007-04:00

Welcome! I'm going to post a typical day of eats to get this blog (re-)started. I've had the domain for almost a year, but haven't been posting regularly. Let's try this again...

Breakfast: Coffee with soymilk (or half-n-half), slices strawberries, Stonyfield organic lemon yogurt, Nature Valley Peanut Butter granola bar.