A few months ago I became obsessed with mejdool dates.  Like I probably still have 2 lbs of them in my pantry obsessed. 

Since I still have a healthy supply of these wonderful dates, I decided to rekindle my obsession and try to make some truffles again – this time I took my own advice and increased the number of dates from 4 to 5. 

These get sweeter the more time they spend in the fridge – resist the temptation to eat them right away. 

Medjool dates are so sweet so these taste almost dessert like – they would also make a great pre or post workout snack or afternoon snack.  

Both Matt and I struggled to get out of bed this morning – probably because we both have to go to work on this gorgeous, spring day. 

I went for a short run this morning (although all of my runs recently have been short) – I ran 2.23 miles in 24 minutes.  Today’s run (week 6, day 1 of the couch to 5k) was a five mile run followed by 3 minutes of walking, 8 minute run and three minutes of walking and ending with a 5 minute run.  Before heading out I had a medjool date – and I think I fell in love.  So sweet and delicious.  I had a great run which I’m crediting to the date. 

After my run, I scrubbed our bathroom – Matt has to clean the kitchen tonight – and then enjoyed some brunch. 

A Thomas’s Whole Wheat bagel with two pieces of swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and pickle slices.  Heavenly. 

Plus a side of green bean fries – which weren’t my best. 

I think every sandwich should have pickles on it – just sayin. 

Off to work. 

Dear Mother Nature,

Last time I ran a half marathon, it was snowing.  In Florida.  In fact, it was the coldest weather Florida has seen in 20 years.  My next half marathon is on Sunday.  Currently the weather forecast is:

Scattered thunderstorms possible. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s.

I would prefer it to be a tad cooler and no thunderstorms.  Clouds would be ok and humidity should be low. 

I would appreciate all that you can do for me.

Thanks!

Heather

This morning I ran 6 miles – it was a great 6 miles.  My average pace was pretty decent and my last mile was my fastest – by almost 20 seconds.  I hope to run again on Wednesday (if my paper is finished) and again on Friday…

Before my run I had a Trader Joe’s Fig Walks Into a Bar and for breakfast I had my Chocolate Soy Nut butter Smoothie – 1 package Chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast, frozen banana, 1 cup of skim milk and 1/4 cup of oatmeal (blended first).

Green Tip of the Day: Save paper by shrinking your margins.  You can also sign a petition at Change the Margins to ask Microsoft to change the default margins in Word.  Don’t forget to print double sided as well.

I had an ulterior motive when I made Parmesan Spinach Cakes for dinner last night – I wanted to buy Ricotta cheese so I could make a breakfast similar to Meghann’s from the other day. 

Before breakfast though, I made it out for a 5 mile fartlek run.  I ran 1 mile at a normal pace and then for the next 3 miles, I alternated between 2 minutes of faster running and 2 minutes of easier jogging. 

I enjoyed a Trader Joe’s Fig Walks into A Bar before my run.

It was very humid but I was able to maintain a pretty fast pace (for me) for each two minute segment.  I was very relieved when I was done. 

My breakfast cannoli included:

• Kashi Island Vanilla
• sliced banana
• blueberries and strawberries
• little over 1/4 cup Part Skim Ricotta Cheese mixed with a little bit of sugar and vanilla to sweeten it up

What a great breakfast.  The fruit and cereal added a great flavor to the ricotta cheese.  I tried to get cereal, fruit and ricotta in every bite full –perfect way to start my Friday.

Green Tip of the Day: Tap water is much better for the Earth than drinking bottled water.  Go to Environmental Working Groups Water Database to see how your drinking water rates and learn about possible contaminants.  You can then buy a filtration system accordingly. 

If your water gets good marks and your biggest concern is chlorine, try filling a pitcher and letting it sit, uncovered, on the counter overnight.  The chlorine will evaporate. 

After my less than stellar 10 mile run on Sunday, I decided I needed to step up my running before my 1/2 marathon in two weeks.  Yikes.  My training program called for 7 miles and 7 miles is what I did. 

I got up at 5:30 am – no snooze today!  Instead of wearing my camelbak, I filled a water bottle and a little over two miles into my run, dropped it off on someone’s front lawn.  I then ran a little over a mile and turned around. I picked up the water bottle on my way home.  My water bottle was 1/2 water, 1/2 Powerade so I got a little bit of energy throughout my run.  My run was pretty decent – much easier than Sunday.  Definitely a confidence builder – I just hope the rest of my runs go that way.

Before heading out I had 1 piece of toast with soy nut butter and banana.  Sadly I forgot to take a picture – but you can use your imagination.

After a long run, I am never hungry.  Knowing I need to eat, I whipped up my favorite smoothie – what can I say – it tastes like dessert!  What a treat after running.

1 Chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast, frozen banana, 1/4 cup of Oatmeal (ground up first) and 1 cup of skim milk. 

Green Tip of the Day: Have you switched to green electric power?  For a few dollars more a month, your local utility can deliver wind, solar or water power, or a combination of all three.  Check out the website on your next energy bill. 

This morning I got up at 6:30 am and was out the door a little after 7 am for my 10 mile run.  Eeek. 

Before leaving, I had a Whole Wheat Hoagie Roll with a banana and some soy nut butter.

The ten miles were definitely tough.  I got a tad lost and circled around the same streets multiple times – that frustrated me.  These ten were a lot harder then the last nine miles I ran.  My two weeks of almost no running were apparent.  I took some walking breaks and tried not to be so hard on myself.  This run was a good kick in the pants – I need to make sure I follow my schedule for the next two weeks. 

When I arrived home, I enjoyed some Fruit Punch Powerade and then after a shower, made my favorite smoothie. 

In the Magic Bullet went 1/2 cup of oatmeal – I  blended that first to make sure it wasn’t chunky.  Next I added 1 frozen banana, 1 chocolate carnation instant breakfast packet, 1 cup of skim milk and 1 teaspoon of soy nut butter.
I just finished icing my legs and now I have some laundry to finish.  I’m sure a nap is also in my future.

Matt and I are headed into Boston tonight to walk around a little and have dinner – it is his birthday on Wednesday. 

I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend like our nephew Cole is!

It is snowing.  Again. 

I made it over to the apartment gym for a much better 5 mile run this morning.  To prevent a repeat of yesterday, I ate only a Fig Newman before walking over there.

I had the gym to myself so I caught up on the Today show while running my little heart out.  I challenged myself with some speed intervals which kept the run interesting.  I still hate the treadmill though.

After a warm shower, I settled down for some b-fast/lunch.

Egg in a basket, Chocolate milk and a banana….

Hit the spot.    I really love the egg in a basket – so simple.

Matt and I are going to run a few errands momentarily and then enjoy the rest of New Years Eve at home relaxing and maybe watching a movie.

Do you have any big New Years Eve plans?

I didn’t make it to bed at 10 pm like I had hoped last night – it was closer to 11 pm BUT we finished writing out our Christmas cards.  Matt is going to pick up stamps today and we will stamp and seal them tonight.  I also spent a few minutes reading in bed – I am trying to read a little every night (even if its just a few pages); I hope it helps my brain focus on something besides work, the holidays, running, etc.

I woke up at 6 am today – didn’t even hit the snooze button – and made it over to our apartment gym where I ran for 60 minutes (the highest amount of time allowed on the treadmill).  Although I didn’t run 7 miles, I did make it to 6.5.  I did a mix of speed intervals to try to keep things interesting…as interesting as you can make running on a stationary object.  At least I was able to catch up with Meredith and Matt.

Before running, I enjoyed a Fig Newman. 

After a nice hot shower, I enjoyed a breakfast sandwich on a Food for Life English Muffin. 

On my sandwich was soy nut butter, sliced honeycrisp apple and sliced banana

I was going to eat the rest of the apple and banana with my breakfast but I’m stuffed!  Instead, I will bring it to work for a mid-morning snack. 

As I was watching the Today show this morning, I was thinking…Are you a Today show or Good Morning America fan?  

On the Road!

Last night while looking at the weather for today, I realized my run this morning was going to be done on the treadmill.  Also, thinking about how helpful it was to bring my breakfast to work today, I decided to take Cream of Wheat Wednesday to work. 

Before heading over to the apartment gym, in the heavy snow, I enjoyed a Fig Newman. 

Last night, I prepared my supplies – check them out!

In my lunch bag went a whisk, and unpictured spoon, Instant Cream of Wheat, Soy Nut butter, and Raspberry Jelly.  I will buy a banana in the cafeteria to mash into the mix. 

In case you couldn’t tell, today is Soy Nut Buttah and Jelly Cream of Wheat.

I hate to say it but I have only ONE meeting today – at 5:30 pm.  I have almost a free day.  Hopefully I will make a dent on my to-do list!

Before my run, I enjoyed an excellent pre-run snack/afternoon snack: Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt, one crumbled Barbara’s Oat and Honey granola bar, and some Pomegranate arils

I headed out with enough time to run 7 miles just before dark.  It was chilly and some areas were still covered in a little snow but it was a great run!  Compared to last week’s 9 miler, this run was much easier.  I wasn’t dehydrated and the wind was much lighter – I had energy to keep going but the lack of sunlight towards the end put a damper on that. 

After my run I got working on our dessert for the evening – but first dinner.  We had leftover spinach, mushrooms and scallions from last week that needed to be used.  I thought the best way to use them was to make a big omelet.  We were out of shredded cheese, so I used a Laughing Cow Herb and Garlic cheese. 

Because there wasn’t enough veggies for two omelets, Matt got to work on another egg recipe that I was sent by a reader (thanks Cindy!) a few weeks ago – Pizza! Pizza Egg Mug 

I think Matt followed the recipe pretty closely except he used one egg and one egg white; he also used Pizza sauce and regular pepperoni – all we had in the fridge. 

I had 1/2 of Matt’s Egg Mug egg and 1/2 my veggie omelet for dinner plus a Food for Life English Muffin

I loved this dinner – the Pizza! Pizza! Egg mug was excellent – such a great flavor.  I highly recommend this recipe for a quick dinner.  

In yesterday’s freezer cleanout/inventory, I also checked the fridge and found a few apples that were also nearing the end of their edibility.  I had found a recipe on Megan’s blog a few weeks ago that I had wanted to try and tonight was the night. 

I followed the recipe pretty closely but used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/8 cup maple sugar – I also omitted the cinnamon.

I had a portion of this delicious dish for dessert.

I predict these apples may find their way into breakfast one day this week…

How often do you do a fridge/freezer cleanout?