"I used to run marathons"

That was the quote that I was thinking of when I was running my 20 this morning... almost 20, I think I did around 19 or 19.5 and wiped out (it was slippery and I slipped on a rock) at the end and called it a day! Last long training run, but I didn't nail it. I think I'll just be out for a finish on Nov 22! It stinks that I'm not into this training - it is disheartening.

The fun part about the run is that I met Denise for the first time in person - yay! It was nice to run with her and meet her!

Fueling- I think I was dehydrated, water looked so refreshing. I only took one GU after 2 hours. My face was all salty at the end - is that good or bad? My fueling strategy needs work. My stomach is definitely sensitive lately.

As I was running I was thinking of the needed break that I will take after the marathon, and then maybe pick a tri to do in 2010. I don't know which distance I should start with for the tri. I think I will have fun with that!

Don't forget to enter the Solstice Giveaway! The bars are super good!

Thanks for your votes everyone!

The tiresome campaigning - paid off!! Thank you everyone for your votes! Nick won the contest.
I appreciate all of your votes :) so much!

Vote vote vote

Today is the last day of the contest, so I ask for you to please vote! You can vote everyday so if you voted yesterday - you can vote again today. I don't know how the pirate he is up against right now is keeping up- I seriously feel like I am campaigning!!


http://philly.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=V&c=11076&s=1902108&i=1#SD


Thanks for your votes!! I super appreciate it!

Winner

The winner was #35... Jaime. Congrats!
Stay tuned for another giveaway today!

Please vote for Nick today and tomorrow if you have a chance :) I really appreciate it!

Vote for Nick...pretty pretty please

Vote here

It's a close race...

Last day for giveaway: earn 2 extra entries

Today is the last day for the fun giveaway!! I will pick a winner @ random and post it tomorrow - with another giveaway too!

For an extra 2 entries today on the autumn giveaway, vote for Nick in this local Halloween contest - I've posted the link at the top of the blog. He is doing really well, and might be a contender, but needs your votes!! :) The prize is $1000 - which to me right now not working is gold!! It is kind of a pain in that you have to register to vote, but all that you need is to fill out a form and username/password, and you can vote. He is on the first page, the 12th entry I think, but if you click the link on my blog, it should take you right to his entry and you can register to vote. I appreciate it!! If you do vote, please leave 2 extra comments on the giveaway post so that I can count them for you!

Does anyone eat the Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal? I have 5 great coupons that expire on Saturday for $1.50 off one box of the cereal. I can mail them out today - just leave a comment if you want them and include your email address so that I can get in touch with you!

15+ 3

This weekend an 18er was scheduled. I met up with Halley - who ran with me 2 weeks ago when I did 16. She did her first half marathon in September (PDR) and the most she ran so far was on Saturday - 15 miles. She is fast, she had a 1:45 at her first 1/2 - she ran XC in high school but is just getting into the racing scene. We did out and backs at Valley Forge on Saturday - it was humid and drizzly and I wasn't having a good day with some stomach issues, but we finished 15 miles. Several hours later I dragged myself on the treadmill to do 3 miles. I know it doesn't count the same as doing 18 straight, but at this point, I don't care that much - I'm doing maintenance miles to FINISH the marathon:)
I was happy it was done on Saturday and I could sleep on Sunday!
I'm actually looking forward to the marathon, but the training is not my highlight right now!

This week coming up is the 20. I think the weather will be cooler and I'll be happy to be done!

Cross training - Lifting
Last week I didn't lift at all but I swim 3 days a week. Do you cross train while marathon training? What about lifting? I can't fit it all in!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway - it ends Wednesday & now has additions such as GU, GU drink, Chocolate Agave #9, And various other fun things!!

REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY: SOLSTICE BAR

Fountain of Youth blend

I was sent some bars and a bag of "Fountain of Youth" Antioxidant Blend from Solstice Bars.

PRODUCT
The bars come in a package split into 2 bars with a chocolate filling in the middle. There are 3 flavors - 1) Dark chocolate, cherry & almond, 2)Mochadamia and 3) Dark Chocolate and Peanut butter. You can guess which one was my favorite. The Dark Chocolate, Cherry and Almond (with flax, hempseeds, cherries and almond)was fantastic, the Mochadamia had espresso beans in it and was a great morning wake up, and the Chocolate/Peanut Butter (their best seller)was divine.

The bars were all similar in that they each have goji berries in them. They are made with agave syrup, belgian dark chocolate, rolled oats, and a mix of nuts, seeds, and grains. These bars were delicious. Each 1/2 bar (pictured above is one bar split into two halves) contains 150 calories (170 for the peanut butter/chocolate). It is perfect if you want to grab a snack, or eat the whole bar for a small meal.

The bars have been a favorite of President Obama and been said to keep his energy high!

The new Solstice "Fountain of Youth" Blend contains 8 antioxidant rich fruits, nut and cocoa nibs and makes a great addition to yogurt, cereal, or a baked good, or can be eaten right out of the bag. I had it with a spoon and it was fantastic.

Check out the website for a further description of the products.

COMPANY
The company sprouted from a small café in Oregon to the whole country. Reiner Bohlen and wife Stephanie wanted to share their discovery of a nutritious delicious bar. Solstice Bakery is family-owned & their bars are handmade in their Corvallis bakery.


GIVEAWAY!

Giveaway Rules:
Visit the Solstice Bar website and post the name of the Solstice retailer closest to you. You can find this under "Buy some bars." The winner will receive a 6 pack of bars (2 of each) and a bag of "Fountain of Youth" yum. There is a giveaway for every 50 comments, so encourage your friends to visit my blog for more prize packs!!

I will use random.org to select one winner at random on November 5th. The giveaway with close November 4th at midnight. Be sure to leave your email so that I can contact you. Winner has 48 hours to respond to email.

And please vote for Nick!! :)

Motivation

Thanks Mama Simmons for this link. Check out Kristin Armstrong's blog on motivation today - it made me think, and feel like I am just in a phase where I am seeking balance. I used to be in autopilot - workout, go to work, come home, do work, go to bed. My life has changed (since adjusting to having a baby in the house) and I will get back to where I used to be - or not ? I will find happiness and balance however it should be. It's a great post!

ANd...

I totally forgot this item which I may buy for myself ... but a VIDEO MONITOR??
I need that pronto.. anyone have one?

THe 'bers and wish list

Once September hits, then October...Christmas is right around the corner. It's the beginning of the months ending in BER - and the fall/winter season! I love fall. It is by far my favorite season, surpassing summer by a huge chunk! Christmas is also my birthday and I just realized that I am more than 30.5 years old and have been for a while and am going to hit 31 this December. Sickening. In any case, I already have a wish list of what I am coveting so I wanted to start keeping track of it :)

YES definitely list
* A new bottom to our sleigh bed (Story behind that one - When we got married I picked out a sleigh bed with raised top and bottom, and my inlaws ended up picking a furniture set for us and it didn't have the bottom that I wanted... I bang into it ALL the time and I want the raised bottom so bad!)

* pedicure, manicure, a new face...any spa treatments that will reduce my age

* Road ID. I should have bought one of these things for myself but I haven't.

* Babysitter for a few hours. How nice would it be to have a bunch of time to myself- pair it with the spa. Love it.

*Pottery Barn (and pottery barn Kids) gift certificates so I can make over my house

* Clothes gift certificates so I can get a new MOM wardrobe. All my shirts seem too short!! poo.




MAYBE list

* one of those things that goes on your treadmill for your laptop so that you can use it while on there. Hey, maybe I'd walk more instead of sitting while reading/commenting on blogs. Do you have one? What do you think?


DREAM list *
A maid and personal chef + live in trainer and swing set in my backyard + indoor pool

What is on your list?

Staying at home is making me fat

...and ditzy too. For example on the no brain part - I just made kale. I put most of it in a bowl for dinner to saute later. I put a handful in a cup to make a smoothie (Haven't had one in a while). I took out the greens + powder and put it in the bowl for dinner. Ughhhh. Gross. I don't think anymore.

And yes, I have no self control over eating when I am at home. I try all these new recipes and am my own taste tester. I have food available to me all day long. As soon as I feel any sign of hunger, I can act on it (not so when at work). Oh well, I wouldn't change the staying at home/working thing but it does make it challenging. I wish I could continue the calorie counting - I just can't keep it together! I think blogging makes me fat too - reading blogs with all of these great recipes. Even though they are **mostly** healthy, it is still extra food like desserts. Check out this one for some yummy vegan recipes. I tried the banana bread yesterday but made it pumpkin - it was very sweet and tasted like cookie bars.

The long runs coming up. Ugh. I am not feeling it at all. I feel like 12 miles is all I want to do this weekend. And this week and next week are the heavy mileage weeks. Why am I not feeling it?? The GU should be a nice motivational boost but I'm wondering why I even signed up for the marathon? I wish my motivation didn't SUCK right now! Speaking of GU I "sipped" some of the vanilla gingerbread. Yum yum.. and yum. Definitely check that out. I have to get a hold of some chocolate mint ... Since I am swimming regularly - I think I might try to get into the triathlons and make that my 2010 goal. Maybe I need a break from running.


Check this out...
New blog that I read : Billie - she's training for Philly too! and has a little guy who is about a year older than Nick. She posts great recipes (mmm pumpkin pasta) and talks about running and healthy eating too! Too bad we don't live closer, I think she'd be a great running buddy! :)

Extra entries

Win an extra entry to the giveaway by linking back from your blog - let me know that you did by a comment on the giveaway post!

a GUUUUUUoood Day

Besides this fantastic weather that we are having up north - it is close to 70 today!, Fed Ex came to bring me a big box of GU treats which today made my day. Last week or so when thinking about what I was doing for fuel during long runs and the marathon, I shared that I was boycotting GU since I contacted them to try their new things and no one returned my inquiry. Well! Then - I received a comment from Devon who is part of the PR team for GU who then sent me all of these treats: Roctane GU (haven't tried it yet and the pineapple flavor is caffeine free!, GU Chomps, Recovery drink, electrolyte drink AND the most exciting flavor that I can't wait to "eat" - Vanilla Gingerbread. YUM!! I am now looking forward to my long run this weekend so that I can try all of these GUs! Stay tuned to hear about the different flavors and products!
And - I will definitely share and throw a GU or 2 into my fall giveaway - so make sure you enter!

Today swimming went like this -
4:38 am - looking at the clock. Alarm usually goes off at 4:40. Turn off alarm.
4:48am - Should I go? My arm kind of hurts from the flu shot yesterday. I start doing strokes in bed. Ehhh... I'll get up at 4:50. Maybe I could use some extra sleep. Should I skip it today? Hmm.. If I skip it, I'll have to work out during Nick's nap this morning. Maybe I can suck it up and just go.
4:55 - up and out of bed. It was a decent workout. I was thinking driving home about the privacy issues that DC Running Mama was dealing with, and how I shouldn't write anything I wouldn't one someone that I swim with (hardly know anyone) to read. But - I'll tell you, a fast chick came back from having the flu and it was SOo nice without her. She changes the set and cheats - what is the point?? I swam in her lane today and it wasn't thrillingly enjoyable. With her not there, there was a nice happy medium. But - that's all I'll say. Hopefully she won't find my blog.

Happy sunshiney day!

Autumn GIVEAWAY

I'd like to share some of the things I have had the opportunity to try lately with you. Here we have:


Tri Berry Nuun
Banana Nuun
Cashew Almond Prana Bar
Pistachio Pumpkin Boomi Bar
Original Flavor Tempo Bar
and I might throw a few more things in there : )

1. To enter, go back to my review on Prana and Boomi Bars and comment THERE on which bar (boomi or prana) and which flavor you would be the most interested in. If your email is not linked up please leave your email in the comment.

2. For an extra entry, become a follower of my blog and leave a comment HERE that you did so.

3. For another extra entry, link back to my blog by posting the giveaway on your blog! Leave a comment HERE that you did so!

Contest ends Wednesday, October 28th - winner will be emailed & announced here and have 48 hours to respond.

2 more weeks

These next 2 weeks are my longest long runs coming up - an 18 miler this coming weekend and 20 miles Halloween weekend. I am trying to figure out how and where I will run them. The best 20 mile training run that I had was running part of a marathon this spring - I wish that I could find one so that I could do that again! The last time I was training for Philly I had a group of friends running it too - this time, I'm going it solo! I'm looking forward to the next 2 weekend runs to be done and looking for a good way to get them in and enjoy them!

No thank you!

It has been a nice year and 5 months since I had my friendly period. Nick is almost 8.5 months old and I'm still nursing, but I heard you still get it around 8-10 months. Nooooooooo! I am so bloated and just feel it coming along. I feel like CRAP! I got in a 10 miler on the treadmill due to the weather but it absolutely sucked. I felt like I was at the end of my pregnancy the way that I was taking breaks to sit on the couch right next to the treadmill to take a break. I had shortness of breath and just a feeling of total bloatedness. I'm on day 2 of feeling like this, my whole stomach just totally uncomfortable. All I want is bread right now. Ugh - I don't want this thing back!! Please tell me it gets better!

REVIEW: Boomi Bar, Prana Bar

I saw Boomi Bars and Prana Bars on another blog at some point and contacted the company to see if I could try them and review them. One day I arrived home to a package filled with 2 boxes of these bars, one box of Prana bars and one box of Boomi bars. I was so excited!

THE COMPANY
The company is located in California and is family owned and operated. The founde,Graeme Duncan studied philosophy while traveling Europe, India and China and visiting temples. He wanted to create a healthy, environmentally friendly and tasty energy bar. “Our philosophy is that the body is a Temple, and we should only introduce first class healthy foods into this complex but beautiful gift, the human body.” (from the company website)



THE PRODUCT
Boomi Bar
Boomi is sanskrit for EARTH. All of the ingredients are very close to the ground - these contain only fruit, nuts, seeds, grains and honey as the sweetener. They are gluten free (hey you GF Gidget - check these out!) On the back of the bar it says that research shows that honey may help speed up recovery of tired muscles and that honey works to give a pre and post workout boost - great for athletes! Most of the bars contain puffed amaranth (a grain I haven't tried) and dates, some have crisp rice, but the rest of the ingredients are basically what the name of the bar is! Very natural, and these are hand rolled!

The flavors were:
Almond Protein Plus: This was different than the rest - made only with honey, almonds and protein powder. It reminded me of a raw cookie made with nuts and sweetener. It looks kind of weird but was tasty for a protein bar!

Self explanatory:
Apricot Cashew
Cashew Almond
Cranberry Apple - 2nd favorite
Fruit and Nut
Healthy Hazel
Macadamia Paradise
Maple Pecan - my favorite
Perfect Pumpkin - chock full of pumpkin seeds!
Pineapple Ginger
Pistachio Pineapple
Walnut Date
Cashew Protein Plus

Perfect Pumpkin

On the whole, these bars reminded me of lara bars but with more taste and a better texture.
They were fantastic!! Bill also gave them a 5 star rating! (and he is not into this health food stuff). They range from 190 to 260 calories with the ginger pineapple on the lower end and cashew almond on the higher end.





PRANA BAR
In Sanskrit, Prana means vital energy. These bars are organic and made with raw unprocessed fruit and nuts. They look similar to the Boomi Bars but have a few more ingredients such as almond butter, agave nectar and some have goji or acai powder. They were a bit softer. Prana bars are 50-77% raw depending on the bar.
The nuts and seeds require slow cooking which is not a raw process.

The flavors for these bars are:
Apple Pie - probably my favorite of the bunch. Delicious: apple, dates, sweet and yummy!
Apricot Goji - a twist of the two tastes - yum!
Apricot Pumpkin - you could taste and see the pumpkin seeds :) *Bill's favorite
Cashew Almond - a mix of the 2 nuts!
Pear Ginseng - mmm - pear and ginseng, with sesame seeds. An excellent combo.
Coconut Acai - 2nd place, this tasted like an oatmeal cookie.

These were a little bit sweeter than the boomi bars but very similar - like sisters!

We grabbed both of these bars for a snack, breakfast on the go, and post - workout fuel. While the Boomi bars had less ingredients, I preferred the sweeter taste and texture of the Prana bars. I would eat either one of these as part of a healthy day - and found them great post long run and post workout.

WHERE TO FIND THESE
Where can you get these ? The company is sporting a new website here. They have discount pricing for automatic delivery and are currently running a promotion for $5 off online orders, if you use the code WEBSITE. A case of 24 Boomi bars goes for $38.40 on the website, and 24 Prana bars for $40.99. You can find them locally by typing in your zipcode here. Find them on amazon for around the same price (varies by flavor), but save 15% if you have them auto delivered. The prices are comparable to Lara Bars I recommend the variety pack which costs a little bit more, but has all of the flavors. Enjoy!


LOOK out for:
They are coming out with SuperCharger Bars which are the prana bars with antioxidants added in - I can't wait to try these delicious sounding flavors!!

Blueberry Coconut

Goldenberry Goji

Mango Maca

Raspberry Pomegranate

Tonight was make your own pizza night with my cousins. I made the whole wheat dough (top) and bought a plain one for Bill and my cousin Mike. I made lots of veggies, the sauce, and meatballs for the guys. IT was really fun, I would totally do it again!!

I didn't try the veggie burgers yet but I made some pumpkin soup with veggie broth and pumpkin - it was super easy and I just through it together :)




Gluten Free Gidget sent me a fantastic looking veggie burger recipe that I must try! Thank you : )

VEGGIE BURGERS & pumpkin

I love Dr. Praeger's Veggie burgers - I feel like it is chock full of veggies. However, they go for maybe $3.50 at Trader Joe's and they are gone in an instant. I really want to find a great veggie burger recipe that is full of veggies - do you have one??

Today I was up before Nick to run. My legs were not awake! It was not fantastic - but it was done and gave me time to do other things during his nap :) Looks like a yucky weekend to get in a 10 miler, humpf.

I enjoyed reading the cravings - um, Sarah, I wish I craved fruit and healthy things!!
I made the groat bread with millet and it didn't turn out quite as well but still yummy! It seemed more dry though. How about pumpkin? I am looking for a healthy pumpkin recipe. I made bread - decently healthy. I've used it in pasta but I'm not a pasta girl anymore - grains grains grains!! This morning, Nick had millet with nut butter, pumpkin, mango and flax. He is one lucky baby (well the verdict is still out on that one). I finished it - it was delicious really. See - even he is excited about it below. Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal to give Nick. The rest seem boring!



We are also getting into child proofing. I don't even know where to start. What were your most important things? Seems like I could go nuts buying things...


If you have any recipes to share - please pass along!! :)

Cravings

I just poured myself a glass of milk and thought how obsessed I was with milk when I was pregnant. I did not even realize it, but I'd come home with 4 half gallons of that skim plus milk when it was on sale. I must have had 2 cups of milk a day, minimum.

Then there was Dove soap. I washed my hands like it was my business tons of times a day. I brought Dove soap to the bathroom at work so I could use it there.

GU - I ate GU when I was doing 3 mile runs, 9 mile runs, 12 mile runs. It didn't matter how long the run was. If I was running, GU was involved. My favorite was the chocolate mint seasonal flavor, followed by vanilla bean then chocolate outrage.

Butter and cheese. This lasted a little past Nick being born, too. English muffins slathered with butter with a slice of american cheese on top - not melted. It would get warm and soft and just be delicious. Toast with butter. Cheese on everything. I wonder if Nick will be a butter and cheese lover when he grows up.

When Bill's mom was pregnant with him, she ate peanut butter everyday(I do that pregnant or not). He loves peanut butter. And my mom eats chocolate all the time - and I HAVE to have a piece everyday. It makes you wonder if your eating habits get passed down!

Sometimes I kind of miss being pregnant, but then I think, holy crap, how can I be pregnant AND have a little one running around? How is that going to go down? Looking back, being pregnant with #1 was probably a cake walk compared to what it will be for #2... #3? Oh man. Scary. I kind of wish we had to go through it ONE time and then we could order the rest of our family. What do you think? I guess it is part of life and a neat experience.

What were your weird habits while pregnant?


Updates on various things:

I have dropped the ball on calorie counting. I try to think about it in my head but I just can't sit at the computer and type in everything I am eating. It takes too long and I don't have time!

Speaking of time, I feel like I cannot balance things! My plan on Tuesday was to get up and run before Nick woke up. Then he woke up at 11pm and was up until 12:30am! So I had to bag that. Today I did it - I got up and made it back into the pool. It felt good - but man, you lose that conditioning so quickly!! I was really praying Nick wouldn't wake up in the night last night - he didn't. Woo!

Training schedule

I'd love to hear your feedback on the training schedule for the next few weeks leading up to the marathon next month! I posted the schedule on the last post but here it is again. Click to enlarge! Thanks for the advice so far on fueling and your thoughts on the training schedule!

To clarify, I've been doing junk miles for the past forever weeks and months. I started adding in the tempo runs and speedwork about a month ago. Do I still deserve a week without tempo and speedwork? I don't think so - but I think that I will decrease the length of the long run and focus on quality instead of quantity this week (Thanks, Mama Simmons). What do you think? I also might do a tempo run? I don't know that I've been training HARD yet. I'm thinking of running 10 for the long run. Should I make it at a goal pace or easy pace? Then the following week, I'll make that a quality long run and do (from coach Mama) - 10 at easy pace, 6 miles at marathon goal pace and the last 4 easy (at least, I'll attempt to do this w/o a garmin or on a treadmill!)

For my last marathons I have done one 20 miler. Not 2. I doubt I will do 2 of them. I'm going for fun and just maybe a PR but I'm not going out there with any Boston or bust attitude whatsoever. I'm not in that mental mode right now!

So what are your thoughts on this idea:
This week: 10
Then 18-quality 20-12easy -8 (race/quality)
So far I have done 12, 13.1 (race), 14, 16

I made the oat groats bread again. Oh my gosh - it is so good.

And - I liked it when Nick was facing me - much more entertaining for me while running!! :)

the one and only RECOVERY SOCK

So, I was very, very skeptical about the use of recovery socks when they started appearing on the market. $30 for a pair of socks? Really?

Marco at Recovery Sock sent me a pair of testers to try out.



THE PRODUCT
The only patented compression sock - there are tons out there.

These socks:
-reduce lactic acid in the legs
-reduce swelling
-promotes recovery after a race or long run
-help prevent blood pooling in the legs
-relieves cramps

HOT colors and a HOT look :)



THE REVIEW
I have been putting them on after my long runs in training for the Philadelphia marathon and wearing them the whole day. Not only do I feel cool - I just love the look of shin guards like I was just in a soccer or field hockey game - but I have no lower leg cramps or pain. If only I could find these for my quads and hamstrings!

These are great! After not believing in these socks, they are now a part of my post long run routine. I've been seen in the grocery store & out and about feeling pretty cool with them as well. The fun part - they have great colors - hot pink, lime green, then gray, black, and white. You can find them at the link above for $34.90. I was a super skeptic but I believe in you, recovery socks!! ANd I like the look! Think I can wear them for the marathon? I definitely want to wear fun socks. Bring on the polka dots and stripe designs!

Rest Week

The schedule that I made from smartcoach on runner's world has my long run as 7 miles this week. I feel like I just started training 3 weeks ago and that I really don't need a rest week on the long run. So far I've done 13.1(race), then 12, 14 and 16. My plan is above. What do you think I should do this weekend?

As far as fueling, I haven't been doing it! I'm kind of skipping GU because I'm angry they didn't respond to my request to try out new products/write a review. Yep- I'm a ball buster like that. I used that stuff all through my pregnancy and was a gu poster model - so at least I feel I could use a response (and I've seen it on other blogs). As a result, I don't know what I'm doing mid-run for fuel. I haven't really needed anything? What are you using this season?


Today I made Danica's pumpkin muffins into bread, it was delicious. I didn't use bananas and I swapped ground nuts for almond butter. Yum yum! I also added some milk.


Heather's groat bread without the Stevia - YUM! This is basically some part of oats - groats - with water after being soaked overnight and baked. Delicious and simple!!! I may have to try this pre-run!



For Clare, I'll dig up my quinoa muffin recipe and post it.

Confession - I have not been to master's swimming in almost 2 weeks (it will be 2 weeks on Wednesday!) Last week I was way too tired when Nick had woke up in the middle of the night - he's been stuffy lately, then Bill was away one night, and the past 2 practices (friday, monday) I just could not get out of bed. I have to get back into it on Wednesday! I swam with my sister on Saturday and it felt GREAT - the whole 5am thing, puhh! I reason with myself at 4:30 am that I should sleep in while I can (not teaching).

Great grains and what is stevia?

I have been trying all of these different grains and hardly eat pasta ever anymore - or rice. I wasn't quite sure of the differences between all of these grains and what I could do with them so I wanted to look them up and share my findings.

These grains are healthy as they are full of fiber and help to flush out our systems which helps so that no harmful substances reside in our bodies.


BULGUR - pre-cooked wheat. Low fat protein. 2x the fiber of brown rice, more fiber than oats. Mild flavor & short cook time. I've been having bulgur for breakfast in place of oats! (W/ almond butter and cinnamon...mmm). It has been seen as a main ingredient in veggie burgers ... and used for salads.




GROATS - Oats with outer layer removed, not rolled out. High in fiber, long cooking or soaking time. They make a good porridge or morning cereal once cooked. Good for baking. I tried these once and start cooking them pre run so that they are waiting for me when I'm done. Heather over at HEAB has a great bread recipe posted using these that I plan to try at some point soon!


OATS - rolled out groats. These seem like a staple now, but might have been causing me some stomach trouble. They are in my tempo bars and many recipes. Nick eats oats or millet every day for breakfast (Super porridge!)


QUINOA - seed from south america, related to the spinach family - high protein and calcium. Contains all 9 essential amino acids and great minerals. Gluten free. Quick cooking. Love the protein factor.

I've soaked this for 2 hours and had it with my oatmeal in the morning. Also, I've made muffins with soaked quinoa and had it with dinner. I prefer it with the oatmeal and muffins! I find it to need alot of salt and/or butter if eaten with dinner.

MILLET - Easy to digest. B vitamins and protein. Gluten free.
Heather made bread out of it - check that out. I saw that I could give this to Nick so I tried it and find it tasty. Nick enjoys it too!

BARLEY - Selenium, B vitamins, Vitamin E, folic acid. Nick does not like this at all! I find it tasty for a warm salad tossed with veggies, and I've seen it in soups.

Amaranth - I have not tried this... high protein, vitamin E, calcium. Seems like it is versatile similar to quinoa - sweet or salty, it can go either way. Have you tried it?

What did I leave out?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GRAIN (or seed)? What is your favorite recipe in which you use one of the above - or a different one?

I'm starting to think I should buy some Bob's Red Mill stock!

What is stevia? Why should I try it?

What a perfect running day! I ran my 16 on a new course around conshohocken for the locals - starting on the tow path and running on ridge pike. It was a great day and fantastic run with a new running buddy!

Pumpkin, POM, bread

Thanks for the thoughts on the eating habits/going somewhere. It surprised to hear anyone would be offended if someone brought food to their house. To get around that, I would just bring something I would eat for everyone to eat! Everyone has their own tastes, so that is fair I think. It's just awkward when I meet people for the first time and go to hang out and they learn I'm a nutrition freak! And don't get me wrong, I loooove cookies, pizza, all that stuff and eat it occasionally, I have to! and you see what I bake! But overall, I like to eat well. Anyway - thanks for your thoughts!

What pumpkin things are you making for the season? I want to try this pumpkin butter Danica made, and make her muffins too!

POM sent a nice surprise - 2 bottles of POM juice that are coming out early next year - Kiwi Pomegranate Juice and Nectarine Pomegranate Juice. Both were deliciously sweet. I liked the kiwi taste better than the nectarine, but enjoyed both. The different fruits added a nice twist to the POM flavor. I am going to try what Heather did and make ice cubes for smoothies! Thanks for sending, POM!!




Nature's Pride sent 2 loaves of bread via FoodBuzz to all foodbuzz publishers. One is 12 grain and one whole wheat - they are all natural and have no processed ingredients. Big slices, 110 calories, 5 g of fat, and tasty! The ingredients list was a little much for me: whole wheat flour, water, yeast sugar, wheat gluten, cracked wheat, cultured wheat flour, honey, salt, brown sugar, soybean oil, molasses, wheat bran, raisin juice concentrate, vinegar, soy flour, whey, cultured corn solids but I do find it hard to find bread without processed crap or high fructose corn syrup. I like to have as little ingredients as possible, but I would possibly buy this as it hits the shelves.




This weekend is a 16 miler. The weather looks great for it but I'm a little nervous to finish it out. I'm meeting up with the wife of one of Bill's friends from work who did her first half a couple weeks ago. I think she'll be good company (not sure how much she'll run, 13.1 is her highest to date). We're taking Nick to a pumpkin place on Saturday - super excited about this!! Tis the season!

peanut butter obsession

We all know that I have a peanut/nut butter problem... it is becoming very bad. I think I need to go to BA (butter anonymous?). Peanut butter in my oatmeal, bulgur, bread, ice cream, now I started making a peanut butter/coconut veggie sauce... It took one week to go through the Nuttzo jar. I stopped making almond butter last week in hopes it would help my problem but just ate Bill's natural jarred pb and now I could just eat peanut butter all day and night. Problems!! What is your favorite type of nut butter? What is your favorite brand?


Good news - am I back?? I think I'm back. The marathon is the end of November - which is next month, my goodness!! I was nervous about getting in a long run this weekend, as we headed to CT. Goal on Saturday to get up at 5am and run 14 on the treadmill, then Nick was up at 1am and 4am - it was the first time we drove up or were out at all after his bedtime - we drove during his bedtime after giving him a bath, and he didn't adjust well. So I could NOT get up and run at 5. I planned on it for today and followed through. 14 measly miles on the treadmill. Wasn't fantastic but I got in my mileage - alone - on the treadmill. Last month I would have skipped it.

We took Nick to his first Mets game (baseball game at all) on Saturday. The Mets stink but the stadium was new and pretty cool. Nick was great & it was fun.

and the madness continues!

I have made it without going to the supermarket! There are some serious staples that we need like milk, eggs, some veggie broth would be fantastic to make some soup... how cold is it out? Brrrr! But for now, we're eating tons of veggies, beans and grains. Last night we had kale and beans, a panzanella type salad (wish I took a picture, it was so good) - cut up zucchini, peppers, fennel, cucumbers, add some olive oil and your choice of vinegar and toast some bread with olive oil to make croutons. Toss them all together. It was great! Tonight I made tomato & sweet potato soup and green beans. All that is left is asparagus of the veggies - it's a free for all for the weekend if we don't head to CT! I'll have to go to the store I think! We have tons of bread. Foodbuzz sent 2 loaves of bread to try out and I shopped at the entenmanns outlet a while back and loaded up on whole grain bread!





Today was the first day I did not have a hot cereal breakfast (oats, bulgur, quinoa, etc) in a LONG time. It was good. I'm out of bulgur and oats! I should probably get away from that anyway since I add almond butter to it and eat some out of the jar too. Instead I had kashi go lean (I eat it in smaller quantities now), cranberries and almonds. Billie made a good point in saying that I can do this now but once I have little munchkin's real dinner to worry about, it might be a tad harder! I plan on him eating mostly what we eat, but he'll need more protein!