The Runner's Kitchen

Check out slide #11 of this Glamour article on workout motivation. Hey, that’s my quote!

Anyway, welcome back to the grind Monday! One of the main reasons I go to yoga is because it forces me to do a bit of core work and strength training. However, I haven’t been to yoga in over a week. Solution? I grabbed my latest issue of Women’s Health and knocked out a 15-minute ab workout this morning. I was pretty proud of myself for finishing the routine, but I have to admit it was kind of boring. I just don’t like strength training! The workout consisted of planks, v-twists for the obliques, supermans, and a variation on the basic crunch. The exercises are featured on page 57 of the latest issue of WH, so pick up a copy if you’re feelin’ motivated!

strong core =  strong runner!

Today was crazy busy and my snacks were not that interesting (example: dried cranberries eaten straight outta the bag), so I’ll just feature the day’s best highlights.

The best of breakfast: 2% plain Chobani mixed with PB2, dried cranberries, and Kashi Go Lean.

Best of lunch: leftover maple-roasted root vegetables on top of mixed greens, chickpeas, feta, and whole grain croutons.

The best of the afternoon: Bustin’ loose from the office and running 4 easy miles. I run to stress less.

Best of dinner: More (!) maple-roasted root vegetables with ketchup, black bean veggie burger, whole wheat sandwich thin, and lots of spicy hummus.

Best in Show: a cinnamon chip oatmeal cookie. PERFECT. Good night.

Question: What’s your favorite holiday cookie? I think I need to bake something soon!

Check out these 8 cookies that won’t wreck your healthy diet. Yay, cookies!

As expected, I was a bit sore after my Thanksgiving race. I ran an easy 4 miles on Friday and then rested (and drank beer with friends!) on Saturday. Definitely a wise decision. After a wonderful 8 hours of sleep, I woke up on Sunday to sunny skies and a Starbucks misto. I followed that up with a pre-run bowl of oats:

• 1/3 cup oatmeal, 2/3 cup water
• chopped apple
• 2 Tbs peanut butter
• sprinkle of dried cranberries and chocolate chips

After some digestion, I got ready to run! I had plans to do a long run, but rather than focusing on a distance at the outset, I decided to run by feel. The first 6 miles went by pretty fast. I had some great Black Eyed Peas tunes to keep me company and the weather was fabulous – 55 degrees and sunny. Miles 6-12 were also very relaxed, but I was starting to get a bit thirsty. Unfortunately the NYC Parks Dept shuts off the water fountains in the winter. I discovered this at mile 12. Bummer. Luckily, I had some cash and was able to buy a Gatorade to perk me up a bit. Unfortunately my $20 bill was quite soggy (sweaty). Dear Rite Aid cashier – sorry about that.

I ended up running 16 miles in 2 hours, 18 minutes (~8:40 pace). Yahoo! Also, just for kicks, I took note of my half-marathon time (13.1 miles) and it was 1:54:13 which is 22 seconds faster than when I “raced” the half-marathon back in October. I was really pushin’ it that day, so I think today’s (easy) effort is indicative of positive training gains. Plus my hamstring and IT band felt good! I had some weird twinges in my IT band when I started running clock-wise in the park (due to the tilt of the road), but all in all it feels a million times better than it did this summer.

I finished off my Gatorade and then grabbed a dark chocolate covered pretzel as soon as I walked in the door (salt + sugar!).

Then I put my feet up for 10 minutes to increase circulation and reduce inflammation. This is one of my must-dos after long runs (along with compression socks!).

Cute, eh?

And then I wanted to eat my arm. Luckily I managed to throw together some eats before it got ugly.

I toasted up an Arnold whole wheat sandwich thin, added a black bean veggie burger, hummus, and a string cheese and chowed down. I like string cheeses just as much now as when I was 6. They’re fun to eat!

More food required - celery stalks with goat cheese

And some ak-mak crackers with Sabra’s supremely spicy hummus. My favorite kind!

Surprisingly full of energy, I decided to get creative in the kitchen. Inspired by Robin Robertson’s Vegan Planet, I made maple-roasted root vegetables!

A small pour of red wine kept me company as I prepped the rutabaga, carrots, and sweet potato.

I followed the recipe pretty closely. The only adjustments I made were: substituted garlic for shallots, omitted turnips/parsnips and replaced with sweet potato, reduced the cooking time (my oven is HOT). I’m not going to post the recipe (copyright issues?), but if you say hi to Matt over at Eat With Me and ask really nicely maybe he can hook you up with the recipe.

Delicious! Served with some ketchup on the side. I devoured this plate and then had seconds.

And then for dessert, Alma was nice enough to bring me one of her Aunt Paula and Aunt Lauren’s famous chocolate chip cookies. I snapped this photo of the cookie after I had eaten most of it – it was delicious and gigantic! I think I detected hints of cinnamon? Loved it.

Question: Have you ever eaten a rutabaga (or parsnip or turnip)? Tonight was the first time I ever prepared and cooked rutabaga at home and I liked it. I’m excited to try more seasonal produce.

In the News

The NY Times discusses the stigma of food stamps.

Do tight hamstrings = better running economy and faster 10K times? Yes, according to a recent study.

Still full from Thanksgiving dinner? Make all those extra carbs work for you! Check out the latest post on Running Shorts – Matt and I discuss our favorite speed workouts.

After completing my 30-day vegetarian challenge in September, I decided to only eat meat on special occasions. I’ve only had meat three times since August (bacon-cranberry scones, pancetta topped pizza, and Turkish chicken), but I knew that Thanksgiving was going to be another non-vegetarian day. Prepare yourselves!

Inspired by the New York Times and Real Simple, I prepared roasted brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving dinner.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions and Cranberries

Ingredients:

• 1 lb washed, halved brussels sprouts
• 3 slices bacon
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• salt & pepper

Directions:

• pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
• heat orange juice in small saucepan, remove from heat, add cranberries to plump
• fry the bacon in a pan, drain, and reserve drippings
• toss the brussels sprouts with 1 Tbs bacon drippings, olive oil, salt & pepper, roast for 30 minutes, stirring once
• meanwhile, cook the onion in the remaining drippings until brown and caramelized
• Sprinkle the cooked brussels sprouts with onions, cranberries (drain the OJ first), and crumbled bacon

Veggie Stuffed-Stuffing (Inspired by Cabot Cheese)

Ingredients:

3 slices white bread, cubed
3 slices whole-wheat bread, cubed
1 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2  teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons dried rosemary or thyme
1/2 Golden Delicious apple, cored and chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
4 oz. Cabot 50% Reduced Fat Cheddar, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Spread white and whole-wheat bread cubes in single layer on large baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes or until nicely toasted. Transfer to large bowl and set aside.
• Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, onions and garlic cook, stirring, for several minutes until onions are golden.
• Add celery, sage, rosemary; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
• Pour veggie mixture over bread cubes. Mix in apple, cranberries, and cheese. Drizzle with stock and toss together lightly.
• Bake at 375°F in an oiled dish covered with foil for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 20 minutes longer.)

Sweet Potato Casserole

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup 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 covered for 45 minutes
• Remove dish from oven, sprinkle marshmallows on top, bake for 5 additional minutes

My Thanksgiving Plate!

Caramel apple walnut and pumpkin pie. 11 miles of running = I require 2 slices of pie. Yummy math.

Chase Bank is donating $5 million to local charities and your vote helps decide where it goes.  Become a Facebook Fan and you can influence how the money will be allocated. Check out one of my favorite non-profits: Qualitas of Life, an organization that provides financial education to Hispanic immigrant families in New York City. ‘Tis the season for being generous (and even better when Chase Bank is doing the giving)!

Question: Did you try any new recipes this Thanksgiving? Or did you keep dinner traditional?

After tossing and turning for most of the night, I woke up feeling kind of crummy. Understandably, this made me more than a little nervous for the 9-mile race I was about to run…

My pre-race breakfast was a cup of coffee (with half ‘n half) and an 8-grain bagel with some peanut butter and a sliced banana. I ate my breakfast on the 45 minute drive to the race start and started to feel a little better.

I really lucked out with the weather – my 3/4 length spandex and CPTC t-shirt were perfect for the 50 degree temperatures.

After a 1-mile warm-up, it was time to head to the starting line! Today’s race was the 100th anniversary of the Run for the Diamonds and featured the largest field ever (close to 2,000 runners).

And then we were off!

I was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt once I got moving. Despite a lot of weaving, my first mile was in 7:18 (mostly flat). Miles 2-4 were basically up a mountain (aka Foundry Road) and consequently slow. After the half-way point we got some nice downhill action and I maintained sub-7:20 pace for miles 5-9. I was really proud of my fast first mile and my negative splits (36 minutes for the first half, 32:40 for the second half). I was also really pumped to PR for this race, beating my 2007 and 2008 times by nearly a minute. Take THAT hamstring/IT band injury

2007 – 1:09:29
2008 – 1:09:38
2009 – 1:08:40 (according to my watch)

My sister is such a trooper. Not only did she wake up super early to spectate the race, but she was also my official photographer. Thanks Rachel!

After a s-l-o-w mile cool-down (I am going to be sore tomorrow), we headed back home. I didn’t want to spoil my appetite for Thanksgiving dinner, but I needed to re-fuel after 11 miles of running so I picked the pineapple out of a container of fruit salad (pineapple = the best part):

And then had a bowl of greek yogurt (protein for muscle recovery!) + jam and a seasonal clif bar before I hopped in the shower.

Overall I’m very happy with today’s effort!

However, I do have a gripe with this race. A new disposable timing system was utilized this year and all of the chips were activated at once (when the gun went off). It probably took me a good 45 seconds to get past the starting line (2,000 people were lined up on the street), so the results pages shows a gun time (1:09:26) rather than an actual chip time (1:08:40 according to my watch). Oh, small town racing. I’ve become quite spoiled by NYRR!

ALSO there were no port-a-potties on the 9 mile race course. Too bad if you needed one, yikes.

Now I’ve got to get cookin’ – the turkey is in the oven and mom needs help with the mashed potatoes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for today?

Happy Thanksgiving! As soon as I press “publish” I’m out the door and on my way to my 9-mile turkey trot. Stay tuned for a race update.

So, what did I do to prepare for this little lengthy jaunt?

Wednesday breakfast was the “Megan Special” – whole wheat toast topped with peanut butter and banana.

After a morning full of holiday errands, I stopped for a quick lunch. I toasted up a whole wheat sandwich thin and topped it with spinach and Cabot reduced fat cheddar with some thousand island dressing on the side.

And some super-moist pumpkin bread from my favorite bakery. Plus seconds. So good!

I was feelin’ a bit sore from Tuesday’s tempo, so I took a very easy 3-mile recovery run in the 5pm darkness.

And snacked on an apple before dinner. I really like Michael Pollan’s saying: “If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you are not hungry.” Well, Michael – I was hungry and this apple was the perfect appetizer.

For dinner, my family wanted to go to a steakhouse (yikes!). I don’t really consider myself a vegetarian (I plan to eat a bit of turkey today), but I avoid red meat whenever possible and I definitely don’t eat steak. So what’s a veggie lover to order in a middle-America steakhouse? I actually came up with a pretty good option!

Started off with unsweetened iced tea and a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette (note: make sure you ask for the salad without bacon bits).

And then for my entree, I ordered a baked potato with a side of black bean-salsa. My sister also gave me the sauted mushrooms and onions from her burger (she doesn’t like them) and they added great flavor. I’ve never met a vegetable I didn’t like! I also had a bit of un-pictured sour cream. The waitress was a little confused by the lack of meat in my meal, but it was tasty and the potato provided some “night before a race” carbs.

And then I did something you probably shouldn’t 12-hours before a race – I met my friends at a bar. Ah well, Thanksgiving Eve is the biggest bar night of the year and I’m all about celebrating the holidays right!

(Mark you’re famous – you made the blog!)

4 seconds after this photo was taken, I lost my balance.

Who comes home from a night at a bar and eats greek yogurt and tea? I do! In my defense, I only had one beer, but I realize that this isn’t a very traditional midnight snack

I mixed together a cup of plain greek yogurt, peanut butter, and a generous helping of crumbled pumpkin bread. Mmm, carbs.

The weather is 40 degrees with lots of fog – good running conditions?  Whee! I’m off to go run, check in later.

Question: What’s your favorite midnight snack?

Announcements:

Are you ready to chow down tomorrow? Check out my latest True/Slant article on the best seasonal foods for runners!

Become a Facebook fan of The Runner’s Kitchen (pretty please?) – just click on the Facebook widget on the right-hand side of the page!

I had plans for a speedy run on Tuesday, so I tried to make breakfast easily digestible. I combined plain non-fat yogurt, a chopped apple, 2 Tbs peanut butter, and a dollop of raspberry jam in a bowl.

And then I got ready to head to the local YMCA. After Sunday’s run (and a few too-close-for-comfort calls with cars/narrow shoulder) I decided that I should do my tempo run on a treadmill for safety’s sake. I queued up an excellent playlist (featuring Miley Cirus and other teen pop favorites) and unpackaged my new headphones. These are the only type of headphones I can wear while running – ear buds always fall out!

In preparation for Thursday’s turkey trot, I decided to see how it would feel to run a few quick miles. I warmed up easily for 10 minutes and then focused on a tough, but manageable pace for the next 4 miles:

• Mile 1 – 7:30 pace
• Mile 2 – 8:00 pace (hamstring was feeling a bit tight)
• Mile 3 – 7:30 pace
• Mile 4 – 6:45 pace (this was tough!)
• Total time: 4 miles in 29:45
  

I finished up with an easy 3 mile cool-down and was pleased that my hamstring really loosened up by the end of the run. I followed my run with 3 sets of 10 lunges, calf raises, bicep curls, tricep dips, tricep extensions, dumbell rows, and some ab-work. Phew! I certainly got my money’s worth for my $5 YMCA day-pass.

After a quick shower, it was time to re-fuel and hydrate! I had plans to walk over to my Aunt’s house to help her with some computer troubles, so I packed a lunch – I started with red grapes and celery with cream cheese.

And followed up with a luna bar and some skim milk.

That speedy run must have fired up the furnace because I was hungry for the rest of the afternoon and evening! I picked up a hot chocolate while out running errands -

And then munched on an apple while waiting for my family to get ready for dinner.

I don’t get to visit Pennsylvania much, so when I do I like to spend as much time as I can with my Mom and Grandma (and sister!). Even though they’re not big on ethnic food, I convinced them that we should go to the region’s only best Thai Restaurant for dinner.

Thanks for being an adventurous foodie last night, G’ma!

(Side note – I’ve been living in running spandex and a sweatshirt all week. Appropriate for all occasions, of course.)

I’ve had a serious craving for green curry lately, so that’s exactly what I ordered! My spicy (love it!) green curry came packed with tofu, baby corn, carrots, green beans, broccoli, bamboo, bell pepper, and eggplant.

And a side of jasmine rice.

I ate every last bite. This girl likes to EAT!

As I caught up on Glee last night, I enjoyed a leftover piece of birthday cake. I didn’t take a picture because I was lazy didn’t want to make you jealous

In the News:

The roving runner takes a night run through Greenwich Village.

Are dairy products and calcium supplements ineffective at preventing stress fractures and osteoporosis?

America’s fastest female marathoner (Deena Kastor) offers up some delicious vegetarian dishes for the Thanksgiving table.

Check out this Women’s Health article on how to enjoy Thanksgiving without going overboard.

Question: Is being home for the holidays fun or stressful for you? For me, it’s a mix of both – I have a lot that I want to get done, but it’s mostly things I enjoy (like cooking!).

Day 2 of vacation week started off with some pumpkin spice coffee in my U.S. House of Representatives mug (I used to be an intern there!). I’ve been having full-caf coffee and I can definitely notice the difference.

I made peanut butter cup oats for breakfast and even convinced my mom to have them too!

• 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup water
• chopped apple (cooked with the oats)
• 2 Tbs peanut butter
• a few chocolate chips

I ended up doing quite a bit of work from home. Around noon, I decided I needed to try a piece of pumpkin cookie from my favorite bakery. This cookie was SO moist and light. Almost cake-like.

I was tempted to take a nap with Kiwi the cat (love.him.so.much)……

But I got myself out the door for a run instead! I took it very easy today – 4 miles followed by 4 strides at the end. In case you’re unfamiliar with strides – they are controlled pick-ups of speed. I usually make mine about 100 meters (or one city block) long. I pick-up speed for the first 25 meters, maintain a quick, yet relaxed pace for the middle, and then gradually decelerate for the final bit. I do these before workouts or in the week leading up to a race. It gets my leg muscles used to movin’ fast!

Post-run, I put together an interesting lunch – a big bowl of grapes, a Stonyfield Farm pumpkin pie yogurt, and a few crumbled graham crackers. I’ve been searching for this special seasonal flavor of yogurt for months and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. If you like sweet yogurts, this might be a good option, but I really missed my plain greek yogurt!

Still hungry, I toasted up a whole wheat sandwich thin and topped it with a layer of peanut butter and a few chocolate chips.

I was out and about walking and shopping for most of the evening. Around 5pm, I needed to break into my emergency purse snack – raisins! Luckily, these held me over until dinner. I was getting hangry.

Din-din was a quick salad of spinach, celery, and thousand island yogurt dressing.

And them mom made pierogis! Our neighbors have us some homemade potato pierogis and while they might not be the most nutritionally sound choice, they were DELICIOUS. I forgot how much I miss the local Polish specialities.

Mom combined about 3Tbs of butter (err…maybe more) and a large, sliced onion in a saute pan over medium heat. After the onions begin to get a bit brown, she added the pierogis. She allowed them to cook until the pierogis were heated through and the onions were caramelized.

I had two pierogis and a leftover stuffed shell.

After finishing up my Season 2, Episode 6 of Mad Men – it was time for dessert! Homemade pumpkin ice cream with a crumbled sugar cone on top.

Lots of sweet things today and a bit of butter – but isn’t that what enjoying good food is all about? I’ll try to eat something green tomorrow

Check out some tips from this vegan, running machine – she just ran 3:15 for her first marathon!

Breakfast is important, we all know that, but cheerios can get a little boring. Luckily, Women’s Health comes to the rescue with innovative recipes like the berry waffle-wich. Yum.

So far my time in Pennsylvania has been all about running, good food, and family. Pretty perfect if you ask me!

I was feeling surprisingly good after Saturday’s 12-miler and decided to head the door for a run around noon yesterday. To make things interesting, I turned the run into a bit of a game. I had planned to do errands with my mom later in the afternoon, so she gave me a head start and I began running towards our first destination (the bakery!). The goal was to see how far I could run before she could catch me in the car. After about 7.33 miles (1 hour, 3 minutes/~8:30 pace), I heard the beep of the horn and ended my run. The route featured a ton of hills (pretty much un-avoidable in the Poconos region of PA), but I embraced the challenge – I have a hilly 9-mile race coming up on Thanksgiving Day morning!

I totally forgot about my bum IT band/hamstring until a mile into the run yesterday. And then I realized – hey, nothing is hurting! Running without pain might not seem like such a big deal – in fact I took it for granted for a long time, but after this year of injury every good run that I have is something I feel incredibly grateful for. Want lots of motivation? Get injured! Hah, just kidding. But really – being limited by injury just fueled my desire to train and race. After months of not being able to run fast (or long), I’m more motivated than ever to hit the pavement. I plan to do a more detailed post about my recovery and will include information about the things that helped. Stay tuned!

For an interesting read that questions the merits of stretching, check out Matt’s latest contribution to Running Shorts!

Later on in the day, I helped my mom prepare one of her signature dishes – stuffed shells. A few winters ago I was down for the count with the flu and I remember the worst part of being sick was missing out on the shells my mom made for Christmas Eve supper! Luckily, I was in top form for last night’s dinner and since I helped shop for the ingredients, the nutritional profile of the recipe was a bit healthier than usual.

Ingredients:

• box of shell pasta
• 1 bag of baby spinach
• 32 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
• 8 oz. part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 eggs (preferably organic)
• 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, dash of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 24 oz. jar of Newman’s Own marinara sauce

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
• Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add a dash of salt, and cook shells for 10 minutes
• After shells are done cooking, drain, and place on a wax-paper covered tray
• Microwave spinach in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap for 60-90 seconds, set aside
• In a large bowl, mix together ricotta and mozzarella cheese, eggs, S&P, nutmeg, and spinach
• Spread 1/2 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish
• Fill shells with Tbs of cheese filling and place in bottom of pan, once bottom of pan is filled, cover with 1/2 of remaining sauce
• Continue to fill shells, place them on top of the first layer, cover with the rest of the sauce, and sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded parmiggiano-reggiano cheese on top
• Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes
• Enjoy!

Makes 8-10 servings

Note: If you want, you can replace some of the cheese with lightly sauteed mushrooms, peppers, and onions. That would bump up the fiber content and make the dish a little less indulgent

I enjoyed my stuffed shells with a salad (romaine, avocado, crispy sugar snap peas, thousand-island yogurt dressing) and a slice of whole wheat baguette with butter. Classic comfort food and just what I was craving post-run.

And then it was time for cake. Happy Birthday, Mom!

I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about Sanitary Bakery many times before, but I just can’t get enough! I think it’s the best (and most inexpensive) bakery in the world. For my mom’s birthday we had a marble cake with whipped cream icing. The cake was incredibly moist and the icing was a delicious blend of butter cream and whipped cream. While I love straight up butter cream icing, it can be a bit cloying. The whipped cream added a lightness that just melted in my mouth. Prepare yourselves, this week is going to be full of the good (sweet!) stuff.

Question: What recipe reminds you of your childhood?

Phew, what a day! Currently, I’m typing away from my family’s house in Pennsylvania because I’m on vacation from work for the next week. Woo-hoo!

I woke up at the usual time this morning (wish I could sleep past 7am on a Saturday…) and after the usual 1/2 decaf coffee, I fueled with a sliced apple, Tbs peanut butter, and some seltzer.

And then it was time for a run! I ended up running a glorious 12 miles in Central Park this morning and felt pretty damn amazing the whole time. Hooray! I ran from my apartment to Columbus Circle (~3 miles) and then met up with Mayumi and Katherine for another 5 or so miles. After I said farewell to my running buddies, I headed back uptown and finished 12 miles in 1 hour, 46 minutes (~8:50 pace). I felt relaxed the whole time (well except for when I was chugging up Harlem Hill) and my IT band was only a little annoying today. I couldn’t believe how fast the miles flew by today – must have been the fabulous company

After a quick stretch + shower, I fueled up with a greek yogurt (15G’s of protein, count it) and a handful of dried plums (aka PRUNES). Yes, I like prunes. No, I’m not 79 years old.

And then…a very exciting brunch! I met a group of Wesleyan ‘07 grads at a West Village brunch spot called Good Restaurant. After a bit of a wait, I think we were all ready to chow down. We started off with a basket of homemade breads to share – pumpkin spice, pear crumble, and cheddar cornbread (tasted like cheese nips!).

I tried a bite of each along with a glass of fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.

It was a lot of fun to dine with fellow food lovers! Mo’s lemon ricotta pancakes looked delicious.

Agnes and Bill entertained us while we waited for the food to arrive -

And then finally, it was time to EAT! I ordered the “eggs any style” plate: scrambled eggs, home fries, and mixed greens (and a slice of toast that I was too full to eat). The eggs were SO light, fluffy, and flavorful. I think they were cooked in lots of butter (or crack) -  quite possibly the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had! The home fries were good too, but pretty standard.

I was really diggin’ the pumpkin decor.

And today’s special bruch guest – Matt from Eat with Me! Matt was in NYC for the weekend and after months of reading and commenting on each other’s blogs, we finally got to meet.

Since my mom was nice enough to drive in to the city to come pick me up, I had to high-tail it home and get ready to go. Before we hit the road, I needed snack (running 12 miles will do that to a girl…). I toasted up a multi-grain vitamuffin and topped it with homemade apple butter. On the side I mixed up Pom juice and seltzer and had a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds.

Ok I have a question for you all: After I cut open my lil pumpkin to make risotto, I roasted the seeds (15 minutes at 350 degrees, tossed in a bit of canola oil and chili powder). However, they didn’t taste or look like the pumpkin seeds you can buy in the store (the ones that are usually green). Did I roast the seeds correctly? They seemed awfully “tough” and chewy to me. Was it OK to eat the casing of the seed? Eh, I only had a small handful because I wasn’t sure.

When mom and I were about half-way to Pennsylvania, we stopped for gas. Since dinner was still hours away, I was in need of another snack. The gas station had a so-so selection and I settled on this slightly questionable bottle of protein-enhanced low-fat chocolate milk. It was actually pretty tasty – it seems like a scoop of chocolate protein powder was mixed with the milk. I’m just not sure I’m crazy about the name – “Rocket Refuel” makes me feel like a cartoon character or something.

By the time we finally made it home, I was one hungry lady. I tossed together some salads for mom and me: romaine lettuce, sliced avocado, baked sugar snap peas, and yogurt-based thousand island dressing. The dressing was very rich and creamy, but only 60 cals per 2 Tbs serving! I’m not in the habit of counting calories, but if you are – this thousand island dressing is a very good option.

And then 2 small-ish slices of veggie pizza. Yum.

My eyes are getting pretty heavy, so I think an early bedtime is in order. But first I might have to sample the mini-cheesecake bites in the freezer…

Happy Weekend!

And in case you need more motivation to get movin’ – check out this NY Times article on why exercise makes you less anxious. A very interesting read, indeed!

Good morning! I’m about to head out the door for a run, meet some friends for brunch, and then drive to Pennsylvania. Until I can fill you in on all the yummy details, check out the newest article that Matt and I wrote for True/Slant. Find out what we have to say about alternative health practices like, um, colon cleanses…

Question: Have you ever done a cleanse or detox diet? Would you consider it?