The Runner's Kitchen

With all the recipes I’ve been posting lately, I bet you’re wondering if I’m actually doing any running. Well, the answer is yes! I had my second physical therapy session yesterday and while I’m a bit overwhelmed with all of the strengthening exercises I need to do everyday, my back is feeling much better.

I was feeling so good, that I decided to attempt a road workout with my running club. The Central Park Track Club meets every Thursday evening around 7pm to run road workouts. I like that the late start allows us working gals enough time to get to practice, but I’m always STARVING once I finish the run and return home (~9pm). Yesterday I decided to try something a little different. In lieu of my afternoon snack, I decided to have a small dinner before practice. Dinner #1 was eaten around 4pm:

I hit up the Whole Foods salad bar and filled a small container with romaine lettuce, heritage bean salad, bit of Morrocan turkey salad, a piece of lemon tempeh, and a piece of sweet and sour tofu.

I also had a slice of protein packed cheesecake. This tasted delicious and it was reasonably healthy, but it did NOT sit well during the workout. Note to self: stick to quick-digesting carbs before fast runs. Usually I have a stomach of steel when it comes to easy runs, but whenever I pick up the pace I have to be very careful. I try to stay away from yogurt, (too much) peanut butter, and eggs pre-race. All are a bit too protein heavy for hard efforts. However, these foods are great after racing or running fast since your muscles need protein for recovery.

Despite falling temperatures and some serious wind, the workout went pretty well!

3.25 mile warm-up (ran from my apartment, probably a little too quickly because I was running late!)
1.5 miles in 10:17 (6:51 pace)
.5 mile recovery
1 mile in approx. 6:48 – wasn’t sure where the mile marker was, so this is probably a little off.
.25 mile recovery
.8 mile in 5:20 (6:40 pace)
2 mile cool-down

Total: 9.25 miles

The faster intervals felt tough, but I had a good group to run with (BIG turnout last night!) and even led a few of the reps. Unfortunately I didn’t know where the mile repeat ended, so I think I made my group run a little long. whoops.

Back felt mostly good, left hip yelped a little bit during the .8 mile segment, but felt fine on the cooldown.

I was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g by the time I got home and my stomach was not feeling great (oh cheesecake…), so I sipped on some hot  ginger tea.

Eventually, I was ready for dinner #2: plain oikos greek yogurt, chopped apple, Tbs peanut butter, and Nature’s Path peanut butter granola (the best kind ever!).

Last night I returned home to find a special delivery: Eat With Me t-shirts! My friend Matt has a great food blog that features mouth-watering photos and a special series on Italian food and wine. Take a look at his site and maybe you can score a shirt of your own – I hear there’s a give-a-way in the works!

Love the back of the shirt!

Check out my latest True/Slant article – Who stole my Boston marathon spot??

How do you motivate yourself to go running when it’s cold and dark?

As part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for a free dozen of eggs. Eggland’s Best is my “go-to” brand because the eggs have four times more Vitamin D and over three times more Omega-3 compared to ordinary eggs. And the 6 grams of protein (per egg) and B-vitamins help me recover more quickly from tough runs. The other night I created a low fat, protein packed cheesecake and while the dessert was chilling, I even snuck in a nighttime run!

The main component in this dish is strained yogurt – the end result is very similar to greek yogurt!

I lined a colander with 6 flattened out coffee filters and then I placed the colander inside a large mixing bowl. Next I spooned the yogurt into the colander and let it drain overnight in the fridge.

My 32 oz ($2.99) container of Whole Foods brand plain non-fat yogurt yielded about 2 cups of strained yogurt. Plus a cup of whey – I’m saving this to use in cooking/baking because it’s packed with nutrients.

Protein Packed Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter (4 Tbs), melted
• 1 cup whole-wheat graham cracker crumbs
• 2 cups of strained non-fat yogurt (from a 32 oz. tub)
• 2 8-oz containers of non-fat cream cheese
• 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites, lightly beaten (Eggland’s Best brand)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbs flour
• 2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and place a pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven (this will provide a humid baking environment for the cheesecake)
• Mix together the butter and the graham cracker crumbs, press mixture firmly into the bottom of an 9-inch springform cake pan, refrigerate while you prepare the filling
• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar
• Gently fold in the eggs, yogurt, flour, and vanilla
• Pour the filling into the springform cake pan and bake the cheesecake on the top shelf of the oven for about 50-60 minutes. Don’t open the door until the 50 minutes are up!
• Turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door ajar for about 30 minutes.
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Add chocolate chips or raspberry jam as garnish!

Nutritional stats per serving (cheesecake yields about 10 slices): 230 calories, 10.5 grams of protein, and 5.5  grams of fat.

One of my favorite recipes of all time is olive oil granola. I was inspired by a New York Times recipe over the summer and made my first batch in August. The combination of savory olive oil, sweet agave nectar, chewy dried fruit, crisp oats, and salt is amazing.  Seriously, you must try this recipe!

I can’t believe it’s taken me nearly 6 months to make this yummy combo again. My creation differs quite a bit from both the original NY Times recipe and the granola I made in August, but I think the 2010 version is the best yet!

Ingredients:

Directions:

News you can use:

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Jamba Juice is selling it’s steel cut oatmeal for only $1!

On Friday, February 5th you can snag a free KIND bar sample from any starbucks.

Do you care about childhood nutrition, the environment, and food affordability? Sign the NYC food charter and pledge to promote healthy and sustainable eating!

What’s your favorite granola variety?

Dear Susan Herrmann Loomis,

I love your book On Rue Tatin, but your pear and honey clafoutis recipe made me want to tear my hair out!

If you’re wondering “what the heck is a clafoutis?”, you’re not alone. I had never made or eaten one before this weekend! According to Wikipedia:

a Clafoutis, sometimes in Anglophone countries spelled clafouti, is a baked French dessert that is typically made by baking fresh fruit (traditionally cherries) and a batter, halfway between a Yorkshire pudding/pancake batter and a custard, in a baking dish.

By Sunday afternoon I had an edible version, but let’s review what went wrong:

1) Don’t bring your computer into the kitchen and g-chat while you’re baking. You will probably do things like add 3 x the amount of sugar called for in the recipe. Once I realized my mistake I spent a good 5 minutes removing the extra sugar from the mixing bowl with a tiny teaspoon.

2) If the recipe calls for an 11-inch tart pan, a 10-inch spring form pan might give you problems. 5 minutes after popping clafoutis #1 into the oven I noticed a horrid burning smell. “Don’t worry,” I tell my roommate, “it’s probably just some excess flour on the outside of the pan that’s browning”. No. My spring form pan leaked and a big blob of batter was burning on the oven floor. Hello, smoke alarm. I tucked some foil around the pan to stop up the leak and continued to let it bake.

3) After I pulled clafoutis #1 out of the oven, I attempted to make the caramel sauce. I made it 3 times before I got it right. Note: The measurements on the website recipe are NOT correct. I hunted around for some other caramel sauce recipes and deduced that you need 1 Tbs sugar (not 2!) and 2 tsp water for the sauce to form. Also, don’t taste-test hot caramel with a metal spoon. You’ve been warned.

4) When I woke up on Sunday morning and lifted the foil to admire my clafoutis I noticed a pool of liquid in the middle of the pan. I cut a small slice and discovered that the center was completely undercooked. $#@%!! Luckily I didn’t have too much time to freak out, I had a half-marathon to run.

5) After my run, I went to the grocery story to buy more eggs and pears and started on attempt #2. Fortunately, the second round went more smoothly. My modifications:

• 9-inch pie plate as the baking vessel (vs. 11-inch tart pan/10-inch spring form pan)
• agave nectar in place of honey
• lowered the oven temperature to 375 F
• covered the clafoutis with aluminum foil after 15 minutes to prevent the top from over-browning
• added a dusting of powdered sugar in lieu of the caramel sauce

Before baking:

After baking:

The verdict? This was actually a pretty delicious (and healthy!) dessert. I would certainly eat it again as long as someone else makes it for me.

Question: Have you ever had any baking/cooking mishaps?

The day did not get off to a very auspicious start. The pear clafoutis I baked last night needed to be thrown out (more on that later…), my stomach was not feeling awesome, and Alma and I were running late for the 8am start time of the Manhattan half-marathon. Ugh. Despite my cranky mood, I managed to put together a decent pre-run breakfast: coffee, coconut water (electrolytes!), a banana, and peanut butter.

After waiting in veryyy long port-a-potty lines, Alma and I made our way to the starting line. Since I’ve been having some back pain, I decided to run today’s 13.1 miles as a “marathon-pace long run” rather than an all out race. The first mile started off nice and easy ~9:05 per mile pace and then we picked it up until we were running between 8:10-8:20 pace. Around mile 10, I realized we could probably finish under 1:50 if we pushed a bit, so we dropped our pace to 7:55, 7:45, and 7:35 for the last 3 miles. Alma and I finished the 13.1 in 1:48:37 (~8:17 pace). Today’s effort definitely wasn’t “easy”, but the pace allowed for conversation and I never felt too out of breath. My long-term goal is to PR (i.e. run under 3:38:41) in the NYC marathon in November, so it was nice to know that without much training I could run 1/2 that distance at goal pace! Here’s hoping the next 10 months are injury free…

After factoring warm-up and cool-down, today’s mileage was 15. Longest long run since November! And 12 hours later, I’m feelin’ pretty good

Loved the shirts for today’s race – a nice change from the usual white cotton:

After our cool down (and chugging some gatorade), my fingers were freezing and I was in need of something hot. A latte from Starbucks never tasted so good!

Once I got home, I popped a french toast bagel in the toaster and enjoyed it with a little bit of butter. Real butter is definitely the way to go, margarine sketches me out.

After showering and some other things on my to-do list, I snacked on a luna protein bar. The peanut butter chocolate flavor was alright, but not nearly as good as the cookie dough flavor that I tried after my indoor triathlon.

By mid-afternoon it was time to head to a potluck with some other NYC bloggers. Chelsea was such a gracious host and the spread of food was just what I needed post-run.

I started off with some delicious kombucha:

And then I snapped photos of all the delicious dishes before digging in! Leslie made a fennel and butternut squash dish.

Jamie brought a yummy Mediterranean-themed cous cous dish. Hummus was the perfect addition!

And Chelsea brought out a lovely egg white, turkey sausage, and cheddar cheese casserole from the Cooking Light website.

I filled up my plate and devoured every bite. REFUEL.

And then a slice of pear clafouti (luckily it turned out much better the second time around).

And finally a peanut butter cookie made with stevia and PB&Co’s Bee’s Knees peanut butter.

With lots of good food and conversation, the afternoon flew by – thanks for organizing Chelsea!

I spent the rest of the evening catching up on life and around 8pm I got hungry for meal #4. I did a lot of cooking and baking this weekend, so I wanted something simple. I combined chopped pear with greek yogurt, peanut butter, raspberry jam, life cereal, and some homemade olive oil granola (stay tuned for the recipe!).

Matt and I were busy this weekend – we compiled a list of the 10 races to run before you die. Check it out and let us know if you agree/disagree!

Question: What’s your favorite addition to yogurt? Obviously, mine is peanut butter!

Thursday morning started off with some homemade fruit salad. The best thing about fruit salad? You can change the produce depending on what’s in season!

Winter Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 orange, peeled and sectioned
• 1 apple, cubed
• 1 banana, sliced
• 2 Tbs dried cranberries
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 tsp lime juice

Directions:

• Mix together the fruit in a medium bowl, sprinkle with lime juice (to prevent browning)
• Drizzle honey over top
• Enjoy! Makes about 3 servings

Followed by some protein and carbs in the form of scrambled egg whites with sriracha sauce and Eli Zabar’s health bread topped with pb & j.

And a mid-morning decaf cappuccino

Lunch was a mix of leftover roasted vegetables and some goodies from the salad bar. In the mix:

• 1 cup roasted brussels sprouts, fennel, and potatoes
• mixed greens
• feta cheese, balsamic vinaigrette
• Tastings of chickpea salad and udon noodle salad

I had the afternoon off of work, so my snacks were on the go: Kashi TLC granola bar and Voskos Greek yogurt.

I had my first PT session today and learned that 1) I have very tight hip flexors and 2) I need to strengthen my gluteus medius. Stay tunes for strengthening exercise demos!

It was fun taking a day off from the gym, but by Thursday evening I was ready to get back in the swing of things. I ran an easy 3 miles (back felt pretty good!) and then elliptical-ed for 60 minutes while reading Born to Run. I’m really liking the book so far – it gives me hope for pain-free running And the story reads more like a novel than non-fiction. I can’t put it down! I finished up my gym session with some strength training:

• 3 x 10 curtsy lunges
• 3 x 10 squats
• 3 x 10 push-ups
• foam-rolling!!

I was reallyyyy hungry when I left the gym and the only thing I had in my bag was Ghiradelli peppermint bark. Definitely not the best post-gym option, but at least I didn’t spend $4 on an over-priced Clif bar!

When I arrived back at my apartment, I wanted dinner and FAST. I toasted up two slices of Ezekiel Bran of Life bread and topped them with peanut butter, raspberry preserves, and sliced banana. Why are the slices in pieces, you ask? I got into a bit of a tussel with the toaster. The toaster won.

Dessert was a cup of milk + scoop of chocolate soy protein powder + ice +  mini chocolate chips. Served in a wine glass. I’m classy like that.

Feeling a little hungry? Check out these 8 healthy snacks (the list even includes ice cream!)

Sometime yesterday afternoon I started to get wayyy cranky. My back hurt. The work day was dragging by. And the thought of fighting the hoards of people at my gym for some elliptical or treadmill time was the LAST thing I felt like doing. Usually a good kick in the pants is all I need to get myself motivated – I often feel better once I get going. However, yesterday my body was fighting me tooth and nail on a gym visit. Maybe it was my cranky mood, maybe it was residual tiredness from Monday’s long run, but in any case I decided to go home instead. I ate s’mores for dinner and spent the evening lounging in bed whilst watching Hannah Montana: The Movie. It was perfect cure for whatever was grating on my nerves and I woke up feeling much better this morning.

Since I didn’t run or cook/bake anything interesting yesterday, I have some product reviews for you!

A few weeks ago I received a stack of coupons for Voskos Greek yogurt. I ventured to my local Whole Foods and stocked up – I go through Greek yogurt faster than oxygen!

• Pros - the free coupons were nice, but the price on this variety is actually very reasonable. They were on sale for 86 cents a piece. That’s a steal in New York City!
• The honey vanilla bean variety that I sampled had a nice flavor – not too sweet, not too tart. I could even see real specks of vanilla bean!
• The nutritional stats were also pretty stellar – 130 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 12 grams of protein. Voskos also contains live, active cultures, is gluten-free, and sources milk without rBST, rBGH, or GMO.
• Voskos comes in two varieties – natural and organic. Hooray for an organic option!
• Cons - when I opened the yogurt there was quite a bit of watery whey on top, I poured it off.
• The consistency was a tad thicker than regular yogurt, but it wasn’t even close to how creamy and fluffy the Fage brand is.
• At my local Whole Foods, the only plain option was full-fat. I enjoyed the honey vanilla bean flavor, but my favorite variety of yogurt is non-fat (or low-fat) plain.  I’ll have to visit some other grocery stores to try and find the other flavors!

All in all, I really enjoyed this yogurt. It’s nutritionally comparable to other varieties of Greek yogurt and it’s a more economical option.

As I mentioned, I was craving s’mores like whoa yesterday and since I already had mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows on hand, all I needed were some graham crackers. I picked up a box of Mi-Del 100% whole wheat honey grahams from Whole Foods and was quite impressed with the nutritional stats. Most crackers and cookies are made with lots of sugar and refined flour, these on the other hand were made with whole wheat flour and sweetened with unsulfered molasses. And one serving contained 3 grams of fiber! The only down-side? They tasted “healthier” (i.e. more bland) than the graham crackers of my youth. Ah well, that’s the price you pay for better nutrition!

Oh! One more thing -  Check out my latest True/Slant article: Run like a Russian

There’s a reason why Rocky trained in Siberia in Rocky IV….

Question: When you’re in a bad mood, what do you do to get out of that funk? Exercise? Take a day off? Bake some cookies?

Good morning! On every Wednesday until February 3rd Jamba Juice is selling it’s steel cut oatmeal for only $1! Take advantage – this stuff is usually much more $$.

My long run schedule was a bit off this weekend due to traveling, so I decided to take advantage of my day off of work (thanks MLK!) and run long on Monday. I woke up at the usual time and fueled with a cup ‘o coffee and chopped apple, Fage greek yogurt, and a big spoonful of peanut butter.

Plus a granola bar -

And then I headed out the door to start my run. The weather was beautiful! Sunny with temps in the 40’s is such a treat for January. I ran an easy 12 miles in about 1 hour, 46 minutes (~8:50 pace). Felt good for the first 2-3 miles, but then my lower back started to hurt. The pain never really got worse – it felt like muscle spasms or something – so I continued with the run. The muscle spasms did, however, affect my intestinal track and I had to stop to use the bathroom around mile 8. That never happens to me! Weird. But besides the back pain, my legs and hips and everything else felt fine.

I actually went to the doc yesterday to get my back checked out and luckily he didn’t seem too concerned. He seems to think the pain is coming from an increase in mileage + back muscle imbalance, so I have a few PT sessions on the agenda to build up back and core strength.

When I finished my run, my stomach was still feeling a little off, so I sipped on a ginger ale as I made lunch: a veggie burger topped with laughing cow cheese and hot sauce, pita chips with hummus, and roasted potatoes with ketchup. My fridge was a little bare – I had to get creative!

Later on in the afternoon I made a visit to somewhere I’ve been wanted to go for a while – Gimme! Coffee. According to many sources, this place serves the best coffee in NYC. Starbucks it isn’t – I had to wait close to 10 minutes for my mocha latte, but it was worth it!

On my way to meet Agnes for yoga, I snacked on a Amazing Greens bar. I’ve tried really hard to like these (they’re packed with greens and nutrients!), but I’m not going to buy them anymore. The taste makes me want to gag. Sorry, Amazing Greens.

Anyway, I took it nice and easy during a 60 minute hot yoga class. It had been 2+ weeks since my last practice and my post-long run muscles really appreciated the heat and stretches. It was particularly hot and sweaty in the studio today!

As soon as I got back home I devoured a few (un-pictured) handfuls of almonds and then fixed myself a little snack to hold me over – Fage greek yogurt (yeah…I eat this A LOT) with dried cranberries and more almonds.

Dinner was inspired by a recipe in my Clean Food cookbook – Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Fennel and Shitake Mushrooms. The only change I made was substituting quartered potatoes for the mushrooms. I love roasted vegetables!

There might have been some mini chocolate chips for dessert. I think mini-sized things taste better

Who makes the healthiest snack in NYC? How about the best organic omelet? Check out Vital Juice’s Guide to Healthy Eating in NYC!

Don’t live in the Big Apple? Check out this list of 2010’s best healthy foods that you can get almost anywhere!

What are your top 3 winter foods? Mine are roasted vegetables, oatmeal, and navel oranges!

Long weekends are the best – especially ones that you spend with your best friends eating delicious food! I traveled to Boston this past weekend for a friend’s birthday party and it was full of yummy recipes, friends, running, and CAKE.

Upon arriving in beantown, we immediately set out to find some lunch. Someone recommended a little Italian shop in Davis Square called Dave’s Fresh Pasta and it was really cool. The store was stocked with all sorts of unique foodie products – like jars of pickled veggies!

The muffaletta sandwich looked very interesting…

My sandwich of choice was homemade whole wheat bread with roasted eggplant, spinach, red pepper, and fresh Vermont goat cheese. I ate it all, yum.

And an amaretti cookie for dessert. This was fine, but I’ve decided that I do NOT like almond-flavored baked goods (amaretti cookies, marzipan, etc).

After an afternoon of party prep and a glorious 7 mile run with Hannah (finished in 57:30 with negative splits, woo-hoo!), the party began! There was a lot of good beer, wine, and food. And the company wasn’t so bad either….

Agnes made garlic hummus and homemade tortilla chips.

Anj outdid herself with a beautiful apple custard tarte. You MUST try this recipe – I didn’t think I liked custard pies, but this was one of the best baked goods I’ve ever eaten!

A box of Italian cookies was brought by friends – my favorite was the chocolate filled coconut macaroon!

Anj used a Paula Deen recipe to make brie en croute with walnuts and raspberry jam – it was the perfect combo of savory and sweet!

And the crowning achievement of the evening – Better than Sex Cake! Yes, that is the real name. Shout out to Holly for the inspiration! Warning: this cake is about as sugary and unhealthy as they come – but that’s what 25th birthdays are for.

Better than Sex Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Devil’s Food cake mix (plus the oil, eggs, water, etc. specified in box baking instructions)
• 1 jar of caramel ice cream sauce
• 1 jar of hot fudge topping
• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tub of cool-whip
• 1/2 bag of mini heath bars, crushed

Directions:

• Bake cake according to package instructions, while still warm use a chopstick to poke holes in the cake
• Pour condensed milk and caramel sauce over the cake
• Heat up the hot fudge in the microwave until liquid and than pour over the cake
• Put cake in the fridge overnight (or for a few hours)
• Once cool, frost the cake with cool whip and decorate with crushed heath bars
• Eat cake, repeat, give yourself diabetes (heh, just kidding)

At some point during the night, I started eating the caramel and hot fudge sauce out of the cake pan by the spoonful. Yumm. It’s a good thing I ran 7 miles that day!

Running buddies

Hooray for friends! And cake! And funny (bad) photos!

Question: What is your favorite type of cake? Although this weekend’s recipe was amazingly decadent, I’m loyal to yellow cake with vanilla butter cream frosting!

Megan says: I’m traveling this weekend, so Jesse has a special guest post for you. Enjoy!

Infused oils are an excellent way to add fun flavor into whatever you’re cooking, unfortunately buying these oils is quite expensive at the store.  So, I decided to make my own garlic oil.  It’s really quite easy.

What you’ll need:

- 4 (or more) heads of garlic
- About 1 1/2 – 2 cups of Good Olive Oil
- A teaspoon or so black peppercorns
- Pinch of thyme

The first step is to cut off the tops of the heads of garlic so that each clove is exposed (make sure the cloves on the side are cut open too).  Don’t cut off too much of the head or you’ll loose precious roasted garlic!

Place the garlic heads face down in an oven pan with the peppercorns and thyme then pour the oil over the cloves.  Cover the pan and bake at a low temperature.  I tried 275 but I think I’ll bump it up to 300 degrees next time.

After about an hour the garlic cloves should be nice and soft.  If you’d like to toast the tops of the heads a little more try pulling them out of the oil and baking them face up for a few minutes in a separate pan (turn the heat up to 350 or so).  They might start bubbling a bit and your whole house will smell like wonderful roasted garlic!! Yum!

Allow the oil to cool considerably then strain into a glass jar.  I’ve seen that infused oil like this will last about a month in the refrigerator.

Once the heads of garlic have cooled as well dig out each clove into a storage container. Be sure not to miss any of the small cloves – this stuff is precious!

The flavor is a bit sweeter than fresh garlic but just as delicious.  There are countless uses for roasted garlic.  It’s yummy all by itself spread on crackers or bread. I’ve used it in soups like my roasted squash soup or spread on roasted chicken or beef.   You can also use it for spreads like hummus or pesto.  Use your imagination!

Note: The other way I’ve had success with is cutting off the tops, drizzling olive oil generously over the heads, placing them upright in an oven pan, and baking them covered for about 30-45 minutes at 350.

What are your favorite uses for roasted garlic?