The Runner's Kitchen

TGIF! So excited that it’s the weekend. My latest article on True/Slant reveals how one simple change can cut minutes off your half or full marathon time. And who doesn’t want to run faster?

Thursday was a marathon of a day – good thing I started off with an extra large mug of coffee. I was feeling very caffeinated after this.

Plus an orange for some vitamin C!

The main part of my breakfast was a plain chobani yogurt with 2 Tbs of whipped peanut butter stirred in and a crumbled vitabrownie on top. It tasted like dessert! But it also packed a good amount of protein (27 grams) and fiber (8 grams).

Lunch was one of the BEST salads I’ve created in awhile. It included all of the usual suspects: romaine, carrots, mushrooms, feta cheese, sriracha sauce, etc. BUT I also topped it off with leftover Vietnamese noodle and grilled pork salad and a few pita chips with hummus. Mmm, so many great flavor and texture combinations.

My afternoon snack was not one, but two Nature’s Path granola bars. These organic treats are a tad high in sugar (11 grams), but they taste delicious and come in a new eco-conscious box that uses 36% less cardboard than the original. Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. Yay.

Anddd a decaf cappuccino because I wanted to sip on something warm.

After work I was feelin’ a little tired and not exactly excited about a road workout. Buttt I know I almost always feel better after a run, so I chugged some water and nibbled on some dried cherries + dark chocolate chips. Glycogen, get in my muscles!

After my snack, I was feeling a bit more energized, so I ran from my apartment to CPTC practice (2.75 miles). Those of us racing the Coogan’s 5K on Sunday did a special shortened workout – 800m, 600, and 400m @ 3K pace with 400m jog recovery. I have no idea what kind of pace we were running because we did the repeats on the road (estimated the distance), but it basically felt all-out. Lots of cool-down with the group and then another 2.75 miles back home. By the time I returned to my apartment, my Nike + pedometer reported that I had run 11 miles total.

My quads are strangely sore – perhaps from Tuesday’s treadmill workout? It feels like I did lunges although I most definitely did not. Hopefully a few days of easy running will help me rest up for this weekend’s 5k! So.Excited.

After a quick shower, I was ready to eat more asian noodle leftovers. I chopped up some romaine lettuce, grated carrot, and topped that off with leftover pad thai, hummus, and sriracha sauce. Sort of a strange combo, but it tasted yummy!

Of course I was still hungry, so I toasted up 2 slices of Ezekiel bread and topped them with generous spoonfuls of coconut butter and raspberry jam. Unfortunately I was too busy eating to take a photo, oops. If you want to see a visual of this lovely treat, you can check out my post from last Sunday.

I’m lovin’ my new jar of coconut butter! And if you’re worried that the fat in coconut butter is unhealthy, say goodbye to the 1990’s, and dig in! Unlike animal products which have long-chain triglycerides, coconut butter’s fat is made up of medium-chain triglycerides. Research has shown that this rare type of saturated fat can actually prevent heart disease and reduce cholesterol. Coconut has also been show to protect against cancer, boost immunity, increase calcium absorption, and kill bacteria/viruses (due in part to its high lauric acid content). You can read more about the benefits of coconut butter/oil here, here, and here. Yum!

Do you like coconut? What’s your favorite way to eat it?

Is a blog about healthy eating and running really going to talk about DONUTS today?? Yes, yes I am. But before we start drooling over cream filling, sprinkles, and frosting, let’s chat about running.

Doubles

If you’re a frequent reader of my blog, you may notice that I occasionally do “doubles” a.k.a. I run twice in one day. Now to most people running even once a day might seem crazy, but let me explain. Running doubles certainly isn’t for everyone. If you’re a  newbie runner, prone to injury, or don’t have a lot of extra time, you’re better off being cautious with your mileage. If, however, you’re seriously training for a race and are interested in increasing your VO2 max, decreasing body fat, and building endurance – tacking on a second run might be beneficial to your training.

The most important thing to remember when adding mileage is to start slowly. On days when you run twice, one of the runs should always be super easy. For example, on days when I have a hard workout scheduled for the evening, I will often go for a 20-30 jog in the morning. This “shakeout” run gets my blood flowing and for some reason, it prepares me better mentally for the evening’s hard effort. Additionally, when I run in the morning, my legs are a bit fatigued for the workout. This teaches me to run hard when my legs aren’t feeling 100% fresh and it simulates the latter miles of a race.

If you’re ready to tackle doubles, remember to bump up your water and fuel intake. Immediately after your first run, hydrate and eat a 300-500 calorie meal to speed recovery. And give yourself at least 5-6 hours between workouts – your body needs some time to rest!

If you’re not quite ready to run twice-a-day, you can add on some cross-training instead. Some time on the elliptical or the bike can be a great low-impact way to increase endurance. And even non-impact activities like yoga can be beneficial as “doubles” – I’ve found that a gentle yoga session a few hours after a long run drastically reduces muscle tightness and soreness the next day.

Yesterday I ran 9 easy miles in the morning (felt good except for when the wind and rain whipped off my baseball cap!) and then I added on an up-tempo (i.e. quicker than usual) 3-mile run after work. I ended up totaling 12 miles for the day, but breaking it up into 2 sessions and giving each run a specific purpose made the time fly by.

Donuts

Enough about running, now on to sugar! It’s no secret that I have a sweet tooth. I love cookies, chocolate, & cake and while I try to limit my indulgences, I eat something sweet almost daily. And you know what? That’s ok! I run a lot, eat plenty of fruits, veggies, & whole grains, and I think life is too short not to enjoy delicious things. Most of the time I bypass processed foods and try to make sure my sweets are homemade or at least contain some health benefit (dark chocolate!). It’s been ages since I’ve had a donut, so I wasn’t quite sure what to think when the company Holey Donuts sent me 3 boxes of their goodies to sample. Aren’t donuts packed with trans fats? If not, would they taste good?

Well, I did my research and here’s what I found out about Holey Donuts:

• Trans-fat free (Holey Donuts are not deep fried in oil)
• No artificial sugars
• 3-4 grams of fat per donuts (compared with 20 grams in other brands)
• Lower in calories than most donuts

Note: These donuts are not health food, they’re definitely still a treat/dessert, but since I’m going to eat sweets anyway, I might as well indulge in something a little better for me :-)

Here’s what I was sent to sample:

1/2 dozen Pink-frosted donuts (haven’t tried these yet, but they look pretty!)

1/2 dozen donut sampler (Boston cream, caramel apple, lemon graham cracker, raspberry vanilla truffle, blueberry crumb cake, and vanilla crumb)

I enjoyed the Boston cream donut with a cup of coffee for a mid-afternoon treat the other day. The donuts need to be stored in the freezer (because they lack preservatives), so I put mine in a tupperware and let it defrost for a few hours. You could also microwave the donuts for a few seconds. There was a good amount of cream filling in the middle and the topping was very fudgy. This definitely didn’t taste low-fat. If you like donuts, you’ll love these

And last, but not least I was sent 4 jumbo cinnamon rolls. Mmm, I always drool over the smell of cinnabon at the mall, so knowing that I could have similar treat that didn’t contain a 800+ calories and icky trans fat was great news. Check out the nutritional stats on these cinnamon rolls for yourself.  340 calories, 5 grams of fat, 68 grams of carbs, 8 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and 17% RDA of iron. That’s almost as good as a clif bar! I have big plans to try one of these babies soon!

Full disclosure: Holey Donuts sent me these product samples for free, but I honestly think they taste delicious and are a good option if you’re craving sweets.

Do you have any vices? Clearly, mine is dessert!

Check out my latest post on True/Slant: 1,200 calories is not enough

Also, the Runner’s Kitchen recipe page has been updated!

Coming soon – Simon and Schuster has agreed to allow me to post the Moosewood Cookbook recipe for the Savory Asparagus and Mushroom Bread Pudding for one week only. The recipe will be posted tonight around 9pm

At least once a week I receive an email from a reader asking for advice about IT band pain. The iliotibial (IT) band is a group of muscle fibers that runs along the outside of the thigh, from the hip to the knee. The IT band functions as a stabilizer during running and is one of the most common overuse injuries. The pain generally presents itself on the outside of the knee, but hip pain can be a symptom as well.

If you’re currently experiencing pain –  I know how frustrating it is! My injury started off in my hamstring and then migrated to my IT band and knees. I truly believe that muscles and ligaments all work together and if one gets out of whack, everything can start to hurt! Luckily, after almost a year of trying nearly everything in the book, I can honestly say that the pain in my right hamstring and IT band is GONE. Woo-hoo! I’m having a little left side back/butt pain at the moment, but that’s a whole other story… I guess running isn’t running without the occasional ache and pain!

I’m not a doctor or a phsyical therapist, but I do have some tips on re-habbing your IT band.

1) Reduce your mileage and/or take time off from running. Eventhough I only ran once a week throughout the summer, things still weren’t getting much better. Finally, in August I got an ear infection (blessing in disguise?) and had to take nearly 2 weeks off of running/exercise. I think the absolute rest really helped! And it’s worth noting – if your shoes have more than 400 miles on them, get some new ones! Worn out running shoes definitely aren’t going to make things better.

2) If the pain is mild and you still want to run - avoid hills, apply ice (10-15 minutes at a time), and take ibuprofen afterward.Taking anti-inflammatories before exercise can mask pain and cause you to push yourself past safe limits. Plus it can cause stomach upset!

If you’re going to ice in the dead of winter – I advise pairing that cold pack with a cup of tea and a cozy bed

3) Stretch, strengthen, stretch! Runner’s World has some great articles on IT band syndrome – check them out here and here.

And now for my own stretching/strengthening demonstrations!

The foam roller: Place the outside of your affected leg face-down on the foam roller and use your body weight to roll back and forth over the tight muscle fiber. Roll back and forth for about 20-30 seconds at a time, rest, and repeat. If you’re new to foam rolling – this will probably hurt a bit! The foam acts as a mini massage, loosening up the muscle and un-kinking the knots. Make sure you are pressing hard enough – you want to get deep into the muscle tissue.

Basic IT band stretch: Stand up straight and cross your “good leg” (i.e. the side that isn’t bothering you) over the other leg. Using the wall for support, jut out the hip on your “bad” leg until you feel a stretch running from your hip to your knee. You can remain standing up right or lean over. It takes a little trial and error before you hit that stretching sweet spot.

The hip flexor/butt stretch: Eventhough I feel this stretch mostly in my hips, I think it still loosens up the IT band a bit. Bend your knees slightly, pick up your bum leg and place the heel of that leg on the knee of the other leg. Continue to squat down until you feel a stretch through the butt, hip, and knee. You can also do a variation of this while sitting at your desk chair!

3) Wear an IT band strap and KT Tape to stabilize the IT band and limit friction between the muscles and bones. You can purchase these from most running shops.

4) Even when I wasn’t running, I would often have pain and stiffness. Sitting at my desk all day really aggravated my IT band/hamstring/knee. Now I sit on a tennis ball or baseball and massage out the muscles – it seems to help! If you’re on the go a lot (travelling, etc) – check out the stick. It’s great for giving yourself a mini massage when you don’t have access to a foam roller.

Finally, I know that cross-training doesn’t quite compare to running, but high intensity cycling or elliptical workouts can help you stay in good cardiovascular shape while avoiding the pounding that occurs on the roads. And don’t forget about yoga! Stretching and strengthening the whole body can do a lot for muscle imbalances.

Been there, done that and still having IT band issues? Find out more about alternative sports medicine treatment.

Good luck and happy running!

I grew up wearing a Catholic school uniform and saying the Hail Mary, so my knowledge of Hanukkah and latkes is limited at best. When I saw that the Whole Foods Culinary Center was offering a 3-hour  hands-on latke making class, I was intrigued. I’ve always wanted to make my own latkes, but figured I could benefit from a structured class. Last night’s course was taught by Jayne Cohen author of Jewish Holiday Cooking and contributor to The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, and Jewish Woman Magazine.

We began the evening with some basic latke-making lessons:

• latke batter should be room temperature; cold batter will lower the oil temperature, causing the latkes to absorb too much oil.
• A very wet batter will produce steam resulting in soggy, greasy latkes. Remove as much water as possible from the batter before frying. We used our hands to squeeze out moisture, but you could also wrap the potato shreds in a piece of cloth and wring it out that way.

• Heat your pan over the highest setting recommended by the manufacturer – you want that oil to get hot!
• Regular everyday olive oil adds a great flavor and fragrance (don’t use extra-virgin), but for wetter and more fragile batters (like sweet potato latkes) you might want to use an oil with a higher smoke point, such as canola.
• To test if the oil is hot enough, stand a wooden spoon handle or chopstick in the pan of oil. If bubbles form around it, the oil is ready. You could also flick a bit of flour into the oil; if it sizzles, start frying.
• Remove burnt fragments of batter from the pan between batches as these can affect the taste of the latkes. You may also need to add more oil every few batches or so.

• Latkes can be kept on a rack, loosly covered at room temperature for a few hours. Do NOT refrigerate latkes as this will make them soggy.
• If you need to store latkes for a longer amount of time, wait until they are cooled and then slide them into the freezer. Once they are solidly frozen, remove from rack, and store in a ziploc bag or airtight container. Reheat frozen latkes by heating in a 400 F oven until crisp.

Our first latke recipe of the night was a traditional potato latke with garlic and rosemary, served with a sprinkle of sea salt. Crisp and delicious!

Next, we moved on to something a bit more adventurous: New Mexican Sweet Potato Latkes with Lime-Sour Cream Sauce

From Jewish Holiday Cooking: A Treasury of Classics and Improvisations by Jayne Cohen (Wiley 2008):

Eight days before Christmas, some New Mexicans light a luminaria, a candle nestled in a paper sack, then add an additional glowing luminaria every evening until Christmas, when nine burning lights illuminate the holiday darkness.

If this process of kindling flames sounds familiar, it is no coincidence. These New Mexicans are crypto-Jews: descendents of Converso colonists who practiced Judaism in secret, fearing the relentless persecution of the Inquisition, whose long reach extended into the New World. Even many of those who became Catholics have kept alive their Jewish traditions to this day, lighting candles on Friday nights, abstaining from pork, observing a feast or fast of Esther, covering mirrors during the mourning period, and maintaining many other Jewish practices.

The fascinating story of these crypto-Jews is still being written. Many are rediscovering and exploring their Jewish roots, some even confirming their Jewishness through DNA testing. Some have converted to Judaism; others feel they have been Jewish all along.

Inspired by them, these sweet potato latkes glow with New Mexican spice.

Ingredients:

Lime-Sour Cream Sauce

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives or scallions
• 2 Tbs fresh lime juice
• 2 tsp grated lime zest

Latkes

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and finely grated
• kosher salt
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup flour (cornmeal would work great in this recipe!)
• 2 tsp ground ancho chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Canola oil for frying
• Optional garnish: chopped cilantro

Instructions:

• Combine sour cream, lime juice, zest, and chives. Allow to sit while you prepare latkes so the flavors can meld.
• Remove moisture from sweet potatoes either using your hands or by wrapping potato shreds in a dish cloth and wringing until dry.
• Add sweet potato shreds to a large bowl and add onion, eggs, flour/cornmeal, salt to taste, and spices. Mix until combined.

• Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a sturdy frying pan (cast iron is ideal). Once the oil is hot, drop 1/4 cup of batter into the oil and flatten slightly. Fry until golden and crispy on the bottom (about 3 minutes). Use two spatulas to flip the latke over and allow the other side to cook until golden brown. Warning: sweet potatoes contain more sugar than regular potoatos, so these latkes will brown quite quickly.
• Once latkes are cooked through, remove from pan and place on paper towels to drain.
• Best eaten immediately with lime-sour cream sauce and cilantro. However, if you are making a big batch of latkes and need to keep them warm, you can place them on a baking sheet and pop them into a 200 F oven until you’re ready to serve.

Our final recipe of the night was a sweet variation: Walnut-cherry-cheese latkes topped with rosemary and brown butter applesauce. I would have never imagined that putting rosemary and brown butter in applesauce would taste good, but it was amazing!! These light, fluffy, cheese-y latkes were the stars of the night. I had to go back for seconds

FYI: You can find the rosemary and brown butter applesauce recipe on BonAppetit.com

I left the class with a new-found appreciation for fried potato pancakes and a happy stomach. Yes, we used a lot of oil, potatoes, and full fat sour cream. However, Jayne made a good point: How many times a year are you going to make latkes? Probably, once at most. When you’re making a special (and labor intensive!) holiday treat, I think it’s best to use real ingredients. It’s a time for splurging and enjoying yourself! You can always eat salad tomorrow….

Hungry for more? Check out this New York Times article on Improving the Latke.

Question: Have you ever eaten or made your own latkes? Any tips for the rest of us?

Saturday was such a whirlwind of activity, but it’s been a fun weekend, so I can’t complain! I woke up bright and early (7am) because I had plans to volunteer with Girls on the Run Manhattan. I fueled with some coffee and a Kashi granola bar and then ran 3 miles to where the Girls on the Run Winter 5K was being held.

Courtney and I were trying to stay warm, brrr…

Girls on the Run Manhattan (Hundreds of them showed up to run in the early morning cold. Bravo girls!)

Despite dressing in many layers, I was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g! But the little girls were SO cute that they made it worth it. I was paired with an adorable 10 year-old and she insisted 1) that I get my pony tail painted with colored hair spray at the Happy Hair station and 2) we line up at the very front of the starting line. She was ready to run!

We started off fast and then finished up the 5K with a mix of sprints, skipping, and power walking. My favorite thing about running with kids is that they just want to have FUN. And isn’t that what running should be about?

After the race, I said my goodbyes and ran the 3 miles back to my ‘hood. My fingers were like popsicles, so I stopped at Starbucks and treated myself to a decaf misto with one pump of gingerbread syrup. SO good.

I was in a rush to get out the door, so breakfast #2 was quick – sliced pear and a plain greek yogurt with a Tbs peanut butter mixed in.

I rushed down to Canal Street for a fun event at The French Culinary Institute!

Pastry Scoop and Texasweet Ruby Red Grapefruits were sponsoring a recipe demo and dessert tasting with Jansen Chan, executive pastry chef at Manhattan’s Oceana restaurant.

I started off with a grapefruit juice eggnog. Fancy! 1pm is totally an appropriate time for a cocktail, right?

And then the recipe demos began! Jansen was very interesting – he worked as a professional architect for years before realizing his true passion was baking.

Did you know?

• Grapefruits have NO fat, cholesterol, or sodium
• High in vitamins A & C
• Contain lycopene and fiber
• Grapefruits will keep on the counter for 2 weeks of in the fridge for 6 weeks!

And Jansen demonstrated how to properly peel and cut a grapefruit – remove all of the bitter, white pith!

Although a cocktail + dessert tasting was probably not the best choice for post-run fuel, I guess I could do much worse than grapefruits and dark chocolate!

Dessert #1 – Steamed chocolate cake with creamy grapefruit filling (I only ate about half because I wanted to pace myself!)

Dessert #2 – Tarragon grapefruit soup with mascarpone gelee and dark chocolate sorbet (loved this – my favorite!)

Dessert #3 – White chocolate grapefruit parfait with honey sabayon

Dessert #4 – Floating island if grapefruit anglaise and milk chocolate sorbet

Dessert #5 – Chocolate tarts with grapefruit marmalade and coconut tuiles (the marmalade and dark chocolate flavor in this one were a little intense for my liking).

We also received goodie bags full of grapefruits, recipe cards, and gourmet chocolate chips (definitely nibbled on a few of those already!). This event was fun and delicious, plus I got to spend some time with one of New York foodie friends (thanks for coming Darien!). If you’re interested in creative grapefruit recipes, check out the Texas Citrus recipe page!

All that chocolate gave me quite a bit of a sugar rush energy, so I headed to the gym for….a swimming workout!! Gah. Remember when I signed up for an indoor triathlon? Um, yeah. That’s in less than a month. My goal is to survive the 10 minute swim and then really focus on the bike and run portion. I’ve been putting off getting in the pool for as long as possible, but on Saturday I finally bit the bullet. I hopped in the water and swam for about 10 minutes (freestyle and backstroke) and then alternated between laps and kickboard drills for another 10 minutes. My form is horrendous and I’m sure the lifeguard got a good laugh, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared. Hooray!

By 6pm, I was ready for some dinner (no, chocolate doesn’t count). I met my friends Joe and Chrissy at a little spot called Georgio’s Country Grill. The menu was simple, but the service really made the place stand out. I got to the restaurant a little early and was seated right away (some places make you wait until the entire party arrives). Georgio’s was warm and cozy and I really liked the ambiance – bottles of wine and San Pelligrino on the table made the dinner feel special.

After all my running, walking, and swimming – I was HUNGRY! I started off with a cranberry and walnut roll with butter.

For my entree I was craving vegetables so I ordered the grilled portabello mushroom salad with romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, red pepper, onion, artichoke, olives, and goat cheese. I ordered the balsamic vinaigrette dressing on the side, but the veggies were so fresh and flavorful, that I only needed to use a bit. The grilled portabellos look sort of like bacon, but I assure you this salad is vegetarian

I met a date for a un-pictured glass of red wine at Barcibo and stayed out past my usual Grandma bedtime.

However, I couldn’t totally abandon my old-lady ways. I finished the night with a cup of tea and slice of pb & j toast.

Question: Do you like grapefruit? I think people either love it or hate it…

p.s. Matt and I just posted a new article on Running Shorts – How to manage the pain of racing and running hard!

I’ve mentioned them before, but the folks at Food 411 send out fabulous newsletters every month jam-packed with cool food info. If you like learning about the history and origins of food, you’ll love Food 411. And no…they don’t pay me to say this! I don’t even think they know about my blog. It’s just a really cool thing that I wanted to share

When the weather is cold and blustery, nothing is better than a hot bowl of oatmeal!

• Did you know? Oats were the last of the major cereal grains to be domesticated and they originated as weeds that grew within cultivated fields of various other crops.
• Oats were a lowly horse food for the Romans, even today, less than 5% of the oats now grown commercially are for human consumption.

Horses can run pretty fast, maybe it’s the oats?

From Food 411’s November Newsletter:

Varieties of Oats

Oat groats, or whole oats: The least processed, only the outer hull is removed. Very nutritious, but need to be cooked and/or soaked for a long period of time. Oat groats are chewy, nutty-tasting grains similar to wheat berries; they make a good substitute for rice in soups and stews

Oat bran: The outer casing that is removed from the groats. The bran is particularly high in soluble fiber. Oat bran is very versatile, and can be used with groats or alone, and as an addition to baking recipes, or even raw in shakes.

Steel-cut oats, or Irish oats: Groats that have been chopped into small pieces. They have a firmer texture than rolled oats. Steel-cut oats have a mild flavor & a starchy texture; and can be substituted for rice in pilaf or risotto or used as a delicious topping for salads

Rolled oats, or old-fashioned oats: Commonly called oatmeal These are oat groats that are steamed and flattened with huge rollers so that they cook quicker, in about 5 to 15 minutes. They are a great binder for meat loaf and can be used in stuffing for chicken or turkey.

Quick oats: These are groats that have been cut into several pieces before being steamed and rolled into thinner flakes, thus reducing the cooking time to 3-5 minutes. While they cook quicker, any oat aficionado will tell you that they lack the hearty texture and nutty flavor of the less-processed varieties.

Instant oats: These are made by chopping groats into tiny pieces, precooking them, drying them, then smashing them with a big roller. They need only be mixed with a hot liquid. They usually have flavorings and salt added. All of this processing removes all traces of the original texture and rich flavor of the groats.

Oat flour: Oat flour is made from groats that have been ground into a powder, and contains no gluten so it does not rise like wheat flour. It can also be made at home by grinding rolled oats into a powder in a blender. It has a delicate texture that will produce moist & tender baked goods.

Oatmeal Mix-in Ideas:

• Sliced peaches, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
• Sliced banana, vanilla yogurt, and chopped walnuts.
• Diced apple, chopped prunes, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
• Peanut butter, raisins, and honey.
• Sliced banana, dried cranberries, and shredded coconut.
• Dark chocolate chips and peanut butter (tastes like Reese’s!).
• Canned pumpkin, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

My favorite oatmeal recipes:

Pear Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Overnight Oatmeal

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies

Kath’s Baked Banana Oatmeal

Holly’s Truffled Butternut Squash Oatmeal

Question: What’s your favorite thing to add to oatmeal?

P.S. Pressed for time? Check out this article on how to actually run your errands!

After my fun run and veggie-packed dinner, I got the urge to bake. The timing was good because earlier in the day, I received a package from Pillsbury asking me to participate in their “Love the Pie” campaign. Fall is apple season and personally I think apples taste best in PIE! Usually I make my own pie crusts from scratch, but on a busy worknight, using prepared crust was a great time saver. I was happy to see that the Pillsbury pie crust contained 0 trans fats and it was deliciously flaky! I always have trouble getting the consistency of my crusts to come out right (especially when I try to experiment with whole wheat flour…).

I began the pie process by peeling and slicing apples while watching gossip girl (I used 2 granny smith apples and 4 macoun apples).

And then I followed the directions for Pillsbury’s Caramel Apple Streusel Pie (with just a few modifications!).

Ingredients:

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 400°F. In large bowl, mix apples and lemon juice. In small bowl, mix 1/4 cup sugar, the tapioca, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add to apples; stir gently. Let stand 15 minutes. Place 1 pie crust in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Pour apple mixture into pastry-lined pie plate.

2) In small bowl, mix oats, flour and 2 tablespoons sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Cut second crust into wedges; arrange wedges in an alternate pattern across the mixture.

3) Bake 45 minutes. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat caramels and milk over low heat until caramels are melted. Stir until smooth; add pecans. Drizzle over pie. Bake 8 to 10 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 2 hours.

Note: Cover the edges of the crust with foil after the first 20 minutes of baking, so the edges don’t burn. And keep an eye on your pie – all oven temperatures vary.

Yum! This pie was packed with delicious things – apples, cinnamon, oats, caramel, pecan. Delish! I won’t pretend it’s healthy, but I did cut out a little bit of butter and sugar (from the original recipe) and an apple is a fruit!

And you better believe I had a slice of warm caramel apple streusel pie after all of the dishes were done. I was very skeptical of the pre-made pie crust, but I have to admit it was very good (perfectly flaky). And the caramel-pecan topping was a nice addition to the cinnamon-y apples. I can’t wait to have another slice tonight!

And now for the free stuff!! Do you like my red “love the pie” t-shirt? Well, I have 4 of them to giveaway! Four readers will get their own “Love the Pie” t-shirt, a Pillsbury pie recipe card, and some extra special goodies from me!

To enter the contest, leave a comment telling me what your favorite pie is and how you could bake it a little bit healthier. I’ll choose the winners at 5pm on Friday, November 20th.

Hooray! You made it to the new blog address. Thanks for stopping by!

Runner’s Kitchen now has a new easier to remember URL (simply -http://runnerskitchen.com) and I plan on making some style and formatting changes over the next few weeks. I want to give a big THANK YOU to Matt and all of his helpful advice at the blog, Health Blog Helper. I’ve been contemplating buying my own domain name and self-hosting the blog for awhile now, but Matt gave me the extra push I needed. If you have a blog with wordpress or blogger, I strongly recommend that you look into self-hosting as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more complicated it gets!

I’m excited about all the flexibility the new format will allow me, but please bear with me over the next week or so as I figure this all out. I was up to my eyeballs in HTML code last night – something I don’t feel quite comfortable with yet! So if you see anything that looks weird or a page isn’t working for you, please let me know.

I think I’ll be in the office pretty late tonight, so in lieu of a regular post you can check out my latest Running Shorts article on True/Slant – Tips for fitting running into a crazy-busy schedule. Am I taking my own advice? Let’s hope so…

Oh! And remember to update your bookmarks and google readers – there’s a subscribe button in the top right corner of the page that will help you sign up. If you use google reader – remember that www.runnerskitchen.com is the new URL to subscribe to. You wouldn’t want to miss any important updates, would you?

I’m sure by now it’s no surprise that I LOVE all things pumpkin, so prepare yourself for a few more recipes

When my friend Hannah visited last week she brought me a tupperware full of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that I promptly devoured. Once they were gone, I knew I had to re-create them.

Even though I love to bake, I’m not the biggest fan of measuring/following directions (um, yes – I realize this is usually essential for baking). I went with my instincts last night and the result was healthy and delicious (tooting my own horn, just a bit)!! I based the recipe loosely on these pumpkin cookies, but my final version was modified quite a bit.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash of ginger and nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1.5 cups light brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs (preferably organic)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 3.5 oz Lindt white chocolate bar, chopped into small pieces
• small handful of dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees and grease a large baking sheet
• Whisk together flour, spices, and baking soda in a medium bowl
• Beat together the sugar and butter until creamy
• Mix in applesauce, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla
• Slowly incorporate flour mixture just until combined
• Stir in the pecans and white chocolate and dark chocolate chips
• Drop heaping Tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top

These cookies have a very light, fluffy textures (almost like little pumpkin breads!) and the white chocolate is a surprisingly good compliment to the pumpkin. To assist in her post-marathon recovery, Alma sampled 6 cookies and declared them “delicious!”.

And now….for my next trick, homemade pumpkin puree! Inspired by Christine, I set out to make good use of a small pumpkin that had been serving as a living room decoration. I bought this lil’ guy over a month ago and it was still perfectly edible. Yay, winter gourds!

Instructions:

1) Wash the pumpkin, cut a hole in the top, and scoop out the seeds/innards. Then cut the pumpkin in half and then into medium sized chunks (leave the skin on).

2) Put the pumpkin chunks in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the bowl from the microwave (be careful! bowl will be hot), stir, cover with new plastic wrap, and microwave for 10 more minutes.

3) After pumpkin is finished cooking, allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. Then remove the pumpkin rind – I used a spoon to scoop the flesh into a separate bowl. I was doing this around 11:45pm on a Saturday night…real cool, I know.

4) Mash the pumpkin and store in a tupperware or small bowl until ready to use! I have plans to make some pumpkin risotto with my homemade puree.

This pumpkin was probably one of the best dollars that I ever spent. The gourd served as a decoration for over a month, yielded nearly 2 cups of pumpkin puree, and I plan to season and roast the seeds.

Hooray for pumpkin!

What’s your favorite way to enjoy pumpkin? In a pie? In a latte from Starbucks? As a jack o’ lantern?