I had an early wake-up call on Saturday – 5:28am to be exact. Yikes. I didn’t actually get out of bed until 6 o’clock though. I stumbled to the kitchen to make coffee and discovered that I was out of coffee filters. And milk. $%^&!! Hmph. I settled on some green tea instead. I thought about having a chocolate-fig vita top, but was worried that the fiber would make my run unpleasant, so I saved it for afterwards.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about what to wear when the weather gets colder. I’m going to do a separate post about this soon, but until then, I took a photo of what I wore for my run yesterday. The weather was windy, dry, and about 40 degrees.
I wore: 3/4 length spandex tights, a tank top, half-zip running pullover, and gloves. Whenever I dress for a Autumn/Winter run I plan on being a bit chilly for the first mile or so. Once I get going, I always warm up, so I try not to overdress.
When I left for my run it was still dark out, so I stuck to well-lit paths for the first few miles. Once the sun started to rise, I headed to the reservoir for a while. I think I only saw one other person on the whole 1.5 mile loop. That’s pretty rare for New York City! I guess that’s what happens when you go running at 6:30am on a Saturday morning…
I really focused on picking up the pace for the last 15 minutes or so of my run and finished the 6 miles in 49:10 (about 8:10/mile pace).
I ended my run at the nearby Dunkin’ Donuts for a latte lite…
I stopped at my apartment for about 5 minutes and then hightailed it to Port Authority. With about 4 minutes to spare, I made the 8:30am bus headed to my hometown in Pennsylvania.
Breakfast was some leftover apple crisp (last bit!) and a vanilla chobani greek yogurt.
Snack on the bus – 1/2 olympic granola bar. Love the super short ingredient list and crunchy flax seeds in this!
Once I arrived in Pennsylvania, look who was waiting for me!!
Don’t front like you don’t like hugs, Kiwi.
Lunch was kind of random: super ripe banana with peanut butter and jelly
And a cupcake with a cup of milk. Yes, I am a real person. Sometimes I eat cupcakes instead of vegetables 
Mom and I did some errands and when we returned around 3pm, I was ready for another snack (more random-ness): cottage cheese, pineapple, and teddy grahams
After a bit of a nap, I woke up with some time to spare before dinner. The weather was a bit chilly, but perfectly Autumn-ish. I thought about going for a walk, but the crisp air just begged for a run. I ran an easy 4 miles around the neighborhood and admired all the creative Halloween decorations. One house parked a real hearse in their drive way and decorated the yard with strobe lights and cob webs. P.S. my hamstring/IT band felt AWESOME on both runs today. Yay!
Next up: I cooked dinner for the fam. Shhh, don’t tell them it was healthy!
Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients:
- Ronzoni Smart Taste elbow macaroni, 1 box
- 15 oz canned pumpkin
- 6 oz reduced fat cheddar (I used Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar)
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup reduced fat cottage cheese
- 2 cups reduced fat milk
- 2 Tbs bread crumbs
- 1 tsp canola or olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a 9″x13″ baking dish
- Prepare the macaroni in a large cooking pot, according to package directions
- While the pasta is cooking, combine pumpkin and milk in a small saucepan until simmering
- Remove pumpkin mixture from heat and add shredded cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined.
- Combine the cooked macaroni and pumpkin-cheese mixture together in large pot and then pour in to the baking dish
- In a small bowl, combine the tsp of oil, breadcrumbs, and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Sprinkle this on top of the macaroni dish.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top is crispy. Makes about 8 servings.
My family couldn’t guess that the secret ingredient was pumpkin! The orange veggie adds a healthy dose of fiber and vitamin A without compromising the taste of the ooey-gooey mac ‘n cheese.
I had some of my pumpkin mac and cheese with a side of stewed tomatoes.
Later on in the evening, I headed to my friend Mark’s house for a little get together. Back in high school, we used to go to Mark’s after cross-country practice for snacks and swimming.
Now that we’re all grown up we partake in wine and cupcakes
I had a glass of Chardonnay and some caramel covered Granny Smith apple slices. It was necessary – I hadn’t had any green fruits or veggies yet today!
I returned home around midnight and may have had a small slice of Caramel Apple Walnut Pie from the local Sanitary Bakery. Ahh. This crust is so flaky that it melts in your mouth. I’m sure it’s full of shortening and trans fat, but.I.don’t.care.because.it.is.so.delicious!!
What a lovely day. Two runs + Kiwi the cat + dessert all day long + wine with friends.
What is your favorite type of dessert? Obviously, I love them all. Well, except for cream pies. I don’t care for those.
