The Runner's Kitchen

 Some runs (like last weekend’s 14-miler) are awesome and others….not so much. Last night I headed out the door for a post-work run and felt crappy for most of the 4.5 miles.  Maybe it was my frustrating day at work, maybe I was just tired.  I guess I can’t really be sure,  but at least the bad runs help you appreciate the good ones even more. I got 8+ hours of sleep last night, so here’s hoping today is a better day!

When I returned from my run, I crafted a giant salad. There’s nothing like fresh veggies and whole foods to chase away the winter blahs.

I chopped up some organic hearts of romaine, added leftover roasted beets, great northern beans, dried cherries, chopped walnuts, a big scoop of cottage cheese, and lots of hot sauce. Sounds weird, I know. But it was delicious! I love the combo of cottage cheese and hot sauce – the creamy and fiery flavors compliment each other perfectly.

And then I put on my baking apron! I’ve been itching to try the black bean brownie recipe created by Christine (NoMeatAthlete’s resident baker), but I used what I had on hand and made some modifications.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (use a good quality brand such as Ghiradelli)
• 2 tsp instant coffee powder
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 2 Tbs chocolate chips
• 1/2 can white beans (or any kind that you have on hand), rinsed and filled with new water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 8″ x 8″ baking pan
• Whisk together all of the dry ingredients
• Puree the beans and the water they are canned in
• Add pureed beans, vanilla, and additional water to dry mixture
• Mix thoroughly and then pour into baking pan
• Bake for 22-25 minutes, rotating pan half-way through cooking time
• Keep an eye on the brownies – you don’t want the edges to overcook!
• Allow brownies to cool completely and then cut into 9 squares

These brownies are incredibly moist and the serving size is BIG! I hate it when a “serving” of something is puny. These big, fudgy, moist brownies will satisfy your chocolate craving while providing a good dose of fiber and protein.

I know that using pureed beans instead of butter, eggs, or oil is a little unconventional, but I promise these are yummy. When Alma found out that the brownies were made with beans she was skeptical, but after taste-testing she was very impressed. Try this recipe, you’ll like it!

Nutritional stats per serving (based on 9 servings): 215 calories, 5.5 grams of fat, 5.5 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber.

Do you ever bake with “unconventional” ingredients?

Before you go – check out my latest True/Slant article: Lose weight, gain speed?

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?

Ahh, Saturday was close to perfect. I got a solid 8 hours of sleep and then woke up to this:

The usual coffee, 2% Fage Greek yogurt, a few tablespoons of PB2, and a sliced banana.

After an hour or so of stretching and foam rolling, I hit the road for a run. I wasn’t sure how far I was going to go, but I kept the pace easy and hoped for the best. The weather outside was great – sunny and 75 degrees without a trace of humidity. My stomach felt light, my legs felt loose, and I was feeling energetic. However, this run was by no means perfect. I had some twinges of pain in my upper hamstring and my endurance isn’t what it used to be. Fortunately, I stopped to stretch twice and it really helped my hamstring. This leads me to believe that my body needs some frequent stretching/foam rolling rather than more rest. Van Cortlandt Park was my turn-around point and the crisp weather and tree-lined hills made me feel nostalgic for cross-country season. I could almost hear the crack of the gun and the stampede of feet as I circled the wide fields. As I neared my nieghborhood, I picked up the pace a bit and burst from the shaded side of the street into the sun. As I headed down the last block home, I couldn’t have been happier!

Distance: 7.25 miles Time: 1 hour, 7 minutes Pace: 9:10 (approximate)

Sometimes running is painful and uncomfortable. Sometimes you do a run and all you can think about is how tired, hungry, or sore you are. Sometimes running is boring and there are a million other things you’d rather be doing. However, after 8 months of being injured, being able to go for a run is something I am incredibly thankful for. I never realized how much this activity meant to me or how much it is tied to my identity until I couldn’t do it anymore.

I refueled with an iced coffee (with milk) from Dunkin’ Donuts. I may have offended the employees with my sweaty self + sports bra.

I came home to batch #3 of olive oil granola, a pan of homemade peanut butter brownies, and all the dishes washed. Thanks to Nate!

Nate used the suggested amount of spice in this recipe and instead of using 3/4 cup pure maple syrup, he used half lite pancake syrup and half pure maple syrup. I think this was the best batch yet! I’m not sure what made the difference (I’m guessing it was the lite pancake syrup), but this batch was AMAZING! The oats and fruit and nuts clumped together more – the consistency reminded me a lot of the Bear Naked brand.

Obviously, I had to have a handful of granola right away!

After more stretching and some core work, I refueled with Powerade and some cherries.

And then a PowerBar recovery bar that I’ve had since April. This bar has 12 grams of protein, but it could easily pass for a candy bar It’s yummy, but probably not something you want to eat on a daily basis.

I met up with Nate and his family around 4:30pm and we took the sky gondola from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. This is such a cool place! The island sits between Manhattan and Queens, but it feels like a small town. The main street is full of little restaurants and shops and the slow pace is very different from New York City. Check out the Roosevelt Islander blog for more info!

We stopped at a restaurant called the Trellis for dinner. The menu had so many options, but the stuffed avocado really caught my eye. My plate was piled with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, and red onion and then topped with 1/2 an avocado and egg salad. The creaminess of the avocado and egg salad made dressing unnecessary. It was delicious! My stomach thanked me for all the veggies, protein, fiber, and healthy fats I consumed

Alongside, I enjoyed a piece of italian bread with buttah.

We walked around the water and enjoyed a break from the city’s frenetic pace.

Once we got back to midtown, we paid a visit to Dylan’s Candy Bar. This place made me feel like I was in the Wille Wonka movie!

Gummie candies were encased in the steps!

It was fun to explore!

After we said goodbye to Nate’s fam, we headed back home. Around 9:30pm I was STARVING. Today’s run and all the walking I did later in the day really revved up my appetite. I topped two Wasa crackers with a pile of feta cheese. A little messy, but it hit the spot!

Later on I had one of Nate’s homemade peanut butter brownies with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream. Mmmm…

Another reason to be my friend:  If I like you, I’ll bake you things!

A friend’s sister was ill a few months ago and gave me her ticket to the Broadway play, God of Carnage. The play, staring Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis, and James Gandolfini was excellent, but I felt bad that the original ticket holder couldn’t enjoy it. I promised to make delicious “thank-you” baked goods the next time our paths crossed. Last week a group of us met up to see 9 to 5 The Musical and I was able to deliver on my promise!  The show was great – I loved Allison Janey’s character and the high energy music was the perfect way to de-stress from a long work day. I was really lovin’ the early 80’s dresses and plan on looking through the attic to see if my mom saved anything from that time period…

Now on to the brownies! It’s been a hectic week, so I used a little help from my friend Trader Joe and whipped up a batch of TJ’s truffle brownies.

This boxed mix is probably the best I’ve ever tried. I mixed 1 stick of butter and 2 eggs into the deep, dark, chocolate-y mix and added some rainbow sprinkles to make it more interesting. I wish you could scratch n’ sniff this screen – the brownies made my apartment smell SO good!

As I was wrapping up the brownies, I had to “test” a little piece to make sure it tasted OK. These chewy, chocolate-y, sprinkle-y brownies passed with flying colors

I visited Wilkes-Barre, PA this weekend to celebrate my Grandma’s birthday, stock up on baked goods, play with my cat, and spend some time with my newly engaged friends (Hi Jen and Jesse!). Kiwi was being especially cute on Saturday and Sunday. Below are some photos of the little furball. He almost makes my itchy-watery cat allergy eyes worth it

Ever since highschool, the highlight of a visit to Jen’s house has always been: Mrs. Kaczinski’s brownies!!! The recipe is a secret, but I’m pretty sure they contain crack.

And last, but not least – a visit to Sanitary Bakery! Per Nate’s request (he’s been asking for weeks!) I snagged him 4 vanilla frosted doughnuts, 6 vanilla cream filled doughnuts, and 2 chocolate chip cookies. He has big plans to freeze whatever he can’t consume in the next few days. The best thing about Sanitary Bakery (besides the sugary goodness) is the price. This stuff is SO cheap – $0.45 for doughnuts, $0.65 for brownies. And in case you’re not a Nanticoke native – they apparently ship nationwide