The Runner's Kitchen

I don’t discuss it much on the blog, but the last 6 months have been rough for me. Some days all I want to do is come home, have a good cry, and watch a Hannah Montana movie. Sometimes that makes me feel better, but other times I know that running is the answer. I was in quite the funk yesterday afternoon, but I still followed through with my plan to do a speed workout on the treadmill.  And I’m so glad I did. For 60 minutes, I wasn’t sad or upset – I was completely focused on the numbers: the length of my intervals, the pace I needed to run, and the miles piling it up. For the past 10 years, running has helped me feel accomplished when nothing else seemed to be going right. It’s given me an outlet for stress and time to think and reflect. Sometimes I really do believe that sweat and tears are the cure for everything.

And speaking of sweat, yesterday’s workout was quite the doozy:

• 1 mile warm-up
• 1200m @ 5K pace (~6:44 mile)
• 400m jog
• 1000m @ 5K pace (~6:44 mile)
• 400m jog
• 800m @ 5K pace (~6:44 mile)
• 400m jog
• 600m @ 3K pace (~6:15 mile)
• 400m jog
• 400m @ 3K pace (~6:15 mile)
• 400m jog
• 300m @ mile pace (~6:00 mile)
• 300m jog
• 200m @ mile pace (~6:00 mile)
• 200m jog
• 1.75 mile cooldown

Pheww. 7 miles total.

I had some stomach distress on the cool-down. Note to self: an iron pill and granola bar 45 minutes before a workout are a BAD idea. What an amateur mistake.

Other than the tum trouble, I felt mostly good during this workout.  However, I don’t think my muscles were 100% recovered from Sunday’s race. My right hamstring is a bit unhappy about all the speed workout I’ve been doing. Must do a better job with stretching!

After my run, I came home and tried my hand at a raw dinner creation. I’m not vegetarian, vegan, or raw, but I enjoy experimenting with different types of recipes. My raw take on tabbouleh ended up being really yummy AND it only took about 15 minutes from start-to-finish. The cauliflower makes an awesome rice substitute – the consistency was amazingly similar!

Raw Tabbouleh (Makes 1 big serving)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped into 1″ pieces (fyi – 10 g fiber and 8 g protein in 1/2 head cauliflower!)
• big handful of fresh parsley
• small handful of fresh mint
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
• Lemon juice and olive oil, to taste
• salt, pepper, nutmeg, to taste

Directions:

• Place the cauliflower, parsley, and mint in a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower reaches the consistency of rice
• Transfer veggie mixture to a medium bowl and stir in nuts, dried fruit, olive oil, lemon juice, and spices
• Serve with romaine lettuce cups – enjoy!

And for dessert, I had a decidedly non-raw dessert: a cornflake-marshmallow-chocolate chip cookie from Momofuku milk bar. So good.

Cauliflower – love it or hate it?

When you’re in a funk, what helps you feel better?

Attention NYC-area foodies: The March 22nd Village Voice Choice Eats 2010 event is fast approaching. New restaurants were just added to the line-up, check out some of the yummy bites that will be featured. Bonus: The proceeds of this event benefit Slow Food International!

• Luke’s Lobster:  Bite-Sized Shrimp Rolls: fresh, sustainable Maine shrimp in a buttered and toasted bun with a squirt of mayo, a bit of lemon butter, and a dash of secret spices.
• Dirt Candy:  Pumpkin Crostini with Maple Smoked Butternut Squash and Roasted Pepitas (Vegetarian).
• Congee Village Restaurant & Bar:  House Special Fried Pork Ribs, Shrimp with Walnut & Broccoli in Mayonnaise. 
• Del Posto:  Chocolate and Olive Oil Bastoncino, Olive Oil Gelato Lollipops Coated in Chocolate with Salted Breadcrumbs.
• Zuzu Ramen: Fricasse of skate, squid, and kimchi with iceberg lettuce, nori tapenade, citrus aioli, and pork cracklin.
• Motorino: Insalata di Polpo (octopus, potatoes, celery, capers, extra virgin olive oil, lemon).
• Café Steinhof: Austrian beef Gulash with Spaetzle.
• Mooncake Foods: Spicy thai salad, grilled chicken and buckwheat noodles with cilantro mint pesto.

Yesterday morning I headed out to Central Park for a 4.5 mile recovery run. My hamstrings were a little tight from Sunday’s race, but otherwise I felt great! The sun was shining and my legs were thankful for the squishy softness of the dirt bridle path.

The rest of my day wasn’t nearly as carefree as my a.m. run, but I had fun evening plans to look forward to. After reading a review in the NY Times a few weeks ago, I was intrigued by The Meatball Shop. This new restaurant specializes in….you guessed it – meatballs!

The Meatball Shop is tucked away on Stanton Street on the Lower East Side. In fact, I walked right by it at first! The menu is blissfully simple and the quality of food, cozy atmosphere, and attentive service are top-notch. Bonus: Ingredients are locally sourced and humanely raised.

Once we were seated, I perused the menu. Diners are given the choice of meatballs (beef, spicy pork, chicken, salmon, lamb, or vegetable), sauce (tomato, mushroom, meat, or creamy parmesan), cheese (mozzarella or provolone), as well as an array of breads, pastas, and vegetables. I chose the “meatball smash” which featured 2 chicken meatballs, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese stuffed and grilled inside a brioche roll. The arugula and apple salad on the side was a nice addition. I can’t say enough good things about this meal – it was warm and hearty, without being too heavy. And all of the ingredients were super fresh - loved the arugula!

(Grr…dim lighting…blurry photos)

My dining companion ordered a classic beef meatball hero with melted cheese on a whole grain roll. The meat was described as being “fall off the bone tender”. Never mind that meatballs don’t actually contain bones….you get the point! And of course more of that yummy arugula salad on the side.

How do you top off a delicious dinner like that?

I know…

Cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar!!

Remember when I made a vegan version of Momofuku’s compost cookie? That was good, but there’s nothin’ like the original…

Last night I also snagged one of the cornflake-marshmallow-chocolate chip cookies and I think I like this one even better. It tasted like a chocolate chip cookie-rice krispies treat hybrid. Oh my heavens.

Wondering what the heck a fartlek is? Confused by interval workouts? Running Shorts comes to the rescue with explanations for the sport’s most common terms.

IT band pain? Watch this Runner’s World video to find out which yoga poses will help.

Love diet coke? I’ll admit…I can’t resist popping open a can of icy cold DC every so often. Fortunately, there’s a healthier stevia-sweetened alternative to all those chemicals. Yum!

What’s your favorite type of cookie?

Yesterday was a great day for so many reasons. The weather was g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s and I had a lot of fun at the Coogan’s Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K in Washington Heights. I lived in this ‘hood during my first 2 years in NYC, so running through the hilly streets brought back memories. By the end of the morning, I almost missed the days of pastelitos and bachata music. Almost.

I was a bundle of nerves, so I was up well before my 6am alarm went off. I started off with a cup of coffee (yup, even before races!) and a slice of toast with banana and a few spoonfuls of nutzo nut butter.

This was the first race that I was EXCITED about running in a long time. I have a few solid weeks of workouts/long runs behind me and no nagging injuries. 

• 2 mile warm-up and strides
• First mile was a conservative 7:00 and then I picked up the pace.
• Mile 2 was ~6:40 (MAJOR hill at the turn-around point)
• Mile 3 was ~6:30
• Final time was 20:50 (6:43 pace average)
• 586th place out of 5,629 runners, 64th out of 2,612 women, and 7th finisher for the Central Park Track Club’s women’s team.
• 7 mile cool-down (30-ish minutes with Jacqui and Sarah and then another 30-ish minutes back to my apartment…7 miles is a generous estimate, hah)
• 12 miles total for the day

Despite being in the first second corral, the start was ridiculously crowded, I felt like I wasted a lot of energy weaving in and out of the crowd. Luckily things thinned out a bit after 800 meters and I was able to speed up. The hills on this course were pretty brutal, but at least the last 1/2 mile was mostly downhill! Last year at this race I ran 21:43, so I think it’s a good sign that this year’s time was nearly a minute faster. Also my time was a PR for a non-track 5K. My previous PR was 20:51 at Open New England’s Senior year (cross-country). Wahoo!

However, there’s always room for improvement. Next time I’d like to make my way up to the first corrall (less crowding, better start position) and pay more attention to running the tangents. I felt like I wasted a lot of unnecessary energy today fighting the crowd. Also, my first mile was too conservative, I need to focus on feeling comfortable with a faster start.

Onwards and upwards, NYC Half Marathon…here I come!

Once I returned home, I immediately devoured a plain chobani greek yogurt, chopped apple, with a spoonful of lingonberry jam.

After my shower, I re-hydrated with an Odwalla Superfood green juice (looked like sludge, tasted delicious!) and a chocolate chip peanut crunch clif bar.

And then…it was time to frolic in the amazing sunny weather! Nothin’ says spring like big sunglasses and a $5 Starbucks mocha frappuccino. I took advantage of the spring temperatures and went for a lil’ walk to stretch my legs. I really think that some light activity after a race or long run goes a long way in preventing soreness.

Around 4pm, I was hungry and ready to EAT (again). I made myself a plate of homemade nachos while I contemplated what to have for dinner. TJ’s reduced-guilt tortilla chips + shredded cheese + salsa + 20 seconds in the microwave = nachos!

Dinner ended up being leftovers from a creation I made the other night. Inspired by Tina’s breakfast pizza, I rounded up a slew of pantry ingredients and made my own version. My favorite thing about this dish is that you can easily make substitutions based on what you have in your fridge/pantry.

Polenta Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbs earthbalance (or olive oil or butter)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large yellow carrot, chopped (feel free to substitute other veggies!)
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 chicken sausage links, sliced (these had been in my freezer for months, so I used them up, but you could also use vegetarian sausage links!)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup egg whites
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees, coat a 9″ pie pan with cooking spray
• Heat water in a medium sauce pan, once boiling whisk in the cormeal, and reduce heat to low.
• Allow cornmeal to cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Once sides of polenta begin to pull away from the sauce pan, turn off the heat, and stir in shredded cheese and a dash of salt and pepper.
• Pour polenta into prepared pie plate and smooth down with a spoon.
• In a large pan, heat earth balance and cook the onions and carrot until softened (about 3-5 minutes)
• In a medium bowl combine cooked veggies, sliced sausage, egg whites, milk, and more salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour veggie-egg mixture over polenta and bake for about 40 minutes or until top is goldent brown.

Yum! This was a very tasty dish that not only used up random leftovers in my fridge (that bag of cornmeal has been hangin’ out in my freezer since 2007), but it also provided a good mix of post-run carbs and protein.

I ended the night with a cup of tea and some thin mint cookies.

Note: I probably only took photos of about 75% of what I ate today. On days that I run fast (and long) I find that my appetite goes into overdrive. There were definitely some handfuls of Kashi crackers, spoonfuls of nut butter, and extra tortilla chips that went un-documented. After racing a 5k and running 12 miles, my body needed the fuel

Question: If you’re a runner, what’s your favorite race distance?

Is your ipod mix getting a little old? Score some new workout music from Cadence Revolution’s free weekly podcast.

Wondering what to do with leftover bread? Check out this yummy whole wheat panzanella salad recipe.

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?

After giving my shin 48 hours of rest – it feels absolutely fine. Yay!

As usual, I did the weekly CPTC interval workout on the treadmill. A day pass for the Armory indoor track = $30. No thanks.

• 2 mile warm-up
• 3 x 1200m @ 5K pace with 400m jog recovery
  The 1200’s were done at approximately ~6:40 pace and felt surprisingly good! Let’s hope I feel similar on Sunday’s hilly 5K course…
• 3 x 300m @ 3K pace with 100m jog recovery. I don’t think running sub-6:00 minute pace on the treadmill is the wisest plan. Once again, I feared I would fly off the back of the belt, but thankfully not this week.
• I finished up the workout with a final easy mile of running and some walking to cool-down.
• Total: 7 miles

After a bit of stretching and a shower, I headed to the subway for the ride home. To appease my grumbling stomach, I tried something new: a Just Fruit bar sent to me by Gorge Delights. My fruit leather was made of 100% fruit (apple and cherry puree and concentrate – that’s it!) and contained 90 calories, 17 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of fiber. It was the perfect post-run fuel – glycogen for my muscles! I’m going to keep a couple of these in my purse for emergency snacks.

My dinner included another product sample: gardein (garden + protein) crispy tenders. Besides the occasional veggie burger, I’m not a big faux-meat fan. However, these crispy tenders blew me away. They tasted so much like chicken that I almost couldn’t believe I was eating a grain/soy product and not meat. Matt recently wrote a review of the gardein product line - check it out for more info!

After baking the crispy tenders, I chopped them up into bite-size pieces. If it looks like chicken and tastes like chicken, it must be…gardein?

I hesitate to call my dinner a “salad”. It was more like a big bowl of random ingredients. I was hungry. It was late. I needed dinner fast. I promise to cook an actual meal soon (I’m taking an Asian cooking class tonight!). Anyway, into the bowl went: chopped romaine lettuce, dried cherries, gardein crispy tenders, Kashi TLC crackers, cheddar cheese, hummus, and sriracha sauce. Veggies? Check! Protein? Check! Carbs? Check! Healthy fats? Check! Looks like I covered all the bases….

Taking the advice of my girl, Holly -I lived life to the fullest and ended the night with some chocolate. Mmm.

About 12 hours after my treadmill speed session, it was time to hit the road again. After some coffee + a luna bar (maybe eaten in bed…), I headed out the door for a (very) early a.m. run.

I’m not going to sugar coat it, certain parts of this 9-mile run were absolutely miserable. It was 34 degrees, windy, and sleeting/raining. My baseball hat blew off multiple times and I couldn’t feel my hands by mile 7. I am SO ready for spring to be here.

Good things about today’s run:

1) I made a friend in the park. His name is Dave, he’s 72 years old, and we run the same pace. Bwahahaha.
2) I ran with Ani and Chris for the middle miles. Company made the rain + wind more bearable.
3) It felt good to get up early and get my run out of the way.

Also, NO shin pain. A few aches and pains in my feet, but they were fleeting -probably from wearing the lunaracers yesterday.

Before I get back to the grindstone, I wanted to share some things that I’ve been lovin’ lately.

1) Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas – So far nothing I’ve read in this book is completely groundbreaking (especially if you have a solid running background) BUT the authors do a great job of explaining the how’s and why’s of marathon training. If nothing else, the chapter on nutrition/hydration has convinced me to pay more attention to my fluid intake. I recommend this book if you’re an experienced marathoner looking for direction in your training.

2) After much procrastination, I finally bought a RoadID. If you’re a runner, you should have some form of ID on you at all times. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Mom – are you proud?

Are you a fan of faux meat products i.e. veggie burgers, soy crumbles, gardein?

If you’re a runner, what do you carry with you? ID, cash, cell phone?

There were multiple deaths from falling trees in Central Park yesterday, I think running indoors at my gym was the right decision.

The day started out with slushy rain and progressed to windy snow. Oh winter, you’re not welcome here anymore.

Once I was warm and dry inside the office, I chowed down on breakfast: chobani 2%, dried cranberries, and Kashi Go Lean Crunch.

Followed by a mid-morning cup of green tea (not coffee, I swear!) and Hershey’s kisses.

Lunch was leftover peanutty root veggie stew and an apple with a wedge of laughing cow cheese. Umm, there’s not much you can do to make leftovers in tupperware look pretty, but it all tasted very good!

The highlight of my afternoon was a delicious cinnamon roll from Holey Donuts. I don’t even care if I get diabetes. It was that good.

The cinnamon roll was savored with a hot cappuccino, mmm.

As much as I missed working out with the Central Park Track Club, I knew running outside wasn’t a (safe) option. To pump myself up for a solo workout, I reviewed my tips on surviving the treadmill and headed over the the gym around 6pm.

1 mile warm-up
4 x 1 mile @10K pace with .25 mile recovery jog
1 mile cool-down (7 miles total)

I set the incline at 2% for miles 1 and 3 to simulate the terrain of Central Park. I hope I’m just fatigued from Wednesday’’s 12 miles because I can’t remember the last time I worked so hard on a run. Pace for the mile repeats wasn’t that fast (7:13, 7:08, 7:13, 7:05), but I was struggling to maintain good form. I wanted to decrease the incline SO badly, but I gritted it out. I just kept thinking about the hilly 5K I have planned for next weekend – a 0% incline will NOT be an option on race day. I’m a little nervous (ok VERY nervous) about trying to run 13.1 miles at ~7:25 pace next month. Meh.

After waiting 25 minutes for the subway (WHY do half empty local trains randomly run on the express track??), I finally made it home. Famished. I didn’t have time to run to the grocery store, so din-din was a mish-mosh of whatever I had in the fridge.

First I whisked together an easy vinaigrette – 1 Tbs olive oil, 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp lingonberry jam, and dash of dalt.

I tossed romaine lettuce, dried cherries, walnuts, and Wildwood baked tofu in with the dressing and topped with shredded cheddar cheese.

I also made myself a plate of tortilla chips + melted cheddar. Andddd then I killed the bag of chips. The reduced guilt yellow corn tortilla chips from Trader Joe’s are SO good (probably the best store bought tortilla chips I’ve ever had). I bought the bag four days ago and they’re already gone. Mmm, salt + carbs = perfect post-workout fuel.

Check out the latest on True/Slant: Are you making these common running mistakes?

Treadmills – love ‘em or hate ‘em? Unless the roads clear up this weekend, I’m facing a long run inside!

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!

The weather was absolutely horrendous in NYC yesterday (heavy rain and blowing wind), so I did the assigned Central Park Track Club fartlek workout on the treadmill. Did you know the running term “fartlek” means ”speed play” in Swedish? It basically means you switch between running fast and easy. If you do a fartlek on the road, your fast segments don’t need to be timed. Instead you can run fast to the next mailbox or lampost and then recover (jog) before doing it all over again. Pretend it’s a game!

• 2 mile warm-up
• 5 x 4 minute pick-ups (roughly 1/2 marathon pace, ~7:10 per mile) with 90 seconds of recovery (~9 minute per mile pace)
• 1.5 mile cool-down
• 7 miles total

This workout was tough, but manageable. I was majorly sweaty (unusual for me), so I was especially thankful for the chilled, eucalyptis-soaked towels that my gym offers. My monthly membership to Equinox is definitely my most pricey expenditure (besides rent), so I try to make it worth it! Bring on the locker room goodies. I finished up with a little stretching, foam rolling, and core work afterward.

Workout complete? Check! Now it’s time for a fun recipe.

The other day I was intrigued by a wonderful creation I saw on the blog Caroline Dines. Peanut and sweet potato stew? Sign me up!  I altered the recipe quite a bit due to my own taste preferences and what I had in the pantry. This comforting winter stew is packed with quality carbs, protein, fiber, and healthy fats (peanut butter!). It would make an excellent post-run recovery meal. And it’s so easy to make! If you can chop veggies and stir, you can make this recipe

Peanutty Root Veggie Stew (Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 very large sweet potato, cubed
• 1 large celeriac (a.k.a. celery root), peeled and cubed
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 oz. canned tomato sauce (no salt added variety)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 generous Tbs cinnamon, 1 generous Tbs cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (or more! be generous)
• 1 Tbs sriracha sauce
• sprinkling of peanuts to garnish

Directions:

• Place all ingredients (except for peanut butter, sriracha, and peanuts) in a large pot and cook on medium-high for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
• I recommend covering the pot for the first 20 minutes of cooking and then allowing the stew to finish up uncovered. This will help it to thicken up.
• Turn off the heat, add the peanut butter and sriracha, stir until combined.
• Garnish with chopped peanuts and devour!

Nutritional information (per serving): 350 calories, 12 grams of fat, 48 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber. This recipe also provides a good amount of Vitamin A, C, and iron. Hooray!

If you could only eat 3 foods for the rest of your life, what would they be? I’d pick peanut butter, greek yogurt, and crinkle cut french fries.

Happy Tuesday! Eventhough I didn’t have to leave for work until 9am yesterday, I woke up before 7am. I try to stick to my sleep schedule even on days when I don’t run in the morning – makes things easier! I had quite a few hours to bum around the house, so I decided to have breakfast in two parts:

Brekkie #1: coffee with milk and a scrambled eggs + salsa in a mug. The eggs were so easy to make! I coated the inside of the mug with a spritz of canola oil and then added 1/2 cup egg whites. I cmicrowaved on high for 60 seconds and then stirred with my fork. I popped the mug back in the microwave for another 30-40 seconds, added salsa, and ta-da! Easy breakfast! I wasn’t crazy about the texture of the egg whites, but it tasted good.

Brekkie #2 was eaten at work: orange slices and a whole wheat and nutella sandwich.

Mid-morning I was h-u-n-g-r-y (I’m a bottomless pit the day after long runs!), so I snacked on a Kashi granola bar and a cappuccino.

Lunch was, as usual, a salad from the cafeteria.

• mixed greens, mushrooms, carrots, onions
• pickled beets
• scoop of tuna nicoise salad
• kidney beans
• cottage cheese
• whole wheat croutons
• hot sauce!

And then my sweet tooth called my name throughout the afternoon….

Yogurt covered pretzels (no HFCS or hydrogenated oils, phew!):

And vanilla yogurt with shredded coconut, granola, and oreo crumbles mixed in. Mmm.

After work I headed over to my gym for a short run. I ran 2 miles easy (~8:45 pace), 1 mile at half-marathon pace (7:20), 1 mile easy (8:45 pace) for a total of 4 miles. My legs felt surprisingly good after yesterday’s long run, but I am definitely still fatigued. The 7:20 mile felt harder than I expected!

I stopped at Whole Foods after work and picked up the ingredients for a new recipe, but by the time I got back to my place, I wasn’t in the mood to cook. Instead, I made my go-to easy dinner: salad and healthy nachos. Occasionally people will comment on my dinner salads – are they really enough calories for an active runner? Do they fill me up? As with anything, it all depends on the ingredients. I promise you I’m not just eating iceburg lettuce and fat-free Italian dressing. That wouldn’t be a healthy dinner! I don’t usually count calories, but to illustrate that a salad can be a wholesome and calorically appropriate dinner, I’ve crunched the numbers.

(Plus more chips & cheese that went un-photographed)

• Romaine lettuce and sprouts (25 calories)
• Wildwood baked tofu (150 calories)
• Homemade olive oil based dressing (150 calories)
• Handful each of dried cherries and walnuts (100 calories)
• 2 servings of baked tortilla chips (250 calories)
• 2 servings of part-skim mozzarella cheese (150 calories)
• salsa (25 calories)
• Total: 850 calories

As you can see, that’s certainly enough calories for an active runner such as myself. On the other hand, if you’re trying to lose weight, it might be too much. Every person and every runner is different. The specific meals and training I do work for me, so I post them as examples. However, in the end you have to figure out what is right for your body.

I *might* have ended the night with a little dark chocolate

Do you ever experience criticism for your food choices?

News you can use:

A white bean and escarole soup that’s good for you – heart & soul.

Muscles sore after weight lifting or a tough workout? Under Armour’s compression shirt might be your new best friend.

You know you should eat leafy greens, but how the heck do you cook bok choy? Check out this article for yummy greens recipes!

 Holy comments! You guys must really like popchips

And the winner is:

Comment #39:  Erin says: February 17, 2010 at 1:04 pm  I love that speed workout – I need to try it sometime. My favorite chip flavor is definitely sour cream and onion. Yum!

Erin – email me your shipping info and I’ll have popchips send the goods

So last night, I attended my 4th consecutive CPTC Thursday road workout. After what seemed like an entire year of frustration and injury, I’m finally starting to feel in “racing shape” again. I’m still a little nervous about doing twice weekly workouts and a long run, but so far so good. I haven’t been so vigilent about my PT exercises, but I’m trying to give myself some extra TLC in other ways (sleep, lots of fruits & veggies, stretching). And the foam roller and I have been seeing a lot of each other lately! Last night was a pretty brutal workout, but I felt GOOD. As I was grinding out the last tough mile, I thought to myself: “This is FUN! I love running hard and pushing myself to the limit”.

CPTC Thursday Night Road Workout

• About 1.5 miles to warm-up
• 8.1 mile tempo run in 59:28 (average pace = 7:20)
• Ran the first 4.05 mile loop at roughly marathon pace – 31:00 minutes total, averaged about 7:39 per mile
• Ran the second 4.05 loop at half-marathon pace – 28:28 total, averaged about 7:02 pace
• About 2 miles to cool-down

11.5 miles total – yikes, that’s a lot of miles for a mid-week run!
Wore the lunaracers – no blister problems. I think they’re a go for the NYC 1/2 marathon next month. I love these lightweight racing shoes – they make me feels so fast!

By the time I returned home, it was almost 9pm and I was ready for food in a major way. I wasn’t up for cooking anything elaborate, so I just threw a bunch of leftovers into a bowl and called it a junk salad. It was actually pretty yummy!

In the bowl:

• romaine lettuce and homegrown sprouts
• dried tart cherries and walnuts
• triscuits topped with melted cheddar cheese
• homemade dressing made with 1 Tbs olive oil, 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar, spoonful of dijon mustard, and a spoonful of lingonberry jam whisked together until combined

I gobbled that down and they had a bunch of yummy (vegan!) cookies. They just might be the *best* vegan cookies ever. Are you ready for the recipe?? A few weeks ago I mentioned how enamored I’d become with Momofuku’s compost cookie. I made it my mission to create an animal product-free version for a vegan friend and while the results are not exactly the same, these cookies are pretty dayum good

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup packed earth balance (not the same as smart balance, FYI)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp instant coffee powder
• 1 Tbs ground flax
• 3 Tbs water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 BIG handful of chips, roughly crushed
• 2 oz. pretzels, roughly crushed
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
• With a mixer, cream together the earthbalance, sugar, and instant coffee powder
• In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax and the water until smooth, add the vanilla extract
• Fold the flax mixture into the earth balance & sugar 
• In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (oats through chocolate chips)
• Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until incorporated
• If the batter isn’t holding together well, try chilling the batter for about 20 minutes
• Scoop rounded Tablespoons of batter on to the cookie sheet and bake for about 10-13 minutes or until golden brown
• Cool on the baking sheet for a minute or so and then transfer to a wire cooling rack

Nutritional stats (per cookie – approximate): 95 calories, 4g fat, 13g carbs, 1.5g protein, .5g fiber.

More of your “Ask Me Anything” question answered:

In your opinion, what bakery serves the best cupcakes in NYC? I’m a sucker for frosting, so I’d have to say Magnolia Bakery. Although the Reese’s PB Cup cupcake from Crumbs is also really delicious….

How many calories do you eat a day when you’re running vs. a rest day and what is the break down of foods throughout the day? I don’t usually count calories, but I’d have to estimate that on a rest day I consume about 2,000 calories and on a hard workout or long run day it’s closer to 3,000. On my FAQ page I discuss what I usually eat in a typical day.

What events did you run as a member of your college track team? Which college PR are you most proud of? During my first few years of college I mainly focused on the 1500m  for indoor and outdoor track, but by senior year I made the switch over to the 5K. The college PR I am most proud of is my outdoor track 5K (18:52.73) It’s the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to a runner’s high. It was one of the best days of my life

As an experienced runner, what do you think about barefoot running? After reading Born to Run, I’m much more skeptical of all the fancy cushioning and stability features that modern running shoes offer. The human foot is a pretty amazing thing,  so it seems like we might actually be designed for barefoot running. HOWEVER, few of us have been running barefoot since childhood (like our ancestors did), so I think it’s important to ease into barefoot running very slowly. I’ve started wearing lightweight training shoes (Nike lunaracers) for workouts and some easy runs and I plan on incorporating some barefoot strides in the grass come springtime.

How do you get motivated or stay motivated to run in such cold weather? Good question! I am not a big fan of winter, so cold weather running is tough for me too. I’ve found that good gear helps (tights, running jacket, hat, mittens, etc.) and having a  buddy to run with in the morning motivates me on days when I’d rather by hibernating It’s already mid-February, let the countdown to spring begin!

Last, but not least:

Want to experience less pain during and after running? Tart cherries might be the answer!

Live in NYC? Check out this awesome runner’s map.

Happy Weekend! Anything fun planned??