A Special Halloween Run

Happy Halloween!

 

Instead of chocolate candy, I got my fix with this

As I set off on an 11 miler with my sister this morning. It was awesome. It’s almost spooky how awesome it was.

Distance: 11.54 miles Time: 1:59:07

Mile 1- 10:33/mi

Mile 2- 10:37/mi

Mile 3-10:33/mi

Mile 4- 10:31/mi

Mile 5-9:53/mi

Mile 6- 9:57/mi

Mile 7- 10:39/mi

Mile 8- 10:29/mi

Mile 9- 10:27/mi

Mile 10- 9:54/mi

Mile 11- 10:08/mi

Extra .54 miles – 5:21 (9:49/mi pace)

This was one of the best long runs I’ve ever had. And I credit my sister for being an awesome motivator and coach.

Brooke, my sis, recently found out that she can’t run the Philly marathon she’d been training for due to a knee injury. She is devastated. She is still going to come and cheer me on during my half, and today was one of her last long runs for a while. She is my running inspiration and I know that she will be back out there as soon as she can be. Love you Brooke!

I’m off to take a shower and spend some more time with the fam before I head back to Philly. Have a wonderful day everyone!

 

Have you ever had an injury that curtailed your physical activity of choice?
Who inspires you?

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Simply Fantastic

Tonight’s dinner was so much fun. We had a great time cooking and eating a simple but delicious meal.

 

First up was Roasted Vegetable Soup. Healthy. Easy. Orange.

Ingredients:

2 pounds butternut squash

1 extra large regular potato

1 extra large sweet potato

4 parsnips

4-5 carrots

1 medium turnip

1 onion

2 tbsp. butter

4 tsp. olive oil

16 oz. chicken broth

a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg

salt, pepper

How To:

Peel potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnip

Dice everything to be about the same size and put on a sheet pan with cooking spray

Season with salt and pepper and put 2 tsp of olive oil on each pan of veggies

Roast on 425 for about 45 min

Sautee a diced onion in 2 tbsp butter. Once it’s translucent, add the roasted veggies.

Add the chicken broth and then about 3-4 more cups of water or you can use more broth.

Add the spices and then use the emersion blender to puree.

Simmer for about 30 min to thicken.

On the side we had paninis, or should I say BIG GIANT PANINO

When making sandwiches for 4+ people, it is easier to just use the whole loaf and grill it instead of making individual paninis. (in my opinion)

Brie, Pear, Arugula Panini

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(apricot preserves spread on the other side of the bread (not shown))

+

+

=

Oh and dessert???

There.

Are.

No.

Words.

Devil Dog (chocolate cake with vanilla icing + marshmallow filling)

Red Velvet w/ Cream Cheese Icing

Chocolate cake with Chocolate mousse filling

Chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and chocolate chips

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to roll myself into bed.

 

What is your favorite kind of cake?

Do you prefer cake or cupcakes?

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Shopping with the Stars

Look who I met today!!!

I swear that’s not a cardboard cut out, it really is THE Bobby Flay! Trust me, if it was a cut out I would have taken more shots so I could fix my crazy ass hair.

It just so happened that Bobby was signing cookbooks at the greatest grocery store ever, Stew Leonard’s when we stopped by today. (I swear I didn’t know he was going to be there)

I was so excited, but the line was long and we had a lot of stuff to buy so I took some stalker photos and just went shopping.

First though, we had to do a few things.

We had to touch the big pumpkin

Drink some juice

Watch the milk machine

Sneak a peek at the live broadcast from the local cow farm

Watch the dairy dance

And the chiquita banana show

Check out the purple cauliflowers

And purple eggplants

Eat some ice cream

(toasted coconut and pumpkin spice)

And then…only then…could we do some shopping.

SHOPPING???!! Didn’t you guys see Bobby Flay over there?

Have you ever seen a famous person before? WHO?

Are you cool about it, or a total loser like me?

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Silly Face

Doesn’t my breakfast look like a muppet?

Fortunately it didn’t taste like one. And seriously, aren’t eggs better when someone else makes them for you? My mom whipped us up some egg whites and cheese and we both enjoyed some huge mugs of coffee and conversation.

Nothing makes breakfast more enjoyable than a good company.

Even if some of that company steals all of your eggs.

Have a great day!

What’s going on in your world today?

We’re going to go shopping at a great local food store which I’ll recap later and cooking up a fall themed simple dinner for some company tonight.

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Little Buddha

I don’t have much to say because I’m stuffed full of the most delicious Thai food and I just want to melt into the couch and watch TV.

 

Life is good.

 

My mom’s neighborhood has a great Thai food place called Little Buddha. Their takeout is always fresh and flavorful and never greasy. The heat is also just right for my taste.

 

We ordered 4 dishes

- Rendang Chicken

- Red Curry with Tofu and Vegetables

- Spicy Garlic Shrimp

- Green Vegetable Stirfry

This was my first serving. I had a few more bites after this.

All while a certain someone was circling my chair below.

This is Baci. And Halloween is her favorite holiday

 

Ok I’m going to relax and have some ice cream for dessert.

 

See you in the morning!

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Family Time!

This definitely isn’t my house…

I’ve arrived and it’s family time!

My poor Mom has her foot in a boot so she is going to be hobbling around all weekend.

Get better soon Mama FoodIRL!

 

I’m off to spend some more QT with some really important people! And I’ve heard we’re having some Thai food for dinner…YUM!

 

What are you up to this weekend??

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Halloween Road Trip!

It’s time for another weekend getaway. I’m headed to my mom’s house in Connecticut to spend some time with the fam.

 

We will also be taking my nephew trick or treating, and I can’t wait!

 

The little guy seems to favor animal costumes. Last year he was cow, and this year he will be a puppy.

I can’t wait to see his costume!

 

Before I get on my way, I wanted to have a hearty breakfast to hold me over for the 3 hour drive.

 

This is my healthy sausage egg and cheese sandwich.

It packs over 20 grams of protein!

3 egg whites, 1 slice 2% american cheese, 1 morningstar veggie sausage patty, on an everything bagel thin. With ketchup of course!

I also made some ice coffee with vanilla soymilk. I used leftover coffee from yesterday instead of making new stuff because I am definitely hitting up Dunkin Donuts for a roadie.

It’s important to eat healthy today, because who knows how much chocolate I’ll consume this weekend. I’m sure it will be a lot if it’s up to this guy!

See you from CT!

While I’m on the road, why don’t you take a second to enter my GIVEAWAY!

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Blaze Makes it Better!

Oh the joy that overcame me today when I saw one of my all time favorite products appear at costco.

 

Blaze is this awesome balsamic glaze (think: sweet, thick, syrupy) that just transforms foods! I swear even if you don’t love balsamic vinegar, you will like this!

It’s great on salads, fish, chicken, bruschetta, pizza, fruit (think figs and pears),veggies, etc.. I could go on and on.

(they didn’t give me this product to review, btw…)

 

Tonight I used blaze to transform my mish-mosh of a salad.

It included:

• Lettuce
• Carrots
• Green Pepper
• Chickpeas
• Tofu
• Egg
• Asparagus

Not the fanciest mix, but I sure did a good job cleaning out the fridge. And look how pretty the blaze makes it look!

Looks good, right?

What did you have for dinner?
Have you ever tried balsamic glaze?

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Ow.

Have you ever had a pimple that hurt so bad it gave you a headache?

Yeah, me either.

This thing may not look so bad, but it is causing my entire head to throb! OW!

Ever since I started running this summer, I constantly have bumps on my head that are like pimples, but they are under the skin and they are just red and painful. I really hope they go away once the weather finally gets cooler for good.

 

In positive news, I got my eyebrows threaded for the first time and I love the results.

Check them out if you can divert your eyes from my new friend, Freddie the Forehead pimple. I figure if I name him, maybe he’ll be nicer to me.

 

Tell me about your latest dermo-drama! It will make me feel better about myself!

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Lazy girl pancakes

Good afternoon everyone! Sorry for the late post.

Today is flying by and I am in slow-motion.

I woke up craving peanut flour pancakes, and I think I know why. While we were watching TV last night, a bottle of pancake syrup fell off a shelf in my pantry and spilled all over the floor. Fortunately there was no broken glass, just sticky syrup EVERYWHERE. 

I was too lazy to wait for multiple pancakes so I thought I would just make 2 big ones. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Well, whatever. It still tasted good.

I ate the first pancake while waiting for the second. Instant gratification is important sometimes.

I also got a 5 mile run in after breakfast. It is so hot outside. WTF?

5 mile run/50:18 min

Mile 1- 9:55

Mile 2- 9:58

Mile 3-10:11

Mile 4-10:05

Mile 5-10:03

Oh and I’m really feeling like a true runner because my toenail is about to fall off. ICK!!! I’m just putting a bandaid on it and letting nature take it’s course.

 

Off to do schoolwork and then meeting a friend for lunch.
Is it warm where you are today? It’s like summer here!

What are you having for lunch?

P.S.- Don’t forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!

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