A Slushy in My Kitchen

Okay, I'm probably going to get cocky soon about my new found prowess with the blender... but don't worry, I'll have a catastrophe soon enough that will bring me back to earth.  For now, however, let me share my amazing success with the Watermelon Lime Frosty I just made (although I think it is more like a slushy).

I drank most of the blender before snapping a pic...

Another pretty one!

I found the recipe on Pinterest (of course), but it originally (as far as I know) comes from Daydream Kitchen and here is the link.

The recipe is as follows:

• 3 cups watermelon, should be cubed and frozen
• 1 banana, ripe, peeled and frozen
• 2 tbsps agave or maple syrup
• juice and zest from 2 limes
• 1/2 cup water

I only made 1 minor modification that I think you might want to consider - I used only 1 tablespoon of light agave syrup (60 calories).  That is sweet stuff and there is already sweetness in the watermelon and banana.  Let me just say this is a DELICIOUS summer day treat!  I had just run 8 miles in the most humid morning air, and this slushy was perfection.  I think I will be making this all summer!

Let's talk calories for those of you who keep up. 

Watermelon (I used 1 wedge sliced) - so I'm estimating 90 calories
1 banana - 90 calories
1 tbsp of agave syrup - 60 calories
2 limes - 40 calories

That is a total of 280 calories for the WHOLE blender full - and that is more than an 8 oz glass (and yes, I consumed the whole blender... again...oh dear).

So maybe I need to head back out with Eloise and the stroller later... but it was worth it! Yum! 

My First DELISH Smoothie

This is actually my second smoothie attempt, but this one I REALLY like!  I have to give most of the credit to my friend, Jamie, who sent me her PB&J smoothie recipe.  I modified it a little according to what I had on hand and it turned out delish!  Here is her recipe first followed by mine.

Jamie's PB&J Smoothie
scant cup water
4oz plain 0% greek yogurt
2C frozen strawberries
1 lg banana
2T freshly ground honey roasted peanut butter
five ice cubes
2C fresh spinach leaves

My AB&J Smoothie
 half cup of filtered water
4 oz (ish) of lowfat Chobani vanilla Greek yogurt (I can't abide the plain stuff)
2C frozen raspberries
1 large banana
2T of almond butter (my new love as of today)
five ice cubes
2 handfuls of organic spinach leaves (I went sparingly in case I didn't like it)

Isn't it pretty!

This was/is delicious!  I am still enjoying it at this very moment and even though I thought it made way more than I could/would consume, I am going back to the kitchen to finish the rest right now.  So let's talk calories.  Here is what I estimated and I always err on the side of over estimation so if I'm wrong, I get less calories than what I thought.  

4 oz of yogurt - 90 cals
2 cups of frozen raspberries - 80 cals
1 banana - ~ 90 cals
2 Tbsp of almond butter - 180 cals
2 handfuls of spinach leaves - 10 cals (the whole container was 35 total). 

That is 450 total calories IF you consume the entire blender.  I filled an 8 oz glass FULL and that was not the entire blender.  So that is also something to consider if you are sharing.  I didn't share, but this will be lunch, and I am quite full!  And proud!  My first successful blending experience!  Whoop!

More Pinterest Cooking

Yep, I've been at it again!  Getting recipes off Pinterest and giving them a go with various degrees of success (usually depending on whether I followed directions or not).

I wrote a few days ago about my first smoothie in my new Mother's Day blender.  We are probably going to call that a bust because I wasn't crazy about it and I think I ruined it with grapefruit juice.  It DOES have the potential to be very good if done correctly, I believe.

I also wrote about visiting the strawberry patch and picking strawberries with my baby girl.  Well, we had a HUGE bucket of strawberries so I researched pie recipes and made one.  I was SO excited because I followed ALL the directions and it was HEALTHY (except for the crust).  I got it out of my Better Homes cookbook and it looked so pretty!  Professional, even.  When Jason got home I proudly opened the fridge to show him and he said, "Did you bake the crust?"  ... ... ... No. No I had not baked the crust.  I NEVER make pies and when I do I usually fill my crust with all the good stuff and stick the whole thing in the oven.  This pie never went to the oven so nothing got baked.  We dumped all the filling out, baked the crush and dumped it all back in.  It was delish!

I also tried the cottage cheese and egg scramble. It turned out well (all you do is dump cottage cheese in with your egg and scramble) and at first I wasn't sure but then I decided I really liked it.  The cottage cheese makes it so fluffy and flavorful. Definitely a good breakfast/lunch/post run dish if you like scrambled eggs (which I do).

That's it for now... I think.  I went to our local organic/healthy supermarket today (Earth Fare) and had varying degrees of success with all these strange ingredients for smoothies. I'm going to be honest here. My taste buds are picky, plain Jane, and they are not cultivated for fanciness.  I don't like dark chocolate.  I don't want protein powder or any other powder.  Unless it is chocolate, maybe.  I'm just not your super organic wheat grass, kelp, green smoothie eating type of person, although I really do want to pack some goodness into these things that will help my body heal and withstand the training I want to subject it to.  And I want to learn about all of these super foods for not only me but my running man and my baby girl as well.

I was childless as I browsed the aisles of over-priced strangeness because Mom was home with Eloise.  The prices were insane!  $11.00 for almond butter?!?  $21.00 for flax oil (and who even knows what that is or does or is for)?!?  I skipped those two but I did spend $5.00 on agave syrup and on organic baby puffs (which taste like sawdust, but Eloise likes them) and I bought coconut milk and water... and some apples and limes.  I think that's about it.  Then I went to Kroger and got the rest, seeing all the things I'd bought at Earth Fare for less... Oh well.  Live and learn.  Earth Fare also smells like my grandmother.  I think it is the natural soap.  I will say I love their pizza, PB and J sandwiches and their corn chips. And their large selection of Honest Tea.  Okay, so I like Earth Fare, despite the prices and smelling like my grandmother - who I loved with all my heart despite the fact that she smelled strongly of roses.

In other news, my Mother's Day food processor came in and I've just unpacked it, watched the DVD tutorial, and now it is all in the dishwasher. I'm going to make my own salsa tonight and maybe try a watermelon lime smoothie thing I found... I'll keep you posted.  I never knew I could have so much fun in the kitchen!

My First Smoothie

Well, friends, I used my new blender today for the first time.  I LOVE it!  I used a smoothie recipe I'd pinned on Pinterest and, as usual, made some modifications and did a lot of eyeballing... It turned out okay.  I like it.  I think using grapefruit juice instead of water or pineapple juice might have been a mistake and I can't decide if I like all the pineapple bits... but it isn't bad!  I'm still drinking it, anyway.

The recipe for the Pineapple Ginger Smoothie is:

• 1 and 1/2 cup of diced fresh pineapple (I eyeballed it)
• 1 banana 
• 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt (eyeballed again and I used vanilla Voskos)
• 1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger (I didn't have any)
• 1/2 cup of ice (oops, forgot this one)
• 1/2 cup of pineapple juice or water

Here is what I did:

• some diced fresh pineapple
• 1 banana
• 1/2 a single serving container of vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice

Not bad, but the grapefruit juice does add a tartness I'm not sure I like in this smoothie.  And if you are not a fan of chunks/pulp this smoothie is not for you.

Tomorrow... another smoothie!  Got any good recipes I should try?

Running for Moms and Other Mother's Day Fun

May 12, 2013 was my very first Mother's Day and it was so much fun!  We started the weekend by traveling down to Montgomery where we ran the Agape Run for a Mom 5k.  My goal was to break my 24 minute post-baby time and I did it!  I finished in 23:40, placing send in my age group.  This was HARD but I hung in there.  Jason said I could do it and I chose to believe him.  I did a lot of visualizing and thinking about my training up to that point.  And then I ran and hung on for dear life!  My splits were 7:32, 7:35, 7:40.  I slowed with each mile but not nearly as much as I usually do!  So I'm pretty excited.

This is the third year Agape has put on this race.  My best friend of many years organizes it and I have wanted to get down there and support her efforts but every other year we've had a conflict.  This year we made it and I had such a wonderful time seeing her.  As I raced to the finish line trying to achieve my time and beat another girl who had just caught up to me, I saw her and heard her yelling my name... and I had no idea my legs could move so fast!

A hug right after I finished.

I ran for Granny, Ma, Sis and Me!

Jason won first overall, finishing in 17:58.

Jason and I headed home after the race Saturday.  We had a super sleepy baby girl and we wanted to capitalize on nap time in the car.  When we got home, I finished up my Mother's Day gifts for my mom and Jason's mom.  Eloise helped me.

We made butterfly flower pots with Eloise's feet!  I found this idea on Pinterest but all it had was a picture, no instructions.  So I got together with my sis and she talked to some more crafty friends of hers and we got the low down.  It took my sister holding Eloise, my niece distracting Eloise, and me painting her feet and sticking them on the pot, but we got it!  Not perfect, but I think that's what makes it special. 

For Mother's Day, Jason got me a blender and I cannot WAIT to start blending some smoothie/juice/salsa/homemade popsicle goodness and anything else I find to blend! 

All in all it was a WONDERFUL first Mother's Day!  It is such an honor and a blessing to be a mom and that was the feeling that permeated my very first one.

My crew on my first Mother's Day.

Two moms I love!  My own and my sis!

Speed Work Husband Style

After the Run Through the Roses 10k and a little whining on my part about my pace and how I thought I should be stronger by now, Jason offered to help.  He has this old Runner's World magazine from 2004 that has a 10k training plan in it.  He uses this every time he wants to get serious about training (and I think he uses it for more than just the 10k distance). Well, this time he is using it on me!  He talked to me about the pace I'm running and the pace I want to run and uploaded 6 weeks of workouts onto my Garmin. 

I glanced at them in the magazine, my eyes got wide, and then I put it aside.  I put it ALL aside.  My doubt, my questions, my excuses.  I focused on one thing and that was improving my pace.  No more, "I just had a baby," or "I might not have gotten enough sleep," or "I'm just not that kind of runner."  I am going to train with no excuses.

There are two workouts each week and Tuesday was my first go.  I started my watch and decided that whatever it told me to do, I was going to do.  Even if I didn't make the pace, I was going to attempt it.  My "warm-up" was 3 miles at 8:30-8:40 pace.  I laughed to myself thinking, "Jason is a little optimistic about my warm-up pace," but I went for it anyway.  And I did it.  Would I be able to do the actual workout after that?  I wasn't sure but I was still game to go for it.  Here is the workout:

3 mile warm-up, 8:30-8:40 pace
2 x 1200, 7:30-7:45 pace with 800 rest in between
2 x 800, 7:30-7:45 pace with 400 rest in between
4 x 400, 7:30-7:45 pace with 400 rest in between
6 x 200...

I had to stop after the 400s due to a Republican Women's Lunch but I got 8.25 miles out of it and that is probably enough for the mileage I am running right now.  For the most part I was on pace for each one although I could tell I was running out of steam by the end.  When I talked to Jason about it that evening he said it might be a little long for me and to shorten the warm-up a bit. 

Even though I cut it short I was pretty excited about being able to hang in for the bit I did.  I have another workout today and I'll admit I don't want to look until I'm outside, shoes laced up, ready to run.  It was soooo tempting to take Eloise on a stroller jog this morning.  I may regret it later when I'm running in 80 degrees, but for now it is eye-on-the-goal. 

So on with the Jason-style old Runner's World magazine speed work and out with the excuses and reasons I can't. 

A Little 10k Disappointment

This weekend I ran the Run Through the Roses 10k.  I finished in 51:53, which is around 8:22 pace.  This is a tough 10k with some serious hills when runners reach mile 4 and a big, nasty one near the end of mile 5.  All of it, however, is in my area and along many routes I run.  Since signing up for this race I've been targeting hills, especially the big nasty at least twice a week and when I wasn't doing that I was pushing Eloise in the stroller.  I figured while I wasn't doing anything overly speedy, surely all of these hills and all the stroller pushing would count for something.  My stroller pace had even gone down quite a bit so my goal for the Roses was around an 8:00-8:10 pace throughout.  Even with the big nasty. 

Race day arrived and it was pouring rain and 43 degrees.  This was kind of funny to me because I'd also been working on getting acclimated to the heat.  Not only for all the hot summer races I was planning, but so I could continue running with Eloise at 9:00 a.m. even in the midst of a southern summer.  I've just been working on getting tough!  But the rain seemed to make it more adventurous and I didn't really mind it.  I left my house around 6:30 and ran to the race getting a 2 mile warm-up.  I wanted 10 miles for the day, but I wasn't sure how things would go after the race.  Jason was planning to run the 5k and he would drive to pick me up and I would take Eloise back home letting Jason run home. 

The race started and my first mile was an 8:14.  That was fine with me.  I didn't start in front of the pack, but that is usually my way of keeping myself from starting out too fast.  My second mile was an 8:10 and I felt good.  I felt that I would drive my pace down, maybe even getting a sub 8:00 for a few miles.

Well, I didn't do that.  I got slower.  My third mile was 8:19 and my fourth was 8:11.  My fifth and sixth were 8:44 and 8:52.  That was to be expected because I did slow down on those hills.  My legs burned so bad on the big nasty that I desperately wanted to walk, but just over the rise I'd be able to see the finish line and I would be done.  Despite the burning in my quads and the bursting of my lungs, I did push hard and I am proud of that.  As Jason says, I am not one to be overly uncomfortable when racing so I've been trying to push myself past the comfortable level and hang out there when I train and when I race.  I was definitely uncomfortable near the top of that hill. 

I ran down the big nasty as fast as I dared in the pouring rain.  The rain did not let up the entire race, but it didn't really bother me until I stopped.  I finished, congratulated those around me and walked back toward the hill to cheer for my mom.  She came speeding down, looking like a little girl.  As I waited for her, the cold set in.  I was planning to run around a bit before going to meet Jason in the church parking lot, but my wet hands were frozen and aching by that point.  Mom was planning to run the 5k but she too was frozen.  Her car was in the school parking lot and it was blocked off so we found Jason and I took her home with me.

A hot shower never felt so good.  It even burned my hands and feet which were numb.  I put Eloise in her bassinet in front of the shower and talked to her as the warm water washed over me.  When I got out I made a fresh pot of coffee for Mom and I, and scrambled some cheesy eggs for us as well.  We finally warmed up, sipping coffee and waiting for my soaked husband to return.  He won the 5k, finishing in 18 minutes and change.  Slower for him, but he'd just run a marathon and he too had to conquer the big nasty.

All in all,  it was a fun day and a fun race.  I haven't raced a 10k since pregnancy and I wouldn't really call that racing, so I have lots of room for improvement.  Hills and jogging with the stroller aren't going to cut it if I want to get faster.  I was a little disappointed at not being a bit stronger than I thought I'd be, but my response to that is to keep training.  Jason uploaded some workouts onto my watch and I will start doing those on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I have another 10k at the end of this month and while that is only a short time away, I am still hoping to improve upon Saturday's performance.