Good Morning!
As I said I was going to last night, I got up early this morning to run. I ran for about 50 minutes and it was really nice because I haven’t run here in a long time and it was a good change of scenery. Before I went I ate 1/2 a clif bar for fuel. This is something I would highly recommend to those avid morning runners…clif bars are the only thing I have found that I can eat before running that doesn’t really feel like its in the back of my throat the entire time (gross). It works much better than toast, bananas, juice, fruit…I don’t know what it is about them, but they seem to be a really good combo of protein, carbs and fat that get my body going and let it last for a good workout. I love the chocolate chip peanut butter flavor as well as the chunky peanut butter, which I had this morning. And…they are organic and don’t contain any high fructose corn syrup or weird artificial ingredients. A good find!
After my run and showering and all that, my mom and I walked over to eat breakfast at the club. I had oatmeal and fruit because I was craving it after not having it for a few days! It was steel cut and really really good….they offered little pots of raisins and brown sugar to go along with it and I added both of those to it. I’m guessing it was about 1 cup of cooked oatmeal and I ate it all. I was starving after my run! It didn’t have any nuts or peanut butter in it though so despite it being a larger serving that what I usually eat, I don’t know how well it will keep me until lunch. We’ll see!
I’m estimating this breakfast (including 1/2 of clif bar pre-run) to be about 553…could def. be more or less though—it’s impossible to tell when you don’t make it yourself! I did wear my handy little heart rate monitor when I ran today (I like to wear it when I run long distances) and it said I burned 526 calories! wow!
Oh, and this is so funny—yesterday when I was driving I had to go through a toll plaza and pay 5.00! I have never paid so much for going through a toll and all I had was 3 dollars in my wallet. I ended up having to write a check but I felt so bad for holding up the entire line that I offered the woman in the toll booth my foccacia bread as well! She was SO thankful and stashed it away in the booth. I feel like I made her day! 🙂
mel
January 19, 2008 at 3:08 pmAww Jenna ! that is so cute!! i bet you made her week!! I never have cash either! Last night i went to a bar with my bf to listen to his uncle play in his band and there was a $5 cover for each of us..but we only had 8, so the bouncer just let us in! haha! the life of a poor college student! 🙂 I can’t find the recipies anymore either. i think they may be under the grapefruit pic on the top of the page, bc I can see part of an “r” than is hidden!! take care
Mel
Susan Barnes
January 19, 2008 at 3:18 pmMorning Jenna! Your hometown looks so pretty, I love palm trees!
I know your own vacation with your mom, so don’t worry about answering these questions until you get a chance. Also, I wanted to say how nice it is for you to provide this blog. I know it must take a lot of time, but I think I can speak for everyone when I say we love it 🙂
You have made warm pears with ice cream a few times for dessert and they look great! If I were want to do a berry type sauce (I have frozen berries) how would you recommend I do that? They are already so sweet, so I have no idea what to do to them.
Also, since you try to avoid using the microwave, when I recipe calls for defrosted vegetables how do you do it?
Oh and my recipe link shows up on top of the grapefruit. Weird that it only works for some people.
jenna
January 19, 2008 at 3:30 pmSusan,
Haha, I went off about hating the microwave but I secretly do defrost berries in it. I like to make a simple strawberry (or raspberry ) sauce by defrosting a couple berries in the micro (popping them in for like 1 minute or until they are soft) and then adding a tsp of cane sugar to it and stirring! I like to put it on vanilla ice cream. When you say defrosting veggies in the micro, you mean defrosting them when they are in the bag in the freezer? I dont really have much experience with frozen veggies because I always buy mine fresh but if I was to defrost something like broccoli, I would just put it in tupperware, add about a tbsp of water, put the lid on and zap it for about 1 minute or so. I dont like my veggies overdone so I always take them out when they are still crisp. I encourage buying the fresh stuff though when you can! It’s just prettier 🙂
Clarissa
January 19, 2008 at 3:31 pmHi Jenna! Glad you’re enjoying your little getaway 🙂 Thanks for the comment about 1/2 of a clif bar as being great pre-run fuel. I will have to try that! Do you drink coffee before running? I have found that when I have caffeine pre-run, it really makes a difference in my energy level.
Anyone else experience this?
Sara F
January 19, 2008 at 3:34 pmin reguards to the links at the top of the page, I couldn’t see them at first on my computer, but then I clicked on VIEW at the top on my toolbar, and selected MAKE TEXT SMALLER. All the text fit better on the screen and the links became visible. I have a mac so I don’t know how or if this will work on other computers, but worth a try!
Susan Barnes
January 19, 2008 at 3:34 pmI meant more for like recipes, for some reason they will often say defrosted frozen spinach, etc.
Amy
January 19, 2008 at 3:48 pmHahaha that makes me laugh. I am about to drive from DC to NJ and the tolls add up to, I think, $14!!! It is robbery! It is a drive that I make fairly frequently and I am always looking for cash at the last second. I haven’t needed to yet, but good to know I could whip out the checkbook in a pinch….although having the bread on hand couldbe difficult. hehe
Courtney
January 19, 2008 at 4:20 pmAmy – You should get an EZ Pass for that drive. I live in NoVa and my family is from CT, so I used to drive that way too (I take a different route now). The EZ Pass will save you time, and it doesn’t cost anything for the actual pass!
I’m new to reading this blog, and I just love it! It’s nice to know that there are people out there that are health concious and love food, and make it work! It’s a refreshing approach to food, because it’s not someone restricting their intake or dieting. The food you make/eat looks amazing, and makes me think I could do it too!
Sara F
January 19, 2008 at 7:23 pmRachel, Mallory, Laura-
Here are my dorm room “recipes” and ideas for jazzing up the “same old” stuff.
Hot cereal (such as oatmeal, cream of wheat, multi-grain, etc. prepared acording to package, make sure you get a variety that can be microwaved)
-add a tsp of cinnamon
-stir in a 1/4 c dried fruit (raisins, apricots, or cranberries are my favs) + 1/4 c nuts (walnuts are good or sub in a tbsp peanut butter)
-stir in fruit, either a chopped apple or sliced banana
-sweeten with a little honey
-pour a half a cup of skim milk on top if desired (or vanilla soy milk for a sweeter version)
Loaded sweet potato
-poke holes in medium sized sweet potato, wrap loosely in paper towel, and microwave until soft (about 6 minutes?…probably varies a lot depending on microwave)
-if available, steam some brocolli, spinach, or other favorite veggie in the microwave
-slice open potato and top with 1/3 c black beans, the steamed veggies, 1/4 c grated cheese, 2tbsp plain yogurt(or sourcream), salt and pepper to taste.
Breakfast bowl-
-steam a medium sized bowl of brocolli until soft, but still slightly firm. Add a little salt and pepper
-Mix 2 eggs and 2 tbsp of milk in same bowl with steamed brocolli (or use a serving of egg substitute, which is easier to keep on hand in a dorm room fridge).
-microwave for 30 second intervals, stiring between each, until eggs are cooked through.
-top with 1/4 cup grated cheese. For a little more color add a 1/2 c diced tomatoes or salsa on top
English muffin pizzas-
-slice an english muffin in half (whole wheat is best) and toast if possible
-in a bowl heat 1/2 c of spaghetti sauce (you can bulk this up by tossing in 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, steamed brocolli, spinach, mushrooms, etc. before heating) (chopped up pepperoni is also good if you have some)
-top each toasted half of muffin with half of the sauce
-divide 1/3 c mozarella (or other cheese) evenly between the two halves. nuke in microwave for a few seconds until cheese melts
These are just a few of the recipes…I’ve got to run for now, but I’ll put up a some more later.
arimcg
January 19, 2008 at 7:23 pmThat is hilarious.
jenna
January 19, 2008 at 9:33 pmSusan,
I usually just put the frozen spinach in a container, add a tiny bit of water and nuke it for a few minutes on high. Then, I put it in a strainer in the sink and press out all the water.. If something calls for 10 ounces of frozen spinach you usually just defrost that and use the whole box!
jenna
January 19, 2008 at 9:34 pmClarissa,
I used to have a bit of coffee before running when I was running longer distances (like 8-9 miles). I usually just eat half a clif bar though mainly because i’m too lazy to make coffee first thing. I did find that that gave me extra energy though!
Rachel
January 19, 2008 at 10:39 pmSara F,
Thanks so much for the recipes!! 🙂
Ashley
January 20, 2008 at 12:14 amI agree with the clif bar idea I just trained for a half marathon and I would run right when I woke up and those were great because i could eat them right as I was leaving. Strangely I used to eat a light cheese stick and that worked pretty well too. The maple clif bars are really good too. Right now I am on vacation though and I can eat breakfast and then wait two hours which is really nice! 🙂
Shelley
January 20, 2008 at 6:11 ammmm I love clif bars. I just tried a mint chocolate one that I got in my marathon packet way back in october, and it was SUPER delicious. of course, mint + chocolate is one of my favorite combinations.