From Miles to Mediterranean

HAPPY SATURDAY!! 
Anybody recovering from a crazy Friday night?? A long run?  A long work week?
Put me down for all of the above!

I had such a fun and excited Friday! But boy am I paying for it this morning -- I just can't seem to get out of bed and wake up (I've eaten both breakfast and lunch in bed!)

Breakfast:
I had one of my favorite breakfasts of ALL TIME!
It involves peanut butter... so.... that explains it all.

Peanut butter jars are a treasure around here but, unfortunately, they don't come around too often (lies, lies... I've gone through two this month).  Instead of filling up the jar with Overnight Oats or Warm Oatmeal.... I went with Trader Joe's Multigrain O's, bananas & blueberries


With each bite that got a bit o' pb leftovers, I swooned.

Workout:
10.5 miles.
Easy.
Hills.
Awkwardly had to run with my sports bra because it was too warm for my long sleeve.
I ran to one of my favorite spots and dedicated the run to Lisa's Grandfather who passed away recently... it was too beautiful not to share it with somebody special.

Lunch & SURPRISES!

I was kind of late getting back from my run so I threw together the quickest lunch I could find... it ended up being the tastiest of my Quinoa Leftovers so far!! 

Sauteed quinoa, turkey bacon, brussel sprouts and feta cheese with garlic salt and pepper. Wow the flavors were amazing.  That feta and bacon combo really stole the show... I also had a Carmel Nut Brownie luna bar.  Those things are da sheeeeit. 

However, I did have a little something special arrive in the mail just in time for Valentine's Day!  My sister's care package - filled with TONS of french chocolates, candies, and cookies from her recent trip to Paris.  And the most amazing card (I love my sister!) AND a Nutella cookbook!!!!

 She threw in an extra valentine - old school style - just for fun!

Honestly, I've been eating these dark chocolate caramels nonstop... don't even get me started with those butter crackers.  SISTERS make the best friends and the best valentines!

Dinner:
Originally, Annie and I were going to head to a great hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant... but then...
We remembered it was girls date night and we should be sitting outside by the heat lamps, gossiping by candlelight, and getting some seriously good Mediterranean food!

As always, I went with the Middle Eastern Plate, which has a little bit of everything - double salad with a Tomato Basil dressing, Chicken Pomegranate, A Spinach and Cheese Filo roll, a Cinnamon and Raisin chicken film roll, a Levant pinwheel Sandwich, and some fresh fruit, cheese, hummus, and pita!

It looks like a family meal for four...
but I demolished it - as in, no prisoners.

I even had room for...
Molasses Gingersnap ice cream in a homemade waffle cone with a chocolate bottom

Oh, yeah.
Ohhhhh, yeah...

So, my night also included
- a fun trip to Trader Joe's (new almond butter, pb, and cookie purchases were made)
- almost getting a ride home from a really cute stranger (but then... we were responsible and decided not to... worst decision of my life.  It started to rain and we had to wait for the bus)
- a friend's birthday party (dancing, alcohol, the whole 9 yards)
- an impromptu house party (my roommate was walking around taking "shots" of cheese.... oh yeah)
- shenanigans... complete shenanigans.

My body is sore and tired today -- yoga anyone?  Active recovery rest day?!

PDR, Recovery, & Rest

Happy SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!! Giants for the win, baby :) 

I hope everybody's weekend was filled with some fun times and fantastic food...

mine definitely was. 

if any of you are avid Pinterest/humor section browsers, this was our inspiration: 

We got close, right?

Workout: A PDR

Well, I got the best text a girl could as for: 

"Casey, do you want to tackle a 20 miler with me on Saturday?"

My response?

"HECK YES. Name the time and place!"

In reality, I was beyond nervous -- especially since my furthest distance was 15.5... but what's an extra 5 miles, especially with great company and fun trails? 

Before our epic 20.5 miler

After... still just as excited!!

We kept an easy 9 min/mile pace and ran some hills, some trails, and some road routes to make it to our desired mileage.  It was fun!  We talked about everything from running, to feet, to boys... it was a long run.  And I had a blast.  My legs held up pretty well, they just started feeling tired.

Recovery:
I showered, ate some meatball subs, pb & cookies, and slept for hours.
Also, I had only gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before (don't recommend that...) so I was exhausted.  I felt like my body just shut down... as did my mind!

Oddly enough, I wasn't hungry at all.  I kept forcing myself to eat random things -- apples, pb, luna bars.

Dinner:
I headed over to my girls' apartment and we lounged around - they're reading the Hunger Games series (soooo good and addicting) - I napped, then we headed to a healthy fast food place for dinner.

Healthy fast food?  Does such a place exist?
You bet!  Only in the bay...

Vegan Chili and Cornbread + a Dolphin-Safe Tuna Salad Sandwich on Whole Wheat

Both were delicious!!
We had plans to get frozen yogurt afterwards... but my stomach just wasn't having it -- instead we ended up with a cookie, some chocolate, and some coffee :) perfect night!

Super Bowl Sunday:
No workout. Work from 7-11 am. Sleep. And this happened.

Oh, college life.... 

We had all the best junk food: chicken tenders, buffalo wings, chips and salsa, guac, queso dip, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, 4 types of m&ms, ritz and pepperjack cheese, apples, pb, bell pepper slices, and another assortment of chocolate bars. 

Sufficiently stuffed.  Like, I had to take tums because my tums was upset. 

I've declared super bowl sunday one of my favorite holidays!  It's an excuse to be a pig - kind of like Thanksgiving :)  gotta love it. 

Anyways, I have tons of school work to catch up on!

Monday, here we come

Fueling My Body

Well, I feel like a total dork.

I've been dreading... like absolutely dreading... coming back to school and now that I'm here, I'm loving it.  It actually feels like coming home.  My first full day back was filled all the things I love: friends, getting brunch, going grocery shopping, running my favorite routes, and cooking dinner!

Breakfast:
My morning started with a classic bowl of oats - apple cinnamon oats, nuts, and berries! I was running low on food and I found a random packet of quaker oats... I rolled with it.

Intuitive Eating and Fueling My Body:
So, this is something that I've been working through recently: making peace with food and learning to fuel my body based on what it needs, not based on calories or silly food rules that we often get wrapped up in.  I never deny myself, but I always experience food guilt and after calorie counting last year, it was hard for me to turn that part of my brain off.

However, I've been making stellar progress!  Especially after talking to my coach about what my body needs with the amount of miles I'm putting in.  It also helps being surrounded by supportive friends who have a great approach to healthy eating.

I've heard this philosophy called Intuitive Eating, RunEatRepeat talks about this at length, and it's all about:
an approach that teaches you how to create a healthy relationship with your food, mind, and body--where you ultimately become the expert of your own body. 


from their website, where you can find more information. 


I'm going to continue eating what I crave (no, not carrot cake for every meal... I do need some nutrients) and I'll keep you updates with what I learn!  WOOHOO. 


Lunch:
As soon as I met up with my ladies - Lisa and Annie - and headed out to Tjoes to do some grocery shopping... they got hungry.  Silly girls didn't eat before we left.  Who was I to turn down a request to stop at a favorite diner of ours for brunch? 


I wasn't feeling the lunch food yet, but I was mad craving a scone - filled with berries and BUTTER. 
Currant Scone with a side of fresh fruit and lemon curd. 

It was absolutely glorious.
The waitress was like "we put tons and tons of butter in it"... I guess that explains it.

Workout:
Confession - my running shoes make me want to run all the time.  Like every time I pass them, I slip my foot into one and then have to talk myself out of running at odd hours of the day.  Hot pink shoes that make you feel super cool is probably the best running motivation out there.

I did a fast 5 miles at an 8 min/mile pace before pounding on Lisa's door.  We planned to do our favorite run to Indian Rock Park which is about a 5.5-6 mile loop.  Kick ass.

We always seem to get to the rock just in time to watch the sunset.
How romantic... barf. It's a perfect date spot (let's get real, I'll probably only go there to run...)

Dinner:
I found some goodies at ol' TJOES!!  I couldn't wait to randomly mix them into what looks questionable but tastes delicious.

Tri-Color Quinoa with Leeks and Chicken Hot Dogs. And a monster salad.

How have I never had leeks before?!?
The flavor is INSANE.  I'm hooked.  I cooked up a serving of quinoa and then added in some chopped frozen leeks I got at tjoes.  While this was going on, I browned some onion and my chicken dogs in a pan and added the quinoa/leek mix in after about 2-3 minutes to blend it all together.

Holy crap the flavors of this dish...

Quinoa packs a mean protein punch too.
Dessert involved another Trader Joe's find...

Best decision of my life.

shit... gotta run to class. First day of the semester. 
I'll let you know how that goes!
HAPPY TUESDAY!

If You Could Hear What I've Been Thinking...

You would probably jump off of a cliff. 
I've actually lost the ability to form proper sentences.... finals have used up all my available cognitive capacity and I am now reverting back kindergarten (back when things made sense).

Anyways!
Tuesday: Political Psych final from 3-6 pm.
My Thoughts:
- "Why would they plan a final right before dinner time... I'm going to confuse schema-based processing with spaghetti and meatballs"
- "Casey... you're like 3 pages ahead of the person next to you.  Either you're a genius and your kicking ass, or your actually getting all the wrong answers and you should probably start over.  OR you're sitting next to a complete moron...."
- "Why are there more than 3 pages on a test in the first place?"
- "I hope my grader has a sense of humor... I'm not sure how well sarcasm is interpreted on final exams.  They should really provide snacks to curb the slightly critical comments...."

My meal after the test: Indian feast!

I met up with Annie and Lisa who had a 3-6 pm final too... and we were famished.  Annie is a plant biology and something with microscopes major so I asked her why people get super hungry during tests -- apparently brains account for 20% of your metabolic rate.

Roti!! A whole-wheat, oven-baked Indian flat bread.  Really similar to Naan.  
 

Aloo Gobi: curried cauliflower and potato dish -- extra spicy!
 

My thoughts after our Indian feast:
- "I hope the curry sits well during my 11 am final tomorrow, otherwise that lecture hall will have to be fumigated and I'll have a lot of explaining to do"
- "I should probably start studying Arabic... I wish I knew how to say f. my life"

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If it ain't broke don't fix it!

Blueberry whole wheat pancakes have been my breakfast before every final this semester. I'm hoping it's good luck or something, but I guess I'll find out in a few weeks.  Until then I'm sticking with it -- something about wishful thinking?

Arabic final: 11:30 to 2:30
My thoughts during the test:
- "Say whaaaaat?"
- "I wish they would have at least put the friggin' directions in English... assholes"
- "I hope my teacher is cool with the fact that I wrote my entire composition about how I'm only friends with this girl to date her brother.... truth is, I couldn't remember any other useful vocabulary so I had to get creative"
- "It takes me 5 minutes to switch my brain from English to three dots and a squiggle. I'm wasting some valuable time... "

My meal after the final: SUBWAY!! 

Foot long veggie delight on honey oat with every veggie you could possibly imagine, grow, and/or genetically modify!!!!!

My thoughts the rest of the day:
- "I should probably skip my workout and be more productive.  Productive is now code word for study with friends, watch Elf, and eat an entire box of honey bunches of oats"
- "Honey bunches of oats should be added to the Illegal Narcotics FDA list.... shits addicting"

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I'll spare you the picture of my blueberry pancakes.
Mostly because it was raining and dark outside when I was eating them.  Thank you, 6:45 am wake-up call.  Thank you, 8 am final.

Today's final: Empirical Methods and Quantitative Reasoning 8-11 am.
Yeah, I should have known by the title not to take the class.

My thoughts during the test:
- "Bivariate regression would be the first question... they're trying to weed out the losers so they don't have to grade as many exams"
- "YOU MOTHER ******** Why don't you take the regression line and shove it up your _ _ _ "
- "I guess I'm not a morning person on exam days.... sorry"
- "Should peed before I left this morning.  Probably shouldn't have had 3 1/2 cups of coffee"

What I did after the test:

9 miles before meeting up with Lisa to do 5 more miles to Indian Rock!!!
8:30 pace.

Sometimes your butt just needs to be kicked to take the pain away from your brain.

What I ate for dinner:
Soy noodle bowl with way too many veggies to count. Sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, soy noodles with marinara sauce!
 

My thoughts right now:
- "Good thing you haven't written a word on that document titled Peace and Conflict Final Paper that's floating in the background of your screen... due tomorrow"
- "My roommate bought me a bag of dark chocolate kisses for my birthday and I think I love her!!!!!!!!!"

Off to write that paper!! Then home!!!!!! Catch yaaaa soon :)
I'll try to keep my thoughts in order until then

Back to Normal and a New Record

HAPPY SATURDAY!

I've been hearing some funny comments about my Napa recaps from you all --
The most common: "How did you manage to eat all of that?!?!"

and... "you're not 21...."
Guilty.

Well, I'd be lying to you if I said that I didn't walk away from this trip a few pounds heavier (true story), but more surprising has been the weird after-effects of all those desserts, the trays of pate and cheese... those glasses of wine.

I feel like I need to detox! like that'll ever happen. So, instead... This week has been spent eating what I usually eat: oatmeal, salads, rice pudding & froyo -- you were spared some pretty boring pictures, believe me!

However, since last night was FRIDAY NIGHT -- aka, the end of our lectures for the semester and the last chance to enjoy yourself before finals hell -- I decided to celebrate the only way I know how: with good food and great friends!

Lisa and I met up with Lee and begged him to take us to "Asian Heaven," which is basically some massive mall/complex that is made up of every kind of "Asian" restaurant, bakery, grocery store you could imagine....

Lisa & I were craving a huge bowl of soup, so Lee took us to his favorite noodle place!

We placed our orders and decided to expose Lisa to all the joys of Asian delicacies -- starting with an appetizer of fried fish cakes and picked cabbage
 

I don't know what it is about fried anything but I'm always a huge fan :)

Plus the words "fish cakes" just make you salivate on command - right?  Growing up in a half-asian household has made me immune to the weirdness of some delicious dishes!

Lee taught us all the tricks to sauce mixing.  Apparently, it's an art form.

I decided to satisfy my comfort food craving with a huge bowl of NOODLE SOUP!  Veggie noodle soup with added beef balls and rice noodles.  The soup was amazing.  Mine was filled with tofu, fresh broccoli, cabbage, and carrots!  Plus I loovvee Asian broths - so light and flavorful!

Lisa also ordered a massive bowl of soup! But she got the tender beef noodle soup with rice noodles and from what I hear, she enjoyed it immensely :)

I don't know how I forgot to snap a picture of Lee's meal!  It was yummmmy, although I'm still glad I ordered my "light soup twice the size of my head."  Lee got the stir-fried version of our meal -- rice noodles, some sort of sauce, and seafood!  I'm glad he shared, that's all I have to say.

SO, being a dessert fanatic, we made Lee point us in the direction of any dessert in Asian Heaven.  Um, I don't think I've ever felt more Asian in my life...

There was a menu with a million different desserts - half of which I couldn't figure out/pronounce.  Some with ingredients I doubt I would ever put in my mouth (tadpole...?) although, you never know.

We finally decided to order a "Vanilla parfait with brownie,"which sounded safe enough.  We weren't disappointed, we were just surprised by the creative add-ins.  We found ourselves digging into a sundae with cornflakes, chocolate syrup, jello, bananas, boba.... it was an adventure.

Then, we ordered chocolate ice with brownies, banana, red bean, and condensed milk.  Um... literally felt like we were eating chocolate air with a side of red beans and nanners?  GOOD but weird!!!!

I, once again, failed to take a picture of our last dessert --- Lee ordered the Mango GiGi with cold noodles.  First of all, what the heck is gigi? and second... there was a hay-like substance in the "gigi." Yeah.... we let Lee enjoy that one.

After we had a few good laughs, we drove around and enjoyed the Christmas decorations around our town while singing some classics. 

I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!!!! And food... and friends... in that order (sorry, family, you're just not making the list this year ;) We came back to my apartment and laughed hysterically to Bridesmaids on DVD!!!!

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This morning, keeping up with my "getting back to normal" theme -- I was excited to lace up my sneakers for my weekly fun day, run day!!  Gotta love those long runs!

So, I started off my morning around 8:30 with my typical bowl of oats!
1/2 cup of oats, a handful of blueberries, some almond milk and a few crumbled walnuts

After finishing my oatmeal, drinking my amazing new Godiva Cinnamon Gingerbread Truffle coffee!! and catching up on some blogs, I was ready to go!

I had a goal of 15 miles in mind - my longest distance yet - and I was surprised when it was easy and enjoyable.  I've missed my usual long route through my favorite neighborhoods and up my never-ending hills! I literally don't think I stopped smiling the entire time...

Those endorphins must have kicked in after mile .2 

Confession: I really need to start fueling/hydrating properly, seeing as I still don't carry any water or fuel with me on my runs.  I finished 15.5 miles at around a 9 minute mile pace and then got ready for lunch!

SALAD BEAST: A whole heart of a Romaine lettuce head, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, sundried tomato and basil fat free feta, garlic salt, and a trader joes veggie masala burger! OH MY FIBER.  It was amazing.

I also made a batch of pumpkin mousse/filling/pudding...
I'll have to give you details later!!

Glad to be back to my usual routine :)

My Turkey Day!

Well, my friends, we had a successful and surprisingly traditional Thanksgiving this year!

Since my mom and I were determined to stay true to all of our holiday traditions -- basically great food and great company -- we started our prep last night and were in the kitchen bright and early to get that turkey in the oven!

I decided to do a turkey trot on my own and ran a rather painful 7 miles before meeting up with Lee.  We planned to tackle 6 miles before heading home... but I declared around mile 8.5 that I couldn't do it.  I wasn't in the mood.  So, I headed back home.  No harm done!

By noon, we had the appetizers out, the game on, and the turkey cooking away!

This year was really special for me because I got to cook over half the dishes alongside my mommaaa, which made it feel like the HOLIDAYS! 

We decided to keep appetizers easy and light -- a platter of gluten-free corn chips, guac and salsa.  A bowl of black and green olives, pickled beets, and baby dill pickles.  And Marcus (one of our stray grad students) brought a huge platter of crackers, cheese, and meat!! YUM!

Before we knew it, the turkey was ready and it was time to eat!

We had some easy place-and-bake rolls (for the boys -- they like their carbs)

And our lightened-up stuffing, made with Sara Lee's 45 calorie bread, celery, onion, a little bit of butter and some chicken stock.  Stuffing is always my favorite -- and this was no exception! I think I had 3 or 4 helpings of this stuff...ing.  Ha.

Classic green bean casserole -- made with french style green beans and a can and a half of fat-free cream of mushroom soup.  I opted for my helping without the fried onions on top.  Green bean casserole just screams comfort food and holiday meals to me!

Amazingly juicy and tender TURKEY thanks to my mom's skills with the turkey bag.  Are you a dark meat or white meat fan??  I'm all about the dark meat, baby.

My contribution:  Healthy Maple Whipped Sweet Potato Casserole -- 120 calories per serving! Marcus, my friend from the midwest (meat and taters kind of guy) said that this was some of the best sweet potato casserole he's ever had! And he didn't even know they were healthy!

My second contribution: Healthy buttermilk mashed potatoes with chives. About 150 calories per serving -- this was a favorite at the Thanksgiving table today!  The chives really added something.  All the boys (and my mom) loved them!  I'm not really a potato fan... but I enjoyed my fair share!

The spread: 

The chefs:

The college students!

My plate (first plate, I should say)

I was especially excited to see how our Skinny Pumpkin Pie turned out, so you can imagine how long I waited before I dove into the dessert selection (I think under 5 minutes...)

 

Lee brought some vegan peanut butter and apricot cookies and a loaf of double chocolate pumpkin bread!  YUM.  I tried both, obviously. 

I also made some Mini Maple Pecan Pies -- another healthy alternative for the dessert table.  At about 45 calories a pop, you couldn't help but go back for seconds.  

We have this tradition of passing out in turkey-induced comas right after lunch (served around 2:30)... and waking up in time to watch even more football and make some interesting leftovers!

What, you don't eat Thanksgiving lunch AND dinner?  Crazies...

My mom waits all year to bust out one of her favorite leftover turkey recipes -- an Asian-inspired crispy turky with spring onion, plum sauce, and cranberry sauce on top of flat bread.  Think Peking duck but with Thanksgiving leftovers!! SO DAMN GOOD.

 I also made some more dessert -- sugar cookies (healthified with apple sauce in place of butter)

Wow. 

I can't believe we had that much food in one day!  Actually, I can... it was truly delicious and I enjoyed every last bit.  My favorites included the stuffing, the sweet potatoes, and the pumpkin pie!! One of the best pies I've ever had! 

We sent the boys home with tons of leftovers and my mom and I are currently plopped on the couch watching Love Actually to carry us right into the next holiday.

I'm so thankful.