As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not really a fan of running, even though I’d like to be. In fact, the idea of running a race terrifies me!

But the fact that a race terrifies me also really makes me want to challenge myself to rise up to the occasion. Heck, at one point I was afraid to do zumba and now look how things turned out!

As Eleanor Roosevelt said:

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

So today, with the encouragement of some really fantastic friends, I did something I thought I couldn’t do.

I ran.

Here’s my support group: Michelle, Kath, (me), and Caitlin. (Caitlin’s photo) Talk about a great group to be there for my first big running adventure!

These wonderful, running-expert ladies were kind enough to take a break from their fast-paced running to do a Couch-to-5K style of interval running (2 minutes running and 1 minute walking) for 3 whole miles – probably the farthest I’ve ever gone running…EVER! Not one mile. Not two miles. THREE!

Stepping back, I woke up 2 hours before run time to get some fuel in my system and give my body time to digest.

Hot coffee.

Banana oatmeal in my fantastic new bowl!

Pre-cooking ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut milk (carton kind this time, not can)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp chia seeds

Cooked stovetop till thickened up.

Post-cooking:

• 1/2 sliced banana (stirred in at end – I ate the other half, minus a bite for Bailey)
• ground flaxseed on top
• sliced almonds on top

Nom!

After breakfast, I decided it was a good idea to make my trial batch #2 of my Green Monster muffins. If you read earlier, you probably already saw the recipe because they were a success!! Hazzah!

Click here for my Green Monster muffin recipe.

Anywho, I pulled these babies out the oven just as it was time to leave the house. Cutting it close time-wise!

Then, it was off to Caitlin’s place to meet up for our run. It was suuuuper hot outside! Eeks!

Michelle and I made friends with Caitlin’s “new cat” till Caitlin and Kath showed up to for our group run.

I still can’t believe how patient every one was with me. I was worried about slowing them down, but everyone was so encouraging, it was great!

We did running / walking intervals for 3 miles. I felt pretty good when we started out but started feeling tired around mile one. I pushed through the rest of the way and it seemed like it was over before I knew it! I thank zumba for keeping me in good cardio shape.

Caitlin used her Garmin for some lap stats:

• Mile 1: 12:28
• Mile 2: 12:53
• Mile 3: 12:38

I’ve never tracked miles time-wise before, so I don’t really know what they mean, but Caitlin said they were pretty good for both running and walking the miles.

Future runner? Future racer? Either way I was just proud for running today. I had a great time! I think I need to hire Caitlin or Michelle to be my running coach! I’d hire Kath but she’s moving!!

Michelle and I toyed around with the idea of running a 5K later this year on the car ride home. I’ve always thought it would be cool to run in a costume so I suggested we get a group to wear matching tutus (any takers?). Then Michelle said we could get shirts made too! Sweet! Hey, I am a sorority girl. Give me a costume party and event shirts and I’m in!

After heading home, showering and changing, a few of us met up at The Flying Biscuit for brunch.

We had a pretty long wait in the heat outside, but it was worth it! I brought green monster muffins with me to help tide everyone over during the wait (which was like an hour!)

Hot coffee (what? it was cool inside) with sugar cubes and creamer.

I got the high flyer: 2 fried eggs over medium, creamy grits and potatoes (you can get 1/2 and 1/2!! neat ordering trick for TFB), chicken sausages (I don’t normally like meat sausages but they’re pretty darn tasty here), a famous biscuit and apple butter.

Oatmeal pancake and peach topping.

So freakin good!

I worked up a sweat and appetite this morning and guzzled a lot of water at brunch and ate quite a bit of my plate. More than normal at least, though I did end up taking some home to hubby.

Michelle, Ben, Kath, Matt and me headed out to IKEA post-brunch. I brought a coconut water with passion fruit to help recover from the hot run earlier. I got these coconut waters with fruit flavors to test out because I saw them on sale at Earthfare but I definitely prefer the taste of just coconut water.

Michelle and Ben got cinnamon rolls!

They shared a bite with me!

The goods: a laundry basket for our towels/linens, stools for our outside patio (inspired by Caitlin’s), plus some curtains (not pictured).

Poor Bailey was kind of bored today with me running all around.

I broke out a fave vegetarian ingredient for dinner. Both hubby and I were feeling something “light” so soup sounded good to me.

I loved the big bunch of kale added to this soup.

Dinner = Ellie Krieger’s Lemony Lentil Soup from her So Easy cookbook.

Lucky you I found the recipe online here!

Plus some Great Harvest Whole Grain Goodness toast with real butter.

And for dessert – Yoforia!!

Hubby and I met up with Karen, Matt, and Kath for dessert. We even brought Bailey for some fresh air and socializing. That ham!

I got some tart plain and some taro. Toppings = coconut, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries and pineapple.

Is this stuff addicting or what?!

***

Another fabulous day guys! I feel so lucky to have such great friends to play with all day!

***

I think I’ve signed myself up for 6:30 am yoga with the girls tomorrow. Eeks! This means 2 back-to-back morning exercises for me and I never work out in the morning! I must say, while post-work workouts seem to work better in my schedule, I think morning workouts are a great way to start the day! Guess I’d better go dig out my yoga mat…get to bed! G’night!

Do you prefer morning, afternoon or post-work/night workouts? Why?

Happy Saturday! Was I the only one who was super excited about the weekend!?

Even though I went to a concert last night, hubby and I got up pretty early this morning to hit up the market in search of the freshest, local food available

But first…we swung by Great Harvest. I sampled the challah with some butter. So tasty.

And for breakfast – a blueberry oat bran muffin, which I enjoyed straight out of the bag I got when I bought it.

Hubby and I went to the market and forgot today was their GRAND opening. It was crazy busy!

We brought Bailey again and he made a new buddy – an orange corgi.

The market was stocked up for the grand opening with fresh fruits, veggies and prepared foods all around.

We came home with some fresh rosemary asiago foccacia.

Plus blueberries and peaches.

Plus 3 types of squash and more broccoli. Almost everything was either organic or pesticide free – at least all the stuff I got was!

***

After the market I met up with Emily to help her with her blog migration to Wordpress. Having just done this in January, I know how much of a pain this can be. I think I still owe you a moving-your-blog-post…if I can muster up the strength to do it. That was a tough experience!

Soon enough it was time for brunch with friends – Emily and Casey…

Kath + Matt

Jessie

Caroline + Sarah

Again – I love the glassware here! I wish I had some of these glasses in my house.

Kath + Matt were sweeties and got a plate of hummus to share with us.

I had a bite and boy was it goood! Especially with the marinated topping. I definitely tasted sesame oil in it, which was totally unexpected to me but very delicious.

For my main eats, I considered a waffle…or the tofu lettuce wraps.

I had a hard time picking what to order today. We ate at 1pm, so I wasn’t sure if I wanted breakfast or lunch…or brunch. I decided to go somewhere in the middle with quiche but since it was breakfast-y, I couldn’t resist a toffee nut latte! It had lov-erly froth

I went for the daily special

quiche with roasted chicken, spinach, tomato, and cheese

plus fresh fruit and a mini salad – one of the best I’ve had in a restaurant – with berries and kiwi and even mango!

Do you usually order something more breakfast-y or lunch-y when you get brunch?

I LOVED hearing about all you intuitive eaters out there! From the experts to those just starting out – you’re amazing! Keep up the good work!

Here are a couple of my fave comments:

• Faith – “once I get to a certain point of hungriness, I start eating to stop the hunger but generally don’t stop once I’m adequately full – it’s like I’m overcompensating. Because of that I try not to let myself get past say, a 3 on a 1-10 hunger scale.”
• Jessica – “I always eat when I’m hungry and usually try to pack a snack with me everywhere I go, just in case. You don’t want to see me when I get too hungry cause that turns to hangry really quick! If I want to feel good and have energy all day I need to eat!“
• Joy – “I just started, but I must say it is very liberating! I haven’t been overeating because I know that if am hungry again, I will eat. Nice work on listening to your body! It knows you better than anyone else.”

Thank you everyone who commented – you guys made me smile!

This morning, I whipped up some mini frittatas to use up that leftover pilaf from the other night. I don’t know if they sound difficult, but they are SOO easy!

So easy and satisfying – these had protein, grains, and even a lil bit of a veggie – baby spinach!

Mini Spinach, Cheese, and Rice Frittatas

NOTE: These are a good way to use up some leftover rice or other grain pilaf.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup cooked grain – rice or blend (mine was rice, barley, and spelt)
• about a dozen baby spinach leaves rinsed and chopped into small pieces
• 1/4 cup grated cheese
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F and prep a mini tart/frittata pan with non-stick spray.
2. Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl. Stir in cheese, spinach, salt, and pepper.
3. Use a mini ice cream scoop (or melon baller) to fill tart/frittata cups about 3/4 full.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes until the eggs are cooked through (I usually wait till the tops are just starting to brown lightly).

Bailey practiced some tricks this morning. He used to HATE when we made him sit up, but now he LOVES it!

Teavana Mate Vana + Rooibos Macadamia + honey = wonderful.

For lunch, I started with a GIANT salad: baby spinach, romaine, farmers market tomatoes, cucumbers, pepitas, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, blueberries (yes! try them – they rock in salads), and TJ’s poppyseed dressing. Great combo!

I also had some TJ’s breaded halibut with tartar sauce and a micro-roasted sweet potato with butter and brown sugar.

Theo Orange Dark Chocolate Review

I had a hankering for something sweet after lunch today, so I broke into the sample I requested from Theo – Orange Dark Chocolate.

This bar is Organic and Fair Trade – both wonderful features I look for in my products – food and otherwise. And did you know Theo was the first North American organic and fair trade bean-to-bar chocolate maker? Yea…says so on the bar.

Check out that ingredient list! It’s wonderful – short, readable and with good ingredients.

Nutrition info, too.

The verdict: the dark chocolate was lovely and smooth. I thought it had a good balance of dark chocolate and orange flavors. The orange was noticeable but not overwhelming. Also, I didn’t think I liked the combo of chocolate and citrus, but this bar was very enjoyable. Overall, I would love to buy more Theo bars to support the company for 2 reasons: 1. the chocolate is tasty and 2. the company is amazing and does great stuff for our planet! Go Theo!

What’s your favorite chocolate flavor pairing? (It’s ok if you like your chocolate plain)

Sunday morning after Serena and Dan’s beautiful Key West wedding, hubby and I headed out for brunch with our new friends Rachel and Frank.

The gorgeous weather continued with more bright blue skies that made the surrounding greenery POP!

After research on Yelp (click for reviews), we decided to try out Yelp’s #1 brunch spot in Key West, FL – Blue Heaven (they have a blog!). Word on the street is that Ernest Hemingway used to frequent this place.

After checking in with the hostess, I wandered around camera in hand to take some shots of the scenery.

Inside, there was outdoor seating with quirky decorations. The vibe was very fun and eclectic and there was live music going on.

And yes, the reviews are correct, there are chickens and roosters running around everywhere. Of course…there are chickens and roosters running all around Key West in general.

After about a 30 minute wait (this place is popular!), we were seated at our table.

We started with coffee.

I based my brunch selection completely on the overwhelming amount of reviews on Yelp recommending banana bread. I really wanted to try Blue Heaven’s homemade granola, but granola and banana bread didn’t seem like a good idea.

Rachel got the shrimp and grits with a slice of banana bread.

I got the avocado omelet (avocado, cheese, black bean sauce) with banana bread and even got a small side of fresh fruit.

Hubby got the shrimp omelet.

And I would have taken a photo of Frank’s omelet, but he got the same thing I did! I am sad I forgot to get a group shot of our table!!! Doh!

I thought brunch was really good and yes, even that banana bread everyone raved about. I still really like my Spelt Banana Bread (click for recipe) but the BH version was really tasty, too.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out my photos from the Key West rehearsal dinner and ceremony/reception for some serious eye candy photos.

After yesterday’s fantastic day stopping by some of my fave Durham spots (click), more great eats…

Hubby and his bro talked their mom into trying dim sum for her first time. The last time we got dim sum it was for Chinese New Year’s (click)!

We were very excited to take her there this morning for brunch/lunch.

We selected several different things in hopes she’d find something she liked.

Hot tea for me and hubby’s brother.

My first plate – taro shrimp, tiny piece of calamari, and shrimp roll. All delicious!

I tried the shrimp roll instead of the har gow (shrimp dumplings) I normally get…I think I prefer the dumpling though they are both very tasty.

I had some of this yummy sticky rice (sans sausage/egg).

Plus a steamed BBQ pork bun (they didn’t have the baked version today).

I think I had half this plate of Chinese broccoli. It is one of my faves at dim sum and was really popular at the table, too. We polished it off no problem.

For dessert, we got a couple things.

The famous sesame balls.

Plus some coconut pudding. I tried a bite of this stuff and it was surprisingly really good. Not so much surprising because it looks bad, but I typically don’t love coconut. Guess I do now! I may even get this over the sesame balls since it’s a little on the lighter side.

For today, though, I favored my usual – sesame ball with sweet bean filling! Yummers!

Hubby’s mom seemed to really enjoy the meal, so DIM SUM WIN! Yay! Hubby’s sister will be very happy as she’s a big dim sum fan, too.

We hit the road after lunch.

After we got back in town, I gathered some materials for a project with my friend Megan…

A HEALTHY PANTRY MAKEOVER!!!

Ok, so it wasn’t so much a makeover as a stocking up event since she recently moved to a new place and didn’t have much in the way of food, but details, details…

We hit up three of my faves:

• Trader Joes – for staples, frozen foods, produce, cereal, and vino
• Fresh Market – for Barney Butter (it’s the only place in town that sells it! It was a dollar off, too!)
• Earthfare – two words – BULK BINS! Plus some frozen entrees, canned soup, yogurt, and other pantry basics.

We went ahead and got food at Earthfare.

I got a kid’s Earthburger with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion, plus local sweet potato fries, with a side salad (spinach, romain, purple cabbage, sprouds, bell pepper, broccoli and balsamic/olive oil dressing) and a Virgil’s Real Cola (good-good stuff!!!).

Thanks to some savvy shopping, we got a TON of stuff AND came way under budget. Score!

Happy eating and cooking Megan!! Enjoy!

Click here for some of my pantry tips and ideas.

Reader Question: What are your pantry staples?