Miles and Shenanigans

Ever wanted a quick grab-n-go breakfast? This is one recipe I've been doling out to all my clients who need a satisfying and easy breakfast.

You can make up a batch of these on your night off and have them to eat all week. Pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds and BAM! Breakfast.

One muffin is about 90 calories, depending on your ingredients. Grab 2 muffins and half an avocado for breakfast (about 370 calories) and you're good to go with a nutrient stacked meal that will keep you satiated until lunch!

Basic recipe:
Egg + veggie + protein + spices

I had just used up a bunch of my veggie stash in my dinner saute, so my pickings were a little slim. But have fun with it! Be creative! Make a breakfast you wake up excited about!

Here's what I used in my latest batch of muffins:

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Ingredients:

12 eggs
1/3 lb pork sausage
1/2 cup julienned spinach
Garlic powder
Parsley
Red pepper flakes

Whisk all eggs together in large mixing bowl (or measuring cup with spout for easy pouring).

Add spices and veggies into egg mixture.

Pour into muffin tins and spread meat evenly throughout.


Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 min, until eggs are set.


Tips: I like to use silicone cupcake liners (mine like to run away as demonstrated by my lonely four tonight) because they're easy to grab, can pop in the microwave, and the eggs come out cleanly- no mess!

Other ideas for veggies:
Bell pepper
Onion
Broccoli
Spinach
Zucchini
(Watery veggies like tomatos can make the muffin not hold form as well.)

Protein ideas:
Ham
Sausage
Bacon
Ground Beef

Nutrition breakdown

With meat:
Calories- 125
Protein- 11g
Carb- 4g
Fat- 7.4g

Without meat:
Calories- 83
Protein- 7.3g
Carb- 3.3g
Fat- 4.7g

I love the long run. No matter what has happened the previous week with work, my diet, or my workouts, it acts as a reset button to say, "The rest of your life begins now." I feel drained, but accomplished.

And let's be honest, nothing like burning 2,000 calories in one pop to make you feel good in your jeans.


Every time we start getting up into the 20s I get nervous. Hales starts getting the texts late Saturday night:


I get nervous and forget to fuel and hydrate properly the day before. And this is just training, people-- not even a race!

Last training cycle it was our 21 miler. I was SO nervous for the entire week leading up to it! But that ended up being an incredible run! Energy levels were great start to finish. I was still rebounding from an injury a few weeks before; still, everything went so great.

Except when my Clif Bar wrapper started blowing away after the run. I couldn't move to chase after it. Nobody likes a litterbug.

{Our reaction to finishing: "We just ran 21 miles...who are we??"}

This time around, it was our 20 miler that got me. Since I don't really count pain in the foot, knee, or hip flexor as making a bad run (Miss Injury Prone, here), this weekend was a fantastic run as well!

So...the more nervous I am, the better the run will be? Weird.

For me, my long runs are a dress rehearsal for my fueling strategy. I know as long as I give my body what it needs when it needs it, it will take me the 26.2.

Good fuel = good energy = good run.

{Thank you, Tyson Park for having working water fountains in the winter.}

5 1/2 weeks until the marathon!

One of the first paleo recipes I tried was paleo pancakes. When PaleOMG tantalized my tastebuds with a delicious looking paleo pancake picture, I decided to venture out and try another recipe. Just for kicks.

{PaleOMG- Banana Vanilla Bean Pancakes with Mixed Berry Compote}

Recipe 1

My original go-to was this recipe adapted from Carrots n' Cake.

5-Ingredient Paleo Pancakes

1 banana
1 heaping tbsp almond butter
1 egg
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
sprinkle of cinnamon








Mix all ingredients in a food processor.

Highlight reel:

Soooo...dressed like Freddy Krueger today. Never thought my aversion to scary movies (read: I plug my ears and sing "la la la la la" anytime a scary movie trailer comes on TV) would affect my daily life. Wrong. Fellow Starbucks patrons, I apologize. I'm not crazy. Just a pussy that's never seen Nightmare on Elm Street.

{Yes, I had to Google him to see what he looked like.}

Luckily, my fabulous co-workers filled me in on my nightmare inducing attire and proceeded to call me Freddy without missing a beat. Love them.

- - - -
Daily Workout:

I woke up this morning bright and early to meet Hales for hill repeat since we haven't run together in FOREVER. Unfortunately, due to my sore and swollen throat, Momma Hales forbade me from running outside in the cold and rain, so I headed to the gym to hit the treadmill.

I hate treadmills. With a passion. And I'm a passionate person, y'all.

Hill repeats on treadmills- not so bad! I warmed up with a mile at a 9:00 pace then bumped my incline up to 6.0 at a 8:00 pace for 5 repeats of 0.3 miles. I finished it out with a cool down mile at 9:00 with a 6:40 kick at the end. There's nothing like digging deep and finding that kick at the end of a killer run.

Aaaand then I took our kickboxing class. Because I wanted more.

I should probably start by apologizing for the break between posts because life happened. But I won't. Because life didn't happen. VEGAS happened.

{The girls at Pure in Caesar's Palace. Yes, that is Cags's bling blinding you from the far left.}

It was seriously the most amazing epic Vegas weekend I could ever imagine. No, I didn't end up on the roof of Caesar's Palace, but I did party with T-Pain and floor safely drive a brand new Ford Mustang on the Las Vegas Freeway. (I'm sure that's not the proper name for said interstate, but I like it. So I'm sticking with it.)



For the most part: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. You know this, people.

{"I mean whatchu think this is? A gaaame??" - T-Pain}

But two things (three if you count T-Pain) can transcend those glittery neon streets: Running and Food.

On running:

I ran the Las Vegas Strip!! Cross this sucker off my bucket list. I don't have any pictures for you because no one else was crazy enough to wake up at 6am on our last day in Vegas to run off a hangover take a nice run as the sun rose over the Strip. I'd heard tales of how great this run has been for people. Best run ever? Maaaaybe not. But still note worthy! I ended up skipping my long run altogether this week and subbed with 3.5 miles on the strip...I mean, Vegas itself is endurance training anyway, right?

Where camaraderie had been found in sequins and vodka for the first part of the weekend, I now found myself giving that familiar head nod to my fellow crazy 6am Vegas runner friends. It was 40 degrees in the desert, and I had to detour through a casino, but the view of the sun rising between Treasure Island and the Wynn was an incredible way to cap off the best weekend of my life. It was one of those moments that make you stop in the middle of a run and think, "I. LOVE. LIFE."

And then I turned around and ran back through the Flamingo as a delightful drunken fellow wished me a fantastic day. And to you, sir.

On Food:

I should preface-- This trip was planned way before I ventured into the paleo world. You better believe if I have some of the world's best chefs at my finger tips, there will be no restrictions on my palette.

Friday Dinner: Gordon Ramsey, BURGR

I ordered the Euro Burger which had goat cheese, arugula, and some other tasty stuff. It was amazing. Another friend ordered the Farm Burger that had duck and bacon on it, among other things. He called it a transformative experience. It was THAT GOOD.

We all split an order of Truffle Parmesan Fries and Beer Battered Maui Onion Rings. And by split, I mean I ate most of the fries solo until I begged the waiter to take them away. This parmesan was unreal.

{Not sure who's more excited-- me or Gordon?}

Gordon, if you're reading this... "Marry me?" Or cook me dinner. I'm not picky.


Saturday Brunch: Bobby Flay, MESA




A friend had told me how great Flay's sweet potato hash was last time he ate at MESA, so I couldn't wait to try it!

{Spicy Chicken Sweet Potato Hash}

I also had to get the mango glazed bacon.



Dinner Sunday: Mario Batali, B & B Ristorante

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures from this dinner. This was the type of place I would've felt super awkward whipping out my Otterbox sheathed iPhone to Instagram my food. This was the type of place where they give you so many different options for water you end up just saying, "Um, tap water please?"

{Our last night in VEGAS}

That said, it was delicious. We had an appetizer of chickpea bruschetta with a bottle of Prosecco. I ordered the Bone Marrow Ravioli, Cags ordered the Goat Cheese Tortellini, and our other friend ordered the Ravioli Dolci di Ricotta with Lamb Ragu. Drooling yet?

These three meals will make up my happy thoughts from hence forth.

Other food included some random sandwich shops and a bag of surprising appropriately priced trail mix from Valley of Fire State Park.


We eventually arrived back in Tennessee, grateful to finally be headed back to our own beds but sad to leave this amazing weekend behind.

{One for the books, my friends.}

{No, that's not the Michelin Man. It's a giant marshmallow friend.}

{If I had bothered to check the elevation beforehand, this is what I would have seen.}

{Post-race with our finishers mugs.}

{Cheesing it up in front of Turner Field.}

One of the interesting tidbits about my transition to a paleo-based diet it that I've been a vegetarian for about the last year. That ended after I finished my marathon and said, "I want a freaking steak."

What it means for me though, is that I have to relearn how to cook meat and reincorporate it into my diet. My philosophy as a vegetarian-- and with any way of eating-- is that I listen to my body. If I was intensely craving something, (within reason-- come on now, I'm always craving chocolate) I would eat it. In running and eating, I've learned to understand what my body is telling me. I never felt deprived or craved meat while I was a vegetarian. When I did, I had a freaking steak. 

So why give paleo the ol' try, you ask? It started with a challenge from a friend to try grain-free for a week.

 I failed. Twice. 

Then, with all the junk I ate during the holidays my body basically started screaming at me to clean up my eating. After a few rough days with digestion issues clearly attributed to certain foods, I told him the next day, "I'm in. All in." Since then, my only big cheat has been the Hot Chocolate 15k which was followed by the requisite pizza and beer.

I've eliminated grains, legumes, and milk. I still eat some other forms of dairy. I'm aiming to eliminate refined sugars-- but I'll be honest, this one is the hardest for me. I have the sweet tooth from hell. All in all, I've been happy with how I've been doing so far. I allow myself some dark chocolate and sweeten other things with honey. (I've heard varying viewpoints on honey and paleo. I am still doing my research. If you have any knowledge or resources on that front, please share!)

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 My second re-adventure into the world of cooking meat: 

 Crock-Pot Honey Apple Pork Loin

 I went off of this recipe over at Crossfit+Paleo = A Winning Combination.

1 pork loin
3 apples
Honey
Cinnamon
(I used my 5 quart CrockPot)

How's that for a simple ingredient list?

{The honey I bought had no seal when I opened it. Of course I used it anyway. So if I die of a dramatic poisoning-- here's your culprit.}

Chop up the apples into slices. I decided to peel mine for a  lighter texture.

Spread a layer of apple slices in the bottom of your CrockPot and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.



Cut vertical slits halfway through the ol' pork loin, about half an inch apart.

Drizzle a bit of honey in each slit and stuff an apple slice in there.


Lay your stuffed pork loin in the CrockPot, drizzle a bit more honey on the whole shebang, and cover with the remaining apple slices. Top it off with some more cinnamon. And a lid.

Cook on low for 7 hours. And voila!


Notes on the finished product: 
Mine turned out a little dry. Tasty, but dry. If I did this recipe again I might cook it a little less. The original recipe poster also noted that her Crock seals off all escaping moisture, so it could also be due to my Black Friday special CrockPot. But I tend towards loyalty. And thrift. So I'll stick with this one for now.