Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Do You Want to Run a Relay?

Last year a friend of mine asked me, "Do you want to do Ragnar?"  I asked if she was speaking English because I had NO idea what she was talking about.  "A what?" I asked.  "Ragnar Relay," she said casually and then informed me that I was doing it whether I want to or not.

So what is a  Ragnar relay race?  Well, of course there is some running involved.  There is about 200 miles of running.  Teams can be split different ways.  We had 12 members on our team.  There are some who run it as an "ultra" team and there is only 6 runners.  Each team has 2 vans and you tag team/relay race the 200 miles over the course of a day, a night and part of another day.  Each runner on a regular team has three runs called "legs" and the legs rang from 3-8 miles usually, sometimes as high as 13.  There is a lot of fun in the van with 5 other friends.  You decorate your van and tag other vans with your team magnets.  You try to "kill" other runners by passing them and keep count of your "kills."  Ok, that sounds a little savage but it is so much fun.  There is not much sleeping and lots of camaraderie, laughs and a great sense of community with other runners from all over while running in some beautiful landscapes.

In in May 2014 I ran Ragnar Cape Cod and I was hooked!  (See my post P90x3 April and May and Running and Cape Cod )Almost immediately I signed up for Reach the Beach Relay in New Hampshire.  Once again my team is comprised of mostly runners from my neighborhood.  I don't know everyone but I will when we are through. Tomorrow I head out to New Hampshire and the race starts Friday morning.




My legs are reasonable: 6.6 miles, 5.5 miles and 6.7 miles.  There is a wild card transition for my second leg.  We can transition anywhere from mile 6 during runner 7's leg (I'm runner 8) to mile 9.  I'll let you know if I end up picking up an extra mile.  My legs are finally feeling better.  For some reason I thought it was a good idea to run a Half Marathon on Saturday.  I went for two short easy runs this week and I think my legs will be fresh on Friday.  Maybe I'll do a little yoga tomorrow afternoon before the ride out to New Hampshire.

Maple Leaf Half Marathon, VT September 6, 2014

I'm packing all of my gear now, fearful that I will forget something.   I need reflective vests, blinking lights, head lamps, 2 pairs of shoes, several changes of running clothes,  hydration belt, sun screen, toiletries, hats, sun glasses, just to name of few of the items I am packing.  I am making some delicious energy bites as healthy treats for my van mates.  As a special treat I am making homemade rolls so that we can have our chicken salad sandwiches after our run.  You need protein and carbs after a run so this will be perfect.  No matter what happens it will be an adventure and that is what it is all about. Fun times!

Packing my gear.  Murphy wishes he could join me

Fresh baked rolls for refueling after our legs.  


I'll miss my family while I am away and I'm sad that they can't join the fun but it is only a few days.  I'll keep them posted on Facebook and they can cheer for me virtually.

Stay tuned for my recap of the relay later on the weekend!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Inside Out Shakeology Peanut Butter Cups

I try to eat as clean as possible.  Food is fuel.  But eating yummy food also makes us happy.  Eating food is also a social event.  Eating yummy snacks is an important part of a kid's diet. So how do you do all of those and still eat clean?  Well, you make your own snacks.  

In my family, we LOVE peanut butter cups.  Here is Beachbody's recipe for a healthier peanut butter cup.



Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. powdered chocolate peanut butter (like PB2)
2 tsp. Chocolate Vegan Shakeology
2 Tbsp. water
2. Combine Shakeology and water in a small bowl; mix until it has a pudding-like consistency. Set aside.
3. Coat two foil muffin liners evenly with half of peanut butter mixture. Top evenly with Shakeology mixture and remaining peanut butter mixture.
4. Freeze for 30 minutes, or until firm.




Remember, these are snacks and should only be eating in moderation but they do satisfy that sweet tooth are are great after a long run!!





Calories: 64
Total Fat: 5 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 50 mg
Carbohydrate: 3 g
Fiber: 1 g
Sugar: 1 g
Protein: 3 g

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Chicken and Eggplant in the Crockpot - 21 Day Fix Dinner


It works with the 21 Day Fix and its for the crockpot!  What could be better?



Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups (or 1 28 oz can) crushed tomatoes
1 small - medium eggplant, diced
Mozzarella cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
basil
Salt, pepper

(Serves 4 - 6)


Let me tell you, this smells so good.  I love cooking in the crockpot because when you come home from being at work all day or from a fun day with the family at the park, you step inside to a wonderful aroma!

A few Sundays ago was one of those days where we were not crazy busy but had thing to do to prepare for our trip to Maine.  I had some yard work to do, lots of laundry so that we could pack.  Last minute items needed to be purchased like shave gel.  Sorry guys, but the ladies know you can't run the risk of running out of shave gel on a beach vacation.  I was even able to take my dog for a long walk on the trails at the town park before I had to take him to be boarded at the kennel (aka, doggy summer camp).  I did not want to have to stop and cook dinner so I literally through all of the ingredients into the crockpot around 10:30 am and turned on low.

I used frozen chicken breasts.  Purist say never to use frozen meat in the crockpot but I've never had a problem.  So it is up to you what you want to use.

I diced the eggplant, leaving the skins on.  You can peel it but some of the nutritional value is in the skin.  Eggplant has iron, calcium and other minerals.  It has photo nutrients which are good for the brain (this is in the skin).  Eggplant provides fiber and is low in calories.

Start with a layer of eggplant on the bottom on the crockpot and then put the chicken on top and season with salt and pepper.  Mix the mince garlic in the crushed tomatoes and set aside.  I then added the rest of the eggplant and poured the crushed tomatoes on top.  I used crushed tomatoes I picked from my garden but you can you canned if that is what you have.

I like to make ribbons with my basil (chiffonade).  I added some to the crock pot at this point but I saved a few leaves for the end.  I think fresh herbs are best to add at the end while dry herbs benefit more from being added to dishes in the early stages.

It was around 5pm that I put the crockpot on warm.  The chicken will pull apart.  Be careful NOT to overcook because it will get dry.  You can use chicken thighs since they can withstand longer cooking times but it is not as lean as chicken breasts.

I served this over whole wheat couscous.  Of course I used my 21 Day Fix containers to serve.  I sprinkled it with mozerrela cheese.  And because I hadn't had a blue container all day I used a whole blue for my cheese.  Oh, so good.  I sprinkled the dishes with more basil.  My garden has lots of Swiss Chard so I sautéed some and used that as a base for this dish.  My boys ate it, but they didn't like how it looked.  I thought it was so good and the chicken took on the flavors nicely and the eggplant had an almost buttery flavor.  Hmm. Tasty.


If you are interested in the 21 Day Fix, check it out here or email me with questions!

21 Day Fix Challenge Pack  or 21 Day Fix Base Pack