Snacks

Training Update + Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Happy Friday! Ok, so I know back in June I originally said I would post EVERY Wednesday… well today is clearly Friday. 🙂 I’ve been pretty consistent however up to this point. So this week I want to focus on my current fitness, talk a bit more about heart rate training and then toss in a quick recipe. I think my heart rate training update a few weeks ago, may have gotten a little lost in the shuffle, since I mentioned our infertility struggles. (What has become a normal, every day part of my life… and didn’t seem like a huge deal to mention. However, I absolutely appreciated the outpouring of love.)

So as I mentioned previously, I didn’t really feel like running, after our boy Rocco went to the rainbow bridge in March. That, combined with the horrible all body skin rash I got a year ago, left me wanting to sideline running for a bit. Throughout this summer, I jogged a few miles here and there with the Mr. and made sure to stay in some level of fitness through other workouts. It wasn’t until the beginning of September that I felt the pull on my heart and legs to go pound the pavement again. Around that time I remembered I had registered for the 2017 Mesa-Phx Half Marathon (formerly Phoenix Marathon/Half Marathon), so slowly getting back into running-shape seemed like a good idea.

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As you can see above, my mileage has been sloooooowly creeping it’s way back up. I do not want to get an injury, so I am taking an extremely conservative approach to my running. I think a common mistake runners make is doing too much, too soon. Running — after all — is so “easy” anyone with the desire to run, can… which commonly creates a recipe for injury very quickly. Anyway, I’ll hop off that soapbox.

When I trained for my very first half marathon in 2010, I used Hal Higdon’s training plan. Judging by where my running fitness currently is/was, I thought it would be a good idea to head back to the drawing board. So this time I modified the Novice 2 half marathon training plan and stretched it out over the course of 6 months, versus 3 months. So I just doubled each week.

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Above you can see the calendar I created for my scheduled runs. This isn’t the bible, it’s just a guideline to keep me on track. If I’m not feeling good or need to change something up, I will. But I always work better with a written/visual plan. You can see week 2 and 3 of November are identical, giving me an additional week to adapt to that mileage before increasing or doing a race.

Now, how does heart rate training fit into all of this? (This is for you Shane… I know you are wondering!) Well, heart rate training in and of itself WAS a very good thing for me to do for my heart. I realize that now; after MUCH thought and analyzing. It took getting back into running; and really getting OUT of running, to recognize this. I think the key turning point was when I would do light work around the house, and notice I would get out of BREATH from something super basic. It took about a week of that happening for me to appreciate how much running WAS helping me previously. I also noticed my asthma was starting to pick up again. I would wake up in the morning a bit wheezy and feel mild chest tightness here and there. Running strengthened my heart and my lungs, and I took that for granted when it was a normal part of my routine. It’s that old saying, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone’.

I also started thinking of the child we don’t yet have… and thinking of MY personal fears I struggled with as a child of two older parents. I was fearful my time with them was numbered, because they were “so old”. My mom had me when she was 40, which at the time was “quite old”. I don’t want our child to have that same fear, I want him/her to see strength and youth in us despite our age. I want to have enough energy to chase them around and not get winded. Previously, I was thinking I needed to STOP running to be able to have a child. Now I believe I need to maintain running to HAVE our child – to set an example of health and wellness and strength. I want my body to be strong and to handle pregnancy without being winded when I bend over to pick up a sock.

I still stand by my original assessment that heart rate training is NOT going to make you a faster runner, definitely not at first, but it WILL make you a smarter runner. I make sure 80-85% of my runs are under 160 bpm average, ensuring I don’t overdue it. I don’t care about pace anymore. Now it’s just about logging some miles, feeling the air fill my lungs and getting the blood flowing; running to stay healthy. PR’s are a thing of the past and don’t interest me. It is an incredible feeling of release.

Currently, I am feeling stronger and stronger each day in my running, and learning to manage my stress induced heart palpitations through yoga, daily meditation, emotional healing and acupuncture. Running definitely helps with stress management, especially when I keep my runs slow. It’s funny, because the fast, hard runs seem to make it worse, because I get so amped up! I have a high energy personality by nature, so slower runs benefit me more.

You do you; do what is best for YOU! <3

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Easy Toasted Pumpkin Seed Recipe

After you scoop all your seeds out of the pumpkin, separate them out from the pumpkin goo and rinse them well. I laid mine out on a paper towel to dry (quite honestly, for days until I could get back to them). So once you are ready to bake them, follow the instructions below.

Ingredients

Pumpkin seeds, dried out
Coconut oil
Real salt

  1. Dump seeds onto a baking sheet.
  2. Coat with a little coconut oil and stir around to combine. I did this on the pan, to get a little oil ON the pan as well.
  3. Sprinkle with as much salt as you like, feel free to get creative with other seasonings. Cinnamon and sugar might be sort of fun!
  4. Bake at 350°F for 3 minutes. Remove, shake around a bit and place back in the oven for an additional 3 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and give them a taste test. It’s important to remember they will continue to bake a little after they are out, so you don’t want to overdue it.
  6. Leave out on the counter in a little bowl for snacking. 🙂img_9784

Have you tried heart rate training? What are your thoughts?

Latte and Biscuits + Apple-Pear Bonus

Raise your hand if you enjoy the idea of having a fruity pastry with coffee for breakfast, even though you KNOW it’s not the healthiest choice. {me me me me me, all the time me!} I always WANT to stop by a bakery and get donuts or pastries and a cup of coffee – it always SOUNDS good. Then I think about all the processed, enriched white flour and dairy filled butter — and how much my body will hate me if I actually consumed those. So I end up skipping it and going without — until now!!

Never underestimate the power of experimenting in the kitchen. Let go of the fear of making a mistake and just GO FOR IT! Whenever I do that, I end up with a delicious recipe.

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For today’s recipe I simply started out by wanting to create gluten-free, vegan biscuits; that was my original idea.  It then turned into, ‘maybe I should show everyone how I make my quick morning lattes’? (I’ve posted this on Instagram before, but those get lost in the shuffle.) THEN while making the biscuits I thought, I really need something to go ON the biscuits. (Again, originally I was just going to put jelly on them and call it a day; biscuits, jelly and a cup of Joe – SURE!?) But with tomorrow being the first OFFICIAL day of FALL, I wanted to somehow tie in apples, pears and pumpkin pie spices.

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This is a great combo to try on the weekend, when you want to sit around the house afterwards and enjoy the cool air of fall on your back porch. Ahhhh 🙂

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Cinnamon Spiced Latte

1 mug full of your favorite hot or iced coffee
7-10 almonds
1 Medjool date (remove the pit)
1/4 tsp. coconut oil
Pinch or 2 or 3 of ground cinnamon

  1. Place all the ingredients into your blender, and mix on high speed for about 1 minute.
  2. (Optional) Use a milk bag to strain out the nut and date pulp, as you pour it into your cup.
  3. Or simply enjoy the pulp and pour into your favorite mug and enjoy! I’ve done it both ways!

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Biscuits – Gluten-Free and Vegan

2 cups Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour
1 TBSP. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. pink himalayan or REAL salt
4 TBSP. coconut oil
1 c. culinary coconut milk
1 TBSP. apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line an 8″x8″ baking pan with parchment paper.

  1. Start off by making vegan “buttermilk”; add the apple cider vinegar to 1 c. of coconut milk. Stir well and set aside.
  2. In a separate large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a whisk.
  3. Add the coconut oil into the flour mixture (it can be liquid or solid bits). Use a fork to press the coconut oil into the flour and stir well to combine. The mixture will be crumbly looking.
  4. Pour half the vegan buttermilk into the flour mixture and use the fork to mix well. Add the remaining vegan buttermilk, and stir again. Ensure you get all the flour at the bottom of the bowl.
  5. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. (This is a good time to prepare the baking pan with parchment paper.)
  6. Remove dough from fridge. Measure out ~¼ c. or a little less of dough and use your hands to form round dough balls. Place each ball side-by-side, it’s ok if they touch, on the parchment lined pan. Squish the dough down a little for a more biscuit-like look.
  7. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until a very light golden brown on top.

Makes 12 biscuits.

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You can drizzle with a little honey and serve immediately. OR make the pear-apple-spice dish below!

Step-by-step biscuit making slideshow here:

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Apple-Pear-Spice Bonus!

This was SUPER easy. I just used a mandolin to thinly and quickly slice 2 small green apples and 1 small pear. I then placed them into a small baking dish and dusted them with 1/4 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice, popped them in the already heated 450°F oven, and baked for 15 minutes.

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Before baking

When you forget to take an after photo with your camera, and have to pull it from Snapchat. 😀 hahaha

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After 15 minutes in the 450°F oven.

You might be asking yourself… ‘great, now what?’ You have these biscuits that look like more like balls than biscuits and some cooked fruit… well, we tried a couple different things.

Thing #1 was simply eat the biscuit plain with a little drizzle of honey. Easy peasy. Delicious.

Second, we cut the biscuit in half and topped it with a layer of apples and pears, added a single walnut and then drizzled it with pure maple syrup. They ended up looking like fancy little desserts!

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Lastly, I crumbled up a biscuit and topped it with the fruit mixture, and drizzled it with a little honey. This way I was able to eat it with a fork!

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These biscuits might look like Mexican wedding cookies, but they are a great alternative to the traditional UBER unhealthy biscuits made with butter and enriched white flour. They are also simple enough to pair with just about anything – you could go savory and use your favorite gravy even. HAVE FUN WITH THE TOPPINGS! If you try these out, please share what you’ve created below!

Now, question for YOU, would any of you be interested in downloading a FREE eBook on how to incorporate more plant-based recipes into your life? I’m toying around with the idea and wanted to gauge interest.

If the above topic doesn’t interest you, what would?