Au Naturel.

There is no way I can go back. I used to buy into all of it. I took my Dunkin Donuts coffee with 3 equal and 5 ice cubes. I spent millions (ok maybe not millions) of dollars on deodorants and shampoos and lotions and face washes (when I was younger I, no joke, remember using a minimum of three different face washes each morning, trying to get rid of the dreaded acne). I bought the latest running shoes every couple of months. I was all about the low-fat, no-fat. But then something changed. I don’t know when. And I don’t know how. It just started to gradually happen. I started reading more about vegan and raw diets/lifestyles.  One book lead to another book which lead to a blog or an article or back to a book. Talking to people. Which lead to more books or blogs or articles. Until the other day, on my run, wearing my Vibrams, I realized how far into I was and that I would never go back.

The change wasn’t instantaneous, but the further into this lifestyle I get, the more I know this is where I’m supposed to be. I now use baking soda to wash my hair. Coconut oil infused with essential oils for my deodorant. I will never wear another pair of conventional running shoes. I will never put Splenda or any other type of fake sweetener in anything I consume. Real, whole foods are better than processed crap any day. Slowly but surely I am phasing things out of my life. B thinks I’m crazy. I joke and call myself a hippie. But who doesn’t want to live a more sustainable life? When did we lose that? My next project is to learn how to garden. I can’t grow a thing and have killed many plants, but I just know that’s my next step in this journey. Maybe I’ll start with some herbs.

Until then, I will continue to shop for my organic produce. And we were at Whole Foods the other day. Early, before all the crazies came out. And they had just put out some raw asparagus salad. We tried it and it was delicious. So I picked up three bunches of asparagus spears (what else was I supposed to do?), and came home and made the salad. So, here it is.

Copycat Whole Foods Asparagus Salad

One bunch of asparagus

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut asparagus into two-inch long pieces. Toss in a bowl with olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Can be eaten right away, but if you let it marinate for two hours or so, it gives all the flavors a chance to sink in and it is delicious!

F

Tough Mudder Wisconsin (part 1)

Although we focus mostly on food recipes, since Franny and I try to be active runners the occasional race review/experience will slip into a post. This is one of them.

Franny initially got me into running.  After we did our first Turkey Trot 5k, the next year her & I did a half marathon in Schaumburg, IL in the busse woods forest preserve.  It was 2 days after thanksgiving, cold as heck but an awesome time.  After that I was hooked. I jumped it up to a full the next year, a few months later a half and after that I haven’t been the same.

Plantar fascia got to me.

It was possibly running in too small shoes, not stretching after I ran, bunions, and/or sitting in a desk all day. I’d chip around here and there with a 5k or 10k but after the race and the following day I’d have some of the worst pain in my foot.  Stepping those first few steps in the morning felt like I was walking on a bed of nails, with one of those wraps they put around your arm to get your heart rate compressing against my foot.

Although I miss running regularly, I still try to substitute by going to the gym a few times a week, mostly on the stationary bike, a few weights, yoga, and once every 3 months swimming a few laps. I like being active and feel like I get in a more negative mood when I haven’t worked out in over a week.

Over the past week KK and i were debating doing the tough mudder with her work friends.  Neither of us have been training for it, but last year we went and supported them while they did it, took a bunch of pictures and call me crazy but watching those people covered in mud doing all the crazy obstacles looked like so much fun to me. I wanted to do it but the thought of 10+ miles running on my foot would be a pain.  Plus I should probably train for lifting myself up over the berlin wall, etc.

About a month ago when we got back from a trip to North Dakota I slipped carrying some carpet down the stairs and jammed my toe.  the x-rays didn’t show a fracture per say, but the Dr’s office called to say they weren’t sure if I had actually fractured it but if I had pain I should stay off it, blah blah blah. Makes sense to me, so I continued with my stationary bike and the random yoga class.

Then Friday as I’m taking the train home KK is texting me asking if I want to do this thing tomorrow.  Her work friends are going and she’s trying to coordinate with them. When I told her I wasn’t sure she said she said she was going to do it, so I decided then I’d do it with her.  Why not?

We got up at 530, 5:45 the next morning and drove to meet her friends to drive up with us.  The ride was smooth until about 20 minutes before we showed up.  Driving north we all noticed how black the sky was in front of us. Our phone said the storms would pass, plus these things happen rain or shine.  How much worse can it get when most of their obstacles include you waist deep in mud water?

When we were within 5 minutes of being there it started pouring.  The kind of rain where the people driving on the highway dropped 20 mph and the full speed of wipers barely does anything. We made it in, the rain kind of stopped, then as we walked in to sign up it rained again.  We saw some massive lightning bolts but signed up anyways.

As we waited in the first corral, an army dude shouted some stuff via his megaphone, pumped everyone up then told us to proceed.  The group of 100 people rushed forward and were approached by a 7 foot, 8 foot and 7.5 foot wall lined side by side, where 1 by 1 we pulled ourselves up to climb over.  When my turn arrived I could barely pull myself up over the wall by myself, and with nothing to lock my foot into the generous folks behind me boosted me up and helped me over.  After my poor display of upper body strength we walked up to the start line and waited for the race challenge to begin. I was disappointed in my performance so far and the race hasn’t even started yet.

11.5 miles to go.

To be continued…

Roasted Garlic

Our summer came a little late this year. We had an amazing June, July, and first half of August. But the humidity is out now and the air is thick. It makes for very inconsistent running. Because I can’t always pick and choose the days and times I run, I have to just suck it up and run. When its this hot out, I do have to take some precautions and plan accordingly. Here are my tips for running in the heat:

1. Choose routes with the most shade

2. Wear sunscreen and a visor

3. Keep runs to about 30 minutes. If running longer, make sure you take a water bottle with you

4. Have a cold water bottle ready for when you’re finished

When its this hot, I also don’t like turning on the oven. I do, however, make an exception when I run out of my roasted garlic. I make this stuff in batches because I’m not a fan of my fingers smelling like garlic anytime I want to add some flavor to my meals. Plus, I don’t have the time to go through all that chopping and mincing every time I cook. I first came across this recipe from Rachel Ray. I was working and B was watching some Rachel Ray. She was making Roasted Garlic Chicken. I roasted the garlic and he made the chicken, but I ended up loving the roasted garlic recipe and I only have to make it once every couple of months!

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:

As many garlic heads as you’d like

olive oil

salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2. Cut off the tops of your heads of garlic

3. Wrap each head  in a square of aluminium foil and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Salt if desired.

4. Place all of the garlic “pockets” in a pan or directly in the oven.

5. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until tender. Enjoy the smells!

6. When garlic is tender, take out of oven and let cool. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin.

7. Use a fork to mash the garlic into a paste.

8. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use when needed!

 

 

I love adding this to my sauteed veggies or into pasta sauces. It is also delicious just spread on some bread and drizzled with olive oil and warmed in the oven…

Enjoy!

F