for your weekend....

My very favorite treat to get at the fair when I was little came from the big blue booth on the border of the midway and the carnival. 

I can picture it perfectly.

Chocolate dipped bananas. 

I can close my eyes and think back to those days, and it just feels like summer. 

As much as I'd love to go back to the little Montana county fair of my childhood, I figured it might be a bit easier just to make them myself.

I was so excited that these came together so easily, and now we can enjoy a quick summery treat whenever the mood strikes (often).

Chocolate Dipped Bananas

what you need:

bananas

popsicle sticks

chocolate to melt ( I used 1 cup of dark chocolate chips for nine pops)

sprinkles, nuts, coconut,--whatever you want to roll them in

(we used toasted coconut, raw coconut, toasted walnuts, sprinkles)

Cut bananas in half, and place popsicle sticks through

Place in freezer for about an hour

Dip in melted chocolate 

(note: some recipes have you add a few tablespoons of oil or butter to the chocolate--this keeps it from getting too hard, but I didn't add any and we liked the extra crunch of the chocolate just fine.)

Quickly (the chocolate hardens fast) roll the banana in your favorite toppings. 

Place it back in the freezer for a few minutes before they're gobbled up.

aaaalllllmost as good as you get at the fair, minus the luring smell of fry bread 

and the frightening calls of carnies.

happy weekend!

a simple salad

I had a big post planned--a follow up to last week's organic post, on eating more seasonally and locally......and then I got too busy enjoying the local season. 

So instead, I leave you with one of my favorite salads these days. We're still eating lots and lots and lots of greens from the garden, so I'm always throwing new combinations together. 

Here we have (with absolutely no measurements, as usual)

Roasted Brussels Sprout and Avocado Salad

-mixed garden greens

-red onion

-avocado

roasted brussels sprouts (half, and toss with olive oil and s&p and roast until toasty brown)
....and sometimes I'll throw in an egg fried in a bit of olive oil....mmm

 honey mustard dressing:

-one part white wine vinegar to two parts olive oil

-a dollop of dijon mustard

-a large drizzle of honey

-s&p

add dressing ingredients to a small jar and give it a good shake. 

toss with salad and enjoy!

I'd love to hear your favorite salads right now--I'm always looking for new ways to eat my greens.

today.

today!

last day of school.

first day of summer.

this is how I feel about it. 

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

messy hair. 

sticky children.

grass stains.

no shoes. 

dirty feet. 

battle wounds. 

sunshine. 

sunset. 

sundown.....

...and still outside.

the end.

over the weekend.....

summer is HERE!!! finally!! 

sister and cousin are visiting and we spent the weekend playing outside in sunshine and sprinklers. 

cheeks turned rosy,  the grill was fired up, and chips were dipped (and dipped and dipped)

popsicle face

Fresh Fruit Popsicles!

you can use any fruit/yogurt combination in these

we used:

strawberries

vanilla yogurt

pineapple

blueberries

puree the fruit (we left the blueberries whole) and layer it into popsicle molds however your little heart desires. freeze and enjoy.

happy summer!

this weekend....

.....make some jam!
what you need:
strawberries
sweetener(sugar/honey/depends on your pectin)
pectin of your choosing
jars.
(that's it!)
follow the instructions on the pectin box (there are like 3!)

and just like that... you have jam

enjoy!

Happy Weekend!

June.

june, 2010

dear June,

welcome.

I am so happy you are finally here. 

May was.....well......kind of a disappointment. 

She just rained. and rained. and rained. 

June, I hope you have better weather in store for me. There are so many things I look forward to--so many things that last June did very well, and I hope you can live up to her high standard.

I decided to make a little list of all the fun things I want to do while you are here, so you know what to expect. Thanks June, I think we'll have fun together. 

love,

me

June 2011 Wish List

-Go camping. I am going stir crazy!!! must. get. to mountains. soon. hopefully very soon.

-Farmers Market!!! Aaaah!!! I can hardly take it! Only NINE more days. I have been counting down since...well....since I got my 2011 calendar and wrote it down.

-Early morning runs. As much as I hate waking up early, I LOVE starting a run just as the sun is coming up over the mountains.

-Wasatch Back.

-Eat a fresh tomato. And then another.

-Eating s'mores. (see first item on list)

-Make ice cream. 

-Stay outside playing until the sun is down.

-The Pool. oh the pool.

-Plan a road trip (for July!)

-Make jam. And popsicles.

-Go camping again and eat more s'mores.

what do YOU want to do in June?

organic 101

from our garden this week.

This is a hefty post to try and write. 

One I've been wanting to write for a while....but have been at a loss of how to do it.

It's just....

so.....

....much. 

So I'm going to lay it out easy. Very very basic, and completely incomplete.

 I encourage you to fill in the blanks and 

do a little research on your own,

 and then decide what's best for YOU and your family.

Don't "go organic" because you heard it was a good choice, do it because you did some homework and feel like it's a good change for you to make, because you want to. 

Here are some basics.

Why I started

I used to laugh at the people who would pay extra for something labeled organic! ha! jokes on them! "I've been eating produce laced with fertilizers and pesticides for years and I'm as fit as a fiddle (what does that mean?)" I'd say. "People have been eating this way for years--it MUST be fine!" right?

And then.....a few years ago, while bouncing between Lyme and MS diagnoses, my doctor put me on a suuuuuuper strict diet, which limited a lot of food options, but also included as many organic choices as possible. why? Because my body was fighting a war against itself, and adding extra, non natural things (teeny tiny traces of pesticides, growth hormones, GMOs, etc) would only confuse my body more, and make it harder for my system to determine what exactly it was fighting.

So for us the choice was easy. 

As many organic options as possible. 

As few non natural, or "fake" things  going into my body as we could.

What does organic mean? I don't really like the word. I think it's overused, and can be terribly misleading. 

Just because it's "organic" doesn't mean it's healthy.

An organic cookie, is still a cookie. Full of sugar and fat and what not. 

Organic sugar, is still sugar my friends.

This is how I try to think of the word organic--imagine this.

cue daydream music.

You're driving along a beautiful country road. No other cars, houses, people. Just you. 

A field of wildflowers stretches out to snowcapped mountains in the background.

The sun is shining down, and you are flying your hand up and down, out the window. 

You have a snack. A granola bar. A double cheeseburger. Hey--this is your daydream--you choose. 

You have a wrapper left over, and don't want to clutter up your shiny red VW bus (is that what you are driving? that is what I'm driving). 

You toss it out the window. 

One small item, out in the vast wilderness won't make a difference, right? 

You are right, it won't. (note: this blog does not encourage littering, this is a metaphor people, don't litter!)

A few weeks later, you're driving back a long the same road. Your old trash has probably blown away by now. You throw another water bottle out the window and move along.

Now you could do this over and over, thinking it won't make that big of a difference. 

And hey, maybe it won't. 

But the point is, your trash doesn't belong in that big beautiful field of wildflowers.

When I think of eating organic I try to avoid the "litter". 

Can it be avoided all together? no. 

Unless you are some super crazy hippie freak (said in the most loving, admiring way), it can't.

But can I make small choices to make sure I'm not constantly dumping trash out my car window?

yes. And I try hard.

Example: No matter how small the amount, I don't want to eat the pesticides they sprayed onto my apple.

I eat a lot of apples in my life, and over time it's sure to build up.

My body wants food, real food. Only food. Not chemicals.

Example: I want my food to contain REAL ingredients, and as few as possible. 

Peanut Butter should contain 1, maybe 2 ingredients: Peanuts, and (sometimes) salt. 

That's it. 

Not sugar, molasses, fully hydrogenated rapeseed oil, fully hydrogenated soybean oil, monoglycerides (what?!) and diglycerides (huh!?) (these are from an actual "peanut butter" label). 

Why does peanut butter need those things? What are those things?

The beautiful field of wildflowers (your body) may continue to be beautiful and thrive with all the extra litter....it could happen, I'm sure.

 Or, all your trash (weird ingredients that aren't actually real food items), might pile up in one place and begin to harm the field. 

First a few flowers die in spots. 

Then more littler starts to gather. 

People driving by see the trash pile and maybe add their trash to it also. 

In your body--as the "trash" builds up, it's easier for sickness and disease to move in.
It starts to weigh you down.

Our bodies are aaaaamazing, and can do so much. 

Why not try to fuel them with things that are best for them?

What to eat:

Produce

Why buy organic produce? 

Well, so we can ingest as little of those unwanted chemicals as possible. 

But unless you are rich (if you are, can we be friends), it's hard to afford 100% organic everything. 

I like this list--listing produce from best to eat, to worst (the lower or "worse" you get on the list, you should try to buy those items organic).

This is another HUGE reason to plant your own garden--you are in control of what you're putting into your soil!

Dairy/Meat/Eggs

The whole growth hormone thing FREAKS me out. And antibiotics??! I don't want those either. 

But organic meat/cheese is so expensive!

 That's why I have been working hard to incorporate more meatless meals into our week, so we can spend the money on good, junk-free meat. And please trust me--coming from someone who hardly ate any red meat for years-- good, grass-fed beef really tastes one-bazillion times better than the cheap store bought stuff. I promise. 

Check your farmers market. I think you'd be surprised to find that good quality local meat may not be as much as you think it is--especially if you're not eating meat every day.

Our family eats a lot of cheese (mmmm....I love cheese) and I have no problem telling you that crap-free cheese is expensive! So for right now, I pass on organic cheese. Hormone free cheese, yes....but not totally organic. I do my best in other areas, and feel confident that non-organic cheese won't kill me. 

When you have a growing (hungry) family, it's really hard to keep it 100% organic. 

So I don't stress about it, and just do what I can.

All your "middle shelf" items. (cereals/crackers/snacks/etc.)

this is where we go back to our peanut butter example above. Keep it simple: if there are ingredients you don't recognize, or can't pronounce, chances are, you don't want too many of them in your body. 

it's just litter. There are plenty of items that aren't labeled "organic" that are perfectly healthy choices--just check the labels for unknown ingredients.

I'm stopping here. 

Sorry!

I feel like I'm juuuuuuust getting in to it, but if organic is not yet your thing, 

then this is already a lot to take in. 

My challenge to you this week is to just do your research on "organic".

Whatever that may mean to you.

Find a balance that works for you and your family. 

Just become more aware of what you are putting in to your body. 

If you still haven't watched Food Inc, I really encourage you to do so.

It explains so much of this in greater detail.

Also read Food Rules by Michael Pollan. It's a quick read--it will take you an hour or so and is very informative.

I would love to hear any feedback you have!

Why you eat the way you do, or how to make it more affordable. 

I'll share my favorite comments on my facebook page.

happy eating!

up next week: more on why "organic" can be misleading, and eating seasonally and locally

dear four year old,

look at her!

what? how!? why? WHEN??!

I remember four years ago, eating lime snow cones in the delivery room waiting for you to come. Daddy and I were watching Notting Hill, and I was trying so hard to focus on contractions, but instead I was laughing my head off at Hugh Grant.

To this day I am always laughing when you are around. 

You are the goofiest, sweetest girl....and you know it!

I love that all you wanted for your birthday was a fishing pole, but that you also will only wear the twirliest of dresses and sparkliest of shoes.

I love that you are usually wearing several band-aids and have scuffed up knees, but that you also love to  comb and comb and comb your hair, waiting for it to grow as long as Rapunzels.

I love that you are my baby. Sometimes I scoop you up in my arms and rock you back and forth....

....and then  you yell, "MOO-OOM!!! I am NOT a baby! 

Why do you always think I am a baby you silly girl!"

But moms are very smart, and usually right, and so I should tell you....you ARE my baby, no matter how big you get.

Let's try not to get big so fast....

Happy Birthday baby girl!!

love,

mommy.

annnd......all she wanted for her birthday cake was chocolate cake with pink frosting...

...so here you have it!

Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

2 ounces semisweet chocolate

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup boiling water

6 TBS butter, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line bottom of two 8" cake pans with round of parchment paper, butter paper, and sides of pan.

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot water and cocoa powder. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

In a bowl add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat butter and sugar until combined. Add eggs (adding one at a time) until thickened slightly and light colored (about 3 minutes). Slowly add milk, and melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined well. Add flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.

Pour batter into pan, and bake in middle of oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.

Cool cake completely before frosting.

Strawberry Buttercream

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup strawberry puree (a large handful of strawberries thrown in the food processor)

1 tsp pure vanilla

5-6 cups powder sugar (depending on how thick you want your frosting. I needed it a little bit thicker so the ruffles would hold up. Ruffle tutorial here.

cream together butter, puree, and vanilla. Add powdered sugar a little at a time until you reach the consistency you like.

Chocolate Buttercream (for middle layer)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup powder sugar 

3-4 TBS milk

Cream together butter, cocoa, powdered sugar. Add milk a little at a time. 

enjoy!

gardening for dummies

And by dummy,  I most definitely mean myself.

Year after year I learn something new out in the garden--and everything comes by trial and error (and believe me, there are more errors than I'd like to admit).

Each year, I'm brave and try something new--crossing my fingers and holding my breath that it will work. This year, for instance, was the first year that I did cold weather veggies (lettuce, carrots, radishes, peas), and thanks to some miracle they all survived multiple snow storms, and are still growing today!

I wish I could sit here and write a step by step gardening post.....but I seriously have no clue as to what I'm talking about.
But... I will make a teensy little list of tips--a few things that have worked for ME. I'm certain that one day when we move and I switch climate/soil/something, I'll be starting all over again--but see if any of these maybe work for you. 

1. Raised garden beds seem to be the way to go these days. We had a small one for a few years, but last year knocked the walls down and decided to expand (x5). Keeping the weeds out in a raised bed is 5000x easier, but instead we use a weed barrier on the ground.....

2. Use a weed barrier (its a black roll of tarp-ish material, but it's porous and lets moisture through).
This is my favorite invention ever. It's funny because last year I was researching them, and found so many people that did not like them--why?? Have you used this? Why wouldn't you like it???
I used it last year and it's the best my garden has ever been! I spread it out, stake it down, and cut holes where I need to plant (note: I don't use it for lettuce/onions/carrots/etc....I'm not going to cut 1000 little holes:) Since I don't use any sort of weed killer, this limits most of the weeds, and then it's easy to pull them up where the holes are cut.

3. Compost. I talked briefly about it in this post. Do it.

4. Chicken poo. If you have chickens, and therefore have chicken poo, you are awesome and I'm sure you know exactly what to do with it. Until I have a bigger yard to keep Charly faaaaaaar away from the chickens, I buy my poo in a bag, dried up, sans chicken.

5. Before I plant, I mix in a good amount of black rich soil from my compost, along with the chicken poo into the soil. My kids call the compost "vitamin dirt"--it's so good for our little baby veggie plants!
A few months in to the summer we add more compost and poo.

6. Use all available space. We have a small area on the south side of our house that gets ridiculously hot sun ALL day long. Tomatoes love ridiculously hot sun. The soil is absolutely terrible, so we decided to do tomato plants in pots out there--last year they thrived! This is something you can do if you don't have space for a full garden--just plant a few tomatoes in pots. (same soil+compost+chicken poo mix) I planted strawberries in pots on my front porch, and am still looking for other small items to place there too....
7. Label your plants. Not because it's cute, but because it's a huge help. Because I labeled everything last year--I still remembered what our favorite heirloom tomatoes were (radiator charlie). This year I'm going one extra step and keeping track of everything in a notebook, and writing down how it worked/whether we liked it or not. 

8. Put your kids to work! Teach them the difference between the plants and the weeds so they can help you out! Let them help you water. Have them pick out their very own veggie to plant--this will get them super excited about gardening/eating their veggies. Put them on "pest control". So far (knock on wood) we haven't had any bug problems. I don't use any bug spray, but the kids know the "bad bugs"--like snails, and will pick them out and throw them out of the garden.
Are they not excited about helping out?? Read them The Little Red Hen;)

This list is kind of pathetic.
But these are all things that I have found really helped me over the past few years.
I would love to hear your tips--what works for you?
 hayley burk this one's all yours:)

happy planting!


ps. I'd also love to know what YOU are planting?
so far we have tomatoes (17 plants!) bell peppers, jalepenos, chiles, tomatillos, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, carrots, peas, onions, a bunch of different herbs and lettuces, radishes, chard, and beets. 
After it gets too hot for the lettuce I'll have more space.....what should I do?

the day I ran up the mountain

aka: possibly the longest post to ever be posted. Does blogger have a word limit?

disclaimer: I love to read other runners race day stories.....because I run. If running is not your thing, and you do not care for all the details, here is the short version:

I ran up a mountain. It was hard. It was awesome. It was gorgeous. My legs burned. I finished. I want to do it again. soon.

I don't know where to begin with this one. I wish I could have filmed the entire thing--from nervous start to wonderful finish, with each slip in the mud, and sip of water in between. But you'll just have to take a peek at all of my mental notes.

Saturday I ran the Timpanogos Trail 1/2 Marathon. 

While not my first race, it was my first trail race.....and I was nervous. SO NERVOUS!! There were so many unknowns--and all those unknowns would be taking place  somewhere on top of a mountain, most likely by myself. What if I fell? How long would it take me--I had never run over 2 hours in my life. What if I didn't like it? What if everyone passed me, and left me to finish last? What if I just couldn't do it....then what?? Should I lie down on a rock and wait for vultures to take me away??

 I didn't know, and it scared me.

the elevation map.

I eagerly bounced out of bed early Saturday morning, in a quiet, sunlit house, ate my breakfast while I studied the elevation chart one last time, and headed down to the start.

Shoes laced, chapstick applied, a trip to the bathroom (because heaven forbid I have to use a bush!) and a few quick stretches and I was ready to go. I think.

water. check.

gatorade. check.

gu. check.

watch. check.

ipod--oh wait--I'm not racing with music. that was a first. a nervous first.

Exactly 100 other runners + myself, headed up to the start.

"Any questions??" the race director asked......and....

"GO!"

And they're off! I'm off!

Go slow. Slow. Slow. "Pace yourself"-- I repeated over and over in my head. I have a bad habit of starting much too quickly for my own good, and since I had no idea what was waiting for me over the next bend of the mountain (literally), I forced myself into a comfortable pace that would allow me to save some energy for later....you know, so I wouldn't die, and stuff.

We ran right into the sun. I inhaled. Exhaled. I'M DOING IT!! This was it! I was so happy--I had been staring down this race and talking about it/worrying over it since February. It was finally happening!

We made our way up a fire road, and then took a steep turn to go up. Up up up and into a beautiful meadow that looked straight up at Mt. Timpanogos. A perfectly placed single lane trail right through the middle of the small valley--tall green grass brushing up against my legs and campers gathered around their morning fire, waving at the runners. I took as many notes as I could, wishing I had a little camera on me.

Our first short, steep climbs.

My first walk. 

Well.....I guess it can't really be called just plain old "walking". 

ha! 

I have never walked in a race--I'm much to hard on myself, but I knew going in that this would be different than a road race.  I knew there would be some hiking involved. I thought my legs would get tired, and I would say, "ok legs, let's take a short walking break". 

What I didn't realize was that there were parts--steep parts--where my legs would 

just.

stop.

running.

Impossible to do so. Energy wasted on the up and down motion of running.

It was like instinct took over (are people born with natural trail running instinct? ha! who knows?!) 

I got down low in my [scrawny, very un-mountain-woman] legs and propelled myself up with exaggerated, but much needed, force.

And then back to running.

Another fire road.

HILARIOUS!!

Why? 

Mud. 

Ev-er-y-where. 

Not mud like I was used to running in.....it was some kind of mutant cousin, surely mixed with paste. It had rained the entire week--rained and rained and rained, right up until a few hours before the race began. I ran along laughing--by myself--trying to place every step carefully so I didn't take a spill. It slopped and sprayed and reached up, threatening to steal my shoes off my feet. It licked and lapped up the back of my legs, my back, up into my birds-nest hair. The ground was sliding beneath me, and it took every muscle in my body to keep myself upright.

And this went on and on. and on. Around a big bend, some fast fun downhill, and finally! Back to single track. Some more crazy ups followed by sharp downs.

I'm doing it!! 

I kept cheering myself on. Mostly inside, but sometimes as I  would hit the top, and adjust my stride to the downhill pace a "Whooooooooo hooooooo!" escaped my lips. It felt good.

I thought I had a handle on things. I was doing it! Yes it was hard, but all very doable. I don't have a fancy schmancy watch to track my milage, so I had no idea what mile I was at--I was just trying to enjoy all of it.

And then.

dun dun DUUUUN!!!!

The Stairs. 

Yes, there were stairs in this race--let me just warn you, in case you decide to do it. I never thought a staircase would give me so much trouble. Giant railroad ties, packed into the dirt, rising a foot, sometimes more out of the steep, uphill ground. After only a few, my legs were dooooone.

They were screaming at me. I pushed up on the step, as hard as I could--walked to the next, and did it over again. Trying not to look up at how many more there were.

"Why are we DOING this?!!" I heard the man in front of me yell.

I met hikers on their way dowwwwwn, offering encouraging words. 

Down seemed really nice right about now.

Down.

I knew I would eventually get to go down. But I had to make it up first.

I continually had to remind myself of my reward that would someday come.

FINAlLY!! The Stairs were over. But the mountain was not.

Oh no.

This is where The Mountain actually began. 

Hiking. 

Pushing off my [chicken] legs, pulling myself up an imaginary rope with my arms.

If it leveled out at all--even for ten steps--I forced my legs to run. 

My legs didn't want to run. 

They were jello. 

But I had to shake out the "burn", and I would say this--"shake out the burn".

Keep in mind I had no music on --a race first for me, and no Charly to talk to, so I took up talking to myself.

oh well.

I was guessing I was somewhere around 8 miles-ish. I knew I still had quite a bit of uphill to conquer.

Up up up.

I was feeling things in my legs I have never felt. New muscles were being born at that very moment!

"At that root I will run to that rock"

"At that tree I will run to that tree"

And so it went.

And then I was at the top!!

Oh but I wasn't.

"Does it just go on forever??!" I heard a voice behind me.

It was a moment like this that I had been so afraid of before the race had even started. What if I couldn't do it? If there was ever a time to think that, it was probably now. My legs were burning. 

My buns......OH MY BUNS.

But I knew I could do it. 

I never once doubted. I continued the push and pull. I synchronized my breath with the crunch of the ground beneath me. 

I was so thankful not to have distracting music blaring in my ears.

 I loved taking everything in--with all of my senses.

The mountain was picture perfect. 

The air fresh and clean--not to hot or too cold. 

I could taste salt from my body, and hear myself working to get up. 

Feel every part of my body working--for me.

A bit of a jog to shake out my legs and then back to pushing. The trees started to clear.

Don't celebrate yet. 

Run. Jog. Ouch. Placing each step carefully.

Hike. Hike. Run. Hike.

I made it.

Over the edge, I could see the general (down!) direction where the finish line waited. 

A little over two miles to go. I've got this.

Down down down. My body begged to fly. I tried to slow myself--I had never run down a trail so rocky and steep, and after having come so far I didn't want to end up a pile of twisted limbs crying in the bushes. I made a mental note to myself "practice running downhill", so I'd be ready for next time.

Next time.

I was already planning it.

Down down down I went. Limbs flailing, body tired, but willing to keep going.

My feet hit the fire road--I was almost done.

Down down down. I felt a surge of energy and let it have its way and take me to the end.

Right before I made it to the finish--I saw my family--my kids were cheering! Anyone who's run a race knows that this is the BEST part of it--seeing your little ones cheer you on. I could have continued on for miles with their support.

I.

was.

done.

!!!

The race volunteer scanned my number and for the first time I stopped. Legs steady. I juuuuust about tipped over. My legs were jelly, and felt unattached to the rest of my body. 

But they did it. 

I hurried over to celebrate with my family.

First race done.

Relieved. Exhausted. Excited. 

Ready for more. 

Who's with me next time??

the weekend. in food.

pretty big weekend in food around here. 

why, you ask? wellll.... I had my first big [trail] race of the year! (more on that to come) 

I had to make sure my body was fueled properly before hand, and gorged appropriately afterward.

 I've gotten a lot of questions in the past about what I eat pre-run, so I thought I'd share everything.....hold on tight, pretty exciting stuff here.

*I load up on protein (eggs, beans, lean meats Monday-Wednesday of a race week, and then cut back Thurs and Fri....I've just found that is what works best for me*

Friday, day before race:

Breakfast: Raw Oatmeal w/ strawberries, bananas, and almonds.

Lunch: Giant salad with 2 parts greens, 1 part awesome rosemary garlic bread, (toasted and cubed), radishes, 1/2 avocado, red onion and a simple honey mustard dressing (olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon, honey, s&p)

Snacks: banana + almond butter, odwalla bar, gatorade

Dinner: pasta w/ marinara, LOTS more bread:), simple salad

lots and lots and lots of water all day

Morning of race (about 2 hours before): whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter and honey. Banana. OJ.

Hour before: Gatorade. Water. A few Sport Beans.

During run: water. gatorade. 2 GUs. Water.

Post run. Water. water. water. water. gatorade.

Let my stomach settle and then have whole wheat toast w/ extra avocado and salt. 

 Super chocolatey milk (in my opinion, the BEST recovery drink you can have:) 

Apple + peanut butter.

Dinner at Lone Star Taqueria for the beeeeeeest fish tacos + rice and beans + coke w/lime.

Sunday was a pretty typical day--whatever we can hurry and eat as we rush out to church (pb toast), our traditional after church snack of cheese and crackers, and and early dinner of soup, salad, and bread.

This soup is called "whatever I got, goes in to the pot." oh! she can rhyme!

I basically dig through the fridge and dump any veggies I have into some chicken stock, let it simmer for a few hours, and VWALLA! soup! perfect for all this crazy rain that is never, ever, ending.

garlic +onion +carrots+celery+sweet potato+green beans+diced tomatoes+collard greens+cannellini beans+chicken stock+oregano, basil, thyme, bay leaves=soup.

And then of course.....dessert. I needed something super rich, and extra indulgent.

I saw this recipe for brownies with peanut butter frosting on Ashley's blog and knew I had to have them.

Because I am in love with browned butter, I opted to brown the butter in this recipe.

If you like to brown butter too, I encourage you to play around with it a bit. I've learned I like to lightly brown it for use in pasta or veggie dishes, or in vanilla-y breads or cupcakes (like these). But I like to brown it a bit more when adding it to chocolate dishes--I think it makes the chocolate flavor more intense.

Browned Butter Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

recipe adapted from Not without Salt

10 TBS butter

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour
2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 325°

To brown butter:

Heat pan on medium heat.

Cut butter in to pieces and melt in pan.

Stir continuously. Butter will foam up.

After foam subsides, small brown flecks will start to appear in bottom of pan.

Continue stirring, until butter has reached a nice brown color, and nutty aroma.

When you want to lick the spoon, you know it's ready.

Turn the heat all the way down.

Add sugar to browned butter and stir until well combined.

taste this. it is insane.

Add the cocoa and stir until well combined.

Remove from heat and let it cool down a bit (not cold, not hot, just warm:)

Add the vanilla.

Add the eggs, one at a time.

Continue to stir--the mixture will be thick and shiny.

Add flour and salt and stir until just combined.

Pour batter into a 10" tart pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (You can also bake them in an 8x8 and bake for a few minutes more)

Peanut Butter Frosting

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) softened butter

¾ cup peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp kosher salt 

Cream the butter and the peanut butter until combined. Slowly stir in the powdered sugar until completely incorporated. Spread over cooled brownies.

happy eating!