I’m “mini tapering” for the Stockade-Athon on Sunday.

It doesn’t seem right to taper at all since I’ve been taking it easy since October 3rd.  I’ve been following Hal Higdon’s Post Marathon Recovery Schedule and week four says “Race”.  Ok, but I’m not looking forward to it.  It’s a 15K, 9.3 miles and I can’t expect to meet my last 15K time of 1:14.  But the mind has begun to churn out goal times and planned methodology.  I can’t help myself.  It just might be a set up for major disappointment but there you go.  The mind of the obsessed. 

Week ZERO (after marathon): Ran 6.6 on the Saturday after.

Week ONE: Total 16 1/2 miles

Week TWO: Total 36.17 miles (there is some walking in that total)

Week THREE:  Total 33.52

Week FOUR:  mini taper week with a 15K race on Sunday:

Monday:  7.5 miles

Tuesday:  3.25 miles

Wednesday:  6 miles

Thursday:  3.75 race pace miles

Friday:  3.31 easy miles (Geesh! My legs were heavy today!)

Saturday:  Walking is on tap with Shane. He deserves a rest day as well. Actually, Shane will get two days rest since Sunday (the day of the race) I’ll only take him for a 2 + mile jog to warm up before leaving for Schenectady. 

Why is Shane a good running partner? 

He might stop a lot to “smell the roses” and “water them” but he never backs out of a run.  He’s always at the door as if to say “Come on Jo! Let’s go and have a great run!”  He makes me feel safe when it’s pitch dark outside and odd noises are heard around me.  He always, and I mean ALWAYS, runs NEGATIVE SPLITS which makes me run negative splits.  His goal, obviously, is to get home to play Frisbee or ball, but whatever the goal, it’s great for my training.

Have you ever tried running with your dog? What did you like/dislike about it? 

Tortilla Pie

Based on an old TexMex favorite “Frito Pie”

Using healthier ground turkey and these interesting Multi Grain Tortilla chips with FLAX, this dish had Ted eating heaps without coming up for air.  He also finished off the whole bag of chips.  He loved the taste of these salty little crisps. I’m not so sure they are recommended for a low carb, low fat diet but they could sure fool you with the “FLAX SEEDS” and the “ORGANIC GRAINS”.

*I made a version for me using Tofu.  See below.

The Turkey Version

• 1 lb ground turkey – 93/7 lean
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 seeded and chopped green bell pepper
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (about 14 oz)
• 1 (15 oz) can black or kidney beans – drained and rinsed
• 1 can sweet corn or Mexican Style corn – drain.
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup Cheese grated (cheddar is best but use your favorite.  I used Fontina because it’s what I had)
• 2 cups Multi Grain Tortilla with FLAX – Do NOT crush.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a non stick, oven proof, LARGE skillet over medium heat(preheat the skillet before adding turkey), add the turkey and let cook for 8 minutes.

Add the onion and pepper and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the garlic for an additional one minute. Turn off heat.

Stir in the tomatoes, beans, corn, chili powder and salt.  Top with the tortilla chips then with the cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes.

The Tofu Version

• 1 12 oz container Extra Firm Tofu (I used Sunergia Indian Marsala flavored but plain firm or extra firm is just fine .  Make sure to drain tofu, crumble and pat dry.
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 seeded and chopped green bell pepper
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (14 oz)
• 1 (7.75 oz) can Chick Peas – drained (you could also use black beans or kidney)
• 1 can sweet corn or Mexican style corn, drained
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup Cheese grated (cheddar is best but use your favorite.  I used Fontina.)
• 1 cup Multi Grain Tortilla with FLAX – Do NOT crush.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a non stick skillet over medium heat, add the onion and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tofu and cook for 3 minutes.

In a casserole dish, add the tofu-onion-pepper mixture and then stir in to combine the tomatoes, chick peas, corn, chili powder and salt. Top with the tortilla chips then with the cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes.

This was a flavorful, fun meal.  Healthy ingredients that offers sweet corn, salty crunch and lots of fiber and protein.

I just love fun, easy, and delicious dinners!

What’s your “go to” fun, easy meal that everyone loves?

First the $10.00 PETSMART gift card (or e-certificate) AND the $269.00 DRAWING.  ENTER HERE.  Good luck.

Next, the workout…drum roll…TAPER WEEK!   Began with a total upper body and ab workout: back, chest, shoulders, and abs.  Arms were worked yesterday with legs, which are pretty sore today.  Guess I didn’t go as light on my legs as I thought.  Shane and I went for a 3 mile easy run to shake those legs out.  It was 62 degrees and wasn’t raining. Perfect running weather.

During tapering, the goal is to recover from any physical demands your hard training has put on the body without losing fitness.   This week, the 5 days prior to my race, I’m cutting the miles way down to about 19 or 20, depending on how I feel.   The weight workouts will be light, even though some sources say to cut out weights completely.  If too much running and training is cut out, there’s the possibility of feeling sluggish the day of the race.  With all the excitement and anticipation, I can’t imagine feeling sluggish. 

Do you have any experience with tapering?  Do you enjoy the taper or get too antsy during tapering?

FOOD CLUBS

Finally! My Sunergia Tofu arrived!  It’s flavored.  Simply grill, bake or fry and serve.

It’s impossible to get this brand of tofu from anywhere but a food buying club. Amazing!  So I joined a food buying club.

The club is the United Natural Foods Eastern Division.  The commitment of the organization is impressive with a proactive concern for the environment, reverence for the land and sustainable agriculture. 

I placed my order with the club organizer and was notified that the truck was in at 10 am last Thursday. 

Everyone’s order comes in on a pallet and you  pay in advance so it’s a simple pick up.

My two boxes of tofu were minimal in comparison to what the others ordered.

This short notice pick-up deal is certainly not my thing especially when I have to break away from work just to pick up.  But once a month or less, and for Sunergia Tofu, it’s worth it.  Sunergia also makes Soy Feta but I’m too passionate about my feta cheese to appreciate the soy version.

Red and White Sauce

Fromage Blanc:  Did you know Emeril offers a homemade recipe for this creamy cheese on FoodNetwork?  Check it out. It looks pretty easy.

Here is a description of Fromage Blanc from “Cheesemaking”

Fromage Blanc is a wonderfully creamy cheese that may be used in place of cream cheese in any recipe. I love to use this in both Couer a la Creme and Cheesecake. It has a smooth consistency and only takes a few minutes of work to make it. I like to make this cheese at night and drain it first thing in the morning. This way it is ready to use for my guests when they arrive for lunch or dinner. (You may use from 1 to 4 quarts of milk depending on how much cheese you wish to make each quart of milk will produce about 10 ounces of cheese.)

I used the Fromage Blanc in my homemade tomato sauce.  It rounded out the acidity of the sauce and muted the heavy garlic taste. 

Pasta in Red-White Sauce:

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1” cubes
• 1 yellow squash, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups pasta sauce – your favorite recipe or use this one. Make sure you have made your sauce before beginning this recipe.
• 1 lb pasta – such as penne rigatoni
• 8 oz Fromage Blanc – or you can use any other soft, creamy cheese (goat cheese is my usual favorite).

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, al dente.

Heat your pasta sauce.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and put a little of the warm pasta sauce in the bottom of the pot you boiled the pasta in (about 3 TBS of sauce just to line bottom of pan).  Add the drained pasta back to the warm pot with the sauce on the bottom, just to keep warm. *This should be done about 5 minutes before your veggies (eggplant, etc) are cooked.

Heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add the eggplant, squash, and green pepper. Stir constantly until cooked, about 10 to 15 minutes.  The squash should begin to brown.

Toss the cooked vegetables into the pasta. 

When ready to serve, add the Fromage Blanc (or other soft cheese) into the sauce and stir.

Serve with pasta and vegetables.

Once the marathon is over, I’ll switch back to focusing on proteins and reducing the carbohydrates to a nice balance: 45 carbs-35 proteins-20 fats.   This week however, I’ll enjoy my pasta.

What’s your healthy balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats?

All the weight workouts are completed this week.  Sunday night was legs.  Monday back and shoulders, and Tuesday was chest and arms.  All weight and cable workouts took about 40 minutes. If you do any strength workouts, do you prefer bars, dumbbells, or cable machines?  I like the cable machine the best but to get a well rounded workout, I use everything. 

Wednesday running day:  Ran with Jenn and John today.  The plan was to run a fast 5 or 6 with the two J’s and keep the miles in the teens for the long haul.  I’m still shooting for that 22 to 23 miler before the big day (there are currently 1759 entries – cool!).  Total miles today: 16.00.  

Run recap:  I was one of those people everyone hates to run with today.  Everything hurt and I was a whiner. 

Shane woke up before my alarm and had to go out at 3:30 am.  My run began THAT early.  He and I did 2 miles around MVCC.  I felt great running with him. High energy. No problems except for a queasy stomach.  When I dropped Shane off, I took a 5 Hour Energy drink and set out down the Parkway.  The overall goal in mind was shorter distance but faster all around pace. That didn’t happen.

Running down the Parkway, my right hip started aching. It really began yesterday but was more pronounced today during my run.  It almost felt like it would work itself out.  I kept running. The stomach was still complaining.  Arrived at the Mill to meet my running partners and John set the pace.  He’s training for the Mohawk Hudson Marathon on Oct. 10.  The pace was proving too much for me and all my complaints.  I felt sick. My hip hurt. I got a stomach cramp 1 1/2 miles into our run.  At just about 3 1/2 miles, I left Jenn and John and began the trek home. I was not a happy runner. Poor John, the first time I met him, he invites me to join the running group on Sunday for the long run and all I do is make excuses.  I’ll have to get in touch with him and find out about that running group.  Everything sounds bad when you’re in pain.

The run home alone was broken into running and walking.  That hip wouldn’t stop complaining.  The stomach cramp was on again, off again.  My foot began aching 2 miles from home.  Oh lets see….what else ????   Bad run today.   Maybe I shouldn’t have tried doing Tempo runs the day before a long run?  Maybe I shouldn’t have logged 11 miles the day before a long run?   Who knows… tomorrow’s another day. 

TIME TO EAT!

Vegetable Ensemble – this dish, using large eggplant and zucchini will serve 6 to 8 as a side dish and 4 as a main dish.

· 2 zucchini – chop/cube

· 1 eggplant – peel, chop/cube

· 1 tsp salt

-1/2 red onion, chopped

· 2 TBS olive oil

· 1 small head of green cabbage – shredded

· 1 1/2 TBS fresh snipped chives

· 2 tsp nutmeg

· 1 tsp pepper

· 4 large portabella mushrooms – cleaned, gills removed.

· 1 TBS White Truffle Oil (or Extra Virgin Olive Oil if you don’t have truffle oil)

· 5.3 oz Goat Cheese (or other soft creamy cheese)

· 1 ½ cups to 2 cups Marinara sauce

1. Toss the prepared zucchini and eggplant in a large bowl with the salt.

2. Heat 2 TBS olive oil in large pan over medium high heat and when hot, add the onion, cook for 2 minutes then add the zucchini and eggplant. Stir–fry about 8 – 10 minutes or until cooked evenly.

3. In the meantime, add the shredded cabbage to boiling water and boil until softened, about 10 – 12 minutes. Drain well. Set aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

5. In a large baking dish, add the cooked onion, zucchini and eggplant.

Stir in the chives, nutmeg, and pepper. Dot with the goat cheese (or other soft cheese) . Pour on the marinara.

Bake for 30 minutes.

6. Place the prepared portabellas, gill side up (although you have removed the gills) and brush with the Truffle oil. Bake in the same oven with the zucchini and eggplant during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

7. To serve: Place a heap of shredded cooked cabbage on the plate and top with the mushroom cap. Add the zucchini – eggplant mix to the mushroom cap and ENJOY!

Although this dish is filling and it has protein from the cheese, I added a little more vegetarian protein by asking Ted to grill slices of Sunergia Pesto Tofu.  I LOVE this tofu. It’s the best.

Delish!

If you eat tofu, do you prefer the plain that you season yourself or do you buy tofu already flavored?

Hit the treadmill running and then some. The “then some” was the chest and back workout for 35 minutes, but it all began on the dreaded mill.  Interval training:  2 mile warm up. 4 x 5 minute intervals, rest for 5 minutes (slow jog).   To continue outside with Shane for 3 1/4 cool down miles.  Total miles run Monday AM = 10 miles.

The mornings are dark now when we leave the house. I wear a reflective vest (did you see my new one from Nathan’s? ) and Shane has a reflective collar and leash.  It was a great running temperature at 67 degrees and not humid.  The route was around the well lit streets of Utica.  Nothing much exciting going on that early. Guess that’s a good thing. 

My penchant for linguistics is much more than my comprehension of linguistics.  I can’t imagine the struggle people have trying to learn the English language.  Where am I going with this?  Consider the word “UP” sent to me by my Uncle Ralph who lives in the UK:

There is a two-letter word in English that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is “UP.” It is listed in the dictionary as being used as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].
It’s easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times the little word has a real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don’t give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.  
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on & on, but I’ll wrap it UP , for now …….my time is UP , so time to shut UP!
Oh..one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?     U      P    

Grilled Oriental Salad

Calling all runners, exercise enthusiasts, and everyone in between! Here is a quote we all need to remember by Alan Robinson- 56 years old and partially paralyzed marathon runner:

Don’t be concerned with what you can’t do. Work on what you can do – then count your blessings.

Tuesday, I did a tempo run slower than I wanted.  The above quote made me realize I should be grateful to do it at all.  Total miles Tuesday = 9.53.  Leg workout with weights before the run. Exhausting!

Wednesday, 8.04 road miles, preceded by a weight workout for back and shoulders.  Did you ask, “Where was Shane?”  Well, he didn’t go running with me today because we thought he was destined to have a nasty day ahead of him.

Shane had to fast because we thought the vet was going to remove a little growth from his chin. It’s about the size of a dime and looks like a little cluster of bumps.  They said it was “puppy acne” but it hadn’t gone away with topical ointment in 6 months.

When we saw the vet this morning to check him in, she wanted to look at the growth to make sure it was operable.  The result was that it’s an infection gone wild.  She prescribed an antibiotic and some cleanser.  We’ll see if that takes care of it and if not, in two weeks, we have to fast again. Poor baby.

This past weekend, Pam came for a visit.  Pam is a Health Coach and knows so much about living healthy, eating the right foods, and making positive changes for a balanced lifestyle.  She introduced me to a new grain:  Millet.  I really like it.  This morning, I made it as a substitute for oatmeal.

• 1/4 cup organic millet – rinsed
• about 3/4 cup water (maybe more, I didn’t measure)
• 1 TBS raisins
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 TBS peanut butter – stirred in at the end.

I let it boil, then simmered for 30 minutes. It had texture and offered a lighter taste than oatmeal.  It was just as filling and completely delicious with added blueberries and apple slices.

To go along with my new found grain, I had another product Pam introduced me to.

Juice Plus.  A new protein supplement, 15 grams worth.  It tastes great. I can’t wait to try the Dutch Chocolate.

More new products….

I was cruisin’ the internet the other day and came across some wonderful information on soy feta by Sunergia posted by Hannah of Bitter Sweet.  I so enjoy the taste of a good feta AND it was soy! I went crazy looking for a source to purchase the product and ended up joining a local food buying club. So far my experience with that has been less than enjoyable but I’ll let you know when I pick up my products later this week.  In any event, the company, Sunergia, offered to send me some tofu samples.

I had the Spicy Thai last night while everyone else enjoyed burgers.  Loved it!  It’s a tofu flavored with spicy Thai flavors, nuts, garlic, chilis, all sorts of delicious ingredients. 

Ted put it on the grill for me and the result was perfect.  I didn’t need to do anything to it, just press out some moisture.  No other flavors needed. Slice and grill.  I can’t wait to try the other samples!

Crab and Noodles

The box of this healthy pasta answers all your questions beginning with “how does it taste?” The company, Racconto, boasts over 30 years of experience cooking pasta and they didn’t get that experience by making BAD pasta. 

Next question:  “What makes it healthy?”  The Hi-Maize or “resistant starch” is slower to digest than other pastas.   It’s comparable to natural foods such as whole grains, beans, bananas and helps to maintain healthy blood sugar levels to promote constant energy release.  In other words, no energy spikes as you might get in processed foods.

The next question and final one. “What’s the nutritional data?”  Total servings in a box is 6. One serving is about 2 oz.   Calories per serving:  170  Total Fat 1 gram.  Sodium is 10 mg.  Carbohydrates 42 gram, Fiber 11 grams Protein is 7 grams.   Looks pretty healthy to me.

The ingredients are all WHOLE grains: wheat, rye, buckwheat, kamut, spelt, millet, barley, brown rice…..HOLY WHOLE GRAINS BATMAN!!!  You can’t put many more grains into one product!

Crab Rotini  – Serves 6 – 8 *Based upon a recipe in Cookingclub.com

• 12 oz (1 box) Racconto Pasta (or use your favorite)
• 1/4 cup + 1 TBS Olive oil
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1/3 cup sliced black olives
• 3 – 4 sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil – chopped
• 1 TBS Italian Seasoning
• 2 TBS fresh chopped basil
• 12 oz Premium Crab meat
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 4 to 6 0z Feta Cheese – crumbled

Cook the pasta according to the box directions, drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pan and, when hot, add the tomatoes, olives, sun dried tomatoes, seasoning, and basil.  Cook for about 5 minutes over medium high heat.

Add the crab meat, lemon, salt and pepper and cook on SIMMER (reduce the heat) until hot.  This will take about  2 minutes. 

Put pasta into a serving bowl and pour the crab mixture with all the juices over the top. Top with the crumbled feta.

What do you think? Might this dish be good with Chicken for all you meat eaters? 

For more information on glycemic health, see my EXAMINER link.