Silly things.

• Sometimes when I talk about running/races on facebook statuses or on my blog, I feel like there is just an awkward silence of "what the heck is wrong with you?" because nobody says anything. Or they say "what the heck is wrong with you?".
• I am incapable of singing/listening to All Creatures of Our God and King without thinking about Mr. Bean. 
• Our house is cleanest on the days I have to work on papers or study for tests (an excellent form of procrastination because you can actually trick yourself into believing that it's something important enough to procrastinate with).
• I also paint my nails most often on days I'm supposed to be doing homework.

If this hand looks bad, you should see the other one
(the one I painted with the non-dominant hand)

• I HATE some of the things I see pinned on pinterest-- specifically, some of the fitness/exercise/weight loss related things.  I know people just mindlessly pin hundreds of things, but I hope people know that some of it is total BS. Here are a few of the ones that really get under my skin:

• There is no such thing as "spot reduction".  Ex: 5 easy moves to give you skinny thighs quick! You can build muscle in specific places, but you can't lose fat in specific places. No matter how many crunches you do, your stomach will not get smaller.  You have to lose fat to "unveil" muscle, and the places you lose fat/how easy it is to lose fat/how quickly you lose fat is different for everyone.  My thighs hold on to fat, and I would probably have to be at a dangerously low weight for them to be "skinny" because I will first lose all of my fat from my upper body first.  Some people will forever have tummy fat.  Or upper arm fat. And it's normal (and healthy and ok) to have fat.
• "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".  This is a quote from a model who was in the depths of an eating disorder at the time she said that.  The connotation seems to be eating vs. appearance, food is bad, you shouldn't enjoy food, or some other disordered thinking that is not true.
• Foods that are calorie dense aren't necessarily unhealthy. Foods that are low calorie are not necessarily healthy. For example, peanut butter is not evil.  It's very calorie dense and has a relatively large amount of fat in it, yes, but it's fantastic in moderation.  With a piece of toast and banana? Pre-run meal superstar.  An entire jar eaten on a box of oreos? Maybe not the best.  Then you have those 100 calorie snack packs and everyone thinks they're fantastic because they're "only 100 calories"! Welp, you can make your very own 100 calorie snack packs of solid Crisco if you put it in the right portion sizes.
• Of course you will lose weight if all you do is drink lemon juice and vinegar and water for three days.  Then you'll start eating food again and gain it all back.
• I have extremely horrible allergies right now, and I'm really drugged up, and I'm really sorry if I offended anyone with the above pinterest talk (because I know people are really passionate about pinterest).
• Sorry for pinning dogs all the time.  I can't help myself.  Like I mentioned before, I browse petfinder.com on a regular basis and I have a collection of my dream dogs to torture myself with because I can't have one right now ;)
• I have proof that I'm really out of it over allergies/drugs and the like.  On Saturday night I was feeling super crappy and had a hard time falling asleep.  Sam was long gone before I finally conked out.  The next morning Sam got up before me and found our huge crock pot full of soup.  I guess I had gotten up while in a druggy/sleepy state and made a ton of soup.  With a LOT of mushrooms in it.  It was decent.  I'm just glad it wasn't super fantastic because I would be ticked if I couldn't remember how I made it. 

The time I made soup in my sleep,
AKA: the time I wasted a lot of vegetables.

The Line Up

April 21st- Salt Lake City Marathon (pacing, half)

June 9th- Utah Valley Marathon

June 15-16th- Ragnar Relay

June 23rd- AF Canyon (pacing, half)

July 7th- Hobbler Canyon Half

September 15th- Top of Utah Marathon

There may be more pacing opportunities added in there (hopefully), and obviously I need to find something for May and August ;D  Last year I race 4 halves and 1 full, and paced 1 half.  This year (so far) I have 2 full races, 1 half race, 3 halves to pace (1 done already), and a relay.  I'm thinking  of racing more halves, but only if I come across the right ones.

I wish I could say (like everyone else) that I'm totally loving this warm weather, but the early spring brought early allergies, infections, and illness.  I'm kind of a walking stumbling gong show, which has put a kink in my training.  Everything hurts in that achy, tired sort of way (Also I fell on the stairs and jacked up my knee and foot). I have my fingers crossed that the early onset of the bad kind of Spring Fever also means it will be an early passing.  I do like feeling the sun and all, though.  And I'm always a happy camper when the summer produce is in season. 

Another exciting April event is graduation!  Sam is getting his degree in business/HR, which is very exciting.  My parents are also coming down to visit and see him walk. I already posted this news on facebook, but I'm going to be done soon too!  We thought I wouldn't be able to graduate until December at the earliest (along with 8 classes and an internship), which really wasn't working with our plans.  I went and talked to one of the BYU advisers about options, and we figured out a way for me to be done classes in June. 6 months early, and with only 3 classes?  YES, PLEASE!  I might get to walk next month too, but it depends on if my ceremony is at the same time as Sam's (and I'd rather be at his than mine, haha).  

And just to make this post more interesting, here is a picture of what I want for a graduation present:

I may or may not check petfinder.com daily to browse through potential running buddies.  Unfortunately we still live in a silly apartment that doesn't even allow fish, but a girl can dream, right?   

PS: Is it normal that at least 4 nights a week I have dreams about people trying to kill me?  It's exhausting.

Udon and Veggie Ginger Thai

We have been loving sesame oil dishes lately!  It's a great way to get healthy fat in your diet and give your food fantastic flavour.
I found this recipe on foodgawker.com, one of my favourite websites to just browse through.  It's like pinterest, but just with food.  There are some really cool recipes on there!
The original recipe called for soba noodles, which in my humble opinion are gross and overpriced, so I used brown rice udon noodles instead.  I also added a ton of veggies and some cashews and tweeked the sauce a bit. It was a hit! We will definitely be having this again! I think that the sauce would be super good to add to any stirfry or put on rice, too!

Udon and Veggie Ginger Thai

• Udon noodles (2 servings-- about 200g)
• Sesame oil-- 1 tsp
• Green onion- 2 stalks
• Ginger, minced-- 1 Tbsp
• Garlic, minced-- 1 clove
• Cilantro, rubbed-- 1 tsp
• Red pepper flakes-- 1/4 tsp
• Soy sauce or aminos-- 1 Tbsp
• Rice vinegar-- 1 Tbsp
• Honey-- 1 Tbsp
• Salt and pepper-- to taste
• Cashews, chopped-- 1/4 cup
• Chopped veggies-- 3-4 cups (I used 1 small zucchini, 1/2 yellow squash, 2 julienned carrots, and snow peas. Water chestnuts, mushrooms, peppers, or bamboo shoots would be awesome too!)

Bring water in a medium saucepan to a boil, then add noodles and cook according to directions.  In the meantime, heat oil in a skillet.  Cook the ginger and garlic until tender/browned. Add vegetables and cashews.  In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and then pour over veggies once tender and noodles are done.  Drain noodles and add to skillet, stirring to combine.  Serve hot, with additional cilantro and cashews for garnish if desired.

Pita Pockets

I had no idea that making pitas was so easy.  I thought you would have to do all of this fancy rolling and pinching or something to make them hollow.  They really take hardly any work, and very little time!  They tasted fantastic (warm, fresh bread? Always great) and I like to know what exactly is in my food.  This recipe made 12 pitas, which was too many for just the two of us, so I would probably half or third this next time (and there will definitely be a next time!)

I used the great silicone baking mat Jennifer and co. gave me for Christmas to make them perfectly even!

They just puff right up!

Perfection.

Pita Pockets

• 1 package yeast
• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• 3 cups flour (I used half white, half wheat)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp oil

Combine water and yeast in a large bowl.  Let sit for about 10 minutes.  Add flour(s), sugar, salt, and oil.  Mix well.  Knead dough until soft.  Divide dough into 12 equal parts.  Roll each part into a ball and then flatten into a 6 inch circle.  Place dough circles on floured surface and let rest for 40 minutes or until slightly puffy.  Place on ungreased jelly roll pans (I needed two large ones).  Bake at 500F for 4-8 minutes, flipping halfway through baking.  Stack pitas in 2-3 piles and cover loosely with a dish towel to let steam escape.  Slice in half with a serrated knife.

I loved these with Justin's Maple Almond Butter, egg white/spinach/cheese scramble, and Greek salad.  So good!

One of the best things I've made.

Not going to lie, I felt very proud of myself as I took the first bite of this sammich.  It rocked. It's also healthy. And fresh. And you can do some of the work ahead of time so that it doesn't take so long.  And leftovers taste great with chips. Or tortillas.
There are really four recipes involved to make this big thang, but you can definitely add/take things away.  I think that grilled veggies or a slice of pepperjack would also be great to add (but there is already a lot of goodness involved, so good luck keeping it all together on the bread).

Mango Salsa

• 2 roma tomatoes
• 1 mango
• 1/2 cup total of chopped bell peppers (I used a combination of red, orange, and yellow)
• 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• juice from 1 lime
• dash of ground chili powder (to desired spiciness)

Chop up your vegetables, then combine everything! Easy! You could also add chopped onion, but we don't like onions and it tasted great without them.  This stores well in an airtight container in the fridge.

Black Bean Spread

• 1/2 can black beans
• dash of hot sauce
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• salt, pepper, and chili powder (to taste)

Run all ingredients in a food processor until it reaches a hummus-like consistency

Basil Lime Spread

• 1/4 cup light miracle whip (or mayo)
• juice from 2 limes (or 2-3 Tbsp lime juice)
• 1 tsp basil

Stir all ingredients together. Taste, and add more basil or lime juice as desired.

Lime Grilled Chicken

• 2 Tbsp cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 Tbsp lime zest (use additional lime juice if you don't have enough zest from your limes you used with the other recipes!)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

Whisk together all ingredients except for chicken.  Place in a large ziploc bag.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Place in bag with marinade and evenly coat.  Let sit at least an hour (or overnight).

Cook in a non-stick skillet until done.

To make the sammich (I prefer mine open faced)

• Toast, bean spread, lime basil spread, cooked chicken, salsa, spinach. You can also serve with chips and extra salsa and bean spread.

Perfection.

Spicy Thai Spaghetti Squash

This recipe is super easy, fast, healthy, and tasty!  It's probably my favourite way to eat spaghetti squash. Enjoy!

Spicy Thai Spaghetti Squash

• 1 spaghetti squash, cooked (about 2 or 3 cups)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce or aminos
• salt and pepper to taste
• green onions, chopped roasted peanuts, and toasted sesame seeds

Heat oil and red pepper flakes in a skillet.  Stir in honey and soy sauce. Add spaghetti squash and mix together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with green onions, peanuts, and sesame seeds.  

Makes about two servings (depending on if its a side or meal :)