You are here: Home / Archives for 2010

Archives for 2010

Why Am I Smiling?

August 25, 2010 by

So why am I smiling? Well, mainly because I have big things on the horizon. Let me explain….

As most of you know, work has been crazy busy and will continue to be that way until the end of the year. I’m in charge of a $3.5 million project at work that will hopefully lead to many good things in my career. But that’s only part of the reason why I’m smiling. I also am smiling because:

Fitness – I can honestly say I am in the best shape in my adult life. Quite honestly, I’ve never been out of shape in my adult life, but this summer, I have really been ramping up the running and yoga, which makes for great toning!

Blogging – I have major things in store for Running With Cake and Bistro Chic which will include site redesigns, several giveaways, food, travel, and more! I wish I could share more with you but mum’s the word for now.

Travel – Although my job is very stressful, it is about to take me to some wonderful cities, including San Francisco, Vancouver, and possibly NYC. I’m looking forward to meeting up with Annelies from Attune Foods, One Healthy Apple, and Suki, who all live in the San Fran area. It will be like our own mini Healthy Living Summit! By the way, if there are any HLS or Fit Bloggin attendees from Vancouver, drop me a note – I might have time to meet up!

Family – I have an incredible husband who is not only tech/social media savvy, but he is also very understanding when it comes to blogging and trying to reach my goals. Mr. C and Ms. M are also wonderful and very patient when it comes to their blogger mommy. And my in-laws are a God-send for all the help they provide with the kids and the house. I couldn’t do all of these things without you!

So as you can see, things are moving very quickly in my life. I hope you stick around and find out what happens on my personal “reality show”!

And on that note….

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

– Ferris Bueller

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , , , , ,

Life-Long Marathon

August 24, 2010 by

(Photo source)

Today, I woke up intending to walk instead of run. I’ve been toying with the idea of only running 4 days a week, walking 1 day, and then doing yoga on the 6th day. Why the change? Oh, many reasons. I’m starting to feel the impact that running has had on my body for the last 20 years – sore hips, tight hamstrings, etc. But more than that, I want to expand my fitness regimen – try new things, work out different muscles in my body. But let me tell you, it is hard to stop running, even if it is just one day a week.

Case in point…my morning walk didn’t turn out how I had planned. It appears that my body does not know what walking is and that, try as I might, it is programmed to run after all of these years. I started out with a fast walk which turned into a fast trot, which turned into 45 minutes of interval running. Every few minutes, I told myself – just go 2 more minutes and then walk. Obviously, that didn’t work. I ended up running 4.2 miles at about 8:10 minute miles. Fast? Yes. My intention? No. Why is it so hard for me to walk or “not run”? It’s almost as if I’m in training for some imaginary race. Or maybe it’s that I’m having a competition with myself – running a constant race in my head.

It’s funny how running reminds me of my job. I “run” all day long and even when I want to stop (ie. take a break), I keep running in order to reach a deadline, prepare for the next day, or just look good in front of my boss. In work terms, walking means just getting by or performing my job at a slower rate compared to the rate I would go if  I was “running”. Having a good “run” means I finished my task before deadline or exceeded expectations. Walking means status quo and running means getting ahead.

Only in my case, I feel like I’m running a never-ending race – the rat race – my own life-long marathon.

And on that lovely note…good night.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: ,

What Inspires You To Run?

August 24, 2010 by

It’s hard NOT to be inspired or motivated to run when you have a view like this every morning. I’m very fortunate indeed.

What inspires or motivates you to keep running, day after day?

Filed Under: Running Tagged With:

Spice Girl

August 23, 2010 by

What’s an easy way to add flavor to a dish without adding calories or fat? Spices of course! Scott and I regularly cook with spices, herbs, and rubs. Although our spice drawer is far from being complete, I think it would stand to impress any Food Network Chef. From exotic curries to fragrant chili powder to cracked peppercorns, our spice drawer is quite a site and one of the best aspects of our kitchen.

But our spice drawer didn’t start out this way. I remember a time when our spice drawer wasn’t even a spice rack. It was no more than a jar of garlic powder and cinnamon – those were rough times in the kitchen. But over the years, we’ve built a stock of many of our favorites like oregano, Italian seasoning, and cumin. In fact, we have so many herbs and spices that they can’t all fit in one large drawer – we keep the overflow in the cabinet!

Aside from adding taste without calories, spices can also turn an ordinary meal into something extraordinary. Seriously, a full spice drawer can do wonders for a pound of meat, poultry, fish, pasta, or even tofu. Lemon pepper chicken – no problem! Spicy turkey chili – coming right up! When it comes to spices, the possibilities are endless.

If you’re just building your spice drawer or would like to expand it, start with your basic spices and then build from there, depending on your tastes and favorite recipes. Good Cooking also provides a great guide to herbs and spices and their suggested uses. Go on, add a little spice to your life – your tastebuds will thank you for it!

Hmm, I think if I had to be a Spice Girl – I’d be Chili Spice – what about you?

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: ,

The Power of Fairies

August 22, 2010 by

Hey all! What a morning – and what a day for that matter! My day started with a fast 10K run – 6.2 miles at a pace of 8 min 20 seconds. I love when I have a good run, it puts me in such a good mood. The run was followed by a very relaxing breakfast outside – Mighty Leaf Organic Breakfast, a huge bowl of watermelon, and vanilla Greek yogurt with strawberries and walnuts. How did those Italian lemon wafer cookies get on my plate? 🙂 Ahh, Sunday breakfasts in the summer – I will miss you come December!

After breakfast, we headed out for the Bristol Renaissance Faire – or as the kids call it – the place where they see the “kings and queens”. We thought it was going to be a cool day – a high of 75. But it turned out to be HOT, especially in the sun.

We were sweating like crazy so we hopped onto the DaVinci flyers ride just to cool off a bit. The DaVinci ride, and all of the other rides, are completely man-powered, as if they were rides back in Medieval times. Very cool. Then, it was time for the fairies!

Mr. C and Ms. M were captivated by the forest fairy. She didn’t say a word but would take sticks, rocks, and leaves that the children gave her and carefully add them to her special artwork pile. It was actually quite relaxing watching the fairy at work – it’s amazing how she remained silent and kept the kids quiet as well. Seriously, who needs a nanny when you’ve got a fairy. Oh the power of fairies!

Now, it’s time for dinner – a spicy sausage, bell pepper (from my own garden!), and leek dish with pasta!

Filed Under: Leisure Tagged With: , ,

A Little Light Reading…

August 21, 2010 by

Hey all!

I have been so busy the last few weeks that my many magazine subscriptions have been piling up. I haven’t even started to read Real Simple or Cooking Light – both of which I usually tear into as soon as they arrive.

So, can you guess what I’m going to do now until bedtime? That’s right – time for a little light reading 🙂

BTW – I’m going on a surprise outing tomorrow – check back tomorrow evening to find out where I went!

See you all tomorrow!

Filed Under: Leisure Tagged With:

Carrot Farming

August 20, 2010 by

Today was my second-to-last Friday off from work (next week is the final Friday). For nearly 3 years, I have had the majority of Fridays off, and working 35-40 hours a week in 4 days. All good things must come to an end. Even though I was technically off from work, I felt like I worked the ENTIRE day! I have been going non-stop from 5:30 AM until now, and that’s after going to bed at 11:30PM! Sometimes, I just don’t know how I do it.

If you’ve been following me for the last few months, you will know that at the end of May/beginning of June, Scott and I planted a vegetable garden. We’ve had an abundance of tomatoes, cucumbers, and green peppers – pretty standard garden items. But what I’ve really been waiting for are my carrots. Unlike the tomatoes, cucs, and green peppers which were planted from seedlings, I planted the carrots from seeds. On the packet, it said it would take about 90 days to grow. The carrots would be ready to pick when you could see about 1 inch of the orange carrot top. The carrot sprouts (the green parts) have been flourishing for over a month, but no sign of orange – until a few days ago. I finally saw about 1/2 inch of orange sticking out of the ground and was so excited I called Scott and the kids out to see it. This was no false alarm either – like the other time I thought I saw orange, only to discover it was an orange leaf.

I hesitated to pick it for a couple of days, knowing it could probably stand another week in the ground. But, after a particularly rough day and work, I felt like pulling the head off of something, so it may just as well be a carrot. So, I gave a good yank and out popped the 4-5 inch carrot. Even though the carrot was on the small side, I still felt a huge sense of accomplishment knowing that something that started from a seed grew into a full-fledged, edible vegetable. I don’t know anyone who has ever grown a carrot in their own backyard, let along from a seed. I was so proud of myself, for a quick second I thought about quitting my job and becoming a farmer. I mean when you think about it, many times I work longer hours than farmers. And beside, I love farmer’s markets. Hmm…maybe not. I don’t really have the patience  – hence the short carrot – and I’m not very good with farm machinery.

After taking about a zillion pictures of my pride and joy, I peeled it and sliced it up. It was much lighter in color than the carrots you buy from the store and not as sweet, but still very good. Right now, I have about 15 other green carrot “stalks” that have yet to poke their orange heads out of the ground. Ahh, I can just smell the cream of carrot soup in the air. Ok, I have to stop thinking about it.

I don’t know how farmers do it. Patience, please, patience.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: , ,

HLS Swag Bag Winners!

August 19, 2010 by

Hello All!

Thank you all so much for entering my Healthy Living Summit Swag Bag Giveaway! I don’t want to keep you waiting any longer so here you go—

And the winners are (via random number generator online):

  • Jenna Z Posted August 16, 2010 at 12:13 pm | I am a Quaker ADDICT! I LOVE oatmeal, in bowl, bar, cookie, ANY form! Once for vacation we stayed at Quaker Square Inn, where the hotel rooms are INSIDE the grain silo at the former Quaker factory. And they have an oatmeal bar everyday for breakfast!   AND
  • Krista B. Posted August 19, 2010 at 12:47 am | Hi Jennifer! This is actually my first post on your blog. I discovered you a few weeks ago and have been reading it ever since. I don’t consider myself to be an avid runner – yet. Like you, I enjoy staying in shape but LOVE food! Your blog has become an inspiration to me. 
My personal favorite of the products would be the Stoneyfield Yogurt.
Especially when I top it with mixed berries and Kashi granola! Yum!
I’m looking forward to reading more! 
~ Krista

Jenna and Krista, please email me your mailing addresses at jennifer at runningwithcake.com so I can send you your swag!

Stay tuned for another awesome giveaway next week!

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: ,

Everything In Moderation, Including Chips

August 18, 2010 by

Have I ever told you how much I love chips? I don’t mean just love , I mean LOVE!!!! Hi, my name is Jennifer and I’m a chipaholic. And this isn’t a new love affair for me either. I’ve loved chips for as long as I can remember. I know what you’re thinking – I’m supposed to write about how to live a healthy lifestyle – and chips are bad, aren’t they? Well, it’s true that chips have little nutritional value – aside from standard carbs, fat, and calories that our body needs. However, my feeling is that no food should be bad or good. Eat any food that you like, as long as you eat it in moderation and balance it with a variety of foods from all of the food groups. So, I can absolutely have my chips as long as I balance them with vegetables, fruit, etc.

In the last few years, Scott and I have been trying to eat foods in their most natural state – even chips. About 5 years ago, we were determined to find chips that had the fewest ingredients and ingredients we recognized. We settled on Cape Cod chips for the simple reasons that they tasted good and only had 3 ingredients – salt, oil, and potatoes. For years, Cape Cod chips were the ONLY chips we would eat, but we have since broadened our horizons.

Last week, when I attended the Frito Lay tour, I learned that Lay’s signature chips – the plain potato chips – have only 3 ingredients – oil, salt, and potatoes. Shocking! I mentioned this to Scott over the phone who believed the ingredients, but was skeptical about the taste. But something must have peaked his interest along the way because he went out and bought 2 bags of Lay’s reduced fat all-natural potato chips made with sea salt. Tonight, while eating them with our turkey burgers and carrots, he said, “these taste better than Cape Cod, I don’t know why”. I admit, I felt the same way. Sorry Cape Cod, there’s a new chip in town.

Anyway, after the Frito Lay tour, I begged and pleaded with the Frito Lay girls to give me a shirt, but alas, they had no more. Fortunately, they found a extra shirt back at the office and mailed it to me. Thank you!! It arrived today and I couldn’t wait to put it on. The shirt actually has a dual meaning for me. Not only did I want the shirt because I love chips, but I’m also an alum of Central Michigan University, home of the Chippewas – or the “Chips” as we would call them.

And, as they say at CMU – Go, Fire Up, Chips! Have a great night everyone.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: , , , ,

Get Out of Shape in Just Three Weeks

August 17, 2010 by

Have you ever taken a vacation from running or working out? For the most part, I have not. Aside from a three-week hiatus from running due to surgery, I have not taken more than 3 days off in a row.

Some people see this as dedication while others just think I’m crazy or borderline obsessed. What do I think? I think I’m worried about getting out of shape because I spent so many years getting into shape and maintaining it. I remember the three-week hiatus – it was sooo hard to start running again after that. Granted, I just had surgery three weeks before, but still, it was one of the biggest hurdles I’ve had to overcome in relation to exercise. And rightly so.

Experts say that after two weeks of not exercising you may lose a little of your fitness level, but should be able to bounce back fairly quickly. However, an exercise gap of longer than 2 weeks can cause your fitness level to drop even further, making it much harder to get back to your original fitness level. Yet, experts also say that those individuals who already have a fitness base (those who have been in good shape prior to the exercise gap) are much better off than those who have never really exercised.

My three-week running gap did affect my overall fitness, weight, and toning. I felt out of shape and just breathing during exercise was a challenge. But, I stuck with it knowing that I was in great shape before and that with hard work, I could get there again. Sure enough, after a slow start, followed by incremental increases in running, I was able to get back to my original running distance and pace in 3-4 weeks. It was tough, yes, but so worth it in the end.

If you are contemplating an exercise hiatus for more than 2 weeks, remember that the more time you take off the harder it will be to come back.

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: ,