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Blueberries Fight Belly Fat

August 25, 2009 by

Good morning everyone! It’s another great day in Chicago land! I had an awesome 4-mile run in the beautiful sunshine and crisp, cool air. After my run, I drank a ton of water while sporting my new Lucy wristband…

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Because I’m on Lucy’s email list, I received an email with a coupon for a free bright pink wristband. How fun! I know, I know, I wasn’t actually wearing the wristband, but I’m not really in to wearing wristbands while I run or exercise. But it does make for a cute water bottle cover. And, it’s great for soaking up all of the condensation from the bottle. 

After my run, I enjoyed a fantastic breakfast…

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I had a cup of Cheerios Multigrain and topped it with 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (yeah- I’ve replenished my Costco supply!) and 2 tbsp chopped walnuts.

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The blueberries are so plump and juicy and full of antioxidants. Plus they have tons of vitamins, including C, A, and E. A recent study out of the University of Michigan (Go Big 10) has even shown that blueberries can help fight belly fat – so how can  you not love this little blue fruit!

OK, enough blueberry babbling for me, gotta get some work done.

Catch you all later!

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Eggs – They're what's for breakfast

August 22, 2009 by

Good morning everyone! I had a great yoga class this morning. I have to admit though, the class was rough because I had missed two weeks in a row. I wasn’t as flexible as I had been in the past and I found myself looking at the clock wanting it to be over. Not a good sign. But, by the end of class I was feeling quite refreshed and was very glad that I decided to go.

When I arrived home, I was so happy to find a beautiful omelette waiting for me…

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My husband made me a 3-egg omelette (1 egg and 2 egg whites) with red peppers, broccoli, and white cheddar cheese – so yum!

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Eggs are a welcome change for breakfast since I don’t eat them very often. However, I am trying to eat them more because they are considered a superfood for runners. Contrary to popular belief, eggs, when  eaten in moderation (1 egg a day) account for less than 1 percent of the risk of heart disease in men and women. They are also loaded with protein and vitamins.

After a protein-packed breakfast, my husband and I are heading out to a local Renaissance Festival. I’m so excited because this is my first ever Renaissance Festival.

See you tonight!

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Lunch Break at Whole Foods…

August 20, 2009 by

Hey friends! I’m am so lucky I arrived at work early this morning, because later in the morning I ended up having two. back-to-back meetings. Those meetings kept me away from my computer (and all of my work) for over 3 hours! Sometimes, meetings are not as productive as they should be.

By the time I got out of the second meeting it was after 1 PM. You could tell people were getting hungry because they were getting grumpy. For my own lunch, I warmed up the last of the chicken soup …

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I think I’ve had my fill of chicken soup for quite a while. Immediately after lunch, I bolted out the door for a Whole Foods run. The store is about 20 minutes roundtrip from where I work, so I really only had about 20-30 minutes to look around. I was mainly looking for new products to try and this is what I walked away with….

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I bought 4 items, which came to a total of about $10, not bad for Whole Foods. I did, however, manage to snag a few coupons at the front of the door, which saved me more than $3. I ended up with Maranatha all-natural creamy peanut butter, Dr. Kracker mini-flatbreads in sunflower cheddar, an Oikos Greek Yogurt Strawberry flavor, and a new Odwalla granola bar.

In the afternoon, I made up for lost time spent in meetings by really kicking things into high gear. Then, around 5:15 PM, when I felt like I had accomplished enough, I left for the day.

For dinner, I defrosted some of the chili I had made earlier in the week and it really hit the spot..

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I paired the homemade chili – made with spinach and grape tomatoes! – with whole-wheat pasta from Trader Joe’s. This dish was a double whammy – loaded with 1) protein from the beans, turkey meat, and cheese, 2) and fiber from the beans and whole-wheat pasta. Not to mention it had a nice showing of vitamin C from the spinach and tomatoes.

Since it’s nearly midnight, I think it’s about time I called it a night. 


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Top 15 Foods Runner's Should Eat

August 20, 2009 by

Good morning! Yes – I’m actually at work right now and it’s only 8:15 AM! All the stars and planets seemed align this morning so that I could actually get to work early rather than late. It helped that it was raining this morning so I didn’t end up running. I’ll be out there tomorrow though – bright and early!

For breakfast, I changed things up a bit. I have been eating cereal quite a bit, mostly because we bought industrial size boxes of Cheerios and Kashi so I feel like once they’re open, I have to finish them before I open anything else. I decided to change things up today….

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I had a Thomas Multi-grain English muffin. These little muffins only have 100 calories and are packed with fiber – 8 g, that’s a LOT for a bread product. I topped my muffin with the last of my all-natural raspberry preserves and a couple dollops of all-natural creamy peanut butter. Too bad I didn’t run this morning, because this would have make an excellent post-run breakfast.

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This got me thinking…as a runner, what exactly are the foods I should be eating to stay healthy and increase my performance? After doing a little research, I found 15 superfoods that Runner’s World recommends runners eat, at least on a weekly basis to improve performance and maintan overall health. I then assessed these superfoods to see if I was incorporating them into my overall diet. Let’s see how I’m doing….

Top 15 Foods Runner’s Should Eat

  1. Almonds – I definitely eat these on a weekly basis.
  2. Eggs – Hmm, I’m not much of an egg person, but I can try to eat more.
  3. Sweet Potatoes – Love these! But I don’t find them as convenient to make as other side dishes.
  4. Whole-grain cereal with protein – This is practically a staple for me!
  5. Oranges – Could definitely eat more of this, but oranges are so expensive so I find it a challenge to eat them every day.
  6. Canned Black Beans – Not a big fan of these unless they are part of another dish.
  7. Mixed salad greens – No problem in this area.
  8. Salmon – I do not eat seafood – so this is a big dilemma. 
  9. Whole-grain Bread – Yes, this is an every day food for me.
  10. Vegetables – Are you kidding me? I don’t think a day goes by where I don’t eat at least one vegetable.
  11. Whole-grain pasta – At least weekly, but I try not to overload on carbs.
  12. Chicken – This is a no brainer, I will likely turn into a chicken soon.
  13. Mixed Berries – Hmm, I definitely eat these when they are on sale, but I could use more.
  14. Dark Chocolate – At least weekly, if not daily. Now that I think about it, I probably eat a little too much of this!
  15. Low-fat Yogurt – Oh my – how could I not eat this weekly?

As far as the ideal runner’s diet, it seems that I’m not doing too bad. Although I do need to increase my intake of eggs, sweet potatoes (actually have these in the pantry right now!), oranges, and seafood (not gonna happen).

Whew, now that that’s out of the way, I’m going to make some Tazo Awake tea – too bad that’s not on the Runner’s World list!

Have a great day everyone!

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Treat a Cold With Chicken Soup?

August 18, 2009 by

Hello All! I had another highly productive day today. I was so productive, that I gave myself a break this afternoon and had a nice big treat….

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A great big chocolate chip cookie from Panera Bread. It was a little dry, so I only ended up eating about 2/3 of the cookie. I also enjoyed some hot chamomile tea from Higgins and Burke while eating my cookie (forgot my Tazo at home)….

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I never did end up going to Whole Foods. I was on the conference call for longer than I had planned, then had another spontaneous meeting. I’m going to make a concerted effort to go tomorrow.

Tonight, Scott was working late so I decided to make dinner simple and have leftover chicken soup…

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…which tasted mighty good!

The Healing Powers of Chicken Soup

Chicken soup may be very simple but it is simply amazing. It is low in calories and fat, is a great source of protein, vitamins A, C, and a whole host of others. But, what’s really amazing about chicken soup is its ability to heal. Nearly 10 years ago, a landmark study in the journal CHEST found that basic chicken soup really does help to prevent or treat a cold or the flu, because of its potential anti-inflammatory effect on the body. See, mom really was right when she told you’d feel better after eating your chicken soup! I wonder what else she was right about..hmm…

After dinner, I cleaned up the house a bunch because it was left in such disarray this morning – and I can’t stand a messy house!

Then, I was in the mood for something sweet so I topped off the night with a little dessert…

8.18 dessert

One scoop of Breyers all-natural chocolate and vanilla ice cream and 1 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips. Just enough.

Now, I need to get some work done before heading to bed. Have a great night everyone!

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Whole Foods Withdrawal

August 18, 2009 by

Afternoon everyone! Hope you’re day is going well. I had such an awesome run this morning. It’s so nice not being sick!

For breakfast, I had a quickie PB sandwich…

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I took a very fresh slice of Brownberry Multigrain bread spread with about 2 tbsp all-natural creamy peanut butter. I also had about 3-4 oz of Tropicana all-natural OJ. This may not seem like much, but the nuts in the bread (and high fiber) combined with the peanut butter can really fill you up!

It took me forever to get ready for work today and nearly as long to actually get to work. I felt like everything was going in slow motion. It was after 9 AM by the time I arrived to work. So, immediately I jumped right into action on my first project, which took me nearly all the way to lunch.

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I had another slice of Brownberry bread with about 1 oz of sliced turkey and low-fat salami deli meat, paired with carrots of course! Not very exciting, but definitely a nutritious office lunch.

I’m actually on a conference call/webinar right now, but plan to have a big chocolate chip cookie for an afternoon snack. Someone put them out in the staff lounge and I snagged one before they were all gone – he, he!

I think I may head out to Whole Foods after my call for a quick grocery run – I’m in need of more Dr. Kracker flatbreads! Also, I haven’t been to Whole Foods in nearly 3 weeks so I’m going through withdrawal.

Gotta run for now. Have a great afternoon everyone!

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A Healthy Ice Cream Sundae

August 17, 2009 by

Hello All. I had such a great day today. I was really focused at work and was able to get quite a lot done (although there’s still more to go!). I love it when I’m super productive, it makes having to leave early so much easier.

For lunch, I packed some of the homemade split-pea and ham soup that my husband and I made a couple weeks ago. I froze some of the leftovers in individual containers (mostly for me, because Scott won’t eat the leftovers) and knew they’d come in handy for work lunches.

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I only had about a cup of the soup but it was sooo rich and filling. That’s why legumes (peas, beans, etc) come so highly recommended – because they are full of fiber and they fill you up, even with a small amount.

I left work around 2:30 PM to make a 3:15 PM doctor’s appointment. After that, I perused the local Barnes and Noble for the September issues of Natural Health and Yoga Journal, but didn’t have time to read more than a few pages. It was my night to make dinner so I needed to scoot home and get that started.

Tonight was chili night! I made my husband’s homemade turkey chili with beans, but I added a few variations to give the chili more veggie power.

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Scott’s Original Homemade Chili

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2-3 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1-2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1-2 tbsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
  • 24 ounces canned tomato sauce
  • 1 McCormick’s Original Chili packet
  • 1 16-ounce can chili beans
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2-3 cups whole wheat elbow or other short noodle, cooked and drained

Add oil to a large sauce pan and heat for 1 minute. Add turkey meat and chop into fine pieces. Add garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, and pepper to meat and cook until 3/4 of the way cooked. Add green pepper and onion and continue cooking until meat is completely cooked through. Add tomato sauce and chili packet and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add beans (with juice) and simmer for 10 minutes. Add cinnamon, stir, and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Serve over noodles, bread, rice, or plain. Add cheddar cheese for extra flavor. Leftovers can be frozen and then reheated in the microwave or on the stove.

Serves 8 people.

I’ve been eating this chili for as long as I’ve known my husband and never thought I could love chili so much! But tonight, I threw caution to the wind and added two secret ingredients…1) when I added the beans, I also added about 1 cup of sliced grape tomatoes; and 2) when I added the cinnamon, I also added about 2 cups of baby spinach and mixed it into the chili thoroughly.

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I absolutely LOVED my new variation of the chili! The tomatoes added even greater flavor to the chili and the spinach (although you couldn’t even taste it) added a ton of vitamins that spinach is famous for.

However, my husband was not so pleased. He immediately asked, “what did you do to the chili! Did you add spinach to it!?” And then he grumbled a few things under his breath. I calmly explained that, on more than one occasion, he has complained that he does not eat enough vegetables. So tonight, I tried to sneak a few more in for him. Hmm, it’s not always a good thing to be a sneaky vegetable cook. After all was said and done, he did admit that the chili tasted good (although he had picked over most of the tomatoes and spinach which defeated the whole purpose – I get points for trying). As for me, I would definitely try this variation again, but for newbies, you may just want to stick with the original recipe provided above.

After dinner and clean up, I needed to the head to the library to return a book. I ended up bringing about 20 more books and DVD’s home! I’m so glad there’s no limit to what you can check out. 

Then it was dessert. Scott and I made homemade sundaes.

8.17 dessert

For my sundae, I started with 2 small scoops of Breyers all-natural vanilla/chocolate ice cream. Then I added:

  • 1/4 sliced banana
  • 1 tbsp chocolate chips
  • 1 tbsp hot fudge sauce
  • 1 tsp sliced almonds

It sounds so indulgent, but it was actually quite healthy. Bananas are a great source of potassium and fiber and the almonds are an awesome source of monounsaturated fats (MUFA’s) or the good fats that our body needs to stay healthy. Combine all of those goodies with the antioxidants in the dark chocolate I used, and the sundae is practically a health food! Ok, I shouldn’t go that far, but more nutritious than a Dairy Queen sundae, and much smaller too.

Now, I’m finally going to read my new Marie Claire magazine that’s been sitting on my nightstand for two weeks.

Have a great night!

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Introducing the New Running With Cake!

August 16, 2009 by

As I’m sure you can tell, Running With Cake has a new look! My husband worked all day on setting up the new theme, graphics, colors, etc. and it looks fabulous. I do plan on adding a couple new features in the next week or so, including a few pics of me. Stay tuned for more health, fitness, and fun with RWC. In the meantime, let me know what you think of the new look.

Even though my husband was locked up on the basement for most of the day (don’t worry, we have a walk-out basement, so there is natural light) working on my new theme, he managed to help me make an awesome dinner.

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Chicken soup? Yes, chicken soup even tastes great in the summer, especially when you’ve been sick. But, the biggest reason we decided to make this homemade specialty is the weather. Being from the Midwest, we know that the weather can change on a dime. But, I was so surprised today, when it went from 85 to 65 degrees in about 2 hours. Because of this drastic change, and the fact that we still had the central air on in the house, we were both freezing. Chicken soup sounded like a perfect meal to warm us up.

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My husband’s chicken soup includes all sorts of healthy goodies, not to mention it’s a very low-calorie dish.

Scott’s Chicken Noodle Soup

  • 2 chicken breast halves, thawed
  • 4-5 carrots, chopped in large chunks
  • 3-4 celery stalks, chopped in large chunks
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 9-10 cups chicken broth/stock
  • 2-3 tbsp dried parsley
  • 3 cups wide no-yolk noodles, cooked and drained

Add all ingredients (except the noodles) into a large stock pot or soup pot. Bring to a boil over the stove burner, then let simmer on medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Carefully remove the cooked chicken from the soup and either shred or chop it. Return the chicken to the soup pot. Add cooked noodles. Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread.

Just as I mentioned in the recipe above, this soup is great alone or when paired with crusty bread for dipping. Tonight, we had our soup with a 1/2 loaf of multi-grain bread with oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

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I also add a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese to my soup. It’s just a habit after working at an Italian catering hall for 4 years in high school. It gives the soup a whole different flavor!

Well, after warming up a bit with our soup, my husband had to run out to get gas for one of the cars. It just so happens that one of our favorite ice cream parlors is right by the Costco gas station. So, not only did he get gas, but he came home with ice cream for both of us…

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Scott had a huge chocolate malt, but I ended up with a mere kid’s scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream – hmmm, that’s doesn’t seem very fair to me. No, I’m just kidding of course. The ice cream was an awesome treat and a great way to end our day, and our weekend.

Now, I have to get ready for bed. Monday morning seems to be hitting me extra hard these days. Have a great night everyone!

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That's what Julia would do…

August 13, 2009 by

Oh my, if you are at all a foodie or even like eating food (who doesn’t?) then I highly suggest you see the movie Julie & Julia. I saw it this afternoon with my husband and it was fabulous. I want to give you my thoughts on the movie, but I’ll get to that in a sec. 

After eating a decent size lunch (although it was mainly grilled veggies) I was still not hungry for dinner after the movie. And I had such a headache by the end of the movie – the second day in a row that I’ve had a headache. So, instead of a big dinner, I had an RWC kid’s meal:

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Yes, it’s just what it looks like – peanut butter and jelly. Now, I love high quality, gourmet food, but sometimes, you just need to eat peanut butter and jelly. I made my 1/2 sandwich with one piece of Brownberry Grains & More bread. I love it because it’s super high in fiber – 6 g per slice! On it, I spread about 1 tsp of all-natural raspberry preserves and 2 tbsp of all-natural creamy peanut butter.

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Not very glamourous, but adequate nonetheless. I also had a really juicy nectarine which was just delicious…

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Now, I’m sooo tired, I just want to go to bed. But first, Julie & Julia…

I don’t want to give away too many of the details but the movie chronicles a year in the life of an aspiring writer who cooks and blogs her way through, the now deceased, Julia Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The movie was quite funny at times and very heartwarming. Meryl Streep was amazing as Julia Child and Amy Adams was just as good playing her distant protege, Julie Powell. The movie really showed you a different side of Julia that most of the public never got to see. And, I absolutely loved all scenes of France – so charming and rustic!

Although I loved the movie, it also made me a little sad. I saw how each women used food/cooking to fill a void in her life, and I could definitely relate. Although I’ve been a health and fitness writer for many years, I’m a novice blogger. Sometimes, I don’t even know if it’s worth writing, because why write when no one is reading anything that I say, except for my dear husband – and like Julie Powell’s mother – he doesn’t count. 

So, if you’re out there and have any words of encouragement, I’d love to hear them. For now, I’ll keep on writing, even if it’s only to fill my own void – after all, that’s what Julia would do.

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I Am So Over Bagels…

August 11, 2009 by

Hey all! Hope your morning is going well so far. My 4-mile run was awesome today – my foggy head from yesterday is all clear today, thank goodness. 

After my run, I recharged with a protein-packed breakfast…

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About a cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal topped with two very plump and ripe strawberries. So yum! 

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When I arrived at work, I walked into the staff lounge/kitchen and saw a huge assortment of jumbo-size bagels. There must have been about 50 bagels and 7-8 tubs of flavored cream cheese. About 10 years ago, I would have jumped on those bagels without a second thought. I used to love bagels and ate them a ton in college and graduate school. They were so filling and cheap, which is necessity for a graduate student’s budget. I ate them so much that I became bageled-out after graduation. And, in recent years, I’ve realized that bagels just don’t sit well in my stomach anymore. They are so full of carbs/starch (not to mention meaningless calories) that they leave me feeling super full and nearly bloated after I eat them. So now when I see these massive, and I mean massive – they are as big or bigger than a CD, I just walk away knowing that I’ll be better off. 

Today, I have a very important afternoon meeting and a business dinner at a local winery (cool!). I’m pretty sure I will not be taking pictures of my dinner this evening. How weird would that look to my business guests if I was snapping pics of my entree? 

Well, I’m off to prepare for my meeting. Wish me luck!

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