An Unwanted but Necessary Rest Day

I hit the ground running my way through this week trying to stay on top of my girls' activities, work, entertaining my mom, and keeping my head above water while James has been working from India. While it has definitely been tough, I've managed to bust out a difficult 10.5 mile trail run through one of the nearby mountains, take my daughter to Tuesday night running group, and spend time in the hot room doing power vinyasa yoga twice this week.

Tonight, though, I couldn't keep up the (unintentional) Superwoman act. After an overwhelming day of helping out a friend, spending time with my mom, and hours of driving my girls back and forth through Seattle and its greater surrounding area, I made the decision to skip running group tonight. Though it was a sunny day, it was chilly with a heavy, bitter wind, and I was too exhausted to fight the voice telling me to just go home and rest for the evening.

Instead of sweating in the frosty wind while my arms and legs flailed through the dark for a good five miles or so, I came home and tossed a whole organic free-range chicken in the pressure cooker with some spices, herbs, and lemon juice over multi-colored potatoes and carrots and pressed the "start" button. While I normally would have been basking in the glory of the runner's high, I helped my oldest with her piano practice and let my mom pick my youngest up from gymnastics.

Sometimes, I feel like I have failed myself when I skip a run. Tonight, though, I realize that it was a much needed break.

A Simple Chia Seed Pudding for the Win

I enjoy cooking and love trying new foods, so I was pretty excited when my mom introduced me to the vegetarian food blog Cake and Beans last month. In addition to their blog, I follow their Instagram page, and one day they posted this beautiful photo of chia pudding that instantly had me craving a food I had never tried.

Sure, I've used chia seeds in smoothies and homemade energy bars, but never pudding. I was intrigued, so I began experimenting... and wouldn't you know it, even though the texture took me a little bit of getting used to, it has become one of my favorites for breakfast and morning snacks.

Hello... I am chia seed pudding. Put me in your belly!

If you've never tried chia seeds but you're game for giving healthy foods a shot, these tiny little seeds pack a good punch of fiber, antioxidants, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and carbohydrates, so they're well worth a trial run.

Though I'm a poor excuse of a food blogger, I'm going to give you the recipe I used to make the pudding pictured above, which I came up with after perusing through a ton of Pinterest recipes and played with until I found the right mix of solids, liquids and flavors. 

Almond Milk Chia Pudding

1/4 cup chia seeds

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Dash of cinnamon

Heaping tablespoon of dried cranberries* 

Handful of fresh raspberries**

Directions: In a small bowl, stir the chia seeds, almond milk, and cinnamon together. Add dried cranberries. Place in refrigerator for about 1/2 hour or until the seeds have absorbed the moisture. Throw the fresh berries on top and enjoy.  

*Get creative here... I've also used fresh pomegranate seeds and blueberries. 

**Top the pudding with anything that sounds good... I usually end up throwing sliced banana on it.

Do you have any favorite chia seed pudding recipes? 

A Bit of Thug in my Kitchen

James got me this cookbook for Christmas, and I instantly busted up laughing while flipping through the pages amidst the frequent ooohhh I need that in my belly comments.

Though he admitted to buying it because it's hilarious and he hadn't looked at a single recipe, I was stoked to learn that every recipe in it is plant-based. That's right, folks - this cookbook is vegan! 

As I have mentioned before, I am not a vegan but I do try to eat like one most of the time. While I did spend a small chunk of my life trying out the vegan lifestyle, I learned that it's just not healthy for me to obsess over what I eat and wear. Instead, I stick to a primarily plant-based diet but don't sweat it if the pressure cooker calls for a hot Tuscan chicken stew on a cold day. It's all about moderation, peeps.

We decided to give our first thug recipe a try yesterday afternoon, so we whipped out a batch of their BBQ Bean Burritos with Grilled Peach Salsa. Except we cheated and bought a peach and mango salsa because peaches aren't in season and we were too lazy to consider firing up the grill in below-freezing temps for canned peaches. 

Ours looked more like this, but holy cow they were amazing!

It wasn't pretty... but dayummm it was good!

I tried to be clever by using foil to keep these bad boys in one clean piece while shoveling them into my face, but I gave up and just ended up allowing them to be good, messy burritos the way the universe intended them to be. 

If you're curious about the book but don't want to commit just yet, you can find the Thug Kitchen blog here. Even if you have no desire to adopt a plant-based diet, I do recommend giving at least one of their recipes a try - you won't be disappointed. 

A Fruity Post

Any guesses on what my favorite go-to snack item might be?

We have a fruit bowl that is comically overflowing with an array of colorful goodness on any given day. The kids know that they are always welcome to whatever is in the fruit pile, and a mid-week trip to pick up more bananas is a necessity, lest we perish from lack of obsessive banana consumption.

As I continue to slowly recover from travel, illness, and food poisoning, I was relieved to find that my favorite snacking items actually taste good to me again, and they haven't created any further discomfort. I'm at the tail end of the disgustingness, but it's safe to say I will not be doing any burpees today.

I am planning to run a half marathon this weekend, so send a few positive vibes my way for a speedy recovery if you have a chance.

Saturday Morning Treat

I have a bad habit, and you are welcome to judge me harshly. On Saturday morning, I often enjoy one of these bad boys from a family-owned donut shop a mile from my house as I sip a full mug of steamy black coffee.

Yes, I realize that my deep-fried and glazed blueberry donut appears counterintuitive to the concept of health blogging, but humor me for a moment. I am a firm believer that moderation is the key to my own personal health, both physical and mental. I also sometimes eat a donut on Sunday as well *gasp*, but only after running six to ten miles. And on half marathon days, I eat ALL OF THE THINGS.

I am a big fan of the podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin. If you have never read her books or listened to her podcast, I highly recommend giving her work some attention. Her second episode posed a fascinating question: "Are you a Moderator or an Abstainer?" Like many of her "get to know yourself better" questions, I was intrigued by the inquiry. Am I the kind of person who, despite best intentions to take only a few bites of a chocolate bar, eats the whole thing in one sitting, or can I enjoy just one square a day and feel satisfied? After pondering this for part of my morning commute (distracted driving = BAD), I realized that the dark chocolate bar actually sitting in the second drawer of my desk was the perfect indicator of my tendency. I can enjoy the chocolate bar over the course of a couple of weeks, which makes me a moderator. If I were an abstainer, my weekly donut indulgence would likely lead to a few-times-per-week or even daily habit. Thus, I would need to abstain from eating donuts all together lest I turn into one myself. Hey, you are what you eat, right?

It was through this realization that I was able to define why an occasional "bad" habit does not send me down a slippery slope of butter ending in a pile of sugar and lard that follow me throughout the rest of the week. I have no struggle enjoying treats in moderation, and my Saturday morning donut provides me ten to fifteen minutes of enjoyment and satisfaction that I feel I deserve after a week of intense activities and healthy foods.

I am curious about the eating habits of other runner/yogi/dancer/swimmer/active types. Do you prefer to follow a healthy diet 99.9% of the time, or are you comfortable enjoying an occasional treat?