Breakfast (inhaled in under five minutes) was a bowl of pumpkinyogurtPB&J oatmeal… there are oats under there, I promise.

• 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
• 0% Fage Greek yogurt
• pumpkin
• Maranatha no-stir creamy peanut butter
• raspberry jam
• cinnamon

Luckily I’d gotten my lunch and snacks ready the night before:

• apple
• orange
• baby carrots (two days’ worth)
• big salad with spinach, small Gala apple, celery, grape tomatoes, tempeh bacon, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, tamari peanut dressing

I had lunch with three lovely ladies (including a surprise visit from my friend Ilena!)… we spent our meal dishing over our favorite 101 Cookbooks recipes and how great life will be when we can collect social security and reap the benefits of life among the elderly.

Danielle was nice enough to share some of her Ritter Sport milk chocolate w/ Cornflakes… it had a nice snapcracklepop! feel to it.

When I got home, I was greeted with a HUGE package from Miss Blue Eyed Heart: the prize from her blogiversary giveaway.

I couldn’t believe all of the great things in the box: cozy socks, a journal, a candle, crossword puzzles, White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter (!) nutrition bars, chocolate, pretzels, and more!  Thanks so much, Miss Blue.

She sent a gorgeous pair of earrings that would have gone perfectly with my outfit today… I  haven’t quite acquired her ear photography skills, but I’m working on it

I was pretty hungry, so I dug into a bag of steamed broccoli while I played with Charley…

… and some crudités and cheese…

… and raw carrots with sea salt when my mom got home.  I certainly can’t be criticized for not eating enough veggies!  (My tum is feeling that fiber, though…)

My mom picked up a great dinner at Citarella: Crab cakes (these have been my favorite for years), pasta salad and green beans.

My dad picked up two equally delicious desserts at Silver Moon Bakery, which we split three ways: a pear tart and chocolate-hazelnut bombe.  Mmm.

Now I’m off to go do some work in the tub.  Warm water + candles makes it so much more bearable!  A bath will also be good for my knee; it’s better than yesterday, usually the worst after I’ve been sitting for a while.  I see some yoga in my future this weekend, which will be perfect because the weather is supposed to be quite shoddy.

Have a great night!

Not too much has happened these past two days, but I did receive a lovely package in the mail from the lovely Amie!  These mini Larabars are the perfect snack-size…

… and made a great addition to my breakfast this morning, which I had to eat at my desk due to an 8 AM dentist appointment.

I mixed 1/2 cup oats with 1/2 cup water in the microwave, then added a sliced banana, 1/2 packet of Justin’s PB, and a Coconut Cream Pie mini Larabar.

This was one of the best combinations I’ve had in a long time!  It’s funny, because in the past I don’t remember liking this flavor of Larabar too much.  I might have to buy a big one just to crumble into my breakfast!

Amie also sent me a bunch of tea, which is going to come in really handy at work.  It may be getting warm outside, but my office is freezing!

After work I met Ada for dinner at Peacefood Cafe; we’ve been trying to make plans for over a month now, and it was so nice to finally get together again!  I ordered the pumpkin sandwich mashed and seasoned with a little sea salt, ground black pepper and extra virgin olive oil, topped with caramelized onions, ground walnuts, vegan goat cheese and seasonal greens (which I’ve ordered before and could probably eat every week without getting bored of it).  We were talking so much that it probably took about 45 minutes to eat!

We split two desserts.  The choices were endless and incredibly difficult to settle on, but we both enjoyed our selections.

The coconut cake (or “Funny Bone”) was moist and light…

… and the magic cookie tasted like a magic bar (/ 7-layer bar/ hello dolly) but was also made with shredded carrots.  Mmm!

Regular posting will continue tomorrow.  I had high hopes of staying up late to work, but I can barely keep my head up!  All I want to do is sleep… have a great night.

Yesterday I woke up nice and early to have breakfast with Beth and Ilana, and Pickles.

We had a nice little spread!  (The Yellow Tail stayed in its bag, don’t worry.)

I was gearing up for a 12 mile run, so I had a big bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch with a banana and  1/2 slice of Blueberry bread with peanut butter.

After breakfast, I waited about an hour to head out.  As I Tweeted, I was pretty nervous about it.  Luckily I had a great support system to cheer me on!

Unfortunately, 12 miles just wasn’t in the cards. As soon as I started running my calves felt tight, my left shin was sore and my legs just felt heavy.  Discomfort aside, my head was not in the right place.  I was in a pretty bad mood, and while sometimes running outdoors helps me focus on something else and clear my head, this wasn’t the case today.  After about a mile of trying to psych myself up and get into my groove, I knew it wasn’t going to work. Rather than torture myself, I turned right around and walked home.  My mind was racing, worried about the half-marathon that is in two weeks: I couldn’t even run 9 miles last week due to pain, so how am I going to run 13.1?!  This was supposed to be my last long run before starting to taper, and I couldn’t even do it.

That got me thinking.  This is supposed to be fun.  The only person I’m running for is me (…right?) and it hasn’t been enjoyable for the last few weeks, with a few exceptions.  Instead, it’s become a stressful chunk of time that I usually feel guilty about not using for work and the passion that originally incited me to start this series of races has died. Moreover, since I choose to broadcast a lot of my life through various mediums on the internet, I felt embarrassed about not being able to complete this goal. Yesterday I felt like a failure, and it was a horrible, horrible feeling.

There are a few things I have been lucky enough to feel truly passionate about (reading, cooking, running) but recently they’ve felt more stressful than fun, and I’ve found myself procrastinating doing the things that I used to love.  What’s with that?  “Failures” are usually learning experiences, and I would love to learn a little more about myself while I evaluate:

1) Why it’s important for me to run long distances, and

2) Why my brain and head seem to be rebelling against it.

What is clear to me is that something needs to change.  I’m not sure what it is; maybe I need to start my own happiness project and come up with new goals, or maybe I need to find something that doesn’t have a concrete “pass” or “fail” award.   The one thing I do know is that I’m incredibly hard on myself, and the first thing I probably need to get better at is accepting who I am without thinking about things in terms of success and limitations.

While I was stewing this over in my mind, I made a big salad for lunch.

In the mix:

• last of the Chopped Coconut Miso Salad
• sauerkraut
• dulse
• spinach
• grape tomatoes
• goji berries
• pumpkin seeds
• sesame oil/rice wine vinegar drizzle

I also had two slices of Gluten Free Bran Bread… even veggie patches need comfort food.

One of my friends tried it out, and before I told her what it was made of she remarked on the moistness, comparing it to a chocolate-chip cookie fresh out of the oven.  The rye bread was also super moist, so I think it has to do with the almond meal/flax base.  I love it!

I fell asleep while doing some work in bed (never a good idea!) and when I woke up, snacked on an apple with maca and cinnamon. I wish I could bring this combination to work without making a mess!

Dinner was a bit of an experiment.  I knew I wanted to keep my theme of comfort food, and what’s more comforting than macaroni and cheese?  I wanted it to be really cheesy, and although I usually add all kinds of things to the noodles (nutritional yeast, laughing cow wedge, parmesan) they don’t usually increase the cheese factor.  This time I mashed about 1/5 of a block of firm tofu, and it worked! I didn’t add any extra cheese (or cheeze) and it perfectly creamy.

I enjoyed it with a side of steamed broccoli, broc water, and a sprinkle of Emeril’s Original Essence.

Followed closely by a dessert plate, starring dried fruit, Maranatha almond butter, and one of Gina‘s Superoons.  Speaking of Gina, a huge congratulations to her for finishing the Disney Princess Half-Marathon!!!

Well, off to go get ready for work.  Have a wonderful day

Have any of your former passions turned into stressful chores? Do you evaluate yourself in terms of successes and failures?

Yesterday I could not, for the life of me, figure out what I wanted to eat for breakfast.  I finally settled on a little bit of everything, by way of a yogurt mess.

• 0% Fage Greek yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1/4 cup Bread Alone granola (my friend Miriam gifted this so long ago and I was happy to discover there was still a little left!)
• 1 scoop super chunky peanut butter
• raspberry jam

I took myself to the coffee shop for a small skim latte. I sat in the window for about half an hour before heading home– the sun was shining so brightly through the window that I could hardly erad the words off the page!

Around 3, I met Ilana and Beth for a slice.  It’s been so long since I’ve gone to a pizza parlor! I got a slice with basil and mozzarella.

When I got back home, I had a Granny Smith apple with cinnamon and maca.

In between chapters, I decided to get my hands a little dirty in the kitchen.  Ever since high school I’ve always gotten the baking bug when there’s work to be done.  Funny how that happens! After checking the pantry and fridge for ingredients, I settled on Elana’s Gluten Free Bran Muffins.   Since I don’t have a muffin tin (I won’t go as far as to say that I can’t afford one, but some things- like groceries- take priority…) I baked it in a loaf pan instead.

I used the Egg-land’s Best cage-free, vegetarian-fed large brown eggs that I received a coupon for from Foodbuzz a few months ago.

The eggs come in a special 3-layer plastic case to keep them from being crushed in transit.  I love this idea!  However, I do wish they’d find a way to make something similar out of paper or cardboard to reduce the amount of plastic they produce.

I made a couple substitutions, subbing pumpkin seeds for sunflower and dried cranberries for raisins.

Ta da!

23 minutes later, we had a beautiful loaf of bread.

I was about to go have dinner, but who can resist a loaf of bread hot out of the oven?

I loved the different textures of the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.  I can’t wait to have a full serving of this!

A little while ago, I received a question about the best affordable restaurants in New York. Well, I’m happy to say that last night my little red-headed friend and I discovered a new one!  While searching online for a little Italian comfort food, I stumbled upon Paprika, whose prix fixe looked pretty incredible.  Between 5 and 7, you have your choice of two courses for only $15!  The portions were far from meager, and the atmosphere was so cozy and romantic.  I couldn’t believe our luck!

We started with warm bread, olives and olive oil.

For my appetizer, I ordered an arugula salad with apples, walnuts and goat cheese.  It was huge!  Of course, being LVP, I gobbled up every scrap of salad, nut and apple, leaving only one of the two goat cheese rounds.

For my entrée, I had roasted arctic char with sautéed spinach (I believe it was cooked in orange juice) and thyme.  Delicious! I left about 1/3.

I’m going to keep this as a running list, but other affordable restaurants I love in New York are:

Chains

Hummus Place (Read about my visit)

Maoz Vegetarian (Read about my visit)

Le Pain Quotidien (My mom and I go here a lot, there is something for everyone)

Other

Paprika- Italain, great prix fixe with vegetarian and pescatarian options.

The Flea Market Cafe- French, great prix fixe options.  (Read about my visit)

Sura – Thai, great lunch specials.  They have an amazing appetizer trio for $12. (Read about my visits)

Alice’s Tea Cup- One of my favorite cafes.  You should check it out if only for the Alice In Wonderland decor! They have a great soup + 1/2 salad(/sandwich) for $12.  (I’ve gone here so many times, but I almost always get the same thing.)

Peacefood Cafe- Relatively new, this has great raw, vegan and vegetarian options.  Their pumpkin sandwich is delicious, and the desserts are to die for! (Read about my visits)

Bonobos- Raw food can be pretty expensive, but not here. For $8.95 you can get nori wraps, nut meat salads, veggie burgers, etc.  Their coconut chai is unbelievable, as are their sesame balls.  (Read about my visits)

Tips for Eating Out in NYC

• Many places, particularly Thai & Japanese, have amazing lunch specials that are under $10.
• Finding BYOB places (or having a little wine before or after your meal) is another way to slash your subtotal.
• Keep track of when Restaurant Week is going on!  Many restaurants, including Gotham Bar & Grill, keep their restaurant week lunch all year long.
• Many restaurants have prix fixe, 2-3 course meals. They’re often set with a certain time frame (usually before 7) so double check before you go.
• If you love sushi (as I do), you know it can get expensive.  We’ve recently discovered that by splitting a “sushi for two,” you get more food than both you or a hungry man can eat, and it’s less expensive than ordering individual rolls or pieces.  Bento boxes, which usually include soup, salad, a roll, tempura, and a small portion of an entrée, are also great deals.

After dinner we walked over to 16 Handles for dessert.  I loaded my cup with Euro Tart and Peanut Butter soft serve, strawberries, milk chocolate crunch, peanut butter cup and a chocolate-covered pretzel. Delish!

On our way home we took advantage of the short line at Trader Joe’s so I could pick up some essentials (Masala Burgers, frozen strawberries, Kerrygold butter, Harvest Grains Blend, coffee, red licorice) and Kalle could check out the wine shop.

When I got home Zombieland sucked me in… as did this bag of popcorn.

Call it fuel for the 12 mile run I’m about to attempt.  Honestly, I’ll consider myself lucky if I can make it through 7 miles pain free.  Fingers crossed. Wish me luck!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend

When Allie contacted me to to see if I’d like to review MaraNatha nut butters for the blog, I didn’t even blink before replying with an (overly) enthusiastic message back.  My first taste of almond butter was Maranatha brand, in college, and since then I’ve never looked back.

About Maranatha:

Allie sent me two jars of their new, No Stir products: No Stir Creamy Peanut Butter and No Stir Creamy Almond Butter.

No Stir Creamy Peanut Butter

My review: So smooth! It’s sweet and salty (they use both cane sugar and sea salt), with a great light grainy texture.

Dad’s review: Mmm, it s good! Tastes kind of whipped and creamy.

Ari’s review: My favorite of the “weird” peanut butters you’ve made me taste so far.

No Stir Creamy Almond Butter

My review: So creamy and smooth!  Sort of like sliding into a warm bath.

Dad’s review: Very creamy, not as intense as I thought it would be.  I hesitate to offer a criticism, though, because it’s still really good.  Gentle.

Ari’s review: Mmm, very good, but PB will always remain champion.

Although both No Stir labels recommend refrigerating the jars after opening, I keep them in the pantry and haven’t found them to be overly oily at all.

In the package the company included a coupon to use for any other Maranatha product, so I went for the…

Creamy and Roasted Cashew Butter

My review: This is sweet, roasted and creamy.  It’s perfectly salted and just sweet enough.  I learned to love cashews from the babysitter I had growing up, and I like eating them in new ways like this! The first time I tried cashew butter was when Melissa sent me a secret Santa package with chocolate covered cashew butter sandwiches, and we’ve had it stocked in the fridge from the co-op ever since! (Ari doesn’t know he tasted this as well, but I made him a peanut butter cup with cashew butter when we ran out of peanut… he loved it!)

The most obvious way I used the nut butters was in oatmeal.  It really makes the colors pop!

But there’s no end to the list of ways to use them.  In yogurt messes…

On toast…

In desserts…

In crazy breakfast creations…

I found it made the already smooth breakfast cookie that much creamier.

From the Maranatha website: Why are nuts so good for you?

• Nuts are such an excellent source of protein that they are put in the meat category of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid.
• Nuts contain no cholesterol, and are good sources of minerals and nutrients.
• Nuts are also typically high in the “good” kinds of fat. Some nuts can even lower levels of harmful LDL cholesterol.
• The FDA has identified polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats as “good” fats for cholesterol health. The fats in nuts are overwhelmingly of these two types.

Recent Major Health-Related Nut Studies:*

• Physician’s Health Study of 22,000 men, Iowa Women’s Health Study of 40,000 women, and the Harvard Nurses Health Study of 86,000 women. One conclusion that all of these studies shared was that nut consumption lowered the incidence of heart disease. (Click Here for Details)
• A study of 31,000 Seventh Day Adventists conducted by Loma Linda University in California discovered that not only did eating nuts lower the risk of heart disease, but surprisingly, also helped participants to keep their weight down. It is speculated that the “good” fat in nuts helps to satisfy appetites, so that people can manage to trim other possible calories throughout the day. (Click Here for Details)
• Studies at both Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that people on a Mediterranean-style diet, one that is moderate in fat intake, were more successful in keeping weight off for longer than their counterparts on a traditional low fat diet. The participants in the Mediterranean group substituted their usual saturated fat foods such as butter, certain dressings and sauces, with mono and polyunsaturated fats such as nut butters, nuts, and healthy oils. (Click Here for Details)

Heart Health, Nuts, & the FDA:

Multiple large-scale studies in recent years are pointing to the conclusion that nuts are extremely beneficial to good health. The claims for certain nuts range from reducing heart disease risks, facilitating weight loss, to lowering the prevalence of Adult Type 2 diabetes. In July 2003, the FDA approved the first qualified health claim for a food. The claim can be used on package labels and states:

“Scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5 ounces per day of some nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.”

Bottom line: Would I purchase these? Yes! They’re delicious, affordable (each jar retails for about $5), and a great source of protein and healthy fat.  In fact, though I’ve never been a macadamia lover myself, I’ve got my eye on a jar of Maranatha Macadamia Nut Butter… hope I can track it down!

Want two score your own jars of Maranatha?  The company is giving away two sets of two coupons to two lucky winners in the US & Canada.  Here are three ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment about your favorite way to use nut butter.

2. Link back to this contest on your blog, if you have one.

3. Tweet this: @Lilveggiepatch is hosting a Maranatha giveaway! http://bit.ly/asEfm7

I will pick a winner on Saturday, March 6.  Good luck!

And the winners are….

Ada: You are such a lucky gal to get those Maranatha products! Glad you enjoyed them and thanks for the extremely thorough review:)

JW: In oats or of course PB sammies!

Congratulations!  Please e-mail me your addresses.

I kept putting it off and putting it off; Ari agreed to run part of the way with me at 1 PM, so I decided to wait and enjoy a running companion.  By that point I needed another snack to hold me over, so I dug into the sample box of Warm Cinnamon Heart to Heart cereal that I received in the mail from Kashi.

This was pretty good; it reminded me a lot of Cinnamon Puffins.  I’d probably buy it and mix it with a heartier granola, but it held me through my run pretty well..

Ari and I set off.  He’d intended to run about 2 miles, but ended up going for the first full 4.5 mile loop with me.  This was the longest he’d ever run, second only to the GridIron 4 miler we ran together a few weeks ago!  We took a few walking breaks, but the most important part was that we logged the miles.  When we finished the loop, I dropped him off at the house, stopping inside to drink some water and munch on two Clif Shot Bloks.

These were part of a big package I received from Clif a few months ago.  I really liked the Cran-Razz flavor; it was sweet, but just enough sugar to make me feel ready to start running again.  It has a pretty smooth texture that you chomp right through; it doesn’t have the chewiness of, say, a Swedish Fish or Sour Patch Kid.

The trouble started on the second loop, around mile 5.  My knee started to really hurt. At first I thought I could run through it; it felt more like a “sensation” than a “shooting pain”- this is the distinction the yogis on Yogadownload.com always say it’s important to make- but then the pain got so sharp it actually brought tears to my eyes and I had to walk.  I was so frustrated. This was going to be my second time running 9 miles (the first was two months ago, at the NYRR Pete McArdle XC Classic 15K) and I’d expected my knees to hurt a little, but the pain not to be debilitating.  Wrong.  I’d walk a block or so, then start up again thinking the pain would lessen or I’d be able to suffer through it, but again the pain would shoot all the way from my the side of my right knee to my toes to my thigh.  Is this Runner’s Knee? I know what I have to do: build up my quads, so I don’t put so much pressure on the knees to carry all of the weight and impact of repetitive stress.  I just hope it’s not too late.

When I got home I took an Aleve and stretched, disheartened and worried.  The half-marathon is in three weeks.  My endurance is fine, but if I can’t run without sharp explosions of pain, how the heck am I going to run 13.1 miles?  Do you run through the pain? If you’ve suffered from knee pain, what made it better?

At least my appetite was normal, and I tried not to let my aggression out on the fridge door while I prepared my lunch.

In the mix:

• mixed greens
• leftover salmon and roasted vegetables
• sauerkraut
• grape tomatoes
• hemp seeds
• rice vinegar/sesame oil

I also had an orange.

I had a lot of reading to do (another reason why a bum run was irritating… walking time takes away from work time) so I went to a coffee shop and parked myself there for a couple hours, sipping on a tall skim mocha (the best of both worlds: chocolate milk recovery drink + caffeine).

When I got home later I was pretty hungry, so I snacked on everything pretzel crisps with hummus.

Dinner was Heidi Swanson’s Simple Farro & Bean Stew.   I couldn’t find farro at the grocery store and didn’t have time to go to another one, so I just used brown rice instead.  I also substituted sweet potatoes for waxy potatoes.  After my initial sprinkle of parmesan, I added a slice of Asiago.

This was such a comforting dish: hearty stews are so cozy to eat in the winter.  I should have halved the recipe, but I figure I can freeze the rest and enjoy it later on when I need the extra warmth.

Speaking of comforting, I also enjoyed a slice of my dad’s apple cake, which still tasted mighty fine.

We watched Alice before bed, which I loved.  For some reason my Netflix movies have been arriving on their own schedule… maybe it’s the snow?

I’m off to get the day started.  Click here to find the winner of the iHerb giveaway!

This morning I got up at 5 and dragged my spandex-clad self over to the gym with my reading.  I propped my work on the cross-ramp and sweat it out for 30 minutes, never mind the dark sky outside.  The work had to be done, so why not wake my body up while doing it?  I did a few ab exercises, then went home to work some more, get ready for the day and have breakfast.

This bowl of oatmeal was almost a little too belly-busting… I finished it, hoping it would hold me over for a longer period throughout the morning, but I didn’t feel so great afterward.

In the mix:

• 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
• 1 banana
• pumpkin
• 1 tsp ground flax
• 1 HUGE scoop almond butter
• stevia
• cinnamon

It did hold me over for about 3.5 hours, after which I snacked on an apple (but left the orange).

For lunch, I had leftover chickpeas…

… and a HoneyNana Chobani Champion from Ada.  Read my review here!

Lunch held me over really well… must have been all of the fiber in those garbanzos! Beans are champions when it comes to  staying-power and fullness. Around 4, I snacked on some baby carrots.

After work, I ran some errands then headed home to make dinner: Quinoa Risotto with Mushrooms and Thyme. I doubled the mushrooms for a certain mushroom-loving guy…

We had it with a little broccoli.  To be honest, this wasn’t my favorite recipe… it just didn’t have a whole lot of flavor.  Thank goodness for parmesan and salt!  Maybe it’ll taste better in a few days, once it’s hd time to stew a little in the fridge.

We had small glasses of chilled Réserve de Villecours Cabernet Sauvignon that my friend Howard gave us.

For dessert, I had a bowl of Mint Galactica Coconut Bliss Ice Cream with cardamom chocolate sauce and hazelnut butter.  Then I went back for more.  And I did not feel bad about it.

Sometimes, without realizing I’m doing it, I put a lot of pressure on myself to juggle many things at once and just deal with it.  I don’t always acknowledge how stressed out I’m feeling, and before I know it: BOOM! It goes to the bad place.  Sometimes I just need to remind myself that I don’t have to do everything, and I shouldn’t waste my energy feeling guilty when I give myself a break.  So tonight, in honor of Operation Ten P.M., I will not feel guilty.

I will not feel guilty about returning a Netflix movie unopened.

I will not feel guilty about leaving work at work and giving myself time to sleep.

I will not feel guilty about being moody from time to time.

I will not feel guilty that I’m not returning every owed phone call all in one night.

I will not feel guilty about ignoring my Blackberry and e-mails.

I will not feel guilty about leaving my closet in a bit of disorder until tomorrow night.  (Okay, maybe just a little…)

I will not feel guilty about that extra ice cream.

What won’t you feel guilty about today?