Archives for October 2011

Uptown 5 Mile Race

Hey guys and gals!

Another race recap here!  Last weekend I ran the Uptown 5 Mile race in downtown Dallas.  Laura was originally going to run the 13.1 Dallas Half Marathon but she’s recovering from an injury and rebuilding her mileage so she offered me her bib for the 5 miler.  

The course went through uptown Dallas, along a bit of the Katy Trail, and through downtown Dallas.  I couldn’t have asked for a better day for a race.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  The scenery was amazing along the course and I had an amazing run!

The first 4 miles were pretty easy.  I just trotted along and enjoyed the scenery- and saw parts of Dallas that I hadn’t seen before.  Once I got to the Katy Trail I almost got run over by a roller blader (do people still roller blade??) who got pissed at me for being in his way.  Ummmm… okaaay.  I think the hardest part of the race was the last mile, which was completely UPHILL!  Gah, I do NOT understand why race planners do this!  It was torture!  My time ended up being 59: 37 which is pretty darn good for me!

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I also learned the significance of wearing proper socks during this race.  Look what happened! Sad smile 

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Ouch!  I do have proper running socks, but they weren’t clean so I just grabbed the first pair of socks I came across that morning when I was getting ready.  Big mistake, definitely learned a lesson!

Stina and Laura’s cousin Jennifer were there running the half marathon.  Total badasses!  I’m SO proud of those two!!!

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That’s one good looking group of ladies!

 

I do have some complaints about my race though… I have to say the 5 miler was quite obviously not important at all to the race planners.  The whole 5 mile race felt like a complete afterthought.  There were booths and entertainment set up for the half marathon portion but none of that was going on for the 5 miler.  I felt like they made it fairly obvious that the 5 mile race didn’t really matter all that much.  And the race was also longer than 5 miles.  I stopped my Garmin at 5.2 and I still wasn’t at the finish line.  I’d say the course was probably like 5.3-5.4?  I had a good run, but I would probably not do this race again.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt so insignificant in my life. I definitely don’t like feeling like that, so why should I give them my money in the future for it- know what I mean?

 

Anyhoo- Just about another month until my half marathon and I am SO freaking excited!  I had a glorious 8 mile run yesterday that left me super pumped me up for the race!

Later gators!

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Foodie Penpals, part 1

Hey guys!

I signed up for something called Foodie Penpals this month after hearing Laura talk about it.  It sounded like it could be really neat so I decided to sign up for it!

I got Sara for a foodie penpal and sent her a few Texas goodies- some organic goods from Central Market (dark chocolate, pumpkin seed flatbread crackers), some jalapeno beer bread mix from a farm in Fredricksburg, and some coconut water (not local but it’s one of my favorite things so I like to share the coconut water love when I can!).  Sara doesn’t have a blog, but I’m hoping she’ll do a guest post for me soon!

And Hannah from Sirenical got me as a penpal!  I got my first foodie penpal goodies yesterday in the mail from Hannah and oh my goodness!!!  Hannah is awesome and seriously spoiled me!

Hannah is from Vermont so she sent me all kinds of goodies from her state!  Here’s what I got…

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I literally squealed when I opened the package!  And I’m totally one of those people that have to open everything and try it as soon as I get it.  So I have totally already tried everything!

Hand made earrings and bracelet!  So pretty!

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Speaking of hand made… home made applesauce!!  I’m going to have to fight Justin for this one- he’s an applesauce fiend!

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Super sweet post cards with a recipe and a hand written note from Hannah!

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Crackers, which I immediately used to dip into some of the other goodies that she sent!

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Maple Pumpkin Butter!  Swoon!  I’m already trying to figure out how to get more of this for when I run out!

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And apple cider honey mustard!  ZOMG!  I can’t wait to dunk baby carrots in this!  NOM!

 

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And these little maple candies??  Like crack!  So good that they’re already gone! 

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Thank you so much Hannah- you are the BEST!!!

 

If you want to do foodie penpals head over to Lindsey’s blog and sign up- it’s so much fun! 

Here are some of the deets…

  • On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
  • You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
    The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
  • You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
  • Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. *US Residents only please at this time- hopefully we can expand soon!*

If you’re interested in participating for November, please send an email by November 4th to theleangreenbean@gmail.com and include the following information:
-Your full name
-Your email address
-Your blog name/address
-Your twitter handle (if applicable)

 

Hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!

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World Series!!!!!

Hey guys!  This week has been so busy busy busy!  Projects to finish, a paper to write, another assignment to finish, and a test to study for!  But it’s slowing down just a bit- one of the projects is finished, the paper and the assignment are done, and I made a 94 on my test!  Huzzah! 

Guess what we did this past weekend?  We went to the World Series!!!  (or as some of my fav DJs on the sports station I listen to on the radio are calling it… the World Effing Series!)

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You guys I LOVE baseball!!  And I also love the Rangers!  I’ve been going to games for as long as I can remember.  And I’ve honestly never cared that the Rangers hadn’t been to the World Series.  They’re my team win or lose.  But It’s still super exciting that they’ve gone to the World Series two years in a row! 

We couldn’t afford to go to any of the playoff games last year, but this year I knew that I had to get tickets as soon as they went on sale.  So I was online the second they went on sale.  I stood in e-line for 4 hours waiting to buy my tickets.  And as soon as I printed those bad boys out I was so happy.  I think I smiled the whole rest of the day! 

So on Sunday we got there super early so that we wouldn’t have to fight traffic since there was also a Cowboys game and the stadiums are right next door to each other.  So we picked up some food at whole foods and had a little picnic!

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You guys!  Whole Foods has this Chia bread and it’s freaking AMAZING!!! I got the veganize me sandwich and it was so freaking good!  Next time I get it I’m going with mustard though- I’m not a big mayo fan. 

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It’s not a picnic without a cookie!!  (or 3 or 4, haha!)

While we munched we listened to the Cowboys game on the radio.  I don’t like football so that was pretty torturous for me.  At least I had cookies. Winking smile

Then they opened the gates to the stadium, so in we went!

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Watched the guys warm up a bit…

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Then headed up to our seats with a beer in hand!

Our seats weren’t as high up as I thought they were going to be. 

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This guy was pretty hardcore with his camera!

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National Anthem time! (Zooey Deschanel was pretty amazing!)

 

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The game was AWESOME!!!!!  Rangers won!  4-0.  And Napoli was of course a total badass!  And Holland’s pitching was on fire!  (P.S. my prediction from as soon as I knew they were going has been Rangers in 6.  I’m sticking with that one!  Though I wouldn’t turn my nose up at Rangers in 7, lol!)

These are the faces of two very happy Rangers fans!

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GO RANGERS!

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Simple Apple Tarts

I was saving this recipe for later in the week but I just couldn’t keep it to myself any longer!  And when I say any longer you should know that I made these this afternoon.  Yeah, I’m terrible at keeping secrets.  I’ve had a sheet of puff pastry hanging out in my freezer for months and I really needed to use it.  Seeing that honeycrisps are out right now, there’s no time that’s more perfect to put the two together!

These apple tarts are SO simple to make and are insanely delicious!  They won’t last long- trust me my hubby is polishing them off as we speak!

Simple Apple Tarts
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry (I used the Pepperidge Farm- you can find them in the freezer section by the frozen pie crusts)
1 apple- peeled, cored and sliced extremely thin
3 T brown sugar
1-2 T earth balance
cinnamon for sprinkling on top

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Unfold puff pastry onto a cutting board and let it thaw enough for you to be able to work with it.

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Slice it into thirds lengthwise down the seams, then slice each third into three pieces for nine total pieces.

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Place 4-5 of your very thin apple slices on each piece, leaving a little bit of room at the edges so that it puffs up and turns an amazing shade of golden brown.. 

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Place a few tiny pieces of your earth balance on top of each piece and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

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Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes.

Enjoy as is, dusted with a little powdered sugar, or with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

 

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Delicious- and perfect for all of those fall apples!

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Meatless Monday: Chana Masala

I finally found the scratch paper on which I wrote this recipe!  I’ve been looking for it for weeks!  That will teach me not to write a recipe without my spiral that I keep all my recipe scratch in!  That was a close one!

Ever since we got back from NYC I’ve been craving Chana Masala.  I’ve tried making it before but I didn’t get it quite right.  The Indian place we went to inspired me to try again and I think I got it this time!  I think this is the perfect blend of spices and tomatoey goodness, and served with a big piece of Naan?  Forget about it!  And an added bonus… it’s incredibly easy to make!

Chana Masala
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 T corriander
1 T cumin
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika

Directions:
Sauté onion and garlic in a little cooking spray over medium heat until tender.

Add chickpeas, crushed tomatoes, and spices and let simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with rice and a big piece of Naan. I also served mine over a little spinach to get a little extra veg in there!

 

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Hope you love it- happy Meatless Monday!

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