More Fall Flavors

Lately, I've been eating a lot of overnight oats, even though I haven't posted about it. I've been trying to perfect a recipe that I am actually excited to enjoy in the morning, since I'm kind of sensitive to textures and there's just something about bloated, slimy, cold oats that doesn't really appeal to me unless it tastes awesome (I know, I'm really selling you on the overnight oats idea with that description!).

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Well, I think I've found a combination that works for me. It actually happened by accident, when I realized that we were out of milk one night. I fretted for a few minutes since I had already mixed the oats and yogurt, but then saw a jar of applesauce in the back of the fridge. Jackpot! This has been my overnight oats recipe for the last week or so:

Basic Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

• 1/3c oats
• 1/3c plain yogurt
• 1/3c unsweetened applesauce
• 1-2t almond or peanut butter
• handful of raisins
• sprinkle of cinnamon

Method:

1. Mix and refrigerate overnight.

Until last night, when I had a huge can of Libby's open as a result of my Pumpkin Blueberry Muffin baking adventure. Now, I made pumpkin overnight oats this summer and DID NOT like them. I think I had two bites and threw the rest away. I'm not sure if it was the maple syrup or just that it was still so dang hot out that I wasn't feeling the fall flavors yet, but they just did not sit well with me. I was willing to give them another go though and I had a feeling that the addition of applesauce might be the key here...

Apple-Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

Ingredients

• 1/3c oats
• 1/3c pumpkin puree
• 1/3c unsweetened applesauce
• handful of raisins
• sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

Method:

1. Mix and refrigerate overnight.

These oats were incredible! So incredible, in fact, that I put them in an empty PB jar and savored them all the way into 3rd period today, when my students asked, horrified, if I was eating peanut butter straight out of the jar (like that would be so horrible!).

While we're on the topic of things I'm eating from my desk today, I also just finished this yummy salad:

Mixed greens, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, chickpeas, BBB dressing, goat cheese.

Two more hours of student testing, then I am outta here!

Too Hot for Soup?

My sweet husband is HOOOOOME!

 

Engagement Pictures - Kali Kraum Photography

But before he came home, I did a flat, fast, and hot 3-miler at the track in my parents' neighborhood.

Run stats? Glad you asked!

• Total Mileage: 3.14mi
• Total Time: 26.53
• Average Pace: 8:33min/mi

I wanted to do 4, but my tummy started bothering me around mile 3. I walked a half mile to cool down and called it a day. C'est la vie!

After I picked B up from the airport, we grabbed lunch at Alotta's. Next to my family's grocery store, I think Alotta's has pretty much the best sandwiches on the planet. However, I forgot to ask for no mayo, so my veggie sammy was a little gloopy (blech!) and my stomach continued to feel weird for the rest of the day. Bummer.

Brian promptly fell asleep on the couch while I puttered around in the kitchen. Upon seeing these little cuties, I asked myself, Is it too hot for soup?

If produce could talk, they would have said, Yes, Megan, it is far too hot for soup! but I decided to make it anyway. Could you resist those cute little UFO squash? I sure couldn't.

Summer Squash and Gypsy Pepper Soup
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups sweet gypsy peppers (bell peppers work too)
• 3/4 pound summer squash, sliced thin crosswise (about 3 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup low-salt chicken or vegetable broth

Method
1. In a large skillet cook onion in olive oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add gypsy peppers and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until pepper is softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in squash and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in broth and bring mixture to a simmer. Purée soup (in a blender or with an immersion blender) until smooth and transfer to a saucepan. Cook soup over moderate heat until just heated through, stirring in enough water to thin to desired consistency, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Serve with Tapatio, if you like it spicy (we do)!

I thought a giant bowl of steaming soup was just way too overwhelming, so I served it up in ramekins. Perfect! We also had leftovers of Angela's Time Crunch Enchiladas and a totally juicy and amazing honeydew melon from our CSA box. Yum.

Despite the staggering heat in my kitchen, I kept cooking after dinner (I know, I'm crazy). I have been wanting to try Heather's Oaties for a while now and knew Brian would want something sweet later on (Who am I kidding, I would want something sweet later too!). They were great!

Mmmmm, I almost just ate it all raw.

There is a sort-of funny story behind this silly penguin tin. I got this tin in college as a gift, full of some holiday treats, I can't even remember now. I keep wanting to get rid of it, because it's kind of ridiculous, but it's sort of become our designated "baked goods" tin. Whenever it is sitting on the counter, B knows I have been baking and he gets super excited. I guess I can't get rid of it now!

Our big plans for Friday include renting a carpet cleaner. Thrilling stuff!

What are you up to this weekend, friends?

Track Star

Lest you think it has been all eating and no running around here, I logged a 7-mile run this morning. This is the longest run I've done in training so far and it felt awesome!

Run Stats:

• Total Mileage: 7mi
• Total Time: 1:01
• Average Pace: 8:45min/mi (whoohoo!! I think this is pretty great for a longer run!)

I was actually scheduled for an 8-mile run today, but since I missed last weekend's 7-miler due to my SI sprain, I didn't want to jump from 6 miles to 8 miles and risk another injury. Depending on how this week goes, I might do 9 miles next weekend. We'll see!

I am staying with my parents right now while Brian is out of town (again!) so I ran from their house to the local high school (~1.5mi) and then ran the track for 4 miles before heading back home. I haven't done any training on the track in a long time, but I compiled a list of pros and cons as I ran.

Pros

• Easier on the joints! The high school has an all-weather track and it felt nice on my knees and ankles. So springy!
• I could zone out and not worry about how far I had run and how much farther I still had to go. I knew I had to complete 4 miles, so I just set my Nike+ and ran until it told me to stop. Nice.
• I didn't have to carry my water with me. I've been wearing a hydration belt because the half-mary is an "eco" race and they are requiring that we carry our own water bottles. I don't mind the belt, but I definitely prefer not to wear it. At the track, I just set it down alongside the track and came back to it whenever I needed it. 

Cons

• Boring! Although it was nice to just zone out and run, it was also hard to ignore the fact I was just going around and around and around... Blah.
• No shade! I ran pretty early, but it was still getting pretty sunny by the time I hit the pavement to get back home. I forgot to put on any sunscreen (because I usually run on a pretty shady trail) and I definitely had a little sunburn on my shoulders when I get home.

In general though, it was a welcome change and allowed me to push my pace a little bit. I was happy!

I came home, did a little Yoga for Runners, and enjoyed this delicious breakfast:

Overnight Oatmeal Pancake topped with peanut butter and fresh berries, a Green Monster, some leftover coffee from earlier, and tons of H20, of course! In this GM:

• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 banana
• handful of frozen peach slices
• 1/2 cup fruit juice (my parents had some V-8 Fusion, so I tossed that in)
• 1T chia seeds

The rest of my day liked a little bit like this (don't worry, I remembered sunscreen!):

For dinner, we had delicious grilled veggies, grilled ham and cheese panini with fresh basil and dijon vinaigrette, and fresh pineapple. Yum!

I am simply quivering in anticipation of tomorrow's World Cup Final match-up between Spain and Holland! Who are you rooting for? (I'll still pretend to like you if you say Holland!)

Here are some more questions for ya!

1. Where do you prefer to run? Track, trail, through the neighborhood?
2. Do you ever get bored with your route? What do you do to mix things up?

Overnight Oats Success!

I had a 5-mile run scheduled for today. I fueled a little better when I woke up (a sandwich thin with maple cinnamon almond butter and sliced banana) and tried to hydrate a little more than usual (without drinking so much that I was uncomfortable during my run). I made sure to especially focus on my breathing during the first mile and was able to find a comfortable rhythm much earlier. This run was so much better than yesterday's!

Yesterday, I worried on the phone to my mom that I didn't feel as strong as I did two weeks ago, and she reminded me that I intentionally started training for the half-mary super early because I knew I was going to have some travel time that disrupted my training and it was OK. And she was right! As long as I am running consistently and gradually adding distance, I'll be good to go at the end of August. Here are today's run stats:

• Total Mileage: 5mi
• Total Time: 44:25
• Average Pace: 8:52min/mi

I walked an additional mile after I finished (my goal was the water fountain 1/2 mile past home!). The weather was beautiful and perfect and I was just really enjoying being outside.

I made it home eventually though, because I knew this was waiting for me in the fridge:

That's right, my first ever bowl of overnight oats! I was planning to make these all day yesterday and then got distracted last night while watching The Bachelorette with my sister-in-law and completely forgot. I was all ready to go to sleep (in bed, reading, etc), when I suddenly remembered and headed back into the kitchen to assemble the goods.

In my inaugural batch:

1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 banana, mashed
1T ground flax
1.5T vanilla

This morning I added:

maple cinnamon almond butter (I should have made a double batch!)
fresh strawberries

I didn't really know what to expect since, even though everyone and their mother has been raving about overnight oats, the thought of cold, swollen oats kind of grosses me out. However, I am happy to report that I actually kind of liked them! It's a bit heavier than what I normally consume in the morning (I know, I know, breakfast is supposed to be the biggest meal of the day. I just can't handle it, OK?), but since I didn't actually eat these until 11:30 when I finished running, yoga-ing, and showering, they definitely held me over for quite a few hours.

In other news, I am seriously missing my sweet husband! This is the longest we have been apart since we got married last summer and I am ready for him to be home tomorrow!

P.S. I made Angela's Time Crunch Vegan Enchiladas (except, um, not vegan because I used real cheese) and they were amaaaaazing! I made my own enchilada sauce (3T vegetable oil, 1T flour, 1/4c chili powder, 2c stock, 10oz tomato paste, 1t dried oregano, 2t dried cumin, 1/2t salt - simmer, simmer, simmer) and doubled the recipe, freezing half for when the hubs gets home. He loves him some enchiladas!