The deets on roasted beets

Every so often I will buy something out of the ordinary in the produce section.  It’s not always delicious but it keeps things fun in the kitchen.  So when I saw these beautiful beets at the grocery store I jumped at it.  This past summer I was eating them fresh from my father’s garden and man were they good!  Growing up, the only way I would eat them was pickled.  I guess I had to wait quarter of a century for my tastes to mature because now I’m obsessed with them roasted.

The beauty of it is that it’s so simple.  Wash off the beet, wrap in foil and put in a 400* oven for 100 minutes.

Now before you roll your eyes, I realize that 100 minutes is too long but that’s what it took before I could easily insert a knife.  I was told that I could cut them in half and they would be done in 15 minutes but I’ll try that next time.  In case you haven’t figured it out yet, these were large beets.

Once they are done, peel the skin off and cut them however big (or small) you want.  Toss them on a salad. Eat them plain.  Eat them with butter and salt. I don’t care how you eat then, just eat them.  And yes your poop will look like blood.

Doesn’t this look like guava paste?

13.1 and DONE!

Well holy crap, I just finished my first half marathon!  It was not easy.  Even with all that training I did.   At the beginning people were flying past me but I knew better than to start fast.  Kept my ego in check and kept at my slow and steady pace.   By mile 6, was still feeling good.   Popped a smartie and kept at it.  By mile 9, my legs were starting to hurt and I prayed that they wouldn’t buckle.   By mile 12 I was holding back sobs because I had never gotten that far and was determined to finished no matter how bad it hurt.

And I did!  It took my somewhere around 2:10.  No idea really.   I was trying to keep from falling over.

As I was running,  I was thinking about this post and any advice I would give other runners.  So here goes:

Get there early.   Yes, getting there at 6am for a 745am race seems ridiculous but I needed and used every minute.  I wasn’t rushed,  got my bib, stretched at my car and used to bathroom 2 times before we started with enough time remaining to say 10 “Hail Mary’s” and “Our Father’s”.

Don’t wear gray pants.   I’m referring to the warm ups before the race starts.   Hear me out.  I don’t care how nice the race is, a Johnny-on-the-Spot is a Johnny-on-the-Spot.   They are all gross.   So while I’m trying to squat and not touch a thing in there,  I managed to pee on my pants.   My gray ones.   In other words,  there was no denying it.  Luckily I had my running pants on under but I didn’t want to risk falling over INSIDE the Johnny-on-the-Spot while trying to change them.  *shutter*  My solution? I came out to wash my hands and dried my hands on my pants.   No one said anything to me and even if they did, who gives a shit?

Stalk someone.   Or if that sounds too creepy, find a pacer.  I happened upon these 2 ladies that were running at a 10 minute mile pace which was the pace I was trying to keep. I zoned in on their Ironman calf tattoos for about 8 miles before they sped it up at mile 12. Good job ladies and thank you!

If you train with water, bring your water.  I always run with my Camel Bak.  2 things I must have with me at all times, running or not; water and chapstick.  So why should my race be any different?  I know they had hydration stations throughout but I would rather drink when I wanted to, not when they were available.  Plus, I don’t want to have to stop to drink the water.  If I’m running, I want to keep running.  Every time I try to drink out of those cups I always end up gulping a ton of air.  No thanks.  I’ll stick with what works for me; my trusty ol’ Camel Bak.

….and on the topic of water.  Make sure it’s WATER you grab before you pour it over your head.  They hand out Gatorade too.

CANDY!  Yes I said candy!  And one of my favorites too; Smarties!  Don’t buy into the hype that you have to purchase expensive running gels for your race.  Save your money and buy Smarties.  They are easy, small and dissolve right on your tongue.  And what’s more?  They are MUCH cheaper.

Switch sides.  Of the road that is.  The road may look flat but it really isn’t.  The road curves down a little at the shoulder.  So if you keep running on the right (or the left), you experience some pains and blisters that could have been avoided.  Switch sides when you can.  Or if at all possible, run the middle of the road.  I found myself running on the center yellow line as often as I could.

And now my favorite part….my post half marathon burger.  Not everyone is the same but I cannot eat within 2 hours of finishing a long run.  I will get sick.  Waiting for this burger was torture so I took a nap.

I had been thinking about this burger for a month.  It sounds disgusting I know but trust me, it is absolutely delicious!  I ate two!
4oz 80/20 beef patty
Cheddar cheese
Bacon
Sunflower seed butter
Sriracha

#dontknockittilyoutryit

Chia Seed Puddin’

C’mon now.  We have all heard of “mommy brains” but this is just ridiculous!  Not only am I making stupid careless mistakes left and right; I sometimes find it incredibly hard to string 2 words together!  Sorry B, no story telling any time soon. I’m sticking with a script.

I was at the doctor on Tuesday because my ear has been hurting.  I swear it took me a good minute to say 1 sentence….and the look on the doctors face when I was trying to get my point across didn’t help much.  This can’t be just a sleep deprived thing which I’m happy to report that my sleep HAS been getting better.  But it’s because I have 1 eye on B at all times which makes doing ANYTHING a struggle.

Then I get home and I’m reading the instructions for applying my ear drops to my ruptured infected eardrum and it says to warm the bottle between the palms of my hands before applying.  What do I do?  I skip that very important step and proceed with putting it in my ears.  Little did I know at that time that cold ear drops can make you sick.  And boy did it!  I was nauseous for a good 10 hours after applying.  Then got sick again in the morning.  For the love of god, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!

It wasn’t until my sister told me the cold ear drops is what was making me so sick.  I honestly thought I was pregnant again.

Still moving around as much as I can.  I’ve actually been getting a little thicker *groan* but performance has been great.  I need to get my shit together again and start measuring my foods.  I’ve gotten lazy in that regard and it’s evident.  On the plus side, it’s only a few pounds but it feels like 10.  Lets nip this one in the butt….I mean the bud.

So…food!  I experimented this week and made something delightful.  Ever had chia seed pudding?  It’s an acquired taste.  Well, the taste was great but the texture takes some getting used to.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Seed Puddin’
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 scoop chocolate Nutriwhey protein powder
2 tblsp peanut butter powder like PB2
1/4 cup chia seeds

Mix the above together and then set aside for 20 minutes.  (on the counter or fridge)  This will give the chia seeds time to thicken.  When ready, I added 8 walnut halves, crushed.

Delightfully delicious