Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Cranberries

This is a great recipe for converting non-brussels sprout lovers.  And of course, for those of us that love them!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Clean, trim, and halve your brussels sprouts.  Place on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until brown.

While they’re baking, make your balsamic glaze by mixing balsamic vinegar and sugar.  I tend to use a little less than the 1/4 cup called for.  Adjust for your own tastes.  The sugar isn’t actually necessary for the balsamic to thicken.

Bring to a boil and then let simmer for around 15-20 minutes.

While the balsamic is simmering, toast your pine nuts.

Now it’s time for assembly!  Add the brussels sprouts, pine nuts, and dried cranberries to the balsamic glaze and mix well.

This dish is pretty enough for a holiday meal or in my case a regular Monday night dinner!

 

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 pounds brussels sprouts

1/4 cup olive oil

sea salt and cracked pepper

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup sugar (I use a little less)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup roasted pine nuts

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Trim/ clean brussels sprouts, then cut them in half.  Arrange on a baking sheet.  Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.

Roast for 25-30 minutes or until brown.

Combine balsamic vinegar and sugar in a large saucepan.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low until sauce thickens; about 15-20 minutes.

Place pine nuts into a small pan over meium heat until lightly toasted, stirring often (around 5 minutes).  Set aside.

Add brussels sprouts, pine nuts, and cranberries to the balsamic reduction.  Toss and serve.

**Notes: this recipe easily doubles if you’re serving a crowd.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Track Tuesday

Dark, foggy, and 100% humidity at the start of today’s track workout.

3.5 mile warm-up

drills

4 mile repeats with 1 minute rest between

2 mile cool down

When the sun finally rose, I glowed like my shoes!

I can’t wait for the cooler weather that is arriving later this week!

So excited to wear this sweatshirt

and I have a crush on these Oiselle pants from today’s fashion show!

Haircut day.  Color and trim.

Goodbye roots…and grays

Salon guilty pleasure

Free weights at home

For dinner, I decided to experiment with this new-to-me black bean pasta.

I made a tex-mex spin on dinner with beans, peppers, tomatoes, corn, cumin…

And, topped it off with some cheese and avocado…tasty!

What are your guilty pleasures? I love all of the Real Housewife shows!
Has the weather cooled off where you live?
What is your speed work this week?

#choosejoy

Peak Mileage Weeks

I always get a little nervous when I look at my training calendar before my high mileage weeks. I know my body can do it, but my mind isn’t always sure.  If this week goes as planned, I will run in the 80’s.  Prayers are welcomed and encouraged!

It feels so good to be back home and back in my routine.  I’ve travelled a lot in the past few weeks.

One of my favorite daily healthy habits is drinking warm lemon water when I wake up and before bed.  I’ve been doing it for years and I believe in it’s benefits.

Here’s a great list of 20 Reasons You Should Be Drinking Lemon Water Every Morning.

My favorite discovery from my trip were these bars.  They sell them at Starbucks and this one only has 2 ingredients….1 apple and 1 mango.  That’s It!

My sweet girls got their hair did while I was gone.  This is their hurry up and take the picture so we can have a treat face!

I did a nice recovery pace run this a.m.

and took an OrangeTheory Fitness class for some cross-training.  My Cocogo bottle glows!

Use code JENCHOOSESJOY (all caps) for 10% off your order at cocogo.com!

The Bosu Ball has been making me unacceptably sore in OT, so I bought my own.  I do a nightly core routine before bed, but obviously it needs some tweeking.  Time to add the BOSU!

I made a much needed afternoon coffee with my Nespresso.  Just look at that pretty soy froth!!!

Sometimes you just need a plate full of veggies for dinner…eat the rainbow!  Fresh corn off the cob, garlic mushrooms, coconut oil roasted sweet potatoes, and brussels sprouts.  I’ll be posting the brussels sprouts recipe later this week.  It’s SO GOOD!!!

You know you use a lot of coconut oil when you start buying this size!

And, of course I ended the night with some more lemon water.

Broken toe update (words I never thought I’d type): I keep having to remind myself that I doesn’t heal in 2 weeks.  It is no longer painful, but it’s still sore.  The bruising has moved from the toe to the top of my foot.  Hopefully that’s a sign of healing!

Do you drink lemon water?
What is your favorite healthy habit?
How do you manage peak mileage weeks?

#choosejoy

Eastern Kentucky Family Weekend!

I spent the weekend visiting with family in Prestonsburg, Ky at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

I wanted to get this run done early, so I would have as much time as possible with my family…and breakfast!  I did my long run before leaving town, so I only needed 9 recovery miles.  With the fog, the sunrise looked like a fire.

Sunrise isn’t until 7am. I don’t know how you eastern time zone folks do it!

Luckily I packed my reflector vest and I wore all of my bright clothes in the hopes of not being run over by a coal truck.

Also, I sweated buckets!  The cold front didn’t arrive until Sunday.

Here are a few pics from my run…

My Nana lives downtown, so we just rolled her down to breakfast.  Seeing my my husband with her just warms my heart like you wouldn’t believe.

Even found some oatmeal for breakfast

After breakfast we took a drive around the lake.  It’s such beautiful country!

For an afternoon snack and coffee, we stopped by Lizzy B’s…my favorite find!

Smoothies, coffees, desserts and lots of vegetarian options which is a rarity in an area known for it’s country cookin’.  They even have a veg sandwich called the Happy Hippie:)

And spent the afternoon watching the University of Kentucky Wildcats…when in rome…

Another yummy meal for dinner at the new McGuire’s Brickhouse.

This was a portobello mushroom sandwich on a crossoint bun with crinkled sweet potato fries…SO GOOD!

Followed by a DQ dip!!!  What is it about being in a small town that makes me crave Dairy Queen?

I found this pic in my Nana’s house.  Obviously I wasn’t thrilled at the time, but now…my heart is happy.

 

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL weekend!!

#choosejoy

Road Trippin’

Even though my race was cancelled, we still wanted to travel to Eastern Kentucky to visit with my family.

I am the worst over-packer.  This is for two people for a 3 day weekend.  It’s embarrassing.

We listened to my iHeartRadio.  I love The Bobby Bones Show!

Being a vegetarian on the road in small town Kentucky isn’t easy.

We made the regrettable mistake of stopping at Taco Bell.  “Run From The Border”

Then we listened to Kathy Griffin’s new comedy album…HIIILARIOUS!

There is barely any cell service, let alone wi-fi, so I brought my recent giant stack of catalogs for shopping entertainment.

And, most importantly…we stopped at the last chance Starbucks in London, KY. Goodbye civilization. Now entering Appalachia.

Just because…

Did you race this weekend? Long run? Tell me about it!!

Do you pack your own food when you travel OR do you go for the ease of fast food?

#choosejoy

The Friday Five

1.  With Fall right around the corner, I took a moment to appreciate the before and after of my front porch flower boxes🙂

The Vincas definitely dominated!

2.  This stuff is dangerously addicting. Buy it at your own risk…
The Cookie Dough Cafe (Gourmet Edible Cookie Dough).  Drool…

3.  My friend heather is training for her first trail race. I shared my love for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while trail running. She told me about Jammy Sammy’s. They’re sold in the baby food section, individually wrapped and a lot less messy! If a PB&J and a Fig Newton had a baby, it would be a Jammy Sammy.  My friend Alex’s new hashtag…#babyfoodsponosoredrunners

4.  A reminder…

5.  Joan Rivers.  She was a ballsy pioneer for female comedians. I loved her crass, I don’t give a crap humor.

#choosejoy

Cancelled Race

Will. Run. For. Coffee. 6 miles with the Breakfast Club.  This group makes me laugh so hard that I get a bonus ab workout!

Here’s an article from Runner’s World on the 8 Reasons To Drink Coffee.  Drink up!!

Speaking of Starbucks…For those of you with a gold card, they’re running a 5 stores for 5 stars promotion.

I’m up for the challenge!

During our morning run, we realized a bunch of us were running in Swiftwick socks. I said that I have a drawer full of Swiftwicks…here’s proof! Rock The Socks!

After our run, I started packing for the Eastern Kentucky Half Marathon this Saturday….when I received this email.

Bad news: The race is cancelled…big bummer:(  The town has been declared an emergency area from flooding and they’re expecting more rain.

Good news: I’m still going anyways to visit with family!!!

I trust race directors in these situations. I was in Memphis last December when they cancelled the St. Jude Marathon.  It’s just part of life. Bummed, but I’ll just do a long run instead.

This evening I went back to Orange Theory with Corrie and Kellie (it was her first class)!  It was another awesome class that kicked my butt…thank you Sunil!

Pre-sweat!

Post-sweat!

Picky Bars must have known that I wore their shirt this morning, because I came home to Picky Mail!!

P.S. Cookie Doughpness is my new favorite flavor!

Have you ever had a race cancelled at the last minute? How did you adjust your training?

What’s your favorite brand of run socks?

Do you share my Starbucks addiction?

#choosejoy

Breakfast Casserole

When my husband heard we were going to a pot luck brunch last weekend, his first request was for this breakfast casserole! It’s my gran’s recipe and was originally made with sausage. I make it vegetarian with “soysage”. This recipe couldn’t be any easier and it’s great for a family or a group.

Note: I baked my casserole in a disposable pan for the potluck.  I hate having to remember my dishes.

Prepare your pan with a non-stick spray and unroll the crescent rolls (do not separate).

Distribute your cooked sausage or “soysage”.  Even meat-eaters like these Morning Star veggie patties.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Beat your eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together.

And pour over the sausage and cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake an additional 5 minutes to brown the cheese…yum!!!

 

Ingredients:

1 80z can refrigerated crescent rolls

1 lb sausage, cooked and well drained OR 6 MorningStar “sausage” patties cooked and crumbled

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a 9×13″ baking pan, sprayed with vegetable cooking spray, spread crescent rolls to cover the bottom of the pan (keeping the crescent rolls together-DO NOT separate).

Sprinkle the sausage and cheese evenly over the crescent dough.

Combine eggs and milk, beating well.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the egg mixtreu over the sausage and cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until set.

Remove the foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes to brown the cheese.

Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!

#choosejoy

Life Lately & Reasons To Hire A Coach

Tuesday
I had a bad case of post-race heavy legs from the Franklin Classic.

It was a not-so-exciting day of laundry and errands.

The highlight was this Mexican Brown Rice and Beans Casserole…

With my favorite white chocolate macadamia nut cookie sandwich from Christie Cookie!!!

Wednesday

Crepe Date Wednesday.  It’s a thing in our house.

Wearing my new Run 4 Others tank!

I left breakfast and headed out for my run.  Progressive 9 miles.  (9:10, 8:31, 8:16, 8:13, 8:12, 8:12, 7:58, 7:49, 7:50)

I went home, changed into dry clothes and headed out to my weights class.  Unfortunately, it was cancelled.  So… I pulled up the OrangeTheory schedule and signed up for their lunch time class. It would have been so easy to just go home, but I knew I’d feel so good after a class!

I am loving my Oiselle Hail Mary Mesh Tank.  It’s so hot right now and it’s sheer and loose. Not so sheer that I feel like I need to suck it in, though;)

Quick dinner at Moe’s. I promise there’s a salad under that cheese. I love that Moe’s offers tofu.

Reasons to Hire a Run Coach:

I’ve always been a little embarrassed to talk about having a personal coach…like coaches are only reserved for fast, elite runners.  But it’s just not the case.  Those who run with me know that I love to improve.  I’m grateful for training plans that help me be the best me I can be. Coach Mark Hadley at Maximum Performance Running has created multiple plans for me with that in mind!  I should note that he coaches some incredible runners including his daughter Alana who qualified for the 2016 Trials with a 2:41 Monumental Marathon!!!

After last weekends 10k and 5k races and this weekends upcoming half marathon, I’m feeling appreciative for my training plan.  My coach was able to work-in these races smack in the middle of my Chicago Marathon training.

No one-size-fits-all online generic plan could accomodate that.  My coach did.

Here is a great list from Coach Hadley on the benefits of a coach.

1. Knowledge – A professional running coach is someone who has studied and continues to study all aspects of the sport in great detail. Being knowledgeable about the sport and how to train for it is how they make their living, so their level of expertise in this area will usually be beyond that of a most runners. The professional running coach focuses on what we should do, and why we do it, and when we should do it, which leaves the runner to spend their energies focused on the actual doing of it.

2. Experience – The frame of reference for a running coach is larger than that of most any single runner, simply because they have seen more situations through all the athletes they have coached. Additionally, coaches are trained (or wired it seems) to analyze the various experiences they have with different athletes and different situation, and it is this analysis of these many and varied experiences that helps them continue to raise their knowledge and frame of reference in the sport.

3. Objectivity – Many runners find that they are too close to their own training and racing to stay completely objective as to what they should or need to do to be effective. But a running coach has the right blend of familiarity and distance necessary to remain objective about the situation. This point has even prompted many coaches to hire a coach themselves to handle their training.

4. Accountability – Having a running coach provides an additional level of accountability that many runners find both motivating and helpful. On days when they are having trouble getting out of bed for scheduled morning run, or are feeling impulsive and considering deviating from the training plan, knowing that they will report in to, and get feedback from, their coach provides a level of accountability that can motivate the runner and help reign in impulsive behavior.

5. Customization – Generic programs found on the internet, or in a book, generated by a computer/app, or used by large charity focused training groups, lack the individual customization that is necessary to help a runner realize their potential and meet their goals. A personal running coach can take into account the strengths and weaknesses of the runner, and make adjustments for the personal situation (work, family, travel, life, race schedule) of the runner. This is something generic programs just can’t do, that often leaves their users scratching their heads, unsure how to best adjust it themselves. The failure rate of runners on generic programs is vastly higher to that of runners using a running coach who has designed for them a custom program.

#5 is my favorite!  Sometimes I am training for a PR.  Lately, I’ve been working on increasing my mileage base worrying less about speed. Back in the spring, I emailed Coach and asked him to help me train for a fall road marathon.  (I wasn’t even sure which marathon at the time!) My request: I want to still enjoy running…I don’t want to burn out.  My plan includes track, tempos, steady states, fast finishes, surges…lots of creative workouts to keep boredom at bay. And, he gives me specific pace goals for each workout!

***I should mention that we’ve never actually met. However, coach had me fill out an extremely thorough questionnaire before we began working together.

Coach Hadley also offers some great nuggets of wisdom on his facebook and twitter accounts.

Do you work with a running coach? I’d love to hear about your experience!

Are you a frosting or cookie/cake person? The frosting is by far my favorite part!

Do you have any experience running back to back races?

#choosejoy

Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Caramel Drizzle

I recently baked this cake for a potluck brunch.  I love recipes based on brown sugar. It goes great with coffee or as you can serve it as a dessert.  In my opinion, it’s always a good time for cake.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and start by creaming 3 sticks of softened butter.  (This is obviously not a healthy recipe, but sometimes you need to indulge!)

Add your sugars and beat until fluffy.

Then add one egg at a time, beating well between each addition.  I actually googled why you add them one at a time.  If you add them all at once, they won’t let themselves be worked in.  By adding them gradually, they can emulsify with the fats in the mixture.  (This concludes science class.)

 

In a separate bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, and salt.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternating with the milk.  Begin and end with the flour.

You don’t need to over-mix it…just make sure it’s all combined.

Stir in toffee bits and pecans.

Spoon into your prepared bundt pan.  Mine says it holds 10-15 cups and it worked perfectly.

 

Bake and let cool for 30 minutes.  The cake is more likely to fall apart if you don’t let it cool.  Patience is the toughest part of baking.

This is a great time to lick the bowl…if you’re into that kind of thing!

And, the MOMENT OF TRUTH….Please tell me that you hold your breath when you flip your cake over.

Once the cake is completely cooled, you can make the caramel drizzle.  Note: the caramel must be applied immediately, so don’t make it until the cake is ready.

The caramel is easy to make…no candy thermometer needed, but you have to stir constantly.  Combine the brown sugar and condensed milk over medium high heat and bring to a boil.  Whisk constantly…seriously.

Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes…continue whisking.  It’s a nice arm workout.

Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla.

 

Drizzle the caramel over the cake immediately.  It cools very quickly.  It helps to place parchment or wax paper under your cake to catch the little puddles of caramel.

 

It’s so pretty!

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 – 8 ounce bag of toffee bits
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 recipe CARAMEL DRIZZLE (see below)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Spray a 12 cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour. Set aside.
Beat the butter until creamy. Add sugars, beating until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Stir in toffee bits and pecans.
Spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake until a wood pick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean, 75 to 85 minutes. (Mine only needed to bake for 70 minutes.)
Cover top of cake with foil to prevent excess browning if necessary.
Let cake cool in pan for 30 minutes.
Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. NOTE: Don’t freak out if your cake doesn’t come out perfectly.  GOOD NEWS! We get to cover all the imperfections with yummy caramel! Place wax or parchment paper under your cake to catch the caramel.
Spoon Caramel Drizzle over cooled cake.

Recipe from Lady Behind The Curtain

 

CARAMEL DRIZZLE

INGREDIENTS:

1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk and brown sugar; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.
Reduce heat, and SIMMER for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.
Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla.
NOTE: Make sure you drizzle the caramel while it’s still HOT. When cooled the caramel does somewhat harden, and it does cool quickly!

This recipe is from The Taste of the South’s Southern Cakes Magazine.

#choosejoy