Thoughts on 13.1

This morning, I experienced a first - running in the rain.  The combination of North Carolina hills , 40 degrees, and a persistent heavy drizzle, could've made for a potential disaster.  I was actually nervous about this 5.5 mile long run. Likely because of last weekend's long run.  But more on that later.  It was a "good" run.  Good as in, I mostly enjoyed it, I finished strong, could've kept running, and felt that runner's high of accomplishment.  And, bonus points, no weird tummy troubles or flu-like symptoms post-run!

Why am I running in the rain, for goodness sakes?  Because I'm committed - to health and fitness.  But, mostly because I am training for my first half-marathon.  This hilly training around here, should be good training for a nice FLAT 13.1 mile race.  LeAnne and I, and a few other girls we know, are signed up for the Quintiles Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon in March.  What better place to run my innaugural 13.1 than one of my favorite places in NC.  Oh, and did I mention it's FLAT.  (smile)

25 Days of Christmas

It's been a while since you've heard from us.  We know you're all waiting with baited breath for a new post from Grab Your Greens!  {wink}  We'll be straight with you - it's just not a priority right now.  And that's okay!  We are busy enjoying our beautiful children.  Our oldest kids are in school, and that keeps us super busy, as ironic as that may seem to those of you without school age children.  And our littlest ones are still at home with us, but will all be starting Kindergarten August 2013.  As in, 8 months from now.  Let's not even get started on how weird that is!  (I'm thinking it will be a sob fest for me!)  They're still our "babies".  They seem so little.  I think we've lost perspective having a big kid, how tiny Kindergarteners are.  The clock is ticking and we're busy treasuring having our babies home with us. 

So, in the Spirit of Christmas, here's a little fun for today, inspired by a 25 Days of Blogging Challenge...

Sweet Potato Chili

Since our family made big changes to our diet over a year ago, I've been wanting to find a good recipe for sweet potato chili.  I've tried at least two different recipes and neither was very good.  I recently had some sweet potato chili at LeAnne's house, though, that was perfect!  She got this recipe from a friend, passed it on to me, and I tinkered just a bit with it to suit my family's preferences.  It's a keeper and will be on regular rotation at our house.  The pineapple and cinnamon, I think, really make the dish.

Garlicky Quinoa & Chickpea Salad

This dish is a meal in and of itself, containing great sources of protein (chickpeas, quinoa), whole grain (quinoa), and a cruciferous, green vegetable (broccoli).  It is delicious served both warm or cold and I love the crunch of the raw broccoli with the nutty, creaminess of the rest of the dish.  The hint of spicy mustard is fun and different, too.  This is one of my favorite new recipes!

Link Happy Monday

I feel like I have been getting lots of snippets of information lately.  So, here they are for you, in no particular order: 

I've been playing around with my new waffle-maker and have been thoroughly excited about this recipe for Brownie Waffles.  My kids especially love them.  And I love knowing what great ingredients are in the food they're eating.  Seriously, have you seen the long (many un-pronounceable) list of ingredients on frozen waffles?  Even the better-for-you options like Nature's Path, Kashi, are guilty of long ingredient lists. To clean this recipe up even more, you can substitute the 2 eggs with 2 "flax eggs" (whisk 2 T. ground flax and 6 T. cold water in small bowl, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes or until thickened a bit).  And substitute 2 T. unsweetened applesauce in place of the oil.  I use unsweetened almond milk instead of soy milk, but that's just a personal preference.

No Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

1/2 c. slivered or sliced almonds

1.5 c. raw unsalted cashews, coarsely chopped

1.5 c. old fashioned rolled oats

1.5 c. crispy brown rice puffs cereal (Erewhon or 365 brand found at Whole Foods)

1 c. coconut nectar (or brown rice syrup) (can be purchased at WF, amazon.com, vitacost.com)

1/4 c. raw coconut crystals (or date sugar) (can be purchased at WF, amazon.com, vitacost.com)

2 t. vanilla extract

1/4 c. dark chocolate chips

Books we had our nose in this summer...

Dawn's summer reading...

1.  On The Island  This was my first read of the summer and probably my favorite!  Such a unique story line.  I loved seeing how these two characters stranded on a deserted island used their resources to survive. 

2.  One Thousand Gifts  Beautifully inspirational book about thankfulness.  "When I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me." 

3.  7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess  Wow.  We both read this book.  Rocked. our. world.   Jenn takes 7 months to address 7 different areas of her life she feels are too filled with distractions.  Her journey will have you laughing one page and searching your soul the next!