Exciting things in October!!

I love October for so many reasons including:

~Breast Cancer awareness month

~Halloween

~All things pumpkin (pumpkin patches, pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin carving, etc)

~Decorating for Halloween & fall

~Halloween Time @ Disneyland

~Kick off the for holiday season (Turkey Day & Christmas are around the corner!)

This October is especially exciting because:

~I started a new position at work, one that I am beyond excited about!  Same wonderful company, new and exciting role!

~I get to dress up my puppy for Halloween for the first time (no guarantees to how long his costume will stay on)

and…drum roll please…

~I registered for the 2013 LA Marathon!!!  (I will be posting some exciting updates on this soon, so stay posted!)

Happy October everyone!  What’s your favorite thing about October?

Three Things Thursday!

1.  Saturday I’m running the Chapman 5K!  As a grad student at Chapman, I was able to register for free!  What’s better than that.  I’m really excited because I’m running it with a couple of classmates, one of whom ran it last year with me.  I have no goals pertaining to the race.  Why?  Because this Saturday is a 7-mile training run, so I need to wake my bum up before the crack of dawn to get 4 miles in before the 8am 5K start, which I will cruise at my long run pace :)

2.  Pumpkins!!!  I LOVE all things pumpkin, and fall = pumpkins galore!  Pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, pumpkin candles, etc!  What can I say, I heart anything pumpkin.  In fact, I discovered a new pumpkin treat at Whole Foods…it’s called “Pumpkin Pie” organic bar by Tasty Brand (and it sure is tasty!)

3.  Saturday is my first wedding dress fitting!  I tried it on when it first came in (and OMG I LOVE it!!!!), but this weekend I’m meeting with the bridal shop seamstress to get it hemmed.  Even with heels, it’s a little too long for my 5’4” stature.  I can’t wait to put that beauty on again, and even more for my future hubby to see me in it on our wedding day (so soon!!!)

Maple Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

A couple days ago I was exploring Runner's World online and came across some delicious and healthy smoothie recipes.
This morning after running 6x200 sprints and a mile warm up and cool down, I decided to try the Maple Pumpkin smoothie.  After all, it IS fall and I LOVE pumpkin.  The smoothie was absolutely delicious!  It's a little thicker and was easier for me to "drink" using a spoon.  I probably could have added a little more soy milk, and I did put a little more pumpkin and tofu in than what was called for, so I'm sure that contributed to it's consistency.  The smoothie tasted like fall in a cup, it's healthy and makes for a great recovery drink (or whatever you want to make it for!), and it's pretty darn filling for a single serving.


Maple Pumpkin Pie
1/2 cup plain soy milk
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup silken tofu
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1 teaspoon real maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.


Why it's good for you:  Pumpkin is high in fiber and beta-carotene, an antioxidant that protects eye health.  Silken tofu lends a thick consistency and (along with soy milk) provides a nondairy source of protein (great for lactose-intolerant folks).  Studies show that regularly eating nuts and nut butters (like peanut butter) can lower your risk for developing heart disease and type-2 diabetes.  Maple syrup adds sweetness along with compounds that have anticancer properties, while cinnamon "helps keep blood sugar steady," says Ilana Katz, R.D., a sports nutritionist in Atlanta, "preventing fluctuations in energy levels."


Nutrition Info:  212 calories, 17g carbs, 5g fiber, 11g protein, and 12g fat.


Happy Wednesday!

Happy First Day of Fall!

This morning when I woke up, I wanted pumpkin pancakes!  And what better way to celebrate the first day of fall than with some delicious pumpkin pancakes?!  They were so tasty, I just HAD to share them.  So here's the recipe:


Scrumptious Pumpkin Pancakes
Yields 6 servings


Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice*

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

*or you can use "pumpkin pie spice" instead of each individual spice if you want


Directions

1. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar.  Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking podwer, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, and stir into the pumpking mixture just enough to combine.  Don't mix it too much (there should still be some clumps).
2. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat and spray with cooking spray or lightly coat with oil.  Pour the batter onto the skillet to a pancake size of your choice (mine were larger ovals).  Flip the pancake when you start to see little bubbles on the top and brown the other side.

I topped with my pancakes with organic peanut butter then drizzled with honey.  It was *DELICIOUS*!!!!

Happy Fall!
xoxo

Labor Day = Unofficial Start of Autumn & PUMPKINS!!!!!

This past weekend I was up in Napa with my boyfriend and we had quite the adventurous kick off to unofficial start of Fall.
Saturday morning we woke up around 7:30am (which is sleeping in for the both of us) and got ready for our adventurous hike at Napa's Bothe State Park.  Sean packed us a "gourmet" picnic lunch with lots of goodies and we headed out for the trails!  We both didn't know what to expect, but after paying the $8 parking fee + $1 for a trail map, we soon discovered the trails were pretty rugged.  We chose the 5 mile loop that took us up to the peak and back down.  We were stoked!

For the most of the hike, we were in the forest (a forest in wine country??  I sure didn't expect that), and there were some PRETTY STEEP inclines!  I mean, like nearly a 50% incline!  And the higher we got, the more narrow the trail became...if there was even a trail at all!  We actually crossed some rivers by walking over fallen trees!!  It was pretty bad-ass!

I think we crossed a couple rivers via fallen trees!  Okay so this river was not filled with water, but it still was pretty far down:

The environment became almost "desert-like" more towards the peak, with lots of dry brush and rocks, but once we did get to Coyote Peak, the view was unbelievable breathtaking!

We hiked back down into the forest area and around mile 4 we came across a little bridge that was somewhat our of place, but pretty cool!!

Sean kept teasing me because I blended in with the surroundings :)
After our strenuous 5 mile hike, we had our delicious (and well-deserved) picnic lunch near the trailhead!   It was taaaaasssstyyyyyy...peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a granola bar, organic fruit snacks, chips, an apple, and peanut butter chocolate crisps.


On the way back, we decided to stop at a couple wineries.  After all, it is Napa!  I really wanted to stop at Chandon for a little bubbly.  It sounded refreshing, and boy oh boy it sure was!  We had the "Reserve" flight which included their "voluptuous and creamy Chandon Reserve Chardonnay Brut, complex and robust Chandon Reserve Pinot Noir Brut, and elegantly rich étoile Rosé".  Rosé  champagne is my favorite (Veuve Clicquot is my #1).  It was a beautiful winery to relax on a beautiful day like it was, and enjoy each sample at your own leisure, which we did.


Sean surprised me with a couples massage on Sunday afternoon, which was perfect, because my muscles were quite sore from the hike (especially my glutes!).


The rest of the weekend was perfect!  I love Napa, and Sean and I always have the most incredible time :) 


So here is my workout breakdown thus far for the past week:
Thursday, 9/2:  3 mile run
Saturday, 9/4:  5 mile hike
Monday, 9/6:  2.5 mile run
Tuesday, 9/7:  4.5 mile run
Wednesday, 9/8:  30 min walk + core strengthening for cross training


With Labor Day comes the unofficial beginning of Autumn.  You know what that means???

These are my absolutely favorite!!!  Anything pumpkin is for that matter!!  I have some pretty delectable pumpkin recipes including:

• my Grammie's pumpkin pie
• my Butternut Squash Risotto
• pumpkin ravioli (in a brown sugar and sage butter sauce)
• my pumpkin bars and pumpkin muffins (with homemade cream cheese frosting of course)
• pumpkin french toast with a berry mascarpone filling
• pumpkin martinis

Can you tell I LOVE pumpkin???  I will definitely be sharing some of these recipes over the next several weeks of Fall :)


xoxo