Runnin' Talk

I haven't talked about running in a while. In fact, I don't think I've mentioned it in the past 6 months. That's because this is the worst year of running ever. I got burnt out towards the end of last year, went into the winter dreading the elements, and got off to a slow start this year. I seemed to have breathing issues not related to pace, asthma, or allergies. This could be an iron deficiency symptom, but I don't know for sure. (Yes, I do take an iron supplement - I've always been on the low side when I have had blood work in the past.)

My other problem has been the heat and humidity. If the temperature is over 75° and the humidity is over 50%, I struggle on even a simple 2 miler. Most of my runs have ended in disgrace, having to stop and walk after 1 - 1.5 miles of slowly trudging along. It went alright when I got out early, like around 6 am, though I didn't keep that up.

So, for much of the year, for every week I ran I ended up taking an unintentional week off, which hasn't helped me at all any. I didn't have much focus since I decided not to train or enter any races, and was left to my own whims. This made it very easy to slack off. In retrospect, I should have made up some sort of running schedule, but I didn't see the point of it at the time. On the upside, I found a total of .25¢ this summer.

Now that the weather is cooling down and the humidity has tempered, I'm having a somewhat easier time getting back into a rhythm. Last week, I ran a measly 16 miles. I ran four 4 milers, though I added walking breaks after 2 miles. Each subsequent run, I would add another half mile of running and decrease one of the ralking portions. I kept my pace slow so as not to tire myself out. This week, I'm not going to increase the distance at all, though I'm going to try and run each run through without walking, keeping the pace slow. Hopefully it'll go alright and I won't meet with any major disaster.

I'll try and make a better attempt to blog about it, though it's not really going to be helpful or informative. I figure complaining about it on here is better than subjecting anyone to it in person, so feel free to ignore me.

Pumpkin Spice Granola with Crisco Imported Olive OIl

Fall is all about pumpkin. You'll see it in breads, pies, drinks, and more. You've probably also seen it in oatmeal. I can't do that, because it still tastes a little raw that way, but it does give baked goods a great flavor. So, I created a batch of pumpkin oatmeal. This granola is packed full of oat clusters, nuts, pepita seeds, and dried fruit, and will be the highlight of your breakfast.

Since the granola I make has oil, I used Crisco Imported Light Tasting Olive Oil instead of vegetable oil. I received these bottles from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, only they arrived a month after the deadline to post a recipe. However, being grateful for still having received them, I wanted to use the products in a recipe. Olive oil has many benefits, and by using it in granola you have an even healthier start to the day.

The light tasting olive oil is neutral in flavor, making it perfect for baked goods. A too pronounced olive taste, like from extra virgin, just wouldn't pair well with the sweet flavors here.

Along with the olive oil, brown sugar, honey, pumpkin puree and egg whites are mixed to create the glaze that coats the oats. Following the recipe I made for my Holy Grail Granola, vanilla extract and baking soda were stirred after removing the mixture from the heat.

Like with my other recipe, I used a combination of old fashioned oatmeal and coarsely ground oatmeal, since I didn't have quick oats. The finer oats help create the clusters. Wheat bran was added to give it more nutrition, and can be substituted with wheat germ or flax seed meal. For crunch, I chopped up walnuts and tossed in raw pepita seeds. The green color adds nice pop alongside the dried cranberries that are added later.

Since you can't have pumpkin without spices (well, you can, but it wouldn't be the pumpkin we all know and love), cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves are stirred into the oats. It smelled great then, but it smelled even better as it baked!

Stir in the liquids and watch as clumps of oats begin to form while mixing it all together. After its baked and cooled, the oatmeal crisps up. Dried cranberries are stirred in at the very end. This would also be tasty with dried cherries or blueberries, too.

Now that's my kind of pumpkin oatmeal.

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Print this recipe

Pumpkin Spice Granola
Recipe by Christina Provo

A delicious autumnal granola flavored with pumpkin and spices

Yields many 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients -

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal
2 cups quick oats (or old fashioned oats, coarsely ground)
1/2 cup wheat bran or germ
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raw pepita seeds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 cup light olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces dried cranberries

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oatmeal, wheat bran, nuts and seeds; stir in the spices until dry ingredients are evenly coated.


2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the brown sugar, honey, pumpkin puree, and oil until combined. Cook just until mixture begins to simmer, and brown sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla and baking soda.


3. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the oats. Using a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir until the oats are thoroughly coated. Pour out onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or until granola is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely. When granola has cooled, mix in the dried cranberries.

Yoplait Smoothie Review + Prize Pack Giveaway

Everyone loves smoothies. Well, almost everyone. I like to drink them after a run, or on any day that's overwhelmingly hot and humid. They are refreshing, and better than eating fruit and yogurt alone. There is also so many ways to make them.

You've probably seen Yoplait yogurts. Unbeknownst to me, Yoplait also offers frozen smoothie packets. Each packet contains enough fruit for 2 servings and delivers 50% of the recommended daily value of calcium. Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Yoplait, I received a coupon to try the smoothies for myself. I was supposed to review the new Chocolate+Banana flavor, but I wasn't able to locate it at the store. Each pack retails for $3.59 and can be found at in the frozen fruit aisle in your grocery store.

Since chocolate+banana wasn't available, I got the Blueberry+Pomegranate. The packet contains mostly blueberries, and pomegranate juice concentrate-flavored yogurt cubes. Each drink totals out to around 150 calories per 8 ounces when made with skim milk, but I used whole because skim milk is disgusting. It came out really thick this way, so I had to add a little more milk.

The smoothie was good, but tasted a little on the sweet side. I was surprised, since the nutrition label stated that each serving has 12 grams of sugar. That's really not bad at all for a commercial smoothie. Perhaps it was the whole milk? Who knows. The texture was good, but separates when left to stand for a little. Flavor-wise, though, it was good and didn't just taste like blueberries.

If you'd like to try Yoplait Smoothies out, you can print a coupon out for $1 off.

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Giveaway Info

Along with a coupon to try out the smoothie, Yoplait has provided a pretty cool prize pack! If you're looking to rest up before the holiday season, this pack will really help you out. Along with a reusable Yoplait Smoothie tumbler, you will get a VIP coupon for a sample of Yoplait Chocolate Banana Smoothie, a neck pillow, and a lavender eye mask.

I think I'm going wear the eye mask (which smells great, and lavender supposedly helps you relax - perfect for dealing with morons this upcoming holiday season!) as a headband, and if I come across someone I want to ignore, I'll pull the mask down over my eyes and tell them that nobody's home. Good idea, right?!

So if you'd like to get your own prize pack, here's how:

• Comment on this post and tell me what your favorite smoothie is, or when you like to drink them


• Tweet: "@yoplaitsmoothie +Prize Pack Giveaway on She Runs, She Eats http://bit.ly/nMQPUt ". Leave a comment here to let me know you Tweeted


• Like Yoplait Smoothie on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall saying you were referred by me (include this link: http://bit.ly/nMQPUt). Comment again to let me know


• Like She Runs, She Eats on Facebook. Comment again to let me know.

Four separate entries to increase your chance to win! Giveaway ends Friday, October 14 at noon, and is open to US residents only.

Good luck!