Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Montana Whoppers

by Meghann on September 15, 2009

Why hello beautiful

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I think I have discovered the recipe for the best cookies EVER.

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Peanut Butter, M&Ms, Dark Chocolate Chips, Oatmeal, Sugar, Butter…. How can you go wrong?!?! :)

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I was randomly inspired this afternoon to make a big batch of cookies while fighting my sweet tooth at work. After browsing through some of my saved recipes I rediscovered this recipe for Montana Whoppers that I originally stumbled upon on Megan’s Munchies blog.

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The recipe was very easy to follow and made a HUGE batch of cookies.

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I picked at the dough while I was baking and made sure to select the largest cookie from the first batch fresh out of the oven.

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YUM! These babies are rich so one cookie was perfect. :)

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Of course the cookies weren’t the only project keeping me in the kitchen this evening. My fabulous dinner made its way out of the oven at one point as well.

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This was a wonderful fall chicken dish that was so simple to make.

To piece this meal together I simply dipped a chicken breast in egg whites then coated it in almond meal. I slit an opening in the breast then stuffed it with Cranberry Chutney and Feta Cheese before baking it at 375 for 25 minutes.

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The cranberry/ chicken/ feta combo was fabulous and reminded me of Thanksgiving! You know I heard on the radio this afternoon that today marks 100 days until Christmas!! :)

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While the chicken was baking I placed a corn in the cob – still wrapped in its husk – in the oven as well. I can’t stand eating corn actually on the cob so I shaved it off with a knife.

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I also over steamed some brocolli that was really mushy.

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This afternoon I snacked on this sample of seeds from Oh Nuts. I couldn’t tell if there were Pepitas or Sunflower Seeds.

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Can anyone tell?

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Ok, now I have to figure out what to do with over 4 dozen cookies!!! I’m thinking tomorrow might be a good day to make friends with my co-workers. ;)

Good Night!!

{ 56 comments }

Dried Fruit Samples Galore

by Meghann on September 15, 2009

The other week I was very depressed when I finished off the last of my samples of Mariani Dried Apricots from the Healthy Living Summit. Lucky for me, someone from Mariani heard my plea and offered to send me a few more sample packs of the Apricots as well as samples of their various other products.

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I think it’s save to say I am not stocked on convenient on the go packets of dried fruit.

For my snack today I decided to sample the Dried Plum sample.

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I’ve never had dried plums of runes before. This was a first for me.

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These babies were very juicy and very flavorful, just like the apricots but a different color. I enjoyed this and can not wait to make my way through the rest.

Thanks Mariani!

Lunch today was awesome thanks to the wonderful left over roasted vegetables from last night.

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I started with a Whole Wheat Tortilla,

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Then topped it with some Marinara sauce.

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I was getting a lot of questions about the Newman’s Own brand of sauce. Honestly it was BOGO free at Publix this week, which is why I bought it. I’m not too picky when it comes to tomato sauce, so I usually buy what ever is on sale.

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The Newman’s Own Tomato & Basil really is a great sauce though and next time it’s BOGO I will happily purchase more.

After the marinara sauce comes the toppings.

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I kept it simple with Kale, Tempeh, Roasted Veggies, Feta Cheese and a sprinkle of ground Flax seed for good measure.

Under the broiler for 5 minutes.

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Perfect Tortilla Pizza.

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On the side I had the last of my Daikon and Radish Salad with some beautiful Cherry Tomatoes.

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Official 5k Statistics and Photos….

Yesterday I received an e-mail from the fine people at Track Shack with an official breakdown of my placings and time from my 5k on Saturday.

Personal Race Statistics
for
Autumn Rock n Run 5k
Saturday, September 12, 2009

You placed 249 out of 1626 runners.

Age Group WOMEN — 19 THROUGH 24 you placed: 5 out of 71 runners.
Clock Time – 24:05 Chip Time – 23:54
Chip time = The exact time it takes to get from the start line to the finish line.
Clock time = The time it takes to get to the finish line from the sound of the air horn.
Your pace was 7:41.4 per mile.
OVERALL MALE WINNER – LEE STEPHENS – 15:56
OVERALL FEMALE WINNER – KATY RADKEWICH – 17:51

Not Bad, Not Bad.

I have to say I am rather proud about placing 5th in my division. :)

A couple people asked me for the break down of my miles, so here they courtesy of Mr. Garmin.

  • Mile 1:  7:10
  • Mile 2:  7:43
  • Mile 3:  8:08
  • .1 nubbin:  0:53.61
  • Total: 23:44

And for fun more statistics. Can you tell I love statistics?!?!

  • Avg Heart Rate:  171
  • Max Heart Rate:  189
  • Total Calories Burned:  308

I was also sent my official race photos.

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I have yet to have an official race photo taken of me that I actually like. The shot is never my best angle. :(

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Derek had some
pretty good shots though.

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Over the weekend I also received this e-mail from Meg over at Megzz Wins at Life who I’ve featured on the blog in the past. She ran a killer race of her own this past weekend and I wanted to share.

Hey Meghann,
I wrote to you a while ago about my first 5K and how you inspired me and you featured me on your blog
here. Well I just wanted to let you know I ran my second one today and had such a blast and even signed up for the Disney 1/2 in March.. As always thanks for being so inspiring. :-) I linked your original post back to my blog today if you want to check it out.  Great job on your PR this weekend.

Congrats Meg!!!!

Did you run a race this weekend too? How did you do?

{ 43 comments }

Let the Marathon Training Begin!

September 15, 2009

This week marks the official kick off for my marathon training schedule that will take me all the way to the Walt Disney Marathon on January 10, 2010. The training schedule I have designed is a total of 16 weeks and consists of running 5 days a week with my mileage never tipping over 40 more »

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