Running Mama Cooks

I have been thinking for awhile that I would like to make a homemade veggie burger, but really haven't had the time to go searching for a good recipe. I was thrilled to come across this one on my friend Lauren's blog, they looked so good! We really enjoyed these burgers, they were perfect! I served them on sandwich thins from Trader Joes with a little "Seriously Sharp" cheddar cheese. Lauren put hers in the panini press to melt the cheese and it looked too good no to do the same. Yum!

I had the night off from teaching, making it the perfect opportunity to try a new recipe, but these would be great for our typical hectic weeknights since they can be made ahead of time. I love having a new quick dinner to add into my rotation! As it is, I have 4 extra burgers in the freezer!

Summer Cookout Veggie Burgers
Adapted slightly from Leslie Sarna by way of Lauren's Kitchen

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup rolled oats (non-instant Oatmeal)
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp. (or more) chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
about 3 tbsp. chopped chives
1 egg
olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced*
1/2 onion, finely diced
4 oz. mushrooms, finely diced
6 sun dried tomatoes, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 large zucchini, grated
1 large handful of baby spinach

In a medium frying pan, heat some olive oil. Add the chopped onion, garlic, bell peppers and a pinch of Salt. Grate in the zucchini. Let cook 2 minutes on a lower heat. Add mushrooms, spinach and sun dried tomatoes; let cook another couple minutes. Let cool when cooked. While the veggies are cooling, in a large bowl combine the Beans, Oats, Bread Crumbs and all the spices and chives. Toss a little and add the egg. Using your hands to mix the mixture until it's slightly sticky and about 3/4 of the beans are smashed. Add in the veggies. Continue to work with your hands.

If the mix feels a little dry, add water by the teaspoon until right. If it's too wet, add bread crumbs : )

Form 8 burger patties. Refrigerate for about an hour. (you can also place these pouches in a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of weeks) To cook, unwrap the burgers from the plastic and cook in a heated skillet with cooking spray or olive oil in the bottom. Cook about 3-4 minutes on each side

PS these should always be cooked on a skillet or frying pan. Unfortunately, they can fall apart if cooked on the bbq.

*I used my food processor to chop all the veggies really small. Cut down on chopping time :)

This has been my go-to lunch lately and I've been meaning to blog about it for a few weeks! Simple and good, I make a big batch and then eat it all week. Its good hot as a side dish for dinner as well.

Summer Veggie Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups quinoa
1 large summer squash
1 large zucchini
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella
parsley, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse quinoa and prepare according to directions. Cool. In the meantime, dice the squash and zucchini and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven on 450 for 15 minutes. Cool. Toss together quinoa, veggies, fresh mozz and parsley. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Running Mama swims and bikes too!! This morning I competed in the Born to Tri sprint distance triathlon in Asbury Park, NJ. What an awesome experience! I am so glad that I decided to go out of my comfort zone for this race because I had a great time. It was challenging (the swim!) but I finished and I finished strong.

We left the house at 4am this morning to head down the shore for the race. I picked up my packet and headed to the transition area to set up my gear. The logistics of a triathlon was just one aspect that I was anxious about, since I have never seen how it is done.

These yummy squares are so easy to make, and super nutritious. They are the perfect pre or post workout snack. They are inspired by Larabars, which are my new favorite bars. They are really delicious, and only have 2-4 ingredients depending on the flavor. They fit in very nicely with my quest to eat much cleaner.

I have discovered that making my own version works out just as nicely. I like being able to experiment with different flavors and they are super fresh. This is one version, but I have also made them with dried cherries and cocoa almonds.

Hope you try this out and enjoy them as much as we do!

Apricot Date Nut Squares

Ingredients:

1 cup pitted dates
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
10 dried apricots
1 tbs chia seeds

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until they come together to form a large ball. Place ball on Saran wrap and press into a large square. Wrap tightly and refrigerate. After an hour or so, cut into squares or bars.

And on a different note, Happy first birthday to my sweet, funny, adorable little momma's boy Finn!

Happy 4th of July!!!

We started our celebration today at the Firecracker 4 miler in Cranford, NJ. Since this was my first 4 mile race it was an automatic PR, a definite plus! And to top it off I was able to run with Kathy. We are such a perfect running match, so I was really looking forward to this one! Zach and Finn also raced :)

It was a great race, despite the hot and humid weather. It was a big crowd and the course was really nice, going in and out and Nomahegan park. I did a lot of my marathon training at this park, and it holds a special place in my heart.

Kathy and I ran very steady pace and finished in 42:49. I was aiming for under 43 minutes, so I was very pleased.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 10:24
Mile 2 - 10:21
Mile 3 - 11:00
Mile 4 - 10:35


With my macho man

Lately I have been doing a lot of cross training along with running and have discovered that I really enjoy spinning and lap swimming. Believe it or not I am actually finding that since I started running less and cross training more, that my running is improving a lot!

Naturally, this has made me interested in triathlons. First step - Hillsborough YMCA's mini triathlon last Friday. It was an all indoor event that has given me the opportunity to see how I could perform in all 3 events back to back. Granted indoor swimming, running and biking is a different ball game than outdoors, but it was a great preview. I have since signed up for the Born to Tri Sprint Distance triathlon on August 6th. I am excited and nervous (especially for the open water swim!!)

The mini tri was the perfect training opportunity and a TON of fun! I finished in the middle of the pack, and I am pleased with that. I was particularly happy about how strong I felt during the run. I started off on the conservative side since I didn't know how I would feel but ended up running the last mile at a 9 min pace, SUPER speedy for me!

1/4 mile swim - 10:23
10 mile bike - 17:18
3 mile run - 30:38

Total time: 58:18

Yesterday morning I ran the Pan Classic 10k in Madison, NJ. It was a brutally hot morning and the start time was 11:00. Needless to say this race was not pretty, not at all. Actually, I think it was probably the worse race I have ever run. That being said, I am trying to focus on the fact that I finished and not that I added 5 minutes onto my last 10k time.

The race itself was pretty disorganized and I knew when we were waiting for the start that it wasn't going to be a good one. The late start time and hot temps are not a good combination for me. Plus, between my teaching schedule and the kids I have not had many opportunities to run outside in the heat.

I made a crucial mistake in the beginning and went out way too fast. I felt pretty good at first and ran a 10 minute mile. At the end of mile 1 there was a killer hill. I powered up it. I probably would have been better off taking it easy because I hit the wall soon after that. There was barely any shade and it was at least 85 at this point. At a mile and a half, the runners doing the 5k turned off, and many of the 10k runners decided to turn off as well. I let my ego get in the way and kept going on the 10k route.

At this point I knew there would be walking involved so I started running 4 minutes, walking 1 minute, so on and so forth. That lasted for about a mile until I was walking longer than 1 minute at a time. For the last 2 miles I was just surviving since every time I ran I felt like I was going to throw it. It was frustrating since my legs wanted to go but my stomach wasn't cooperating.

I finished around 1:16. I was disappointed because I thought I might have a shot at a PR since I have been running pretty fast (for me) lately. I am trying to focus on the fact that I didn't give up and finished the race, and not let this experience shake my confidence.

Trudging towards the finish

Finally there!!