Half Marathon, Here I Come!

Happy Summer!

Someone's not too happy with me...

Sorry for being nonexistent for so long! Thanks to those of you who inquired if I was still going to keep Hugs and Kiwis running! I'm glad that you've stumbled upon my little space of the blog world and are still following! I'll do my best to catch you up on the last few, okay more than a few, months. Let the recap begin!

Have you ever used the website MapMyRun.com? When I discovered it early last year I only used it a couple of times, but now I use it like crazy, because, let's face it, sometimes I can be pretty directionally challenged, and it's easy to use.

I've gotten lost simply walking Charlie when I decided to try a new route (bonus for Charlie since we probably walked an extra mile or two before I called my dad to look up how to get "unlost") and I've even gone the wrong way during a cross country meet in school. Fortunately, I didn't go too far before someone corrected me.

What I like about MapMyRun is that you can log/save each route you do. Now that I've signed up for my first half marathon in September, this will come in handy as I'm buckling down and doing longer runs!

Foodwise...

Here's a snapshot of some of the things I've eaten since my last post!  More details/recipes to come for some!

Veggie Scrambled Egg Whites w/Apples & PB2 Dip

Zucchini Mushroom Omelet w/Apples and PB2 Dip

Berry-Loaded Oatmeal w/PB2 and Toasted Coconut

Cheesy Mushroom Broccoli Omelet

Chicken Pineapple Scrambles w/Honey Glazed Carrots

Green Onion Asiago Omemlet

 

Pineapple Chicken Wrap

Hot Apple Cider (Which I promptly checked off my Autumn 2012 bucket list!)

 My Mom's Homemade Pizza!!

Roasted Veggie/Sweet Potato Wrap

Real Fruit Roll-up

Dark Chocolate Banana "Ice Cream"

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Green Smoothie

Cauliflower/Sweet Potato Mashed Potatoes

Chicken Fajita Salad

 

Well, it's a start, right?  If any of the above looks good to you, check back later for some recipes!  Have a good night!

Garlic Hummus

Here's another simple, yummy recipe for homemade hummus!

Garlic Hummus

What Food You'll Need:

~ 3 Tablespoons lemon juice (I used bottled this time but normally we use fresh lemons)
~ 2 Tablespoons ground sesame seeds (It's like a paste, and can be found in most grocery stores. Check the international aisles if you can't find it elsewhere in the store. I used Peloponnese.)
~ 1/3 Cup water
~ 2 Cloves garlic
~ 1 Can (about 15 oz.) garbanzo beans (or dried, just cook them before use)
~ Salt/Pepper to taste


If using canned garbanzo beans, choose the "No Salt Added" or low-sodium options. If you choose the low-sodium can, rinse the beans before use! This way, you reduce the sodium content a little and the hummus will taste "cleaner." 

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Done!

If you like hummus, you might also like:

Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Hummus

Hummus Tuna Salad

Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Hummus

For a long time, I refused to try hummus. It didn't matter to me that it was only mashed up garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), I didn't go anywhere near it.  

Several years ago, however, I decided it was time to overcome this "fear of hummus." I picked up a baby carrot, dipped it in, and took a bite. I instantly loved it.

A little while after that, we decided to start making our own hummus. It only requires a few ingredients, so we thought why not try to save a little money and make it ourselves?  Here is my mother's recipe for Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Hummus.

Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Hummus

What You'll Need

~ 1 Can (about 15 oz.) garbanzo beans (Or you can use dried, just cook before use)

~ 1 Tablespoon fresh basil

~ 2 Cloves garlic

~ 1/4 Cup sun dried tomatoes, reconstituted 

~ 2 Tablespoons olive oil

~ 1/2 Cup water

~ Salt/Pepper to taste

If using canned garbanzo beans, choose the "No Salt Added" or low-sodium options. If you choose the low-sodium can, rinse the beans before use! This way, you reduce the sodium content a little and the hummus will taste "cleaner." 


Put all ingredients in a food processor, blend until smooth, and you're done! Easy peasy right? It's not the prettiest color of hummus out there, but it's pretty flavorful and goes great with practically anything! If you're a hummus lover like me, do you make your own as well? What flavors have been successful/not successful for you?

Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip

This dip was inspired from something I saw the other day from Keep Your Diet Real (See Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip for original recipe; it's delicious!) 


Of course, being me, I decided to tweak it a little and see what happens.  The result?  A (still) tasty anytime dip!

I would like to point out that I do not count calories.  I do, however, watch how many high energy dense foods I eat per meal.  That's why when my mother introduced powdered peanut butter to me that was only 45 calories for 2 Tablespoons (compare to that of 190-200 calories per serving of regular peanut butter!), was lower in sodium, and still had tons of protein, I knew I was eventually going to be spending a lot of time in the kitchen with it! The best part? It's literally just crushed up peanuts with significantly less added salt and sugar!    

(I am not, in any way, being paid to review this product)  :)   

Only 45 Calories per serving!

Here is what you'll need for the peanut butter dip:

1/2 Cup of nonfat, plain Greek yogurt

2 Tablespoons of powdered (or regular) peanut butter

1/2 Tablespoon of honey

What I did:

Simply mix all three ingredients together and enjoy! (There is no need to mix the powdered peanut butter with water before adding it to the yogurt. Just put the powder right into the bowl!)

Do any of you use powdered peanut butter too?