Thank you for entertaining my goofy side and for all of your wonderful & positive support for my Project Food Blog Luxury Dinner Party!
I am truly having a blast participating in Project Food Blog. I don’t think I have ever been so excited for a challenge or come alive so much with the blog before. It has really been inspirational for me. I just can’t get enough!
Voting is now officially OPEN, so if you’d like to show your support and send me to Challenge #4 that would be awesome. Click on this link and then click the heart. Thank you for your continued support.
By the way, Frank says, Hello Ladies…How YOU Doin’?
Frank is quite the ladies man, but I’m sure you could tell by the picture.. ;)
I think I shall keep him around for a while.
Fall Workouts and Transitioning To Colder Weather
After one crazy busy and indulgent weekend, I was very eager to get back into my normal exercise routine! I didn’t have a spare second for a workout all weekend and I was really craving it come Monday morning.
The only snag was that it was only 4C/39F outdoors with high winds so I had to really pump myself up to run outdoors this morning!
One of my best tricks for transitioning to the colder outdoor temperatures is to do a 10 minute warm up indoors before you head outside. You can jump rope, climb stairs, do cardio on exercise equipment, scrub the kitchen floor- anything that gets you working up a sweat!
This morning, I hit the treadmill for 1 mile of running (10 min/mile pace) at incline 2% with my running jacket on to keep the heat in. By the end of that mile I was HOT and the thought of running outdoors in the chilly weather seemed quite pleasant!
Transition success. :)
I had a lovely & speedy run and didn’t feel too cold at all. It was quite energizing.
The outdoor run:
- Distance: 4 miles
- Time: 33:08
- Avg pace: 8:17 min/mile
- Splits: 8:25, 8:28, 8:19, 7:55 (rocked that last mile!)
I came home, stretched, and devoured this crazy breakfast!
Spiced Butternut Squash Vegan Overnight Oats + Gingerbread Soft Serve
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup oats
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup butternut squash
- Gingerbread Soft Serve (see below)
Directions: In a bowl, mix the oats, chia seeds, pumpkin pie spice, milk, and butternut squash together with a whisk. Place in fridge overnight. In the morning make the Gingerbread Soft Serve and layer with the VOO in a glass. Add a Soft ginger cookie if you are feeling frisky!
Gingerbread Soft Serve
Process the following Ingredients until smooth:
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
- Splash of almond milk
This was my first time having butternut squash in my VOO and it was absolute heaven. It didn’t even need any sweetener!
Ta-da.
The money shot. ;)
It was the perfect post-sweaty run breakfast!
Do you workout outdoors in the Fall and Winter? What are your transition tips and tricks?
I’ll see you tonight for a wrap-up of my dinner party tips, how-tos, and tricks. I will be talking about prepping, timing of the dishes and what days I cooked what, and how I decorated.
Have a great day!
Ahhhhhhh, sooooo tasty looking!! Even though it’s brown, it looks delicious. Also seriously looks like a tree is growing out of it!
Good for you girl, I can NEVER get outside in the mornings when its cold! I’m a baby like that :D
I stop running outdoors from about mid November through February. I just can’t run in the snow, basically. And it pains me to even think about running in temps that are below 30 degrees – so I don’t! I don’t mind though…being in the gym is a nice change of pace – but just for a few months ;)
You are so right on the warm up before heading out into the cold! It definitely helps, and even makes the chilly air feel refreshing sometimes! Now if there was some way to combat the rain….
Angela, I certainly commend you for the ability to take pictures of your overflowing voo/banana soft serve parfaits without picking up that sucker and licking it right off the side of the glass. Talk about self dicipline!!! I say this about all your concoctions, but this one, i will certainly be trying!
First let me say that VOO looks yummy. I always enjoy reading your blog because of your creativeness and not being afraid to be goofy. You don’t try to be someone your not and that is what I like. The entry yesterday was well written and fun to read.
That breakfast looks yummy! My problem exercising outdoors lately is that it’s so dark all the time. My normal running time is about 5am and it doesn’t get light here until about 6 or so. Boo! I guess I need to stick with the treadmill.
I absolutely LOVE running in the cold!
oooh I LOVE LOVE LOVE your dinenr party! The colours, the decorations, and most of all…the food! It all looks brilliant! Great job!
I definitely like to run outdoors in the fall since that is the season I prefer to most. I ran XC in high school and some college and that was the season for it…so I love it dearly! I love that you warmed up inside, so smart. Today I did a treadmill run since I don’t yet live in the nicest area for running, but I miss it so much!
oh, and I can’t wait to make gingerbread oats!
holy shit!! again with making me say shit everytime i visit ur blog!! im actually bummed in a good way (if that makes sense) because heres ANOTHER recipe similar to the ginger bread in theme that i really wanna make. i was gonna comment because tonight im picking up walnuts and then i will make these!! i have all the other ingredients but i love walnuts and it wont be the same without them. i pray to god they turn out similar <3 haha
now i have to save this recipe so i can make it for a breakfast soon!! <3
omg, i LOVE that trick for warming up inside!!! i’m totally going to use that- that you SO MUCH!
your dinner party was amazing- can’t wait to try out those recipes! :)
omg, i LOVE that trick for warming up inside!!! i’m totally going to use that- that you SO MUCH!
your dinner party was amazing- can’t wait to try out those recipes! :)
Oh my- such a tasty looking breakfast!! I’d want to eat this on Christmas morning :)
I don’t work out outside nearly as often in the winter, but the indoor warmup is a great idea!
I love how your glasses are always over flowing with your tasty breakfasts and snacks. It always looks so good. Mmm…
I run outside in the fall when it’s not too chilly, but I haven’t been able to brave winter running yet! I like your idea to warm up indoors first! But I’m still not sure what to wear when running in cold temperatures. It would be awesome to see a post on it! :D
I LOVE how you set the table, great ideas and the presentation was perfect!
Oh Ange, I have a big question for you.
When your beautiful VOO parfaits do the drip down the side, what do you DO!?
Do you lick it off after the photo shoot? Wipe it up with a towel?! Obviously the drip creates the most gorgeous photos, but the type A in me would go nuts with the logistics!!!
:)
Thank you for sharing your warm up solution! I’m for sure doing that! It will not only help me to warm before my chilly MN run, but it will also help me keep a more accurate measure of my true run time (since I can’t yet afford a Garmin!) Now, if only I can get this junk out of my lungs, so I can get back to training for my 5K in Nov!
AHAHAHAHA I JUST NOTICED THE HUMAN TEETH ON FRANK. Sorry. :D