After a 1 week break from workouts, I finally felt like I had enough energy to get back into exercise yesterday. My body was literally craving a run! It was also a good excuse to take a much needed break from unpacking.
For some pre-run fuel, I tried out a Vega snack bar that I had in my purse since…well, that would be anyone’s guess.
I really enjoyed the Vega Vibrancy Chocolate Bar (top), but I didn’t care much for the chocolate Whole Food Energy bar. Somehow I managed to polish it off over the past week though.
This is the Vega Chocolate Vibrancy Bar below. It was quite good with a nice chocolate flavour and sprouted buckwheat groats for crunch. It tasted like dessert which is always a plus in my books.
I headed over to the beautiful Lakeshore for my run. This was my first official training run in Oakville. The only other time I think I’ve run in Oakville was the Oakville Labour Day 10km race that I ran in 2010.
It’s such a gorgeous trail, I felt like I was on vacation.
Do I have any readers who run around Lakeshore? I was thinking about starting up a running group at some point. Let me know if that would interest any of you!
I was quite delighted to see a bunch of long staircases throughout my run. That sounds so sick and twisted, I know.
Back in 2007-2008 when we lived in a condo in Toronto, I used to walk 28 flights of stairs every day (it took me about 4 minutes if I remember correctly) as a way to sneak in exercise since my job was so sedentary. I’m a big fan of stairs and will walk them whenever I get a chance.
This one just screams run up me!
I’m seeing some interval stair workouts in my future… :)
This little guy may seem innocent, but he tried to chase me when I got too close.
Some speed training ensued…bahah.
With all the craziness that’s been going on with the move, I completely forgot about all the races I have coming up back to back- and two of which are 10k’s:
- April 15th: Mercedes-Benz Oakville 10K
- April 22nd: Toronto Yonge Street 10k
- April 28th: 5k Ford Race to end Diabetes in Oakville
I guess I’m going to have to start getting back into a consistent training mode. I haven’t run over 6km in a dog’s age.
For my post-run breakfast, I had a rather GREEN bowl of vegan overnight oats. Much like Green Monsters, you don’t taste the greens in vegan overnight oats (when made with a banana or other sweetener).
A couple years ago, a few blog readers told me to try combining a Green Monster and vegan overnight oats. I thought they were crazy (in a good way, obviously) and finally got the nerve to try it…oh, two years later!
All you do is blend a Green Monster before bed and pour it into a bowl of rolled oats and stir it all up. In the morning you will have a Green Monster/vegan overnight oat hybrid waiting for you in the fridge. I’ve made it with spinach and also with kale and both were delicious. I’m telling you, I was kicking myself for waiting so long to try it out!
Just trust me on this one. Did the Green Monster ever steer you wrong?
I rest my case.
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Green Monster Vegan Overnight Oats
Yield
1 serving
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 large handful fresh spinach or small handful of kale
- 1 large ripe banana
- 1.5 tbsp chia seeds (necessary for thickening)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup regular, rolled oats
Directions
- In a blender, blend together the spinach, banana, chia seeds, and almond milk until smooth.
- In a cereal bowl, add the oats and then pour the smoothie on top. Stir well until combined.
- Place in fridge (uncovered is fine) overnight. Give it a good stir in the morning and then enjoy it cold, straight from the fridge. Add desired toppings as you wish such as nut butter, granola, coconut, fruit, etc.
Good for you for getting right back into it! Oakville is lovely. Enjoy it! I grew up in Hamilton and I liked to go up and down the escarpment stairs. Miss that!
Green monster overnight oats sound so good….plus you get some veggies in at breakfast too! Good luck training for your races! I’m looking forward to racing this spring as well!
Green Monster smoothies are the best!!
i mean green monster overnight oats! But green monsters are also the best :)
I’d be up for a running group this summer! I might lag a little behind though because I don’t run anywhere near as fast as you. ;)
Just by looking at the picture, I see a new addiction for breakfast in my future. :)
Hi Angela!
I just made the green monster oatmeal you posted as my after dinner snack! :D It was sooo good! I made it hot though; I blended up the smoothie with extra liquid and used that to cook the oats in. Then I added natural PB, maple syrup, raisins, cinnamon and cocnut. It was delicious, and the chia seeds really added to the texture! Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Looks like a fabulous path!
Wish it wasn’t rainy all day today and I could have gotten out for a run. There is no better way to take a break from packing and explore a new city than a run.
I’ve never thought to try green oats. I have just enough spinach to give it a go tomorrow morning. Hoping the rain stops long enough for me to run!
I’ve made GM’s the night before and sometimes find that they taste rather “grassy” the next morning. Have you ever had that problem?
I think I want to move to where you live. So pretty!
One of these days I’ll actually try overnight oats. And then maybe this concoction. Maybe ;)
You moved to a beautiful place! So jealous!!!!
Amazing blog and website! I am constantly recommending it to people. Best vegan source around!
Thank you Brolin! I appreciate that.
Wow – that trail looks like a sweet place to run, really beautiful! And that sunset picture is awesome!
I’m a huge oatmeal girl and I’d love to try this Green Monster variety but I don’t have a blender/food processor/any gadget of that sort :( Damn but it looks so good!! :D Maybe one day :P
Aww I miss lakeshore, I forgot how gorgeous it is =)
Have you ever had overnight oats heated up in the morning? I don’t like cold breakfasts… I am wondering if it would just taste like cooked spinach if I heated it up a bit??
What beautiful pictures! I love when the body tells you to exercise! Mine tells me not to move! lol
This recipe basically made my morning. I’ve been doing some version of over-night oats for about a week now (the perfect way to start my day), but like you, I never thought of making a green version of them. This week I’ll start playing around and being more outgoing with my oat recipes. Thanks!
Glad to hear that, let me know what you think!
So cool to see pictures of home—all places I recognise and grew up around! If only I knew I would be going home for the summer, you could definitely count me into the running group. Ah well. I hope to know soon.
I need to get myself into these green monster overnight oats! I already love green monsters and overnight oats — it seems like a pretty much perfect marriage!
The color is a bit shocking though…I wonder what my roommates would make of it!
I think the next addition to the green monster family should be a green monster oat BAKE!