She’s Quirky

Good evening!

Today felt never-ending even though it was pretty much a typical day in the bakery.

My muscles felt progressively stiff as the day went on and I had lots of Glo Bars to make.

If yesterday was the running half marathon, today felt like the baking marathon.

I got it done, thankfully! I knew I had today to get caught up on all my orders today because tomorrow is a very special day in the bakery– (Gluten-free + Raw Glo Bars for sale at 9pm EST).

Around 7:30pm, I thought of you all.

I think of you a lot. Did you know that?

I think about what kinds of foods I can come up with to interest you. I was soooooo tempted to throw a stinkin’ veggie burger on the skillet and call it a night, but I wanted to create. I think if it wasn’t for this blog I would eat the same 3 meals everyday! :lol: Actually, I know I would because I totally used to.

I opened the fridge and I realized we had no vegetables to speak of except for 2 lone red peppers.

It was a sign.

This dinner was inspired by my wedding dinner on Saturday night which was a gorgeous curried rice stuffed pepper:

I love stuffed peppers.

It’s like Christmas morning when you cut one open. As Forest Gump said, You never know what you’re gonna get.’

Well, technically I knew, because I made this one, but we can pretend…

Easy & Delicious Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 2 red peppers
• 1.5 cups uncooked lentils (estimate only!)
• 1 cup pasta sauce
• 3-4 tbsp sweet BBQ sauce
• Sea salt, pepper to taste

Directions: Cook lentils according to package directions. While the lentils are cooking, preheat the oven to 350F. Cut top top of the peppers off and carefully remove the inner seeds to your liking. Pop the peppers onto a baking sheet and into the oven to pre-cook for about 20 minutes while the lentils are cooking. Remove the peppers from the oven and set aside. Rinse the lentils with a colander and rinse out the pot that you cooked the lentils in. Place the drained lentils back into the pot and add the pasta sauce, BBQ sauce, and seasonings. Stir well. Taste. Adjust sauce if necessary. Fill the two peppers with the lentil mixture and place them carefully onto the baking sheet. Place into the oven for another 15-30 minutes checking it every 10 minutes or so. Peppers are ready when they have some character to them.

Lentils are quite the superfood boasting approx. 19-25 grams of protein and 18-22 grams of fibre per cooked cup, depending on the type you use. They are also very high in folate, iron, Vitamin B1, copper, and tryptophan. Tryptophan is thought to enhance relaxation and sleep, soothes nerves and anxiety, and reduces carbohydrate cravings.

I was feeling mighty relaxed after this meal too!

Chef Eric prepared the side of raw carrots and hummus…(and they tasted better because he prepared them and not me). Score.

Christmas morning…!

Eric proclaimed this was the best stuffed pepper he has ever tasted! And then he said, ‘Well, I think I have only had two stuffed peppers in my life, but this one is good.’

I’ll take it. :lol:

Race Quirks

Do you ever wonder what I think about during my half marathons? No? Didn’t think so. I am going to tell you anyways.

Yesterday during my half, I thought about what my race quirks are and this is what I came up with…

1. I always have to scream ‘yawhoo’ when the gun/horn goes off at the start of the race. I’m a 10 yr old like that.

2. I have never used an on-course porta-potty, only before and after the race.

3. I play 3-5 ‘power songs’ over and over and over during the race. These power songs change each race. Ninety percent of the songs on my Shuffle are not worthy race songs, meaning that they don’t pump me up enough to even play. Apparently, I’m quite the race song connoisseur.

4. I always clap and yell ‘good job’ to the runners in the lead (that is, if the course is a loop or out-and-back and they pass by in the other direction). In yesterday’s race we saw the lead women heading back a couple times during the loops. I always cheered for them and I even gave one a ‘side-five’. In my defense, the girl ahead of me did it first.

5. I thank every single volunteer that cheers me on or hands me a cup of Gatorade. I also thank some of the spectators that cheer for me. Sometimes it is a thank-you or sometimes I am so tired I just mouth the words and crack a sad, sad smile, but either way I try my best to show my gratitude, especially in the last few km’s when I need those words of encouragement so badly. I also think that positivity breeds more energy. When I smile and say thank-you, a bit of my pain is taken away. I will never forget the elderly volunteer lady who told me I had a beautiful smile during my 10 mile race. It carried me several minutes to the finish.

6. If I see someone struggling on the course, I ask them if they are ok. I saw a girl yesterday who stopped to walk and looked like she may pass out. I stopped to see if she was ok. I would hope that others would do the same for me!

7. While I consider myself a ‘happy runner’ in races, internally, I swear and curse like a truck driver. If you were to hear some of my inner dialogue while running a half, it would be similar to the Jerry Springer show or a Pussycat Dolls video. I curse, I get angry, and I do the MAD FACE when I see a hill approaching. It ain’t pretty. Note- mad face –> :angry: I also made this face upon seeing creeper on bike.

8. However, I always ham it up for the on-course photographer. The on-course photographer serves one purpose- a few seconds of sheer entertainment where I am not thinking about how tired I am. I give a thumbs up and a smile. I realize this looks extremely nerdy, but I get stage fright and can’t come up with anything else. The thumbs up works, and I use it. During my first 10k race, I threw my arms over my head and cheered for the photographer, but this used up way too many energy reserves. Rookie mistake. A thumbs up is energy efficient and practical. I highly recommend it. However… my right arm is oddly sore today….

9. I slow down going downhill and speed up going uphill. I don’t understand it, so I don’t expect you to either.

10. I do not run and drink at the same time. Much like I do not run while carrying scissors, I don’t expect to drink fluids while gasping for air and running and survive. I tried it once and I almost coughed up a lung. [However, I highly recommend drinking while running if you are using a Camelbak!]

11. I wear the same OLD ‘lucky’ white Nike hat for each training run and race. I wash it occasionally and the dirt doesn’t come off. I wear it anyways. I got it 9 or 10 years ago. I have perfectly good hats sitting in my closet, but for some strange reason I do not wear them.

12. I sing. Out loud. If you ever see me on a race course and you see me singing to myself, you know I am in a very bad, bad place. I did this around mile 11 yesterday. It wasn’t pretty.

13. I talk to myself out loud. I repeat my mantra. I say random things like ‘strong, strong, strong, strong, strong’ and adopt obnoxious breathing patterns similar to those annoying guys in gym weight rooms.

Do you have race quirks or just exercise quirks in general? Do you have any systematic ways of doing things or superstitious beliefs?