Within the past few days of being on vacation, I have…
…brought all of the recipe pages up to date, which hopefully will make it easier for everyone (and me!) to find past recipes! 😀
…consumed a very full head of kale.
…worn my apron like it’s the latest accessory item.
…made three big bowls of “un”overnight blueberry banana oats.
(because, obviously, having just one day to eat your favorite breakfast is never quite enough!)
…enjoyed one, two, three lovely New England walks with my parents.
…and trotted out 5 pain free miles through a sunrise. Which, by the way, I haven’t done before my knee injury.
I always seem to flirt around with the idea of entering a race come spring, but I’ve also been indulging in the sheer pleasure of just heading out for a run. Just because.
No clear training goals in mind.
No drills.
No speedwork.
No 12-mile long runs in zero degree weather.
Just running. For the pure and simple reason that it feels delicious on my legs.
When life gets busy and crazy with the dietetic internship and everything else, nothing brings my pace back to normal quite like a brisk morning run. It slows me down. The half marathon is still on my horizon. But for now, my heart belongs to just running.
Just because.
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Warm Kale Salad
If you’re still sitting on the fence over kale, try this recipe! The flavors are subtle but bright, with the sunny addition of lemon juice. Aside from kale chips, this is one of my favorite ways to enjoy it.
Kale won’t wilt like spinach does, and stands up quite well against all of the heat and stirring. Even still, the kale will be tender and soft, making it a wonderful accompaniment to any and all of your favorite meals. 😀
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- at least 4 large handfuls of chopped kale
- a few spritzes of lemon juice
- garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 a carrot, grated
- In a large pot over medium heat, heat olive oil and cook onion until tender. Add chopped kale, stir, lower heat slightly to medium low, and cook until wilted and slightly tender.
- Add lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, pepper and grated carrot. Continue cooking on low for another couple of minutes.
- Serve warm and ENJOY! 😀
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“Un”Overnight Blueberry Banana Oats
The “un”overnight oats resemble their close cousin, the “overnight oats.” The main difference is that there’s no soaking or waiting involved with this version. It’s are made the same morning that you want to eat it, which is nice for those of us who frequently change our minds on what we want to eat, come morning. 😉
- 1/2 c. uncooked oatmeal
- cinnamon and nutmeg
- 1/2 banana, sliced
- 1/2 c. frozen blueberries
- 1/4 cortland apple
- 1 T. crushed flax
- 6-oz. plain yogurt
- 2 T. almond butter
- Mix together all of ingredients except almond butter. Stir well.
- Top with almond butter and ENJOY! 😀
Question: If you had an entire day to do only the things that made you happy, how would you spend it?
Running To Slow Things Down 
Totally going to try that kale salad 😉
Have you ever tried a cold kale and avocado salad?
That sounds great! I love the idea of kale and avocado together, and I’ve seen that combo at Whole Foods too. 😀
the kale dish looks incredible! We also had kale with dinner tonight. Yum!
If I had a whole day, I would sleep in, take my time then go for a nice and easy run and then enjoy a movie or two with my husband and not go anywhere! We hardly take any time to just relax. Oh, and we wouldn’t turn on the computer! 😉
Amen to that! 😀
Isn’t it great just to RUN? It’s so easy to get caught up in how fast, how slow, or feeling that we “have” to run. Awesome!
Mmm, kale is sooo delish! especially with some nutriotional yeast! honestly, if i could spend one day doing anything i want? it would be shopping, starbucks and lunching! 🙂
xx
I absolutely love kale chips! I bought a head of it for the first time the other day, intending to use half for some chips and the other half for a warm salad… but I ended up eating them all in chip form within the following day and a half! Haha. They’re addicting 🙂
I’m glad you are enjoying your holiday. The photos are fantastic!
I would spend it in the morning with my mom getting coffee and a homemade breakfast, sitting at the table enjoying just chatting, then going for a walk. There’d be some baking in there somewhere, and lots of hanging out with friends. Probably some ready or sewing too. But lots of laughing.
Mmmm, kale. I am already wild over it but always looking for new ways to cook it, other than my normal steamed-til-soft-and-scrambled-into-eggs method.
An entire day? Hmm…I’m tempted to say things like “go for a run followed by a huge breakfast with friends and outings at museums and farmers’ markets and swing dances,” but…things are so busy lately, I haven’t had a single day where I didn’t have something essential to do in literally months. So I’m going to say “wake up early and sleep in late with my loverboy, have each other for breakfast and coffee and cookies for lunch, then stroll around in the snow and sunshine until it was time to make dinner, have cocoa, read each other Christmas stories and fall asleep on the couch by the tree.”
If I had the entire day, I would definitely head to Starbucks with a good book and my laptop, order a venti coffee and keep them coming! When I rush into a coffee shop in the morning before work, I always feel this jealousy (in a good way!) of those who are camped out on their computer or reading the paper!
That kale recipe looks great! 🙂
I love your blog!! I just wanted to double check you don’t cook the oats you mix them raw? Sorry if that’s a dumb question. I wanted to make this soon and didn’t want to mess it up.
Not a dumb question at all!
The oats are mixed raw, although I’ve heard from some readers who follow this method with leftover *cooked* oats. I think both ways would be delicious.
Hope you enjoy them! 😀
Thank you so much. It was delicious!!!