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Running the Golden Gate

I had the best day today. Seriously. Since I finished my first final yesterday and I don’t have another one until Wednesday, today was definitely a day off!

This morning, I ran with Crossfit in San Francisco! We carpooled up to Crissy Field and I ran with my phone for picture taking purposes.

It was an absolutely beautiful day to run. Fairly warm but windy up higher, with some fog around the bridge.

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My Crossfit coach’s dog.

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Please note how high up the bridge is in these pictures, and that we began at sea level.

A group of us wanted to run the bridge, which was a bit of a ways up-lots of stairs! And the bridge isn’t super flat either! So here are some bridge pictures!

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And of course proof that we indeed did reach the other side:

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We definitely kept up a decent pace. When we weren’t climbing, it was under 9:30 which is on the fast side for me, especially after the hills! I was basically dying by the end. We ended up doing just under 7 miles and my legs are definitely feeling it!

On the way to brunch afterwards we stumble upon a giant food truck gathering so we stopped there instead.

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The first thing I got was the best latte I’ve ever had. By far. It was AMAZING.

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Since the coffee took a while and I didn’t want to make everyone wait, I got my food from the place with a shorter line-I ended up with and Indian roll filled with Chicken Tikka Masala.

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It was good but MAN was it spicy. I bought a bottle of water and was getting seriously concerned when my water was disappearing faster than the pain in my mouth! I’m the biggest wimp with spicy food!

I then went back home to drop some things off to begin the move out process and ended up getting drawn in by the air conditioning and the cats.

I actually broke my no sugar thing. Sort of. I was tentatively planning on ending it today, and I celebrated with a slice of leftover birthday cake from the freezer.

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It didn’t spark any crazy cravings, so here’s to another week! I know what my next dessert will be though-I volunteered to bake a Boston Cream Pie from scotch for my sister’s graduation next weekend!

Like I said, I was sucked into the world of cats at home. I ended up not leaving until late into the evening, and I spent a lot of time with a very purry kitty.

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It was such a hot day today, and since my dorm has no air conditioning, it gets pretty bad. I’m sitting here now sweating! I also had dinner at home. We had a spinach and mushroom quiche from Whole Foods, broiled asparagus, and a green bean creation I made. I sautéed up some frozen green beans (we didn’t have a lot on hand in the veggie department) with roasted garlic, green onions, and later some garlic and herb laughing cow. Yum!

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A tough run in an awesome place, with awesome people, plus cat time? Does it get any better??

What did you do this weekend?

WIAW-Paleo Tropical Banana Bread

Happy What I Ate Wednesday! Thanks Jenn for hosting!
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I wasn’t exactly planning on posting my eats today due to some morning boredom/unphotographed snacks, but I promise the day picked up!

I began the morning with a 6 am spin class. I was originally planning on going to spin tomorrow and not today, but I am babysitting early tomorrow, so today it was. Sadly, I did not go to bed early enough. I was planning on doing my half training run after spin, but I had Crossfit in the evening and didn’t want to die. 

Breakfast was a yogurt bowl with vanilla Greek yogurt, pineapple, and a mix of gluten-free muesli and cereal. 
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FYI- Whole Foods brand vanilla Greek yogurt is really good!

Then it was time for a NAP. My day consisted of running errands, but that’s not what we are here for, right? So FOOD. I had a mid-morning snack of part of a chocolate Thinkthin bar. Lunch was at the cafe at my dad’s work. I had a teriyaki chicken wrap. <
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One highlight of my afternoon was going shopping for new running shoes! I went to Fleet Feet, and they were super helpful. They measured my feet and then watched me run to determine which shoes would work best. No surprise-I favored Nikes. I did want something different for my feet though, so I ended up with these:
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…and a new pair of Nikes, which are waaaay better than my old ones (no picture because I had to order them to get a prettier color). So….here’s my justification for getting 2 brand new pairs of running shoes. My biggest limiting factor for being able to run a half marathon is my feet. I’ve had problems with them for a long time, especially from living in softball cleats for years. When I played softball, the balls of my feet were perpetually bruised because my cleat would start poking up into my foot through the sole of the shoe. Plus, I have this weird problem where I lose circulation in my toes when I run more than 4ish miles. And, if I have 2 pairs of running shoes that I alternate, they’ll both last twice as long. If I only got one pair, I’d have to buy new shoes eventually anyways, so this is just like buying my next pair of running shoes early. I have yet to try my new shoes though!

I decided on a snack before Crossfit. I got some Quaker kettlecorn flavored rice cakes at the grocery to try. they were pretty good, but not the real deal! I also microwaved some blueberries with  blueberry-crisp like topping, but they were very unphotogenic. I decided some protein was probably a good idea. I finally saw the Chobani flips at the grocery store today, so I wanted to try it! I got the Key Lime flavor. I was pleasantly surprised by the sugar content-I was expecting it to be much worse! 
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I really liked this! I just wish the yogurt had a bit more lime flavor and tang. 

Crossfit was pretty good today. I can’t wait until I can start doing the real workouts. My did back squats today, but it is wayyyy lighter than what I ever do on my own! But working on my technique is probably good for me! Our WOD was 3 rounds for time of a 400m run, 21 lunges (each), and 12 pull ups (with a band). I finished in 15:05. Pull-ups are definitely a weak point for me!

For dinner, we made the best quiche…ever. It’s the Spinach Smoked Gouda Quiche from Cooking Light. I’ve made the version with the crust from scratch before (and it is awesome), but normally it is easier to just buy a crust. This time though, I wanted to try it as a crustless quiche. We greased the pan with olive oil, and then sprinkled panko crumbs, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to keep the quiche from sticking. 
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It came out well and didn’t stick at all! I want to take a crack at a microwave version of this. On the side was brussels sprouts and herbed carrots. 
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I’ve dabbled in Paleo eating in the past, but since I’ve started Crossfit, I’m considering giving it another try. I haven’t been feeling that great lately, and I think some clean eating would definitely help. And since I wanted something interesting to post for WIAW, this seemed like the perfect time to try a recipe I’ve been meaning to make for a long time. 

I modified my favorite banana bread recipe-it is the Nancy Clark recipe, by eliminating the sugar (I reduce it a ton when I bake the regular bread-the bananas add a lot of sweetness), subbing in coconut flour for the regular flour, and using Coconut Almond milk instead of regular milk.
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Since coconut flour dries things up a ton, I added pineapple juice as the liquid. The texture of anything with coconut flour is a little different, but I’m all about the flavor! Other bonus- this only uses one bowl!

Ingredients:

3 large ripe bananas

1 egg

1/3 cup coconut almond milk (or any type of milk)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons canola oil

1.5 cups coconut flour

1.5 cups pineapple juice
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(Before baking)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mash bananas in a small bowl.

3. Add all other ingredients and mix.

4. Transfer into a loaf pan. I recommend lining the pan with nonstick foil, or greasing the pan.

5. Flatten out the top of the loaf.

6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden and brown around the edges. 
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This recipe is not perfected-this was my first try, and I’m fairly new with coconut flour! Since there is no gluten, it is a bit crumbly. In the future, I also might add more pineapple juice, or maybe some crushed pineapple. And maybe more egg? The flavor is there though! Just don’t be expecting the texture of regular banana bread!
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Well, that’s all for tonight! A few thoughts-I want to add some workouts to my blog. I mostly blog about food, but in reality I’m a bigger fan of working out. I want a go-to workout that I can do anywhere, without equipment, that really kicks my butt! I’ve been brainstorming. Hint: think Dirty Thirty. I’m recruiting some friends to test it out on this Friday, so be on the lookout for that!

Have you ever baked with coconut flour? Tips??