Because some days we all need a little reminder...


To travel... even if it is just down the road, to a near by park, or just slightly outside one's comfort zone...

And to enjoy food, truly enjoy it for what it is.  It fuels your body but first the flavors should dance across your tongue.  So let's try to focus on healthy relationships with food, think about what foods make your body feel good and which ones don't. 

Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend Recap... Late Is Better Than Never... Right?

Recently I've been seeing a lot of friends post pictures of their summer trips to Disney and posts about registering for one Disney race or another.  It made me think of Disney's Wine and Dine half marathon and the Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5k I did in November with my mom. It was a blast.  I know I didn't seem like it then but it was an awesome trip.  I wish I could have let go of all the stuff going on in my head that weekend.  I was really stressing out about having to run not just 13.1 miles but 13.1 miles at night.  It's a distance I had covered numerous times before but never on so little and I mean soo little training.  I completely let it get the best of me. I developed a new found respect for the distance, my mom, and myself that weekend though. I might not have known it then but in the months after I started thinking about that race, the distance, the fact that I used to think 13 miles was nothing, and about the fact that not everyone can say, "My Mom runs half marathons for fun." That is pretty cool.

Okay, so rewind to why we did the race if I wasn't training... In February and March of 2013 I was running a lot, training for a half marathon PR and getting ready to start marathon training.  My mom had the most awesome idea, since I LOVE Disney and we both love running, to do Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon for my 30th Birthday.  She registered us for the race as well as Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5k that weekend, booked the flights and hotels, and bought tickets for the parks.  I was excited.  While we took a lot of family vacations growing up this was going to be the second trip I took with just my mom, our first was the week I turned 20.  My mom might not have realized that the trips were going to be for 2 milestone birthdays but I loved the idea.

We flew out on a rainy, cold day in November and arrived in Orlando to nice warm weather.  I was happy to be getting a few days of sunshine in the middle of November. I felt like a little kid when we landed and were getting ready to board the Disney's Magical Express to our Disney accommodations.

On our way to the expo

The next day we went to the race expo to pick up our packets and check the expo out.  First, I have to say I've never been to such a large expo. Second, wow were they organized! Packet pick up for both races didn't take too long and then off to some shopping! I didn't love the race shirt I got for the HM because it was way too big.  They had x-small's but didn't offer them when we registered and we could exchange them but they were out of that size already.  So we went shopping for a race shirt of our own.  I wanted an ornament too.  On every vacation that's what I bring back as a souvenir.

Expo goodies

My mom and I with a few of
 the characters during the 5k

Our first race was the Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5k.  We woke up hours before the sun did, got ready, boarded a bus, and got in our corrals to wait for the race to start.  Did I mention it was super early?  Disney made up for it by having it snow while we were waiting to start.  Yup, Disney made it snow for us! There were tons of characters along the 5k course that started in a parking lot, went through Animal Kingdom, and finished in Animal Kingdom's parking lot.  The race was more of a fun run.  You could look at the clock for your finish time but it wasn't chip timed so we stopped to take pictures with all of the characters. The 5k was a lot of fun.  If you are heading to Disney to do one of their races I recommend signing up for their race weekend 5k too.  It was a great shake out run.  

The half marathon ::insert scary music:: had me worried.  I was really stuck in my own head during this race.  I felt bad that I had to take so many walk breaks, my poor mom but she stayed with me the whole race.  The race was really cool and there was such great energy there.  The have a million corrals (okay really 15 or so) and before we have to get in our corrals you can take pictures with characters, dance, eat, or just hand out around this large field.  They had the characters set up in one area to the side of the stage where they had people entertaining us.  Once in our corrals we waited for the race to start.  Each corral started 2 minutes after the previous corral, they pushed us up to the start line, and off we went when the fireworks went off.  There were TONS of characters during the 13.1 miles! We ran on the resorts roads, up overpasses, through parking lots, over Disney's Boardwalk, through Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and finally Epcot where we ran to the finish line in Epcot's parking lot.  I loved running through the parks and back lots at night.  We had already run through Animal Kingdom during the 5k so I enjoyed Hollywood Studios and Epcot the most.  My favorite part to run through was The Osborn Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights in Hollywood Studios. 

After the race we went into Epcot for the Wine and Dine Festival and ate and drank our way around the world.  It was fun but we were tired after a little bit.  In the days before and after the race we went to Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and the Magic Kingdom.  We rode as many rides as we could and even took pictures with a few characters.  I even got my mom to go on Aerosmith's Rocking Roller Coaster.  I forgot it went upside down so I told her it was a lot like Space Mountain, oops! 

If you are debating about whether or not to do a Disney race I say do it! It might not be a super serious racing experience but its a super fun running experience that also happens to be a chip timed race. I know I will be doing another one!

Have you done a Disney race before? If so, what one has been your favorite? Are you planning a Disney race, which one?

Lentil Mushroom Meatballs and Easy Peasy Marinara Sauce

Some kitchen experiments turn out okay, some good, some total fails, and some turn out great with not only me loving the new recipe but Kai loving it as well.  While he will eat almost anything he doesn't love all food.  I like to limit my red meat intake and he, well, he could eat steak and ground beef daily.  We both were really craving spaghetti and meatballs but I wasn't really feeling beef so off to the test kitchen I went.

I scroll through Pinterest, blogs, and cook shows websites frequently looking for new recipes to try and most end up just being a starting point for me.  I had been seeing many different recipes for a mushroom with lentils or beans meatball but no one recipe really jumped out at me.

First I tried playing around with different types of lentils and honestly I wasn't loving the texture until I came across French Lentils.  I really liked the way they tasted with the mushrooms and the texture they provided.  As for the mushrooms I played around with those a bit too and I enjoy the flavor of the baby bellas more than button or white mushrooms which most recipes called for.  Then you have to form the lentil balls and honestly it felt like a lot of work.  I have a couple cookies scoops and I used one of those to scoop the mixture and put it on the stone to be baked.  You could shape them if you want or maybe drop them by the spoonful like you would cookie batter if the shape isn't important to you.

As for the marinara sauce I like things to be simple.  I have been loving cooking it in the crockpot.  I can add in all the ingredients and walk away.  Plus, it adds no heat to my house which is already warm enough right now! While I want to experiment more with this recipe so I don't need to use any canned products it is my go to sauce.  It's truly simple. I add 3 large cans of crushed tomatoes, 2 cans of tomato paste, 5 cloves of garlic  (through my garlic press), a half cup of red onions diced, and 1-2 carrots sliced.  After it cooks on low for 6-8 hours I take the immersion blender and blend it all up.The red onions and carrots add a little sweetness without adding processed sugar and add a little extra vegetables. Sometimes I add a little red wine or chicken stock at this point if I want to thin it out or slightly change the taste.

Easy Peasy Marinara Sauce

3 large cans of crushed tomatoes

2 cans of tomato paste

1/2 cup red onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

Red wine or chicken stock (to taste and optional) 

Put all ingredients except the red wine or chicken stock in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  When finished blend with an immersion blender and add red wine or chicken stock if desired.  

**Freezes well.

Lentil Mushroom Meatballs

1/2 c. dried French lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 c. water
8 oz. baby bellas
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. red wine
1/2 c. vegetable or mushroom broth
1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt + pepper to taste
olive oil for pan


Combine the French lentils and water in a small sauce pan, bring to a bowl, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.  This isn't the instructions on the lentil packaging but they need to be under-cooked for the best consistency for the meatballs. Remove from heat and drain. 
Put lentils and mushrooms in the food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.  I sliced the mushrooms first only because I found it didn't mush the lentils up as much this way.  
Heat olive oil in a large skillet, cook garlic, then add the lentil mushroom mixture.  Brown the ingredients while stirring frequently. 
Stir in red wine and cook until evaporated.  Add in stock, oats, and seasonings and cook until all liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat and scoop or shape and place on to a sheet to be baked on.  I prefer a stone.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  

Bon Appétit

I know I wrote a post about the two restaurants I didn't like while in London and Paris as well as the bakeries and street vendors I did like but I think the restaurants we liked and loved deserve a post.  How I didn't gain a pound while on vacation I'm not sure because I ate and I mean ATE!

While we did go to three different French restaurants Le Bistro du Perigord was the first. The restaurant was very unassuming but the food was delectable.  We started with escargot and onion soup.  Both were amazing! I have never liked French onion soup before but this we delicious. For dinner I had duck confit and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.  Dessert might have just been my favorite though.  While it doesn't look like much it was a to die for caramel covered dessert.  There were was puffy pastry, baked apples, and vanilla ice cream, does dessert get much better than that?

My favorite French restaurant that we went to was La Bulle.  Anyone that knows me knows that I'm not a fan of meat based meals.  Actually, I can go weeks without eating meat and won't miss it.  I'm not a fan of the taste or texture of meat, especially red meat.  La Bulle is a traditional French restaurant and meat is the star of the plate.  When we walked in I fell in love with the feel of the restaurant.  It is on a corner and there are large glass windows overlooking both streets, a people watchers dream.  There was exposed brick, glassware stored in a decorative way, and lots of little lights.  There was a modern but comfortable feel to the place.  The waitress and waiter were both very polite.  While not overly warm they were friendly and even politely provided a menu with descriptions in English after hearing our poor French accents. The menu changes frequently based on what is in season which also means we didn't get to look at the menu before hand.  My heart quickly sank while reading the menu.  Nothing sounded appealing to me.  I ended up ordering a cut of beef served over mashed parsnips and potatoes. When it came out it was presented beautifully but there was so much meat.  I feared I would need 2 or maybe 3 crepes to fill me up that night but I was quickly proven wrong after just one bite.  I cut off a piece of beef and scooped up a little of the mashed parsnip and potato and the flavors instantly danced across my tongue. It was like the scene from Disney's Ratatouille when Remy closes his eyes while trying different foods and there are colors swirling around.  Each item on my plate tasted wonderful but together it was a unique flavor that even this non-meat lover loved! I wish I had brought the camera because the food was plated beautifully.

I think I will leave our favorite restaurant in Paris for another time...

Boston you're my home!

Over February vacation week I went up to Boston for the day with Kai.  He had to work but I got to explore part of the city by myself.  It was a lot of fun and I kept meaning to write about it but never managed to sit down to write.  We had lunch at the Whole Foods near Mass General.  Nothing fancy but it made it easier for us to grab a bite together in between his meeting and the food was good.  The bakery! Oh the bakery! It was so hard to decide on just one item for dessert so we picked two and split them.                      
                                                   

While Kai worked, I walked.  While I didn't walk far, just from Mass General to the Common to Boylston street, I enjoyed it.  The Public Gardens and Boston Common were beautiful all covered in snow.  There is so much history there and sometimes we take it all for granted.  The Common is the starting point of the Freedom Trail and the oldest park in the country.    The Public Gardens while newer contains beautiful statues, fountains, the swan boats, and of course the Make Way for the Ducklings statues.  

After walking through the Common and Public Garden I went to a yoga class at Union Studio Yoga. While I enjoy doing a lot of yoga I practice at home and have only attended a few in person classes.  I don't always feel comfortable going to a yoga class but I feel instantly comfortable there.  Maybe because I knew no one

knew me and I would never see anyone there again.  However, I instantly liked the studio and the energy the teacher gave off.  The class was fun.  It was a level 2/3 Vinyasa Flow class with a build up to Crow pose.  This class made me sweat! Walking back outside into the chilly felt oh so good.

When Kai was done with work we decided to spend some more time in the city and headed over to Harpoon Brewery to have a few drinks and pretzels in the Beer Hall and then go on a tour of the brewery.  We both got a flight of beer and a pretzel while waiting for the next tour.  There is a long bar that you can sit at or a bunch of long hall tables to sit at.  The pretzels are actually made with yeast left over from beer production.  They were really tasty.  I wish I had time for a second one.

I wish I had taken pictures of us on the tour because they make you wear safety goggles and it's a great

look, haha.  The two tour guides were great, they knew their facts about Harpoon but they had fun personalities too.  After explaining the beer making process and  how craft beer came to be they brought us in to the tasting room where they give you a sample sized glass to try a wide selection of their beers.  When walking in and walking out there was a painted walkway to the building with H's in a circle, I know the H was for Harpoon but I'd like to think it's for Happiness.

All in all it was a really great day! Walking through the Common and Public Gardens, yoga, lunch and dessert with Kai at Whole Foods, and we finished the day off by walking the trail of happiness into the Harpoon Brewery.