This is what happens when nothing is going on!

Just noticed I had not post since last Thursday, about a week ago. Man, I am lazy. Not in the literal sense but in the blogging sense.

So this past weekend, I paced one of my running buddies in the Cinco de Mayo Half Marathon over at the Spectrum. Well, not the whole distance but for 8 miles of it. He ran by my place so I just joined in. I was worried that they were going to kick me off the course the entire time I was running with him but they never did. I brought along my own hydration so as not to use any of the other runners' resources. It worked out nice and I got to run with my friend and get in some miles at the same time. Win-win!

I have the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon coming up quick style and I need to get in a 20 miler next week. I am a bit worried since I haven't ran that far in a while. I run often but just not that far. I am going to get in a quick 12 miles this coming weekend and see how I feel. I think I can, I think I can!

In other non running related news, I've been trying out lots of stuff from my local health food store. Why? Well basically it is really boring to eat clean most of the time. Especially since I am not a very good cook and do not have a ton of time to spare. I am doing good in terms of eating healthy but sometimes the stuff I eat day-in and day-out just get very boring and I want something else. But it is often hard to work in a new item because I basically eat everything pretty plain. As an example, I eat oatmeal everyday. Oatmeal to me is just oatmeal. It is not topped with granola or brown sugar or stuff that people normally put on it. I basically eat it as is. Maybe with some chia seeds and a tsp of PB. I can eat this for months on end. But every once in a while, I just don't want this anymore so I start playing around with the oat flakes to see what I can do with it aside from the oatmeal. I've made the breakfast cookie, smoothies, egg puff...etc., all the stuff I read about in the blog world but I always come back to the oatmeal. Recently, I was walking down the cereal aisle of the health food store and noticed this muesli called Alpen. Just the name alone conjures up images of skiing and eating a nice muesli by the fireside...hahaha...yeah I really need a vacation. Aside from Kashi Go Lean, I don't eat much cereal these days and it is not because I don't love the stuff. Because truth be told, I use to eat a butt load of it as a kid. The bad but delicious sugary kind to boot. Maybe that's why as an adult I eat what taste like horse feed..hahaha. Back to the muesli, I don't think I've ever had muesli before but I am guessing there are way better ones out there. I have to admit that this one is not tasty. They lied on that box when they said "Same Great Taste". Don't believe it! It is pretty plain. I am thinking of adding some chopped up dates or dried apricots to it to liven things up a bit. For the most part, I eat it as is with some slivered almonds, chia seeds and coconut milk. It fills me up so I am happy. I will experiment with this and write another post about how to make it yummy while maintaining it healthy virtues.



Another breakfast/snack item I picked up at the same health food store are these Apple/Cranberry muffins from Zen Bakery. Not gonna lie, these are not yummy delicious muffins that you are use to. These are full of fiber and taste that way. ;) I normally zapped these in the microwave for a couple of secs and then spread a bit of PB on them and eat them with some fruit. As I typed this, I've already eaten them all since I purchased them last week. I may buy them again.



So I have some pretty good memories about this new product that I also purchased from the health food store. These are Lesley Stowe's Raincoast Crisps in cranberry/hazelnut. I have good memories about these because a few days before I departed to run the Ragnar, I purchased these to snack on in the van. I didn't even know if I would like them but I ended up eating almost the entire box during the Ragnar. So I guess you can say that I was fueled by these crisps. They are really crispy and crunchy. I love them alot and will be buying them again. They come in other flavors but I haven't tried any other one aside from the original Seedy Crisps and they are not as good as these cranberry/hazelnut ones. These are also full of fiber. Believe it or not, I am not even on a fiber kick. I guess alot of items at the health food store has lots of fiber in it.

(I "borrowed" this image from Google)


Another recent discovery is Goddress of Green juice from the juice bar of the health food store. I think I've developed an addiction to this drink. I want one everyday...morning, noon and night. It is just juiced cucumber, celery, spinach, carrot and apple but it is so good.



Finally, Cranberry Granola bars from Two Moms in the Raw. This was another item I purchased for the Ragnar but when I opened the bag the day before the race, I didn't like the way it smelled, so I didn't take along with me. When I got back from the race one day last week, I decided to give it another try and I have to say that this stuff grows on you. I mean that in a good way. So as I am typing this, I have already eaten the first bag and am on my second bag. This stuff is also very fiberous. I mean it is basically a seedy bar..hahaha..that sounds like some place you don't want to be at 1am in the morning. So what I am saying is that I like these but they are pricey because this bag contains only 4 bars but cost $10.49!! But I like them alot and feel that they are worth the price because they are tastey!



There you have it. Now you know why my blog is called "I'd Rather Be Eating"...hahaha. Now if only I spent this much time on my running!

Note: SkinnyRunner is giving away some GUs and I can always use more GUs.