Author: Maria Runs

Cake and Bake show!

Hey peeps, I hope you all had a lovely Sunday.

I was off early this morning (well, early for a Sunday) to go to the Cake and Bake show in London, as I had been sent some tickets from Sainsbury’s.

We arrived as it opened so had time to wander around and marvel at the beautiful cakes on offer before it got too busy.

I could have bought piles of cakes!

I also loved this Toy Story themed cake on the Disney stand- loved how all the aliens were a little bit different.

There was a Clandestine Cake Club stand, and I had found out the night before that one of my friends was submitting a cake so I had to pop by and see the cakes (and managed to see her too). Now I am tempted to sign up as there is one local to me, although I need to look through the website a bit first I think.

One of the first stands we visited was for Devilishly Good Brownies– and the samples we tried (a vanilla/sea-salt one) were amazing so we revisited it later to buy lunch. I bought a chocolate orange one which was amazing (we had a brownie each for lunch and enjoyed a little sit down), and I bought a pb and coconut one (the offer was to buy 3 you see….) for another day.

My friends pointed out a tea stand to me- that was a mistake! The Alison Appleton stand had some little glass bottles filled with loose leaf tea to smell (as samples) and the lady was even boiling her fancy kettle to make up some Earl Grey, which I sampled. I couldn’t resist the black tea with caramel, and again there was an offer if you bought three so I ended up with Earl Grey (smells amazing), Gentleman’s Toffee (black tea with caramel drops) and Marie Antoinette’s tea (black tea with ginger, rose, cardamom and ginger).

I fell in love with those cups on sale too, so have added them to my collection. They did have a beautiful teapot but it was £55 which is a bit out of my teapot budget! I also bought a vegan nanaimo slice from Ms Cupcake– I have seen these on Oh She Glows and they look lovely so I have saved it for another day.

They had goody bags for sale, so we each ended up buying one. I wanted one mainly for the booklet and the bag (I am a sucker for a bag) but I wasn’t that impressed with the contents.

It contained the guide (which has recipes and things as well as the map), a lime drink, a few money off vouchers and some cake mix. I think cake mixes are OK if you are in a hurry, but it seemed a strange thing to have in the bag seeing as most people going to the show would be making their own cakes, so something like cake ingredients, decorating tools or even some interesting flour/ sugar would have been better in my opinion!

I also bought a copy of the Sainsbury’s magazine (as it was only £1), some cherry flavouring (have been looking for some for ages), some ready coloured icing in Christmas colours, and a gorgeous cake stand. The stall (they have a facebook page if you fancy a look) had loads of plates of various sizes with holes drilled in them, and then you could select 2 or 3 plates and make your own stand. A really pretty blue and white stand caught my eye, and I was trying to find plates that matched it when the lady told me I could buy any of the display ones too, so I was sold! I have not put it together yet but you can see the three plates I chose- so pretty!

We ended up walking around for over 4 hours! It was so busy by the time we left so I was glad we had turned up early.

By the time I got home the brownie for lunch had worn off, so I made some toast with avocado and tomato- I needed something quick!

I have spent the rest of the afternoon/ evening watching the GNR (the end was so exciting!) and reminiscing about last year. (For newish readers- at the end of 2011 I was quite poorly and admitted to hospital, and it turned out I had a massive cyst on one of my ovaries that had to be removed, so I was not allowed to do any exercise before the op in case it twisted/ ruptured, and then was only allowed to start running again in May 2012) I ran the GNR last year for charity, and it was my “comeback” race. I was so nervous and even had some tears in the starter pen as I was so worried that I would not be able to finish it, and it sort of put the operation and hospital visits behind me as I proved to myself that I could do these things again. Anyway, watching it this afternoon has brought back those memories and it is nice to think that those times are well and truly behind me now.

I love watching things like this though. I love seeing all the charity runners, and the end of the men’s race was so exciting! I was trying not to find out what happened, and had accidentally seen it on facebook, but then in the last minute I thought I must have read it wrong because it was such a close finish!

Anyone joined the Clandestine Cake Club? Did you enjoy watching the GNR today? 

I was sent tickets to the show as I am part of the Sainsbury’s blogger network, but I was not asked to review it or anything- I just wanted to blog about it.

Pancakes and more multi-purpose runs

Where has the week gone? I had forgotten how busy the start of term can be!

On Wednesday it was drizzling when I headed up to the Sweatshop run, and I didn’t think that many people would come. I was quite impressed with the turn out in the end. We opted for a lap of the fields as pretty soon it will be dark so we won’t be able to go there. This meant that we were a bit more exposed to the wind and rain, but it was pretty enjoyable. I ran with my brother and another girl and we chatted most of the way around- I felt that it was sort of comfortably hard if that makes sense?

Before my run I tried the Maple Peanut Protein bar from my sports nutribox. It was OK- it was a weird light green colour (due to the pea protein) and although it didn’t taste particularly sweet, it did leave me with my teeth feeling a bit funny. But it didn’t give me tummy issues or anything during the run, and helped bridge the gap between lunch at 12.30 and dinner at 7.30.

On Thursday we had a late meeting at work (not starting until 7pm). Some people were going to go home but I thought that I would not want to go back out again! Plus the traffic can be a bit of a nightmare. So I was planning on going to Starbucks for a bit of a break, but then someone told me it is closed for a refurb! Oh no! In the end I drove to the one half way home and had a chai latte and a caramel shortcake (I was hoping for a cinnamon roll but they had none- boo) and did a bit of paperwork. It was good to have a bit of a break I think- gave me a second wind to last the evening.

On Friday I had the Peanut Bounce ball for a post-work snack. The flavour was good but it was so chewy! I have liked having a variety of snacks this week- often I order a big box of nakd bars and have them as snacks but they can get a bit boring. Then I went on a short run (3.5 miles) in the rain. I think the thought of running in the rain is much worse than when you get out there. I have been wearing my tennis visor which slightly helps keep some rain off my glasses, and psychologically it makes me feel a little drier, as does wearing a t-shirt instead of a vest. Not sure why! I really enjoyed it though, in fact I have loved all my runs this week. I am back to feeling strong again and sort of where I left off before my holiday.

The weather is so much colder now, but one good thing means I can wear my new PJ’s! (The ones with the bears on them)

Although they are a little long for me!

I had a couple of dates to eat this morning- I was going out for runs before breakfast but have recently started having dates with some water before I go out to give me a little boost- then I downloaded the new Marathon Talk podcast, got ready and headed out into yet more drizzle. My plan was 8 miles, but last weekend I did 7.9 so I really wanted to do a bit more. I did the slightly longer loop that goes through the town centre, and took my debit card with me to get some money out- love these multitasking runs (although I prefer the blackberry picking). The weather was fine and I felt good as I neared home so added a little loop on the end to total 8.8 miles.

Of course pancakes were on my breakfast menu! More Orgran buckwheat pancakes (I love these so much!) – I cooked an apple and some blackberries in a little coconut oil, coconut sugar and cinnamon- this was such a delicious combination. Plus a ginger peach tea (so delicious but I have to order on i-herb as I have not found a UK company that makes it).

Ahem. I was indeed tempted yet again by the Thoosa sale. My excuse? Well, when we went skiing the zip broke on one pair of my running tights (I was trying to zip them over my thick socks…), and you can’t have too many running tops can you? I also caved in and ordered the pretty dress from Fat Face- back to school treats!

Do you ever multi-task on your runs? It’s quite satisfying to tick off a job at the same time!

What autumnal foods are you looking forward to? I had ordered some bramley apples today to have baked apples, but they didn’t come so I shall have to wait another week.

PS: The folks at Nutribox have set up a discount code: RUNNINGCUPCAKES which will give you 35% off your first box (and they do a vegan option).

 I was sent a nutribox in exchange for a review but I won’t get any discounts if you use the code. 

Stinging nettles attack!

So after work today I headed out for a run- I watched the weather last night and saw it was meant to be dry here until the evening, so was planning in leaving work sooner than usual, but I forgot! By the time I was driving home it was drizzling heavily, so I had to dig out my tennis visor and a t-shirt (too cold for a vest now).

Photo: Not a bad amount of blackberries :)

Recently I have seen lots of blackberry bushes covered in berries so I took a bag with me and decided to scope out the bushes on the first lap of the route, and then stop to pick them on the second lap. Great idea, but it turns out that blackberries grow by stinging nettles, and I noticed this too late! Capris and a t-shirt meant that my ankles, hands and arms were all attacked by nettles! Plus as it was raining once I stopped I got quite cold- I think I stopped after about 4 miles, so I was nice and warm (and the bushes sheltered me from the worst of the rain) but I stopped for about 15 minutes (well, with some running between bushes), and even though I then had a half mile run back home I was super cold! I was going to bake the berries  (or cook them in a pan to make a sort of sauce to have with porridge) this evening but I didn’t get home until 7, so I am going to save that for another day.

After a shower and some dinner I had a cup of tea and some cherry and marzipan cake to accompany my marking- loads of cherries in that slice!

I was also lucky enough to receive a Sports Nutrition box from the folks at Nutribox for me to review. It is meant to have a good balance of snacks containing protein, carbohydrate and fats, and they all look right up my street. I have had the Bounce ball before (those coconut and macadamia ones are amazing) but I don’t think I have tried any of the other items so I am looking forward to trying them all over the next few weeks.

Right, I am off to watch the Bake Off now.

Are you digging out your autumnal workout clothes now? I find it so hard to know what to wear as when I get home I am often cold, but I know that I will probably warm up once I start.

Weekend baking

When I got back from my holiday I found waiting for me a parcel from Orgran, containing two boxes of their Buckwheat pancake mix for me to try.

Buckwheat flour, despite the name, is wheat and gluten free, is actually a seed, and a member of the rhubarb family, so good for anyone with coeliacs or people who avoid wheat or gluten (or if you want to stop being so reliant on wheat). The mix contains rice flour as well as buckwheat flour, plus raising agents, so all you have to do is add liquid and egg. You can make these pancakes with eggs, milk and water, or make them vegan by using egg replacer and dairy free milk, and instructions for both ways are on the packet.

Last weekend I tried them with eggs and almond milk and they cooked so well. I kept the batter thick for smaller american style pancakes, and had them with some watermelon, peanut butter and cherry jam (and I think a little maple syrup – looks like it in the picture!). They were delicious and so easy to make- I was so impressed.

This morning after my run I tried the vegan version- I have their egg replacer in my cupboard anyway (for if I have not been given eggs from my Mum for a while) so I used that, and Alpro light soya milk. I made the batter more runny, and so ended up making bigger almost crepe style pancakes. I served them with a nectarine that I cooked in a little coconut oil and with some coconut sugar. Amazing. I am still working through the first box, but I can see these becoming a weekend staple for me. I can’t decide which way I prefer, although they are the easiest big pancakes I have ever made- they flipped so easily.

I was also sent some liquid Better Stevia. They also sent me a recipe for peanut butter cookies, but unfortunately it needed powdered stevia and not liquid, and although I looked on the internet I was not 100% sure how to sub them (many sites warned at how sweet it was- 300x sweeter than sugar!) so I found this recipe for chocolate pb cookies instead. Now, I have had a few things containing stevia before, although not on purpose. When I was in America a few years ago I bought some iced tea which turned out to have stevia in there, and I found it had a really weird after taste, sort of metallic or something. But then last year I was given some chocolate sweetened with Stevia for my birthday (from the lovely Lucy) and it was really good- I wonder if the US products I tried had just too much in there?

The recipe I had chosen looked simple enough (peanut butter, eggs, cocoa powder, coconut, coconut sugar, a few tbs flour and a few other add ins), and only needed 12 drops of the stevia so I was hoping they would not be too sweet.

I shared one with Andy (I am taking the rest to work, but wanted to check they tasted OK first)- they were good, although I could not taste the coconut very much so if I make them again I could add more, or maybe sprinkle some on the top.

Finally I have sliced up the cake ready for Sunday tea- this is the Cherry, Almond and Marzipan cake, with slivered almonds sprinkled on the top for some crunch, plus a dusting of icing sugar to add to the prettiness.

I am also pretty excited as the Sainsbury’s blogger community sent me some tickets to the Cake and Bake show, so next Sunday I am heading there with some friends to marvel at all the cake and baking accessories.

Have you tried buckwheat or Stevia before? What did you think? Also, what else can I do with the liquid Stevia?

Gorgeous day for a Parkrun

I hope you have all had a lovely week- the time has flown by!

At the moment this cherry, marzipan and almond tray bake is cooking in the oven- smells wonderful.

So after a busy day at work (takes a while to adjust!) I was off to the Sweatshop run on Wednesday. It ended up being really tough- I was right at the back but our first mile was 8.44 which was a bit fast bearing in mind it was hot, I was tired and had to save some energy to run home after. I eased off a bit but I found it hard, especially the final mile and a bit. I had such jelly legs jogging home.

After a quick shower and dinner we were off to the cinema to see The Lone Ranger (I enjoyed it more than I thought I would)- I was so concious of keeping my legs moving as I didn’t want to stiffen up so ended up being a right old fidget bottom.

I went to pump on Thursday and it was better than last week, although now it is not on for the next 2 weeks as the instructor is away. No chance of getting into a routine just yet! Before I went I had seen on Laura’s blog frozen dates with nut butter so I made some up to have after- they were so delicious. But not very photogenic!

Yesterday I had a rest day, and then this morning I was off to Parkrun. What a beautiful morning it was. The sun had come out, but it was still quite cool and breezy. I picked up my Dad and brother as usual. My Dad was going to take it easy, but after half a mile he headed off on front of me and I was left with my own thoughts (and breathing noises) for company. The lake looked so pretty, and quite a few leaves have started falling off the trees. At one point the breeze was quite strong to run into, but for the final stretch it was behind me. I pushed pretty hard (felt a bit sick near the end) – don’t have my time yet though (although I know it wasn’t my fastest).

The breeze was cooling, so I did think I should have packed a jumper to wear in the car on the way home, especially as I stopped to see my Mum and ended up chatting for ages. I think it was 10.30 when I got home, so I had an apple right away before my shower as I was starting to feel hungry.

I made us some acai bowls to share (blended frozen banana, cherries and blueberries with a little soya milk, some acai powder- optional but it reminds us of Hawaii- and a little BlueberryActive to amp up the antioxidant count).

Sprinkled with plenty of muesli- what a delicious breakfast (brunch?).

After some work I made a lovely easy lunch- toasted sourdough with mashed avocado, cherry tomatoes, a little lime squeezed on there and a drizzle of basil olive oil.

Tomorrow is my next long run (and I have pancakes for breakfast planned), so hopefully this lovely weather will continue.

What have you been up to this week?