Author: Maria Runs

UR nutrition and “Keep on Running”

Hey all

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend, and avoiding all the terrible flooding that is happening.

Ages ago I was sent a book, called Keep on Running, to read for my blog.

I read it a while back, but I keep on forgetting to review it. You can read more about it on the Amazon reviews page if you want, but basically the author (Phil Hewitt) takes you on a journey through all his marathons (and he has run 25!). It starts with him taking on the challenge as his job as a journalist, and how his love of marathon running bloomed. I found it so interesting to read, because he has run various marathons across the globe (New York, Paris, Berlin…) and it was wonderful to read a runner’s perspective on them. It is not a training book, but it is an inspiring and enjoyable book- it even made me think that maybe Stockholm did not have to be my first and only marathon….

And onto UR Nutrition:

I was sent some products from UR Nutrition to try (in very shiny packets). They make a wide range of products and supplements- lots of protein powders (whey, soya) and add ins like green tea powder too.

My absolute favourite product that they sent me was the soya crisp. This was like rice crispies or something like that- nice crunchy soya pieces with a cereal-like flavour. It was fab on cereal, with yoghurts, and in baking (I added it to cornflake cakes). The stats are impressive too- a 20g serving has 16g protein which I think is pretty great.

Some soya crisp with alpro dark chocolate dessert, raspberries and coconut.

Added to some overnight muesli and nectarines- a great protein boost at breakfast.

The soya sustain (which is a soya protein powder) was a great idea as it is plain (no flavour), but they also sell packs of various flavours including chocolate brownie, strawberry cheesecake and key lime pie.

At first I just tried mixing it (top picture) but it was very lumpy! It was better when I put it in the blender (that time with some strawberries too). I found the flavours OK, but they seemed very strong and I ended up using much less than what was recommended (and I have a sweet tooth). But then that is better because you can add the amount you need, instead of having a flavour pre-mixed and finding it too strong.

They have a page of recipes on their website which is great if you are looking for ideas as to how to cook/bake with the products. I noticed they have a version of cornflake cakes (which I made with the soya crisp)- good idea!

My favourite product was the soya crisp- I am so impressed with the nutritional stats, and I would buy it again for sure. I am not so sure about the protein powders, but I never seem to get on that well with which ever ones I try- maybe I need to get the hint that my stomach just does not like protein powders very much. They were good to try anyway- thanks UR Nutrition 🙂

 Do you get on with protein powders? 

What running (or non-running) books have inspired you?

Sweet potato and kidney bean burgers

I really fancied a bean burger this week, and so I made some.

Super easy- a tin of beans, a couple of small (baked) sweet potatoes, some paprika, a tsp flour, some black pepper. Lime juice would be good- I might add that next time if I remember. Oh, I also added a tsp of egg replacer to help bind them together.

Mash it all up.

Shape into burgers and place on an oiled tray (I flipped them over so they had a little oil on both sides).

Bake for about 25/30 mins.

Serve! I had mine in a pitta (a yummy Food Doctor one as they were on offer), with some relish, baby avocado, a gherkin, roasted veggies and spinach.

Yum indeed, and so simple to make.  And, bonus, I have 3 more in the freezer for an even easier dinner 🙂

I had another Sweatshop run last night- I was meant to get my free t-shirt (again) but they didn’t have any in stock- boo! Will have to cross my fingers for next week. Anyway, we did a new route which was lovely, and again I managed to start off a little slower and finish a bit faster.

Right, off to body pump now! For those of you that do it, what do you think of the cool down track? I absolutely love it- I find it so uplifting and relaxing, but I have seen that some people don’t like it at all! I suppose it is different from the usual cool down tracks, but they are usually my least favourite ones, so it is a nice change that I actually enjoy it.

Bye 🙂

Peanut butter granola (recipe)

Hey peeps

While we were away, one morning I had some lovely home-made granola for breakfast, and it reminded me how delicious it can be. I decided to make my own- I started with a recipe from Sweet Vegan , but I changed it rather a lot (getting rid of the oil and brown sugar and replacing them with pb and grape juice, swapping in brown rice syrup for agave, changing the amounts of nuts and fruit). It is not perfect, but it is a good start, and very delicious.

First up- the ingredients:

Wet ingredients:

60g peanut butter

50ml grape juice

50ml brown rice syrup (or agave/ honey)

1 tsp vanilla

Gently heat these together in a pan- keep stirring until it all comes together. While this is going, pre-heat the oven to 150C.

Dry ingredients:

320g oats (I used the Sainsbury’s porridge mix which had oats, dried apple, cinnamon and raisins in, but plain oats would be fine).

45g coconut

100g almonds

50g brazil nuts

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix these together in a bowl, and then pour over the warm mixture.

Mix mix mix. I think next time I might make a little more of the wet mixture, as it was hard to coat all the oats. Then pour onto a tray, and bake for around 40 mins. Every 10/15 mins I got the tray out and shifted it all around so it would cook evenly.

When it is baked, add in some raisins (about 100g), then push the granola to the side of the tray so it hardens and cools into clumps.

This is lovely 🙂 The recipes makes a big tub too, so I shall be kept going for a while 🙂

Aside from that, I have been trying to stay indoors! I was meant to do a 6 mile run on Monday (although looking at my plan, I think that was a typo as I only did my first 6 mile one on Sunday)- I had to be back for the shopping to be delivered, so I did a short 3.2 miler (also glad of that because it was raining lightly when I left, but pretty heavy by the time I got home). I felt like I was going at a snail’s pace, but I did manage to keep a good pace- starting at about 10.40 per mile, and ending at 10.20. I have no idea how I am managing this at the moment but I seem to speed up towards the end of each run, and I hope I can continue it.

Today has been a lovely rest day- it is tipping it down with rain, so I am quite glad to be out of it (I feel sorry for the Sweatshop people as they are starting the beginners running today). I am making some sweet potato and kidney bean burgers instead.

The other day I was reading a very interesting article at No Meat Athlete– it was about the 10% rule when running. I had always heard this rule, but not really thought about it in depth. Anyway, it is worth a read I think. I think all the plans I have followed have not really followed the 10% rule. I suppose people should not increase mileage too dramatically (if you use km, do you say increase your kilometerage?) so that helps people to be mindful of it, but it is not actually that practical.

Just a thought anyway.

Bye 🙂

A weekend of walking

(and, of course, visiting tea rooms)

On Friday I had an almost half day- we had an Inset day (staff training) and these officially finish at 1.30/2, so Andy booked the Friday afternoon off and we headed to the Peak District. He said we had to be leaving quickly, as we would stop somewhere on the way. I thought it was just a pretty town, but as we were walking we could see the high street cordoned off, and it turned out to be the Olympic torch relay! I was very exited, because next weekend when it comes near us, we are at the Grand Prix. We did have to wait for about an hour (and put up with people selling tat like whistles and vuvuzelas  (sp?) to the kids- I mean how come the shops on the high street cannot have the rings in their windows, in case they profit from the olympics, but these people can wander up and down and sell junk, anyway, rant over!)- and the crowd basically pushed forwards and ripped the tape and everything. Plus there was a sponsorship procession- a big Coke truck and things like that. But seeing the torch being handed over, and the grin on the man’s face as he carried it past, was just brilliant. I did think it was a shame that I had no idea who that person was. It wasn’t on a sign, and it wasn’t announced. But anyway, it was special to see.

We stayed in a lovely B&B in Matlock, and had a day on Saturday making the most of our National Trust membership (10% back on Quidco right now)- we went to a lovely Tudor house (Little Moreton Hall) with the most brilliant guide, and then went to the tearoom. We sat outside which turned out to be a mistake- there were some very hungry and determined ducks. We each had a tea and shared a flapjack, and the ducks kept coming around and nudging our legs. They would not go away, and then one of them flew right up into Andy’s face! He was not amused!

We also went to some lovely gardens (Biddulph Grange), but by that time the rain had caught up with us- luckily during the heaviest downpours we were near shelter, but it was a bit miserable. Andy took some lovely photos but not sure when I will be able to add them!

This morning we had a lovely breakfast in our B& B again (Andy did laugh at me putting pb and cherry jam in my croissant- I am sure that is what the French do…) and then headed off for a walk at Dovedale.

This is what it looked like last year. This year the stones were closed due to flood damage- the water level was up to the top of the stones and a couple had been washed down the river a little. The river has burst its banks and so walking alongside the river was harder. We walked for about an hour (drizzled a bit) but seconds after we got back to the car it poured with rain again.

On the way home we drove to Kedleston hall, and had a look around the house. It did have lovely grounds but it was raining hard again, and we didn’t fancy getting soaked. We did manage to visit the tearoom- carrot cake makes a good lunch 🙂

Once we got home (we had to stop at Waitrose on the way home to get a few bits and I was very excited to see some Almond Breeze unsweetened almond milk for £1! And it doesn’t seem to be an offer price, it was just the regular price label- they also did a chocolate version) I headed out on a run. The plan was 6 miles, so I headed out on a route I always used to do but have not done for months. It ended up being something like 5.96 miles, and usually I would run up to the end of the road and back to add up the mileage, but I was so tired and thirsty I headed right in. I realised I had had hardly anything to drink (compared to normal) and it was quite warm out there, despite it being very windy. I had a nuun tab in some water, and then diluted some of the Sainsbury’s coconut water- having it half with water was much nicer, although it did mean I drank 3 glasses of liquid pretty quickly- I was thirsty! I was pleased because each time the garmin beeped (for each mile) I was speeding up- only a little but I think I started at 11.40 or something, and gradually increased to 10.30 or something for the end- I am trying to keep this going as I used to start out too quick on my long runs.

Much nicer anyway:) That nail polish was recommended by Jess (looks nicer on her blog too as the pic is natural light), and when I went to the Butter London website I noticed they had 30% off, so I have ordered another colour too- they have some lovely summery shades.

Right, I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I am hoping for no rain tomorrow as we have a lot of outdoor activities planned at school for this week, but who knows. Has the rain put a damper on your plans this week?

Something about grapes/great

I can’t think of a title, so feel free to help out. Something like “It’s grape”. You get it.

The grape jelly was very nice (great/grape)- but very sweet. I just heated grape juice and sprinkled on the agar (as per instructions), then stirred in and left to cool, poured over fruit. I think next time I would have 1/2 grape juice and 1/2 water.

I also added a little to my overnight muesli in place of some of the milk- that was refreshing too.

On Monday I had a run after work and it was so hot. I saw 3 rabbits, which get a smiley face, but I also saw 2 rats, which totally counteract the rabbits. I must have looked rather crazy as I ran along clapping as loudly as I could to make the rats run off the path. When I got back I was in need of rehydration- I think I probably looked like a dried cranberry from some trail mix (covered in salt from the peanuts)- really I needed to be soaked in water. Anyway, ramble aside, I tried some of the Sainsbury’s coconut water. Now, I am not really a fan. It tastes so sweet- it reminded me of the “juice drink” cartons you get, or maybe like strong squash, and I never even drink weak squash. I suppose if it was diluted with water it would be OK. Also it didn’t taste of coconut water- the first one one tasted of orange squash, and the second one (pineapple flavour- I had it today after my Sweatshop run) was OK- a bit nicer as I prefer the pineapple flavour, but not great. It is a shame because it is much cheaper, but I suppose that is why.

On Tuesday I had a rest day (I did have a run on Sunday after the cinema too), and had a lovely easy dinner. I found these beetroot and goats cheese roasts in asda- they had a pretty good ingredients list so I decided to try them. It was nice- like something you might have for a pub lunch if that makes sense. Anyway, easiest ever dinner served with roasted veggies, cucumber, tomatoes and more beetroot. Not too much goats cheese either as although I love it, sometimes it can be overpowering.

To cool down I had a fruity iced tea- I poured hot water on an orange and coconut teabag, left it to cool, and then added the liquid to a glass with some rose grape juice, ice and lemon slices. This was lovely. I do like the grape juice on its own, but it is very sweet, so I prefer it watered down a bit.

I also decided to make some fruity cakes for work- I used a recipe for light fruit cake from the Home Bake book, and soaked the fruit in grape juice first. If I make anything with dried fruit I always soak it first, as I find then it plumps up and also does not burn in the oven. I topped them with a little lemon icing (lemon juice+icing sugar), and they turned out really well. I used wholegrain spelt flour too, which I love in baking.

My Sweatshop run today was good too- although again it was so hot and I was baking by the time I had jogged up there- not a good sign. I qualified for my free t-shirt today (it is a technical one and everything) but I was too sweaty to try them on, so will have to get it next week- haha.

But- exciting news- from Tuesday (at 5.30pm) they are starting a run/walk for beginners- starting at 2 miles. I really cannot rave about it enough, so if you are tempted then check out your local store to see if they have one.

Anyone tempted? 🙂 Anyone else tried the Sainsbury’s coconut water, or discovered anything else new?