I think I am back to normal which is fab! This morning after breakfast I went out on a run. I didn’t want to do a super long run, (last time I did 9 miles on the Saturday following the half and it really knocked me out for the day!) but I wanted to feel like I had got a proper workout in. I went up to the lakes, around both lakes (no geese this time), around the park for a bit and then back around one lake. It was nearly 7 miles so a nice run, in 71 minutes, so I am still managing to keep up my new slightly speedier running. Running around the park was really enjoyable, it was nice to be away from the traffic although I did have to keep my eye out for rabbit holes and mole hills! It was cloudy and overcast but good weather for running as it kept me cool. I had on some new Capri pants from Nike, and they were pretty good. Although the site I ordered them from (she active) doesn’t have a size guide, so I went for medium but it turns out that is 12-14 which meant they were a little on the baggy side. They are supposed to be compression ones but hey-ho, at least they didn’t fall down. The downside is that they have no pockets (I was so sure they had a back zipped pocket and I spent about 5 minutes checking!) and I do like to fill my pockets with tissues, my mp3 player, raisins and other assorted items! Anyway my water bottle holder has a zipped pocket so the mp3 player went in there. I listened to the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack which was fab, very summery with a good measure of Elvis thrown in.
I have been out on a walk too, and also pottering about in the garden for a bit. I got very excited today, first of all because I picked my first strawberries of the year (including one being eaten by a baby slug eww- the joys of organic gardening!), and secondly because two, yes, two of my courgette plants have baby courgettes growing on them. Including some yellow ones! I have only ever had yellow courgettes (zucchini) in America before, and when I saw the seeds I decided to have a go at growing them. After my courgette jungle at home I was not sure which plant was which when they finally went outside. So I am so excited to see that they are growing! My pumpkin plant has grown loads too, I keep tying it to the canes but it seems to have finally worked out how to hold on for itself- the tendrils have wrapped around the canes too, and it has a few flowers growing too. The apples on the tree are getting bigger than golf balls now, and my potato plants are getting big. It’s all so exciting!
I was having a look online for some inrpiration for baking (it had to be something that could fit in my top oven as the big oven is broken. The top oven is smaller so cookies were out, or so I thought..). Anyhoo I came across a recipe for Oatmeal raisin bars on Carrots’n’cake (http://carrotsncake.com/2008/08/oatmeal-raisin-bars.html ), and they looked tasty (score) plus they cooked in a small glass dish (this would fit in my top oven, double score!).
I have changed the recipe a little (I like to weigh stuff out) into chocolate chip cookie bars.
In a bowl I mixed 120g oats, 50g wholegrain spelt flour, 60g brown sugar, 23g sunflower oil, 50g apple sauce, 1 egg, 1tsp vanilla extract, 1tsp cinnamon and some chocolate chips. I mixed it all up and put it into the dish which I lined with baking paper. This went in at 180C for about 30 minutes. I cut it into 10 bars once cool and it is yummy! One bar is about 140 calories and makes a pretty good treat!
I have also been looking into independent shops nearby and have found a nice looking “health-food” store which I will be popping to fairly soon. It is always nice to go somewhere new to get inspiration, plus it stocks a lot of delicious looking things that I normally order online.
Tomorrow I am having a super busy day (2 lots of family to visit for father’s day plus a surprise party shhhhh) so I am sure I will not be doing any baking. But someone is coming to fix the oven on Monday so hopefully I will be back to normal soon!