Running Successes, Cooking Fail

Sometimes, things don't turn out quite as expected. This can either turn into a pleasant surprise, or in some cases unhappy taste-buds. I mixed a little bit of both together this past week, which has seemed like a month's worth of time flying by.

Let's start on the positives. I have a great new weekend breakfast recipe, which I actually ended up making for breakfast on Saturday and for dinner Sunday. It's what I had in the kitchen, and I really hate seeing my veggies go to waste.

Creamy Spinach and Egg Stuffed Tomatoes

Handful of spinach
1/8 cup coconut milk (or any kind really)
clove of garlic, minced
salt/pepper to taste
1 large, firm tomato
1 egg
2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 400F. In a small pan that has been preheated over medium-high heat, combine spinach, a clove of garlic, salt/pepper, a tsp of the Parmesan cheese and a dash of coconut milk. Sauté until the spinach leaves are just wilting and most of the coconut milk has evaporated.

Cut the top of a big, somewhat firm tomato. Remove all of the seeds and insides so that you have a nice little tomato bowl.

Place the spinach mixture into the tomato, then creating a little hole in the middle which will be used to allow the egg to run into rather than run off the top of your tomato.

Crack and egg and fill the hole in the spinach mix as best you can. Try not to have the egg run off! Place this on a cooking sheet that is non-stick (I actually used a 9" circle pan and placed it on aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray). Top off your creation with the extra tsp of Parmesan cheese and bake until the egg white is just cooked if you like the yolk runny like me. 

 

See, success! Earlier that Saturday, I also ran the BeltLine Northside 5K in Atlanta. I beat my PR, again! It was also my goal for the summer, to run 7:30 miles. I recently joined the BeltLine Running Series committee, so I didn't have much if any input into planning the race, but it was so well done! The course was one of the most beautiful I have been on, with the sunrise coming up over a golf course as we were halfway there.

My face, in pain, about to start seeing if a doctor was around

I hit in at 23:08 according to my watch. The start was a grass start with no "official" starting pad to set off our timing chips, so I started my watch at the starting line. Hitting that goal for myself felt great for the mind, but my body felt absolutely awful. I honestly felt like everything was just going to explode. My heart was pounding, I had felt dizzy and disoriented most of the race (guess I need to breathe better), but I knew that feeling would pass, eventually.

I also was able to head up to Athens for a quick visit, which involved seeing all of my friends that are still living there, plus some that were visiting from far away (my roommate Sophomore and Senior year of college!). It was also Twilight weekend, one of the most bustling, awesome weekends in Athens full of beer, bike racing and a full day of activity in the Classic City.

Twilight - Criterium

I'm training hard this week, using my Vitamix, lots of weights and getting to go to the BeltLine Run Club tomorrow night at Park Tavern (free music, food and beer afterwards!). I got home earlier yesterday though since I didn't go to the gym and wanted to try a new recipe. I altered the original, a lot, and found out that was a bad decision. My recipe involved tofu, artichokes and mushrooms, lots of spices and not enough cooking of the tofu. It looked and smelled great, but the taste just wasn't there. Darn...

 

If you are interested in joining me tomorrow for a run, the BeltLine Run Club is a great scene for those that are running for fun. You also get a ton of free stuff from Park Tavern afterwards, so it is worth the run!

Details:
6:30 PM, Thursday May 3rd
Meet in the field behind Park Tavern in Atlanta
Bring ID, smart phone (if possible) and your running shoes!

Also, I am way too tempted to do this...