Peanut Butter Granola

Today I took my first stab at something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time

Homemade granola!

I wanted my first trip down homemade granola to be easy and with few ingredients, so I went straight to the experts.  I based my recipe off one I found on the website of the amazing Julie at pbfingers.com (If you haven’t yet, check her out, she’s awesome).

The granola was based off of the recipe from this page: http://www.pbfingers.com/2011/06/14/peanut-butter-granola/

I did make some changes, based both of preference and what I had on hand, and let me tell you, it turned out pretty awesome.

Peanut Butter Granola

Ingredients

• 2 cups of oats
• 4 tablespoons of peanut butter (I used honey roasted peanut butter)
• 4 table spoons of maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Prep

• Spray a cookie sheet and preheat oven to 325
• Combine peanut butter and maple syrup and heat them up (I used the microwave for 20 seconds)
• Stir that up (I used a fork to get through the PB) and add the vanilla and cinnamon to mix
• Add all the wet ingredients together with the oats evenly (I used my hands a lot to get it through the oats)
• Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 14-15 minutes, or oats start to turn a little brown.

The only change I may make is adding a bit of the maple syrup at the end (either adding extra or just saving some until it’s laid out on the cookie sheet) to make it a little more wet, just so it combines better.  But I must say, the taste is spot on!

I absolutely enjoyed some of this hot from the oven, and cant wait to enjoy it through out the week. Hopefully it lasts!

I got a new toy!

Zach and I ran our Sunday errands right after I left you, so it’s now 1230 and we’re all done for the day.  Not.Too.Shabby.

Since we wanted to try and head out quickly and beat the church crowds, I was sacrificial enough to postpone an official meal and just pack a quick snack for the road (I mean CostCo was on our list…hello samples!)

 

Some more cherries to tide me over.  Nobody likes a hangry (hungry+angry) Ashley.

Our first stop:  Home Depot so Zach could look at power drills.

 

While Zach shopped, I had other things in mind

 

Home Depot always has a ton of candies and snacks, I never understood why.  That candy stash is literally the only way you will get me there most days, so maybe that’s why.

 

 

After a long talk with our new friend Phil, Zach and I were both more informed than we ever wanted to be on drills, and Zach was able to walk out of the store with drill in hand.

 

My dad would will be so proud, he choose a new Makita.

Our next stop:  Cost Co.

Thankfully we were there before the rush and we actually had the quickest CostCo stop I’ve probably ever known.

The most exciting news from this post…I got a new toy!

The tiniest camera I’ve ever seen.

 

Sorry for the glare, the crappy point and click I was using wasn’t able to turn off the flash, and this camera is quite reflective.  But in comparison to my hand and computer, that shows you just how tiny it is.

It’s compact, descent picture quality, and perfect for the ease of day-to-day picture taking.  We still have Zach’s SLR, which we will use for more quality picture taking needs, but this camera is PERFECT for the blog!

Breakfast (finally)

Boring…peanut butter toast and cherries once again, but I really do LOVE toast and really only have it over the weekend.  Not to mention this is the first  picture from my new camera, and I am quite happy with it :).

Oh and that’s not wine…it’s a mix of coconut water and regular h20.  Gotta hydrate!

On tap for the afternoon, baking and Zach may be doing some home projects with his new toy.  We have quite a few registry items that could use to be put in their place (clock, shelves, wine rack…).

 

Recovery Runs

This morning, when Zach got out of bed to work, I knew I should get out of bed and attack my work out of the day.  Instead, as I often do on Sunday mornings, I rolled over, sprawled out, and enjoyed a little bit more of that glorious Sunday slumber.

Yup.  I was a happy lady.

I let myself sleep some more, until I could hear Zach making some coffee.  I started stretching out, and felt that soreness that I always get after a long run.

I wanted to skip my work out.  I got my long run in yesterday – I could give myself an extra day off, right? Anyway,  I’m way too sore/tired to work out.

I try and tell myself that often.  “I’m too sore/tired for a recovery run.”  But the funny (and logical) thing is, I always feel better once I’m out of bed.  And the thing about recovery runs (in my opinion) is they really are important to increasing fitness and endurance during training (and for me, while I know it’s argued in literature, I feel that it helps to relieve that stiffness and soreness).  

I’m certainly no expert on this, but this article does a good job of explaining the benefits/purpose of recovery runs.

http://running.competitor.com/2013/02/training/workout-of-the-week-recovery-run_11839

So, my amazing fiance brought me a cup of coffee, while I laid in bed, getting on twitter and youtube to try and find that motivation I needed to get my recovery run in today.

PS: It would be SWEEEET if people followed me on twitter. @chocolatemedals  It’s a great networking tool (I’m still learning…) and on mornings like this when I need motivation, I know yall would be exactly what I need in those moments!

I then headed down to the apartment gym and got it done.

Workout of the Day: Recovery run 4.13 miles

40 minutes:

steady run (between 6.2-6.5) until I reach 4 miles

walk it out until 40 minutes @ 3.5-4.0 @ 8% incline

I did struggle a bit on the run, and am still going a bit slower than I’d like, but at least I pushed myself out of bed and ran!

The gym was empty, so I was able to take a nice awkward post workout pic.

For the rest of the day, I have some baking planned (granola and cookies.  Recipes to come!), and we may run a few more errands.  Think CostCo, Home Depot…maybe I can talk Zach into going with out me…

First:  maybe a shower and breakfast.

Question:  Do you do recovery runs??