A Case of the Runs

Happy Halloween! I'm mostly on schedule with my school stuff, so I'm posting this now! The theme of this entry is "Faux Pho," which was inspired by a lunch with some co-workers to Pho Bac Ky in Tustin, CA. Pho is a Vietnamese soup dish, usually made with beef broth and rice noodles. This place had lots of variation! Above: Tofu pho!! Who coulda guessed?! Above: Some sweet green tapioca coconut "soup" that came with the meal. Above: This was the best I could do...

Chia seeds claim to exceed the benefits of flax seeds in that they deliver heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids without grinding them up. Diana from GREENS+ sent me a jar of chia seeds to see if they really are the "superfood" they claim to be. As you can see from the picture, chia seeds are tiny black/white-speckled seeds that I've thus far blended into smoothies and dumped directly into kefir. They didn't work too well in the smoothie because they all sort of clumped together, and when wet, they become a huge gel blob that is rather inpalatable (if that's a word). What worked better for me was to throw them in my kefir. They seemed to give texture to an otherwise sour drink (pictured here with a slice of Ezekiel bread, which I will attempt to review in an upcoming post). When crunched on, chia seeds taste a little... grassy... but not in a bad way. I'm sure these would work better baked into foods or scrambled with eggs... Did these give me the burst of energ...

This LINK is a little busy, but if you get through, a sample of PowerBar Gels (see previous review from Tea Time) will be on your way! I hope the wind over here dies down so I can get a nice outdoor run in today. Yay, Fall!!

I decided to randomly post about things I am currently "diggin'" and will probably make a series out of this (much like my Random Photo Entries). Why? Oh, I don't know... just celebrating life, I suppose! You'll notice, though, that running is mentioned here and there, showing how it is a large part of life. Current Favorites: running song: Pointer Sisters' " I'm So Excited " : This came on during my workout last night, and I was instantly in the mood to dance around the gym... I recently refreshed my song list, so I am always jammin' on my runs! cereal: Cracklin' Oat Bran : Finally, this thing went on sale, and I got some. I swear I ate some of this as a kid and liked it, but it is beyond expensive now. It is crunchy and sweet, each piece the size of small mailing stamp, but I can't eat more than a handful due to a fear of stomach issues from the fiber. Each 3/4 c. serving offers 200 calories and 11 grams of protein. show: Heroes (N...

As part of training for my next marathon in December , I have become set on doing two 20(+)-milers. So although I wasn't planning on it (sorta) and didn't really carbo-load much beforehand, I started on my three-hour, 21 minutes-ish run after work. Yes, ridiculous I know, but when I am set on something, I just go. Above: Quick pit-stop beforehand. (Pics taken from phone that I carry around while running, which is a good idea for the fearful like me.) Above: This is where I hid my water bottle (that's my ride), but ultimately someone has stolen my water the last three times I've run at this park! =( Above: Mile 7... gel-lin' like a felon! Above: With 6.88 miles to go... I've run quite a few half-marathons slower than this! Above: Mile 15... still alive, but the sun is setting! Soon, it got dark. As I rounded out mile 18 (3 hours), I realized they closed the exit to the park, so I got in my car, crampy and all, and eventually found my way out and drove to the my g...

This entry is about as far from running as can be, but it is close to my heart because it has to do with my favorite musician, Moby ! On Wednesday, October 14, Moby performed at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. That evening, I ran 10k on the treadmill alongside "The Ukrainian," grabbed some vegetarian banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches), and got there just in time to eat dinner in my car and get in line. Since I got my tickets so early, our tickets were actually for the pit, so we were close to the action. How close, you ask? Yep, we were pretty much two feet away from him at times (and my hair is like straw!), and he often edged the stage to reach out to his audience (not me, as my arms are not long enough). The rave-esque yells he did during "Feeling So Real" (always his last song at concerts) was awesome...! I've touched Moby a few times before, but having him perform in front of my face was an unparalleled experience. I had so much fun knowing that he ...

EVENT: Long Beach ICB Half-Marathon DATE: Sunday, October 11, 2009 LOCATION: Long Beach, CA RACE BEGAN: 7:00 am FINISH TIME: 02:01:31 This was the third race I needed to run for the California Dreamin' racing series. I've run this race twice before, so was the third time the charm? I'm finally taking the time to update this, so I guess this ends my short hiatus from blog postings. Prelude Race weekend was wonderful. I took off a couple of hours early on Friday to take "The Ukrainian" to the expo at the Long Beach Convention Center. There, we picked up our jackets that we earned from the California Dreamin' series, got our bibs/ D-tags , and other goodies. Since it was SUCH a beautiful day... sunny yet cool... we spent the day walking the pier, eating breakfast (at The Omelette Inn in Downtown Long Beach -- see pics of black bean omelette and biscuits that we shared!) and beer (Yard House!) for dinner, and getting free admission into the Aquarium of the Pacifi...

Continuing on my bar-noshing odyssey, I tried this mostly raw, organic vegan bar called Prana Bar. It claims that only the nuts are slightly cooked to ensure easy digestion. The actual texture of the bar is slightly reminiscent of LaraBar , slightly moist, date-y, with some random nuts mashed into a dense bar. Prana Bars are a little less dense, with around 220 calories each. There are smaller nut bits in this than LaraBars, and this one (Coconut Acai) had bits of coconut in it. I could not taste the acai. Overall, I think this bar had a weird flavor, so I really could not finish the thing in spite of costing over $2. The things I do for my blog! I know it appears I've been eating a lot of bars lately, but over a two-month fitness challenge at my work, I lost over a pound. Whoop-dee-do. Yes, my sarcasm is boiling, but it's really hard for me to lose any weight (very little success in that direction for what seems like years), so I should applaud myself for... doing what I'v...

A recent e-mail chain (add info in brackets []) Me: ...Thank you very, very much for the meals. =D Him: How was your drive? Did you eat breakfast that I made you [half a peanut butter and apple butter sandwich]? Did you drink hot tea for your minor cold? Me: The drive was smooth, and yes, I ate the breakfast... yummy. I'll start on the tea soon. =) Oh, and my meeting is now at 1:30, so most likely I'll be seeing you at the same time, same place. =) Him: Ok, remember to eat lunch [cup of whole grain pasta w/veggies] before you go. You need energy for the gym. ------ Gosh, I really like being taken care of, especially when I don't expect it nor ask for it... and especially especially if it comes from an unexpected source. In early April 2007, I had four of my wisdom teeth simultaneously removed from my gums via oral surgery, and not only did my father drive me home in my gaseous stupor, he also picked up my meds and bought me jello! (I looked in my blog Archives for some reco...

Added: Pictures of the newest flavor, lemon (see bottom of post) ------ Original Post Date: December 2, 2007 My Jamba Juice days have pretty much ended. I used to drink the Protein Berry Workout (they dropped the "Nike" part now) drink for dinner when I had class in the evening, but that was starting to become an expensive habit. So then I converted to Clif Builder's bars (price can range from $1.29 - $1.79/ea; a box of 12 at Whole Foods is about $15, which is about the same as buying 12 at unit price). They also are high in protein, vegan, and are much cheaper and portable. Over the weeks, I have been able to try all of the flavors, each containing 20g protein and 270 cal. Yes, the yogurt I reviewed recently is a better protein/calorie ratio, but again, this is cheaper and more portable, not to mention fortified with other vitamins/minerals. They are all pretty much the same consistency. The bottom part is a little crispy with the top being a little chewy/gooey. They ar...

This bar appealed to me due to its interesting name. Unlike the "military" definition of the word, this bar claims that FUBAR = Fueled Up Beyond All Recognition. Even if FUBAR (original meaning), this bar is vegan, so I went for it. I actually picked it up at one of those gas station stores on the way to work. Yes, I need the fuel at work, to be brief about it. The bar is 190 calories and had some nice chocolate chips embedded in a Larabar -like texture. All in all, it was pretty darn good with those bits of "chocolate." The bar was a nice amount of sweet and enough for a good snack. I'm not sure if I was FUBAR (new meaning) or FUBAR (original meaning) after eating it, but it was still worth a try. Yay for October! It's been cold (under 60 degrees) in the morning, even though it gets hot, hot in the afternoon. But the taste of Fall is making me very happy. October is going to be a busy/great month full of costume-making, dissertating, Moby , school ...