March, 2013 - AnnaTheApple

March 13, 2013

Old favourites

I know I begin pretty much every post talking about the weather but I’m British and it’s our small talk, what can I say. It is cold. Windy, freezing. Snowing (well, a slight smattering). This is not spring behaviour.

It is, however, What I ate Wednesday. Hurrah midweek already.

Thanks Jenn.

I have to say this week has been fairly quiet. Nothing exciting has occurred. Though I’ve found a programme on TV that I’m now inexplicably hooked on. 16 and Pregnant. It’s car crash telly. I only put it on when Ben was away so I could have some background noise while I chilled in the evening reading blogs and surfing the Internet. But I got drawn in and absorbed. It’s gripping. No judgement please

Breakfast this week has been the obvious. Oatmeal, almond milk, done.

Breakfast is one of my favourite times in the day. I eat it with my book. Currently I’m reading the Eragon series…yes I know, I’m a geek. I’m a very eclectic reader; I don‘t have a particular genre that I go for. I just read a blurb and if I like it I go for it. I read Michael Crichton, to James Patterson, to chic flics, to historical fiction, to classics, to non-fiction. Anything goes as long as it’s interesting. As soon as I finish one I’m on to the next.

I’m not a big talker in the morning so this time to myself munching and reading is bliss. Ben gets the Death Stare if he interrupts. And Alfie too.

I can’t say that lunch has been any more exciting than usual unfortunately. I’ve been loving my sandwiches. No more ravishing hunger towards the end of a working day.

Turkey and cream cheese sandwich with lettuce

And of course my side salad.

Lettuce, beets, random veggies (carrots, peas, broccoli and cauliflower)

After this I have a fruit salad (chopped melon, grapes, orange segments and peach).

Throughout the day I have a few snacks and drinks to keep me ticking over. Usually this is chopped carrots, a banana and an apple. Drinks are black coffees (usually one in the morning, one in the afternoon) and ~~hundreds~~ a few herbal teas.

Last night I had one of my favourite dinners. This is the main reason I stocked up on tinned pumpkin. I love this meal.

Chicken with pumpkin and cream cheese sauce

I made this ages ago and was desperate to recreate it but didn’t have any pumpkin. Unfortunately I didn’t have any tinned pineapple but it was still so good. Plate licking good.

Then my usual chopped apples. Nothing beats chopped apple as a pudding. OK obviously a lot of things beat chopped apples as a pudding (brownies, cookies, cake, ice cream, chocolate…). Nothing beats chopped apple as an everyday-eat-it-all-the-time-run-of-the-mill-working-week-healthy pudding.

And in the evening some Snack a Jacks and a hot chocolate. And maybe some Lindt chocolate…gotta get those important antioxidants from somewhere after all!

On Friday night I finally made something I’d been meaning to make for ages. Moussaka. As you might know, I’m not a big pasta fan. And big sheets of pasta do nothing for me. So I made a pasta-less (paleo/primal??) moussaka. The terminology escapes me.

Not the greatest picture I grant you (am I always saying this?? Whoops #mustdobetter)

I followed THIS recipe, though I omitted the kale and fill as I didn’t have any and I used beef mince as I prefer it to lamb.

Basically it uses aubergine/eggplant instead of the pasta. It made three good servings (one which is currently awaiting my consumption tonight). I know the recipe says 4-6 servings but it clearly hasn’t made the Anna Adjustment whereby I am a ~~greedy~~ hungry hector and require a lot of food.

Does anyone else find that recipes say a certain number of servings and then when you make it you’re like “OK that would serve a child”, or is that just me…?

Regardless, this was a good, hearty meal. But I will warn you, it took quite a while to make. What with salting a load of sliced aubergine, rinsing, frying, then making the filling, then making the topping. It’s not an easy mid-week meal. Fiddly and lengthy. But tasty.

In terms of my running…It is getting closer to the half marathon. I was frustrated to find on my five mile run Monday morning that I had a pain in my Achilles on the last mile. I thought I had gotten over this. However, I sensibly took the next day off of running and I’m taking it very easy for the rest of the week (probably two easy 3 mile runs). And I have my last session with the phsyio on Friday where she’s going to give me a good sports massage which she claims will give me wings for the race, or at least make me feel fresh. Here’s hoping.

What are your old favourites that you keep going back to in terms of meals/snacks?

What trashy TV can’t you give up? I’m all over any reality TV. Kardashians, Made in Chelsea, The Hills, Real Housewives…I draw the line at Big Brother though.

What’s your favourite book genre? Or do you read anything and everything?

March 11, 2013

Mother’s Day and Cake

Hello! Hope you had a great weekend. We had a day of beautiful weather and then a day of freezing temperatures. But it was a really good weekend nonetheless.

On Saturday I ran my last long run before the half marathon next Sunday. It was a good run helped by the fact that it was a beautifully mild day and I went down a route that I really love. Isn’t that weird when you have a route that you get good vibes from? There are definitely certain routes I avoid purely because I don’t get good feelings about.

I like routes that head back home sooner in the run even though they might loop about before I’m actually home. It just psychologically feels like the run is almost at the end, you know?

Then after the run, I showered and had breakfast (usual oatmeal) and did some housework. Then I dared to enter ~~the jaws of hell~~ Marks and Spencer’s. On a Saturday. The day before Mother’s Day. Am I crazy??? And yes, it was MANIC. Dad’s and their kids racing about trying to get presents and flowers everywhere.

OK it doesn’t look so bad in the photo, but literally it was heaving.

I was only in there (thankfully) to pick up some nice flowers as I had everything else I needed for the mums. I wanted the flowers to be fresh for the next day, hence why I dared to go to M&S the day before.

Then I ~~escaped~~ got home and did some housework and had some lunch with Ben. I had my favourite butternut squash soup again.

I’m just so addicted at the moment. I should make big batches of it but I can never be bothered and I know I’d probably eat stupid amounts in one sitting that way rather than putting it in the freezer…Plus I quite enjoy making the soup rather than defrosting it and reheating, you know?

After lunch and walking Alfie, we finally got our act together and saw our wedding photographer to get our photos. How terrible is that considering we got married last September?? Oh well! I might upload some of the photos on the blog as a little memoir to wedding…watch this space.

And because we don’t have a Waitrose near where we live I forced Ben to go to the Waitrose near the photographer’s office so I could stock up on tinned pumpkin. Waitrose is the only place I’ve found stocks it!

I restrained myself in to buying only four. The lady behind the till thought I was mad. Hey, I don’t care!

Then we got ready to take both the mums for a nice meal out. We went to a lovely little pub/restaurant near us called the Jolly Sailor.

We chauffeured the mums so they could drink and relax.

It’s so lovely because Ben’s mum and my mum are friends and go out together anyway so it wasn’t odd having them both there for a Mother’s Day meal. it was just nice to spend the quality time with both of them simultaneously.

Both Ben and me get on really well with our own mum’s and mother-in-laws so it was such a good night out. We are so lucky to have such lovely family surrounding us!

For starters Ben and me went for a sharing platter. Well, what happened was I saw a vegetarian sharing platter that literally had everything I could dream on it and I really wanted to try it but Ben was convinced it wouldn’t come with bread and didn’t want to be overcome by so much veggie-ness so wanted to order a bread basket with it to ‘balance it out’. Fair enough. Until we saw this beast arrive:

Enough to feed an army! There were different cheeses, a falafel, a potato cake thing, hummus, guacamole, grilled vegetables, tzatziki, cauliflower salad, regular salad…and bread. And then our bread basket. Whoops.

Needless to say we were quite full after this. However, on days where I run a long run I’m always more hungry that normal (obviously, I guess) so this was a welcome dinner I have to say!

For my main I went for poussin and fries. This is an unusual choice for me as I’m not a big ‘fries’ fan. I prefer chunky chips or sweet potato fries

But you know what, this pretty much hit the spot. The fries with ketchup went down like a treat. Really yummy and exactly what I was craving. And I might have helped out Ben with his fries too. Hey, I need the carbs what can I say!

No pudding as seriously, no room at the inn. Such a good evening with the mums. I hope they enjoyed it; they definitely deserved to be treated. Speaking for myself, I am so grateful to my mum and everything she’s done for me. She’s a hardworking lady and juggled a lot of things when my sister and I were growing up to make sure we had happy, healthy childhoods so I’m very thankful for that. And I know Ben appreciates his mum just as much. Like I said, we’re both extremely lucky.

On Sunday I didn’t do a whole lot if I’m honest. My mum and dad popped round in the morning and we had coffee and I gave my mum her flowers and card. Once again, a lovely time with my family. Then in the afternoon, Ben’s mum dropped round with a little, delayed surprise for Ben… His birthday cake! As a surprise Ben’s mum and me decided to treat him to an amazing birthday cake from the same lady that made our wedding cake and Ben’s mum’s birthday cake.

It has a little Xbox on it!

How cool is that? Ben loves playing on his Xbox so this seemed like the perfect thing to put on the cake. He was very chuffed.

And it tasted so good

Lemon sponge and buttercream…ahh heaven.

Ben’s mum had to take quite a bit of the cake home with her to put in her freezer unfortunately as our freezer is just bursting with cake (as I might have mentioned before). There’s no way we could eat it all before it goes stale – I mean it’s a BEAST.

So lots of good food, great family time, and cake. That my friends is a damn good weekend in my books.

What did you do this weekend?

If you’re from the UK, what did you do for Mother’s Day?

If you could have any cake in the world for your birthday, what flavour would it be? I think mine would be fruit cake with marzipan and royal icing…or maybe just regular birthday cake style with jam and buttercream…

March 8, 2013

Half Marathon Training Re-cap

Yesterday I was literally cold all day. ALL DAY sat in my office cold – huddled over my laptop hoping to absorb some of its heat. This is because I work with ~~evil people~~ men who never feel the cold. Men with thick skin and beards. OK only one has a beard, but that’s not the point. It might look a bit warmer and sunnier outside but it is still March and it is still Britain. The air con does not need to go into artic mode.

To rectify this (or at least try and get a bit warmer) I was drinking herbal tea like it was going out of fashion. God forbid I touch the air con to make it warmer. I get the Death Stare from like 10 men if I dare.

So I wanted to do a recap of my half-marathon training as it is now almost one week until race day. I feel confident and ready for it, but I am nervous. Nervous in a good, excited way though.

When I first signed up for the half-marathon it was quite scary. I think the longest run I’d ever done was 9 miles once. I rarely ran longer than 4 miles regularly as I’d been focusing on my strength training and just generally trying to keep to shorter sharper runs with intervals.

**I just want to add: I am no expert and this is what worked well for me. I do hope it helps people but please don’t think I’m dictating that this is the best and only plan. There’s probably a million better ways to train than this!**

With my training I vaguely following THIS plan:

I think with all training plans you align them to what you can realistic achieve in a standard week and what works best for you. Straight away I changed the timings to be miles. So for a 40min run I’d see that as (at first) being about 4 miles and then later 5 miles. I prefer to hit miles rather than times and see how I improve through the weeks with beating previous run’s times.

I also found that I usually wanted to run more than 4 times a week so I added in another run. I think if I was to sum up what my usual week looked like it would be pretty much what I did this week:

Monday – 6 mile tempo run

Tuesday – 4 mile interval run

Wednesday – rest

Thursday – another 6 mile tempo run

Friday – 3 mile easy run

Saturday – 9 mile long run

At the beginning of my training, my tempo runs were shorter. A tempo run is basically maintaining a hard but controlled pace over a length of time. It’s not going max out but maintaining a pace which is tricky and gets you breathing hard. To begin with I could only run for a short period of time at that pace. As the weeks went on I increased the length of these runs and how long I could hold a hard pace became longer. Also the hard pace at the beginning of my training became less hard, and so my pace started getting quicker.

These are my times from Monday’s 6 mile tempo run:

I tried to maintain a difficult pace (for me this is 7.30-7.45mins/mile) for at least 4 miles of the run. On the last mile I started slowing at the end as it just got too difficult to maintain and I didn’t want to rinse myself completely.

These runs generally were the runs I least enjoyed. They were hard and mentally tough to keep going. But I know that by doing these sorts of runs now means that my race pace (just under 8mins/mile) will feel easier.

I tried to do at least one interval run a week to purely work on speed. This is basically running max effort for a set time and distance (typically 400m/0.2miles). I’d run max out for a distance (at first it was barely the distance between lampposts) and then slow right down to a nice and easy pace. At the beginning I couldn’t do an interval run longer than 2 miles. It was just too hard. As I continued though the interval distances became longer, my actual pace became faster and I could maintain a longer run with these intervals. Here is my 4 mile interval run from Tuesday:

It doesn’t look too different from the tempo run but remember these are averages. I ran flat out for around 0.2 miles at I’m guessing around 6.30min/mile, and then slowed right down again. And then repeated. I don’t use a heart monitor but the idea behind intervals is to get your heart rate up, and then down again.

These runs have been the best for increasing my speed.

I don’t think it’s necessary to have an easy run in your plan, but most weeks I had one. You could always do some other non-running work out or just take a rest day. For me, I love running and mentally I needed a run where I literally didn’t have to worry about the pace or times. I didn’t want every run to have to mean something. I certainly didn’t want running to be hard all the time. So my easy runs were just nice and simple running at a pace I was comfortable at. Today that was between 8mins and 8.30mins a mile for 3 miles.

The most important run of the week though is the long run. This is the one run you don’t skip. Before starting bigger distances (for me this was 8 miles plus) I was really worried about them. But after doing a few of them I started to find that these were my favourite runs. I always did them at the weekend after a good night’s sleep. I set my alarm for early-ish (weekend early, hello 8am) and it was a brilliant start to the weekend.

The long runs have been where I’ve had to learn the most. Most important advice (which I am still trying to learn): start slowly. You’ve got a long way to go and though it feels good at the beginning, that pace is not going to feel as good in 5-6 miles time. But importantly, just enjoy that run. Take it slowly, this isn’t where you need to prove your speed. This is where mentally and physically you need to get used to running for such a long time.

One of my friends asked me when I told her how long it took to run 12 miles: what do you think about for that long? Honestly, no idea. I let my mind wander: I plan things for the day or the next week, I work out what I’m having for lunch, I listen to a podcast, or I just take in the surroundings. It’s perfect ‘me’ time.

So tomorrow I have my last long run before the actual race. Though the plan says 6 miles race pace I’d rather do a longer run (9 miles) but slower. I don’t want to burn out because I know what I’m like. Also, I love my long runs!

And next week is tapering. No craziness. A shorter tempo at the beginning of the week, a short interval and then two easy runs.

I hope that was helpful for anyone training or just running in general. I stress again that this is what worked for me. I’m not saying that any other way of doing it is wrong. But I’ve honestly loved my training and I wanted to share my experience. It’s been hard as hell don’t get me wrong but these past weeks have improved my running hugely.

If you have any questions, let me know!

Or if you have a different way or doing things, please share them.

Or any running advice in general is always welcome.

March 6, 2013

Spring is round the corner – WIAW

Hello! And what a beautiful week it’s turning out to be. The sun is shining and it definitely feels like spring.

I just love this time of year. There’s a lot of hopeful feelings of summer being around the corner. Waiting for that one blissful week of the year in British weather where the sun peaks out behind an overcast sky…no I joke, maybe it’s two weeks!

Either way, there’s a feeling that winter is almost over and longer days and warmer weather could be on the way soon.

And to keep with a happy mood, let’s get on to What I ate Wednesday.

Thank you Jenn!

This is pretty much my usual routine for a working day in the office.

Breakfast is the same as usual. Eaten just before 8am.

Good old oatmeal and almond milk. Can’t beat it. I tend to buy Scottish Oats because for some reason they always turn out a bit thicker and stodgier than normal plain rolled oats with the same volume of oats (so more almond milk is needed, yum).

I try to make sure breakfast is one of the last things I do before I start my ‘wonderful’ commute to work. I don’t like eating too early in the morning if I can avoid it as otherwise come midday I’m starving. This is the case even if I run in the morning. I know some people say you shouldn’t run on an empty stomach but honestly I a) couldn’t stomach breakfast at 6am or before, or b) don’t have time to eat breakfast and then digest properly before running. Plus how good does breakfast taste after working out?

Lunchtime at work usually happens 12.30-1pm. I don’t have a snack in between breakfast and lunch, just black coffee and peppermint tea. Last week I mentioned feeling really hungry and needing more food. I experimented a bit and have come to the shocking conclusion that maybe a good old fashioned sandwich would be the ticket (sarcasm alert). I did try those bread thins last week and beefed out a bit on the filling but I think that was missing the point…whoops. They really weren’t that filling (shocking, I know).

So in said sandwich is turkey, cream cheese and salad. With a side portion of more salad. Just because. Alongside this I also have a beasty fruit salad. Definitely been feeling better after this. I do love my salads but I love running fast more

Snackage in the afternoons at work is usually some chopped carrots (to the delight of those nearby my desk), a banana and an apple. And more coffee and herbal tea.

Honestly, I drink so much throughout the day I’m up and down all the time either getting more drinks or going to the loo. People will start talking…

Dinner: there is no denying that the first thing I want to do when I get in from work is EAT. But Alfie needs to be walked if Ben hasn’t got back from work before me and comfy clothes need to be put on. Occasionally some jobs are done, like putting washing on and general tidying but usually we’re fairly ship-shape and dinner is on the agenda pretty quickly. So dinner is usually 7.30pm. This is dinner from Monday night.

This is what I like to call Single Anna’s Dinner. No Ben hasn’t left me, he was away in London. Essentially that meant that I could eat whatever I fancied without fear of the Healthy Food Alarm going off (aka Ben). Anything too healthy and he runs a mile. It doesn’t look great but it tasted pretty darn amazing and used up a lot of veg that needed consuming.

In the mix was salad, cucumber, beets, tomatoes, chopped plumb, roasted veg (1/4 bell pepper, 1/4 zucchini, couple of mushrooms, sweet potato, butternut squash), chickpeas, half an avocado and breathe. Hmm, yes quite a bit. I think Ben’s head would have exploded.

And last night I had one of my favourites:

Chicken paprika with grated sweet potato. I love this meal but I really, really hate grating sweet potato. Seriously one of the most annoying tasks. Ridiculously strenuous as well on my arm! And then I’m always finding tiny flecks of sweet potato about the place afterwards. Grr.

Pudding is my usual two apples chopped. And then later I always tend to have a packet of Snack a Jacks…

…and a couple of squares of Lindt Mint Intense dark chocolate:

(Old photo: it’s the top one…obviously)

There’s something about an evening that just requires chocolate. I feel sad when dinner is over…I just need that little something else before going to bed. Bliss.

So that’s my day…hope you enjoyed!

If you exercise in the morning, do you eat breakfast before or after?

What’s your favourite sandwich filling?

March 4, 2013

Weekend Catch-Up

Helloooo. Another week and closer to summer!

And it’s my lovely husband’s birthday – happy birthday, Ben!!

(A photo from a couple of years ago, but one of my favourites)

So catching up from the weekend. We had a great one! Friday night was ice cream and movie night. We watched Looper and though there were several times Ben and me had to pause the film to discuss it as it was such a head warp, we really enjoyed it. And the ice cream was obviously AMAZING. I’ve successfully trained my body into being able to consume an entire litre of the chocolate brownie frozen yogurt Ben and Jerry’s. Not a talent I’m hugely proud of, but delicious none-the-less.

Saturday morning I got up early and did my 10 mile run. This time I started slowly, took it slowly and didn’t push it. Though I’m currently suffering from a cold at the moment which is highly irritating. [Ben keeps informing me that I sound really creepy because when I’m sat next to him and breathing through my nose I breathe really heavily because it’s slightly blocked – like I can help it!!] So the run wasn’t the easiest despite slowing the pace. I just can’t win!

And thankfully I had no issues from my Achilles and only slight pain in my knee at the end. But I’ve been doing lots of stretches to loosen my ‘hip flexor’ which has definitely helped. Funnily enough I listened to a Marathon Talk podcast on my run (one from a few weeks ago as I’m a bit behind) and they had a physiotherapist on and they literally talked about my exact issue. What a coincidence!

After the run I did lots of housework while Ben was out doing something-or-other to his car (installing a head-unit…I thought this was some strange technical device he had to wear on his head but it’s actually the CD player…who knew). As it was his birthday weekend he was allowed to forgo his housework duty. I try to be a good wife sometimes

My outfit for the day:

Jeans from Republic (in the sale as they’re sadly closing down), top from New Look, scarf from Accessorize, necklace from Mango, shoes from Next.

Then we met up with a couple we’re friends with and went to Nando’s for lunch. It became a bit of a chicken eating competition as we ordered. The two guys went for WHOLE chickens and two sides and us two ladies went for half chickens and two sides. Now usually I’m the greedy one out of Ben and me so I was fairly impressed. Though Ben did cave at the last minute of ordering and gave me one of his sides. The embarrassing part is that when I ordered for us at the till the man asked me if I wanted three drinks because he thought there were three of us eating…

And we had a mezze board to start!! With the world’s worst photos I’m afraid. It was so dark in the restaurant!

And for my main, my half chicken with a corn on the cob and side salad (I wanted to maximise on the chicken experience):

Sorry that really is a terrible photo… I had mango and lime sauce on it and it was really good. After my run this was a truly appreciated meal. I finished this off and had Ben’s other side (another corn on the cob; I have a crazy obsession with them) and helped Ben with some of his chicken when he was struggling.

Literally could not move afterwards. Needless say I don’t want to see chicken for a while now.

Afterwards we all needed to get outside and walk a bit for fear of exploding. I managed to get a steal in French Connection – a lovely sparkly clutch down from £65 to £10!!! Crazy. Apologies no photo…but it’s very dainty and pretty. I also got some Estee Lauder BB cream. I love BB creams because they’re so lightweight. I don’t usually wear make-up but if I’m going out or having an ugly day I’ll slap some tinted moisturiser on so this is perfect.

And I also got some running leggings as well from Nike.

They’re perfect for when it gets a bit warmer. I have shorts for the summer, long leggings for the winter and capris for the in-between bits but I hated how they flared out at the bottom just under my knees. Also the new ones have a zip just above the bum where I can put my key. Perfect.

Then we had a drink at a little bar and then went home where Ben and I enjoyed a nice evening of Game of Thrones series one (watching again because series two is almost released). Dinner was porridge for me and toast for Ben. Seriously, nothing else would have fitted after all that chicken.

Sunday was a quiet day of family coming over to wish Ben a happy birthday and basically doing not much else (on my part, Ben was still doing his head unit thing – this was his birthday present, by the way). Though I did enjoy a truly delicious lunch.

Butternut squash and coconut milk soup. I forgot how much I loved this soup. It really hit the spot.

And a standard pudding at the weekend for me:

Melon! And do you know what, I’m embarrassed to say that I went back and had the other half a few hours later. So yeah, an entire melon was consumed. On a random note, melons really freak me out. Ben has to cut them for me because I honestly can’t stand the inside of them. All those seeds just make me feel really sick. I’m not sure why. The same happens with bell peppers. I’ll use a word that I really hate to describe it: clustering of seeds. GROSS.

I’ve also recently been thorough enjoying snacking on these bad boys:

I was sent these from Lord Poppington’s range of popcorns to review and honestly loved them. I did get the Four Cheese flavour as well but for some reason didn’t manage to photograph it. Probably because I gobbled it down too quickly.

I’m a big fan of popcorn so I was looking forward to trying these. They’re gluten free, low in fat and with no artificial flavours. And being a wholegrain product it means they’re a good source of fibre. And each pack contains between 94-128 calories. And you get a fair amount for this! Better than Snack a Jacks I have to say.

My favourite flavour by far was the Chilli and Lime. It was so flavoursome. My mouth was a little bit on fire, but in a good way. The Four Cheese was my second favourite. I just love the flavours.

But the only thing I will say is that they only seem to be available on Amazon and quite expensive. I’m a little bit devastated by this as I would honestly swap these for my Snack A Jacks. They’re probably a lot better for me than the God knows what they put in Snack A Jacks.

But, inspired by the above, I have since bought some plain popping kernels to make my own…watch this space.

What did you get up to this weekend?

Sweet or salty popcorn? I would have said sweet but after trying the savoury flavours I’ve changed sides for a bit.