[4 Fast and Healthy Recipes]

When I first started this site on Tumblr, and before I discovered Instagram, I was constantly posting my daily meals as healthy inspiration and occasionally posting the recipes for my favorite dishes. (As seen above.)

Also, as I began to delve deeper into the the online health and fitness community, I started to discover and fall in love with healthy recipe blogs like Chocolate Covered Katie and The Realistic Nutritionist. I began to try many of their recipes and would photograph the outcome so I could share their amazing dishes with you all. Doing so, got me into thinking that I wanted my blog to be like theirs. Filled with decadent recipes accompanied by decadently designed and shot food photos.

[I love gratuitous photos of chocolatey baked goods.]

But as I continue to shape and grow Hungry Runner by sharing with you all of the things I’m most passionate about, I’ve come to realize that when I launched Hungry Runner, a really pretty recipe blog wasn’t what I had set out to accomplish. So that’s (obviously) not what it is, or what it ever will be.

Sure you will find drool-worthy photos of my food published to my Instagram page daily, but since I’d rather spend my time learning as much as I can about exercise, running, and fitness (and in turn sharing all of that knowledge with you), I’ve come to accept that I will never be a world renowned chef and food photographer, and that when I do want to share a recipe that I’ve created, I’m perfectly ok with showing it to you via the lens on my iPhone. After all, I have gotten some pretty good shots using just that.

I haven’t shared a new, original recipe with you all in a while. And that’s because, like I said, I’ve really been more into fitness and running lately. So besides creating a lot of the same veggie-based dishes I haven’t been experimenting or spending much time in the kitchen.

But this week I did randomly end up whipping up a pre-made lunch that I’m super excited to share with you all right now. It involves cauliflower and sweet potatoes and red lentils and its just about one of the best dishes I’ve made for myself since my Spiced Spinach and Sweet Potato Mash-up.

This dish is both sweet and savory and works perfect for either lunch or dinner. I give it extra bonus points because believe it or not, if you make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge, it even tastes good cold!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 red onion, diced
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup split red lentils
2 cups chopped cauliflower
1/2 sweet potato, baked and cubed
Curry and garlic powder

Directions:

1. In a deep frying pan, heat the water and onion until it begins to simmer. Add the lentils and heat on medium until most of the water is absorbed. Sprinkle in a few dashes of garlic and curry and stir.

2. Add the cauliflower and sweet potato plus a tiny bit more water to prevent the lentils from drying up. Drizzle in the olive oil and stir to coat. Sprinkle in a few more dashes of each spice and stir again.

3. If the mixture becomes dry, add more water and stir, making sure that the lentils do not stick to the bottom of the pan.

4. Keep over low heat for 3-4 more minutes, stirring continually until all water is absorbed and the lentils take on a soft, mushy texture.

5. Sprinkle in a few more dashes of each spice. Stir and then serve. (Or store in air right container to save for an on-the-go lunch or dinner.)

[Glow in the dark yoga!]

Last week I was invited to the 2013 Reebok Women’s Lifestyle and Fitness event here in New York City.

Active wear, fitness, fun exercise workshops… You know I didn’t have to think twice about what my RSVP would be.

Reebok supplied us with sneakers, tanks, bras, tees, and tights and I got to spend two days trying out all of their gear while mingling with some of the most passionate and inspiring group of fitness writers, athletes, and bloggers. We all had a blast participating in yoga, running, CrossFit, and dance workouts together. In other words, it was two full days of bliss.

And sure, trying out new workout gear always makes me feel like a little kid in a toy store, but the best part about the entire event went way beyond active wear. What I loved most was hearing so many inspiring stories and learning that what Reebok really wants to do is put the fun back in fitness. And not only are they doing this by making comfortable, quality workout gear that works, but by partnering with super passionate athletes who are seriously in love with what they do.

Like my favorite “Rebel” Yogi, Tara Stiles.

And elite Cross-fitter Annie Sakamoto.

And professional dancer Vanessa Vassalo

And elite runner Alissa McKaig.

I learned so much from all of them. So much that I can’t even fit it all into one blog post! So make sure you stay tuned because over the next four weeks I’ll be rolling out blog posts dedicated to each area of fitness, the lessons I learned during our workouts, and the awesome new gear that helped get them done!

But in the meantime, I want to hear from you!

What are your favorite types of workouts and what do you do to keep the fun in fitness so that working out feels more like playtime and less like a chore?

[image via Someecards.com]

I’ll start with the bad news first. And don’t worry, when I say “I’m taking a long vacation,” I don’t mean from blogging. I mean from running. Not because I want to, but because I have to.

Unfortunately I’ve sustained myself another nice little injury. Last year it was my left hamstring. Now it’s my right hip flexor. It could be a labral tear (let’s pray not!), or it could just be a groin strain. Either way, I need to rest. Probably for at least three weeks. (Kill me now!)

The pain in my right hip started just after I ran the Fitness Magazine Half-Marathon. Three days after the race I went out for an 11-mile run and unfortunately that was just too much, too soon. After that I rested for about a week until I felt OK again. But even though I felt OK on my first run back, there were still some small twinges of pain, a sign that I wasn’t fully recovered. Stubbornly (just like last time), I chose to ignore that, simply because I love to run, and now, as a result, I can’t. Oh the irony.

[Image via Facebook]

Last time when I was injured, I went crazy. My body telling me that I’m not allowed to run, is like telling Leslie Knope that she can’t eat waffles and whipped cream for every meal. But this time around I’m going to try and look at my injury from a different, less annoyed perspective. Am I still going to go crazy? Probably, but I’m going to do it in a positive way.

I’m going to look at this like a vacation. A nice, relaxing, fun, three-week (maybe even longer) vacation. My body is saying, “Hey, you’re running too much! Give me a break!” So I’m going to succumb to its requests and book a flight to The Rest Resort.

And even though I’ll be resting my legs from the repetitive motion of running while I’m there, I still plan to take full advantage of the fitness facilities. Because while I do try new forms of exercise every now and then (something I’m constantly encouraging you all to do), there’s still a plethora of different workouts I’ve never tried before, and I’m taking this as the perfect opportunity to dive in and give them a try. (So long as they are friendly to my injury.)

[image via Pinterest]

The philosophical good news in all of this is that these past few days while running through Central Park (when I really shouldn’t have been), with tons of tourists who actually, literally are on vacation in one if the greatest cities in the world, I realized something pretty cool. Which is that even in our home town’s and day to day lives, every day should be treated like a vacation. Because if we only treat vacation time (i.e. time off from work) like a vacation- a time to relax, let loose, have fun, enjoy the sun- well then, we’re going to spend a heck of a lot of time not doing those things. And that’s not good, because those are the activities that make us happy. And if we’re not happy, then we’re not completely healthy.

Of course we all have to work. But if you can find a job that you love and you love what you do, you’ll have fun doing it, and voilà… Every day is a vacation! Yes, we have to exercise to stay healthy and sometimes that feels like a chore, but try new activities, explore new places to run, workout with new people, and there ya go… Every day is a vacation! And sure, there are always going to be things in life that we just don’t want to do, like pay bills, and clean the bathroom, and take out the garbage, but even on vacation we still have to clean the sand out of our suits. Life can’t always be a beach. But everyday can definitely be a vacation if you want it to.

So, while I’m away from running for the next few weeks, expect to hear about my adventures in new forms of exercise. I’ve had my eye on things like Cross Fit, Soul Cycle, Step Aerobics, and Pilates!

I’m also inviting you all to come on vacation with me and to try at least one new kind of exercise over the next few weeks. What kinds of new workouts will you do?

And what other new (non-running) activities should I try?

When you try something new, leave a comment or post it on Instagram and/or Twitter with the hashtag #VacationEveryday so I can see what ya’ll are up to!

Vacay away!!

More than I actually know what to do with, in fact.

And it’s a good thing that all of said bread is organic, all natural, and made with high quality ingredients. Because if I’m gonna eat a lot of something, it better be good. It better be good for me and taste good too.

Thanks to One Degree, who kindly sent me samples, all week I’ve been sampling their ‘Veganic’ breads, which I was introduced to at Food Fete, and I’m slowly but surely falling in love with one of my new favorite food products.

There are four different types of Veganic bread. Ancient Whole Wheat, Lentil Grain, Flax and Spelt, and Sesame Sunflower.

As you can probably tell from their names, aside from the traditional whole wheat variety, these aren’t your typical, everyday kinds of breads. And not just because they’re made with alternative ingredients like spelt flour, lentils, and flax. For me, what really sets these breads apart form all the other packaged bread products you’d find on a grocery store shelf is the fact that none of them have any unnecessary added ingredients. In fact, all have only nine ingredients or less.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I’ve talked about this before, but it absolutely drives me crazy when I go to grab a loaf of whole wheat or whole grain bread at the grocery store only to flip the package over to read the ingredients list and find things like high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oils, diglycerides, soy lecithin, and azodicarbonamide. I don’t want to eat any of that processed stuff. But I do want to eat bread.

In a perfect world, I’d have time to make my own bread all of the time. And if I made my own bread, I wouldn’t go out of my way to put a bunch of crazy preservatives and processed chemical additives in it, or use ingredients that aren’t typically used to make bread. (Cough, high fructose corn syrup, cough!) So why do so many companies continue to do so?! I get that some of these things are needed to preserve shelf life. But come on, if One Degree can make quality bread without them, then I don’t see why everyone else can’t too. I’m seriously ecstatic that they have proven it is possible to package great tasting, truly all-natural bread, because I have yet to find another brand with such high quality, healthy standards.

{Over Easy Egg Sandwich on Lentil Grain}

What also sets the Veganic line apart from other breads, is the fact that all of the ingredients used are organic, which personally isn’t one of my top concerns when it comes to bread, but it is nice to know even that much more care went into making the product.

And one more thing that really thrills me about One Degree and Veganic is their iPhone app. (Search “one degree” in the app store.) You can use it to scan any of their products and it will go on to tell you exactly where each ingredient used to make it came from. Like, all the way back to the exact farm, with the picture and name of the farmer who farmed it.

Being that we hardly ever really know where our food is coming from, I think that’s huge! I think that if before deciding to consume something we all stopped to think, “Where did this come from? And how much has it been processed from its original, natural state?” we’d begin to see an even bigger shift towards healthier eating. Not only because we might be more inclined to ditch highly processed products, but also because we’d simply just have a better connection to and relationship with our food.

{Feta and Gruyere Grilled Cheese on Ancient Whole Wheat }

So, as you can see from all these photos I’ve pulled from my Instagram page, I’ve really been enjoying each of the different bread varieties. I guess this might be obvious, but the Ancient Whole Wheat tastes the most like a typical and familiar bread, while I found the Sunflower Sesame variety to be the most grainy and least bread like. The taste and texture reminds me of Ezekiel bread, which is also very grainy and void of wheat. So for those who are picky about their bread (I’m thinking about people like my mom who are all, “Ew, I hate whole grains in my bread.”), I recommend the Ancient Whole Wheat or the Flax and Spelt variety.

I’m in love with all four types though, and am finding each to be awesome sandwich-making breads.

Totally Hungry Runner approved!

{Greek ‘Salad’ Sandwich on Sesame Sunflower}

As I’ve been posting about One Degree on my Instagram feed quite frequently over the past few days, many readers have been asking about where they can buy the Veganic Breads. You can find out if it’s sold near you using the location link on One Degree’s website. It’s mostly only available at specialty health food stores right now, but hopefully will be more widely distributed soon!

And since it might be hard for you to find near you, I’m going to giveaway a Veganic Bread Prize Pack to one lucky Hungry Reader! (Prize will include a sampling of one loaf in each of One Degree’s Veganic bread flavors. Four loaves in total!)

There are two possible ways you can enter to win, so you can enter up to two times! Here’s how:

Entry method 1:

1.) Follow me on Instagram. (You must be following me in order to win.)

2.) Re-post the image below to your Instagram account. (The easiest way to do this will be to use your phone to find where I’ve posted it on my Instagram page, take a screenshot, and then re-upload it to your Instagram page. There are also “re-post” apps that you can download in the iTunes app store that will allow you to re-post the image using the app. Either way is acceptable.)

3.) When you post the photo, make sure you tag @hungryrunner and @onedegreeorganics! If you do not tag both, you will not be entered.

Entry method number 2:

1.) Leave a comment below letting me know which Veganic Bread variety you’d like to try most and why!

Got it? OK, good!

You have until Monday May 20th at 12PM to enter and this giveaway is open to residents of the United States only.

Good luck

[image via Pinterest]

11 weeks down and 3 to go!

Today starts week 12 of the boot camp and I’m so proud of all of you for working hard and sticking with your workouts thus far.

Once again, anytime you see a Hungry Runner workout on our calendar this week, you’re to pick from any of the previous Hungry Runner strength workouts that we completed over the first 10 weeks of the boot camp.

My workout pick for this week is week 6′s Total Body Power Pyramid Workout!

Don’t forget, you can pick any workout you want, but my only rule is that you can’t repeat the same workout for the entirety of the next four weeks. I suggest picking a different one at least every week, if not more frequently. Our month-of-May workout calendar and all of the previous week’s workouts are linked below.

That being said, let’s get to work and kick this week in the butt!

P.S. If you’re looking for more fitness motivation, come join Team Hungry Runner for the #WhatsBeautiful challenge. Click the link to get all the details!

Previous week’s workouts:

Week 1′s Workout

Week 2′s Workout

Week 3′s Workout

Week 4′s Workout

Week 5′s Workout

Week 6′s Workout

Week 7′s Workout

Week 8′s Workout

Week 9′s Workout

Week 10′s Workout

May Workout Calendar

P.P.S. Don’t forget to tag your social media posts with #HungryRunnerBootCamp so I can keep in touch and smile at how awesome you all are doing

You know what’s beautiful? That thanks to Under Armour and FitFluential, I’ve got a bunch of new workout gear on its way to my mailbox right now.

But you know what’s EVEN MORE beautiful? The fact that over the next few weeks, together, we’re all going to set goals, push and encourage each other to achieve them, and all along the way, define “What’s Beautiful…” on our own terms.

[image via]

Under Armour Women is hosting the What’s Beautiful Campaign from now until June 21st in order to inspire and motivate women all around the world to push past their comfort zones and achieve what they once thought was impossible. They’re calling it a “competition to redefine the female athlete.”

Since my number one goal is to motivate and inspire as many people as possible to live their healthiest lives, well then it’s only fitting that I’ve been enlisted by Under Armour to get you guys on board.

So here’s how it all works. And pay close attention! Because in addition to achieving your wildest dreams, there are some pretty sweet prizes involved, including the aforementioned trip to Costa Rica, plus a chance to be featured here on Hungry Runner! (More on that later.)

How to Join:

1. Head over to the What’s Beautiful homepage and click ‘Get started’ to create a profile. Enter your information or sign in using Facebook, then click ‘Sign Up.’

2. Complete your profile by uploading a picture and entering your goal. Make it a good one!

3. Share your goal with the world! Tweet it, Instagram it, Tumble it.. let everyone know what you’re up to! Make sure to use the hash tags #WhatsBeautiful and #TeamHungryRunner (More about our team soon!)

4. Use your whatsbeautiful.ua.com profile to join Team Hungry Runner. We’re creating an army here. And over the next few weeks we are all going to work together to set and conquer some super sick goals. (P.S. This is where your chance to be featured on Hungry Runner comes into play. Keep reading for details!)

Join Team Hungry Runner. (Click the link to access the team page.)

5. Anytime you complete a task that brings you closer to your goal or our team goal- whether it be a healthy meal, a completed workout, or a new healthy habit- upload it to your profile and/or our Team Page (pictures, videos, etc.) -Click ‘Upload Challenges, then the right arrow for “Forward Progress,” and upload your video or picture- and then share it on your social media pages too! Anytime you share something use the hash tags #WhatsBeautiful and #TeamHungryRunner.

Both Under Armour and I are going to be watching you guys. And at the end of the campaign they’ll be picking the most motivating and inspiring participant to join them on their Under Armour Retreat in Costa Rica! So give this all you’ve got!!

More About Our Team Goal!

Team Hungry Runners Goal: From now until June 21st, we will eat well and exercise at least 3 days every week! (Let’s really kick butt and aim for 4 or 5, though!)

Plus, I’ll also be posting weekly mini-goals on my Instagram page every Monday to keep us motivated!

Being a part of and participating in Team Hungry Runner means you will also be vying for a chance to have your story shared here on my site!

So, I wanna see you updating our team page every day! When the campaign is over I’ll choose a winner based on which Team Hungry Runner member was the most inspiring and motivating.

I’m going to be tracking our team tag (#TeamHungryRunner) very closely and sharing my favorite updates on Twitter and Instagram, so make sure you’re following me and tagging your posts for a chance to be featured.

Alright, so now that you’ve got all the details, go get to it! Set up your profiles, join the team, and start uploading your challenges!

After you join, leave a comment here with a link to your profile so I can follow you, and don’t forget to follow me!

Who’s in?!

Alright, Hungry Readers! It’s time to start week 11 of our Summertime Slim-down Boot Camp!

As I mentioned last week, there are no new workouts from this point forward. For the next four weeks we’re going to be switching it up and adding some pzazz by picking from any of the previous week’s workouts anytime a Hungry Runner Workout is scheduled on the calendar.

I wanted to do it this way because this challenge is just as much about learning to love your workouts as it is about actually working out. I want you to pick the workouts from over the past 10 weeks that you loved the most and be excited to get them done! Like I said last week, my only rule is that you do not repeat the same workout for the entirety of the next four weeks. I suggest picking a different one at least every week, if not more frequently.

My pick for this week is Week 5′s workout!

Keep going, keep up the good work, keep eating well, and most importantly, keep having fun!

P.S. If you’re just learning about the boot camp program now, you can totally join in! It doesn’t matter when you start. Below is a link to the original boot camp intro post, plus links to each of the previous week’s workout. Everything you need to get in shape for summer is right here, so there’s no reason you can’t start right now!

Summertime Slim-down Boot Camp Intro

Previous Week’s Workouts

Week 1′s Workout

Week 2′s Workout

Week 3′s Workout

Week 4′s Workout

Week 5′s Workout

Week 6′s Workout

Week 7′s Workout

Week 8′s Workout

Week 9′s Workout

Week 10′s Workout

P.P.S. Don’t forget to tag your social media posts with #HungryRunnerBootCamp so I can keep in touch and smile at how awesome you all are doing

xx Katie

But even something as genius as the sweet potato black bean quesadilla can be improved upon. So this time around, I spiced it up a little with some of my own new additions. Giving it a sweet and tangy twist using my homemade Greek yogurt Honey Mustard Dressing and using shredded Gruyere cheese and all of its gooey goodness to balance out the flavors and help it a all stick together like a good quesadilla should.

The funny part about the recreation of this recipe though, is that over the year that I’ve been writing this blog (I published the original version of this recipe in March 2012), I’ve gotten even lazier about cooking. If you click through to the original recipe you’ll notice that I used some oil and spices to add some flavor to the sweet potato before tossing into the quesadilla. Not this time though. Although if you want to, you can totally do that with this recipe and make it even more amazing. Maybe I’ll muster up the motivation to try that next time

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat tortilla
1/4 large sweet potato, baked and cubed
1/4 cup black beans
1/4 cup Gruyere cheese
2 table spoons Greek yogurt honey mustard dressing (click for easy homemade recipe)

Directions:

1. Spread 1 tablespoon of GYHM dressing over whole wheat wrap.

2. Place sweet potato cubes and black beans on one side of the tortilla. Sprinkle in Gruyere cheese and drizzle second tablespoon of dressing over the mixture.

3. Fold the empty half of the tortilla over the filling and press down gently. (Place a few more sprinkles of cheese near the edges to help the quesadilla stick closed when it melts.)

4. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes to melt cheese and warm tortilla, or fry with a small amount of oil in a large pan for 1-3 minutes on each side. (Other option: grill on each side for 1-3 minutes using a George Foreman grill.)

I have done so much running this month. I randomly decided to run a half-marathon three weeks ago, and now I’m continuing to keep up with that level of training, because the weather is getting nice and nice why not just keep running, right? So, consequently I’ve been listening to a lot of music. Some really good music and some really bad music.

For example, Taylor Swift’s song, “22″ is so bad. That is a bad, bad song. Some might say it is an insult to music. But for running (and also general dancing around like a 5-year-old) it’s perfect. The same goes for any song performed by pre-pubescent Disney Channel stars. So, so bad, but extra, ultra motivating while running. Why is that? Someone do an experiment and reveal these secrets of the brain to me.

This month (like many previous month’s playlists) my playlist is a varying potpourri of artists and genres. The top 12 songs I’ve been running to over the past 30 days range from obscure, failed Disney stars all the way to the great Led Zeppelin. Do with it what you will. Hopefully you’ll press play and have a great run!

1. Taylor Swift- 22
2. Led Leppelin- Rock and Roll
3. Angels and Airwaves- Young London
4. Angel City- Sunrise
5. Carly Rae Jepsen- Your Heart is a Muscle
6. Bob Sinclair- Love Generation
7. Emily Osment & Mitchell Musso- If I Didn’t Have You
8. Zedd- Clarity
9. Angel City- Do You Know
10. Good Charlotte- Hold On
11. Led Zeppelin- Good Times Bad Times
12. Natasha Bedingfield ft. Sean Kingston- Love Like This

Listen and subscribe on Spotify.