Chobani Winner!

Aloha everyone! I am pleased to announce the winner of the Chobani giveaway is…

Here are your random numbers:

4

which means…Kay! I was happy with these results because Kay is also from Oahu and she informed me that Chobani is unavailable on the island! I had no idea! I’m glad that a fellow “local” (can I consider myself a local if all my friends are? I guess that would make me an honorary local?) gets to feel some Chobani love. You can email your address to me at mayapamela@gmail.com, Kay!

These past two days I’ve been really into yogurt parfaits, which of course starred Chobani.

Yesterday’s mix was a Strawberry Chobani with an AppleBerry Vitatop, mashed banana, and peach slices. I really enjoyed the Vitatop, the muffin was very moist and I loved the bites of dried fruit in my parfait. I really like the fruit on the bottom feel to the yogurts–after trying the strawberry flavor I have to say it wins over blueberry.

Today I tried the pineapple Chobani and I LOVED it!

I was in a rush this morning, so I couldn’t arrange my breakfast parfait style. Somehow, the same proportion of ingredients but layered differently cannot be contained by the same glass. Post picture I had to put the granola in another cup and apply throughout eating. The yogurt mess also included grapes, peach slices, and strawberries (with the pineapple flavor it felt like one of those old school fruit cocktails, you know what I mean?) with ginger granola.

So the AppleBerry Vitatop was a success, but I can’t say the same for the chocolate:

Excuse the horrible lighting. The chocolate tasted a bit dry, which I didn’t like eating plain. Maybe it would have been better with some yogurt or more ice cream to mask the dryness (that was the last bit of Dulce de Leche ice cream pictured here, but it wasn’t enough). I do like that I could get a chocolate fix with a shot of iron. As a vegetarian I try and be aware of my iron and B12 intake and such.

I also recently received a large package of Gnu bars. Yesterday, I tried the Orange Cranberry.

As soon as I opened the wrapper I was blasted with the scent of orange zest. Yum! The texture was…interesting…it reminded me of quinoa. It was very seedy with a lot going on, which isn’t a bad thing, just a texture to get used to. Overall, I would give this bar a B.

Over the weekend I volunteered at Ma’o Organic Farms in Wai‘anae with the AFS students. I didn’t take any pictures as we left our belongings behind, so any photos you see are from Google.

It was amazing. The farm is all about growing fruits and vegetables that are often deemed impossible to grow in Hawaii. For example, they recently successfully grew cauliflower. This is extremely important for an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as cauliflower usually has to be shipped. That is a long distance for cauliflower to travel, which means a lot of burned fossil fuels in transit. It is not healthy for Hawaii to be so dependent for produce. Ma’o Farms wants Hawaii to be more self-sustaining, and I think it’s incredible that they can do so organically.

The farm also makes incredible strides to involve the community as much as possible. Ma’o Youth is an internship program of two years that employs Wai‘anae youth and gives them the opportunity an Associate’s Degree at Leeward Community College in agricultural studies. The program covers education costs, provides a monthly stipend, and sends participants to agricultural workshops around the world. Wai‘anae is an impoverished region–en route we passed tents on the beach with mailboxes out front. Camping tents serve as makeshift homes. This program allows the youth to literally get their hands dirty in their own native land and start a career doing so.

As AFS volunteers, we hauled rocks to make room for new fields. It only took about two hours, but with a total of 30 volunteers, the Ma’o Farm staff said we did the work of three weeks. Afterward they treated us to an incredible lunch–10 types of organic salad greens, pasta salads, purple sweet potatoes, hummus, fresh tuna salad sandwiches, homemade bread, and fresh fruits. Many volunteers contributed other treats to the spread.

My eyes were bigger than my stomach, but could you blame me? They had fresh baked challah!

Now I would much rather buy high quality produce from such a farm then, say, a tomato with a faint, watery taste that traveled 3,000 miles. Buying local produce is important anywhere, but I think the message is particularly pertinent in Hawaii.

What do you guys think of buying locally? Worth the money?

A toute a l’heure!
Maya

Confidence

*Long exhale*

It’s been quite a weekend. I feel like I’ve been shaken up, down, and all around and left at the heels of Monday dazed and confused. This is all in a good way, but it does mean that my thoughts are all over the place, including my blog post ideas.

So I’ll start with my proudest accomplishment of the week.

I ran a half marathon.

Well, ok, I came close. I ran 12.5 miles. Let’s call it a half marathon though, because .6 extra miles wouldn’t have been no thang after +12. I never would have believed this is possible two weeks ago. I joined the Kailua Running Company for the Sunday run and this past weekend’s was a doozer. It included many hills. But I kept a smile on my face, joined the artist I met last week with a similar pace as mine who is also training for the Honolulu Marathon, and forged ahead.

As we turned back to the running store I was positively giddy. I remained on Cloud 9 the entire day. I never would have thought that I was at the athletic level to run an almost half marathon distance. I don’t have a lot of self confidence. I’ve never thought of myself as a runner. I remembered my days in cross country, lagging in the middle of the pack, and I figured I I’m not a runner, I’m just a poser.

No more, kids. I think I’ve had the athletic capabilities of such distance for a while but not the belief or confidence. Although you may have the necessary skills, in this case endurance skills, you need to 100% believe that it is possible to bring your vision to fruition. Of course, I am not saying that you can jump off the couch and run a half marathon, like anything else it takes time. But I’ve been running mostly on and sometimes off for 4 years now. I have the athletic foundation, I just needed to believe that. Afterward I was fitted for new running shoes. I was sure that my running gait was awkward, remembering what my coach said during my junior year of high school. But I was told that my gait is great and that I have an athletic foot. I was beaming. Hi guys, my name is Maya and I now call myself a runner.

Check out my Kailua Running Company bumper sticker rocking out on my Camelbak. Represent. But do not check out my post yoga hair. Also note the headphones, because while writing this post I basically listened to this one song non stop that I’ll divulge at the end of the post!

I mentioned in my post on vegetarianism that I loved hot dogs as a kid, before I knew hot dogs were meat. Well, I rediscovered hot dogs, or shall I say… veggie dogs! I don’t know what a meat eater would think, but the Morning Star veggie dogs tasted just like I remember hot dogs tasting, that is to say delicious! I’m not sure if it’s typically Chilean, but in my dad’s family we top hot dogs with the works, which for us means scrambled egg, avocado, and tomato.

My fruit runneth over

I used a piece of flax bread as my hot dog bun, which I actually preferred to traditional buns.

I now welcome comestible dogs back into my life. It’s been far too long.

In other news I got a few surprises in the mail!

To be revealed in future posts.

Ok, fine, I’ll share one:

I was the Crofter’s blog pick of the week! I’m stoked to try the awesome, superfruit filled flavors.

Today I’ve been listening to Matt and Kim’s Daylight nonstop. No, really, I have.

Enjoy, my lovelies.

In keeping with the beginning of this post, here’s a quote I love from running coach and author Franz Stampfl: “The runner’s greatest asset, apart from essential fitness of body, is a cool and calculating brain allied to confidence and courage.”

Yes, indeed.

First Giveaway!

Hey blogettes!

Thank you so much for your kind words on my last post. I truly appreciated everyone’s commentary, I could tell that you all put a lot of thought in your comments. and I concluded that I want to keep blogging fun. That is my number one priority. I hope to gain more readers and I would love to ignite interesting conversations in blog land, but at the end of the day I need to enjoy this process. In the past I haven’t been the best about replying to comments, which I will definitely begin to do because I get the most insightful comments sometimes and I’d really like the dialogue on certain issues to continue. So I’ll just keep doing my thing and hope that you guys like what ya see!

I’ve been getting my Chobani on lately:

This was my attempt at a waffle. I always make my own waffles, but I saw this multi grain mix and thought it would be good for a weekday morning. Except it turned out more like a pancake. It’s cool, I like pancakes, but I was craving a crispy waffle. I topped this deflated waffle baby with bluberry chobs, frozen raspberries, sliced banana, and coconut.

This morning I was going to make a decadent oatmeal creation until I learned that one of the girls needed to bring in a baked goodie for her class but failed to tell anyone. I was asked to bake something and bring it to her school before noon, only I planned on hanging out with a friend on the windward side and I wanted to leave asap after dropping off Silvino. So at 7 am I DEAB aka Dropped Everything and Baked. I decided to make Ghiradelli brownie mix cupcakes because they would cool much faster than pan brownies. In forty minutes I concocted the following:

Is there a Baking Olymics? If so I’d totally be eligible for that.
Anyway due to the olymic games that occurred in the kitchen this morning, I had less time for my planned indulgent breakfast creation (the horror!) so I got my Chob on again:

Which I used to make this:

A breakfast parfait with honey chobani, hemp plus granola, and sliced banana (ps loved the granola, it’s probably at a health store bulk bin near you).

After three Chobanis I have included that Chobani is the perfect Greek yogurt if the intense thickness of Fage and Oikos is too much for you, as was the case for me when I first tried Greek yogurt. It’s like the GY gateaway drug–it’s a nice thick step up from standard yogurt but not quite as hardcore as other brands. I really like how smooth it is, and will definitely be purchasing it on my own. I can’t wait to try the other flavors!

Plus I have to respect a company that really goes out of their way to create a positive costumer experience. Morgan at Chobani was quick to respond to my emails, sent the Chobanis in less than a week of our correspondence (in a refrigerated case! It’s no joke sending yogurt all the way to Hawaii!), and offered my readers a giveaway!

Comment on this post for one entry, and mention the giveaway on your blog for another entry. I’ll close the entries at Tuesday on midnight EST (this is important as I’m six hours behind the east coasters!) and announce the winner on Wednesday.

In other news…

Today I had no idea what to have for dinner when I remembered that I had a few TJ peanut butter filled pretzels left and some tofu begging to be eaten. I remembered that Caroline posted a recipe for pretzel coated tofu. It involves coating sliced tofu in a dijon mustard/agave mixture and then dredging the slices in crushed pretzels and baking at 375 for 20 minutes. Honestly I didn’t have very high expectations, I thought it would be a bit bland, but I had no other ideas, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

How silly! It was delicious! The mustard/agave combo gave a sweet, spicy mellow flavor to the tofu and I loved the peanut butter pretzel crunch. A definite must try! I had broccoli in soy sauce/hot sauce and grapes on the side. (btw the kitchen lighting is crap…apologies)

I’ve been eating broccoli on the daily (thanks costco bag) so I was getting a little tired of it. Though hot sauce and soy sauce sounds like a simple combo, it really made the broccoli pop, and I really enjoyed it.

Alright must be off, I just got back from an hour+ walk (after running the past two days) and I have a few things to do before I go to bed. Which includes some happy baby yoga posing on my bed while listening to music. My thighs will be very happy. Don’t forget about the getaway to get your own Chobani loot!

A toute a l’heure!
Maya

How do you blog?

Greetings ya’ll!

Hope you’re having a fine Wednesday. I’m going to postpone the post I oringinally planned (don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about that giveaway!) and sidestep here for a second for a call for advice. I am at a major turning point with American Gourmande, and I need to decide which direction I want to take this blog. I think that this is a subject that we can all relate to as bloggers and readers, as some of you have shut down your blogs or written posts apologizing that you feel the need to pull back the reins on your blogs. I hope to ignite open discussion and that this post will be helpful to all!

First a little background. I started reading blogs as a New Year’s Resolution. I wanted to become healthier, but msot importantly cultivate a better self image. I was tired of wasting so much mental energy on my appearance. I wanted more confidence. Reading blogs gave me a complete 360. I saw what healthy eating habits and exercise regimens entailed (including eating far more than I ever would have guessed) and read about many of you fabulous women and how you celebrate yourselves inside and out. It was a major turning point for me.

After reading so many blogs I decided to “de lurk.” I wanted to contribute to the community that gave so much to me. Thus American Gourmande was born.

I’ve experimented with different blog styles and voices, whatever floats my boat at the time based on what I’m going through. In Belgium I detailed day to day happenings, as I wanted to show how I strive for moderation and balance while still enjoying the study abroad experience. Now my blog is focusing more on my marathon training and any musings on my eats and how they relate to my life.

I’ve been wanting to generate more blog traffic, which I’m afraid to admit because I don’t want to be accused of being too commercial. But honestly, who wants to spend so much effort on a blog that doesn’t get read? I thrive on the feedback I receive from my readers, and I want to expose my blog to its fullest potential. As I research more on increasing blog traffic, I feel incredibly overwhelmed. Many sites recommend testing out keywords for ultimate search hits, which sounds like an exhausting process. I don’t want to nit pick every word I publish! I love reading blogs, but I don’t want it to become a chore. I usually love reading blogs with my meals, it’s like reading a magazine or newspaper. I love the written word. But lately it feels like a chore ah! so many posts in Google Reader! must get to reading and commenting if I want to make my presence in blog world known! Now, reading blogs feels like work, which I want to avoid when I enjoy my meals. I genuinely want to give feedback to posts if I feel like I can contribute something, but I don’t want my words to become empty just so I can get something said like I love raspberries! How would that further someone else’s blog?

On the other hand, I need to think about blog traffic if I am going to utilize my blog for Team in Training fund raising. Having a blog is a huge resource, and I want to support TNT to my fullest potential. I also have an interest in keeping my blog for the long term–I am considering studying nutrition in conjunction with political science as I am interested in a career in health policy and advocacy, a topic I find fascinating. A health related blog helps many bloggers further their careers.

But I need balance. From this view point I can see myself getting out of control–constantly reading blogs, even the ones that don’t necessarily motivate me (and if they don’t, what’s the point in reading? Do you read a book that you don’t like if you don’t have to?), thinking about posting, posting, generating more blog traffic. Blogging is only one facet of my life, and while I have a little extra time to dedicate to the blog now I cannot maintain the same levels of blog work when I go to school full time and begin other activities.

How do you view your blog? Are you concerned with generating blog traffic? How do you participate in the blog world without being consumed by it? Has blogging interfered with other aspects of your life?

Lately I hear this constant buzz of chitter chatter in my head at all times, and I know that I cannot tolerate its presence 24/7. I could really use some feedback, let me know what you guys think! You don’t even need to have a blog, if you simply read but have thoughts of your own, let me know! De lurk yourselves!

A toute a l’heure!
Maya

Belated Weekend Recap

The weekend must seem like a distant memory at this point in the work week, but I’d like to backtrack a bit and recap a little of my weekend. Don’t distress, the next weekend will be around the corner before you know it!

On Saturday I went to an AFS party as a volunteer at a fab-u-lous beach front house. The house basically centered around the pool–ummm frickin brilliant idea. The refrigerator was twice the size of a standard fridge. My mom would freak. So much room for storage after a Costco room. The room I liked the most, though, was this one:

Why yes, I would like to live in this room, thanks for asking. If you need me, I’ll be on that couch to the left, could you bring me a cup of tea? Designing note to self–big rooms with beautiful painted ceilings make awesome statements. Ok enough of that.

On Sunday Sophie had to work, but her mom graciously gave Trine, Sophie’s sister and I a driving tour of the North Shore. Sophie’s mom, Jane, grew up in Hawaii and told us everything we’d ever want to know about the locales we visited.

I will never tire of beach pictures.

After laying in the sun for a bit (a peak distance run of 9 MILES tires a homegirl out!) I snorkeled for the first time! Not the best conditions, considering the rocks and big waves, but a good first outing. I saw a pink and teal fish! If I ever become a fish in a future life, I want to be pink and teal.

Yeah notice those rocks? Imagine waves crashing you into it. But I said f you to those waves and still had a great time.

We then saw the Thunderbirds show at the military base, which only happens every other year or so. When I told my mom she said that’s so scary! so dangerous! I was like uh ok mom, whatever. I understood when planes literally flew so close to us that you could hear deafening roars. I shrieked. What can I say, I am my mother’s daughter.

I now see why seeing the Pilot in the sky scared Gina. Those brave pilots do some crazay moves!

We headed back to the North Shore because someone (cough cough, Sophie’s brother who joined us midday) had to body surf on the waves out there for approximately 20 minutes, so we had to drive across the island again. But I tried my first shave ice at the famous Matsumoto’s located in the North Shore!

While I did not particularly enjoy shave ice, this outing holds a special place in my heart. A couple of months ago I was eating Sunday breakfast while reading my beloved Washington Post. The travel section featured an article on the best shave ice in Hawaii, at Matsumoto’s. At this point I was trying to find a job in Hawaii, and the possibility of moving there seemed a distant dream and discovered the article whilst dreaming of Hawaii. I said to my mom that I hoped that come fall I will be in Oahu and going to this shave ice place and savoring every bite. Well folks, I did it! This life be crazy.

Pinch me. The line at Matsumoto’s was incredibly long, it’s a popular place! They also translate the flavors into Japanese for all the tourists.

I was never a fan of icy consistencies. But I was told that the ice in Hawaii is shaved to a feather like consistency so I had high hopes. I also don’t like fake tasting syrups.

Unfortunately my shave ice was both. The saving grace was the vanilla ice cream and adzuki red beans at the bottom of the cup, unfortunately there was not enough of either for my taste.

I got the Hawaiian flavor combo, which was pineapple, coconut and banana. Didn’t taste like any of that, hence why I don’t usually dig syrups so much.

Then we watched Roland body surf and enjoyed the sunset.

Such scenery never ceases to amaze me.

Rewind to today (sorry for all the time traveling!) Today I needed to do a short run near home. This meant tackling The Hill. The Hill on which, despite my best efforts, I always end up walking. This 3 mile run scared me more than my 9 miler last Sunday. I put on my game face and enjoyed the first 2 miles. Then I attacked that b!tch hill. The whole time I thought about my marathon training, and how important it is to challenge myself. If I’m scared of the hill and if I can accomplish it, then that means I am getting stronger. I also reminded myself of why I’m training and how many people I can benefit with my fund raising. I also reminded myself that over time, running up this hill will only get easier. Hey Hill, eat my dust! I worked my way up steadily and ran the whole time! So far I find that keeping my marathon in mind keeps me focused while working out, as I am exercising for a higher purpose.

I rewarded myself with Polly’s yoga for runners (love frog pose!), a long shower for my sweaty ass self, and lounging on the bed watching Tyra on Larry King. While watching I did whatever yoga move my legs asked me to do, which meant a lot of knee holding and leg lenthening. PS I never realized just how fierce Tyra is. She is a frickin mazing. Love her.

It’s almost 9 pm here, but 4 am on east coast time, so happy humpday to all! Catch ya later for a…GIVEAWAY!

A toute a l’heure!
Maya

Choice

Being a full time nanny is very different from occasional baby sitting.

The occasional baby sitter benefits from the sense of novelty. If the child knows the baby sitter well, he/she looks forward to her/his visits–the baking treats, the special bag of tchotchkes, story time. But a full time nanny has to deal with a lot of the not so fun activities. Getting up for school. Cleaning the child’s room. Homework.

Granted, though I am a live in nanny, I technically get off work when the mom comes home, generally at 3 or 4. The older girls, with the occasional exception, generally take care of themselves, but the 6 year old Silvino? I need to chase after him about a lot of things, often telling him 5-10 times before something gets done.

This of course is typical of children (heck, my mom still has to tell me several times to do something, too). But it gets exhausting day in and day out. Yelling is ineffectual, plus I downright cringe at doing so. So lately I’ve been thinking about ways to get Silvino to cooperate.

I read in the New York Times an article about unconditional love. Silvino isn’t my son, but I think it’s still important for him not to feel obliged to do something because otherwise I’ll withhold affection. Who wants children who only do what you want because they hear your nagging voice in the back of their heads? So I’ve set up an incentive system of sorts–if Silvino listens (for the most part) and does as he is told he gets a star for the day. Stars mean several things, but the ultimate prize is a treat at the end of the week.

Despite the incentives, Silvino does not get a star every day. We’re making progress. It’s about the baby steps here, people.

I mostly eat my vegetables, with lots of love. But some days, I’d rather have anything but my veggies. Enter a few incentives:

I topped my steamed broccoli with tomato basil sauce and dipped white sweet potato cheetahs (welcome back into my life lovers!) in ketchup, hummus, and Naturally More peanut butter.

I needed all the veggie incentives in the form of dipping sauces I could get. I also baked some tofu a la Gliding Calm in a soy sauce/mustard/agave sauce. The hind of sweet, spicy, and salty worked very well.

With these incentivies for your veggies, the choice to go for the veg is obvious!

In other news, my morning was spent watching these buggers:

I help out at a local yoga studio in exchange for classes, and today I baby sit while the wee ones’ moms were vinyasa-ing. And yes, Mr. Blondie fell asleep on my lap, he was kind of hard to move! The girl doesn’t look too happy in the photo, but she was totally boogying to some grooves afterwards, she’s so cute! I returned to the studio for some Ashtanga in the p.m.–hopefully yoga is enough cross training for my marathon schedule!

What are some of your tactics for baby sitting? Have any tips?

A toute a l’heure!
Maya

Exciting news!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I’ve been ITCHING to post these past few days–I have some exciting updates! Blogging proved difficult, as I spent the weekend with Sophie chez Bargiel and I was laptop-less, as my beloved Mac is currently on the mainland for repairs. Bummer. But without further adoo…

I am 98% sure I will be registering for the Hononlulu Marathon! I am now volunteering quite a bit for AFS and this past weekend we had a party for the AFS Oahu exchange students (all 5 of them, the Oahu chapter is small but growing!) One of the students, a Japanese girl named Shiori, lives about five minutes away from me. Her mom is running the marathon this year, and though Shiori has never really run before, she registered. Shiori doesn’t speak a lot of English and I want to help her train, as lord knows I’ve read plenty of running related blogs. The marathon is in December, so I need to get training! I’ve now been on a few MPRRC runs and many people asked me if I am considering the marathon. I always said no, I had plenty on my plate as it is. But I decided that I can always start training and see how I feel. Today I went on a MPRRC run in Kailua, and we ran 9 miles. That is now my longest distance ever run–and I feel fantastic! I woke up itching to run at 5:30 and I attacked the mileage. I have to say I was proud of myself, I did two peak distances in one week. I never thought of myself as a “runner,” per se, but with each passing day I feel stronger and more confident. I think that I am physically capable of training for a marathon, I just need to wrap my mind around the notion. I plan on modifying my marathon training plan on this one, more or less. My plans for cross training include swimming, surfing (hopefully!), and lots of yoga. I found an adorable yoga studio run in the owner’s home near where I live. She is willing to trade services, such as providing child care for the yogis’ kids and cleaning, for classes. I’ve only practiced yoga on my own and for an intense 2 week Bikram stint. I’ve always wanted to practice yoga consistently to really reap the benefits and I think this could be an amazing opportunity! I’ve already signed up for the introductory 3 class special to see if I like the studio, and have completed 2 Vinyasa classes, one of which ended up being a private lesson. As the studio is small (yoga is not very popular in Hawaii, it is mainly people from the mainland who practice) the personal attention is great to fix some of the bad habits I’ve formed by practicing on my own.

Anyway, sorry for the yoga tangent! Back to the marathon plan–I’d like to contact the local Team in Training group tomorrow. As long as I’m training for a marathon I’d like it to make a profound difference, and I would love to fund raise for the Leukemia and Lymphona with TIT. I hope to use the blogging community as a resource to help me reach this goal! Training and fund raising for a marathon is exactly the kind of challenge I could use right now, and I feel so good about having such an encouraging community of runners in Oahu to guide me.

So many other things I have to post about, but I am currently running on 3 hours of sleep, a 9 mile run, and a full day spent in the North Shore. But I will share a fantastic breakfast I enjoyed on Friday, thanks to Chobani!

Thanks Morgan for the samples! I can’t wait to try the pineapple flavor.

I incorporated the peach Chobani with the Multigrain Vitatop for…

A Kay inspired parfait! Please excuse the not so attractive parfait layers–I was in a bit of a rush because I had to drop off Silvino at school and attend a yoga class right afterwards. Of course I still took 15 minutes to eat…I enjoy a leisurely breakfast! The parfait also had a few peach and banana slices.

At first I thought the Vitatops were a bit small, but in a parfait the portion was just right. You can only expect so much muffin goodness out of a 100 calorie package, but the grainy sweet flavor was spot on. At first I was a bit surprised that the Chobani Greek yogurt was not as thick as the Fage counterpart, but after a few bites I came to appreciate the texture of Chobani. Fage is as thick as sour cream, but Chobani has a sweet smoothness that Fage does not achieve. I also liked the little bits of peach as I always loved fruit on the bottom yogurts when I was little. I didn’t think this breakfast would hold me for long, but it kept me going through an hour and a half yoga class until lunch. No wonder breakfast parfaits are so popular in blogland!

I have quite a few posts coming soon, can’t wait to share! Also, I will soon be hosting a Chobani giveaway…details to follow!

What’s a challenge you would like to undertake in the near future (personal, school/work related, athletic,etc)? How are you working to achieve that goal? If you’ve trained or are training for a half/full marathon, do you have any tips for my training schedule?

I must be off–I have to request every marathon training book the island libraries offer!

A toute a l’heure,
Maya

Runner’s HI

My post title has a double meaning. Runner’s HI as in Runner’s Hawaii, but also as in the sense of exhileration after a challenging run, which I was fortunate enough to experience twice this week, thanks to a running club I found on the island. [Note: I did not come up with that clever double meaning, you can thank an Oahu running store for that]

Anyway, remember my running rut? I contacted Frayed Laces blogger for advice on finding a running club in Oahu. I cannot take community college classes until spring semester at the earliest (I will be attending college full time next year) and I want to meet more people in the area. Also my running schedule could use a kick in the arse. She told me about MPRRC, a club that meets at various running clubs most days of the week.

So on Monday I went to Lululemon, a runing store in Honolulu and embarked on a 6 mile run at a beachside park at sunset. Twas beautiful. I’ve run 6 miles before, but not for a couple of months, and the time whizzed by as I talked to the runners around me. Such clubs are great to meet like-minded people, where else could I engage in a lengthy conversation about flavored peanut and almond butters? (Besides blogland of course!)

I unexpectedly had to visit the Apple store on Tuesday, so though I had just gone to an MPRRC event, I decided that since Tuesday night’s meeting was on the way to the store, I might as well go. I get there 20 minutes early, but missed the store, which is located on a highway. I had to make a u-turn, only the roads were so convoluted that making a u-turn turned out to be a very difficult task. Despite my efforts at being an early bird, I got to the store 10 minutes late. They had already left. Knowing my tendency to get lost, I half-heartedly set out on the route the sales clerk described to me, sure I would get lost and end up turning around.

Then I meet another late-comer who knew the path well. His legs were sculpted and he looked like a serious athlete. He informed me that it was an easy run of 7 1/2 miles. What!? I’ve never run that far! And I just ran 6 miles the day before! I was thirsty, had to go to the bathroom, my hair would not stay in a ponytail, and my PB+bread snack (which usually makes great running fuel for me) sat like a rock in my stomach. I was in no mood to run. But I didn’t want to give up, so I set off with Albert, the man who runs marathons for fun. When I told him that I was afraid of slowing him down, he told me it was ok as it was his third workout of the day. Oh well, uh ok this is uh my first workout today.

The result? I ran my longest distance ever! And for the last mile and a half I PUSHED it. I was sprinting, and it felt great. While I love running on my own, I haven’t felt so pushed since cross country. However it is more enjoyable than cross country because it doesn’t feel so competitive. Everyone is supporting each other and helping each other improve as athletes. I didn’t want Albert to leave me behind, sure, but really I kept up the pace because I wanted to go the farthest distance I’ve ever run. Mission accomplished! A few runners provided great snacks afterward (white nectarines, sushi, mini pumpkin muffins). Never did post run fuel taste so good. To think I almost threw in my running shoes and called it a day.

So, if any of you out there feel like your in a running rut, try finding a running club in your area. Even if it’s only once a week, or every other week, it should be a challenging workout and a good time!

And if you need a little running inspiration right now, here’s a couple Canadians to help you out:

(Mistress Barbara feat Sam Roberts–’I'm Running’)

The past couple of days I’ve been enjoying this lunch I spotted on another blog, lettuce tacos! I’m honestly not a fan of hard corn taco shells, but I loved this.

Topped with refried beans, bell pepper, salsa, and some grated pepperjack cheese.

Last night I tried my first white sweet potato! I roasted said potato with asparagus, carrots, and broccoli, and topped a flat out with hummus, tomato sauce, and veggies.

The lighting sucks. Sorry.

Close up of the beautiful tuber. So now I’ve tried orange, white, and purple sweet potatoes. Any colors left?

The Good Vitalicious Fairy, who is so generous to so many, left me a present.

Reviews to follow!

Lastly, MixMyGranola is rolling out new trail mixes and a promo: use the code GRANOLA10 and get 10% off your order.

A toute a l’heure!
Maya

Taro: the Poi-fect food!

Aloha! It’s about time I gave the blog world a taste of the islands, no? But first, I’ll give you some context.

This past weekend I spent Chez Bargiel in Kailua with the Sophster & Co. We hiked up Diamond Head with some of Trine’s fellow AFS-ers (Trine is the Norwegian AFS student staying at Sophie’s house).

Clearly the Italian student Alessandro and I were ready to attack the hike, as you can see by my game face.

The view was absolutely gorgeous.

After the hike we sun bathed and enjoyed the surf at a beach nearby until our stomachs growled. Enter Ono Hawaiian Foods, a popular restaurant in Honolulu.

I loved the sign out front. No huhu guys!

Hawaiian food centers heavily around poi, which is made from Taro root. Here is some information (thanks Wikipedia!) on the taro root:

• Taro (pronounced /ˈtɑroʊ/) is a tropical plant grown primarily as a vegetable food for its edible corm, and secondarily as a leaf vegetable. It is considered a staple in oceanic cultures. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.^[1] In its raw form the plant is toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate,^[2][3] although the toxin is destroyed by cooking^[4] or can be removed by steeping taro roots in cold water overnight. Taro is closely related to Xanthosoma and Caladium, plants commonly grown as ornamentals, and like them it is sometimes loosely called elephant ear. The name “taro” is from Tahitian or other Polynesian languages; the plant is also called kalo (from Hawaiian), gabi in The Philippines, dalo in Fiji, seppankizhangu in Tamil, chembu in Malayalam Arvee in Hindi and Karkalo in Nepali.

Poi is made by mashing the taro until it is in liquid form. Water is added during mashing and before eating to achieve the desired consistency. Poi was a sacred daily staple of the Hawaiian diet, as it was believed that taro was the original ancestor of the Hawaiian people. When a bowl of taro was uncovered all conflict among the family had to come to a stop.

The menu highlighted the benefits of taro:

I loved this sign outside. The Poi-fect food!

We couldn’t help ourselves, and while waiting for our food we may have indulged in a little huhu (get your minds out of the gutter!)

 

Note the water stains from my bikini underneath!

I couldn’t wait to dig in to my first Hawaiian meal. I ordered a la carte, as the combination platters had at least two meat dishes each and you could not make substituations. I still got plenty of food!

This was a Hawiian sweet potato. I loved the purple color! I thought the potato was very dense, which may have been due to the cooking method, and I really liked the texture. Or maybe I was just telling myself the taste was different than an orange sweet potato? Anyway, in the background is a bowl of poi. Poi is definitley an acquired taste, but I enjoyed it! When you order you have a choice of freshly made poi or day old poi, which has more of a fermented taste. Those new to poi should try freshly made, trust me the taste is still very strong! It can be eaten as a kind of gelatinous soup, but usually you dip your food in the poi, as I did with my sweet potato and Lomi salmon.

What looks like salsa in the small bowl was actually my Lomi salmon. I expected a hunk of salmon and kept trying to get the waitor’s attention to bring my salmon until he informed me that I already had it on the table. Whoops. It was kind of like a salmon ceviche and it was delicious, especially when dipping forkfuls into the poi. Pictured also on the table are pork and rice with raw onion accoutrements.

 Check out Ono Hawaiian Foods’ website for an idea of more traditional Hawaiian dishes.

I loved the decor of the restaurant, the walls were plastered from top to bottom with pictures from over the years. Blast from the past.

If you want muscular thighs, apparently surfing is key.

I think these Hawaiian chicas are rocking the high thigh line bikini bottom.

I also enjoyed taro in the form of an English muffin on Sunday morning with a side of the Honolulu Advertiser’s Sunday comics. The taro English muffin is available in Hawaiian Costcos. So maybe I can’t find Fage at the Costco here but I do have access to taro! Honestly the muffin didn’t taste much different than a typical English muffin, but I loved the purple color.

I also used an apple banana in my breakfast.

I loved the cute size. The texture of an apple banana, which is very common in Hawaiian supermarkets, is a bit firmer and dare I say, a bit sweeter than the typical banana.

I topped my taro muffin with peanut butter and sliced banana.

The breakfast of American champions, Hawaiian style.

I’ve also had other delicious (albeit not traditional Hawaiian) eats lately and a great run that I’ll recap later. Hope everyone had a great weekend and (for those who care) enjoyed the latest Gossip Girl!

A toute a l’heure!

Maya

Look Ma! All veggies!

I became a vegetarian at the tender age of 4.

I would like to think that it was 100% ethically motivated, but the truth is I don’t remember ever eating meat, or making the switch to vegetarianism. According to my mom, I ate meat and then one day I didn’t.  Her theory is that I made the connection between the chicken I would hear about in say my bedtime story and the chicken that was served for dinner. Some would say that it was probably due to the taste of meat. But in defense of my young self, I did go against my taste buds for ethical reasons for one of my favorite foods. I used to love hot dogs. Absolutely loved them. I did not know, however, that they were meat derived and my parents were glad to see me consume a little protein. I still clearly remember the day when my friend told me, at the age of 5, that hot dogs are meat. I haven’t had a hot dog since.

Here’s the thing though–I was a vegetarian who didn’t like vegetables. Or much of anything, really. I ate mainly Kraft macaroni and cheese, Ramen noodle soup, and pizza. My parents had to pack boxes of the neon orange pasta on our trips to Chile. We even brought mac n’ cheese to restaurants in tupperware containers. That’s how picky I was. The thought of it makes me shudder today.

But slowly I began adding vegetables and fruits to my diet. I remember it started with carrots, and then broccoli. Now one of my favorite things about visiting Chile is the food–fresh produce is available right outside my great grandma’s door and it is plentiful.

Luckily I had supportive parents who let me stick to my vegetarianism. I know many parents who do not let their kids pursue vegetarian lifestyles. My mom makes almost all of our meals (that is when I don’t cook for us!) and simply gives me everything but the meat. I owe my parents a lot for always letting me be who I am, and part of my identity is my vegetarianism.

I don’t particularly like the taste of meat, but I think that is out of pure habit. After being a vegetarian for almost your whole life, you don’t know any other way to live. And so much the better, as my current ethical stance on meat align with my eating preferences. I think it’s a more sustainable way to live as our global population soars to incredible heights. Not to mention the fact that many in the East, who only ate meat sparingly, are now adding more meat to their diets to mimic Western habits. The meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all SUVS, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined (source: GoVeg.com) Here are some other surprising facts from GoVeg:

• The official handbook for the Live Earth concerts says that “refusing meat” is the “single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.”³
• According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads.

• The University of Chicago reports that going vegan is 50% more effective than switching to a hybrid car in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

(In the past year I did add fish to my diet for both health reasons and convenience, as I was living in Belgium where my vegetarian lifestyle was hard to maintain. I found it to be a compromise that works well for me, and still eat fish occasionally. However, I do not eat chicken, beef, pork, etc)

Fortunately enough, now I can’t get enough vegetables! Evidence A: today’s lunch.

A salad beast with romaine, carrots, and broccoli.

To adorn my salad, I made one of my latest favorite dressings combos: hummus and balsamic.

I also thinned out the dressing with some of the broccoli cooking water.

Topped with a Morning Star veggie burger. This salad is proof that there is hope that even the pickiest youngsters can one day consume enough veggies to put even a rabbit to shame.

Are you a vegetarian/have you ever been a vegetarian? What do you think about it from a health/eco/animal cruelty standpoint?

This was the perfect lunch after a long swim…in the ocean! Rarely do I swim as a workout, and I’ve never swum in the ocean purely for exercise. This was my first excursion to the beach without my friends or the kids I nanny, and it was glorious. I swum in the waves for about an hour, and I love the fact that it’s an all body workout. I was a bit jealous of all the surfers, this beach is the PERFECT beach for surfing, and many were out to take advantage of the waves! Hopefully I will join their ranks soon enough, I plan on taking a lesson as soon as I can!

A toute a l’heure!

Maya