Workout Confessions & Pumpkin and Maple Granola

I love grocery shopping on Saturday mornings during college football season in the Midwest…there’s this unspoken rivalry played out by hoodies, sweatshirts, and quirky smiles at your Big 10 opponents of the week. When I saw a Michigan sweatshirt-wearing gentleman in the checkout line, he politely wished us good luck against Michigan State today, and I did the same…knowing Iowa would whomp’em 😉 Kidding, kidding. But it was fun…until about 2pm yesterday when the Illini started to fall apart against MSU. Heartbreaking second half!

I watched the last few minutes of the game while Mr. P excused himself to finish staining our fence (I got out of that chore – woop!). I changed from my orange Illini hoodie into workout clothes and hit the treadmill…it had been 8 days since my last run (confession #1), and probably the longest break from running I’ve had in a year, if not 2. Needless to say I was very sick last week, and only managed to walk Lily once (0.9 miles, go dog!) during the work week. I am happy to say that 1) I am feeling a lot better…about 80%, 2) the run was awesome…slow, but awesome — 4.2 miles, and 3) I did upper body lifting after my run. It’s probably been 9-10 weeks since I last performed ANY form of strength training (confession #2), but I’m ready to change that. I just find weight lifting difficult because it takes so long to do and I don’t see/feel immediate results (i.e. sweat or weight loss). But I have a plan to help encourage myself to be better at this. But more on that another day… I’m ready to get to the FOOD!

Pumpkin and Maple Granola slightly adapted from Loves To Eat

2 old-fashioned cups oats
1/2 cup walnuts pieces
1/4 golden flax seeds whole, ground*
1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey + 1 Tbsp, divided
1/2 cup pumpkin
1-2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I used 1 1/2 tsp)
1-2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat over to 275° F. Mix all ingredients together, reserving 1 tablespoon of honey. Bake for one hour, stirring every 20 mins. Cool a bit on rack while drizzling with just a bit of pure maple syrup drizzle 1 tablespoon of honey over granola and stir well. Bake another 10 mins. Finish cooling. Yield: 6 servings; 1/2 cup each

Nutrition Information (per serving): 278 calories; 9.2 g. fat; 0 mg. cholesterol; 83 mg. sodium; 47.5 g. carbohydrate; 5.7 g. fiber; 25 g. sugar; 6 g. protein

Result: Delicious! I used to make granola a lot in Tulsa (it’s SO easy to make!) and I think I stopped because it was such a trigger food for me. I would keep a jar on the kitchen counter and I would find my little fingers in there multiple times a day – tisk tisk! I like this granola because the portion size is generous for the calories, there is healthy fats, omega 3’s, complex carbohydrate, protein, and fiber…and it’s delicious! I recommend the granola with plain Greek yogurt and just a drizzle of honey…divine! 🙂 *The only necessary change from the original recipe is to use GROUND flax rather than whole flaxseeds. The whole seeds are not broken down and thus none of the fiber or omega-3 benefits are gained from consuming them.

Just like I used to find my little fingers in my granola jar, Mr. Prevention has taken it upon himself, as has my boss, to keep Halloween candy around. While most of Mr. P’s usual candy selections don’t interest me, his recent selections of Dots and Reeses cups ARE of interest…to much interest. One here and there kind of interest, oops!

I am not going to eat ONE piece of candy until Halloween. Not one!

Question: Anyone else want to make a goal they want to reach by October 31st? 😉

…It’s just 2 weeks! My accountability (Mr. P and my office mate) read my blog, so I can’t get away with cheating!! 😀

Halloween candy-free until Halloween,