Fitness Update April 6: Listen to Your Body

April 6, 2017 by Zucchini Runner in Fitness, Life, Running | Comments Off

Whenever there is a change in the seasons, Mr. Zucchini Runner and I need about 2 weeks to adjust. It happens two times a year down here in AZ — once when we are heading out of winter into spring/summer and allergies strike. And once when we are heading out of the hot, hot summer into the cooler temps of winter. It is important to listen to your body during any similar transition and not just plow through. Plowing through often time leads to burnout, injury or just flat out resenting your workouts.

flowering desert cactus AZ listen to your body

Beautiful blooming cactus stopped me in my tracks on last Thursday’s trail run.

We have both found ourselves sleeping in lately versus waking up with our alarms for morning workouts. It’s important to honor what your body is telling you, and listen to your body; guilt-free. Health is not a sprint, it is an ultra marathon. If it is telling you it would rather workout in the evening, listen and do just that. I guarantee in the long run, it will benefit you far greater than pushing through. Besides, a little change in the routine is also good for your mind and body!

fit fam south mountain hidden valley listen to your body

My beautiful niece took this photo of us, while on our 7 mile hike Tuesday evening. We were enjoying the unique area of Hidden Valley on South Mountain — so many plants! Right before this we heard a SWARM of bees fly overhead!

Speaking of changing things up…

I’m going to change up my fitness post and keep it a little more simple this week. I’m trying to head out the door to squeeze in a trail run this evening still.

Fitness Update | Listen to your Body

Below are the workouts I did over the past week:

Friday
REST day

Saturday
11 miles – listened to 5 different podcasts on this run! Soaked up a bunch of knowledge.

Sunday
REST; I did shovel some heavy rocks in the backyard though!

Monday
3.35 mile hike + trail run with a friend

Tuesday
6.8 trail miles of hiking with Fit Fam on South Mountain — it was awesome.

Wednesday
3.4 miles of sunset trail

Thursday
Hitting the trails right now! Check out Instagram and Facebook for the latest post!

listen to your body

If you are interested, here are my previous fitness updates:

March 30th + Scramble On

March 23rd + Eat Plants First; Launch of Etsy Shop

One thing you should never do – March 16th

March 9th

Mesa-Phoenix Half Marathon Race Recap – March 2nd

Until next week!

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

Sleep hard.
Get moving.
Trust Your Gut.

corine signature

Totally still using my Be Well Fitness log!

Granola Goodness

April 5, 2017 by Zucchini Runner in Breakfast, Food, Snacks | 7 Comments

Are you a label reader? I am. I read every label before I put an item in my shopping cart. Years ago I spent 20 minutes in the cereal aisle, trying to find a “healthy” cereal to keep at the office for an emergency snack. EVERYTHING had SO MUCH SUGAR. And most of the them listed multiple types of sweeteners in one cereal… high fructose corn syrup, sugar, brown rice syrup, pure evaporated cane juice. Do we really need more than one kind in a single box of cereal?

A N Y W A Y.

Homemade granola with homemade almond milk.

It was at this point that I decided to make homemade granola, so I could control what goes into it and how it tastes. Granola is still something we try to eat in moderation, because nutritionally it is not really an “A student”… more like a B-/C+ 🙂 Sometimes I try to add things that will boost its grade, and the beauty of homemade granola is you can do the same! Use this recipe as a guide and get creative with your favorite flavors. (Please note, this is an updated version of an existing recipe I’ve had on the blog since 2013. I’m trying to update as many of my old recipes as I can, to reflect my new tastes, experience in the kitchen and ingredients.)

Granola Goodness

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Average:5/5

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Author: Zucchini Runner

Yield: 8 cups

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

Granola Goodness

Ingredients

4 c. old fashioned oats (look for gluten-free oats if you are celiac)

3/4 c. almonds, chopped

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. dried papaya or pineapple, unsulphured, unsweetened is best

1/2 c. coconut flakes, unsweetened

1/4 c. sunflower seeds, raw

1/2 c. maple syrup and or coconut nectar (I used half and half)

1/2 tsp. Real salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl in the order they are listed.

2. Stir to combine and evenly distribute ingredients.

3. Line 2-13"x18" baking sheets (or similar size) with parchment paper and divide the granola mixture among the two sheets, spread out into an even layer.

4. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 10 minutes.

5. Remove pan from oven and use a spatula to flip and rotate mixture to ensure even baking.

6. Place back into oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes. NOTE: Trust your nose, if the smell of the granola baking changes from delicious to something slightly different, it's ready to come out. You don't want to burn the almonds.

7. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.

8. Repeat with second sheet.

9. This made ~8 cups of granola. I filled up two, 4 cup mason jars and put one in the freezer and one in the fridge.

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https://www.zucchinirunner.com/2017/04/05/granola-goodness/

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Homemade Almond Milk

One of the first changes I made in my kitchen, was back in early 2013, when I started making my homemade almond milk. We enjoyed it so much, I raved about it all the time to anyone who would listen. The common complaint was that it would be quicker to run to the store and buy some off the shelf. I would always assure people it was NOT the same.

Then I took it a step further and made this video to show people you could do it from start to finish in 10 minutes. I even went so far as to get my blender out of the pantry during the video! Every step counts, right? If you haven’t tried making homemade almond milk, I highly recommend you give it a shot while the homemade granola is baking in the oven. The two pair together perfectly!

Delicious with homemade almond milk

Archives for April 2017