The Wannabe Foodie http://www.thewannabefoodie.com Slices of my life Wed, 16 May 2012 11:48:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 thewannabefoodiehttp://feedburner.google.com Spinach Summer Salad http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/MFadNrbw3uU/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/spinach-summer-salad/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 11:48:57 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=2105 This weekend I hit up the farmers market for the first time in a while! The market is kept inside in the winter months and moves back outside in the beginning of May. There is something so much more appealing to me about visiting the market when it is outside, especially when the weather is nice! I picked up a bag of fresh spinach with plans on using it for this weeks recipe. This isn’t much of a recipe per say, but more like a quick and easy salad that can be made in bulk for parties (hellloo graduation parties!) and big family dinners. I have been trying to get more avocado in my life, so this was my first attempt at avocado in salad.

Simple Summer Salad

Whatcha Need: 

  • Fresh spinach
  • Cucumber
  • Ripe avocado
  • Feta cheese
  • Cherry tomatoes

How to do it: 

  • Rip up spinach and remove any woody stems
  • Add cherry tomatoes, avocado, feta & cucumbers

For pretty much any salad, I throw together a quick balsamic salad dressing. I really really like the strong flavor of balsamic, so I generally add much more vinegar than oil. It is totally up to you on how much you would like to add. I generally do about 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of yellow mustard and salt & pepper. Wisk together and enjoy!

]]> http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/spinach-summer-salad/feed/ 0 http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/spinach-summer-salad/ Sunday Set-Up? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/aGJacmAobHY/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/sunday-set-up/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 13:56:52 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=2098 More like a Tuesday set-up…but oh well!

 

I have already completed some of my May goals!

Saturday Chris and I went to the drive-ins with a couple friends to see The Avengers, it was really good! Best superhero movie I have seen in a while. Sunday I rearranged my room and vacuumed all of the winter stuffiness out of it. It always feels so good when my room goes into its Summer position! I have also been reading my little heart out.. any guesses what books I have become obsessed with?

5/14-5/20

Monday: 30 Minutes PreCor machine & Weights

Tuesday: Hot Yoga

Wednesday: 3 Mile Run

Thursday: 45 Minutes Cross (Elliptical/ PreCor)

Friday: 2 Mile Run + Strength

Saturday: Rest?

Sunday: Founders Day 15k with these lovely ladies (Heather & Jen)

image via

]]> http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/sunday-set-up/feed/ 1 http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/sunday-set-up/ May Goals http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/-qf9GVjYY5s/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/may-goals/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 14:43:22 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=2089

I am going to try to actively keep monthly goals for myself now that I am DONE with the semester. I finished my last class on Tuesday and have been reacquainting myself with what free time is. This summer I have the opportunity to work full time starting in June, so these remaining free days in May should be spent well! I attempted to keep monthly goals last summer, and truly believe that keeping monthly goals is much better than making a huge list of summer goals. Much less overwhelming.

Fitness: 

Run at least 15 miles a week

Do a “Sunday Set Up” (aka plan workouts for the week)

Begin a weight training plan

Yoga once a week

Food: 

Create & Post 1 new recipe a week

Clean eating

Fun: 

More puppy walks

Find a road bike

Go to the drive-ins

Blogging: 

Design new layout

Clean up unused tags

Make a posting schedule

Personal: 

Move bed under window for Buddy

READ for fun!

What are your summer goals???

(last years July goals & August goals)

image via pinterest

]]> http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/may-goals/feed/ 1 http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/may-goals/ Final Thoughts about the Half Marathon http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/R2gluNdirqg/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/final-thoughts-about-the-half-marathon/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:24:37 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=2062

I have spent the past couple of days thinking about everything related to the Half Marathon this weekend. The race was an amazing experience. I have never felt so strong and accomplished. Running those miles was one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of my life thus far.  After running 13.1 miles I crossed the finish line choking down tears. I am not sure if I was thankful to be DONE running…? Or if I was just so overwhelmed with how lucky I am to have been able to run 13.1 miles in one of the most amazing cities in the world. My legs were sore for three days following the race, and today I miss that feeling a little bit. I can honestly say that I loved every second of the race- the energy, the supporters and the volunteers. It really was an amazing experience. SO amazing that I have already signed up for my next half marathon!

I will be running the Palio half marathon in my home town this September. I am planning on running other races in-between, but am excited to already have a goal race for the running season. This course shouldn’t be as hilly as central park…and hopefully it will be a little cooler. I am already dreaming about a new PR!

]]> http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/final-thoughts-about-the-half-marathon/feed/ 6 http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/final-thoughts-about-the-half-marathon/ New York City Adventures http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/OrJNIbviVM0/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/new-york-city-adventures/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:23:19 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=2042 My travel buddy Jen and I headed down to NYC via Megabus on Friday. After arriving at my cousins apartment, we wanted to find lunch fast! We decided that Candle Cafe would be a good choice. I ordered the Mediterranean Wrap. (hummus, tofu feta, roasted red peppers, chopped romaine and sprouts wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. served with a side of kalamata olive aioli and mesclun salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette). I was a little irked by the thought of tofu feta- but everything tasted great!

After our lunch we did a little window shopping and ended up walking around central park. It was a gorgeous day! After meandering around the park for a while, we headed to the Mandarin Oriental in the Time Warner building at Columbus Circle for outrageously expensive cocktails. I ordered the Pink Ginger Cosmo: Belvedere Pink Grapefruit Vodka, Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur, Cranberry and Lime Juices. Holy delicious (and STRONG!) By this time Jen and I were looking to put up our feet and relax a bit, so we headed back to battery park where we were staying with my cousin. 

After chatting for a while, we wanted to get some dinner! Jen and I didn’t really want to go far, so we decided to go to Inatteso Pizzabar down the street. I had been there before with Chris a while ago, and remembered everything was awesome!


I ordered a small Toscana pizza which had fresh mozzarella, ricotta, prosciutto, cracked egg and black pepper. I enjoyed it with a class of very very smooth red wine. After dinner we went back to the apartment and feel asleep!

Jen and I really enjoyed the relaxed “no plans” attitude that we had for this trip. It was so refreshing to just go where we wanted and enjoy was around us.

]]> http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/new-york-city-adventures/feed/ 0 http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/new-york-city-adventures/ The More / Fitness Magazine Half Marathon http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/oOHfzuy2psk/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/the-more-fitness-magazine-half-marathon/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:47:20 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=1996 Yesterday I ran my first Half Marathon! I can’t believe that it is over. I remember signing up for it months ago and being so excited! I have trained the best that I could while going to school full time and working and am very pleased with my final time! Sunday morning started like most race days. Up before 6 am to try to eat a bagel with peanut butter, drink some water and head down to the start. Before the race, we went to a friend of my cousins who lived across from the park. Jen and I took this time to check out the views from her amazing balcony…!

After a little stretching we all headed down to the start. I checked a bag with my sweatshirt and a water bottle just as it was starting to rain. The forecast for yesterday in NYC was HOT with the chance of rain. Lucky for us the rain stopped just after we started moving in the corrals. After the national anthem and the gun went off it was about 5 minutes before I got over the start. The park is so beautiful! I love the elm trees.

 The course was two complete loops around central park.  There were over 7,000 runners yesterday so everyone was moving kinda slowly. My first three miles were actually pretty good! I had to keep telling myself to slow down though- I didn’t want to get going at a pace that I couldn’t hold for a while.

Mile 1: 10:18
Mile 2: 10:15
Mile 3: 9:59

At that point you start climbing the first hill at the north east end of the park. At this point I stopped and used a porta potty- I couldn’t hold it anymore!! (PS- WHY were there only 2 porta pottys per stop?…7,000 women were running!!) ANYWAY. After my mini break (where I stopped my watch) I got started again. I realized that attempting to run the hill was getting me as far as the people walking it were, so I decided walking the hills was okay.  After mile 4 everything started to blend together anyway.

Mile 4 11:05
Mile 5 10:58
Mile 6 10:42
Mile 7 10:37
Mile 8 11:14
Mile 9 10:39

I started to get really tired after mile 9- I had never run more than 10 miles before at once, so when I passed the mile 10 marker I knew I was getting close. Just another 5k! It was pretty hot out and the sun was in my face but I kept pushing. I made sure to take water and have a couple sips at each station so I stayed hydrated. By mile 10 I started seeing a lot of people passing out and medics on the course. I did NOT want that!

Mile 10 12:18
Mile 11 11:58
Mile 12 11:00

At mile 12 I passed the original starting line where an announcer was blasting music and talking about the race. That made me think that the finish line was around the corner! I sped up only to remember that there was 1.1 mile left! The longest. mile. ever. After mile 12  I saw about 4 people pass out. One of them was just before the finish line!

Mile 13 11:32
.22 2:19

Overall I finished in 2 hours 24 minutes and 59 seconds (garmin time) with an average pace of 10:57. For a race in the heat with so many hills, I gladly take that! Not horrible for a first half marathon. Now I have something that I can beat ;-)

My official time (2:32) is wrong because of the wait at the porta potty at mile 3!

]]> http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/the-more-fitness-magazine-half-marathon/feed/ 1 http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/the-more-fitness-magazine-half-marathon/ Improvements http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/p7DISU65Mt0/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/improvements/#comments Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:11:04 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=1988 This past Sunday I had what I will consider my first real “race” of the season. It was a five mile race on a relatively flat loop course. The morning of the race I felt okay, but was nervous and a bit anxious. It was cold and dreary out and there was high chance of rain all day. I hate running in the rain. Wet feet gross me out!

My friend Sarah came to my house and we drove up to the race with about an hour to get our race numbers and hangout. The rain stopped and the gun went off! I put myself in the middle of the pack and regretted it once we got started. My first mile was done in 9:19- FAST for me! I was nervous that I put myself in a bad position and was going to burn out. I kept chugging along and found a guy that had a comfortable pace that I stuck behind. I stayed with him until about mile 4 where I introduced myself. I felt like he had to have noticed me stalking him the past 3 miles. We chatted a bit and I told him how he was really keeping me going. When I looked at my watch after finishing the 4th mile and saw 38:07 I was in shock. I had a goal of completing this race in 50ish minutes, giving myself about 10 minutes a mile. I was blowing that goal out of the water! I was getting tired though. 4 miles at a pace of about 9:30 is pretty quick for me.  I kept my head up and finished the race with a time of 47:56.

I finished the race with these splits:

Mile 1: 9:19
Mile 2: 9:33
Mile 3: 9:32
Mile 4: 9:43
Mile 5: 9:34

I am so proud out myself for finishing this race strongly. This race was at a perfect point in my half marathon training. I feel confident about myself and am excited for the race. I only have two more long runs planned before race day. I can’t wait!

Side note: My friend Sarah finished the race in 37 minutes and came in first in her age group! SO proud of her! I am so lucky to have such amazing runners in my life.

]]> http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/improvements/feed/ 1 http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/improvements/ Half Marathon Training http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/_XhuoeBwIcI/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/half-marathon-training/#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:00:10 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=1948 So. I signed up a for a half marathon on April 15th. Now I just need to make sure that I can actually do it! Before training actually began I studied different training plans and settled on Hal Higdon’s novice training plan. I thought it looked doable, and was excited to get started. Then the spring semester started. The last thing you want to do after working and going to school all day is run. That is fact. Quickly I realized that this plan was not going to work. I knew that I was doing alright though, and wasn’t stressing about how I would train. I knew that I could easily run 5 miles and had done that distance a couple of times.

I have been adding mileage to my long runs on the weekends and have been trying to incorporate cross-training and yoga into my schedule to stay sane. My PDR as of today is 9 miles. I am very happy with this number. Knowing that I have about 40 days left before the race and am already comfortable running that distance makes me feel good about my training. Training for a half marathon hasn’t been exactly what I thought it would be.  I have been lucky to have my friend Sarah run with me the past two long runs. She is a great runner and really keeps me going. I am going to scale back my long run this weekend and then up it again for the last hurrah before tapering. I can’t believe that the race is in less than 50 days! 

One thing that surprises me after a long run is how HUNGRY I am. I am not necessarily hungry the day that I run, but the days following I seem to just be starving. I am trying to keep my eating in check,  as well as keep the amount of water I am drinking up.

]]> http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/half-marathon-training/feed/ 2 http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/half-marathon-training/ A day off http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/Lcdk-PI_4b8/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/a-day-off/#comments Sat, 03 Mar 2012 15:44:01 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=1940 This past week, upstate NY has gotten the winter weather that we have been missing for the past 4 months! Nothing like a snow storm on March 1st to shake things up a bit. Because we have been without snow for so long, schools basically closed with the anticipation that snow was coming (they have lots of snow days they haven’t used!). My work closed for the day and my class was cancelled for the evening. It was awesome. It felt so good to have so much nothing to do.

I spent the day by making muffins, playing with my Squashington outside, and venturing to Target and buying new sheets and a muscle massage stick.  I have been looking for one of these for a while, seeing that my distances running are increasing I wanted to get one soon. I have nine miles on the docket for today, so I will let you guys know if it helps!

I am writing a post on how my running has been, as well as a couple of recipe posts. See you all soon!

]]> http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/a-day-off/feed/ 3 http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/a-day-off/ Let the fun begin! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewannabefoodie/~3/BE91BXbJiqs/ http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/let-the-fun-begin/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:11:07 +0000 Alicia http://www.thewannabefoodie.com/?p=1917

Hello All! Today is my first day of classes for the spring semester. I am sad that winter break is over, but really enjoyed my time off. I am anxious for classes to begin and can’t wait to have a busy schedule again! I am taking 4 classes this semester, working part-time and will be training for the half marathon in April. Talk about busy! I have really embraced Google calendar. Holy time saver! I have been able to plan out my days so they don’t seem so overwhelming. I also have been able to arrange my runs on days where I know I will actually have time to get them done.  I guess the true test will be when I have long runs & projects to do. This semester will be a true test of willpower and strength for me, and I am really excited! This should be my last semester full of classes, after this I should only have 1 or 2 classes and my large internships. I can’t believe that this program is almost over! It has been a great experience, but I am so excited to get out in the real world.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of spending some time with so of my best friends that I have met through blogging. Emily, Melissa and I got together at Jen’s apartment for brunch. We spent the morning catching up and eating lots of yummy food.

 

If you would like the recipe for the apple cake that I made for brunch (to right picture) you can find it here.

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