Just J.Faye

Hiking & Other Adventures

05.03.15 Weekly Recap: Food + Fitness + Fun

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Fargo Half Marathon

Despite the weather being a bit cloudier and cooler than I would like, it was a great week. I tried out a new recipe, tried two new DharmaCycle classes, onboarded two new guides for City Running Tours, ran a half marathon (with some minor issues) and went to the cabin for the first time this year!

Read all about it here…….

FOOD:

The food highlights for the week:

  • I’m still obsessed with my super food muesli for breakfast. Never gets old.
  • Pineapple made its way back into my life. I cut one up and divided it out for my mid-morning snack. This will only get better as summer rolls on.
  • The abundance of Mexican food recipes popping up everywhere the last few weeks inspired my lunches this week: kale salad with avocado, red peppers, corn, black beans, and cilantro. Yum.
  • Sugar snap peas and hummus tied me over between lunch and dinner.
  • These sweet potato chickpea Buddha bowls were my dinner this week and I am obsessed -> Sweet potatoes and chickpeas, I love them. I swoon over anything with tahini. Kale, because kale. Plus, I’ve never purchased or cooked with broccolini before and I have no clue why. I’ll definitely be making these (or some sort of similar version) again very soon.
  • I polished off a box of Lucky Charms this week for dessert. I’m in love with cereal, which is the exact reason I never buy it. But when they hand it out at work for free… well, I just can’t say no.
  • Friday night before the Fargo Half Marathon my mom and I went to Toasted Frog in Fargo for dinner where we ordered sweet potato fries, pepperoni pizza, and roma-sonoma pizza. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we only ended up eating half of each pizza. This actually worked out great, because we kept the leftovers and ate them after the race!
  • I spent Saturday night at the family cabin with my parents. Our neighbors brought over dinner and we had a delicious meal: grilled raspberry-chipotle pork chops, a salad full of veggies, roasted potatoes, and some crusty bread. For dessert we all split a mini chocolate cake and a mini vanilla bean cake that my mom and I picked up from Nichole’s Fine Pastry before we left Fargo. Everything was absolutely amazing – the food and the company.

FITNESS:

  • Sunday: DharmaCycle Yoga 2. This was my first time taking a true yoga class at this studio and I really enjoyed it!
  • Monday: Strength + easy run. I started out the day with DharmaCycle Prime Yoga (I love this class). Then in the after work I met with a new City Running Tours guide (!!) for a run. We did the Beer Run 5K route and then I added on an additional 2 miles at the end. Total = 5.2 miles.
  • Tuesday: Easy run. I met up with another new City Running Tours guide (!!!) for the first 3 miles of my run then ran another 4.5 miles. Total = 7.5 miles; 8:55 min/mile pace (I only tracked the pace of my last 4.5 miles).
  • Wednesday: DharmaCycle cycle class. I finally tried out the cycle class at Dharma. I really liked it! I’ve been really impressed with this studio.
  • Thursday: Marathon pace workout. Well, this started as a marathon pace workout, but I was kind of going in and out of it. Part of the issue was that I don’t know what I want what my marathon pace to be. Total = 7.0 miles; 9:01 min/mile pace.
  • Friday: Rest day. Making sure my legs are well rested for the Fargo Half Marathon!
  • Saturday: Fargo Half Marathon. I registered for this half marathon with my mom. She wanted to cross “run a half marathon” off of her bucket list and asked if I wanted to do it too, which I did. The race went ok (more details below). Afterwards I ran two recovery miles back along the course to find my mom, then accompanied her for the last two miles of her race. Total = 13.1 miles; 9:02 min/mile + 4 miles recovery (run/jog/walk)
  • Weekly Totals: 1 yoga class, 1 strength training session, 1 cross-training session, 4 runs (36.8 miles), 1 day rest.

RACE RECAP:

I started the race with the 1:55 pace group with the plan to pick up the pace for the last 5K. It was my first time running with a pace group. I have had intentions of running with a pacer in previous races, but could never find/navigate to them in the start line crowds. This time was successful! Usually during a race I spend too much time the first few miles worrying about if I am going too fast or too slow. While running with the pacer I didn’t look at my GPS watch at all and just trusted that he was keeping the steady pace for me, which really helped ease my mind! I really want to run with a pacer during Grandma’s.

But anyways, the run. I felt great for the first 8 miles – time was flying by! Then suddenly just before mile 9 I felt like I was going to pass out. It’s not like I was gasping for breath or running really hard. I just got really faint and dizzy and had to stop to regain composure. Then I slowed way down and concentrated on taking deep breaths and finishing the race. At mile 12 I tried to pick up the pace a little bit, but I got dizzy again at about 12.8, then really just almost lost it at 13.0. As in, I had to stop in my tracks as people were sprinting towards the finish until I could see again. I finished in 1:58, which is fine considering the circumstances, but I was hoping for a stronger race.

(Side note: Has this ever happened to anyone?! Something similar happened when I ran the Hot Dash 10 Mile in March. It’s really annoying and a little bit scary, so if anyone has suggestions on what to do, that would be great!!)

After I crossed the finish line and drank some water, I went back out to the course to find my mom. I ran 2 miles (which was great for recovery) and found her just before mile 11. She was doing awesome! We finished out the race together. I am so extremely proud of her!! This was a stretch goal for her and a huge accomplishment. She’s one truly amazing lady.

Besides the whole issue with almost fainting while running, the Fargo Half Marathon was great and a very well-organized race. I loved how it started and ended inside the Fargodome, especially because it was a chilly morning (but perfect running weather). The course was flat and featured a lot of live bands and DJs. The spectators and volunteers were fantastic. The medals are fun and the shirts are decent. The parking situation during packet pickup was a nightmare (the 5K had just ended in the same spot), but the shuttles before and after the half marathon were a breeze. Overall, I had a great experience would recommend this race!

OTHER FUN THINGS:

  • Last Sunday I met up with a couple of friends for drinks on the patio at Tuggs. The weather started out as a gorgeous 80 degrees, then it got really cloudy and dark, and then started hailing. So bizarre. Almost every time (maybe like 67% of the time) I go to Tugg’s there is some sort of extreme weather. But anyways, it was good to catch up with friends – lots of wonderful things are happening!!
  • I was able to spend a lot of time with my mom over Friday and Saturday, which was a lot of fun. She is… so funny. A lot of silly things happened, but they would sound dumb if I tried to type them out all, so just trust me. If you’ve ever met my mom I’m sure you can imagine. Again, I’m so incredibly proud of her for finishing the half marathon and I’m glad I got to share the experience with her.
  • It was so, so exciting to go to the Jabin (AKA our family’s cabin) for the first time this year and hang out with my parents and our neighbors (Paul and Cynde). I love that place. I am planning on going to the Jabin basically every weekend this summer, so if you want to hang out you’ll have to meet me up north.

Hope your week was great! Don’t forget to tell your mom, “I love you” if you haven’t yet!

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Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

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These cherry walnut butterscotch blondies were born from an “I want to bake right now” mood.

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

On Tuesday night during my run I decided that I was going to go home and bake afterwards. Throughout my last few miles I was mentally going through my pantry, trying to figure out what I could make that would be simple, quick, and delicious.

Blondies, of course! That would be perfect.

Blondies are so easy to throw together. As long as you have butter, flour, sugar, and an egg you’re all set! And who is not consistently stocked up with these things?!

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

One of the fun things about blondies is that you can add whatever mix-ins you have in your pantry. Luckily I had just stocked up on various nuts and dried fruits and knew I had some sort of chip (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, or butterscotch) stored in my freezer.

After getting home and physically looking at my pantry I decided that cherry walnut butterscotch blondies were the way to go.

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

But, PROBLEM. I was out of vanilla extract. How in the heck does that even happen?! Butter, sugar, flour, eggs, I had, but no vanilla. Gahhh. Oh well, I was too excited about the idea of these to give up, so I just nixed the vanilla.

And you know what? They still turned out amazing. The sweetness of the butterscotch and cherries made the vanilla unnecessary. Thank goodness.

(Note to self: add vanilla extract to my grocery shopping list. Flour too, just in case.)

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

An awesome thing about baking blondies is that you don’t need a mixer. You can make them with a medium saucepan, a large spoon, and some measuring equipment. Cleanup is also super quick, which is always a bonus.

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

These cherry walnut butterscotch blondies are perfect for those “I need to bake right now” moments (or even for planned baking events). They are gooey, full of texture, quick, easy, and so delicious!

Know who would really love and appreciate them? Your mom.

I mean that seriously, it wasn’t one of those “your mom” jokes.

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies
 
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Blondies are always quick, simple, and delicious. Add in some toasted walnuts, tart dried cherries, and butterscotch chips to make them extra tasty!
Serves: 16 bars
Ingredients
  • 1 cup walnuts, halved or coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup butterscotch chips, divided
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup dried tart cherries
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the blondies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease with butter or oil spray.
  2. Spread the walnuts on a baking pan and toast in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, stirring once or twice to ensure they don’t burn. Once toasted, set aside.
  3. Melt the butter and ¼ cup butterscotch chips in a medium saucepan.
  4. Mix in the brown sugar until smooth, then beat in the egg.
  5. Stir in the flour until just combined.
  6. Fold in the walnuts, cherries, and remaining butterscotch chips (feel free to save a little of each to sprinkle on the top).
  7. Place batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. It will be thick. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts, cherries, and butterscotch chips on top (if you remembered to save them) and pat down slightly.
  8. Bake for 23-25 minutes.
  9. Cool completely before removing bars from the pan. Then cut and enjoy!

Speaking of moms, my mom and I are going to go run the Fargo Half Marathon! RIGHT NOW. It’s my 5th (I think?) half and my mom’s 1st! She’s going to be awesome. Then we’re going to go to the cabin and spend the rest of the weekend relaxing. It’ll be perfect.

Sending lots of love to all the moms out there! You’re amazing. xoxo

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

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Thursday Things 05.07.15

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Thursday Things 05.07.15

Don’t you just love a big cup of coffee from a coffee shop? I do.

I also love all of these things that I came across this week:

Have a good one!

JD

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The Fit 5: Balance Training

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It only seems fitting that I should post my next “The Fit 5” on 05.05.15. Really, it was pure coincidence, but the stars must be aligned today.

Today, on this day full of 5s, we’re going to learn about balance.

The Fit 5: Balance

Balance is important in many aspects -> balancing work and life, balancing healthy eating with a few indulgences, balancing running with cross training, balancing introvert time with social activities, balancing on one foot… it’s all important.

I’m better at some of these than others. I’m not going to say which ones.

For this post specifically I’m going to talk about balance training for you body – what it means, why it’s important, and how we can incorporate more of it in our lives.

Let’s kick it off with 5 Fit Facts about balance:

The Fit 5: Balance

Based on all of those facts, you can see why it is important to incorporate some balance training in your exercise routine. You can start out with something as simple as balancing on one leg for 30 seconds. Once you have that mastered try to master it on a half foam roll, then a wobble board, and eventually a bosu ball. This could take weeks (or months!) to progress through, but by progressing slowly and properly you will be increasing your neuromuscular efficiency and the strength in your stabilizer muscles.

Besides standing on one leg, here are some other balance exercises that you can add into your routine:

The Fit 5: Balance

You will notice that a lot of these exercises mention to “hold for a few seconds” before continuing with movement. This is where you are really going to challenge your balance. Make sure to engage your muscles and focus on stabilizing your body before moving on.

You can add 1 or 2 of these exercises before/during/after your normal strength training routine. You could also make an entire workout just focused on your balance by cycling through these in a circuit.

Don’t forget to check out the other The Fit 5 posts: shoulders, biceps, triceps, and chest!

Another way that you can train your balance today is by ditching the chips and dip veggies into your guac instead… while you enjoy a margarita – happy Cinco de Mayo!

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04.26.15 Weekly Recap: Food + Fitness + Fun

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04.26.15 weekly recap

This week was a little bit different from my typical, since I was in Toronto for work Wednesday-Friday. I went to meet with the General Mills Canada team and to visit my warehouses and traveled with my friend Kim (who is my counterpart in Transportation). Overall, it was a great trip and super valuable in terms of relationship building. It did throw off my fitness routine a little bit, but sometimes you just gotta roll with it. So I did.

FOOD:

I have this split pre-Toronto and in Toronto.

  • Breakfasts: Pre-Toronto = super food muesli. In Toronto = oatmeal with a lot of fruit.
  • Lunches: Pre-Toronto = Salad with a bunch of greens, ½ grapefruit, ¼ cup black beans, 3 oz grilled chicken breast and a drizzle of tahini. In Toronto = salads with some sort of protein and various vegetables.
  • Dinners: Pre-Toronto = Salmon en papillote with lemon & asparagus and some brown rice. In Toronto = see below.
  • Snacks: Pre-Toronto = raspberries in the mornings, baby carrots in the afternoons, and healthy black bean brownies after dinner.
  • Saturday Brunch: I made this roasted tomato and zucchini clafoutis with whipped lemon-oregano feta again. So, so good.
  • Some fun eats:
    • On Wednesday one of our Canadian co-workers organized a happy hour, so that we could meet some people and talk with them outside of work. We went to the Irish Shebeen because it was close to the office. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly! It made me feel really excited about working with this team.
    • Later that night Kim, Paul (who was also visiting Toronto from Minneapolis) went to Moxie’s for dinner. Some people from the office recommended it to us because it had good food and it was close to our hotel. They also told us it was like a high-class Hooters, which it was. Apparently they only hire model-esque people and do not allow employees to date. Anyways, I have the seared ginger tuna salad and a glass of Malbec. Both were delicious.
    • On Thursday night two of our co-workers took Kim and I out to dinner in Toronto (since the office is actually in a suburb) so that we could actually see the city. We went to Le Select Bistro, an adorable restaurant with a menu full of delicious things. We got a bottle of Sancerre for the table. For food I went with one of the prix fixe menus and got the salade maison, duck confit, and crème brûlée. Everything was amazing. Afterwards we headed to Valdez to meet up with some other co-workers for post-dinner drinks. It was a super fun night.

FITNESS:

As I mentioned, my travel put a wrench in my workouts, but still not a bad week overall.

  • Sunday: A tempo workout turned into an easy run + yoga. Since I was travelling for work the back half of the week I wanted to make sure to fit in my tempo runs before I left. I planned to do 2-4x 10-minute tempos with a short rest in between. I tried, but I just couldn’t, which was both annoying and frustrating. I don’t know if there were lingering things from when I wasn’t feeling good Friday and Saturday or if it was mental. Either way, it was a struggle. After attempting two rounds of tempo I just finished out the run at an easy pace. Total = 6.0 miles; 9:25 min/mile pace. Then I took a Core Power Heated Power Yoga class and felt much better.
  • Monday: Strength + Intervals. I started out the day with a morning DharmaCycle Prime Yoga class. Then after work I headed to the treadmill for some intervals. I did 4x ½-mile @ 8:00 min/mile pace + 4x ¼-mile @ 7:30 min/mile pace with recovery in between and a little bit of warm up and cool down running. Total = 5.0 miles.
  • Tuesday: Easy run. I met up with my friend Lindsey for an easy 6-mile morning run downtown. My legs were sore from Monday’s workout and hers were too, so it was nice to do an easy run and catch up a little bit. It was a gorgeous spring morning and there were so many people out running! Total = 6.0 miles; 9:45 min/mile pace.
  • Wednesday: Rest day. I hadn’t planned for this to be a rest day, but I was up at 3:30am to get to the airport and was go go go until I got back to the hotel in Toronto at 10:00pm. I wasn’t thrilled about missing a workout, but whatever. Life happens.
  • Thursday: Cross Training. The hotel had a decent gym. I planned to do some sprints on the treadmill and some strength training circuits, but the treadmills (all 2 of them) were being used, so I did the elliptical instead. I did a warm-up then 7x 1-minute intervals at 10 resistance followed by a 1-minute recovery then a couple minutes of cool down. Then I did two sets of the following strength training circuits – 1st: Romanian dead lifts, biceps curls, triceps extensions, weighted side dips; 2nd: sumo squats with shoulder press, bent-over rows, chest press, plank knee-to-elbow.
  • Friday: Rest day. I was thinking about waking up early to do about 20-minutes on the bike, but after a late night on Thursday I decided it would be best to get more sleep and save my legs for Saturday’s long run.
  • Saturday: Long run. This was the longest run of training yet – 18 miles! I finally joined run club for a run and ran it nice and easy with my friend Lindsey. Starting out at a slower pace definitely helped me feel good throughout the run. The last few miles were definitely tough, because I was starting to really feel it in my legs, but overall it felt great considering it was my first 18-mile run in quite some time. Plus, it was an absolutely gorgeous morning! Total = 18.0 miles; 9:35 min/mile pace
  • Total: 1 yoga class, 2 strength training sessions, 35 miles.

OTHER FUN THINGS:

  • The trip to Toronto was so fantastic. It was hectic and busy and exhausting, but it was so great to finally meet the people I have been talking to on the phone weekly since February. A lot of work can be done remotely, but face-to-face time is also so valuable. We didn’t get to explore too much of the city, but Kim and I decided that the next time we travel there we will definitely need to stay for the weekend.
  • Saturday was a beautiful, hot, sunny day, so I met up with some friends in the late afternoon to grab some drinks on patios around Minneapolis – summer is here!!!

I hope you had a great week and got to enjoy the sunshine!

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Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Clafoutis with Whipped Lemon-Oregano Feta

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Everybody listen up. I have a super simple and delicious brunch recipe for you: Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Clafoutis with Whipped Lemon-Oregano Feta.

It’s amazingggggg.

Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Clafoutis

I first discovered clafloutis during my Google and Pinterest searches for a dessert to bring to a French-themed dinner (like this picnic-themed or this bacon-themed dinner). I originally wanted to make a crepe cake, but I um… it just seemed like a lot of work. A clafoutis on the other hand, is very easy and approachable. Plus, it sounds super fancy: clafoutis.

I ended up making this Cherry one from Saveur. My friends were skeptical at first (“Wait, what is this?!” “A cla-foo-tee.  I think that’s how you say it?”) but they liked it and we ate the whole thing.

Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Clafoutis

During my searches I also came across many savory versions and thought it would be a fun brunch recipe to try out.

So I did! And it was! Hooray!

The clafoutis itself is a simple batter of flour, eggs, milk, and a little bit of cream cheese that has been blended (or thoroughly whisked) together. It’s studded with tomatoes and zucchini that have been roasted with a little bit of olive oil and oregano. Then it’s topped with a whipped lemon-oregano feta spread.

Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Clafoutis

It’s hard to say what I love most about this because there are so many things:

  1. The popover-like batter with its crispy edges and airy interior.
  2. The roasted tomatoes and zucchini that are just oozing with so much flavor.
  3. The feta that has been whipped with cream cheese, lemon, and oregano to create an amazingly delicious spread.

I guess that’s only 3, but that’s 3 major things.

Besides tasting incredible, it is also very simple to prepare. You could even make the whipped feta and roasted vegetables the night before if you needed extra time in the morning – huge win.

Plus, it sounds cool and all your brunch guests will be impressed.

Annnddddd it’s pretty healthy, so you won’t feel sluggish and guilty after eating this.

I served this roasted tomato and zucchini clafoutis with a small loaf of crusty bread and a mixed green salad simply dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. It was good. Really good. I want to make it (and eat it) again and again and again.

I think you would like it too. Sooooo… try it out. OH! And then if you do make it, take a picture and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #justjfaye. I would love, love, love to see everything you make! Seriously.

Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Clafoutis

Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Clafoutis
 
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This savory clafoutis recipe is studded with roasted tomatoes and zucchini. It's a simple and healthy brunch recipe that will impress your guests!
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1 cup zucchini, cut into ¼” cubes
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • ⅔ cup milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon cream cheese
  • ⅓ cup flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • ½ tablespoon butter
  • Whipped lemon-oregano feta (see below for recipe)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.
  2. Place the tomatoes and zucchini on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and oregano, then toss until the olive oil is evenly distributed. Bake for 20 minutes. Feel free to check at 10 minutes and give the veggies a stir. When done, set aside.
  3. Combine the milk, egg, cream cheese, flour, and a little bit of salt and pepper in a blender and process until smooth, about a minute. Alternately you can thoroughly whisk the mixture together, just make sure everything is smooth and combined.
  4. Put the butter in an 7-inch cast iron pan and place in the oven for about a minute until melted. With an oven mitt (do not burn yourself!) move the cast iron pan around so that the melted butter coats the entire bottom and sides of the pan.
  5. Pour the batter into the cast iron, then drop in your veggies (you may not need all of them).
  6. Bake for 30 minutes. It will be puffed up a bit.
  7. Let clafoutis cool slightly before cutting. Serve with whipped lemon-oregano feta!

Whipped Lemon-Oregano Feta
 
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This whipped feta is tangy and delicious. It's great spread on the clafoutis or as a dip for bread and veggies.
Ingredients
  • 6 ounces feta cheese, room temperature
  • ¼ cup whipped cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, about 4-5 minutes.
  2. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

By the way, do you use Yummly? It’s a website where you can search, save, and share recipes! You can even separate them into different collections like “Summer BBQ”, “Brunch”, or “Pizza Night”. I just added the Yummly button to all my posts, so all you have to do is set up an account (if you don’t have one already), then press the “Yum” button at the bottom of the post and it will be saved to your Recipe Box. I suggest you check it out, especially if you love drooling over delicious recipes!

Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Clafoutis

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