OC Half Marathon Playlist

You can take the girl out of the club, but not the club out of the girl.  I made my playlist last week and then listened to it on my run this weekend.  Some edits were made and this is the final cut. I am optimistic it will carry me through to the end with some pep in my step.

Dirty Water - The Standells

Get Low - Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz

#1 - Nelly

The Boys of Summer - Don Henley

Love Sex Magic - Ciara 

In The Air - Morgan Page, Sultan & Ned Shepard & BP

Bounce - Calvin Harris

Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine

Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine

Champion - Kanye West

Sunshine - Matisyahu

Waka Waka - Shakira

Fall Into The Skay - Zedd & Lucky Date

Spectrum (Say My Name) - Florence +The Machine

You've Got the Love - Florence + The Machine

Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Clarity (feat. Foxes) - Zedd

The Night Out (A-Trak Remix) - Martin Solveig

Follow You Down - Zedd

Stronger - Kanye West

Just One Last Time - David Guetta

As Your Friend - Afrojack

Pompeii (Monsieur Adi Remix) - Bastille

4 Minutes - Madonna 

I Need Your Love - Calvin Harris

Sweet Nothing - Calvin Harris

Thinking About You - Calvin Harris

Miami 2 Ibiza - Swedish House Mafia

Get Buck In Here - DJ Felli Fel

'Till I Collapse - Eminem & Nate Dogg

Calabria 2008 - Enur

Where Them Girls At - David Guetta, Flo Rida

Turn Me On - David Guetta, Nicki Minaj

U Make Me Wanna - Edde Amador &

Boomerang - DJ Felli Fel 

I'm a Machine - David Guetta, Crystal

Lose My Breath - Destiny's Child

I'm Still Standing - Elton John

Dirty Water - The Standells

Walk This Way - Aerosmith

Easy Kale Salad

 Easy Kale Salad

1 Bunch Kale, stemmed and washed
1 T. Olive Oil
2 T. Balsamic Vinegar
1 Cup Pitted and Sliced Cherries (you can substitute dried cherries or cranberries)
1 T. Sunflower Seeds
Maldon Sea Salt, to taste

Ingredients 

1) Remove center rib from kale, cut kale into bite size pieces and wash. I use a salad spinner and the kids help with that spinning the leaves dry.

2) Mix dried kale leaves with 1 T. olive oil.  Use your hands and massage the kale for at least three (3) minutes.  It will soften the kale and release the bitterness.

3) Drizzle with 2 T. balsamic vinegar

4) Top with cherries and sunflower seeds

5) Sprinkle with salt**Maldon Sea Salt is flaky and strong, a pinch will go a long way.

Finished Salad with Fresh Cherries

Finished Salad with Dried Cherries

Hey Mr. DJ

I love music. Happy songs, sad songs, fast, slow, it doesn't really matter. Music has always been able to transport me to a time and place, often I find myself with silly grin plastered on my face when I hear a song that reminds of a good time.

I grew up in the era of mixed tapes. It took hours, days even, to craft the perfect mixed tape and they often symbolized friendship or love. It seems so archaic that we requested songs on the radio and waited for them to be played so we could record them.

Times have changed and I now make my playlists on ITunes and play my music on my IPhone, but I still spend a lot of time figuring out what songs makes the cut. I usually do my long runs on the weekend so on Fridays I download 2-3 new songs to mix up my current playlist.

In preparation for my half marathon next week, I looked through my current long run playlist and started making edits. I know you can synch your running to the beats and plan out your miles to specific tunes but I just don't have that attention to detail. Instead I focus on creating a playlist that evokes a party atmosphere.

The playlist usually starts off with some classic tunes, songs from high school and college, that remind me of my friends and times gone by. Then I add some newer, faster songs usually club music or hip hop. The songs at the end are mishmash of songs that fire me up and songs that make me happy. I always include Dirty Water by the Standells which is played at Fenway Park.

What's on your playlist? Do you like to spend time perfecting the order or are you more of a shuffle person?

Snack Attack

In a perfect world, I would always feed my family healthy unpackaged meals that I lovingly prepare at home.  The reality is that I am busy, often in a rush and when a preschooler is hungry you have seconds to procure a snack or you will have an epic meltdown on your hands.

In order to stave off the nasties, I stock my house, car and purse with a plethora of good for you snacks that are made with ingredients you can pronounce.  To find healthy and chemical free snacks you need to be a food detective.

When a person sees that a food is low in calories or fat they are tricked into thinking a food is good for them. The truth is, in order to make those sugar free and low calorie snacks, the manufacturers replace food with chemicals. To make the best, most healthy choice, start by reading the ingredients first and then look at the nutritional information.

Here are a few of my favorite snacks that are kid and mom approved:

1) Kind Bars and Mojo Bars, they use real whole foods like nuts, spices and chocolate to make satisfying and filling snacks.  I keep these in my purse for myself but don't hesitate if my children want to eat one as a snack since I know they don't contain artificial ingredients.

Kind Bar and Mojo Bars

2) I love these GoGo Squeez Applesauce pouches.  Trader Joe's also carries applesauce pouches that are similar.  The ingredients are listed as Apple, Banana, Apple Juice Concentrate, Lemon Juice Concentrate.  They have a variety of flavors. 

GoGoSqeez Applesauce, can be found at Whole Foods, Costco and Target.

3)Freeze dried fruit is great to have on hand, this is from Trader Joe's and is unsweetened and unsulfured. No added sugar, just dehydrated strawberries.  My kids like to munch on them straight out of the bag, but you can throw them on top of cereal or yogurt too.

4) These packets of Justin's Nut Butters are great to throw in your bag.  They aren't filled with sugar and can be eaten right out of the package or on whole grain crackers.

Justin's Honey Peanut Butter, can be found at Whole Foods and Target. 

5) I also like to have small bottles of water or these Horizon Organic shelf stable milks on hand.  The chocolate flavor is really good and I sometimes steal those from the kids as recovery drink post gym. 

Horizon Organic Milk

What is your favorite snack?

Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower has never been my favorite vegetable. I've tried several recipes using various cooking techniques and this is a winner. It was originally mentioned on the Dr. Oz show a while back.   It is a favorite of my entire family and it has turned me into a lover of cauliflower.

Roasted Cauliflower 

1 tsp. Black Pepper

1 tsp. Tumeric

1 tsp. Garlic Salt 

1 T. Olive Oil 

1 Head Cauliflower, cut into small florets

1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees, and line large baking tray with tinfoil.

2) Combine first three spices together and set aside.

3) Toss cut cauliflower with olive oil and place on baking tray.

4) Sprinkle cauliflower with spice mixture.

5) Place baking tray in oven and roast for one hour.

6) Cauliflower will be soft, have a yellowish hue and will taste slightly sweet.

Cauliflower Uncooked

Cooked Cauliflower 

Serving Suggestions:

May be served as a side dish, especially good with rice and chicken.

I sometimes make this into a light lunch by cooking a package of couscous, topping it with roasted cauliflower, kalamata olives, parsley and toasted pine nuts.  

Stuffed Vegetables

Here is an easy one pot recipe that I cook regularly for my family.  This is a traditional Armenian dish which I have eaten since childhood.  Each family has their own spin on this recipe and often calls it Dolma. 

Stuffed Vegetables

1 Pound Ground Beef

1/2 Cup Uncle Ben's Rice 

4 Green Bell Peppers

4 Tomatoes 

4 Green Zucchini

Salt and Pepper

1) Wash and core vegetables.  Set aside. 

2) Rinse rice and mix with ground beef, season with salt and pepper. 

3) Stuff vegetables with meat and rice mixture and place snugly in a pot.  Vegetables can be stacked on top of each other and extra meat can be made into meatballs and cooked along side vegetables. 

4) Add 2 cups of water to the pot. 

5) Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low and cover pot.  

6) Vegetables are done when rice is cooked, about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours.  

They may be served plain or topped with plain yogurt that has been mixed with garlic.

Uncooked Stuffed Vegetables 

Why I Am Raising Runners

The bombing of the Boston Marathon has left me shattered.  As a runner, as a mother and as a former citizen of the City of Boston, it has devastated me.  Today I woke up and thought it was time to stop dwelling and crying, it was time to refocus my energy on being a better person and making the world a better place.

This morning, I looked at my children, who were still sleeping, and assembled their Red Sox caps and running shoes.  Today we would run together.  We will run for those who lost their lives, those who lost their limbs and those who lost friends and family.  That is what runners do, we run for ourselves and we run for those who cannot.

Children love to run, it is innate.  Running is a celebration of life and a joyous expression for children.  It is something that should be encouraged and nurtured.  My two children having been runners since they learned how to walk, I needed to become a runner just to keep up with them.

Within the past year they have run three fun runs.  They received medals, t-shirts and tons of swag.  What they really received was confidence, community and self-reliance.  I don't know if they will ever win a race or compete on an elite level, but I do know that running makes them happy and hopefully will remain a life-long habit.  That is why I am raising them to be runners.

The next time your kid is running around the house and driving you crazy.  Put the sneakers on and head outside, let them run and run and run.  I guarantee they will come back to you calm and happy because that is what running does.

Who is going to lace up today?  You can run, walk or skip...just get out there.