What is YOUR favourite FOOD!?

I don’t even know if I could pick a favourite… remember.. I did say I was indecisive.

I LOVE Italian food. When I was living and working in Italy I tried some of the most amazing food of my life. The main dishes were so rich and the desserts so decadent and the gelato… wow! Every flavour was heavenly which is why I ate it about twice a day. No joke. Just talking about it makes me want to get on a plane and go back.

traditional sweets from Sicily in Milan city..

they were SO good!

In our house we eat a lot of authentic Mexicano food… and I love it. GMan is a great cook and learned a lot of the recipes straight from his Madres kitchen. At times we eat more Mexican food than any other kind.

The other day I was thinking about these babies the entire time I was running. I couldn’t wait to get home and make them. I didn’t know they already had an actual name until I began explaining to the hubby what I wanted to make.

This recipes allows for variety depending on personal preference. For example, I drained and rinsed the black beans but others may like to fry them so they are served warm. I know Gman is one of them because he gave me a look of “What in the world are you doing” when I was draining them.

The spicy flavor from the salsa mixed with the beans and the crunch from the tostadas is a perfect combination.

My hubby already had the salsa made from the night before but here is the recipe. We like ours reallly spicy.

Homemade Salsa

~ 2 cooking tomatoes
~ 2 garlic cloves
~ 10 dried whole chiles (use less if you don’t like a lot of spice)
~ 2 tsp. of salt

Directions:

Place in pot with water and bring to boil. Boil until tomatoes are soft.
Place tomotoes, chiles and garlic cloves in blender and puree. Set water aside.
Pour into serving bowel. Add a little bit of the leftover boiled water with salsa and mix.
Add salt, stir and enjoy!

*if you try the salsa while it’s still warm, it will have more spice to it. It’s not as spicy once it cools down.

I’m not very specific with the quantities on the following ingredients because it depends on how much you eat. I prepared enough for three tostadas. I was full after the second but obviously made room for the third :)

Tostadas

~ 1/2 cup black beans
~ 3 tostadas (I used Charras brand)
~ sour cream
~ cheese (I used feta)
~ shredded lettuce (I used romaine)
~ 1 tomato
~ 1 avocado
~ homemade salsa.

 Directions:

Drain and rinse black beans, then set aside

Thinly slice tomato.
Cut avocado in half and dispose of the pit. Cut avocado in chunks to desired size. Don’t forget to remove the skin!!
Place 3 tostadas on a plate.
Spread sour cream evenly on all 3

Then place tomato, beans, avocado, lettuce and cheese
Drizzle desired amount of salsa and listo!

Enjoy!!  These need to be eaten immediately after prepared for two reasons : 1) because they are to delicious to wait and 2) the tostadas will get soggy if you wait too long.

We started out a bit fast but glady slowed the pace down. I had my first Clif Shot twenty minutes in and then every twenty minutes there on after. For some reason they seemed to be extra tasty today.. sucking on them gives me something to do rather than thinking how much farther I have to go.

I felt pretty good throughout most of the run but my legs were sore near the end and I definitely slowed down the last km. C’est la vie.

I have been getting worried since I haven’t been able to do any hill workouts due to weather conditions. I’ve heard about the tough hills at the end of the Around the Bay course so I’m getting really nervous. The route we ran today was pretty hilly at times which is good practice. When I saw the one hill I actually said “OH GOSH!” outloud. It ended up not being that bad :) It is actually pretty hilly where I live which is nice for training… at times.

Do you do hill training when training for a race?

I bought some new running gear! I always find it gives me a good boost of motivation… I’m not sure why? I am so indecisive when it comes to shopping, I actually annoy myself. I bet it annoys my husband even more though.

I ended up getting a NIKE Convertible running jacket

and a NIKE Element half-zip running top.

I wore the jacket today and it was awesome… really comfortable and practical.  I like that the sleeves are a bit longer; they cover my hands and keep them warmer. The sleeves are also removeable, so it converts into a vest aswell.

The pockets are HUGE!

Obviously I wanted to model it for you ;) that's why i spent so much time doing my hair ha!

this is my "unsure" face... wasn't sure if I really liked it or not. turns out i do!

What’s your favourite gear to run in?

I don’t even know what to say about my run this morning. . .

so bright out...

 Michelle and I before the suffering began

I was the only dummy who forgot to wear sunglasses

Call me Mrs. Negativity, but it did not go well. After not running for the past two days and with the heavy snow, I felt like my body was 300lbs more than what it actually does weigh. I felt so heavy and tight. My legs were burning and tired after the first 8 minutes. I had to stop a handful of times but thanks to my awesome running buddy, he did not let me quit.

When we first started running together, I told him whatever you do, don’t let me stop or quit. Kick me in the a**, drag me by my ears, whatever… just don’t let me quit. I think it’s safe to say that every runner has their moments or rough days, no?

Thankfully because he’s so great, that’s exactly what he did today. I told him to go ahead because I didn’t want to slow him down but He hollered and pushed me to get going and would not let me quit. Thank you running partner! Thankfully he did not have to drag me by my ears… that would have hurt. Even though at times I wanted to bury my head in a snow bank and cry, I’m really glad I didn’t resort to that. During all of my self despair and suffering (dramatic, I know) throughout my run, I was however once again reminded of how lucky I am. Even though it was -13 and freezing cold, it was such a beautiful day! The sun was beaming, the sky was bluer than blue and the country roads are just so peaceful to run along. So so pretty!! When we reached the turn-around and headed back to Runners’ Edge, I was starting to feel a little bit better (or so I thought). The wind was at our back and we picked up our pace a bit.

in the home stretch...

Even though todays run didn’t go all that well, I feel better that I at least got my run in – a total of 12.43Km in 1:06. I am telling myself that tomorrow will be a better day. Next time I will not let my mind win me over and will remember that pain is temporary. So you can call me Mrs. Positivity now :)

I finally tried the Chobani yogurt that my Daddio bought me. It was GOOD! The consistency of it actually reminded me more of sour cream rather than yogurt. It is so thick and creamy. The vanilla flavor was good but I didn’t find it to have an overly strong vanilla taste. I would really like to try more of a fruity flavor next time (hint, hint Mom and Dad). If it was available here in Canada, I would definitely buy Chobani yogurt; it has a lot of protein and no fat. We always have yogurt in our fridge. Always. I like to put it in my shakes or mix it with dry cereal for a snack.