The Maddie's Mark 5K.

Are you looking for an October race? Want to run a 5K for a great cause?

Well, if you are anywhere in the greater Albany, NY area, I have the perfect race for you: The Inaugural Maddie's Mark 5K on October 27th.

This race is a fundraiser for the Maddie's Mark Foundation, which was created in honor of Madeline Musto, who died earlier this year at the much-too-young age of 5. Here's a little information:

Madeline Musto was born and lived her 'best days ever' in the town of
Rotterdam, NY. At the young age of 5, she was diagnosed with an inoperable
brain stem tumor, and passed away just 5 days later. Maddie has forever
changed many lives in the Capital Region. Her story has encouraged families
to live each moment without regret and to make each day as meaningful as
possible. The mission of the Maddie’s Mark Foundation is to provide
opportunities, create environments and enable people and families to live a
life of ‘best days ever.’

Although I didn't know the Musto family well, I had the good fortune of meeting Maddie, her sisters, and her mom at several playdates with a local moms group when my 5 year old was younger. The news of Maddie's illness and then her death was incredibly sad -- to me, and to everyone who heard about it. 

But the Mustos have created a foundation to "provide opportunities, create environments and enable people and families to live a life of ‘best days ever.’ " What a great mission! And the Maddie's Mark 5K will support that mission.

The race will be held on October 27th at 9:00 am in Central Park in Schenectady. The entry fee is $20 -- and everyone who registers by tomorrow (Saturday, October 13th) will be guaranteed a t-shirt.

You can register online HERE. 

Or, if you can't run, you can consider donating to Maddie's Mark HERE. 

If you're local, I hope you'll consider running the race or sharing the information with your friends and family. If you plan to run, let me know! 

THANK YOU!!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~ Felice

Local Love: Saratoga Peanut Butter Company

I love peanut butter. 

Maybe not as much as my 4-year old does but, yeah, I love it. PB&Js, peanut butter cookies, any sort of ice cream that includes a swirl (or more) of peanut butter -- it's all good in my book.

My new peanut buttery love? Adirondack Jack from the Saratoga Peanut Butter Company.

Oh, wow. 

Wow.

No, really. WOW.

Saratoga Peanut Butter Company recently sent me two jars of peanut buttery goodness to try out:

Blizzard Butter and Adirondack Jack

I took one look at the list of ingredients in Adirondack Jack and I knew which jar to open first. Almonds? Dried Cranberries? Cinnamon? Dash of honey? Yeah, I'm in.

All in.

Mmm . . . chunks of nutty cranberry yumminess:

It tastes as good as the list of ingredients sounds!

I tried some of the Adirondack Jack straight out of the jar. I know . . . so gauche. I kinda couldn't help myself. It was good. So then I tried some on toast. It was better. And then I tried some on regular bread with sliced bananas on top and hoo-ha! That's a winner!

Poor Blizzard Butter barely had a chance. Not that it isn't good because, really, it is. It's just . . . well, it just isn't Adirondack Jack. But, I like it. It's a decadently sweet mixture of white chocolate and peanut butter and, in my opinion, you can't go wrong there. I just probably should have tried it before indulging in the Adirondack Jack!

Now, these are only two of the many peanut butters made by Saratoga Peanut Butter Company, a local company that I'd like to give some local love. Saratoga Peanut Butter Co is a small company that was started in 2005 by Jessica, an active mom with a big-time love of peanut butter. So she's active. She studied nutrition and physical education. She's a mom. You gotta figure she's going to make her peanut butter healthy.

And that's what she does. Jessica states that, "My goal has been to make a delicious and nutritious product without sacrificing anything!" Her nut butters are all gluten-free and they are made without added sugars, preservatives or artificial additives. In short, just the good stuff.

You should totally check out Saratoga Peanut Butter Company. And not just to support the local economy around Chez Happy Runner. No, check it out because it is tasty and good for you!

You can buy the peanut butters online HERE.  (Just for reference, the Adirondack Jack retails for $8.99 for a 16oz jar and the Blizzard Butter goes for $6.75 for 16oz. A 16oz jar of Plain Jane is $4.99.)

If you live in the Albany area, you can find the peanut butter at several locations including Honest Weight Food Co-op, select Price Choppers and many stores in Saratoga. A full list of retailers is online HERE. 

Run, happy runners, don't walk, to check out some of the Saratoga Peanut Butter Company's nut butters -- especially that Adirondack Jack!

Have you tried any of the Saratoga Peanut Butters? Got a favorite? Let us know!


~ Felice




Review disclosure: I received two jars of Saratoga Peanut Butter to try out and review. I was not otherwise compensated and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Local Love: Chobani Greek Yogurt review & giveaway

If you know anything about me, you know I love yogurt. Plain yogurt, fruity yogurt, yogurt in my smoothies, yogurt in my dips. I love it all. And I save some of that love for Greek yogurt, which is relatively new to me as I've only eaten for the past year or so.

Some Greek yogurt I've liked, some I haven't. Some has been smooth and tasty and beyond creamy, some has been bitter.

Fortunately, when I was testing out Chobani Greek Yogurt for this review it fell under the "smooth and tasty and beyond creamy" heading. It is, in a word, delicious.

I was sent a sample package of Chobani yogurts -- a variety of flavors including pineapple, strawberry, vanilla, pomegranate, etc. I put them all to the test: I ate some, my son ate some, even my husband tried out the yogurt. And we all agreed: Delicious! Owen eats yogurt fairly regularly but he had never tried Greek yogurt until he tried the Chobani. Unsolicited, he told me that he likes the Chobani Greek yogurt better than the regular stuff. It's thicker, creamier, more substantial. Conal just went for the flavors.

I liked the taste and consistency, too, but I also appreciate the health benefits. Greek yogurt has more protein than regular yogurt and lower sodium. You can learn all about the health benefits of Chobani and some other good stuff HERE. (For the record, my favorite flavor is pineapple, followed closely by the vanilla. The pomegranate was eh but all of the others that I tasted were good!)

I also love that Chobani is produced right here in upstate New York. And that's why they are part of my Local Love feature. There are many wonderful companies producing high-quality products right here in New York State and Chobani is definitely one of them. You can read an interesting article on Chobani and Greek yogurt in New York State in this article. Go ahead, check it out. It's good stuff.

Or, as Chobani would say, "nothing but good."

I believe it. And I plan to keep loving this local yogurt because not only will that support business in my state but it will also support enjoyment in my meals. Nothing but good.

To buy:

Around here, Chobani is available in Hannaford and Price Chopper supermarkets. You can search for retailers on the Chobani web site "Where to Buy" page. You can also snag some coupons on the site while you're there.

To win:

Who wants to try out some yummy Chobani? You might just be in luck. To enter to win a sample of Chobani Greek Yogurt, leave me a comment and let me know that you want to win!

Additional entries:

As always, you can gain extra entries. Remember, though, you must complete the required entry first! (Leave one comment per entry for the additional ones to count):

• Follow this blog, or let me know that you already do (leave a comment)
• Become a fan of The Happy Runner on Facebook, or let me know that you already are (leave a comment)
• Link to this giveaway from Facebook or Twitter (do as often as you'd like, just leave a comment each time)
• Follow Chobani on Facebook (leave a comment -- tell them The Happy Runner sent you!)
• Follow Chobani on Twitter (leave a comment)
• Link to this giveaway from your blog (leave a comment)

This giveaway will run through Monday, June 20 at 11:59pm EST and the winners will be announced on Tuesday.

Good luck!

~ Felice

Review/giveaway disclosure: I was sent a sample package of Chobani yogurt to review. I was not otherwise compensated and the opinions expressed are my own.