Grain Brain challenge wrap-up.

 The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Grain Brain. Opinions expressed are entirely my own!

Four weeks ago, I started the Grain Brain Challenge and now I'm here to let you know how I fared.

But first, let me give you a little reminder of what Dr. David Perlmutter, author of Grain Brain, recommends for optimal brain health:

Good fats from eating olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, fish, grass-fed beef, goat cheese, and fish oils are fundamental for health, while carb-derived calories as one might get from things like bread, pasta, potatoes, below-ground veggies, fruit and fruit juices are things you want to avoid on a brain-healthy diet. -- Dr. David Perlmutter (via Facebook)

I started on the challenge 4 weeks ago, focusing on food, sleep, exercise and supplements, as laid out in the book.

For me, the challenge wasn't all that hard. I've been following a Paleo diet for a while now and the recommendations in Grain Brain are similar. There are differences, of course, but I didn't have to make the same sort of changes as someone who has been eating grains on the reg.

Basically, I stuck to eating lots of vegetables and high-quality protein and good fat.

Avocados! Such good fat.

I also experimented with . . . READ MORE -------> http://happyrunnergiveaways.blogspot.com/2013/11/grain-brain-challenge-wrap-up.html

Good-bye to Grain Brain!

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Grain Brain. Opinions expressed are entirely my own!


Have you heard of Grain Brain? The full title is Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar -- Your Brain's Silent Killers, a new book by Dr. David Perlmutter, outlining lifestyle changes you can make today to keep your brain healthy, vibrant and sharp. Last week I received a copy to read and review. I also received an invitation to join Dr. Perlmutter's Grain Brain Challenge, a 4-week challenge designed to improve brain health through some diet, exercise and sleep recommendations.

I gladly accepted the invitation and agreed to take on the challenge.

The timing couldn't be more perfect because I'm not training for any races right now, so I don't need to freak out about changing up my diet. And, as you'll see, Dr. Perlmutter's dietary recommendations really aren't that different from what I'm doing now anyway . . .

READ MORE -----> http://happyrunnergiveaways.blogspot.com/2013/10/good-bye-to-grain-brain.html

Paleo brownies.

You need these in your life.

For real. These brownies are soooo good and when you eat them, you will swear that there is no way they are sugar-free/grain-free. And yet they are!

I found a recipe for these Magic Brownie Bars on the PaleoOMG site. They looked delicious and since I've been craving dessert, I had to try them. Still wanting to be basically sugar-free with my eating, and not having any coconut flour on hand, I had to change up the recipe a bit but it didn't matter. I've never had the original so I can't compare my version but I do think they are great and they don't miss the extra honey called for in the original recipe.

So . . . here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Brownie layer:
15 dried medjool dates, pitted
1/4 cup coconut manna (liquified)
1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa
2 tbs almond flour
3 eggs, whisked
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Coconut layer:
1-1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
4 tbs coconut manna (liquified)
1 tbs honey
2 egg whites

Directions

Preheat the oven to 365 degrees (yup, that's 365).

Put dates in a food processor and process until they form a clump. Add coconut manna and cocoa and process until smooth.

Add remaining ingredients and process until combined and smooth.

Spread into an 8 x 8 pan lined with greased aluminum foil.

For the coconut layer, mix first 3 ingredients together in a bowl. Add well-whisked egg whites and stir to combine.

Pour topping over the brownie layer and spread to cover the whole surface.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars and enjoy!

YUMMY!

And, OK, OK. They aren't 100% sugar free. But, look, there's only one measly tablespoon of honey in the whole batch. And when you think of that one tablespoon of honey spread across the entire pan of brownies . . . well, that means there's hardly any honey in any given bar. So, really, basically sugar free!

Yes, I am justifying the use of honey!

Try them out for yourself. And let me know what you think!

Have a great day, everyone!

Triple berry low-sugar muffins.

As I've gone sugar-free, I've been moving my family's diet more in that direction as well. It is unbelievable how much sugar is in everything. It's nuts.

Anyway, one of the things I've been doing is altering recipes so they use less sugar, less flour, less junk. One of my -- and my sons' -- favorites is my new triple berry low-sugar muffin recipe!

They are moist. And berry-licious. My older son can easily eat two or three in a sitting and, honestly, I'm OK with that because they are full of good stuff! Here's my recipe so you can enjoy these goodies as well.

Triple Berry Low-Sugar Muffins

Ingredients

1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)
4 tbs. butter
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 cup finely ground unsweetened coconut (or coconut flour)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups frozen unsweetened berries I use a triple berry blend of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms and sides of a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter. Add remaining wet ingredients and mix well.

Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in frozen berries. The batter will be pretty lumpy, just make sure it is combined.

Fill muffin tins with batter. You will likely have more batter after filling your 12 tins. I've found it is enough for about 4-6 additional muffins. If you have an additional muffin pan of that size, great. If not, a small bread pan (not regular loaf size) will work but you'll need to keep that in the oven a little longer than the muffins.

Bake muffins for about 22-26 minutes until the edges start to brown a little and a toothpick comes out fairly clean (but not completely -- you don't these to dry out!). Let them set for a few minutes before moving them to a rack to cool.

Enjoy!

As you can see, these are free neither or sugar nor wheat flour. However, they are much lower in both than most muffins and I like that. So, these might not be right for me on my sugar-free diet, but they are good for my boys as I try to feed them good foods for life.

Try them -- and let me know if you like them!

Do you have a favorite healthy muffin recipe?

Thanks for stopping by!

January recap.

January was such a weird month for me. I started with hopes for high mileage that would build on my December momentum. Then, I was put on two strong antibiotics, some other medications, and a sugar-free diet.

I lost my momentum.

The first week of the month started strong but after meeting with my doctor I had a tough time figuring out how to eat when eating can't include cereal, bread, pasta, potatoes, dried fruit, etc., etc. My energy level decreased a lot. I couldn't quite figure out what to eat to fuel my runs so many of them were cut short. 

Fortunately, I've been figuring it out and my energy has come back and, as I neared the end of the month, my mileage started to increase. 

I need to keep that going.

I also need some warmer temps. Sheesh!

January stats:

Running (miles): 90.7
Racing: 1 -- the New Year's Day 3.5-miler
Cross training: 8

As I look forward to the rest of February, I want to really kick my half-marathon training into high gear. So that's my goal for the month: Pick up the training pace. 

How was your January?

Thanks for stopping by!

Ups and downs of sugar-free living.

I'm well into my third week of sugar-free (flour-free, most-white-stuff-free) living and as I look back over my second week, I see that this process has not been without its ups and downs.

Among the downs . . .

• Faliled attempts to make "paleo" bread, like the pathetic inedible eggy coconut mess that I made last night
• Post-run calf cramps 
• Pizza cravings
• Potato chip cravings
• Well, pretty much any sugary/starchy/cheesy craving!

And among the ups . . 

• Starting to get the pantry and fridge stocked with the right foods
• No headaches (WOO!)
• Regaining my energy
• Figuring out how to fuel for my runs

Downs and ups. 

What I would like right now is some kind of awesome flourless, sugar-free bread. Does that exist? Dunno. If you know of one, hook a happy runner up and leave a comment about it!

Have a great week, everyone!

My new favorite.

Watch out, friends. I've fallen in love with almond milk. (And regular ol' almonds. And coconut. But I'll have to share my love for those another day.)

For real, I love the stuff. I've always been a fan of almonds and now I've taken it to a whole new level.

Since I can no longer make my smoothies using my beloved yogurt, I've switched to almond milk. This:

Unsweetened vanilla. It is so good. 

From a yogurt-based smoothie to an almond milk-based one -- sounds like it wouldn't be the same, right? Right. It isn't. It is better. To me, it is just so much better. I didn't think it would be and yet it is. My smoothies are lighter since they aren't weighed down by dairy anymore. 

Now I'm working on getting the family switched over to almond milk so I can stop buying cow's milk (which, admittedly, I am against). Owen is already on-board and using almond milk in his morning cereal. I'm working on the kids!

They've enjoyed their almond milk smoothies so far, so that is a start. Slowly but surely, I'll try to win them over!

(Interested in trying Silk Almond Milk? You can download a coupon from their web site. And, by the way: No, I wasn't asked to review this almond milk. I just love it. And had to share my love!)

Today's smoothie

1 green-tipped banana

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)

1/2 cup water

1 tbs chia seeds

Blend it up! And enjoy.

I'm experimenting with new recipes and new ingredients. Some have worked better than others but it is kind of fun trying to find new ways to do things. I'll be sure to share some of the better recipes that I come across and make!

Have you switched from cow's milk to almond (or coconut or other) milk? 

How did it work for you? 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~ Felice

Sugar-free living and running: Week 1.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

I'm back with an update on my first week of this sugar-free journey I'm on.

Running

My first week of running since going sugar free was tough. 

I lacked energy. I had very little pep in my step. My mileage was waaaay down -- to just 16.4 miles. 

Whoa.

And the miles were a struggle. Until yesterday, that is. My first 4 runs were bleh. In fact, my first run was aborted after a measly half mile because I felt so completely energy-less.

On Saturday, I ran 5 miles at a 9:30 pace. It was brutal. My effort level felt like I was running much faster -- I finished feeling more like I had run 8 miles at a 7:30 pace rather than what I'd actually run.

Honestly, it was a little depressing. 

I had to wonder: Is this new way of eating worth it? Will a sugar-free diet ever pay off? What if I never regain my energy for running? I love running, do I want to sacrifice that?

I kept wondering. And yesterday gave me hope.

Sure, it was cold. Sure, it was super windy. Sure, I was worried I'd struggle. But I headed out for 4 miles and they were the most uplifting miles I'd run in quite a while.

I felt good. No, not great, just good. And, at this point in my sugar-free journey, good is what I'm going for. 

The wind was brutal in my neighborhood, whipping me in the face for most of the run. But compared to my other runs last week, it felt effortless. 

This sugar-free thing might actually work.

I sure hope I didn't just jinx myself! 

Everything I've read and that people have told me (thanks for all the supportive comments, here and on Facebook!) has led me to believe that the beginning is tough and then your energy starts to come back after your body adjusts. I'm hoping that is what is happening to me. I still have one week left before half marathon training starts so if I can be adjusted by then, that would be awesome.

Eating

I also made a few changes to my eating yesterday, which I think helped. First, I ate avocado for lunch, about three hours before I ran. Second, I ate an orange (I'm allowed fresh fruit) about two hours before I ran. This combination of healthy fat and the fruit may have increased my energy. 

I'm going to keep playing around with my food combinations but, for now, I'm happy that yesterday's worked. I may just duplicate it today! 

So, what else have I noticed this week? A few things: 

Unsweetened almond milk rocks! 

Apples make a great dessert. 

Bacon is my friend. 

I'm sure I'll have a ton more to report as the days and weeks go on. Trial and error, you know. 

Feel free to leave me a comment with any of your own tips -- I always appreciate good advice!

Have a great week!

~ Felice