Baseball and Muffin Baking

Nothing like celebrating the end of summer with a baseball game and a new muffin recipe.

It’s hard to believe the long weekend is almost over! I checked lots of things off of my to-do list this weekend and had a little bit of fun too

Rewind to Saturday night – Ben fired up the grill and kindly made me a double veggie burger (with cheddar in the middle) and grilled veggies, while he also made beef burgers. I was really craving veggies, so I made a spinach side salad and put some of the grilled veggies on that. (And I forgot to take a picture, but for dessert I had some vanilla ice cream with a brownie.)

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Sunday = long-run day. Beforehand I had a Clif Bar…

and a banana with lots of almond butter (don’t worry, I gave myself plenty of time to digest!)

I felt sort of lethargic yesterday – I’m not sure why. It wasn’t an awful run, but it all felt a little forced, and I did 13 miles instead of 16. My knees were starting to hurt / feel wobbly and I didn’t want to push it. I also figured that getting in those extra miles are more important for a marathon than for a half. I was also supposed to pick it up the last few miles to my goal race pace but there was no way that was happening. At the end my body felt stiff and when I tried to go faster things did not go well. Oh well, I did my best! 13 is better than nothing.

I had a gel after about 8 miles of my run, and when I got home I had a big bowl of this cereal faster than I could take a picture!

I also made some coffee post-run, and added Silk vanilla soy milk with a little Stevia. Coffee tastes so good after a long run, yes?

For lunch I made an egg sandwich (using the microwave method) on a bagel with hummus, spinach & cheese.

With a side of carrots.

Yesterday’s afternoon adventure was pretty exciting

Yep, we were at Fenway Park watching the Red Sox play the White Sox. But we weren’t in just any seats.

We were in the EMC Luxury Club (thanks to Ben’s awesome connections). We went up a couple of very un-crowded escalators, through fancy hallways with framed pictures on the walls, and walked through a big restaurant before going out a door to get to our seats, which were right behind home plate.

As soon as we sat down, our “waiter” gave us menus. A waiter at a baseball game? It was fun to feel like a rich person for a day

The game was a lot of fun! The view was pretty incredible, the seats were cushioned (unlike the usual plastic seats at Fenway), there were TV’s in front of us, and the club had it’s own private bathrooms (which had flat screen TV’s on the walls).

Ben: “Take this picture and call it City of Boston Framed by the Lights of Fenway.”

It was a good game and pretty low-scoring until the 8th inning, when Manny came up to bat and the Sox brought in a new pitcher. Pappelbon ran from the bullpen as they blasted a Dropkick Murphey’s song…so dramatic!

Finally, Papelbon’s first pitch to Manny.

Long story short, after Manny got out, things fell apart for the Red Sox pitching. They lost, but it was a great game to see!

When we got home I was starving a had some blue chips and salsa. Then the guys made a satisfying and simple pasta carbonara – mine with turkey bacon and theirs with “real” bacon . They said they used 1 box pasta, 3 eggs, lots of freshly grated parmesan, and bacon.

Later last night I finally got baking!

Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins (makes 12)

• 1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/4 c. ground flax seed 1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp. Smart Balance oil (or canola oil)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. skim milk
• 8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained well – reserve at least 1/4 c. juice
• 1-1/2 c. grated carrots (about 2 medium-sized carrots)
• optional: 1/2 c. chopped dried blueberries (or 1/2 c. raisins)
• optional: 1/2 c. walnuts
• optional: turbinado sugar

1.) Combine flour, flax, coconut, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar in a large bowl.
2.) Combine egg, oil, vanilla, and milk in a small bowl.
3.) Drain pineapple, reserving at least 1/4 c. juice for the frosting.
4.) Combine pineapple and carrots in a medium bowl.
5.) Add the oil/egg mixture to the carrot mixture. Then add that into the dry ingredients. Mix only until moistened.
6.) Fold in dried fruit and nuts (if using).
7.) Pour batter into a greased 12-cup muffin tin. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with turbinado sugar (if using).
8.) Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting (for 12 muffins)

• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 8 oz. low-fat/non-fat cream cheese
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 c. pineapple juice (reserved from muffin recipe)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine all in a large bowl. Mix with electric mixer until smooth.
Note: Frosting is not overly sweet – add more powdered sugar or pineapple juice to taste.

I only frosted half of ours because I’m not a huge frosting person, especially for breakfast. I thought they turned out very tasty! A keeper breakfast recipe, especially since they are pretty low in the fat and sugar departments.

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Thanks to Ben’s crazy connections we have another exciting adventure today! (And no thanks to my crappy camera I can’t upload any pictures from today yet.) Happy Labor Day!