I subbed a generous amount (heaping teaspoon and then some) of cinnamon and a healthy dash of cloves.  I used a combination of brown sugar and agave for the sweetener, and played around with the flour, using half whole wheat pastry flour and half spelt flour.  I left out the citrus, but only because I didn’t have the lemon and at the last-minute decided to forgo my intended orange zest substitute.  I subbed figs for dates because figs are my favorite, and used chopped walnuts in lieu of sunflower seeds because I forgot to buy the seeds.  (Notice a trend?  I had jetted in and out of the grocery in a crazy rush and as a result ended up doing a lot of substituting.  Happily, it worked.)  Lastly, I chose navy beans because they had the highest protein and fiber content.  I wanted these bad boys to be as nutritionally dense as possible.

Oh!  And the most important substitution — nearly forgot.  I subbed plain soy (vegan) yogurt for the egg, so that these would be vegan treats.  The egg is the only non-vegan friendly ingredient in the bunch, so it was an easy conversion.  I asked around the internet for suggestions, and also heard a banana and something called Ener-G egg substitute, but I didn’t want the banana flavor and who wants to used a processed unknown when there’s an easy yogurt option?  So plain soy yogurt it was.  Used a full six ounce cup because I doubled the recipe overall, but I think if you do the standard recipe you use a mere 1/4 cup or so.  Just fyi.

All that being said, I do intend to try Heidi’s recipe as she originally made it.  I was pleased with my result overall, but they were a tad sweet.  After all those electrolyte-infused waters, the last thing I wanted was more sweetness.  I think the lemon zest and aniseeed would give them a good zippy kick — not too sweet, not too savory.

They were a big hit.  Dense, moist, more cake-like than cookie-like.  And full of “good stuff,” which made grabbing for them post-run guiltless.

Heidi’s recipe can be found here.  Even after all that talk about blending the oats to create a flour and pulverizing the beans to a paste, they were a breeze to make.  Don’t be daunted.  My least favorite (and messiest) part was rolling the dough into balls at the end, it kept sticking in big gloopy patches all over my hands.  I developed a single-handed technique, using a spoon to scoop the dough with my right hand and rolling them into a ball shape with my left hand.  I also found it easier to make a bunch of dough balls at once and then to roll them through the seeds; if you do it one at a time you use far more seeds, as they stick to your goobered fingers.

My last two tips:  first, I used more sesame seeds than I anticipated (so much so that I ran out) and second, the right amount of time for my oven was 16ish minutes.  Fifteen was just shy, the extra minute (or even two) definitely made a difference.  Heidi ballparks the quantity well with the one and a half-dozen guesstimate.

Yum.  Can’t wait for the next excuse to make them again.

For a quick update on our relay, check out our Twitter stream at #eatblogrun or see Emmie’s live blogging about Van #2!

http://lifebehindthecurve.com/2010/05/01/eat-blog-run-live-blog/

In order to combat this inevitability, Coach T told us to start hydrating earlier in the week. He wanted us to drink at least a gallon of water by the time of the first game. What Coach T forgot was that we were teenage girls who left EVERYTHING to the last minute. Including hydrating.

That little oversight on his part meant that on the drive to the tournament, during warm-ups and even during the game (!), each of us took turns running over to the bathroom to relieve ourselves.

I learned that day that waiting until the last minute to hydrate is a very bad idea. With The Relay just four and a half days away, there’s no time like the present to get hydrated. Exhibit A:

My desk along with six bottles (101.4 ounces) of water so far today.

Why do I love these guys?
One reason is the high quality ingredients. According to the Luna website:

We use 100% natural, organic, wholesome ingredients – good stuff like heritage whole grains, soy protein, nuts and seeds. And we’ve got you covered on the nutrients women need most like calcium and Vitamin D, folic acid, and iron. Our food has no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives either.

If it was just up to me, we would have chocolate brownie, chocolate chip peanut crunch, cool mint chocolate Clif Bars chased by peanut butter cookie, nutz over chocolate, and chocolate peppermint Luna bars. Good thing I asked the ladies, because there are some fruit bar lovers in the mix so we added in a few surprises like apricot and carrot cake (carrot might not be a fruit, but it sure ain’t chocolate!) into the mix.

Luna Bar recently created protein bars so we’ll each have the chance to try them after our running legs.

When I ran my 8.2 mile practice run this weekend, I was fueled by the Clif Shot gel (chocolate flavor, notice a trend?!) and I loved it so I’ll be packing some of that as well.

A huge thank you to Clif and Luna. We’ll be thinking of you many many times as we run (and recover) this weekend!

Anyway, yesterday I did something that would have seemed impossible when I started experimenting with running last summer: I hit the 8 mile mark. And it actually felt good. I mean, I still don’t feel like a natural runner in the sense that I don’t run along breezily, able to carry on a conversation, but I now am at a point where after I hit the halfway point in my run, I feel an energy lift as I turn and head towards home, excited as I pass each landmark that reminds me that I am doing it. I am running. Which I never thought I could do.

My leg of The Relay is about 13 miles; I now know I can do at least 8 of that. I think I’m ready to rock this party.

Given that I’ve been stepping up my training, today I decided to hop onto the OWATER website to see if I could buy in bulk. And while I was clicking around, I learned that they are local, right here in Concord, MA. I love when I learn that awesome products I already dig are local. It seemed a little fateful actually, so I decided to reach out and see if OWATER would consider hydrating our team for The Relay.

And they will be! And here’s why I’m especially grateful:

I’m a bit of a creature of habit and have been trying to mentally prepare myself for the fact that there will be a lot of “new” to The Relay: new routes (3 of them, actually), new people (fellow EBR runners I have not yet met), new times of day (um, running in the pitch black of night), new gear (running with a headlamp on in said pitch black of night), not to mention the new challenge of running 3 legs within the span of 30-36 or so hours, after flying across the country.

So suffice to say I will be taking great comfort in the familiar: my running clothes, my running shoes (two of the same pair), my clunky old stopwatch, my running buddies (the ones I know + my soon to be BFFs), and yes, my OWATER.

Thank you OWATER for hydrating Team Eat. Blog. Run. for The Relay You guys rock!

• Christine cooking

• Heather chowing, YUM

Blogging:

• Linsey blogging!

Running:

• Carrie & Kelly in warm California

• Marie in cold Utah, brrrrr.

I was definitely in need of a new playlist that would get my toes tapping & my heart racing… so I’ve compiled 41 of my favorite running tunes. Interested in adding a few of my favs to your running playlist? You can check out the all the songs HERE.

Let’s not forget about our #1… Eat! Sorry blog and run, but Eat will always be my #1. Here’s a little recipe for a great protein shake that we love at our house. It makes for a great start to your (eating/blogging/running) day.

The Recipe:
1/2 Frozen Banana
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1/4 Cup Frozen Blue Berries
1 tsp Flax Oil (optional)
1/2 Water or Skim Milk
6 Ice Cubes
1/4 Oats (uncooked) – a great alternative for fiber: 1tsp Psyllium Seed Husks

Blend all together adding extra liquid as needed.

Psyllium Seed Husks can be found in the bulk food bins at your local health food store

Our Preferred Protein:

I’d love to know what your favorite (healthy) breakfast is?
do share.