She Says: Raw Challenge – Week Two
To be honest, Mark and I were a very bad raw foodist this weekend. In fact, I didn’t devote any attention to this month’s challenge. This is the hardest challenge I’ve done on Hangry Pants because it’s so different from my normal eating and routines that it requires a lot of planning and forethought. This doesn’t mean I think eating raw is overly challenging, but I think the initial transition is hard. Interestingly, it was easier to eat raw during the week because on weekends I am more busy and on the go than I am during the week when I have a leisurely breakfast and planned lunches and dinners. During the first week I enjoyed incorporating raw foods into my daily meals and snacks. My favorite “perk” is that I found myself eating less processed snacks, and instead reaching for fresh fruits, which is of course, something anyone would probably want to do.
To get back on the raw foods track I prepared a breakfast based on the Fitnessista Breakfast Cookie. My goal was to make a breakfast bar that was a cross between a larabar and Kardea bar. I need to work on the ratios a bit because it did not solidify enough to eat as a bar and make it slightly less sweet. Dates can produce a very strong and sweet flavor.
Raw Carrot & Banana Oat Bar
I put this in the food processor:
- 1 carrot
- 1 banana
- 4 dates (too many, too sweet!)
- 1 T Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 T Oat Bran
- 1 T Ground Flax
Then I added another 1/2 Cup of Oats and mixed it all with a spoon. I flattened it out on some aluminum foil and stuck it in the fridge overnight.
I ate some right after blending, which was delicious! I am sure it be really good warmed up and would make a great addition to yogurt! 
Half Marathon Update
Yesterday I started “official training” for the Brooklyn Half Marathon and therefore, now require Mark to address me as “Heather, Super Athlete.” Seriously, following a schedule is such fun! I made one based on hybrid of the Novice and Intermediate Hal Hidgon plans. His plans are 12 weeks, but mine is 13 for a couple reasons. (1) I thought March 1 was a good time to start; (2) I am not running any more than I normally run; (3) I need to transition to outside running, which might need more time; (4) I like being extra prepared; (5) the date of the half might change to earlier in the month.
Interestingly, I might I might end up running less miles per week than usual, but it forces me to think about running in a different way. I now have a goal and a purpose for running other than enjoyment and fitness. If you’re interested, check out the “Heather Trains” page to see my training schedule.
So yesterday was Day 1 and I planned 7 (treadmill) miles, the longest I’ve run since I sprained my ankle in early February. I finished the 7 miles in 61:45 and headed home for 20 minutes of yoga as part of Tina’s 31 Days of Yoga Challenge. I am not sure that I am going to do yoga everyday because I don’t want it to become something I do just for the challenge, but yesterday I was definitely glad I did because I was in serious need of some stretching.
Some Blog Happenings – Check out these blogs for more information!
One Frugal Foodie: Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods Giveaway
Krista’s Cravings: Goodie Bag Giveaway
Food That’s Fit: Creating a Blogger E-Cookbook
athlEAT: Laura’s “Hunger Takes No Holiday” Funudraiser (all you have to do is comment)
Mark Bittman on ObsessedTV.com
Hangry Mark and a friend from college recently started a video production company called ambush.tv. They’re producing a new show called Obsessed TV, a web talk show hosted by Samantha Ettus and executive produced by Gary Vaynerchuk. Recently, Samantha interviewed Mark Bittman. You can check out the whole interview here. Hangry Mark would like your feedack on the show, too!!!!!
One interesting thing he talks about (around minute 14) is the idea of being conscious of what you eat. Specifically, being conscious of the affect that your food choices have on the earth. I know I try to do things to help the environment like reusing bags/aluminum foil, driving a Prius, turning lights off and all the rest of that good stuff. But what about the biggest, most frequent thing I do: eating? Bittman advocates veganism for those truly interested in reducing their carbon footprint because, as he explains, industrial live stock production, which includes dairy, is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gases.
Please watch that part of the interview here:
Have you ever thought of the environment impact of your your food choices?
Tags: banana, breakfast cookie, carrot & banana oat bar, carrots, dates, half marathon, oats, raw challenge, running
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:04 am
Yes! the primary reason I am a vegetarian/quasi-vegan is because of the environmental impacts.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:06 am
Good luck with training and week 2 of the challenge!!
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:14 am
Good luck with training! That’s HUGE!
Love Mark Bittman, I have all his books!
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:18 am
Oh, I’m right onboard with Mark Bittman and the idea of eating ‘greener.’ It’s unreal how the overproduction of meat is affecting the earth. When I realized that eating less meat was good for my health, my wallet AND the earth, well…I was hooked.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 am
heather – thanks so much for linking back to the hunger post – I really appreciate it!
great job on your first training run – 7 miles on a treadmill is TOUGH – and you are a speedster!
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 am
nice job with the bars! They look delicious! I’ll try to make some my own bar too!
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:29 am
I really like the new look of the blog!!
Very interesting interview about the environment … something I should definitely put some more thought into.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:33 am
Hey girl! Your bfast cookie looks awesome. I also love the new blog layout- its so bright it made my morning
Great video! I have def thought about my impact- particularly in relation to meats and corn production. Hope you have a good one!
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:34 am
That bar looks good! I may try some variation of it.
Good luck training!
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:37 am
Good Luck with your training!! I get so motivated from people who have big running goals!
I think you did great with Raw eating…I mean that is a HARD one to completely just switch to! Incorporating different raw foods is definintely good for a beginner.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:44 am
hey girl!
xoxox
that is so awesome you are doing the half marathon! way to goo! good luck with training! that bfast looks so creative and yummy!
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:44 am
i couldn’t get your schedule to open!!! that’s awesome you made a fusion schedule and are excited to follow it
step 1- CHECK! 
i am looking forward to following along and cheering you on!
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:58 am
I do base my diet on the impact to the earth. I strive to eat local, organic and meat free. I am currently a pescatarian (only fish) working towards being a vegetarian.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
I have worked on thinking more about how food impacts my long term health. But I know I need to start thinking about how it impacts the earth too. I’ve done it in other areas already – like with cleaning products, and picking more earth friendly stuff.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:10 am
Can’t wait to see how you do with the marathon training! Loving the new header of your blog too!!
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 am
Definitely. Environmental impact has a lot to do with why Brent and I don’t eat much meat (if at all).
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:23 am
Love the new site!
After reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dillema, I definitely starting thinking more consiously about the environmental impact of my food. I’ve joined a CSA, started checking the sustainability of my seafood before purchasing, and I’m trying (key word) to eat more vegetarian foods. There are so many little things you can do to do your own part to help. And if we don’t start thinking about it now, what kind of planet will we pass on to our children?
(stepping off the soap box now…)
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:26 am
Good luck wih training! thanks for the breakfast cookie recipe! It sounds and looks like a good one:)
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:38 am
I absolutely think about the impact of my food choices on the environment. I try to buy things with as little packaging as possible but admittedly my choices are not always perfect. I just noticed Trader Joe’s had individually packaged servings of walnuts. They are quite handy but when I was buying them I immediately thought of all the unncessary packaging.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:49 am
nice raw “bar” — I’ll have to try that!
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:55 am
good luck with the training!
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:57 am
to answer your question, YES! i think about it all the time. i have cut my meat intake very significantly and i try to limit my use of animal products. for example, i used to eat a cup of yogurt every day with breakfast and now i eat a half cup on top of my oatmeal. instead of eating an entire chicken breast for dinner, i cut up half and add it to whole grain pasta and use the other half the next day for a panini. i don’t think i will ever be vegan (i just love cheese!) but i am a firm believer that every little bit helps. i can’t, in good conscience, eat so much factory raised meat and i find more and more i don’t want to.
i highly recommend Bittman’s book “Food Matters.” i heard him speak recently and he’s a very funny guy!
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:59 am
WHOA new look! I love it! I really like the bar recipe too
I do think about my eating’s impact on the environment. On my road trip out to Cali with my mom, I brought skinny bitch for reading material and it was an eye opener. Not to mention on our last day on the road we passed by this HORRIBLE cow farm. You could smell it from miles away and we were actually able to find it on google maps because it was so disgusting. It’s just a big brown field FULL – you could not get one more cow in there – of cows. It was awful. I was actually asleep and I woke up bc of the smell.
I’m actually vegetarian/vegan more for the environment than the animals, if that makes sense.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
That is so exciting that you’ve officially started training! Even though I’m NOT, I feel like a bad ass saying I’m in training. Yeah, I need that cookie – I’m in training.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 pm
How cool making your own Larabar-style bars! That would be good with some carrot cake spices too …mmm.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I love the new header!!! It’s awesome!
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Good luck with training! I like the Hal plan…it’s not too crazy and not too high mleage, at least for the 10k plan that I’m semi-following.
BTW, I love the new look of your blog! It looks very cool and professional.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
lovelovelove the new look.
cant wait to watch the vid as well. I DO need to think more about the environmental impact of my food choices and strive to pass that on to my daughter.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I was thinking about you when I wrote that last post about jobs and pay cuts…I really admire you! I am at the point right now where I do not really care how much I make (as long as it’s above min wage
) as long as I am happy and enjoy what I do. Being stuck in an unfulfilling job doesn’t make you feel good in any way.
Thanks for sharing your story! I remember reading it several months ago and being able to relate in so many ways!
Kaneil, balanceisbest
p.s…Love the new header! Google reader is great, but I miss seeing everyone’s real blogs!
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:36 pm
That bar looks really amazing!
I try to think about the environmental impact of my choices and eat locally as much as possible. I am eating less meat these days too, in part due to environmental concerns, but I know I could do better. I definitely think it is very important not to just keep my head buried in the sand and pretend it doesn’t matter.
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:36 pm
oooh look at you go with this new layout. i love it!
that bar looks great, even though it wasn’t solidified to your liking. you could try freezing it if you felt like it … (also, don’t know if you’ve heard about this — my mom told me something chemical happens to foil when it is in the fridge, so it’s not supposed to go directly against food … but everything causes cancer as far as my mom is concerned, so do what you will with the info. i’ve been putting wax paper (re-used, of course
) between food and foil just in case …)
great job on the 7 mi! so glad your ankle’s still holding up
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Heather I LOVE the new design! It ROCKS!!
I love your raw bar. I’ll have to try experimenting with that one, myself!
I’ve thought about my impact on the environment before, but not enough to have formed a concrete opinion, other than that I am quite happy with the foods I eat and don’t see that changing anytime soon! It is interesting, however, to note what he said about changing from eating 1/2 lb. of meat to 1/2 lb. of dairy by going vegetarian, but not really changing anything about your environmental impact. I never thought about it that way before. Thanks for the interview link!
I’m excited for your 1/2 marathon training! Yes!
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Oops – Heather AND Mark I love the new design
Yay Hangry Pants!
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I really like that idea for the raw bar…I think I’ll do some experimenting with that soon.
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Great new header. Sounds like you’re making a grand return to running. I like following a training plan much more than I thought.
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:06 pm
youre doing so awesome with training
i love the new look of the blog!! and good luck with week numero dos, youre doing so good ! always love reading waht kind of challenges you guys are up to!
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:20 pm
This is the first time I’ve seen the new layout and I ADORE it! Looks fantastic
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
I love your raw oat bars! I am definitely going to have to give those a try!
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I’m using the Hal intermediate/stomach flu plan hybrid myself. It has you taking about 5 days off between Weeks 7 and 8.
I really love your peaches, want to shake your tree.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:30 am
yay! congrats on doing the half marathon. I’ll look into your newly added page. isn’t it exciting?! I love the feeling of setting a goal. It’s a nice challenge.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:13 pm
wow this was incredibly inspiring. It is funny though, because I know Mark Bittman primarily through Spain on the Road Again, where he consumes tons of animal products. But it was refreshing and really great!