Black Bean Burgers and Shouting While Running

Before taking Brian through another “boot camp” workout yesterday evening, I went on a little 3 mile jog.  When I am running, I absolutely LOVE seeing other people running.  I usually give a little smile to other runners as a little signal meaning something like “Hey!  You’re running too?  Keep it up!”  or at least that is what I think it means.

When I was running yesterday, an older man was running the opposite direction as me, and as our paths crossed he threw his fist in the air and shouted “Yeah!”  It got me so fired up!  I smiled and nodded like I usually do.  This gave me a little burst of energy throughout the rest of my run.  A little while later, I saw a woman jogging with her dog…and it just happened to be a breed of dog that Brian and I are seriously considering owning one day.  A Hungarian Vizsla.

source

I thought her dog was so cute, and I was so fired up that I almost yelled “I love your dog!” and stopped her (and myself) mid run to play with it.  Then I realized that she had her headphones in, most people don’t just stop a random stranger mid-run to play with their puppy, and that most people don’t shout at someone yards away while running in opposite directions.  So, I just admired it as I ran by.  It was pretty darn cute though!

Dinner

After Brian and I completed his workout, I whipped up a new recipe for dinner.  Homemade Black Bean Burgers.  Seriously, these are so easy, and really tasty.  They would even be great to make ahead of time and freeze for use on a later date!

Black Bean Burgers

Cook Time:  about 20 minutes including prep

Yields:  4 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 1/2 cup oat flour (or oats processed in the food processor)
• 2 Tbsp worchestire sauce
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper

Directions

Drain and rinse your can of black beans and pour into a large bowl.

Mash the black beans with a fork or a mashed potato masher until they are mostly mashed…some pieces will still look whole.

Add in the oat flour, onion, and spices.

Mix together thoroughly and form into four equally sized balls.

Flatten each ball into a patty and place on a large skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray on medium-high heat.  Brown on each side for 5-7 minutes.

I enjoyed mine on two pieces of lettuce with tomato, onion, and salsa.  Brian enjoyed his on a whole wheat english muffin with lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese, and salsa.  Both were delicious!!

For storage of leftovers:  Store the cooked patties in a zip lock bag with wax paper between each patty in the freezer if storing for more than a couple of days.

Nutrition:  

Calories: 181  Fat:  1.2g  Carbohydrates:  39g  Protein:  10.8g

Breakfast

For breakfast this morning, I actually prepared it while I was making dinner…another batch of overnight oats!

Topped with strawberries and 2 tsp of homemade peanut butter of course 🙂  Now, I am off to head outdoors and run.  I hope you all had a great start to your day!

Question of the Morning:

• Do you smile and wave at people while you are running in public?
• What is your favorite dog?

I’m Aware

Good morning!

 

I hope that everyone’s Tuesday is off to a great start.  This morning I woke up wondering if my legs would be sore from my workout yesterday.  Although I have been able to stay active since I have been home from the cruise ship, I haven’t done a single workout that only focuses on legs.  I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the feeling of being completely sore and unable to move the day after (or sometimes the day after after) a workout.  Is that just a “me” thing, or does everyone enjoy that feeling?

 

Well, this morning I am not sore from yesterday, but I will say that I am “aware.”  I can feel in my legs that I worked them yesterday, more in specific movements, but I am still able to completely function while walking, sitting, standing, and moving my legs.  I guess I will settle for a feeling of “awareness” rather than nothing at all!

 

Here are some things that I have done in the past to help relieve muscular pain the day after a hard workout:

• Drink plenty of water during and after the workout–this will hopefully allow you to avoid the muscle soreness the day after
• Light exercise such as walking, jogging, and biking will help the muscles repair themselves quicker by increasing the blood flow to the sore and tight muscles.
• Massage–Now, I am completely new to this idea, but while working on the cruise and having the fitness center as part of the spa, I was able to receive massages to aid in my muscles soreness and tightness…and boy did it help!  I never realized the importance of massage when it comes to physical fitness.  While this won’t immediately relieve the pain, it will aid in the overall healing process of the muscles.
• Stretching and yoga–As important as I know these two activities are, especially for active bodies, I struggle to take as much time as I should to do them, yet whenever I do I feel amazing afterward and am much less sore or “aware” after an intense sweat session.

 

Yesterday Afternoon

Now that we have talked about how to avoid some of that pain associated with a new or intense workout, let’s talk about puppies!

Yesterday morning, it was very cold, but as the day went on it got warmer and sunnier, and it was a perfect day to play outside with the pups.

Just Chillin'

Playing with his favorite frisbee

After playing with the dogs, I knew Brian was coming over for a study break and for dinner.  It came together quick and simple.  I baked up a new to me fish, pollock, and placed it on top of a bed of spinach and veggies dressed with vinegar for a very light and flavorful dinner salad.

When Brian arrived he surprised me!

Beautiful spring flowers!

I love little surprises like that 🙂

 

Breakfast

Now, back to today (this post has been all over the place!).

Another bowl of overnight oats.

Today, I used almond extract instead of vanilla.  It gave it a slightly nutty flavor, which I absolutely LOVED!  I also added some chopped pear and a little almond butter on the side.  DELISH!

 

Now, I am off to cross some things off of the to-do list before heading out to a very important meeting with my dad today.  You will find out what it is about later!

 

Have an amazing day!