The Method and Madness
We were bracing for another snowstorm here. It was supposed to be a big, messy one, but so far it’s looking kinda wimpy. Fine by me!
I was able to hit the gym for a workout before the daughters got dismissed from school early. I set up to run on the treadmill. I can’t believe it’s been almost 3 weeks since I’ve ran! I ran on Tuesday at the gym and I was surprised that my endurance hadn’t really waned from ditching the running for 3 weeks.
Today, I decided to do a little something different. I’ve been reading up on the Galloway Method for running and I’m intrigued by it. I like the injury-free part! It’s a little hard to wrap my brain around because it involves alternating running with walking. When I started running, I didn’t follow any particular program. I know a lot of people used the C25K program, but it was too ADD for me. Run, walk, run, walk. Watching the time for small second intervals would make me crazy! So, I just ran. And I would try to go a little further every time until I got to 3.1 miles.
What interested me about the Galloway Method is that it is supposed to help with endurance levels and distance. I feel like I have struggled with my endurance while I run. I have tried eating different things, not eating, drinking and not drinking. Nothing seemed to make much of a difference. So, I figured what the hay? I might as well give this whirl. I had to change my mindset about it because at first, I felt like I was going backward in training by walking through a run.
I decided to do a 1:1 ratio for the run. It’s easier for me to keep track of and I knew that I could manage running for longer periods of time than 30 0r 60 seconds. I started off with a 5 minute warm-up walk, then proceeded to alternate running and walking for 3 minutes at a time. Wow, I was impressed! By the end of the run, I was upping my speed and going faster than I had ever run before on the treadmill without feeling winded. And I was sweatier than when I normally run steadily. It was a great workout! I cut it off at 35 minutes and switched over to the Arc Trainer for 25 minutes of hill interval. A glutton for punishment today!
I came home for a well- deserved breakfast of Chocolate Cranberry Chia Muffin Top …
and a cup of Henry’s Blend…
Lunch was the last of the Vegetable Barley Stew… in a non-fancy container…
and a whole wheat Bagel Thin smeared with homemade hummus…
As a snack, I had some plain Oikos yogurt with crumbled Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies!
For dinner, I decided to torture everyone by making BBQ Adzuki Bean Burgers and carrot “fries”. You should have seen the look on their faces. It was as if I said we are having dog poop on a roll with a side of worms. Ingrates 
Here’s my recipe…if you like dog poop…
BBQ Adzuki Bean Burgers
- 1 3/4 cup cooked adzuki beans
- 1 carrot, coarsely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 handful fresh baby spinach
- 1/8 tsp. paprika
- 1/8 tsp. chili powder
- 1/8 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. barbeque sauce
- 1 egg white, beaten
- 3 tbsp. whole wheat flour
The Method:
Place 1 1/4 cup beans, carrot, garlic, green onion , spinach and spices in a food processor…
Pulse until ingredients are finely chopped…
Transfer to a bowl and add remaining beans, egg white and barbeque sauce…
Stir in flour and combine well…
Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, place 6 mounds of bean mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper…
Flatten each mound …
Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Let cool for 2 minutes to allow the burgers to release from the paper.
Enjoy on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with 2% cheese…
Roll your eyes while your whole family complains and make faces :/
Serve with a side of equally disgusting carrot “fries” (carrots sliced, coated with olive oil and baked @ 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes)…
Nutritional facts per burger (calculated using www.calorieking.com): 116 calories, .2 grams fat, o mg cholesterol, 273 mg. sodium, 22 grams carbohydrates, 5.8 grams fiber and 5 grams protein.
POINTS value: 2
I ended up eating half of little daughter’s, too. I LOVE dog poop on a roll ;P
Total – 22 POINTS
Have a great day, everyone!
A special shout-out to Tamara and Kelly for sending me the Sunshine Award! Thank you so much!!!
What foods do you like that other people think are gross?
Questions? Email me! aloserforlife@gmail.com
29 comments
Love that you added the girl scout cookies to your yogurt! What an awesome idea!!
Ok, those black bean burgers look AWESOME! I must make them.
Pretty much anything I eat gets strange looks!
I have not tried adzuki beans in the past, but now I want to find them and try them !
One of the foods that I LOVE- and I mean love enough to actually order in a restaurant just because i crave it is…brace yourself…LIVER ! As a kid , liver and onions night was my absolute favorite in the world. If cooked properly, liver is tender and delicious- most people cook it wrong. I also adore gizzards and kidneys. I stopped eating them because of the concern over the amount of agricultural chemicals they were absorbing, but if I could find organic grass fed liver and kidneys , I would eat them in a heart beat
One of the things that I tried once (haven’t had again) was okonomiyaki cooked by a Japanese roommate once upon a time. Basically its a savory pancake with cabbage, etc. But my roommate put in tripe, which grossed out a lot of people, but it was amazing!
Durian. It’s a stinky fruit and looks like a pod from Invasion of the Bodysnatchers but I like it. It’s one of those things you either like it or hate it. Every one else in my family is a hater. It smells so strongly that it is outlawed in some Asian hotels and trains. I’m forced to eat it outside when I buy it…which has been a while.
Interested to follow your progress with the Galloway method. And just so you know, there are some podcasts available for the C25K program that tell you when to run and when to walk so you don’t have to look at your watch. They’re set to music and available to download for free.
the other great thing about galloway or any run/walk type of program is ‘intervals’. this has been proven to burn fat faster
)
I know I will be making those bean burgers! I LOVE DOG POOP! That made me laugh because my BF called me on his way home one day and asked what was for dinner- I told him dog poop- can’t remember what it was I made but it was to imply that I don’t feed him things he WONT like. lol Picky BOY!
Just recently found your blog and love it! Those “burgers” look fantastic! Yum! How do you come up with your recipes? Also, how do you make your carrot fries? Every time I try to look up how to make them online, I get some weird ingredients…I am new to cooking (and cooking healthy) and I would love any tips you can offer!
Marisa Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Welcome, Kayla! I come up with a lot of recipes by what I’m in the mood to eat or by being inspired by something I’ve eaten before or have seen on a cooking show or blog.
Carrot fries are simply roasted carrots cut into a fry shape. I coat them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. They will not be “crispy” like a fry, but will have some crisp edges. Enjoy!
Those burgers look awesome!
I love the Galloway method – I’m definitely a run/walker
I have never read your blog before (not sure how I got here!) =) However I do want to comment on the C25K. I LOVE it. I started it the first week of January this year and I am just starting week 9 of the 9 week program. I am NOT a runner. I should say I wasn’t a runner. After this program I can truly say I enjoy running. I think a big part of that is that I gradually worked my way up. The best part for me is that I don’t have to watch the clock, the app tells you when to walk and when to run. I don’t have to think about a thing except putting one foot in front of the other. I have no connection to C25K at all, I just found the app after buying my IPhone in December and was looking for something to help me train for a 5K in March. The first week of running totally sucked, I had a hard time running for 90 seconds at a time. (I am not a runner, remember?) I so looked forward to those walking intervals! But here I am at week 9 and running 30 minutes straight, looking at my first running 5K in March and running half marathong in June!! Anyway, I just wanted to put it out there that I agree, I hated interval training before because I hated watching the clock. with this app there is no clock watching whatsoever. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I’ve found I’ve become very passionate about this running thing…which is very strange for a non-runner. =)
Marisa Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Welcome DeDe! Running is addictive, isn’t it?!
i think your black bean burgers sound great! i haven’t made mine in so long and they used to be a daily staple! for some reason, i just haven’t been craving veggie burgers lately at all. but i still think they SOUND delicious
Black Liccorice! mmmm But the best is black liccorice caramels.
Those burgers look fantastic to me. It looks alot like one I make called Queen Bean Burgers. But they fell apart trying to fry them. I bet baking them would be better. Inspiring as usual!
You’re welcome for the award.
And thanks for the compliments on my foray into food porn!
Hello, stupid question but I would appreciate feed back if anyone has any. I want to start running, but I do not have a tread mill (and cannot afford gym) and I am too nervous to start running outside yet (I am VERY our of shape and therefore too embarrassed). So I was thinking about trying running in place in my house. Like do a 5 min warm up “walk” in place then “jog/walk” in place in intervals until I feel like I can run good enough to start running outside…Do you think this will work? I would really appreciate your opinions.
Marisa Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Kayla, everyone needs to start somewhere, so it doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me, if that is all you are comfortable with doing right now. If anything, it will be movement which is a good thing! I can understand your feelings about being embarassed; I was that way, too. But, then I started to realize that no one is really paying attention to me, so I shouldn’t let my embarassment hold me back! You can get out there and start walking briskly, then when you’re comfortable, work your way up to running.
I actually got a similar treadmill thing where you walk, then jog, then sprint and do it all over again – I think its supposed to burn more calories too!
OMG, had to laugh at your dinner. My husband called me one time and asked what was for dinner. I told him spaghetti squash with quinoa meatballs. When I served him dinner, he took one look at it and went straight to twitter:
“My wife said she was making spaghetti squash and quinoa lasagna for dinner. I thought she was kidding. She wasn’t!
Happy Friday Chica!
Ohh goodness that looks and sounds like an amazing burger patty. I am SO curious about how that adzuki bean tastes when it’s savory. I’ve only ever had it in desserts, so…would you say it tastes like black beans? Definitely looks fabulous and PROFESSIONAL!!!! You could totally sell it at a grocery store.
I’d buy it.
Marisa Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
Thank you, Michelle! You can come eat at my house ANYTIME!
The adzuki beans taste a lot like a black bean or a kidney bean. Funny, I was looking for dessert-type recipes (cookies or cakes) to use up the rest of the batch I made! I decided on a Baked Bean recipe, though. I’ll be making that this weekend, so stay tuned for that one!
My kids think everything I like is gross. It’s so annoying. As far as in general…mmm…not really sure. I loooooveeee sourkraut and fermented or vinegary foods in general…maybe those count?
Great job on the running. I am not a runner, have bad knees so I am a walker!
Thanks for the recipe, I love beans and those patties look awesome. What a pity the family wasn’ t excited about them.
This post is full of great food ideas and cute plates/bowls/cups: my 2 favorite things. Okay, maybe not my favorite things, but things I love nonetheless. Will definitely be making those black bean burgers after grocery day!
those look so good! did the family really hate it?!
Marisa Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Yes! The name started it all. Eeeeewwwww….BEAN burgers????!!!!!!
I looked over the galloway method and it totally makes sence to me! I think I’m going to give it a try! I posted on Chi running a couple of days ago, I think if I try combining the 2 of them it might make running easier for me!
love the DP recipe (sorry can’t bring myself to type it out lol), I’m going to try that one too!
The only ugly recipe I have is my spinich/fr blueberry smoothies…I have to drink them fast before the go from pretty purple to ugly brown color.
Thank you for the wonderful recipes! Love the instructions. Will make the burger. I am a vegetarian too, so will keep reading your blog.
Marisa Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Thank you, Sara! Welcome!!
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