Health on The Run

Cannellini Beans – the other white “meat”

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Lauren

The other day, in search of a different type of veggie burger and some new dinner inspiration, I dumped a can of cannellini beans into a bowl and mashed them together with some lemon juice, fresh cilantro, and a little EVOO.

The result was so surprising and delicious that I immediately called EC. “I think I just found the perfect vegetarian ‘chicken’!” I exclaimed.

His reaction was a skeptical one. “Does it actually taste like chicken?” he asked.

Well of course it does! I wanted to insist. I mean, it’s a white patty with a texture that maybe even looks a little bit like chicken if I squint at it from just the right angle. So what if my memory of chicken’s taste is a little fuzzy from not having eaten it in over 13 years…or that I hadn’t actually added any type of chicken-like seasoning to it – this was the real deal.

The next night EC came over for dinner and my recipe was put to the test. I eagerly watched as he took a bite of his ‘chicken’ patty sandwich, barely waiting for him to finish chewing before asking him what he thought.

“It’s good!” was his only response. “Yeah, but does it taste like chicken??” I insisted.

At that he paused, put down his sandwich, and with a smile he turned to me and said simply: “No.”

Not quite the answer I was hoping for, but I have to at least love him for his honesty. So it doesn’t really taste like chicken. Even so, this light, summery patty is a perfect veggie meat alternative. It’s delicious and super easy to make. And no matter what anyone says, it’ll always be “chik’n” to me.

Lemon Cilantro Cannellini Bean Burgers (aka Veggie Chik’n)

Makes 4 – 6 patties

Ingredients

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 large handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup oatbran
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg (preferably local, organic and not from a certain farm in Iowa)
2 TBS of lemon juice (more if you like it really lemony)
1 tsp garlic
A generous drizzle of olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1.) Dump all your ingredients into a small to medium-sized bowl.

2.) Take out your handy-dandy mashing implement and mash everything together until well mixed. But don’t puree it — you want to still have some full/partially full beans in the mix. You also want the mixture to be moist, but not so wet that it isn’t able to stick together.

3.) Take a big handful and shape it into a patty.

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4.) Place patties in a lightly greased frying pan and cook over medium heat for 4 – 5 minutes until bottom is brown. Flip and cook on the other side for another 5 minutes, until golden brown.

And voila! Lemon cilantro cannellini chik’n patties!

Serve on a bun, over a salad, with marinated veggies, or in your favorite pasta recipe.

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A couple of additional things:

1.) This past week, I’ve been playing around with the look of the site. So if you’ve been reading these posts in a reader or email, take a quick minute to actually go to the site and let me know what you think!

2.) Tomorrow is the last day of August! Which means if you’ve tried The Core and haven’t let me know yet, please leave a comment here or shoot me an email by midnight on the 31st. I only know of a couple of you who have done it, so at this point your odds of winning my “fabulous” prize are pretty good!

3.) And finally, on a completely unrelated note… I know I talk a lot about public health and marathon running and eating beans instead of chicken, but just so that there’s no false perceptions out there about me, I figured I’d show you the inside of my freezer. Overall, I think I eat pretty healthy, but I do strongly believe in allowing yourself to indulge. Most nights after dinner, I treat myself to some of dessert. And I’m not just talking about indulging in a square of chocolate…

Along with a couple hidden bags of frozen veggies, the only thing inside my freezer:

The Seagrams belongs to EC, but the ice cream is all mine. I’ve got a slight problem – I can’t pass up a sale on ice cream. What can I say…it just goes against my very nature.

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Posted in Dinner, HOTR Eats | Tagged bean burgers, cilantro, lemon, vegetarian | 20 Comments

“It’s the environment, stupid.”

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Lauren

Okay, so I realize that starting off a post by calling you stupid isn’t exactly the best way to gain readers. But we all know I don’t really mean you. So just hear me out. And I promise I won’t call you stupid again!

Have you ever come across an article that so perfectly expresses everything you want to say, that you wish you wrote it yourself?

That’s what happened yesterday, when I found this article in the Business section of the New York Times. Now, I know what you’re thinking – this is a health blog. Why is this girl suddenly getting so fired up about business?? Well – I’m not. Not really, anyway. But the truth is that health affects all aspects of life. And even though being healthy makes you feel better and improves your personal quality of life, it has an economic impact as well. So a healthy world full of healthy people really benefits us all.

Anyway, the article, called Fixing a World That Fosters Fat, is all about how the environment is negatively impacting our health. This is what public health has been nagging people about for years…so you can imagine how exciting it was for me to see the same message appearing in the business section of a paper.

(Source)

I would highly recommend reading the entire article. It’s only 1 page long and is really, really good. Or you could just read the summary below, complete with a little HOTR-commentary.

A World that Fosters Fat

We all know that the general health of America is not very good. Chronic disease is on the rise, mostly due to a huge increase in obesity across the nation. The simple solution to this problem? Well, eat less junk and move more, of course!

Percent of Obese Adults (BMI >=30) in the US in 1994

Percent of Obese Adults in US 15 years later (2009)

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Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Anyone who has ever worked in the field of behavior change knows that it’s pretty tough to get people to change their habits, especially if they aren’t ready to make that change. To make the issue even more complicated, we live in an environment that is not very supportive of a healthy lifestyle. We only have to make a trip to our local grocery store (if we even have one!) to see this is true. What are the most expensive things in there? The fresh organic produce, and the whole, minimally processed foods. On top of this, we work longer hours, have longer commutes, are bombarded with unhealthy advertising and cheap fast food chains, and don’t always have a safe, affordable place to exercise.

Dr. Brownell, who is the director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale says:

“Everyone knows that you shouldn’t eat junk food and you should exercise. But the environment makes it so difficult that fewer people can do these things, and then you have a public health catastrophe.”

So then, what should we do? To put it simply — we need to stop relying solely on trying to change individual behavior. You can’t expect a person to stick with new, healthy habits if you put them back into the same unhealthy environment. In order to help people make these lifestyle shifts, we need to change the culture and the environment in which they live.

This is, in essence, what the course I attended last week was all about (for more info on that, click here). Putting the emphasis on fixing the environment so that healthy choices are made easier.

It’s important to note that I am not suggesting that we as individuals don’t need to take any personal responsibility for our own health. This isn’t an excuse to throw up our hands and say, “It’s not my fault. There’s nothing I can do!” But I am recognizing that there are lots of barriers that can get in our way. And depending on the social, economic, and physical environment you are in, those barriers can be pretty intimidating.

Two Potential Fixes

Obviously it’s going to take a lot to completely change our environment. But it’s all about the small steps, right? The article suggests two big fixes that could go a long way in changing America’s habits:

1.) Equalizing food pricing. A big reason that fast food is so cheap is because of the government subsidies of corn and soybeans – two crops that are hugely relied on by the industry. Just how big of an impact do these subsidies have? According to the article, the inflation-adjusted price of a McDonald’s quarter pounder with cheese went down by 5.44% from 1997 – 2003. On the other hand, from 1997 – 2003, the inflation adjusted price of fruit and veggies rose by 17%! Getting rid of the subsidies that support unhealthy food could fix this trend.

(Source)

2.) Involving the private sector. The health problems caused by obesity and its related chronic diseases cost employers a lot of money every year. Companies can help promote healthier lifestyles (and reduce these costs), by finding ways to lower work-related stress, building on-site fitness centers, including healthy snacks/drinks in vending machines, and offering wellness programs and incentives.

(Source)

These aren’t the only things that need to be done, but they do symbolize an overall shift in our culture. A culture that needs to start valuing equal access to healthy, affordable foods and safe places to exercise and play. And a culture that puts more emphasis on the joy of cooking and exercising and less effort into finding the quick, simple solution.

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The environment’s affect on us is a complicated one. To learn more, I would highly recommend watching the documentary Unnatural Causes, if you haven’t already. It’s a 7-part documentary put out by PBS that’s all about how the social and physical environments we live in impact our health. The entire series is pretty long (about 4 hours) but it is split up into 7 different episodes. You can learn more about each episode and see clips from the film here.

**In case you didn’t read it and now think I’m just an extremely rude person, the title of this post is a direct quote from the article.

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Posted in Health News | Tagged food environment, obesity research, the environment and your health | 15 Comments

Run Unplugged

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Lauren

Sometimes all it takes is a little rain…

Today it rained. Little driving drops that fell all day long, soaking the world and cooling down the temperature. And it showed no sign of letting up when it came time to do my run this afternoon. Since I didn’t have time to make it to the gym, I decided to brave the weather and go out for a run in the rain. Plus, I hated the thought of “wasting” a day running outside in the perfect 60 degree temperatures.

Out of fear that I would ruin them, I decided to leave my iPod and Garmin at home. I figured I could “suffer’ through a quick 6 miles without my two favorite running companions. But oddly enough, only a few minutes into my run, the decision that started out completely practical became one of the best things I’ve done in a long time. I ran completely unplugged, and I loved it.

Technology = Tool or Crutch?

I don’t know where along the line I became so dependent on technology. Once upon a time, I used to run without the help of music or a watch that calculated my splits. Even back in the days when I had my fancy new sports Discman, I often opted to leave it at home since it was bulky.

Back in the day, this baby was pretty advanced technology

But these days, I rarely leave home without my iPod strapped to my arm and my Garmin strapped to my wrist. These two tools have become as essential to my runs as the shoes on my feet.

While I can’t deny the ability of a great playlist or a watch to improve your running, I’ve recently started re-examining my technology-dependence. I’ve started to think that maybe I rely on these tools too much. It wasn’t too long ago that I hated timing my runs and calculating my splits. Now I’m checking them constantly. There are definite benefits to this – checking my pace can help me run harder on days when I feel like dogging it, it can help me pace myself for longer runs so that I don’t go out too fast, and it can ultimately make me a faster runner as I time my tempo runs and intervals. But sometimes it can actually be detrimental. Like when I’m supposed to be doing an easy run but hate letting that split time get longer…or when it’s really hot outside and I get frustrated that I can’t keep my pace, even though I know I should be running slower for safety reasons.

There can be negative effects to constantly running with music as well. Constantly relying on music to help me get through my runs is just another crutch getting in the way of actually listening to my body and its internal cues. If my iPod dies or I somehow forgot it, my run suffers.

Furthermore, I came across an interesting article in Runner’s World a couple of months ago which basically said that research has shown when a person runs with music every single day, the music starts to lose its effectiveness. So if I’m relying on the music to motivate me through my runs but that tool loses effectiveness each time I’m out, eventually my runs will feel harder and harder. To avoid this, the article suggests going without music one run a week.

Running Unplugged

I had all this in the back of my mind today as I headed out for my run. Even though I knew this was probably good for me, I figured the time would go by slowly without any distractions. But to my surprise, the opposite happened. I just ran, focusing on the sights and sounds around me – the sound of my breathing, the rhythm of my footsteps, and the drum of the rain falling all around. And the longer I ran, the better I felt. It seemed like I was flying through the rainy streets. Without any external cues to suggest otherwise, I became more excited about how well I was running, which only made me want to run faster.

running rain

(Source)

I found my mind wandering to thoughts about running itself. As the miles wore on, I separated myself from all my worries about pacing and marathon training and just became a person who was running simply for the sheer love of it. I reminded myself how blessed I am to even have this ability; to have the time and place to do so, and to have a body that will carry me through the miles. Running is a privilege that I am so thankful to have. A fact that is often overlooked when I’m stressed about getting in the miles and running at a certain speed.

My run unplugged became the best run I’ve had in a long time. I thought, I played in puddles, and just enjoyed the freedom of putting one foot in front of the other — running in its most basic sense. Would I have been able to do this with my watch and iPod? Maybe. I’ve had many great runs with both of those tools. But leaving them at home today gave me much needed reminder, a wake up call of sorts. That running is a joy and a blessing, and that sometimes it’s good to take a break from these tools that mute our internal cues.

While I’m not ready to give up on my 2 best running friends altogether, I plan on doing unplugged runs on a regular basis. And I challenge you to do the same. Instead of worrying about the time or focusing on the music, focus instead on the act of running, and the reasons why you fell in love with the sport in the first place.

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Posted in Running | Tagged running reflections, running tips | 25 Comments

Fueling the Long Run: Nathan vs. Camelbak

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Lauren

This morning, I did my first group long run in a very long time. Becky, Jen and I met for a 14-miler along a beautiful bike path (you can read more about our run here and here). Besides how fast the miles went by or how easily the conversation flowed, what struck me most about this run was the fact that, like our footwear, we all chose to hydrate a little differently.

Jen preferred to carry a bottle of Gatorade and stash Sharkies, etc in another pouch. Becky rocked her Camelbak, and I wore my almost-brand new Nathan Race Vest.

Proper fueling on long runs is extremely important. When you’re out running for several hours, your body loses a lot of fluid – and burns through a lot of calories. In order to keep running well (and avoid bonking!), you need to make sure you’re giving your body enough fuel. You wouldn’t try to keep driving on an empty tank of gas, would you??

The most important thing you need to do during a long run is hydrate! You may be able to survive without gels or other running snacks, but your body will quickly run out of gas if you don’t replace those lost fluids.

The way you take in those fluids, however, is really up to your own personal preferences and needs. And those preferences will also determine how you transport them. While many prefer to run with sports drinks, I am a straight-up water drinker. And I drink a lot of it. For this reason, I have always chosen to run with a pack instead of a fuel belt or hand held water bottle. (Plus, I hate the thought of having something bouncing around my waist for hours.)

I trained for 3 full marathons and 1 half with a Camelbak and was really happy with it. But when the bladder started getting old and leaky, I began researching what other options were available. Even though my Camelbak had served me well, I was in the market to try something new. Especially since I’ve had my eye on the Nathan Race Vests ever since I saw No Meat Athlete’s review a few months ago. So after a lot of debate, I finally settled on a Nathan Vest made specifically for women: the Intensity.

The verdict? It was love at first run.

Camelbak vs. Nathan

First, it must be noted that my Camelbak is about 3.5 years old. I’m sure there have been new advances in design over the past few years that have improved the way Camelbaks fit – particularly on the bodies of female runners. However, there are some basic things about both packs that are worth comparing.

Advantages of the Camelbak

Although I’m very happy to have made the switch, I would say there are 3 advantages of my old pack over my Nathan vest.

Price – A women’s Camelbak retails on Amazon for about $50 (some smaller ones are even cheaper). In comparison, my Nathan vest was $85.
Mouthpiece – I love Camelbak’s signature Big Bite™ valve. It’s very easy (and fun!) to drink from while running. I could even hold it in my mouth to breathe between sips. On the other hand, Nathan’s mouthpiece takes some getting used to. You open it up like the top of a water bottle, and then have to put your teeth in the mouthpiece’s grooves and bite to get the water out.
Name – Let’s be honest, Camelbak is a little more fun to say than Nathan Race Vest. I think they could use a catchier name…just sayin’…

Advantages of the Intensity Race Vest

(Source)

Here are the top 5 things I love most about my new running vest – and the reasons that make me happy I made the switch.

Fit – The Women’s Intensity race vest is pretty compact. I love the narrow and long design. There are also many different adjustments straps (or — according to the website — a 3-way propulsion harness) that help the vest fit snuggly and keep the weight of the water off your shoulders. My first time out in the vest, it only took a few quick adjustments to get the weight centered on my lower back. I love that the straps are designed to make it super easy to adjust while running. And unlike my Camelback, whose straps would loosen up over the course of the run, the Intensity stayed firmly in place.
Comfort – I think the biggest worry people have when considering whether or not to wear a pack instead of a fuel belt is that it will make their shoulders hurt. Like any good backpack, these packs are designed to keep the weight off your shoulders and on your chest/back. In my opinion, the Intensity does a much better job, due to the design of the harness. Added bonus for women – the chest strap easily fits under your…well…chest. So you don’t have to worry about squishing the ladies when you run. Another advantage in comfort comes from vest’s the mesh straps. They are extremely lightweight and breathable. I have even worn sleeveless running tops with this pack and experienced no chafing.

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Storage – One reason why I love running with a pack is because there’s lots of extra room to store things like gels, energy bars, iPod, keys, cell phone…even extra layers.

The Intensity is designed with the Ultramarathoner in mind, which means there are plenty of spaces for storage! In addition to the main compartment that holds the water, there’s another slot in back where you can put big items like a cell phone and keys. It’s even divided into 2 separate compartments (complete with a hook to hang your keys on!). But my favorite feature (and a huge selling point of the pack for me) is the two pouches in the front – one that even zips. I used to store my gels in the back of my Camelback, which meant I had to stop and take the vest off or do some crazy stretching moves if I wanted to get them out during the run. Now I have easy access to anything I might need…without even breaking my stride.
Ease of cleaning – It’s super easy to get the bladder in and out of the pack. There’s just one little hole in the back that the water tube has to go through, and then another loop in the front to hold it. On the other hand, I had to feed the tube through one of the arm straps of my Camelbak, which made it very difficult to get in and out.

The other advantage is that the top of the bladder opens up all the way. I must admit that this made me nervous at first. I didn’t think the fold and slide top would stay sealed during my run. But it holds the water in perfectly. And when I’m done, I can turn the entire thing inside out to wash it. The mouthpiece and drinking tube also separate from the bladder to make cleaning that much easier!
Enough Water for a Fish – The Intensity holds 2L (70 ounces) of glorious, refreshing water. This is enough to keep me hydrated even on long, hot 20-milers. My Camelbak only held 50 ounces, and on the longer runs I was constantly worried about running out of water.

In summary, the Intensity vest is super comfortable and worth every penny! Its design works for me, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a running hydration pack.

Thoughts on Nathan products? Or disagree with me? I’d love to hear how you prefer to fuel!

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Posted in Marathon Training, Running | Tagged fuel, hydration, marathon, running 101 | 12 Comments

3 Minutes to Inspire; 4 Years to Change the World

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Lauren

This week, I’m feeling particularly inspired. I’m currently in beautiful North Carolina for a course on Obesity Prevention in Public Health. All week long, I get to eat amazing food (maybe too amazing for an obesity prevention conference ), meet interesting people, and learn about how the environment impacts our health and, more importantly, what we can do to change this. Listening to experts and participating in discussions about policy and media strategies that can change environments to support healthy choices is the kind of stuff I live for! So even though the days are long, the time goes by fast as I try to soak in as much information as my brain can handle.

I’ve only been here for 2 days, but I’ve already been given so much to think and write about. For the moment, I’m just taking it all in and getting inspired to bring these lessons back home with me.

But, believe it or not, that’s not the only reason I’m feeling inspired lately. Today, I actually want to share something completely different. Something beyond the scope of what I normally write about on this blog. But something that moved me so much, I knew I had to pass it along.

A few days ago, a colleague shared with me a video that got me thinking about health in more general terms. It’s easy (for most) to think about our own health and what we can do to improve it. And we can probably talk about improving the health of our family, of our communities, or even our nation. But what about the health of the world? Not only the health of all mankind, but the health of the very earth itself.

Of course in this case, I am speaking of health in the very broadest sense of the word. While it’s clear that we live in a time of many great changes and opportunities, we are also facing some serious, serious problems. Climate change, pollution, hunger, disease, persecution, injustice. The list goes on and on. Looking at all these challenges and the destructive path that we’re on can be overwhelming. Changing the behavior of one person is hard enough, but changing the behaviors of the entire world?! It’s enough to make you throw up your hands and scream, “I give up!”

But – there’s a new campaign that wants to jolt us out of our helplessness and inaction, and motivate each and every one of us to join together to make this change possible. It’s not run by any one organization, but instead wants to be a collective movement – a goal for every organization, every person.

The movement is called FOUR YEARS. GO. And it’s goals are lofty.

From the website:

A campaign to change the course of history. Really.

It’s time to make a choice. We can let present trends continue and risk almost certain breakdown and collapse.

Or… We can act and set humanity on a new course toward a just, thriving and sustainable world.

The choice is clear. We already possess the tools to shape our future. What’s missing is our collective will to act.

Four years is enough time to build that will, to change our direction, even to transform ourselves. And Go because we must start now.

There is still time to act, but no time to waste.

The purpose of the FOUR YEARS. GO. campaign is to empower individuals and organizations to create goals that will help move us (meaning all of humanity) to a positive tipping point by 2014. A tipping point that will literally send us on a new path for a brighter future.

But don’t rely on my words to find out what it’s all about! I strongly encourage you to take just 3 minutes out of your day to watch this video. Instead of getting overwhelmed by the scope of the problem, get inspired about what we can all do to fix it.

Have you heard of FOUR YEARS. GO.? I’m interested to hear your thoughts about this movement. And, of course, if you were inspired or moved in any way by the video, I strongly encourage you to pass it on. We only have 4 years, after all…

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Posted in Motivation | Tagged 4 years go, challenge, change, goals, obesity research | 17 Comments

Health on the Run

Cannellini Beans – the other white “meat”

Lemon Cilantro Cannellini Bean Burgers (aka Veggie Chik’n)