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Book Club: An Honorable Run

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
An Honorable Run (website / amazon) is the exciting debut novel/memoir of Matt McCue, a young New Yorker by way of Iowa, Colorado, thousands of miles of cross-country running and some incredible coaching.He is also a good friend of mine.
I was proud to be (a bit) involved in the process of this book, through discussion and some editing, though I can’t take any credit for its wonderful outcome.  This is 100% McCue and I am so proud of him for accomplishing what so many intend to do but few actually do: publish a book- and a thought-provoking, heartwarming and successful book at that.
Knowing that Smorgasbite is more about eating than running, Matt was able to convince me to post on Smorgasbite in the following email (in which he quotes some of An Honorable Run’s tasty tidbits):

Besides the theme of wafting bacon, these are the best food related passages I could come up with. For the record, In N Out is very nutritious. Have you ever eaten there?

1. After one particularly draining fourteen-mile death march, I lounged on my aunt’s deck, my body feeling heavy in the wooden chair as the high noon sun roasted me. My digestive system was in tatters, the result of efforts to replenish my nearly 2,000 burned calories by eating a breakfast fit for three, and continuously shoving fried eggs and toast, cereal and spoonfuls of peanut butter into my mouth.

2. That night, along with my parents and my younger siblings, I celebrated at The Cheesecake Factory with a decadent slice of sinfully-rich peanut butter swirl cheesecake. Thanks to my high mileage and fast metabolism, the calories would burn off in my sleep.

3. To cap off the night, my dad had driven me along with a carload of my teammates, to an In-N-Out Burger. At midnight, scores of paper-thin distance runners packed the famous burger joint, gorging on well-deserved “double-doubles”, the grease running down our chins.

4. Freshly showered, I pulled up to the Fight Club’s granite kitchen counter, unfolded the sports section, and sat down to my favorite breakfast: crunchy homemade peanut butter granola doused with fresh cream.

Doesn’t that make you hungry?  Doesn’t that make you want to not run ten miles?  Doesn’t that make you want to buy this fantastic book and/or meet Matt on his extensive book tour?

Kudos, Matt.

Justin’s Organic Nut Butter Single-Serve Squeeze Packs

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

I have a friend who loves peanut butter and almond butter but never buys it for herself.  Why?  She’s afraid that she’ll eat the whole jar.

Now I know what I’m getting her for her upcoming birthday: Justin’s Organic Nut Butter Single-Serve Squeeze Packs!

The 1.15oz squeeze packs (~180 calories and 6-7g protein; full nutrition facts via the linked website above) come in 6 flavors.  I’ve tried and loved all of them, but for interest’s sake I’ll rank them:

1. Almond Butter with Maple (very sweet and maple-y)

2. Peanut Butter with Cinnamon (not so sweet and, uh… cinnamon-y)

3. Almond Butter with Honey (um… kinda crystalized and honey-ey)

4. Peanut Butter with Honey (I suck at flavor descriptions)

5. Classic Almond Butter (#5 just since it wasn’t a new flavor for me)

6. Classic Peanut Butter (which, for many people, would be #1)

They’re sold at Whole Foods and many Starbucks.  So convenient for throwing into your bag with some crackers, carrots or an apple so that you have a healthy, filling snack for later!

Recipe: Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Sunday, October 19th, 2008

I love these cookies. So simple and only 3 ingredients. There are hundreds of nearly-identical recipes for this on the Internet.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar (a combination of white/brown sugars is ok)
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix egg, sugar and peanut butter together. Roll into balls, whatever size you want.

Place on an ungreased, parchment-lined cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork, making a crisscross pattern.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F. Cookies are done with they are light brown and a little shiny in the middle.