Goooood Gosh. Literally, every single post I’ve read the past 2 days (from US bloggers) has been to do with pumpkin. Pumpkin oats, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin scones, pumpkin lattes…. ARGH!
England. Does. Not. Sell. Pumpkin.
Okay, maybe the odd online US-import online store, or London Whole Foods. But basically, you can’t get it here. It’s infuriating! I’ve tried one can of Libby’s Pumpkin in my life (thank yooouuu Jess for that can :D) and it was iiiincredible. I made the most wonderful pumpkin muffins…but anyway. What’s a girl to do? The next best thing, blates š
See I’ve had two great big squashes open for a week now, which weren’t reaaaally up to scratch for eating in huge quantities (like my kabocha). So, I’ve been roasting random loads, and today, I roasted a bunch ready for a muffin baking extravaganza!
Don’t you just want to dive right in!?
I used a blueberry & oatmeal muffin recipe from Happy Herbivore, but altered it somewhat. Instead of whole wheat pastry flour (another item that does not exist in England), I did a mix of white and wholemeal flour. I also used freshly picked blackberries instead of the blubes, and used 1 cup of mashed up squash in place of the apple sauce:
I aslo used a whole load more spices š The result:
2 ugly muffins:
9 un-ugly muffins:
And 3 baby muffins š
It goes without saying that I had a baby muffin for an afternoon snack š
—-
In other news! I took the advice of 95% of you commenters yesterday, and did just the 5miles (instead of 9miles). I had an apple, 2 tsp wheat germ and 2 rice cakes before i left, and then did the whole thing in 45mins. It was a pretty slow run, but I thought it was better to go slow and steady and ease myself back into it š I felt pretty good though – not top knotch, but certainly 90%, which is good enough for me š
Breakfast was…no words….amazing. My all time favourite – OATS IN A JAR!!
I look forward t o the rare occasions a peanut butter jar is finished more than I look forward to Christmas š Into my jar:
- 1/2 c. oats
- 1/2 c. milk + 1/2 c. water + a bit more water
- cinnamon
- vanilla extract
- 1 sliced and ripe banana
- 3 chopped dates
- topped with cereal nubbins
Bliss bliss bliss! Wowzer. If you’ve never done OIAJ, then DO. There is simply no logical reason not to, it’s that good!
After breakfast, I managed to fit in a sneaky schooling session on Chika, before the clouds burst and that was the rest of the day written off. Booo š¦
Lunch was fah-bulous! I baked a sweet potato, roasted some veggies (turnip, celeriac, parsnip and a few tiny chunks of odd squash), fried some spring greens in soy sauce, had some smoked roasted almonds and had a piece of toast with hummus. Nothing incredible…except, I put a) hummus and b) [soya] YOGURT on the sweet potato!
Holy cow! Yogurt and sweet potato is easily the most delicious thing, EVER!! The beautiful sweetness contrasting fabby-ness-ly with the tart/sour flavours from the yogurt. I was blooowwwwwnn awaaaay. Yum š
Afternoon eats included an apple and a fig:
And of course, a little baby muffin š I made a mistake making them though..the recipe called for salt, which I added – but it wasn’t ground salt, it was like, salt granales which are pretty big and chunky…with every bite, there were random tastes of salt š Certainly not a bad thing, cos I like salt – but it stopped them from being as good as they could have. Alas! Lesson learnt.
And now..I’ve got to decide on dinner. TBH I hardly post about dinner anymore – they’ve been so similar the past few weeks!! I would feel bad…but I really don’t š My mum has had the same breakfast (museli) for the past 10yrs…so why not have a similar dinner!? At least my lunches and dinners are different š
Question: Do any of you find yourself repeating the same meal over and over? What is it?
Ps – wish me luck! I have EIGHTEEN MILES to run this Sunday! Suffice to say, I’m bricking it!! 18 is a personal record distance to me – 16 has been my longest so far. Plus, there is ‘heavy showers’ forecast for the whole day. Joy.
Pps – sorry for the crappy post today…I spent about 40minutes SCREAMING at my laptop cos it wouldn’t let me find the photos I’d just uploaded. I got very stressed and angry, and also lost a lot of time. GRRRR!!!!
Good luck for the 18 miles! I think your post today is lovely and those muffins sound really creative! š
Sometimes I repeat the same type of porridge a few days in the row – like yesterday and today I had Cocoa-Almond Butter-Banana Porridge (from your recipe :P).
haha, I actually had a DREAM about finding pumpkin at the store last night! I heard this morning they had it finally in stock in town, so I just purchased 10 cans on my lunch break! Yes, we, in the US, are obsessed with pumpkin. Just a little š
If you love something, why not have it whenever you want it? It’s not like you’re addicted to having KFC for dinner š
I go through phases. My must-have breakfast before my longer runs now is a banana-pb-jam toastie. Soooo good, and scared to have anything else in case it doesn’t ‘work’.
Doing my first 8 miles tomorrow, so sharing in the nervousness – good luck! Jx
Mmmm sweet potato! I lurve them!
I am SUCH a meal repeater. I went through a stage of being obsessed with porridge. At the moment the only breakfast I eat is homemade meusli with rice milk! x
The canned pumpkin thing is so annoying! I’m thinking of having a go at freezing cooked pumkin to see if it keeps well enough to bake with.
I have only ever seen it in Selfridges in with all the American foods at an obviously high Selfridges price. I read somewhere on the internet that Waitrose have been known to have it around thanksgiving.
On the plus side whole pumpkins are now on sale. Got my first last night!
Awww, sorry to be bragging about the pumpkin…I wish they sold it everywhere!!! But– your homemade solution looks AWESOME!! Yum!
sorry about the pumpkin š¦ i dont buy it bc its addicting and gets expensive after awhile. how sad.
you’re gonna do really really well on your run!!!!!! you can do it!
i eat the same bfast every day too.. a pb and j! quick to make and so delish
I can’t find pumpkin, either!! Some of the US is suffering from a pumpkin shortage (suffering is probably too strong of a word, but whatever), so I haven’t had any yet! I think I’m going to make some pumpkin banana bread and use pureed butternut squash as a sub for pumpkin…they taste just alike!
Good luck w/ your 18 (!!!!!) miler!!!
I eat oatmeal for breakfast every morning and it never get’s old…I just love it so much
I find myself to be a breakfast repeater! Whoops! š
what are you talking about?? i had canned pumpkin all the time in london. i found it at waitrose
Waitrose don’t stock it anymore!! And they have pumpkin in London yes…but nowhere else š¦
Ohhhh bummer!! Well, when you come for your marathon you can pack a whole suitcase full of it to take home š
i am a meal repeater!! i have had the same overnight oats for, like…two weeks now! haha. i think i’m going to have to force myself to do something different with them on Monday just so I remember there’s a big world out there when it comes to topping overnight oats š
the muffins look so good – i love happy herbivore, and your subs look great!!
good luck on sunday!!
I think you made the right decision just doing a 5 mile run. Hopefully now you’ll have loads of energy for your long run on Sunday! I’m with you on being a meal repeater, I do it all the time! Oh, and the muffins look scrummy. š
Glad you’re feeling better š
I get so annoyed about having to pay so much for a jar of pumpkin and that we can only get it from a few select places that I have decided to have a go at growing and canning my own pumpkin next year- how hard can it be?! I wish I lived closer to London sometimes…
Good luck with the long run tomorrow!!!
Good luck with your 18 miler- I am sure the 5 miles did your body better in prep than the 9 miles would have.
š
I so wish pumpkin was more readily available here too, its not fair America has all the goodies!
As your a UK blogger I thought you might like to take part in my cookie/cake exchange. If you fancy it this post explains it all:
http://www.saladandsequins.com/2010/09/cookie-exchange-info.html
xx Tam xx
http://www.americansweets.co.uk/libbys-u425gu-solid-pack-100-natural-pumpkin-a-thanksgiving-essential-386-p.asp
This place delivers, but even the website is out of stock!!
Good luck with the 18miler! you’re a strong runner, and I’m sure you’ll do great- rain or shine.
GOOD LUUUCK!
I repeat pretty much every meal! My breakfast is always cocoa banana oats, lunch is always the same sandwich although dinner does vary. Thing is, I love eating this way and I look forward to these meals everyday. The day that I want to switch it up, I will š
RAWR I wish NZ sold canned pumpkin too š¦
I hope the 18 miler went swimmingly and you are celebrating the accomplishment now!! wows. Wishing you the best!!
And to answer your question: oh god yes. I repeat meals allll the time. It’s because I don’t have much time to cook during the week, so I have my go-to’s that I KNOW I like, that I know will satisfy me, and don’t cost me much. I actually really don’t mind eating the same thing over and over, although I’m sure my blog is a total bore half the time because of it š
Good luck on the 18 miles, I hope it went well! I’m setting out on 7 soon. And yes, my meals can get repetitive…espescially breakfast! I love my cereal. Guacamole salad beasts are another mainstay of mine. Hey, if it’s healthy, delicious and makes you happy, why not eat as much of it as you want, right?
I ALWAYS put greek yogurt on my sweet potatoes!! I Got weird looks at work the other day, but it’s SO delicious. I’m glad you found it!!