Healthy Living Reality

Tag: health

  • My 30-Year Running Journey: How I Got Started

    I’ve been writing this blog for a while now and I haven’t really mentioned running. When you find out how much I run, you might think that it’s strange that I haven’t talked much about it yet. It may be because running has been a part of me for about 30 years. 

    Although I run six out of the 7 days most weeks, I don’t talk much about it in my daily life. If you ask me what I did today, I probably won’t think to mention that I ran. I probably also won’t explain that I brushed my teeth, took a shower, gave my son breakfast, and went to work. Those things just happen. 

    Here’s a short background on my running and how my running is now, with more sure to come in future posts.

    The First Run Around the Block

    I was always an active child, but my first memory of running for the sake of running was one time when I was being too active in the house and my dad said why don’t I go run around the block. I did.

    We lived on a fairly big block. One lap around it was about 0.6 miles. I remember getting very out of breath and feeling as though it was a very long way, but I finished. I don’t think I enjoyed the run, but it felt good to finish. I was probably about 8 years old. 

    I remember running in anything I was wearing, with my hair flying everywhere!

    Fifth Grade Presidential Fitness Test

    Back then we had to run a mile in fifth grade and our teachers timed us. We didn’t practice first, of course.

    I don’t remember why, but I didn’t run my mile when the rest of the class did. I remember watching them and cheering. I was probably lucky that I got to see how big of a mistake it was to start too fast. Students who did had a lot of trouble finishing. Since I had no experience, it was a good lesson for me to get before running my own mile.

    I ran it a day later, at the same time as a good friend. I don’t remember the running itself being too terrible. I remember finishing and being more out of breath than I’d ever imagined. (That became a more familiar feeling later on, as I began to race). 

    My time? 6:59.71. My teacher decided to round it up to 7:00 for his official submission. In my head, I always considered it to be a sub-7 mile.

    (I won’t bore you with many of my racing times. This one, however, is one that has stuck with me because it’s my first). 

    From Just One of the Sports to a Daily Pursuit

    By the time I got to middle school, I had been looking forward to after-school sports for years. I had a fabulous PE teacher in Middle School. Four days a week, she taught us organized sports if we stayed after school. Twice a week, we played the sport that was in season: volleyball and flag football during the fall soccer and basketball during the winter and softball in the spring. 

    The other two days, we ran after school. As with the other afterschool activities, running was a good experience. The older students were welcoming; I remember the ninth-grader that I was running with stating proudly (or kindly) that now she had a sixth-grade friend. It was an encouraging atmosphere. If you passed someone or they passed you, you both said or grunted something like, “good job,” or, “keep it up.” There was no competitive spirit; it was strictly supportive. 

    As with the mile in fifth grade, I didn’t enjoy much about the actual running part, but it felt very good to stop. I also felt very proud, including for the next two days when my screaming muscles reminded me of the two and a half miles through which they’d carried me. 

    I returned two days later for the next run after school, and I kept it up for all three years of middle school. I am forever grateful to my PE teacher for all she gave me and all of us in terms of her time, expertise, and love. Like many teachers, she was so selfless. She cared so much, and got the best out of us. 

    The Rest Is History

    I ran steeplechase once in college. I am sure it was good for a laugh for spectators. As a terrible steeplechaser, I didn’t find myself very funny.

    My running path was not atypical after middle school. I joined my high school’s cross country and track and field teams. In college, I ran cross country and distance races in track. I ran road races from 5k to marathons in graduate school. I ran a couple of marathons after that. Eventually, I had no more interest in racing, so I stopped. 

    Running After a Racing Career

    I may have stopped racing, but I’ve kept running. I still run 55-70 miles a week. I still run hard when I feel like it, but without looming race dates as deadlines for achieving fitness milestones, I don’t have to run hard when my body asks me not to. Running is both more pleasurable and less injury-inducing when my body dictates my training instead of the calendar dictating. 

    I appreciate having running as something that’s entirely mine. Very few people care whether I run. People rarely ask me how my run was, and I don’t have anything interesting to tell them anyway. I still find that every day is a struggle to get started, but by now, I know that the benefits will be worth overcoming the dread of getting started. 

    It’s important to appreciate yourself and your run. It helps you remember how much it benefits you, so that you can be motivated to do it again tomorrow.

    I hope that I can run for a long time to come. If not, I hope that I will find something else that makes my body and mind feel at peace. 

    What do you do for yourself that is “right?” Is it exercising, doing a hobby, or something else?

  • Peanut Butter Adventures, Episode 1

    Here’s the first installment of my adventures with peanut butter. Sure, I have a growing boy at home, but there’s more to the story. I’ve been making peanut butter sandwiches for a local food pantry for a year. Now, I’m going to hand out jars of peanut butter when I see a need on the streets. Hope you love the adventure! 

    For now, let’s just talk about peanut butter. Next time, we’ll get into some adventures. 

    Peanut Butter as an American Institution

    Peanut butter is one of the best all-around foods. It’s convenient, inexpensive, nutritious, and delicious. Those reasons are probably why peanut butter sandwiches are the most popular plant-based sandwiches in the US according to USDA data. (If you’re curious, the popularity of cold cut sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs outweighs the popularity of peanut butter sandwiches). 

    How Much Peanut Butter Are We Talking About?

    Americans consume an average of 4.4 pounds of peanut butter per year. That’s more than 60 2-tablespoon servings, or 4.5 16-ounce jars. For a family of four that consumes the average amount, that comes out to 18 jars of peanut butter per year, or about 1 jar every 3 weeks. 

    If you’re a peanut butter-loving household, I bet you have far more than that! Schoolchildren could easily eat 5 peanut butter sandwiches a week for the duration of the school year, or about 35 weeks. That adds up to 105 sandwiches, or more than 7 jars of peanut butter. That’s before adding in snacks and PB sandwiches on vacation! 

    How Much Peanut Butter in Peanut Butter Adventures?

    My household goes through far more than 18 jars of peanut butter a year. My son eats some, but not that much (and to be fair, a lot of his peanut butter consumption is at breakfast at my parents’ house!). 

    I estimate we go through 150 jars a year! That’s because I make sandwiches every week for a local food pantry. I use 3 jars most weeks, or enough for 30-40 sandwiches. I’m definitely doing my part to support the peanut butter industry! 

    Now, I’ve started carrying around a jar of peanut butter to give away to people who seem to need it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in my neighborhood who are grateful for something that is so affordable to me. 

    How to Make Peanut Butter

    Peanut butter is magical to me. Just put peanuts in a blender, and puree them until they turn into thick, sticky peanut butter. For a more spreadable texture, add 1-2 spoonfuls of oil. For flavor, add salt. It’s so simple!

    Peanut butter that you buy in stores can range from 100% peanuts to having ingredients like sugar, salt, and solid fats from hydrogenated soybean oil or tropical oils like palm oil. You’ll pay for the privilege of having natural, organic peanut butter with nothing but peanuts, but if you look around, there can be compromises, like peanut butter without hydrogenated oils. 

    Of course, there are all kinds of variations on peanut butter. Flavors of peanut butter include cinnamon, cocoa, and white chocolate. For decades, there’ve been jars of peanut butter and jelly stripes to make sandwich-making easier. 

    A Convenient and Nutritious Food

    Peanut butter needs no refrigeration. It’s ready to eat. It’s cholesterol-free, low in saturated fat, and high in healthy monounsaturated fats. It’s a source of plant-based protein, and it has dietary fiber. At about $2 per 16-ounce jar for a store brand of peanut butter, it’s remarkably inexpensive. I’ll go into cost comparisons with other foods in another post. 

    Healthy Ways to Use Peanut Butter

    A peanut butter sandwich on whole-grain sliced bread is one healthy choice for peanut butter. Here are a few variations on classic PB sandwiches. 

    Peanut butter on whole-grain bread has fiber and antioxidants.
    • Peanut butter on whole-grain tortilla or wrap, wrapped around a banana
    • Diced stewed (or microwaved) apple or pear with cinnamon on PB and whole-grain bread or toast
    • Peanut butter on half a whole-grain bagel, with pear slices

    Peanut butter is good for way more than sandwiches. 

    • Dip celery, carrots, apple slices, or pear slices into peanut butter.
    • Blend frozen banana chunks with peanut butter and cinnamon, cocoa powder, or voila extract.
    • Thin out creamy peanut butter to make a sauce for an Asian-inspired dish with whole-grain spaghetti
    • Add peanut butter to oatmeal or whole-wheat pancake batter, or top whole-grain pancakes or waffles with peanut butter instead of butter.
    • Top oatmeal, yogurt, or cottage cheese with peanut butter and fruit.

    For a healthier dessert, stuff dates with peanut butter – just watch the calories, since they add up fast!

    More Ways to Enjoy Peanut Butter

    If you’re looking for a treat without worrying about nutrition, there are any number of ways to enjoy peanut butter. 

    • Classic PB&J sandwich with white bread, peanut butter, and grape or strawberry jelly. Honey is another option.
    Peanut butter and jelly on white bread may be a happy memory from childhood for many people.
    • Peanut butter cookies or peanut butter oatmeal cookies. 
    • Peanut butter bars and peanut butter cheesecake.
    • Peanut butter frosted brownies or cake.
    • Energy balls with peanut butter, oats, sugar, honey, or powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. 
    • Peanut butter-filled pretzels
    • Peanut butter milkshakes and smoothies with added sugars.
    • Peanut butter pie, with or without whipped topping blended in or on top, and on a chocolate, graham cracker, or standard pie crust

    I’m excited to keep using peanut butter and giving it away. I’ll keep you posted on how my peanut butter adventures go!

    How do you use peanut butter?