Monday: 8m treadmill easy 8:33/pace (5 strides at the end)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: raining, gonna be another treadmill day.. oh well!
I hope all of you enjoy pumpkin flavored everything as much as I do. This is the first Thanksgiving in a long time that I won’t be in the Midwest and the first I’m in charge of dessert. I’m making my famous Food Network’s recipe for pumpkin dark chocolate chip cookies & an easy pumpkin pie with gluten free crust. Seriously though, try the cookies, they are to die for, and the pumpkin makes the cookies incredibly soft!

I borrowed and slightly changed a recipe from Elena’s Pantry & i’m excited to make my first almond flour crust! The nutty flavor will hopefully go well with pumpkin and i’ll add a little brown sugar and cinnamon as well. Just in case the crust is god awful i’ll have my cookies as a backup plan! haha.
And if all else fails…

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
Also, I know everyone is giving tips for Thanksgiving and eating appropriately yada yada, so here are my three big ones for the holiday season:
1) The holidays are 3 days. Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years Eve. Splurge on those 3 days. THREE DAYS NOT 3 MONTHS. I understand there are lots of holiday parties inbetween these 3 big days, so if you have a party to go to on a weekend make sure you fit in prioritize workouts and eat healthy all week. Then if you want a few cocktails (wieners or drinks) you won’t feel so bad and you won’t lose your fitness progress!
2) Drink lots of water (even if splurging on adult beverages) and start with vegetables! Eat a salad with your Thanksgiving meal first, then you won’t overdo it on the bread/stuffing/potatoes. When you’re at holiday parties stick with the vegetable tray as long as possible before heading towards the higher calorie options and be mindful–don’t pick at everything one at a time. Use a plate and portion out your meal like you would at home.
3) This kind of goes with #2, but I always say, this is the time of year where you get to eat things you wouldn’t normally throughout the year. So go for it! Indulge a little! But only eat things that are completely worth the splurge! How many times do you pick up something that’s not that great?? Right? We’ve all been there. A mini quiche that is just okay, or cheesecake that’s a little mealy or cookies that look better than they taste, but you eat it anyway cause you picked it up. <—-STOP DOING THIS. Put down the half eaten or bitten into piece of food, spit it into a napkin and discretely throw it out. No one at a party will notice and you can save your calories for something decadent!
I hope this helps put holiday eating into perspective. Enjoy this time of year, just try to indulge mindfully. Don’t wait until January 1st to find out all those parties decided to hang around a while longer– on your belly. (scare tactics, they work. haha)
With all this food talk I almost forgot! Sunday we saw Hunger Games: Catching Fire! Loved every minute of it! And I’ve been enjoying my runs a lot lately. The whole, build-mileage-don’t-worry-about-pace thing is really something I can get used to. Plus when I’m not stuck on the numbers the speed just comes easier and without the anxiety.

It’s raining out, so i’m heading to the gym to lay down some miles.
Who’s cooking for Thanksgiving? Desserts?
What do you most look forward to!?
I love pumpkin pie, nothing beats it. #sweettoothforlife