Caught in the Act.
This weekend has gone by so incredibly fast, I can’t believe tomorrow is Monday already. We had our three-day weekend last weekend, so it’s back to weekday life tomorrow.
Today my hubby ran his first half marathon! I am so, so proud of him. I won’t say much more because I want him to tell you about it in a post tomorrow. Because of this, he has been carb loading all weekend. And I have been, well, loading. Here are some eats…
First-time try with zucchini “pasta":
Zucchini "pasta" with marinara
I don’t have a spiralizer (yet!), so I had to get creative with a peeler, instead. It worked alright but I think I would have liked this better if the shape was a little more pasta-like. This dinner was good, but I will not lie: it was not even close to being as good as real pasta.
I have also had a juice-revival…
Beet me up!
Lots of these guys for some reason.
Spinach, blueberry, banana smoothie with vanilla protein powder
I am also trying to bring salads back into my life. They were definitely gone for a long while there, but I am doing better. Guess where I got this baby?
Thank you, Costco!
Since tracking my intake on SparkPeople, for the first time I am seeing my macronutrients instead of just my calories. It’s been a big wake-up call that I have a very carb-heavy diet. I have always known this but did not realize that many days, there is a huge, huge imbalance between the three groups. So for the past few days I have tried to be mindful of that. Note: I will never, ever be a low-carb girl. But I did find during weight loss that I functioned best with one or two (at the most) “carb meals” a day.
Speaking of carbs. Check out this beauty.
Heavenly carbs in a jar.
I have been plotting this breakfast for a long time, thanks to Miss Heather. Matthew has been slowly making his way though a large glass jar of Nutella (okay, I helped a little). It finally ran out this weekend and I knew I had to make “oats in a jar.”
Soapbox moment: I have seen a lot of oats around blogworld done in plastic jars. Please, please do not do this! Admittedly I am not highly educated on the subject, but I do know that plastic is scary, and heated plastic is just frightening. Read up on BPA’s and the dangers of heated plastic and you will agree. Glass jars only. That is the most I will ever preach on this blog, I promise.
Back to the good stuff. Begin with a seemingly-empty (glass) jar:
Make oats as normal and fill the jar. Scrape the sides of the jar as you eat your way down to the bottom.
The bottom is when it gets soooo good.
To calculate how much Nutella I actually ate, I weighed the jar pre-oats, and then again after I had eaten my oats. There was a 15g difference, which is a whole tablespoon! Think of all that nut butter that has been wasted…until now 
Caught in the act.
I didn’t plan enough time to enjoy breakfast this morning so I was eating in a hurry out the door. I dressed in workout clothes to see Matthew off for the race, and then I high-tailed it to the gym before meeting back up to watch him cross the finish line. It was a very active day! Luckily our gym, the race lines, and our house are all in pretty close proximity.
Road closures in front of our house. It made getting around very tricky!
The plan was to see him off, run to the gym, run four miles, shower, and then meet him back at the finish line. Unfortunately because of road closures, it too me a long time to make my way from the start line to the gym and then back again. And since it’s been quite some time since I’ve run four miles, it took me longer than I am used to. I am really glad that I made myself run, even though I am not as strong as I used to be. Four miles was the least I could do when I thought about the daunting prospect of 13.1!
I still made it back in time to see him finish, too 
Caught in the act.
I am exhausted so I will sign off here and hope that everyone is enjoying the weekend! Hubs will be doing a guest post tomorrow that he is really excited about, and I know he would love to hear from you when it goes up
Possibly related posts:
- A Case For Produce I woke up this morning to the realization that we...
- Keeping Up Appearances Hi, it’s Mr Thinspired here again! Lara has been somewhat...
- The Hangover As you can imagine, the rest of the weekend was...
- Sometimes… Sometimes you smile even when you are going crazy....
- Typical, Atypical… Atypical: Spending a weekday just lounging around the manor. Lords...
Congratulations to your hubby! 1/2 marathon is awesome!
I love Nutella – yum. With oats and pb on top is wonderful.
I love nutella and totally agree with the plastic jars and microwaves, ick ick chemicals are bad.
Well done to your husband, that seriously rules, well done to him.
PB and nutella is good, kinda like a snickers bar.
Your smoothies look soooo good!! I’m probably the only one on the face of the planet who doesn’t like Nutella… makes me shudder just to think of it! LOL!!! Ick!
Congrat’s to your hubby!!! I can’t wait to read tomorrows post!!
haha what a clever way to weigh out the nutella. and YUM i love nutella! congrats to the hubsss!
Love the oats in the nutella jar idea!
If I’m ever able to keep nutella in the house I’ll have to try it…
Great job on your 4 miles and looking forward to the half-marathon recap!
-CJ
Your zucchini “pasta” looks delish! And I love the idea of oats with nutella – yum!
Ohhh how exciting that the hubs ran a halfie – mad props to him!! That’s so awesome. Nutella reminds me of childhood, i.e. sandwiches spread THICK with nutella. Yum. I approve of this version of oats in a jar!!
Congrats to Matthew! Looking forward to his guest post!
Ok, here’s one of my food “dislikes” for ya: hazelnut. So, I have never been a Nutella fan even when I lived in France and the smell of fresh Nutella-filled crepes filled Parisian streets. (your oats do look delish although I would be all over the peanut/almond butter jar instead
)
Congrats to your hubby! Costco <3
Wow, what an amazing feat! I have never run a half marathon, but I’ve run 13 miles, so I should try it!
I love the zucchini pasta, I should really give it a try sometime, as I rarely eat pasta, but the zucchini sounds do-able and looks amazing!
I’m excited for Matthews guest post about the race
My diet is very carb heavy as well. No worries
I hear you about the salads though. I have gotten a lot better about adding in more veggies, salads and fruit into my diet ever since I started blogging. My body is probably thanking me.
Nutella is SO GOOD. If you love Nutella, you would love Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter. It’s heaven!
I agree that regular pasta is completely different from zucchini pasta. I didn’t like the zucchini version at all when I used a peeler, but it is delicious when shredded! Still different from regular pasta though
I never use plastic + hot stuff together too. Sadly my costco PB is in a plastic jar. But my TJ AB is in a glass jar, yay!
Can’t wait to hear about the hubby’s run!
MAAAAAJOR congratulations to your husband!! Awesome!!
Stellar work with the zucchini noodles sans spiralizer!!
congrats to the hubs!!!!!! awesomenesss!!!
Great job hubster!
You are sheer genius to weigh the nutella before & after. I was such a dork that when I did my one and only smoothie in a jar, I scooped all the PB out, measured it, then put it back! DOH!! Note to self: shouldda measured!
To which gym do you belong?
I like zucchini lasagna but have never had just plain zucchini pasta … I’m sure I would like it though!
And I agree, this weekend just went by way too fast!!
Nutella oats in a jar!? THAT is something I fully support – delicious!!
Your peeled zucchini looks just as good as the spiralized kind! CONGRATS, MATTHEW!! That’s awesome! I can’t wait to see his post
I *just* ordered a spiralizer last nite at 2am from amazon and blogged about it today. So I was not the last person in the blogosphere not to have one…you’re next
Woo-hoo on the half marathon. I love to run, wish I could run more, have a toddler, read no time to do 2 hr runs like I would have to to run a half. Oh well.
Your juice looks awesome. I bought a Breville juicer about 6 weeks ago and was gung ho on juicing for about 2 weeks. Then, the cleanup just has turned me offf….how do you manage? Just suck it up and do it?
Nutella = memories from childhood that are precious.
Congrats to Matthew on the half marathon, and for you on 4 miles! I can’t wait to read your hubby’s guest post tomorrow. I LOVE the Paderno spiralizer – it was around $34 – so easy to use and even easier to clean up. Your Nutella oats look delicious!!
WooooHooo Matthew! That is so awesome! I fully am with you on the microwaving plastic thing- I read that on some blogs and I’m thinking, UMMM don’t do that it’s so bad for u!!
Wow, congrats to Matthew on the half! That’s awesome! And I love zucchini pasta, but I think a lot of the reason is because of the spiralized noodle shape. It looks like you did a good job with the peeler though–it’s like fettuccine!
Love the nutella oats! I’m with you on the heated plastic–eek!
Congratulations to Matthew! I’m looking forward to his post!
I so want to experiment with veggie “pasta” too, but I don’t have a spiralizer either. Your pasta looks great though. But I can see how the spiralized noodle shape can probably affect the taste…
I haven’t had Nutella in years… I remember Nutella crepes in France many, many, many years ago… Sooooo good!
I’ve wondered about that zucchini pasta myself! I’m sure it would be better more noodle like. Mental thing I guess:)
Congrats to Matthew on the race!!!
ooo that marinara and zuchini looks delicious! as does the nutella oats. good call on the BPA warning for pb oats in a jar.
Congratulations to Matt on the half!! I had no idea he was running in one?!?! you totally kept that secret, didn’t you?
Happy Labor Day!
Yay congrats to Matthew!!! Awesome job! I liked zucchini pasta as a light snack, instead of a full meal replacement. And I know what you mean about carbs – but I figure as long as their fiber heavy & nutrient rich ones, it’s not a problem. Ya don’t want to go overboard on the protein!
Congratulations to Matthew! I don’t have a spiralizer either. But, the peeler is a great alternative.
I’m so happy for Matthew and his half marathon!! Go Hubby go!! Congrats to him. Can’t wait to read his post
I couldn’t agree more about the glass jar statement!
Congrats to Matt! can’t wait for the recap!
NUTELLA oats in a jar?!!! Awesome.
I love veggies, especially pasta shaped, but agree 100%- it’s not the same as pasta! Sometimes I do half and half to bulk out a portion of noodles/pasta 
Wow, huge congratulations to your husband ~ he just achieved one of my ‘lifetime’ fitness goals.
I wasn’t really a fan of zucchini (courgette?) pasta, but I had to make do with a peeler as well and I just don’t think it’s the same without a spiraliser *wishes I could afford one*
I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the race recap
Congrats Matthew!! A half marathon is a HUGE achievement, you guys should be proud!
Thank you for you plastics spiel! I’m in agreement with you. I think overnight oats may be better suited for the plastic jars…
My macronutrient ratio was definitely one of my wake-up calls when I started tracking calories. Some days were 80% carbs! Now I’m closer to 50-25-25 (c-p-f). When planning meals, I start with my protein, then go from there. That way I know I’ve got a solid protein base for each meal
WOW, what a great idea for the Nutella jar! I’m definitely using that next time – thanks!
Your beet juice looks so pretty. I’m not a fan of beets, but have been thinking of trying it in juice. We’ll see.
Yay, to your hubby on the half.
Kimberly@Living Free: I actually do not like beets either, but in a juice it was pretty good. I think the secret is the lemon…makes it all taste like lemonade and masks everything else!
im such a carb lover too, i could never do the whole low carb thing! way to go for your hubby doing that race
the zuchinni pasta looks really yummy!
enjoy your night hun!
Lara, if you use light olive oil spread, you should look for hydrogenated oils. You said they aren’t on the ingredient list, so it should be fine! I wouldn’t think there are many grams of saturated fat, correct? You don’t want any more than about 2.5 grams in a serving, as this is almost as bad as trans fat! The bottom line is that any butters and margarines are fine as long as you eat them in moderation (1-2 servings per day).
To be honest, I’ve never had Nutella! However, that oat jar looks absolutely divine…
Same with the zuchinni pasta, although I love my noodles a bit too much to ever replace them
Congrats Matt on the half marathon.
Nutella and oatmeal sounds like a match made in heaven!
Is SparkPeople good for UK foods? That’s the only annoying thing about most calorie websites – they don’t have any of the foods I eat on a daily basis, brand-wise.
What kind of juicer do you have?
I LOVED Matthew’s post!!! So sweet to hear that you were cheering him on.
Jennie {in Wonderland}: SparkPeople has a few UK foods in there (input by other members, I always check the stats because they are often off), but mainly I input my own stuff from the label of the food or from Calorie King (if it’s produce). You can make your own label once and then it is saved to your favorites. It’s the best site I have found so far, but for us UK people, that’s not saying much!
I have the Breville JE24. Here’s my post on it: http://www.thinspiredblog.com/2009/07/juicy/
After using it for a while now, I am not sure I would recommend it. Some pieces in the feeding tube have already broken off since they are made of plastic. The juicer still works fine but when we move to the US I’m going to buy one with non-plastic parts!
I’ve never had nutella before but I tasted nutella ice cream and man was it yummy!!
I didn’t know about the plastic scare.. yikes! I don’t own any glass peanut butter jars!
Brilliant use of the Nutella jar!!! I love that stuff, and that would make for an amazing bowl of oats for sure. YUM!!
Congrats to Matthew!!
I think I’m having some nutella later today
I’m sure zucchini “pasta” is not even close to real pasta. I have this Ellie Krieger recipe saved that I’ve been dying to make. You combine regular linquini with zucchini ribbons and it bulks up the pasta serving and adds veggies. Maybe this could be a nice balance for you?
Great job on doing a 4 miler while the hubs was racing. I’m so happy for Matthew. You guys are too cute.
We just made homemade nutella with carob, cocoa and roasted hazelnuts! I can’t wait to have it in the morning on my bagel!
I need to try the zucchini pasta sometime – it always looks SO good on all the blogs!
Congrats on the hubs’ half and your 4 mile run!
Haha, no kidding, I just snuck into the kitchen and snaged a spoon of nutella and froyo right from the containers. It was soooooo good and worth every bite.
I love nutella and I am anxiously waiting to add it to my oats this weekend.
Thats awesome that hubby is running his 1st half. I’m running my first 1/2 next weekend, so I’m totally feeling his excitement and nerves.
ellie and Elina: I love the half and half idea with pasta/zucchini! Next time for sure.
love the juice! i love beets in juice for the fresh flavor and cool color.. congrats to the hubz for running a half!!! god knows id never be able to make that!!!
how crafty to weigh the nutella before and after!
way to get crafty with the peeler-made zucch “noodles”…i dont really like marinara so i usually make my zucchini noodles with a guac topping instead. glad the salads have returned. im a way carb heavy person too, which is not something ill ever change, but i think i could/should up the protein more. thats why i have lately been trying to make some jay robb shakes to increase the muscle in my meals.