Curry and Eggs–Egg Salad inspired by my mom

SO apparently egg salad is pretty popular. My last recipe for Avocado Egg Salad has been a massive hit with my readers. I’ve decided that since I am obviously an egg-spert when it comes to eggs especially the organic kind (did you know that our family farm is Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs?) that I should try my hand at whipping up some more new egg salad creations. My latest recipe inspiration is from when I was little. When my parents had friends over when I was little she would often make curried egg salad as an hors d’oeuvres to be served on crackers to the guests. I loved sampling the creamy egg curry and crunching crackers as did their guests. This curried egg salad  with granny smith apples is loaded with flavor with a blend of curry, mustard, sea salt and some pepper. The egg salad has a fresh and bright taste from the organic pea shoots that accompany this sandwich as well as the tart granny smith apples that add a perfect crunch.

Enjoy!

And a little side-note . . . Happy International Women’s Day! Make it an inspired one. Go out and accomplish your dreams!

Rosie the Riveter

Upcoming Races:

Winter Wild at Whaleback Mountain

Winter Wild Championship at Bretton Woods Ski Resort

Eastern States 20 Miler (In preparation for my first Boston Marathon!)

The BOSTON MARATHON!!!!!!!! 

I feel like such a delinquent blogger with my posts lately. Once the weather turned cold my kids (ages 4 and 2) have been sick non-stop. It has been almost 5 weeks now of illness with only a few days of reprieve here and there. Plus they never seem to be sick at the same time. They are tag-teaming. Once one is healthy the other one immediately has a fever or cough that appears. I try to get them outside as much as possible to get some fresh air but since they both attend pre-school it is nearly impossible to avoid the germs. All of this illness has meant a lot of nights of interrupted sleep and many trips to see the doctor. My energy level has been cut in half and I have humongous dark circles and of course that has meant I have had to take some time-outs from blogging.  My biggest challenge right now is to get my kids healthy and happy!!!

At the Doctor Again

How do you keep your little kids healthy when the seasons change?

When I am not tending to my kids or working I have made it a point to squeeze in my workouts because this time of year has me feeling blue anyways. The only cure for me with the seasonal blues is to exercise and get outside to absorb some Vitamin D and the most necessary ingredient for curing the winter blues is to enjoy a fun run with your best running friends.

And Go!

On Saturday my awesome friend and running buddy Joanna decided to arrange a fun trail “race” right where she lives. She mapped out a 4 mile-ish course on the trails so we wouldn’t get lost and tested out the run prior to our meet-up with her husband. When I arrived at Joanna’s on Saturday morning I was greeted by a sea of day-glo orange. Being that it is hunting season right now you can never be too careful when heading into the woods. The energy of the group was high and the group of women that I run with were super motivated as usual. Joanna took us on a quick short loop preview of the course to ensure that we knew which way to go. Running in the woods on trail at this time of year can be extra challenging with slippery brown leaves everywhere camouflaging roots and rocks.  Extra fancy footwork is needed to keep your balance.

We started our “race” and took off at varying paces.  A perfect day to be in the woods and a “race” with no pressure to get in a little bit of speed was what we all needed. When we arrived at the ened of the course we were all smiling, sweating, and had a great rosy glow, the kind you get from a hard workout in the cold. This “race” was such a great idea to help keep us motivated and help to keep my spirits up during the “blah” months of November. To add to the fun I brought some “prizes” too (I was going to bring a chicken for my friend Joanna but didn’t catch one in time!).  At the finish I gave out Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs to our “race director” Joanna and  for everyone else some Ignite Naturals Reload Energy Gel and coupons for organic eggs. I would highly recommend planning an “event” like this with your running friends.

Trail “Racing” Fun

Strong Women

Do you have a favorite trail race or trail run?

Related Posts: 

Trail Running this Weekend? Yes, Please!

The 12 Commandments of Training

Heart of Vermont Productions

Did you know that my family farm, Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs,  has teamed up with Athletes for a Fit Planet as one of their Green Partners to help reduce the environmental footprint on race day? This summer we have been actively participating in the greening of several different athletic events-The Peachtree Road Race (Atlanta, GA), The Beach to Beacon 10K (Cape Elizabeth, ME), The Falmouth Road Race (Falmouth, MA), The USA Triathlon National Championship (Burlington, VT) and the VT 100 on 100 Relay (Stowe, VT-Ludlow-VT) and in September we will be at Reach the Beach NH (Franconia, NH to Hampton Beach NH).

Bruce Raynor, the Chief Green Officer of Athletes for a Fit Planet works with race directors as a consultant to develop a plan for creating more sustainable race events. A Fit Planet helps events to become “Green Certified” which includes taking the Pledge of Sustainability. A Fit Planet is working on this initiative with the Active Network and the Council for Responsible Sport  Part of that plan includes providing recycling, composting, and garbage removal options for race day. Also, A Fit Planet has worked with companies such as Water Monster which provides the no waste-option for hydration of

Be Green~RECYCLE

athletes on race day. The Water Monster System is a bulk water system for use with refillable re-usable water bottles to eliminate the need for plastic water bottles on race day.  This system was in place at the Vermont 100 on 10 Relay last weekend.  With the Water Monsters placed at recycling stations along the course there was a significant reduction in the amount of recycling and waste on race day.

Thirsty Runners love Water Monster

If you are an eco-conscious athlete, please take the Athletes For a Fit Planet Eco-Pledge. By taking the pledge you are promising to take action by supporting eco-friendly race events as well as to stay committed to recycling and other earth friendly practices during your daily life. We wholeheartedly support keeping our bodies fit as well as our planet.

Related Articles:

Athletes for a Fit Planet and Council for Responsible Sport Announce Partnership

100 on 100

VT Edition: 100 on 100 Relay (VPR)

This weekend (Sunday, June 10th at 9 a.m.) I am going to be running at the First Annual “Sufferfest.” Sufferfest is a mountain adventure race put on by Littleton Bike and Fitness and sponsored by our family farm Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs.

Host of the first ever “Sufferfest”

Refuel with Pete & Gerry’s Organic Eggs

The race begins in Franconia, NH at the Franconia Inn and ends at the top of Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch. You can pick your “poison” for the race, run it or ride it (mountain bike). The race will be a grueling 6 mile climb with an elevation gain of 3,150 feet. For trail enthusiasts and mountain runners this will be an exciting challenge and may even be referred to as “fun.” I’ll let you know how much “fun” I had post-race if I am still able to stand on my own two legs which are still in recovery mode post Vermont City Marathon. I am hoping some of the other Pete & Gerry’s Organic Chicks will join me on the mountain!

This race definitely has some cool features not to be missed:

• It is primarily a trail race (albeit a trail race that only goes up!?!?)
• If you are running perhaps one of the mountain bikers might let you hitch a ride?
• When you EVENTUALLY arrive at the finish you will be rewarded with sweeping views of Franconia Notch and beyond.
• It will NOT be snowing! (and if it is I think I may need to move somewhere tropical)
• If you actually make it to the summit you can officially call yourself a bada$$ for rocking this awesome challenge.
• You might win some egg-cellent raffle prizes that include some EXTREME PROTEIN to refuel your body post race!
  

  EXTREME Protein

You do not have to run or ride back down! The Trams often referred to by locals as “ketchup & mustard” will be there to bring you back to earth the base of the mountain.

Ketchup

Mustard

***DISCLAIMER: If you do not like condiments then you are all out of luck and will have to run or ride back down.

SO who’s in? Are you up for the challenge? If so please register here on active.com and I’ll see you at the top!

Are you ready to “suffer?”

Related Articles

• Be Proud (organicrunnermom.com)
• Overdrive (organicrunnermom.com)
• Winter Wild Championship at Bretton Woods (organicrunnermom.com)

Over the weekend I completed the Team Amp Winter Wild race series. The championship event took place at Bretton Woods and was hosted by Acidotic Racing.
The weather at race time (6:30 a.m.) was an unseasonably warm 40 degrees so I decided it was time to break out my green Skirt Sport running skirt with nothing on my legs but some crazy purple patterned Smartwoolsocks. Very festive for St. Patrick’s Day.

I was super psyched too to try out my new Kahtoola Micro-spikesfor better traction on the way up the mountain (especially helpful in the mushy slush covering the mountain). I was psyched about my new “bling,” a raffle prize from the series given to me by Magrethe a fellow Kingdom Krazy since my luck in the raffle was no luck at all (more on that later).

The race began and I felt energized and strong. My calves and quads have definitely gotten a lot stronger since the series began which will definitely be helpful for my marathon this spring. The mountain was draped in an eerie fog from the warming snow. The runners at the front of the pack disappeared into the fog as they reached the summit. The strong women racers on the mountain have been inspiring at each race, so strong and determined and so fast!
The descent was exhilarating. Today the footing was a little softer and slippery allowing you to slide and glide with each foot strike. Running down the mountain I always feel like a kid, arms flailing, running free and light.

I finished the 4.25 mile course today in 38:57. A fifth place finish which put me in a 3rd place finish overall for the series! Sweet!
It was great to see all of these high energy racers every week which today included my friend Martha aka Outdoor Mom enjoying her first race on skis with skins and Kingdom Krazies too!
The only disappointment for me at these races was that I did not win any of the excellent prizes in the raffle. Wait . . . I actually did win one prize . . . my number was called so I excitedly went to the front to find that I had won some organic eggs. Not just any organic eggs, ironically they were our Pete an Gerry’s Organic Eggs the eggs that we had donated to the race as prizes. Too funny!

All in all what a great experience! We were lucky this year to have mild winter weather to make each race extra enjoyable. This race series is definitely something you should add to your race calendar next year to add a little adventure into your winter. Plus these races are extremely well run by energetic race director Chad Denning.
I can’t wait for the Western NH Trail Series also put on by Team Amp starting this spring.

Happy running and hope to see you on the trails!

Winter Wild #4 at Mt. Sunapee, New Hampshire took place over the weekend. The morning started off very abruptly as my alarm failed to go off. So after some muddled 4 a.m. phone conversations about to do, I literally threw on my clothes (almost forgot my running shoes!) and headed out the door to find slick snow and ice-covered roadways. Why is it that it always snows and ices on the morning of the races?

I met Bridget for a treacherous drive to the mountain where we saw cars off the road along the way. So rather than being able to travel at mach speed (in our still somewhat incoherent sleepiness we had an in-depth conversation about mach speed on the way to the race) we had to travel at a snail’s pace. The arrival time on the GPS kept creeping up until it said 6:15 which was the time registration ended (note to self pre-register for the championship)! When we got to the mountain the adrenaline was pumping as we raced to throw on our spikes and head to the starting line. There was no time to think before the race which as it turns out is sometimes a good thing.

BLAST OFF!

Since this winter has been lacking in the snow department, the course had been changed yet again so that on the way up we would be racing up a trail aptly named “Blast Off.” A warm-up would have been useful prior to the start of the race but, oh well!

The race began and I found the trail covered in a nice mix of corduroy and hard crunch from the earlier sleet and also some loose powder. I ran about half way up and then it was a POWER hike! The key was to get in a rhythm and also to work on following someone else’s tracks for a stronger foothold. The energy was awesome on the way up. Strong sounds of breathing and exertion and the scraping of skis on the snow. I am amazed by all of the powerful competitors and especially by the super strong women runners and awesome kids on the course! The kids are fast and determined! The race director Chad Denning of Team AMP has partnered with Let’s Move! to provide free entries for all kids in the area. What an awesome, healthy adventure to introduce kids to so early on. Plus they all look psyched to be a part of it!

When we reached the summit and turned to head down you could almost hear a collective sigh of relief. The descent was quick but the footing was great. The groomers had just hit the trail and the beautiful corduroy runway down to the finish beckoned, “RUN FASTER!” Time to switch gears and stay loose and let your feet fly. The endorphins hit me full force on the way down and I felt like superwoman bounding over a cluster of trees (which by the way I used to pretend to do when I was a kid!) I think I was grinning from ear to ear at the finish . . .well ok maybe not . . .perhaps a small grin, sucking wind, and feeling slightly nauseous from the exertion.

Another great Winter Wild adventure under my belt! Post race we headed out for breakfast to refuel at my new favorite diner in West Lebanon, NH-Four Aces Diner. The food at this diner is amazing. This time I chose the Stuffed French Toast with Blackberries and sweet cream cheese, one egg over medium, and some bacon of course. And Captain D. ordered “The DONUT” for the table which is a donut that is about the size of your head.

Stuffed French Toast-Ooh! La! La!

THE Donut-need I say more?

Next weekend is the final race of the series at Bretton Woods. If you think you are up for the challenge here is a YOUTUBE video courtesy of “huckNr0ll” from this years race at Ragged Mountain. The video is shot from the perspective of a snowboarder which is super cool. You can even check me out at around 1:57 in to the video.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMsA710uvJU]

As an added bonus for participating in these races is raffle at the end which includes excellent prizes such as skis and snow shoes and Cannondale biking gear. Plus our family farm will be providing our Pete &Gerry’s Organic Eggs again as well as some other sweet prizes!

Fueled by Organic Feed!

Happy running and see you at the race!

Related articles

• Sore feet, sore shins, sore buns (organicrunnermom.wordpress.com)
• http://whaleback.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/winter-wild-up-hill-race-1/
• http://outdooradventurers.blogspot.com/2011/03/winter-wild-at-mt-sunapee-new-hampshire.html