Tag Archives: food

We have an ENERGYbits winner…and ambassador!

by

Last week Chick Vic shared her thoughts on testing out ENERGYbits – 100% Spirulina algae, vegan and a chemical-free power food.

For the past week, we’ve been hearing from you — asking to learn more about the bits and asking if you too can be #poweredbybits.

Well, today’s the day!

We received hundreds of entries in Scoot a Doot’s latest giveaway for a sample-sized tin of ENERGYbits. Thanks everyone for all of your questions and comments.

AND we received some exciting news in the past few days! Chick Vic was asked to become an ENERGYbits ambassador! Woo! She’s super excited and happy to help YOU and the rest of the Chicks learn more about bits!

Vic is super excited and happy to help YOU and the rest of the Chicks learn more about bits!

Without further adieu, our winner is:

energybitswinner

Congratulations Leslie! The Scoot a Doot Chicks salute you. If you haven’t heard from us already, please email us at scootadoot AT gmail.com and we’ll get you all set up with the fine folks at ENERGYbits to receive your prize.

So what if you didn’t win and still want to try some bits?

For a 20% discount, type ScootADoot into coupon box at checkout at the ENERGYbits website.  The code will knock nearly $25 off the price of a bag of bits!

What’s your go-to power fuel? Have you tried algae?

Recipe Box: Aunt Martha’s Strawberry Pie

by

I love strawberries. They are my favorite summer treat. Strawberry jam, strawberry scones, strawberries with cream, homemade strawberry ice cream, … the possibilities are endless!

My dear Aunt Martha makes an incredible summer berry pie. Heck, her desserts are amazing. PERIOD.

After I shared homemade pie pics earlier this summer, Aunt Martha encouraged me to also share her simple recipe, which we both regularly tweak. I should note, while it’s lighter than most pies, it’s definitely not considered low-fat. It’s a treat.

20130706-100236.jpg

To make the graham cracker crust, combine one packet of crushed graham crackers with 3 Tbsp. sugar and 3 Tbsp. of melted butter. Firmly press mixture into 9-inch pie pan and BAKE at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Set aside to allow crust to cool.

20130706-101609.jpg

Dice 1 quart of strawberries. Cut them small. For real. It takes longer, but it’s worth it.

20130706-100641.jpg

Boil 1 cup of water, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, 1 cup of sugar. Mix well. Once it’s clear, add one small box of strawberry jello mix. Let boil a few minutes. Move entire pot to the fridge.

20130706-100829.jpg

While jello mixture cools in fridge for 10-15 minutes, place diced strawberries in the graham cracker shell.

Pour the jello mixture over the berries and spread it evenly without overflowing the sides of the crust. Move the pie back into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. I usually let it chill for 3-4 hours before I dig in.

20130706-112351.jpg

The pie falls apart on me if I dig in too early. Doesn’t bother me since it all goes down the same. But if that’s something you care about, note that it will likely crumble if you don’t let it properly chill.

Serve with whipped topping. I use light cool whip, but any whipped topping will do.

20130706-102101.jpg

Dig in and enjoy! Hope you all like this pie as much as we do!

What’s your favorite homemade summer treat?

Recipe Box: Green Smoothie

by

My husband loves to buy bottled smoothies. You know, the ones with 27 grams of sugar per serving? They make you think you’re drinking something healthy, because there’s some fiber content and a bunch of fruit on the wrapper and maybe it even says “FIVE SERVINGS OF FRUIT” or something crazy on the front of the bottle. And they taste really good. And, hey! Fruit! Five servings, even! And as much sugar as five cookies.

I asked him if I could make some healthier smoothies at home, hoping I’d find one or two that he liked better, or at least almost as much, as his store-bought drink. He agreed because he loves me and he knew I was going to make him try them anyway.

Luckily, I quickly found one that we all love. This smoothie is so versatile- I’ve used greek yogurt to up the protein and I even added peanut butter the other day (which was DELISH). I’ve used kale when I didn’t have spinach, and sometimes I skip the honey if my bananas are very ripe. J drinks it for breakfast; I love it after a workout; the girls have it as a pre-dinner treat.

photo(24)

Green Smoothie
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 cups vanilla almond milk
4 cups fresh spinach, packed into the measuring cup
2 bananas
1 tablespoon honey

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients into blender and puree on high until smooth. Serve!

Very slightly adapted from Weelicious

Do you make your own smoothies? Share your faves with me!

Are You There, Dinner? It’s Me, Jessica

by

“What do you want for dinner?”

“I dunno, what do you want for dinner?”

“I dunno.”

End scene.

And thus ends another scintillating conversation between me and Mister Jess about – you guessed it – what to eat for dinner. This is, by and large, the conversation we have every single night. This isn’t something I can blame on Bug, either. Even before we had a baby, we would sit in our living room and stare at each other, tummies rumbling as if to say, “yeah, what the eff IS for dinner?”

I have to admit that I’m not a cooker. Or a baker. Recipe books freak me out. Chicks Meri and Brooke send me super easy recipes and I smile (to my computer. Who doesn’t do that, okay?) and say “thanks!” Then the emails get filed away and die slow deaths, never to be seen again. When I do try to cook, it usually ends in disaster. One time I attempted to make a baked potato soup in the crock pot and I had to YouTube how to chop onions. Plot twist: the soup was awful. Surprise!

Mister Jess is more skilled than me, but his specialties are limited: he can cook a mean steak and a pretty delicious spaghetti. He’s probably the reason we haven’t starved to death. Well, him and the various restaurants of San Francisco. Thanks, guys.

I’m admitting all of this because I want you all to know how dire this situation is before I ask for your help. I will wait for you to finish laughing before I continue.

The fact of the matter is, I’m tired of take-out. I’m tired of making “nachos”, aka Tostitos chips and pre-packaged shredded cheese. I’m tired of frequenting the Whole Foods hot food bar, because it ain’t that hot. I want food. Real, delicious food. Real, delicious, healthy food that’s extremely easy to prepare and cook.

That’s not too tall an order, is it? Good!

I’m really asking for your help here, Scoot a Doot readers. Help me. Help Mister Jess. Save my little Bug from a future of hearing “what’s for dinner?” every night.

I love food. I just can't make it.

I love food. I just can’t make it.

So here it is: Do you have advice for me? Tips on how to get out of this years-long food rut? Easy, yummy recipes that I promise I’ll actually use? Meal planning advice? Tricks to get my vegetable-hating husband to eat some green stuff? Give it to me, I’ll take it all!

 

Recipe Box: Tomato and Corn Pizza

by

Brooke is our resident recipe sharer, so it’s only natural that I first heard about this delish pizza from her. A couple of summers ago I was searching for new recipes and Brooke came to the rescue with a boatload of recipes, including this one.

Okay, it was three recipes. Does three constitute a boatload? Let’s pretend it does.

intotheoven

Ingredients

I’ll chime in with my notes after each.

  • 3 small plum tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 (14-oz.) package prebaked Italian pizza crust – the Boboli Wheat is pretty rad but really, anything will work. Anything that is pizza crust, that is. Don’t try using cardboard. That would be bad. Sidenote: someone in college actually attempted to warm pizza and didn’t remove it from the cardboard box before putting it in the oven. That was a mistake.
  • Parchment paper – this isn’t absolutely necessary, as I have made the pizza sans parchment paper. But it does help reduce stickage.
  • 1/3 cup refrigerated pesto – this can be homemade or jarred, I’ve used both and both taste delicious. However, I don’t use 1/3 cup. I just use as much as it takes to cover the pizza crust. Actually, maybe I do use 1/3 cup and don’t know it. Hmmmm.
  • 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels – fresh, frozen, whatevs!
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese – that’s a fact. I really do use 1/4 grated Parmesan. Measured and all.
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

Preparation

  1. Place tomato slices on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; let stand 20 minutes.
  2. While you’re waiting for the moisture to drain from the tomatoes, pre-heat your oven to 450°.
  3. My goal is to dirty up as many dishes as possible to give the illusion of more work for me. I’m sure my husband is on to this.My plan goes a little something like this:
    • Plate to cut the tomatoes
    • Plate to slice the mozzarella – my mozzarella has no salt added, which I suppose is good since I just did the Salt and Pepa (Slide, Push It!) to the tomatoes. The package says that it’s easy open. But don’t believe their lies, because it was not.
    • Bowl to mix together corn, Parmesan, and sugar
    • Measuring cups! Measuring spoons! Mixing spoons! NO UTENSIL LEFT BEHIND!
  4. Place pizza crust on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; spread with pesto (however much or little you’d like).
  5. Bake at 450° for 14 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden. While you’re waiting for the pizza to cook, snack on leftover tomatoes. YUM!
  6. Remove from oven. Try not to shove directly in mouth to avoid burning oneself (trust me on this one) and enjoy!

pizzapizza

The original recipe is on MyRecipes.com but I made some modifications.

Recipe Box: Lemony Kale Pasta

by

Our recent trip to New York was very kind to my kale craving. I love all greens (I even have my girls eating raw spinach), but kale is my current favorite. And I’m not the only one who loves it, apparently. Kale with eggs at breakfast, kale and grapefruit at lunch, kale with farro at dinner. I’m surprised we didn’t find a kale-tini during cocktail hour.

I read a few food magazines and blogs, so I know it’s a popular vegetable, but it isn’t on the menu of many restaurants in our city. (Or maybe we need to get out more.) I happily ordered it at most meals during our trip.

Once home, I searched for some healthy meals (to detox) and kale recipes (because, kale) and found this quick and easy pasta dish on my favorite food blog. It’s a cinch to prepare, which is really the best kind of recipe for me, and tastes delicious.

Lemony Kale Pasta

INGREDIENTS

For the dressing:
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. kosher salt, divided
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
5-6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
¼-½ tsp. red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the pasta:
1 lb. whole grain pasta, such as penne
1 large bunch kale (black/lacinato kale preferred), rinsed and dried, stems removed*

DIRECTIONS

Boil water for the pasta. To make the dressing, sprinkle 1/4 tsp. of salt on the minced garlic and mash with a fork to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and add the remaining salt, Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and pepper. Whisk together until well combined.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Chop the kale into ½-inch ribbons.  Add the kale to a large bowl and toss with the dressing to coat well.  When the pasta is finished, drain well and let cool a minute or two.  Toss the pasta with the kale and dressing until well coated.  Serve with additional Parmesan as desired.

photo(11)

*I used pre-cut kale because my grocery store had a big bag of it. I’m not sure what type it was, but it worked well. And I didn’t chop anything.

Recipe Source: Annie’s Eats

In other news, I am happy to report that I am running again! I ran three miles on Saturday with my friend, Sara. My goal is to get to the treadmill at least twice more this week, and I’m outlining my fitness plan for this summer so I can begin training for Wine and Dine. All three kids will be at home with me so it will be tricky, but I know I can do it!

Are you a kale fan? Let me know if you try this or point me in the direction of your favorite recipe. What race are you training for right now?

Ruts and Nuts – What to do when a food rut drives you nuts!

by

Foodpost1

I’m the type of person that orders the exact same food at a restaurant.  I find something, I stick with it, and if the menu changes before I’m ready to break up with that food, well… let’s just say that there’s some pouting that occurs.

In the same breath, I’m the person that will eat something for six months repeatedly for breakfast (oatmeal!) and one day decide that I need a break. A hiatus can last a month or a year, depending on my mood. And hey, if it were up to me, CHEESE would be considered a daily meal.  I’d eat it regularly, or at least until I got bored. (But I don’t think that’s possible.)

I'll take the cheese buffet, please.

I’ll take the cheese buffet, please.

Yes, I’m quite the emotional eater. You can preach to me all that you want that “food to fuel” and rationally, I know that. But I also know that I want what I want, when I want it and that makes meal planning a bit of a challenge.

However, financially, I realize that meal planning is much more – oh, what’s the word? – smart.  So rather than leading solely with my gastronomical whims, I try to incorporate those while eating fairly healthy, and following my grocery store’s sales and ads for the week.

foodpost2

Not exactly easy but I’ve gotten a lot better at it than I was a couple of years back.  Trust me.

And yet, occasionally, I fall into a food rut.  It’s not that I don’t have plenty of recipes, because I do. It’s challenging at the moment because we’ve got Track & Field practice (for Pooks) three times each week. And if we’re not there, we attend a variety of other meetings (PTO, scouts, etc).  When we aren’t at one of those places, my husband has to work late.

You get the point. Maybe it’s not so much a “rut” but more just not being in the same place at the same time. But it leads to take-out and late meals. Neither option feels particularly healthy to me.

When I attended the Tinkerbell Half Meetup in January, I was fortunate enough to meet Tara Gidus and bend her ear while running.

tarafood

Thankfully, she was very open to the idea of keeping in contact (props to runDisney for choosing such an approachable dietician!) When I reached out to her, she offered some great tips to share with you:

  • Plan ahead! Look at your calendar. If you have meetings after work or your kid’s baseball practice to attend, but don’t want to sacrifice good nutrition and eating at home, we have to make planning a priority. Build your weeknight menu before you go to the grocery store.
  • Look at your track record. If you know you won’t have more than 10 minutes to get food on the table before you give in to takeout, do what you can to ensure success. Prep veggies on the weekend, incorporate slow cooker meals, make ahead meals like casseroles and chili or veggie soup, and always have quick and easy menu items on hand for last minute prep.
  • Keep quick meal ideas and ingredients in the house. I always have certain things on hand: spaghetti and marinara sauce, grilled cheese and tomato soup, egg sandwiches or omelettes, rotisserie chicken, minute rice for burrito bowls, frozen vegetables and entrees like Kashi pizzas, Bertolli family dinners, and Amy’s meals. Look at the nutrition facts on packaging to make sure each product is not too high in saturated fat or sodium, but typically these meals will be healthier and less expensive than eating out.

Love these ideas and have already started incorporating them into our active evenings.

Not every evening is going to be a five star dinner but with a bit of preparation and planning, I’m trying my darnedest to make the best of our crazy evenings and enjoy the not-so-crazy ones.

Now if you’ll please excuse me, I’m off to prep tonight’s chicken pot pie!

What do you do for food when the going gets tough (or busy)? Which meal do you find to be the most challenging?

Special thanks to Tara Gidus!

Recipe Box: Mexican Quinoa

by

I have a confession. Since Easter, I’ve consumed boxes (Yes, you read that right. Boxes.) of Girl Scout cookies and a good portion of the Easter candy in our house. And maybe some left over from Valentine’s Day too.

Why, you ask? Well, part of it is because I gave up cookies and candy for Lent, and I suppose I went a little overboard making up for lost time. The other reason is that I’m pretty stressed out at the moment, and when that happens, I want some sugar. Or a lot of sugar, apparently. Ahem.

I like sweets. I love to bake. One of the reasons I began running was so I could continue to eat dessert (and drink wine) without having to buy bigger clothes. Moderation is definitely key though, so it was time to toss out the candy and make some smart food choices again.

I ate my last Thin Mint on Sunday, and resolved to get back to healthy eating this week. I stocked our kitchen with good-for-me snacks, such as Greek yogurt (I prefer plain with my own fruit added), almonds, berries (picked by me and the girls), carrots (easy to grab-and-go) and other fresh produce. I also filled our dinner menu with simple meals of lean protein, whole grains and veggies.

One of those is a quinoa salad that’s a cinch to prepare, super filling and has quickly become one of my favorite healthy meals. I LOVE Mexican food, so this is the perfect quinoa dish for me.

Mexican Quinoa
Makes about 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well and drained
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
1 cup frozen corn (or kernels cut from 2 cobs of corn)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 quarter of a lime, juiced

To finish:
Shredded cheese, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), salsa and/or avocado.

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and jalapeños to the pan and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the the quinoa, veggie broth, beans, diced tomatoes, corn, and salt to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the liquid is fully absorbed. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Serve as desired with cheese, salsa, avocado, and/or sour cream.

Source: Annie’s Eats

Do you have a go-to healthy meal or snack? Please share it with me in the comments! More importantly, what is your favorite Girl Scout cookie? (Mine are Caramel deLites, AKA Samoas, AKA the greatest cookie ever.)

It’s raining, it’s pouring, it’s sleeting, it’s snowing… but we’ve got chocolate!

by

I’m pretty sure that’s not how the old nursery rhyme goes but that’s how our “reward trip” Philadelphia Chocolate Tour and our visit to the City Sports store went after the Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k.

I’d originally heard about chocolate touring when I’d visited Chick Bec back in October.  We’d gotten LivingSocial deals for the Boston Chocolate Tour and had a fantastic time checking out the sites, and chocolates, of Boston with Chick Cam and Jenn.

The idea of a chocolate tour is quite simple: visit chocolatiers to sample some of their finest products (and buy more, if you’re so inclined!). Some places even give discounts to tour patrons; there’s no pressure to buy anything but the option is there.

BostonScoot

Bec, Cam, Mer and Jenn enjoyed Teuscher’s of Boston! (And a sunny day!)

Naturally, when we saw the LivingSocial deal for the Philadelphia Chocolate Tour, Vic and I envisioned a lovely March day of walking around the city, eating delicious chocolate and having a grand time.  Well, at least two out of three of those happened!

photo(25)

Our meeting spot – 12th and Filbert at Reading Terminal Market.

We found our tour guide, Laura, and the rest of our soppy but otherwise happy group. After Vic took a quick picture and Laura called a group that didn’t show up to tell them how they could reschedule, we scooted around the block, which was blessedly under the cover of an overpass.

Once we were shielded from the elements, Laura gave us a little history of the Chocolate Tours company and chocolate in Philadelphia.  We learned that Philly is the number one city for cocoa bean imports in the country, in part because the Hershey and Mars factories are located nearby. In addition to the Boston and Philly Chocolate Tours, there is also a Chicago Chocolate Tour (road trip!?!).

The members of our group introduced themselves, sharing their favorite types of chocolate, and then we headed inside Reading Terminal Market to our first two stops.

If you’ve never been to the City of Brotherly Love, you might not be familiar with what Reading Terminal is… which is pure AWESOME. It’s been around since the late 1800’s and is an indoor market with fresh produce, meats, fish, crafts and goods, coffee, and (most importantly for this tour) chocolate opportunities!

photo(15)

Our first stop on the tour was The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company (which, if anyone is wondering, is near 12th street). Vic and I had drooled over these cookies as we’d passed by earlier, so we were very excited that we’d be able to get a sample! We tried their chocolate chip cookies and everyone was quite pleased that they were warm and fresh out of the oven, made especially for our tour group.

And?  There were extras so we all got more!  Delicious! I can see why they’re “famous” and I’ll definitely be stopping by on my next Philly excursion.

Reading Terminal was quite active, perhaps more so than usual given the rain, but we had no issues following Laura through the crowds to our second stop, the Pennsylvania General Store.

photo(16)

Chocolate Scrapple and Wilbur buds

At this kiosk we were treated to chocolate scrapple and Wilbur buds. If you’re not from the area, you might not be enlightened as to what scrapple is: a mixture of meat scraps and cornmeal that’s formed into a loaf and fried. It’s commonly found in the Northeast region of the U.S. Thankfully, the chocolate scrapple didn’t involved any pork products (although there was a chocolate covered bacon at this store), but did have a delicious mix of marshmallow, popcorn, and nuts.  Good stuff!  Since my husband is a huge scrapple fan, I wound up getting him a package of the chocolate scrapple there and was pleased to see that they gave the tour group a discount.  Score!

Wilbur buds are also a regional treat; the manufacturer is located in Lititz, Lancaster County, Victoria’s hometown. She’s no stranger to the Wilbur buds and suggested letting the chocolate melt a bit in our mouths before biting.  The dark chocolate was so heavenly.

photo(27)

We had to travel through the streets of Philly a bit to our next location, which was a bit off the beaten path, in a jewelry and accessory store called Verde. There, tucked into the shop, was Marcie Blaine’s artisanal chocolates.

photo(26)

This spread was aesthetically pleasing, as were the jewelry and purses in the store. We were given a white chocolate Pub Crawl bark sample, which was white chocolate with crushed pretzels, smoked almonds, and cashews. It was okay, but Vic and I were both pretty disappointed because neither of us really like white chocolate and the truffles were fairly pricey, so we didn’t really get a good feel on whether we enjoyed the chocolates at this stop.

photo(17)

The rain was unrelenting at this point and there was no dodging the puddles (or drunk St. Patrick’s day celebrators) on the streets. Thankfully the next stop on our tour was the never-disappointing Teuschers of Switzerland. The small store is tucked into The Shops at The Bellevue on Broad Street and charming in every which way.

photo(19)

Laura gives us an overview of Teuscher and lets us know that we’ll be trying their best selling Champagne Truffle. YUM!

Once inside the store, we were greeted by two associates who gave us a more in depth history of Teuscher and then invited us to try the champagne truffles. I’d actually tasted the champagne truffle at their Boston location so I knew what a treat we were in for! Both Laura and the associates suggested taking a bite of the truffle to fully taste the champagne and chocolate middle.

photo(20)

It was absolutely incredible! Vic couldn’t resist and wound up getting a small gift box.

photo(28)

Our last stop was farther away, right in the heart of Rittenhouse Square. Our tour guide mentioned that on a nicer day, we would wander through Rittenhouse Square Park but on this day, we were just looking to get out of the rain that had turned to hail.

Capogiro Gelato was the final stop on our tour and Vic and I were no strangers, having visited a couple of years back with a friend who lives in the area. We both love gelato but weren’t expecting it on a chocolate tour. We were each given four spoons and ceramic ramekins were passed around the group with four flavors: chocolate, hazelnut chocolate, peanut butter chocolate and double chocolate.

photo(21)

Guinness gelato – everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s day, even gelato!

As we wrapped up, we bid our chocolate tour group a fond farewell. Thankfully City Sports was just a few blocks away. By this time we were a bit tired and cranky but knew that we had a very important task to do before we took the train back into New Jersey – picking out the City Sports Philadelphia shirts for our giveaway winners!

photo(24)

All the pretty colors!

We took our job very seriously, picking the best of the best.

photo(22)

photo(23)

Jayme and Shannon, your shirts will be on their ways soon, complete with a lot of love, a bit of St. Patrick’s day drunk and a small sprinkle of Philly rain.  Bec, our Boston representative, will be getting Kate’s City Sports Boston shirt.

Between the Adrenaline 5k, our Philadelphia Chocolate Tour, and City Sports, it was a full and satisfying day!

Have you ever done a food or drink tour in your area? Should we check it out? Let us know in the comments.

Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k 2013

by

photo(4)

I did it again. I lost a friend I was pacing mid-race.  But this time, my running partner blessed my zippy feet. Before Saturday’s 5K race through Haddonfield, NJ., Meridith had asked me to pace her. BUT, only on the condition that IF we lost each other, I would race to the finish.

Agreed.

Our happy group for the Haddonfield Running Company’s Adrenaline 5K included two first time 5K-runners, not-so-silent Bob and Jay, Mer’s husband. Friends, Brandi and Megan, and their respective trailblazing husbands, Sean and Matt, rounded out our colorful group.

photo(10)

We arrived at Haddonfield HS about an hour before the 9 a.m. race. We had access to the school to use the bathrooms and keep warm. We sure did, as temps dropped into the mid-30s Saturday morning.

photo(13)

Brandi showed us her dual watches, however, neither one worked properly during the race. Bummer!

Soon enough, we lined up outside the school on Kings Highway and before we knew it we were off. No, really, we had no idea the race began until people around us shuffled forward.

Within the first quarter-mile, we saw two firefighters donning full turnout gear – one man hauled a fire hose and the second carried an American flag. We thanked them for their service and waved as we passed by.

photo(5)

We passed some other interesting characters, including a dog in a green tutu, and another canine – a senior golden retriever named Birdie — running the race.

photo(6)

Sean, in the red shirt and orange cap, paced his wife Brandi in the first mile as Brandi aimed to break her personal 5K record. She waved him on mid-race.

I started the race alongside Meridith and tried to stay just in front her, to force her to chase me through the streets. But it wasn’t Meri’s day. I turned back more than once to see her smiling face nodding. But shortly before the first mile marker, she grimaced and waved me on.

I rounded a bend, onto Washington Avenue, and picked up my pace. But oh, there were obstacles. Mini-Cooper-sized potholes. You really had to watch your step as you ran, for fear you might turn an ankle in one of those potholes.

photo(12)

As the runner pushing a stroller in this photo said, “We come to Haddonfield for the schools, not the quality of the streets.”

I headed down a hill, taking full advantage of gravity, rounded a few bends, passed by a water stop and ran up a small hill near the high-speed rail line. I was passing people left and right (thank you, running partner Ray for pushing me to run hills each Tuesday night!).

Ultimately, I sprinted that last mile. I ran to the finish knowing full well it was not my best or my worst time. I received a medal and stalked the finish line to snap photos of Meridith. She rolled in a few minutes later – grinning.

photo(8)

Like me, it was not her best run nor was it her worst. She joined me at the finish and we waited for her husband to appear. And the flurries started to fly.

Soon enough, we spotted his blue jacket in the distance. He was approaching – fast. We yelled – not that he could hear us. But he sprinted, realizing he could surpass his time goal and flew past several runners.

photo(7)

He finished just under 39 minutes and was soon surrounded by his fan club (seen above and to the right.) Well done, group!

IMG956214

Megan, Meri, Brandi and Vic at the finish. Most 5K races don’t reward finishers with medals, but the Adrenaline 5K has a pretty kick-ass medal…which doubles as a bottle opener. And we put those medals to good use at the Haddonfield Running Company’s Sweet 16 Party back at the store, 121 E. Kings Highway.

photo(14)

There was quite the variety of beer – ranging from Guinness to microbrews to Coors Light. The store put on a pretty stellar post- race food from a local catering company, Apron.

photo(9)

And of course, there were sales. Oh yes. And we shopped. (Really, we needed a few things.) We visited with friends for a pretty great day. Thanks Haddonfield Running Company. We’ll be back.

photo(11)