Chia Seed Sticker Shock & Fall Kefir Water

Hope everyone is having an awesome weekend so far. I’m feeling pretty wiped after a long run in our unseasonably high heat today, it definitely affected my speed and water consumption. So far it’s been a chaotic, but fun weekend. Just call me dog sitting service because I’m sitting both my mom’s and dad’s dogs while they’re off on vacations. My dad is taking a month long cruise all over Hawaii and the south Pacific, so color me jealous! I know what I’d like to do if and when we can retire! :-P But It’s been interesting getting all 3 to get along, I’m still waiting for my cats to come out of hiding. And my very territorial female chihuahua is not thrilled about sharing her turf with another female dog that’s about 15 times her size.

Last night we went to Dave & Buster’s for the first time to celebrate a friend’s birthday and that was interesting. When we first moved to this area, I always thought is was a dirty trick to see commercials for the place making it look awesome, yet the closest one to us was a few hours away in the bay area. That’s cruel! One finally opened closer and apparently still insanely popular because at 8 PM there was still a 1.5 hour wait to get a table. Luckily we scored a bar table big enough for the group and parked it there to enjoy cocktails before hitting the games. If you’ve never been, it’s basically an adult themed Chuck E’ Cheese with games, sports bar and lots of alcohol. I was a little sad to see a lot of parents there with cranky babies and toddlers so late. With so many drunk and cursing adults around and TVs only playing sports, it’s not exactly a kid-friendly place. After burning through $25 worth of game credits, the party broke up at about 11 PM. Wow, I must be getting old, because I was tired by then! Getting up for early workouts has converted me to more of a morning person which is working out better for my work schedule, just not for late partying.

Anyway, one super food I have not regularly fitted into my diet yet is chia seeds beyond sprinkling them into my smoothies. But I know there are many better ways to enjoy them and they’re a super food for runners and, well, everyone! I’m determined to work more with them in the next few months trying more recipes and consuming them regularly. But, on a recent trip to Whole Foods, this prevented me from loading up in the bulk foods section.

Jeez, $12.99 a pound!?! Restocking my pantry at that price will definitely blow my grocery budget for this month! With a quick search on Amazon, I found a much better deal!

[amtap amazon:asin=B000WV0TS0]

2 days, a huge 5 lb. bag arrived of the magical little seeds.

So far I’ve only been adding a tablespoon or 2 of soaked chia seeds to smoothies and will be keeping a jar of soaked seeds in the fridge for quick access. The quality of the seeds seems great and there’s so much of them that I filled two pantry containers.

The vinegar drink I tried last week gave me a great idea for fall spiced homemade kefir water. Instead of using a pear and ginger, I tried a sliced apple and a few teaspoons of ground cinnamon to flavor a batch.

Apple and cinnamon are two flavors that welcome fall for me and this drink was a wonderfully pleasant spiced treat, the cinnamon wasn’t too strong. Perfect for fall. Plus apples are cheaper currently with a longer shelf life than pears. If you’re into homemade kefir water of kombucha, try this flavor!

Gulp, it’s a week countdown to my half-marathon now and I’m getting a little nervous. For experienced runners out there, what foods and exercises help you prepare for the big event? I’ll be taking it easy running this week, but would love to know you’re thoughts and experiences on carbo loading, pre-race meals, etc.