Slow Sunday

When I woke up this morning, my phone said that it was 10AM. I expected this because I normally get up at 9 and, assuming that my phone had reset itself to account for the loss of daylight savings, that is what time it would feel like to my body. You can imagine my surprise then when I looked at my computer and saw that it was 11! I NEVER sleep in (some may say that nine is sleeping in, but when you go to bed at 1 its exactly 8 hours of sleep), and often wake up before my alarm in the morning...I also have had some sleep issues in the past and so I was amazed. I guess my body needed the rest after my run yesterday and all of the walking that I ended up doing while food shopping (walking to Trader Joe's and Shaw's and back carrying groceries is tiring!). As for the run itself, I finished the 6.5 miles in 55 minutes, bringing my speed to a solid 7 mph. My knee is feeling good, so I am pleased. I am also now halfway to a half marathon! It makes the whole thing seem much less daunting. I'm getting hyped for my 7 mile run next weekend...that will be the longest I have run EVER.

Now I would like to say that on this lazy Sunday morning, I decided to whip up some pancakes. But that would be a lie. This may be heresy, but I don't like having pancakes for breakfast. They just don't do it for me. I need something more filling and nutritious to start off my day (I always have an egg on an english muffin and a package of kashi golean oatmeal). Instead, I much prefer to have pancakes for lunch or even dinner. Yes, I am a huge fan of the breakfast-for-dinner mentality...pancakes paired with a frittata, sausage, potatoes... And yet, I made these pancakes for lunch this week from a cookbook that I got for my roommate for her birthday. I had also gotten her an electric griddle to go with the cookbook, since she is a verified pancake addict, and she's always chiding me for never having used it. So I decided to go ahead and give it a try. The electric griddle is god's gift to the pancake lover...they all turn out so well, unlike when made on a pan on the stove, where the first batch is usually awful (at least in my experience). I made oatmeal-raisin pancakes and they were really yummy. Even though they were as calorie-dense as my usual sandwich options, I felt pretty hungry soon after eating them, though, and so I may stick with having them for dinner paired with some other options (like the aforementioned frittata). I guess I just really need to have a protein source at every meal!

Oatmeal-Raisin Pancakes
Serves 2, adapted from The Pancake Handbook

3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup oats
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup egg beaters or one egg
3/4 cup almond milk (or regular milk if you so desire)
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce (to replace the 2 tbsp butter)
1/4 cup raisins

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt). In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (egg, milk, applesauce). Add the liquid to the dry until just mixed. Fold in the raisins.

Heat an electric griddle to 375. Pour 1/4 cup measures of pancake batter onto the griddle. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until bubbling. Flip and cook for another two minutes.