Here is a funny tidbit of information about me. I worked as a regional manager for a chain of health clubs for about 10 years, I married a marathon runner and I absolutely hate exercise. Everyone always assumed that I was a health nut. Nope! While my husband is running marathons, I am trying to find my way to the finish line with a forty ounce of beer. I don’t workout & I definitely do not run. For years my husband has been trying to convince me to run a race with him, but I just would not budge. I just could not understand why he and so many others loved this. Running hurts my knees and my shins. I am a big baby. I just was not interested in putting my body through this torture for no reason. Lately, I have begun to find myself more and more curious as to why so many loved to run. I know that obviously it is great for weight loss, but there are other ways to do it, so what is the draw. I have been gaining motivation through watching my husband, friends and even some of my fellow bloggers, Runsaltrun .

Soooooo, I, Kim the anti-runner have agreed to do my first 5K. I am a registered participant for one at the end of next month.  This week, I began my training. What I have discovered is that I am grossly out of shape, but I am working on it.

When ever I start a exercise routine, I know that I am going to need some extra fuel to keep my body going. One of my favorite energy foods is granola. It is healthy, delicious and easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups of quick oats

1/4 cup organic honey

1/4 cup organic peanut butter – Make sure to stir the peanut butter well before measuring out as organic peanut butter can have an inconsistent texture if not stirred well.

1/3 cup coarsely chopped almonds

1/4 unshelled sunflower seeds

1/3 cup dark chocolate

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp of sea salt

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix oats, honey and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl. Mix well, breaking up any chunks of peanut butter and evenly distributing honey and peanut butter through the oats. Mix in the almonds, sunflower seeds and chocolate. Add the vanilla and sprinkle in the sea salt. Stir well. Spoon on your mixture onto a greased baking sheet. Spread out the mixture compactly to form larger granola chunks or scatter for smaller bites. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Watch carefully not to burn. Remove from the oven & let cool. Toss in the cranberries and crumble granola in to chunks.

The great thing about granola is their are so many possibilities and different fruit and nut combinations. Granola is great alone or sprinkle over yogurt or even ice cream.

Stay tuned for more on my 5K training saga…