Hi guys! I hope you had great weekends. Ours was busy but we made some time for fun, too. :)
Matt and I kicked things off on Friday night with dinner out! We had a really busy week with some long days so this was a nice way to unwind.
Pizza + salad + beers = yes please!
The rest of the night was less fun – we were rushing around packing and organizing – although I did get to bed pretty early because I was wiped and also because on Saturday morning I was up and out early for a run date!
Before getting out there, I fueled up with my usual pre-run snack of choice: toast with peanut butter and banana.
I realized the other day that peanut butter is involved in both of my favorite pre-run snacks (see also: banana + PB minus the toast, if I’m not as hungry) as well as my during long run fuel of choice (pitted dates stuffed with a teaspoon of PB each + with a sprinkle of salt, if the PB isn’t salted).
Peanut butter FTW!
In addition to being delicious, peanut butter is a great affordable superfood that contains 19 vitamins and minerals!
I also love that peanut butter contains some protein (about 4 grams per tablespoon) – enough to keep me satisfied but not so much it will cause GI distress while out on the run.
Peanuts are great post-workout, too – I love throwing a big spoonful of peanut butter into a recovery smoothie to add some extra flavor, healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants.
To help spread the peanut love, I’m excited to share that my friends at The Peanut Institute (who have sponsored this section of the blog post) would like to share the peanut love with you guys via a giveaway!
TWO lucky fANNEtastic food readers will win a peanut-tastic prize pack, containing over $50 worth of peanut-themed goodies, including: Virginia Diner Gourmet Peanuts, Hampton Farms No Salt Roasted Peanuts (5lbs), Peanut Butter & Co. Peanut Powder, Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts, JIF Blender Bottle, and JIF to Go Peanut Butter.
To enter to win, please use the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck! :)
Anyway – back to the run date!
My friend Ashley is still in town visiting, so we met up with our mutual friend Sokphal for a run date around DC.
Love running with these ladies!
There were lots of people down at the monuments in graduation gowns – fun!
We made it 4 miles (with some untimed stops for photos and water fountains), which felt about right.
I think next weekend I’ll try to do a trail run if I have time since I’ve got my trail 10k coming up in June. Local readers – what’s your favorite trail in the area for running?
After the run, I came home and swapped out with Matt so he could get his workout in! I ate some leftovers and then took Riese out to do some errands.
Thankfully the errands involved being nearby my fave Arlington coffee shop, Java Shack – mocha it was! ;)
When we got back, I threw together some tacos for us for lunch.
Ground beef + Mexican seasoning + tomatoes + onions + cheese + chopped spinach. Tasty!
The rest of the day was spent doing work around the house – as I mentioned we are moving down to Del Ray in Alexandria this summer, and we are under contract on a house down there but now we need to sell our house! Lots of moving parts.
A few of you have asked recently why we decided to move – and it’s basically just that we wanted to mix things up a bit! We’ve been in Arlington on and off since 2004 (with stints away while I was teaching English in Prague in 2008, and then when we lived in NC while I was getting my masters in nutrition from 2010-12) and just kind of want to try something new.
We love the Del Ray area and keep hearing from everyone who lives there how great it is for people with little kids, and how lovely the community is. We started casually looking at houses there last fall, and were grateful to have the luxury of time to keep looking until we found something that felt like the right fit. We actually put an offer on a place back in December but didn’t get it… the market here is pretty crazy.
We were really torn on leaving Arlington, but we figure we can always move back, and anyway I’m sure we will love Del Ray!
It’s hard to believe we’ve owned our current house for 5 years now – time flies! We are going to be really sad to say goodbye to our first home, and to the house where we first brought Riese home, but it will be fun to mix things up a bit. Our new house is also bigger which will be really nice – we are excited to have a guest room for visitors!
Anyway – we finally finished up the house stuff around 7 and decamped to my parent’s house, where Matt, Riese, Freyja the dog, Zara the cat, and I will be staying for the next week or so while our place hopefully sells! We are super grateful to be able to get out of the way while our place is shown… having people tromping through all day while keeping the house looking perfect with a toddler and two pets seemed… not fun. So a huge thank you to my parents for letting us crash their place. :)
We got Riese to bed right when we arrived (she was NOT excited about sleeping in a new place… yikes) and then made a late dinner. Steaks + mushrooms + rainbow chard.
Plus our usual fave side, the 80’s/90’s-tastic taco salad. :)
Sunday morning we had a low key mother’s day breakfast:
And then hung out around the house for the morning until I snuck away for a hot yoga sculpt class just before lunch.
I hadn’t been to CorePower Yoga in ages, but it was a chilly and rainy day so a hot class felt perfect!
The rest of the day was spent hanging out with my grandmother – Matt and I took Riese over to have mother’s day dinner with her. I didn’t get any photos but it was great to see her, and as always, Riese was a HUGE hit with the elderly crowd. :)
Have a great day, and don’t forget about the peanut gift basket giveaway – you have until Wednesday to enter!
My husband and I just moved recently and it was tough, I can’t imagine it with a little one too – good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly!
Thank you!
I love peanuts for a healthy snack!
Fun giveaway-and my baby is getting ready to try peanut butter for the first time!
Peanut butter is the only food that everyone in my house will eat lol.
Good to know about all the vitamins and minerals in peanut butter. My 1-year-old daughter loves it too! I buy her the no-salt added kind, like Crazy Richard’s https://www.crazyrichards.com/. Happy Mother’s Day!
PB is part of all my favorite snacks, too. Sometimes I get a little carried away and have to stop buying it for a while, or else I’ve been known to go on a bit of a PB-eating binge haha.
I love PB straight out the jar with a spoon! #NoShame
PB and dates are magical together! :)
I LOVE peanut butter on Jicama. It’s my go to snack. PB and bananas is awesome too. PB cookies are my favorite. UMMMMM
I’m going to have to try PB + jicama – I love crunchy snacks so I bet this will be a new fave!
PB on banana, PB in oatmeal, PB on pancakes and and waffles, PB on a spoon…
PB on a spoon with some chocolate chips on top. Delivered straight into my mouth! My MIL keeps a jar of PB with my name on it; no one else is allowed to eat from it.
Haha love it!
I love dates and PB! My fave combo
My favorite is Smuckers natural peanut butter with slices of granny smith apple.
I’m with you on how great peanuts and peanut butters are, and it tastes great!
Tried the new Peloton Tread (loved it!) this morning and a spoonful of PB would have been a great option to prefuel. Must remember that for next time.
Peanut butter straight from the jar is the best :)
I love PB on everything as well! Recently I have been loving PB in my baked oatmeal and then drizzled over the top. I love how melty it gets!
I love a honeycrisp apple with peanut butter for a snack!
I love a bit of peanut butter mixed into my chocolate shake! I love your “Strong as a mother” shirt! Where did you find that? Have a great Monday!
Thanks! I think the shirt is from etsy – it was a gift from my sister-in-law when Riese was born. :) Seemed appropriate on Mother’s Day!
I love PB and our son Paul loves it, too. He loves pancakes with peanut butter on them. The more peanut butter, the better, although he loves to touch his head/hair when eating peanut butter for some reason!
Good luck with the move!! I hope your house sells super fast but I bet it will since inventory is low in most places. We have been looking for a house for 18 months. Our current house has just enough room for the 3 of us, but we don’t have a guest room and we will REALLY need more space when we have a 2nd child. But we are super duper picky about the area and the specifics of the house, hence the reason it’s taking forever to find something. And there are so few houses coming on the market in our area of Minneapolis. About once a week I tell my husband that we are never going to find a house. :/ But someday the right house will come along! We would also get out of the house for the week it’s on the market, too. We have a cat and it’s WAY too hard to keep a house in showing condition with a child!!! I hope Riese adjusts to her new sleeping environment soon!!!
OMG why do they always touch their hair when their hands are crazy messy?! And thanks re: the house! We were in the same boat – our house is perfect for the 3 of us, but wanting to grow our family at some point and also wanting a place for guests to stay meant we were ready for more space. :) But it was really nice to not be in a big hurry so we could take our time looking (and also since the market is so competitive). We are hoping the low inventory + hot market combination going on right now will work in our favor now as sellers… unlike over the past year when we were the buyers. :)
My favorite breakfast is oatmeal with berries and a big spoonful of peanut butter. Also, peanut butter + dark chocolate is a combo I love!
I put PB on my oatmeal every morning for breakfast!
Peanut Butter and apple slices – love this snack!
I’m still a big energy bite person – PB, oats, flaxseed meal, honey, chia seeds, and mini chocolate chips. Great pre or post run!
Agreed! All the best energy bites contain PB in my opinion. ;)
I am so glad I am not one of the unfortunate people who are allergic to peanuts and therefore cannot eat peanuts, peanut butter, and Reese’s. Peanut butter is my go to snack after working in a nut free environment. Freshly made PB that is warm and gooey is the best. I even make PB popcorn balls. The best of two foods!
PB popcorn balls sound soooo good – need more details on that! Any other ingredients? How do you make them?
I love adding PB to my recovery protein shake after the run. I also like to add PB to my energy balls that sometimes accompany me on my longer runs.
The market in Northern Virginia is CRAZY! Did your Arlington house sell quickly? The fear of having nowhere to live in the interim is real in this area.
We hope it will sell quickly! That’s what we’re trying to get done over the next couple weeks while we stay at my parent’s house out of the way of people coming in to see it! So hoping it will be quick and easy so we can move back in until we move to Del Ray later this summer.
I make date bars (inspired by your date/peanut butter posting from long ago about running fuel and a Minimalist Baker recipe I modified) that have peanut butter in them. They have cocoa and almond flour in them and are topped with a few chocolate chips. I bake them, cut into bars, and freeze. I use these for fueling long runs. They don’t travel too well (they are best cold), but are great to pick up as I do a loop. thanks.
Those sound amazing!
Post workout there is nothing better then a big ol’ spoonfull of crunchy PB!
I run the Glover-Archbold trail sometimes. It is technical in spots but very easy to follow and rarely crowded.
I forgot about that trail – haven’t been on it in many years! Thanks :)
Peanut butter is a staple in our house!
Peanut butter (any nut butter) is one of the easiest things to sit in my stomach- it helps I love eating it, but it’s a great preworkout straight from the jar
Peanut butter with a spoon is good :) I also like it in oatmeal, on toast, with apples.
Love pb and prunes too!
Vita muffins
Apples with peanut butter!
Love me some peanut butter toast! It’s got to be crunchy though. None of that creamy crap ;)
Haha I’m with you!
I love eating peanuts via peanut butter! What doesn’t taste better with peanut butter on it??
Double Peanut Popcorn Balls:
Mix and keep warm in 225 oven: 5 cups popped popcorn + 1 cup peanuts
Combine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly:
1/2 cup sugar (I use less) + 1/2 peanut butter (I use more and good brand) + 1/2 cup corn syrup
Add 1/2 tsp vanilla
Immediately pour over popcorn and peanuts and mix well. Form into balls (or just eat it) using greased hands.
Yum. Thank you!!
Peanut butter toast, all day everyday :)
I love dates with peanut butter on long runs!
My 2-year-old is obsessed with PB. Scrapes it off the bread when I give her a sandwich! I love just topping a toasted English muffin with PB.
Peanut butter is the best! If I want a little something that won’t ruin my appetite before dinner, a little scoop of PB is perfect. I also like it before a race on some toast or part of a PB&J.
I love good old fashioned peanut butter toast-my children, however, would eat peanut butter on shoe-they are obsessed!
Lol same with Riese!
I’m not participating in the giveaway (boo peanut allergy!!) but I still wanted to comment. Welcome to Del Ray! I’ve lived in the area for close to five years, and it’s truly the best. Be sure to take Riese to The Dairy Godmother this summer. If you haven’t had it yet, it’ll change your life.
Also, re: trails – I’ve heard great things about the Potomac Heritage Trail, though I haven’t tried it personally. I’m just waiting for a non-rainy weekend where I can try it out without getting too muddy. I’ve done the Lake Accotink loop, and it’s fairly beginner-friendly. I did a trail race at Pohick down in Lorton last weekend. That was a tough, muddy trail! I want to try it again and redeem myself when it’s not just 6+ inches of mud for five miles.
Omg 6 inches of mud?? That sounds ROUGH! I love the Potomac Heritage Trail. Will have to check out Lake Accotink! And yay, I hope to run into you in Del Ray! I’m pumped to be walking distance to Dairy Godmother ;)
Love PB on toast, plus or minus the banana!
I am in the process of moving now and am soo ready for it to be over and in our new place! Thank goodness it is just my husband and I. I can’t imagine how much harder it is with a little one! Best of luck on selling your house quickly!!!
Thanks!! It will be nice to have everything settled! Good luck to you on your move, too! :)
Pb is the best!
Apples and pb!
Good luck with your move! I am giving PB filled dates a try. Yum!!
Peanut butter and bananas is such a great combo! Moving with a little one is hard but it will be worth it for more space!
Congratulations on finding a lovely home, & I hope yours sells quickly! The market in Knoxville, TN is crazy. House go pending in 24 hours from listing. It’s been a real downer as we’ve looked for the past year. But I’ll remain hopeful. 🙂 We LOVE peanut butter & enjoy it daily! What an awesome prize pack.
It’s like that here, too… SO competitive it’s ridiculous! Sucks as a buyer… but as a seller I’m hoping it works in our favor :)
Love adding peanut butter to my smoothies
Love pb straight outta the jar!
I love peanut butter mixed in yogurt&oatmeal!
Peanut butter is always my choice of recovery food too.
I like to fill a re-useable silicone “baggie” with peanuts, raisins and mini-pretzels. I keep that with me for snacking on-the-go.
At night, as already commented above, Honeycrisp apples, thinly sliced and topped with PB, is a favorite snack that I never tire of. Good to the very last bite while the apples are in season.
Love your re-useable bag snack idea!
Still trying to master homemade granola bars with PB!
Try my No Bake Peanut Butter Granola Bars! They are no bake and sooo good.
Omg, will do!
There’s not much I don’t love PB on…I would say its the perfect food! Good luck with your move!
So excited for you and your family’s upcoming move to Alexandria! My husband and bought in Old Town a year ago and we absolutely love it, plus we’re walkable to Del Ray. We like to think we got two awesome and unique neighborhoods in one move. Welcome to the area, I thinkyou’ll love living here!
That sounds like a perfect location! We love Old Town too… will be fun to be closer to the Old Town waterfront!
Peanut butter on pancakes is my all time favorite! A jar of of peanut butter only lasts about week in our house :)
I need to try the date/peanut butter combo. So far, I have not used peanuts for fueling – but thanks for the idea.
I love a plain bagel with pb and honey before workouts :)
Burke Lake has a great running trail! Also, welcome to Alexandria! I live near Del Ray and my kiddos go to school there. It’s a great neighborhood for toddler munchkins. If you’re planning to stay through elementary school, though, it’s worth considering now whether you will do public school. The schools here can be a bit spotty and some of the private schools are competitive to get into, so starting early is a good bet.
Yeah… we are going to assess that situation once we get settled!
:-) Feel free to flip me an email if you want more intel. I live in Old Town and have a preschooler and a kindergartner currently at a school in Del Ray so I have ALL THE THOUGHTS about schools in the neighborhood. I’d be happy to share with you the info that I wish I’d known when we moved into the Alexandria school district.
As well as the usual sandwiches my kids and I love peanut butter on apple slices for a snack
Peanut butter us a staple in my house!
I love PB and honey toast, sometimes with banana as well, before workouts!
Good luck with the move and selling your house! Packing is never fun, but at least it’s a good way to purge old things!
Very true – it’s been a great excuse to go through and get rid of stuff!
I love peanut butter with bananas
I love peanut butter on anything! I’m so excited because my daughter is about to taste peanut butter for the first time! I’m sure she will love it, too!
Aw yay! I hope she loves it :)
Keep it simple around here: energy bites of all kinds ( and homemade peanut butter cookies!).
Peanut butter & bananas! Total yum. Add a whole grain waffle and I’m good to go. I do biking instead of running. When I do my long rides (60 plus miles), it is the perfect fuel!
Yes, PB is an awesome fuel for pretty much any sport!
Honestly, peanut butter on a spoon is my favorite but dangerous at the same time. Sometimes I go back for seconds
I LOVE peanut butter in yogurt, or all melty on top of oats. YUM! My fingers are crossed so hard for this giveaway.
I love peanut butter – but two out of three of my kids won’t eat it! I can’t understand it!
Whaaaat! They don’t know what they are missing! Actually, I wasn’t really into PB until later in life… but now I eat it almost every day. So there’s hope for your kids ;)
When we lived in DC we were OBSESSED with Del Ray. Great coffee shops, restaurants, and always lots of kids running around. We actually discovered it from your blog! It was where we spent a lot of weekend afternoons. So excited for you!
Aw that’s awesome! We are so excited to be able to walk to the main area there once we move… so many great places to go!
I love banana with a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter when I just need something to eat asap!
I really appreciated getting some fresh peanuts at a welcome center upon entering Virginia on a road trip a few summers ago! Would love to get the peanut themed gift basket!
Moving is stressful but organizing the new home will be such fun! Good luck with everything!
Thanks Kylie!
I love pb on toast with blueberries and honey after a run!
I’ve enjoyed running the trail around Burke Lake before – you would have to drive from Arlington but I think it’s 4.5 mile loop around the lake.
We live in Fairlington and I love Del Ray area of Alexandria. I can’t get over how crazy the housing market here is right now – and only going to ramp up with Amazon coming to Crystal City. I have to be honest that we have avoided Alexandria City due to the schools since they are hit or miss. But no doubt the houses are wonderful. Best of luck!!
Yeah, it was a tough call moving with the schools – but we figure we can always live there for a few years and if we want, just come back to Arlington for the better schools when Riese gets older, especially middle school age. But we may love it and want to stay… and a lot can change in a few years with the schools, too, so we’ll see! Thankfully with the housing market here we figure we won’t lose money on the house even if we don’t stay that long!
I love mixing PB into yogurt with banana slices. Such a satisfying breakfast – keeps me full for hours!
I LOVE Peanut Butter!!! It’s simply the best.
I eat it by itself, stirred in oatmeal, with banana or celery, to make PB protein balls, in cookies, etc. I have even had it on a hamburger w/ pickle!
I’ll have to try the hamburger idea! I bet that’s weirdly good, especially with the pickle…
My kiddo normally eats peanut butter toast and a banana for breakfast monday – friday. I like to add apples on mine!
Pb banana toast is my go to breakfast, but basically anything that’s some form of peanut butter and banana is a worthy combo to me!
I have an apple with PB at least 4x a week! Love it!
Peanut butter is my absolute favorite! I put it in/on a lot of stuff! And if I don’t have anything, I spoon it out of the jar. My favorite pre work out snack is PB on the spoon w/raisins! Great combo!
I hope your move goes smoothly. It’s all about adventures!!
I’ll refuel with pb on a whole wheat wrap or Dave’s killer English muffin. Yum!
A straight spoonful of peanut butter if my fave pick-me-up snack :)
Peanut butter in my oatmeal every morning!
My husband and I actually moved from Del-Ray to Arlington because the schools were better. I am not sure that is still true at the elementary level.
Yeah… we will see how we feel about it once Riese is a little older! We figure it doesn’t have to be forever :)
I love putting a little peanut butter in a smoothie for added protein.
Peanuts – in any form = the perfect food. My favorite is peanut butter, straight out of the jar on a spoon. It is dangerous! :)
Good luck with the move!
Love sliced bananas, whole wheat toast, and chocolate chips for a “healthy” dessert :)
Peanut butter is the best workout fuel!
on a spoon
I moved to Del Ray last summer and it is the BEST!!
Oh yay that’s great to hear! I hope to run into you around town!
I have the pb toast with bananas most breakfast but I sprinkle cinnamon on top for some extra goodness!
I love peanut butter on a whole wheat english muffin with cinnamon!
I’ve been a reader of your blog for years, and am so excited to hear you’ll be moving to Del Ray! I live right on Mt. Vernon Avenue by Charlie’s. Living in this area, I’ve always thought I might see you out and about one day, but now it’s pretty likely. Welcome!
Yay! Please say hi if you see us around! :) We’ll be moving mid/late summer!