Sneaky, sneaky!

Running has been a large part of my life for the last two years, ever since a friend asked me to join a relay race team. I never thought I'd be a runner, but I find so much enjoyment in pushing myself and doing new things. I also find it very relaxing and a great way to relieve stress. One major reason I'm doing this eating overhaul is to improve my running, and I'm finding that it's working! Ever since I started eating this way, I've been getting faster and feeling so much better while running. Of course, that's not the only cause, but it certainly helps!

Today we were at a 5k race, and they had quite a spread at the finish line: carrots, apple slices, 100% fruit juice, yogurt, water... it was great. And then, there was this cookie. I won't name it, but it has the word 'power' in the title and says it's "naturally flavored." Right. Here's the ingredient list:

Rolled oats
Rice flour
Corn syrup
Maltodextrin
Sugar
Water
Dextrose
Fractionated palm kernel oil
Soybean oil
Fructose
High fructose corn syrup
Nonfat milk
Flax seed
Honey
High maltose corn syrup
Brown sugar
Rice bran
Nonfat yogurt powder (cultured nonfat milk)
Natural flavor (what could that possibly be?
Cinnamon
Salt
Calcium carbonate
Soy lecithin
Titanium dioxide (added for color)
Ferric orthophosphate
Niacinamide
Thiamine mononitrate
Riboflavin

What a list for a 1.76 oz. cookie, huh? Especially one that's supposed to be marketed for atheletes! Notice the bolded words? All EIGHT of those are kinds of sugar! That little cookie has 3 teaspoons in it! It'll give you energy for sure, but then you'll crash and burn in an hour. How sneaky of them to pack the cookie with all that sugar! Most people today picked it up, didn't even think to look at it and just wolfed it down. No more of that for me!

Tonight's dinner was Orecchiette with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe. I couldn't find the exact recipe, which I got from Food Matters, but this is close enough. I added just a few sun-dried tomatoes and put in much more broccoli rabe. On the side, we made some green garbanzo beans that we found at Costco. We just put a little olive oil, sea salt, and garlic, and microwaved it for 2 minutes. Totally easy dinner and very yummy!