I went for a run this morning. A teenny, weeny, should be easy 6.6km run. Pfft, that’s peanuts, right? NO WAY! It was extremely hard and extremely disappointing.

You know that feeling when you want to give it your all, your brain is all up for it, but your body just won’t follow? You’re like GOOOO BODY GOOOOO and it’s like, NOPE, don’t wanna and you can’t make me. I hate that. It has to be one of the most frustrating feelings in the world. Well, this morning was 42 minutes and 10 seconds of EXACTLY that. I could never manage to run for more than 3 consecutive minutes, then I’d have to walk for one. My heart rate would get way high in no time at all! I’d walk and get it down to 145-150, then as soon as I’d start running again, it would get back to 175-180. One cannot sustain that kind of intensity for too long, now, can they? And it’s not like I was running fast either. I was trying to keep it slow and steady. To no avail. AAAAARGH! Frustrated. That’s where I’m at now.

But, while I am extremely disappointed with my body’s performance, I have to see this as one hell of a HIIT. That was 42 minutes of it right there! BUT, that won’t get me running a marathon efficiently! Hopefully next time will be better.

On a completely different subject, remember the creamy cheesy pine cone I made for Easter? I did say that it was so good, it was worthy of getting its own post. Well, I am finally giving it to the little fellow, sort of… He only has to share with my morning run frustration. I’d say he’s getting a not so bad deal. Much better than having to share with all the decadent food from the original post, don’t you think? Plus, to me, it really qualifies as feelgood food, so it does belong here. Big time! I wish I still had some. That would make me feel better!

Now for the recipe:

  • 8 oz low fat cream cheese
  • ½ cup low fat sour cream
  • The zest of one orange
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • Pinch cayenne pepper
  • 75-100 perfect pecan halves (to make the pine cone effect)

Directions

  1. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (an electric mixer would also work), whip cream cheese and sour cream on medium speed until well incorporated, smooth and creamy in texture, about 2-3 minutes. It might help to have the cream cheese at room temperature before you start.
  2. Incorporate the rest of the ingredients and continue mixing on low speed until well combined, about 30-45 seconds.
  3. Turn onto final serving plate and shape into a teardrop. Cover with a plastic film and, ideally, refrigerate until the next day. This will allow flavours to fully develop.
  4. You might want to wait until the last minute to cover with pecans to avoid them going soft on you. Also, you might want to take your teardrop shaped creamcheese  mixture out of the fridge about an hour or two before you are ready to start laying the pecans so it softens up a bit. Pecans will stick better to cheese that is closer to room temperature.
  5. Start layering the pecan halves at the tip and keep shingling until you get to the top. The first rows will lay flat against the cheese but they will be more and more upright as you move towards the end. This will happen naturally, don’t worry. Just keep them nice and tight and use the best pecans you can find.
  6. Decorate with a few pine branches.

Side note… I think this could easily be made into a pineapple… using the pineapple top instead of pine branches and some of the flesh in the cheese mixture instead of cranberries. I will have to come up with something, but I really like the idea and flavor combination. Stay tuned!