Author: Jenna

Jenna Volden has a degree in business and has spent the last 10 plus years working for others. She believes it is time to start her own photography and writing business. She enjoys running, coffee and helping others achieve their goals. Gluten-free foods are a lifestyle, not a choice, for her due to celiac disease. She is currently based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Carbs! Carbs! Carbs!

Posted on by Jenna

Many people tend to equate a gluten-free diet with low carb.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I find that hilarious. I am gluten-free and completely addicted to carbs. They are some of my favorite foods! And I’m always excited to try new carbs.

As a blogger for the Nourished Festival, I received many samples. So many, I am combining two into this post (plus I am going to have more reviews with the next Nourished Fest this month). So this post contains two of my favorite carbs: pasta, crackers, and chips.

Gluten-free pasta is one of the things I’ve noticed is either really great or a pile of mush. Thankfully, the Barilla pasta I received fell into the former category. Barilla sent a box of red lentil penne. They also sent some Wasa Sesame crispbread.

The pasta was great on day one and reheated well. Through trial and error, I’ve learned it’s best to cook gluten-free pasta for the shortest time listed if you want to reheat it the next day. Otherwise, it’s mush. The lentil pasta stood up very well for reheating.

The legume line from barilla includes chickpea and lentil pasta. I can say I didn’t get a strong lentil or legume taste from the pasta. Legumes are a great source of plant protein and fiber. barillas gluten-free pastas are certifed GF and non-GMO.

I also enjoyed the Wasa sesame crackers. They were light, airy, and crunchy. I inhaled them after a 14-mile run/hike with some turkey and cheese. I haven’t seen this brand in my grocery store but I would definitely purchase if I came across them!

Now, for the chips!

For a while, I didn’t eat a ton of chips. I enjoyed them but tried to find healthier alternatives to eating chips every day. But I’ve been plowing through chips much more lately. I’m enjoying all the fun flavors that are coming out.

But you know what I miss? Pringles.

Pringles have gluten so they are on the no list. But now I’ve found an alternative! The Good Crisp Company makes a variety of chips that rival Pringles. They even come in a similar container.

The chips are certified GF, non-GMO. and have no artificial colors or flavors. They are also free of egg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish & shellfish, sesame seeds, mustard, and celery.

They come in five different flavors and they are all tasty! The flavors are aged white cheddar, classic original, sea salt & vinegar, outback bbq, and sour cream & onion. I received four of the flavors, with sea salt & vinegar being left out. I think my favorite was the aged white cheddar. It’s hard to pick one! And, I’d love to try the sea salt & vinegar. I have recently come to love that flavor in kettle brand chips!

I would buy those chips again. I haven’t seen them at my grocery store but it looks like they are available at some stores nearby. It might be time to take a trip!

What is your most recent favorite gluten-free find?

Five Easy Ways to be More Green

Posted on by Jenna

I think Kermit said it best, “it’s not easy being green”. It seems everything comes in single-serve plastic these days. It’s hard to find things packaged in cardboard or glass. It’s plastic, plastic, plastic. We are a world obsessed with plastic. 

We all know we should recycle. We check our city code, follow their rules, and put our bins out once a week. But is there anything else we can do? 

Some things are easier than others. Here are five easy ways you can be a little more green this week, month, and year!

  1. Switch to bar shampoo and condition. Most come in recyclable cardboard and work as well (if not better) than your liquid. I use Ethique. (Amazon Associate link I may receive a commission if you purchase) 
  2. Use reusable bags when shopping instead of getting more plastic bags. We always take our reusable bags every shopping trip. Or decline a bag if you only have a few items. Also, if you get a plastic bag, you can find places to drop off and recycle. Our city does not take plastic bags in our can, so we drop them off every few months.
  3. Instead of buying gift wrap (most of which isn’t recyclable), buy a fun reusable bag. The gift recipient can then use the bag for shopping or gifting!
  4. Get a library card! You can borrow books, audiobooks, movies, all kinds of things. You help reduce single-use purchases of most books and movies. Let’s be honest; we all have good intentions to read those books multiple times but never do!
  5. Make your home smart! You can purchase so many different things to make your house smart and save energy. We have a nest thermostat that we can program, and it will adjust itself to save us money and energy! We also have lights on timers and hooked up to google. Have you ever been out of the house and can’t remember if you left a light on? Well, now you can check AND turn it off!

There you go! Five easy ways to be a bit greener. What are your quick tips to be more green? Leave them in the comments!

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Green Workouts

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Do you ever wonder, how can I be environmentally friendly and still get in shape or workout? I know I do. My workouts are pretty green but are my clothes? And the laundry detergent I use to clean my gross workout gear?

More companies are starting to make gear with recycled water bottles or other materials, but it’s not as common as we’d like yet. You can look for clothes made from sustainable materials like bamboo or soy. You can also find gently used workout clothes on sites such as ThredUp and Poshmark for a fraction of the original price!

If you outgrow or no longer love your workout gear, you can donate it or sell it through a site like ThredUp. Some retailers will even take old clothes and recycle them. And your old running shoes? A lot of running stores accept donations and give them to people in need.

If you need to get some equipment, look for lightly used items! You can usually find used weights and cardio equipment at places like Play it Again, Craigs List, or Facebook Market.

Reach for a reusable water bottle over single-use.

What about post-workout care? You can now find many brands that offer a more natural product. You can find shampoo and conditioner bars that reduce your dependence on plastic. Or try concentrates! You add water and then put it in your container! You can find shampoo, conditioner, and body wash (and more!) in concentrate.

Make your commute your workout. You can bike, run, or walk to work or the gym! Use your commute to the gym as your warmup.

There is still a lot of research I need to do on more sustainable clothing and personal care products. What sustainable products and brands do you use? What tips do you have to green up your workout?

Cafe Noir – February

Posted on by Jenna

The Happy Runner by David and Megan Roche – 5 Stars
Ugh, I can’t tell you how much I LOVED this book. And these authors. They cracked me up.

The Happy Runner is divided into two halves. The first half covers the philosophy behind The Happy Runner and the mental aspect of running. The second half delves more into the training aspect of running.

Dress Your Best by Clinton Kelly and Stacy London – 4.5 Stars
Fans of TLC’s What Not to Wear are vary familiar with Stacy and Clinton. They bring their timeless advice to book form! The book is broken down by body type and then within each type by height (petite, average, tall). They even have a section for men.

You can skip right to your body type and height, but it’s worth it to flip through the rest of the book. Helpful and universal tips are scattered throughout.

I really liked this book but knocked off half a star because all of the looks were very similar. The weekend looks included many items I would wear to work, not going out to lunch with friends. The book’s focus is mostly on dressing for your body, not necessarily about your personal style. I think you can take the tips and find items to fit your style. I wish there had been a little more info on finding your style, although I get that wasn’t the book’s purpose.

Now I am rethinking my 4.5 stars. Maybe I should update to 5!

Start Ugly by David duChemin – 5 Stars
Some creatives struggle with starting. We have many ideas and often feel overwhelmed and don’t do any of them. I may speak from experience.

duChemin’s Start ugly isn’t revolutionary. We all know what we should do, but often we fail. This book is well written and organized. It’s inspiring and beautiful.

I felt refreshed and ready to start after reading it. It’s one that will stay with me and be read every few years. It is a relatively easy read and could be powered through, but I recommend taking your time. I would read a chapter and soak it in. I’d think about what I just read.

The Grand Canyon and the Southwest by Ansel Adams – 5 Stars
What can I say except beautiful black and white landscapes interspersed with quotes from Adams. I studied each photograph. I took my time and soaked in his genius.

I also wondered how he got to some of these spots. I have been to a few, and they were challenging with a modern 4-wheel drive truck. I cannot imagine doing it in a 1940s vehicle!

Also, they included letters he wrote. This was a pleasant surprise, as I assumed it was all photos. It was fascinating to read his thoughts and what he had done each day. I learned a bit more about his life and travels.

The Michigan Murders by Edward Keyes – DNF
I tried to get into this book, but I just couldn’t. The writing was dry and overly detailed. The author changed the names of the victims and the murderer. I do not understand why, since all of this info is available to the public.

I also didn’t like how the author described the victims. He focused too much on if he thought they were attractive or not. It wasn’t like height, hair color, etc. It was more like “she wasn’t considered conventionally pretty”. Like it matters if she was pretty or not? She’s a murder victim, not a prom queen.

What did you read in February? Any good ones?

Journaling

Posted on by Jenna

I am horrible at journaling.

I’d really love to be one of those people that sits down each night and pours her heart out into a journal. I’ve tried. I never stick with it for longer than a few weeks. But it never happens. I’ve attempted different journals from blank, to prompts, to line a day. Nothing helps.

A couple of years ago, I bought a petite planner gratitude journal. I still was spotty with it, but I eventually finished it! And I bought another one. They are supposed to be six months, but it takes me about a year to complete.

I like the gratitude journal because each day has a different prompt. Each edition of the journal has the same prompts, but it varies by the day. Some people bounce around and fill in the prompt they want to for the day.

I go in order. It forces me to really think about the prompt and what happened that day. After about four weeks of prompts, there is a reflection and look ahead section. And it comes with a sheet of stickers. Because who doesn’t love stickers?

How do you journal? Do you like a blank notebook or something with prompts?

The Soulfull Project

Posted on by Jenna

Oatmeal makes a great pre-run meal. And when you eat it every weekend, you need a variety of flavors. It also doesn’t hurt to find one that does good.

Enter The Soulfull Project.

The Soulfull Project is like the Bombas of oatmeal. With every serving you buy, a serving is donated to your local food bank. They also have granola.

I sampled a variety of gluten-free oats. I did not react to them, but please note they are not certified. If you have celiac disease and are sensitive to oats, this may not be the oatmeal for you.

I used two packages/servings for my breakfast. It’s about 320 calories, so filling enough to power me through a long run or hike. I mixed a flavored package with an unflavored. I wish the flavors were a bit stronger. They weren’t bad; I was just expecting a stronger flavor profile.

You can see everything I received in my unboxing video!

Per their website:
We take our gluten free testing very seriously, although we are not certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group. Our products are tested at an independent lab and each production run is tested by that lab for gluten parts per million before we sell the product with the note that reads: Gluten Free.

You can order your own Soulfull Project items here.

What is your favorite flavor of oatmeal? Are you more likely to try a company if they have a give back program?

Favorite Places

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We all have a spot that has stolen our hearts. You could go back there over and over and never get bored. New places can be tempting and fun, but those favorite places are comforting.

Going back is like going home.

You know your favorite places. You know which restaurants you just have to hit. You have a favorite spot to hike or drive. You know there’s more to discover and love, and you don’t get bored exploring.

The first time you went to a favorite place, you probably went to all the major tourist destinations. There is nothing wrong with that. Get them in and out of the way. Nothing wrong with playing tourist. But after you’ve done that, you can dig a little deeper.

Now when you go back, you have time to do whatever you want. Like hiking? Find all the best hikes and start crossing them off. Prefer water sports? Rent a stand-up paddleboard or snorkeling gear and spend your time in the water.

Become a local.

Or local adjacent. Find all those gems that aren’t in the tour guidebooks. Seek out local restaurants and bars. You will find some great places that aren’t filled with the usual tourist fare.

Returning to a familiar place is like visiting an old friend.

You never forget an old friend, and when you get together, it’s like no time has passed. You know they will always be there for you, much like a favorite place. We may grow and change but knowing we can always go back is a great comfort.

Do not give up exploring the world. Instead, embrace the comfort of loving a place so much you could visit multiple times. You can see a new location each year while finding time to go back to those places that call to you.

Episode 20 – Love Yourself

Posted on by Jenna

Welcome back to another week of runs on espresso. I know I didn’t post last week, and I want to open with why. I have a lot of passions and things I want to do. And sometimes there isn’t enough time for everything. So, I was debating if I should even be doing a podcast. It’s a constant struggle to find time for everything I want to do and time for me to just relax. Instead of giving up on the podcast altogether, I have decided to go to an every other week schedule starting this month.

So for this week, I want to talk about weight, body fat, and body image. I feel like, as runners, these topics are often at the forefront of our minds. Maybe you started running to lose weight. Perhaps you struggle to gain muscle. If you hear the word “runner,” I’m sure you can pull up an image in your mind, and it’s probably someone tall and thin. But runners can and do come in all shapes and sizes.

And some of us struggle with body image.

Personally, I struggle. I am not happy with my current body weight and shape. I know what to do, but my execution is lacking most of the time. I know what I should eat. I know I should be moving each day. But guess what? Sometimes it’s hard. And sometimes, I give up. Mental health plays a big part for me. I can’t say it applies to everyone who struggles with body issues. Still, I’d guess a good portion of people has some depression or anxiety.

And the kicker with depression? It makes you feel more depressed when you don’t do what you should do, which keeps the cycle going, and you fall even deeper into the depression, and it’s harder to get back on track. But working out consistently and eating healthy helps my depression and keeps me out of the black hole. I know I need to stay on top of it all and not give in to it.

We must learn to love ourselves.

We can work on areas we aren’t happy with while still accepting and loving where we are now. But how do we do that? It’s hard to accept ourselves. We would never tell our BFF that they are fat or that their stomach looks big. Could you imagine? You would no longer have that BFF. Yet many of us look in the mirror after our shower and start picking ourselves apart. We put on pants and grab the muffin top in disgust.

Loving yourself is hard. It’s easy to be self-critical. It’s the path of least resistance. But this year, I encourage you to start learning to love yourself. Because you are worth it.

Somethings I’ve been working on is using a gratitude journal from Erin Condren. I am an affiliate, but this journal has been great. I’m on my second one. Each day has a prompt. Some people skip around and use the prompt that best fits that day, but I always use the one given. It forces me to really think about my day. After 30 days, there is a summary and look ahead section. Of course, there are a million different gratitude journals out there, or you could even use a regular notebook and write down what you are grateful for each day. For me, I find having a prompt works better. I’ve tried just writing, and I struggle.

If you don’t have a training journal, I would highly suggest starting one. You write down your training and what worked, what wins you had, and even your struggles. It is nice to look back and see that three weeks ago, my run felt super easy, especially when I have a terrible run. I know the bad run is the anomaly, not the good.

I’ve also found the more I move and the healthier I eat, the better I feel about myself.

I also know it’s not as easy as just saying love yourself and do these things! It takes work and time to change our mindsets. In the past year, I learned that there are different levels of what most of us call self-confidence. Each level has different reasons we struggle and various solutions. I won’t go into all the details here. If you want to learn more, go back and listen to Episode Four, The Brave Athlete. I touch on the concept there and then go read the book, The Brave Athlete. I cannot recommend this book enough.

And none of this works without being consistent. Personally, I think being consistent is hard, but once you get in the groove, it becomes second nature. I’m still trying to get consistent with journaling. I sometimes will write two or three days at a time because I forgot. I’m back on the wagon for logging food, and it really helps center me. I take a minute or two before I eat my meal to log it. And I log everything, even if I go over my goal.

I’ve also been running consistently for a while. I will say even this past summer, I was more consistent and on track. And I’m trying to get the consistency back in strength training. Even if I don’t lose weight, I can see changes when I look in the mirror. It helps to be consistent when you can see, or even feel, the difference. Sometimes I just feel healthier and happier, and it helps.

Let’s take a quick sponsor break.

Welcome back!

My word for 2021 is consistency. I know what to do, but I don’t always follow through with those things.

I have a love/hate relationship with my body. I do love how strong it is. I can do a lot of physical activity. I run and lift weights. But I also don’t like how much body fat I have. I hate putting on pants and having a muffin top. I hate how tight some of my shirts are. I hate how my thighs rub together, so I have to wear long shorts when I run.

I may not be able to change all those physical attributes, but I can work on them and my attitude towards them. As I said before, I know logging my food helps. Not only does it make me accountable, but it also helps me make healthier choices. When I’m logging, I definitely think more about the foods I’m putting into my body.

I also know strength training will help with the muffin top.

I run for my mental health, not just for exercise, and having a better state of mind helps my attitude towards myself. I find I’m much happier when I run most days of the week. In general, my thoughts tend to be more positive, which helps my happiness, anxiety, and depression.

I still want to lose weight.

I know many people think we shouldn’t make everything about weight loss, and I get it. But for me, it’s a goal I want to reach, but I don’t get obsessive with it. I was at my happy place about six or so years ago. I worked hard to get there. I was running and doing strength work plus logging my food consistently. I know I can do it again. I just need to focus, center myself, and BE CONSISTENT.

Consistency. Are you getting that theme yet?

So how did I get here? How did I gain all that weight back and struggle to take it off for six-plus years?

I got diagnosed with celiac disease and gave up gluten. It isn’t uncommon for people with celiac disease to gain weight when they go off gluten. The body starts to heal and absorbs nutrients again. I gained about 30 pounds in two months. There was also depression. It’s weird; gluten can cause depression when you are eating it, but then that goes away, but then you get depressed because you can’t eat gluten. Everything in life seems to revolve around food, mostly filled with gluten.

So I gained weight. Fast. And fell into a depression. I stopped working out. It’s been a trip since then. After a while, I was tired of being overweight and depressed, so I started running again. But then I got these weird vertigo symptoms while running, so I stopped. Then I got tired, again, of not running, figured out the issue, fixed it, and started again. I didn’t really focus on weight loss at first but just getting back to running. When I finally get back to everything and wanting to make a change, more shit. My dog died along the way, then my dad and my uncle in the span of about five months. I regained what I had finally started to lose again.

That was a little over two years ago. I’ve gone up and down since, but I finally feel ready to get my shit together and lose some weight. Even if I don’t lose much, I want to put the effort in to be healthier. I want to keep the anxiety at bay. I find being consistent in the good times helps to be more consistent in the bad. It’s definitely hard when shit comes up, and the depression takes over. If we can make all the good things habit, it’s easier to keep doing them when depression starts up.

I know the kicker with depression is it makes you feel more depressed when you don’t do what you should do, which keeps the cycle going. You fall even deeper into the depression, and it’s harder to get back on track. It’s hard to stay on track and give yourself grace. It’s a struggle. I also know that not everyone’s depression is the same, so working out and being consistent won’t help everyone. You know yourself best; please take care of yourself with the best treatment for you.

I’m sure we all have similar stories. I think we can all relate to the struggles to lose weight, workout as we should, and learn to love ourselves. We all have ups and downs when it comes to self-confidence or self-esteem, or loving our bodies.

We all deserve to love ourselves. Even if you still have those last ten pounds to lose, you are worthy.

And remember, we all slip up. We all have a bad day and do whatever bad habit we are trying to break. For me, that means eating far too much food. I don’t even punish myself for this anymore. I used to mentally degrade myself. Tell myself how bad that was, which often lead to me to eating more. It was a destructive cycle to get stuck in. Instead, now I acknowledge I ate a lot and move on. Sometimes I even log my binges. Realizing it takes its power away. At least for me.

So just remind yourself, we all have setbacks. We fall down. But what matters is what we do in response. We get back up, we dust ourselves off, and we keep moving forward. We got this.

What is your story? How have you learned to love yourself? What do you do every day that makes you feel happier? Please let me know; we can always learn from each other! You can leave a message at anchor.fm/runsonespresso, email me at jenna@runsonespresso.com or find me on social media. Instagram is runs_on_espresso, and Twitter is runsonespresso. I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time, may your runs be as strong as your coffee.

podcast

Love Your Body

Posted on by Jenna

We all sometimes struggle to love our bodies.

We are our own worse critics. We can probably rattle off a list of everything wrong with our bodies if asked. Although, I hope no one would actually ask you that. In fact, most people would never even notice half the shit that we think is wrong with our bodies.

Somedays, the struggle is more real than others. For some reason, your pants are too tight even though they fit great two days ago! It’s not like you gained five pounds overnight. You probably ate something extra salty or did a more challenging workout than your body is used to.

It’s hard to ignore those too-tight jeans.

But we need to break this cycle of negative self-talk about our bodies. Or really anything about ourselves. Because we are all awesome and should be out enjoying life, not picking apart our body in front of the mirror.

Instead of telling yourself all the things you dislike about yourself this month, start telling yourself all the things you love about yourself!

It can be hard to do. When you start looking at yourself in the mirror, and that little voice starts telling you your stomach isn’t tight enough, try to silence it. Turn the thought around and instead tell yourself how strong your legs are. Or how your arms can lift your toddler easily.

Journaling can help, especially if you start a gratitude journal. It can be as simple as writing down 1-3 things each day you are grateful for. And I don’t mean “I’m grateful for my dog” dig a little deeper. Write about how your dog chased the tennis ball and made you laugh. Being grateful for things outside your body can help you be a more positive person, helping your attitude toward yourself.

You can still love your body and work to change it at the same time.

Appreciate what your body can do now and work to make positive, healthy changes to better your mind and body. We should enjoy our workouts and not use them as punishment for the food we eat. We should use food to power ourselves. We need food to get through the day and improve as athletes/runners.

How will you work to change your mindset about your body?