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Hannah

About Hannah

https://www.runningbean.co.uk

Posts by Hannah Davy:

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First 10k!!!

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It felt like a big step up to join the 10k group. My overthinking threatened to hold me back as usual. “Can I manage 10k?”, “will I hold everyone up?”, “it’s a new group, will anyone chat to me?”. These are just some of the thoughts trying to stop me pushing myself!

Well, I put my big girl pants on and I did it. It was unusually cold, it tried to snow and the wind was blasting us in the face. I forgot my ear warming head band which made me really sad half way! I struggle with sore ears when running even when its even a smidgen cold!

Let’s talk about the group though. At this club there are 6 groups in total, with varying distances and paces in each group. This was the 10k group that run around 10-11.5 minute miles. There was around 8-10 of us, I can’t quite remember. The pace was perfect for me, I didn’t feel like I struggled, but my legs did tire towards the end. We did some looping to keep everyone together and meant a little extra mileage!

Every month the start point of the club changes and therefore the routes change too. It keeps things fun and different. It helps me learn new longer routes too. I’m starting to find my usual routes from home boring, so the more new routes I learn, the better.

I liked this route; it had a bit of everything. A nice big loop of Bedford ending up down by the river. There were some short hilly sections but nothing too steep. Hills are not my favourite and I’m still working on the running up hills thing!

Everyone, as usual, was really friendly in this group. I think they were all a little dubious whether I would manage the 10k though! The chat often turns to food, as we run pre-dinner. I am always starving by the end, and running past fish and chip shops doesn’t help! We were also joined on our run by a shopping delivery robot. These things fascinate me!

So I booked a 10k a little while ago for the summer, thinking the distance was a bit daunting, and I’d have to work up to it. Now, I want to book more 10k races, and sooner!! I really want to do the vitality 10k in London, which is in May. It looks like a fun route with a nice goody bag and medal at the end. I’m trying to convince my husband to join me. Any suggestions for any interesting 10ks are most welcome!

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Crispy Chickpeas

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Crispy Chickpeas

Great vegetarian/vegan topping to add protein and crunch to other dishes.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Course Side Dish, Snack
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 76 kcal

Equipment

  • Oven Preheated to 200 degrees celcius or airfryer

Ingredients
  

  • 240 Gram Chickpeas (drained weight) Drained and patted dry
  • 1 Tsp Garlic granules
  • 1 Tsp Onion Granules
  • 1 Tsp Smoked paprika
  • 1 Tsp Parprika
  • 1 Tsp Salt
  • 10 Sprays Oil spray

Instructions
 

  • Drain and pat dry chickpeas
  • In a bowl, add chickpeas, spray with oil and add spices. Stir until coated.
  • If using an oven, spread out evenly on a baking tray and put in a preheated oven. Cook for 30 minutes turning half way. Cook until golden brown.
  • If you are using an air fryer, set to 200 degrees and cook for 25 minutes, turning half way.

Notes

These make a great topping for any dish to add protein and crunch. I like to add vegetarian Parmesan to the spice mix if I am using these as a topping for pasta dishes. 
Keyword chickpeas
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Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos

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High Protein Butternut Squash Tacos

Smoky, spicy, cheesy butternut squash tacos with aubergine and black beans.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Course Main Course
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 558 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Chopping board
  • 3 Medium baking trays
  • Oven Heated to 200 degrees celcius

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 2 Small Brown or red onions Sliced finely
  • 2 Sweet pepper Sliced into strips
  • 1 Medium Butternut squash Chopped into 1 inch chunks
  • 1 Medium Aubergine Chopped into 1 inch chunks
  • 400g Black beans drained
  • 8 Small Tortilla wraps or tacos
  • 4 Medium White potatoes Sliced into wedges
  • Grated cheddar cheese or crumbled feta cheese
  • Soured cream
  • Salsa and Guacamole
  • Chopped fresh chillis Optional
  • Crispy chickpeas Optional (see my recipe for crispy chickpeas)

Spice Mix

  • 3 Tsp Chipotle chilli paste
  • 2 Tsp Garlic granules
  • 2 Tsp Onion granules
  • 1 Tsp Cayenne pepper Omit if you don’t like it spicy
  • 2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1 Tsp Paprika
  • 1 Tsp Salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius. Then peel, de-seed and chop the butternut squash into 1 inch chunks. Also cut the aubergine into similar size chunks. In a bowl, add 1 tbsp olive oil and spice mix and stir until coated. Place vegetables onto a baking tray and cook for 30-35 minutes.
  • Cut potatoes into wedges, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add to a baking tray and cook for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown. Turn them half way through cooking.
  • I like having the onion and pepper added into the tacos raw as it adds crunch and freshness. However you could add them to the butternut squash/aubergine mix half way through to soften them if you prefer.
  • Crumble your feta or grate your cheese ready for garnishing.
  • 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time, drain your tin of black beans and add them to the aubergine/butternut sqaush mix and stir through.
  • At the same time, if using mini tortilla wraps, you can add them to the oven to warm up.
  • Fill your tacos with vegetable mixture, top with soured cream, salsa and guacamole. Top with chosen cheese. I like to top with my crispy chickpeas for added protein and crunch. See my recipe in the note for crispy chickpeas!

Notes

Chickpeas recipe
Calories are per serving, without toppings. 
Keyword butternut squash, chipotle chilli, taco
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Running Club

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It took me almost 4 years, but I finally joined a running club! I’ve been following this particular group, local to me, on Facebook for years. However, the thought of actually going gave me pretty severe social anxiety! I did actually go once a few years ago but I turned up, didn’t spot any runners, got scared and drove home! Turned out I had the wrong place but didn’t try going again.

I joined in January, and I have been around 5 times now. The first time was pretty scary. I was mainly worried about the social aspect; running and chatting with strangers! I told myself that everyone would already know each other and no-one would want to talk to me. I worried that I would be the slowest runner and hold everyone up.

Turns out I needn’t have worried! Everyone has been super friendly and apparently I’m not as bad at striking up a conversation with new people as I thought! After my second time at run club I even braved the post run drink at the pub!

Obviously I had to buy new gear to fit in with my new running buddies. We run at half 6 in the evening, so at this time of the year it’s pretty dark at this time. On my first time, my husband sent me off with his hi-vis vest and head torch. Whilst plenty of people there were wearing head torches, they were not wearing building site issue hi-vis vests! I ordered a funky new chest light from amazon that I spotted the cool kids wearing. I will post links to items that I have bought and found useful, along the way in my running journey.

So, running club has taught me lots about running! Shock! I have learnt about pacing, breathing, shoes, just to name a few things. I now know that you should be able to talk and run at the same time and not be desperately out of breath. We have talked a lot about trainers. Mainly I learnt that I needed new ones. I was running in my worn out Nike trainers that I had bought at the beginning of lockdown, when I had started going out for my daily walks.

I got talked into going for a gait analysis too. This was very useful; more about that another time!

Meet my lovely new Asics trainers. Sadly, no nice pretty pink trainers for me. I have huge feet!

All in all, I am now running faster overall. I am able to run further on my own and feel like I could run further too! I have also made some friends and it gets me out of the house and meeting nice new people!

This is just the beginning of my running club fun on Tuesday evenings. I’ll post more about how I get on in the coming weeks.

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No Meat Ragu

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No Meat Rich Red Wine Ragu

Tasty red wine ragu. Perfect for topping spaghetti or putting on top of anything else you fancy!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hr
Cook Time 1 hr
Course Main Course
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 240 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Large frying pan
  • 1 Food processor
  • 1 Vegetable chopper Optional

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Medium white onions Finely chopped
  • 3 Large carrots Finely chopped
  • 4 Celery sticks Finely chopped
  • 4 Garlic cloves Finely chopped or crushed
  • 6 Sundried tomatoes Finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Oil from sundried tomatoes
  • 2 Sprigs Rosemary Finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Italian herbs
  • 1 Tsp Sugar
  • 1 Tsp Black pepper
  • 1 Tsp Yeast extract
  • 1 Tsp Miso paste
  • 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp Tomato Puree
  • 750 Gram Passata
  • 250 Ml Red wine
  • 700 Grams Mushrooms of choice Finely chopped or minced with a food processor
  • 500 Gram Ready to eat Puy lentils I use Merchant gourmet pouches

Instructions
 

  • Finely chop celery and carrot and fry on a medium heat with the oil from the sundried tomatoes.
  • Add in finely chopped onions, garlic, sundried tomatoes and rosemary and continue to fry until vegetables have softened.
  • Using a food processor, pulse the mushrooms until they are small pieces and resemble mince. Or you could very finely chop them. Add the mushroom “mince” to the pan and continue to fry until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.
  • Add in the tomato purée, italian herbs, miso and yeast extract and stir.
  • Add in the red wine and balsamic vinegar and simmer until it reduces by a third.
  • Add passata and the sugar. Simmer until the sauce starts to thicken and then add the pre-cooked lentils. Continue to simmer for around 20 minutes, taste and add salt and pepper to taste. It shouldn’t need much salt as the yeast and miso paste are rather salty!

Notes

I served this in the traditional way with spaghetti and a nice sprinkling of vegetarian Parmesan on top. On the side, I had a side salad and I made smashed peas on toast. Please see my recipe for the smashed peas: 
You can however, serve this ragu on top of anything you like! Rice, chips, baked potato etc. You can also alter this recipe slightly and then it makes the perfect shepherd pie filling too. 
Keyword pasta, ragu, Vegetarian
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Bean Burrito

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Bean Burrito

Vegetarian burrito recipe
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Course Main Course, Snack
Servings 8 Burritos
Calories 418 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 2 Tsp Chipotle paste
  • 1 Tsp Ground cumin
  • 1 Tsp Garlic granules
  • 1 Tsp Salt
  • 1 Tsp Onion granules
  • 1 Tsp Smoked paprika
  • 1 Onion
  • 1 Red pepper
  • 400 Gram Black beans (drained)
  • 400 Gram Kidney beans in chilli sauce
  • 200 Gram Chopped tomatoes
  • 8 Tortilla wraps
  • Grated cheddar cheese
  • 100 Ml Hot water
  • 150 Gram Long grain easy cook rice

Instructions
 

  • Cook rice as per packet instruction, drain and put aside.
  • Meanwhile, thinly slice the onion and pepper. Add oil to a large frying pan and on a medium heat, gently fry the onion and pepper until softened. Add in chipotle paste and spices and stir until vegetables are coated.
  • Add in the chopped tomatoes, kidney beans and black beans. Use hot water to rinse out the kidney bean can and add to the pan.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • If serving straight away; warm tortilla wraps, add a layer of rice and a layer of bean mixture. Add cheese and any other toppings you fancy and roll up into a burrito.
  • I like to batch cook these and freeze them for lunches. To do this you need to cool down the rice. I do this by spreading out the rice in a thin layer on a baking sheet and putting it in the freezer for 10-20 minutes. I also cool down the burrito filling by putting it in the fridge.
  • Once both fillings are cooled, build the burritos in the same way as above, roll them and wrap in grease proof paper. Put each burrito either in a Tupperware box or food bag and place in the freezer.
  • Defrost the burritos the night before and then at lunch time, microwave for 2-3 minutes and enjoy!
Keyword Burrito, Vegetarian
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Park Run Number 18

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Well that’s 18 in total, ever. Only number 5 this year.

It was a tough one! I work most weekends and mostly nights too, so squeezing in park runs can be difficult. So, after a night shift it had to be!

It was grey, cold and it started to sleet and I would used to describe myself as a fair weather runner! I had forgotten my ear warmers and gloves but its only 5k right?

Storeys field park run is on my way home from work, it’s a very flat one but it is windy there! It was only my second time here so I was still getting used to the etiquette here and the route etc.

I keep finding myself at the start line mixed in with the super fast people which means I start off too quickly and get tired pretty quickly. But it has meant for both times at this park run I have got a PB!! First time 27:42 and second time, 27:01! I was previously averaging around 30 minutes.

The cold probably helped me with this weeks PB though. My hands were frozen and sore, my ears hurt and so did my lungs! I will definitely start keeping spare gloves in my car for any impromptu after work park runs.

Must always take a post park run selfie as photographic evidence! I actually didn’t look as rough as I felt! Well deserved nap came after this!
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About Me

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Hi, I’m Hannah. Wife, nurse, keen cook and beginner runner. Welcome to my blog! Follow me as I carry on my vegetarian cooking journey and leap into my new found athleticism.

My husband mentioned that he wanted to try being veggie last year. Me, being of the all or nothing nature, decided to then cut all meat out of our diets. It became this fun challenge. Trying various meat substitutes, trying new recipes and creating my own. Trying and rating what vegetarian options restaurants have on offer has been interesting too. I’ll share my recipes and great veggie things we find out and about so you can try them too!

My husband has always been a good runner and I’ve always been jealous. I tried a couple of park runs and found them pretty hard! I tried running on my own but kept giving up pretty quickly.

This year I vowed to try again and stick to it! I’m back at my local park run and I even joined my local running club! I had been thinking of joining a running club for years but my social anxiety kept getting in the way! I will share my running ups and downs with you and hopefully I even manage a long distance event one day!