Now, she’s kind of a big deal in the fitness and healthy living community, with national appearances and recognition. But here the refreshing part: Her #1 love is eating. So she focuses on, as she says, “the journey to find balance.”

If we had a medal for inspiration, she’d be the top of our podium!

We’re especially proud she’s sharing a guest post here, in her engaging, lively style with practical tips. Thanks, Kristin. You’ve Stuft us with inspiration yet again!

Hi, SunButter fans. I’ve run about 7 full marathons and that week leading up to the race is always a bit unnerving. You’re supposed to be resting, but yet you’re getting anxious and worrying if you’ve done enough training, if you’re really ready for the big race, etc.

There’s our Kristin, smile stuft with pride, joy and energy.

Here are a few quick tips that help me that last week.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. There will always be another race in the future. Set goals, but know that the race will still be incredible if you don’t quite get the time you really want.

Rest. Try to go to bed early as many nights as possible the week before a race so that really early wake-up call on race day isn’t too much of a shock to the system.

Eat well. Make sure to keep fueling your body even though you’re not working out as much because you’re tapering. It’s important to go into a race with a good fuel supply. Eat good quality carbs. A coach once told me you should be oozing carbs at the start of a marathon.

Setup. Get everything set before the actual morning of the race. Set out your outfit, number, gels, shoes, etc.

Know you’ve put the time in and think of the race as a celebration of all your training. Get ready to have the experience of a lifetime. During the race just try to appreciate every step you take. There will definitely be times when you may question why the heck you’re running a full marathon, but crossing that finish line will be amazing.

Speaking of fueling properly, we’ve been fueling up a lot these days with these balls. They’re nutritious and the whole STUFT family loves them.

Mmmmm, SunButter Balls!

Better STUFT SunButter Balls

1 cup agave

1 cup SunButter

1 cup oats

3/4 cup cereal

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder

1/2 cup finely shredded coconut

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together. Scoop into balls and refrigerate in air tight container.

*Make sure to hide a couple in the freezer for yourself when the craving strikes because they’ll be gone fast.

See why we appreciate Kristin? Perfect balance of delicious eating, working out–and beautiful living. Thanks, StuftMama.

SunButter Spring Quiche

Ingredients:

CRUST

1/3 c. butter

1/4 c. SunButter (we used SunButter Natural)

1 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. cold water

FILLING

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 c. cooked, shredded chicken

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/4 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed

1 1/2 c. milk

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 c. SunButter, melted in microwave for about 20 seconds

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In medium bowl, combine butter and SunButter.

Stir in other ingredients, shape into ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Roll out onto lightly floured surface to about 1/8-inch thick. Fold in half and place into 10-inch quiche pan (pie plate works too!). Press firmly into bottom and sides.

Spread cheese over bottom of crust.

Then layer chicken, bacon and place asparagus spears in spoke pattern.

In a small bowl, whisk together remaining filling ingredients and pour evenly over assembled quiche.

 Flute edges.

Cover edges with strips of tinfoil or pie crust shield.

Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until golden and set in center. Let stand 10 minutes and serve!

Nut-Free Chocolate SunButter Pastry Twists

Ingredients
For the pastry:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (we found one that was nut-free; we hear most brands of puff pastry are nut-free)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 c. pearl sugar (we used King Arthur Pearl Sugar)

1/4 c. raisins (you could also use dried cranberries or other dried fruit)

1/4 c. chocolate chips (we used Enjoy Life nut-free chips)

For the chocolate SunButter sauce:
8 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, chopped or chips (here, too, we used Enjoy Life nut-free chips)
1/4 cup SunButter (we used SunButter Natural)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Unroll the puff pastry and brush on melted butter. Don’t be stingy! In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle over the pastry. Sprinkle on the raisins and chocolate chips. Cut the pastry in half, lengthwise, then cut each half into 6 strips, about 3/4-inch wide each. Twist each. Transfer to the pan, sprinkle on the pearl sugar, and bake until puffed, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce by heating the SunButter and chocolate chips and mixing together. Keep the sauce warm and serve it with the Torsade/Twists for dipping.

Thanks to people who are newbies on up to prolific pinners, the SunButter Pinterest page has become a great resource and learning tool for us, and we see so many others benefitting as well.

Need more reasons to join or get pinning?

We have 30 delicious reasons!

Create your own SunButter board on Pinterest for your chance to win 1 of 5, $25 Amazon gift cards. The first 25 pinners will automatically win SunButter On-The-Go Snack Packs.

Happy Pinning!

SunButter Energy Balls

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats (we pulsed these in a food processor so they were more of a powder)
1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup flax seed

1/2 cup SunButter (we used SunButter Organic Unsweetened, so we could sweeten to taste with honey

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used Vermont Nut Free chocolate chips)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until a dough ball forms.Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.Shape into balls and enjoy! To bake, add 1 Tbsp. water and 2 tsp. vanilla extract, form into 1-inch balls and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

Gluten-Free Variation: Use gluten-free oats (and about 1/4 c. more) and chocolate chips, substitute coconut for the flax seed and wheat germ. These turned out good, too!

“Researchers in Spain recently found that men who ate about 3 1/2 tablespoons of nut butter twice a week were 40 percent less likely to be overweight or obese than those who didn’t dig in.”

The Men’s Health editors’ top 6 picks for spreads with less than 100 milligrams of sodium in a 2 Tbsp. serving and no hydrogenated oils (a source of trans fats) includes SunButter Organic Unsweeted:

source: Men’s Health

See the whole Nut Butter list in Men’s Health.

Way to go, guys! Now cook, bake and dig in.

We parked some freshly baked SunButter Stix in a dish of dip (vanilla yogurt) for the after-school crowd. They were gone in no time!

SunButter Stix

Ingredients:

1 c. brown rice flour
3 Tbsp. olive oil
6 Tbsp. warm water

1 Tbsp. SunButter

1/4 c. sunflower seeds, chopped – We got ours from Peanut Free Planet

1/8 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Optional: More sunflower seeds, kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Blend the brown rice flour, sunflower seeds, chili powder and salt. Add the olive oil and water and mix until combined. Form the dough into a ball, place it in the middle of baking pan lined with parchment paper. Gently press the dough into a rectangle, making it about 1/4-inch thick. Score into sticks with a table knife. Sprinkle with more seeds or kosher salt if desired. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the sticks are lightly browned. Cool and break them along the score lines into stix!

The last of the batch after we broke them apart.

Double SunButter!

On March 17, we’re all Irish, so why not celebrate with nut-free goodies that show your Irish side?

Go naturally green

In some baked goods, SunButter actually creates a green color.

Allergy Friendly Cook Cybele Pascal created SunButter Greenies for her little leprechauns.

photo credit: CybelePascal.com

Get Cybele’s SunButter Greenies recipe.

Emily at Daily Garnish whipped up these muffins that took on a green tinge.

photo credit: DailyGarnish.com

Get Emily’s SunButter Muffins recipe.

Here’s the scoop:

Sunflower seeds have chlorophyll, which can interact with baking soda and/or baking powder to create a green hue in cookies, muffins, breads and other baked goods. It’s not harmful, and the rest of the year, you can avoid the green by adding a bit of lemon juice to recipes that call for SunButter and baking powder or soda.

See the whole green baked goods explanation.

Irish Soda Bread

We couldn’t develop a tasty version of this with SunButter, and even spreading SunButter on it just wasn’t right, but we know lots of you are gluten-free, so we’re sharing this gluten-free, dairy-free Irish Soda Bread recipe from Living Without:

photo credit: LivingWithout.com

Get the Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread recipe.

Scoop up pub fare

This SunButter Hummus from Kare at KitchenTreaty goes well with pita chips, crackers, carrots, celery and, of course, green beer.

photo credit: KitchenTreaty.com

Get this SunButter Hummus recipe.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Let us know your favorite seasonal recipes in the comment here, too, aye?