Happy Valentine's Day!!!
er...day after V-Day! I started this post yesterday but didn't have a chance to finish it, so bear with me if some of my wording is off... :)
My hubb and I started the morning right with the
Amnesty International Valentine's Day Couples 5K...so fun!!! What a beautiful morning for a race!
There were probably 200-300 people there, all in their bright-colored cool-weather gear. The temperature was
25* when we left the house, and it probably climbed to
30* by the time the race started. My hubb and I stayed together for the
first mile, then I urged him to go forward without me once I heard our
1-mile split...9:14!!! That is fast for me, and I felt like I was going to burn myself out too quickly if I tried to keep up with him. He pushed ahead and I slowed down just slightly...my
second mile split was 18:42! The first two miles were on a
hilly road, and the last mile was on a
very hilly trail through the woods that slowed me down quite a bit. We even had to climb over a fallen tree! So my
final time was 30:20...which I am THRILLED with! I really wanted to beat a 10 min./mile average and would have loved to beat 30 minutes, but I wasn't expecting the trail and that totally threw my time off. If the entire 3.1 miles had been like the first 2 miles I think I would have finished around 28 minutes...
My hubb did really well too for his first race, finishing just ahead of me. I can't wait for our next race together!
So...I have been thinking about
running a lot lately. You all know that I had a
foot injury a few weeks ago that slowed my
training down quite a bit, in fact it completely halted my training for about a week and sent me from a
5.5-mile long run back down to
3-miles because of foot pain at any greater distance. It was frustrating. Its still frustrating, because even after last weekend's 4.5-mile push my foot was really
sore. You all know how much I wanted to finish the
Charlottesville 10-Miler this year after injury kept me from it last year, and you've been an
incredible support system, helping me to get through ridiculous cold weather runs and injury and being a great source of advice and encouragement. I have been dreading writing this post ever since last weekend's run, because that run was my
test. The test to see how my foot would feel at a distance greater than 3.5 miles. The test to see how my endurance held up during my training hiatus. The test to see if it was possible for me to push forward and complete the training for the 10-miler, which is now a mere 7 weeks away. And...my foot failed the test. I hope that I don't get any negative feedback for the statement I am about to write, for my greatest sadness in this whole experience is my fear that I am going to disappoint you all.
I've decided to stop training for the 2009 Charlottesville 10-Miler.
I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who think that going from 4-5 miles to 10 miles in 7 weeks is totally a possibility, and it probably is, for some people. But I've learned that my body doesn't handle accelerated training and big increases in running distance very well. I injure myself, and no race is worth me injuring myself any further than I already have. And, I realized in the last few days that the last sentence in the above paragraph was what was keeping me in the training program, not my intense desire to run the race by my even greater desire to not disappoint you all. When I went back and read
my running story yesterday, these are some of the statements that leapt from my computer screen...
I never liked running, it was hard, I told myself I wasn’t made for it. But secretly when I would see a runner out on the road lost in their own world or a pair of runners chatting away as they jogged I would think “I wish that I loved to run.” I’d hear friends talk about how they “just NEED to run, my day’s not complete without it” and I’d think “why I can’t I have that passion for something so good for me?”
...in an effort to find the inner runner in ME, I’ve signed up for the training program again this year.
To be clear, I am participating in the program to find my motivation, my inner runner and hopefully a few more running buddies. I will be perfectly happy to get back up to 4-5 miles and stay there if I feel like my body can’t handle any more distance. I am determined to listen to my body and slow down if I start to feel injuries coming on.
I remembered that I started this training program
so that I could get back into running. So that I could
learn to love to run, whether with a running buddy or on my own. Through this experience I've learned that
I really enjoy running 3-4 miles, and anything past that gets boring and tedious for me. I've learned that
5K's are a lot of fun, and I get a big thrill out of
pushing myself to go faster, but not necessarily longer. I've learned that
I look forward to a 3-4 mile run with my hubb or a friend, but when I get to
5-6 miles I dread it. I've learned that
my body may not be capable of safely running long distances...and I'm ok with that. So, in my eyes, this training program was a complete success.
I've decided to stick with
shorter distances. To run for
my health and
my enjoyment and to challenge myself by
increasing speed rather than distance. There are plenty of
5K's out there, the
C'ville Women's 4-Miler, even some
8K's and
10K's that may be possible. I may even try a
mini-triathlon sometime. And maybe eventually I'll try long distances again, if after running consistently for awhile my desire to challenge myself in that way returns. But I won't be disappointed with myself if I never get to that point, and I hope that you all won't be disappointed either.
Whew! Thanks for sticking with me, if you've gotten this far! I really needed to get it all out there, and I'll be updating
my running page soon to reflect the latest events in my story.
Now, on to food!
My apologies for not posting the last couple of days. I know you all understand since I have been on a
big big big deadline. Unfortunately, my deadline was pushed from
Friday to
Monday. Typically I would be thrilled to have 2 extra days to work on a project, but not when those two days are my weekend! Argh. Most of my meals were packed up in the morning and eaten at the office, so they are pretty standard.
Breakfast Thursday: toasted ezekiel muffin, 1/2 with 1 tbsp TJ's natural PB and 1/2 with 1 tbsp sour cherry preserves. And some red grapes.
[
415 cal]
Lunch Thursday: big ol' salad with spinach, baby blends, red bell pepper, broccoli, cucumber, hearts of palm, black olives, roasted garlic hummus and some TJ's fat free balsamic vinaigrette.
[
207 cal]
Snacks Thursday: an apple (saved my pear for a snackie dessert bowl once home) and a
Clif White Chocolate Macadamia Nut bar, 1/2 before my run and 1/2 after. I am IN LOVE with the WCMN bar...even more so than the iced gingerbread. Which is a good thing because the WCMN bar isn't seasonal!
[
321 cal]
Exercise Thursday: 3-1/2 mile run with my friend Kelly...it was fabulous and got me totally pumped up for my 5K.
[
-360 cal]
I actually made dinner in the morning and packed it up to take to the office with me, knowing it would be a late night.
Dinner Thursday: baked chicken breast with Country Bob's All-Purpose Sauce, 1 cup steamed broccoli and 3/4 cup Near East Whole Grain Blends, roasted garlic flavor.
[
406 cal]
And I know you all have seen this fabulous sauce popping up all over the blog world... I received two bottles of
Country Bob's All-Purpose Sauce last week and was excited to try it on my chicken. Let me tell you, it is some good stuff. Its kind of a cross between
bbq and
worschestshire sauce, with a
smokey tang that truly would be good on most anything I can imagine.
I"ll be hosting a
give-away so that a couple of my lovely readers can try out their own bottles of
Country Bob's, but I need to clarify a couple of things with the company first. Stay tuned!
Dessert Thursday: snackie dessert bowl with 1 sliced pear, 2 heaping tbsp Fage 0% yogurt, 1 tsp honey. No picture, I was too tired.
[
149 cal]
Daily Totals: Thursday
- Calories Consumed: 1498
- Calories Expelled: 360
- Net Calories: 1138
Breakfast Friday: toasted ezekiel muffin with 1-1/2 tbsp TJ's natural PB and a sliced banana
[
423 cal]
Lunch Friday: 1/2 a leftover chicken breast, thawed black-eyed peas and ham from New Years Day on a bed of spinach, and some red grapes.
[
360 cal]
Snacks Friday: a mandarin orange, I decided against my apple because it just didn't sound good. Weird. However, when my boss brought in red wine, cheese and crackers for our Friday afternoon festivities, that sounded good. It had been a long week, and it wasn't close to being over. I had a small glass of wine and about 2oz of swiss cheese, with 4 table water crackers.
[
402 cal]
I wanted to load up on
carbs for our race the next morning, so dinner Friday was a
kitchen sink pasta. Saturday is grocery day, so I had some veggies that I wanted to use up. Basically anything and everything I could find went in.
Dinner Friday: kitchen sink pasta and lots of water
[
548 cal]
This yummy bowl contained:
- 1 cup brown rice pasta
- 365 brand marinara sauce
- onion
- garlic
- bell peppers
- broccoli
- chickpeas
- shitake mushrooms
- fresh basil
- crushed red pepper
- 2 tbsp part-skim mozzerella
It really hit the spot. Sometimes a big bowl of pasta is exactly what you need after a long week.
Daily Totals: Friday
- Calories Consumed: 1733
- Calories Expelled: none
- Net Calories: 1733 (yikes! luckily wine/cheese friday is only one day/week!)
I don't have many pictures for Saturday...
Breakfast Saturday: 1/2 Clif Iced Gingerbread bar pre-race, 1/2 banana and 1/2 bagel post-race
[
330 cal]
Lunch Saturday: 3/4 cup Fage 0%, 1 sliced banana, a drizzle of honey and 1/4 cup TJ's pumpkin spice granola...it was exactly what I wanted.
[
331 cal]
Snacks Saturday: 1 pear and 4 table water crackers while at the office, a ZBar after grocery shopping
[
311 cal]
My hubb and I had a lovely
Valentine's Day evening. We started off at an
engagement party for some good friends. I have a picture of Liz and I, but sadly none of me with my hubb! Such a shame because he looked so handsome all dressed up...
After the party we went to dinner at
L'Etoile, a French restaurant in town that I have been dying to try for quite some time. They serve food prepared using a lot of
locally-produced products, which I am a big proponent of. Again, no pictures! So sad because it was really a wonderful evening.
We started with
wine (I had chardonnay) and an
amuse-bouche from the chef, a bite-size morsel of
cornichon,
prosciutto and
roquefort sprinkled with
fresh chives. It was perfect. Then I moved on to the
lobster bisque, which was hands-down my favorite part of the meal, even better than dessert. I just don't get enough lobster in my life... My hubb had the
duck confit, which I also tried a bite of and loved. I'm not usually a fan of duck because it is so oily, but this dish was divine. After our appetizers we were brought the
winter salad, which consisted of arugula, apples, walnuts and local cheese with a champagne vinaigrette. I am a huge fan of arugula, I loved the combination of its spicy bite with the sweet apples and vinaigrette. For my entree' I picked the
rockfish in brown butter sauce with fingerling potatoes and hericot verts. The fish was cooked perfectly, but the flavor wasn't anything outstanding. And my potatoes were undercooked, still a little crunchy and lacking in flavor. For dessert we decided on the
tasting for two, which consisted of
chocolate cake with peanut butter ganache,
kettle corn revisited...a sweet/salty combination of cake and ice cream which was truly wonderful, a
"french toast" brioche bread pudding with maple syrup and brown sugar, and an undercooked
creme brulee'. It was a lovely evening in a beautiful atmosphere with delicious food and the love of my life.
And now, I must return to the office. :( I am going to take a break mid-day to go to
yoga, and hopefully we'll be having dinner with a friend tonight. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!
For lunch I made my hubb a couple of mexi-wraps because we were out of lunch meat (his typical packed lunch of choice). They looked SO good that I decided to make one for myself too.
Lunch: mexi-wrap made with whole wheat tortilla, spinach, salsa, black beans, frozen corn, black olives, red bell pepper, 1 tbsp monterrey jack cheese and green onions
[246 cal]
Snacks: I packed grapes and a pear, but wound up saving my pear for later. I did go on a walk to the coffee shop with my hubb and gave in to a gluten-free chocolate biscotti - it was just one of those kind of days.
[grapes = 110 cal, biscotti = 280 (a went with the highest calorie count I found on myfooddiary...it was a big biscotti)]
For dinner I packed myself some leftover
When I finally got home I was craving some dessert My pear made a reappearance...in a snackie dessert bowl!
Dessert: 6oz Oikos honey-flavored yogurt, 1 sliced pear and 3 lemon snaps, crumbled
[341 cal]
See what I mean? It was such a snackie, intuitive day full of little 250 cal - 350 cal meals. I actually really liked it, and my numbers aren't too bad either.
Daily Totals:
Lunch: leftover potato leek soup with kale, and a hearty oat biscuit.
[437 cal]
Afternoon Snack: 6oz 0% Fage and one AMAZING Murcott Mandarin Orange...it was like eating an orange creamsicle dessert!
[130 cal]
I planned to go for a run after work, so had my a pre-run snack at my usual 5pm time. But, I wound up staying late at the office and got home too late for a run...I was just too beat. And THAT is why I need to get to bed earlier...so that I can get my bootie out of bed for my morning run! Its just so hard to stay motivated to work out at the end of the day, I'd much rather come home and get dinner going so we can start winding down.
Afternoon Snack #2: Clif chocolate chip ZBar...my fave. I love these little guys!
[130 cal]
Dinner tonight was quick, simple and DELICIOUS. I found a recipe for Lentil Chili with Cumin and Green Onions in the February 2008 issue of Bon Appetit. I planned to follow it exactly, but found that we were out of a couple of key ingredients, Chili Powder and Tomato Puree. So instead I modified it slightly, substituting Ancho Chili Pepper, tomato sauce and tomato paste. I also added frozen corn at the last minute and am so glad that I did. The corn cut the heat of the chili with a lovely, mild sweetness, really increasing the depth of flavors.
Lentil Chili with Cumin, Corn and Green Onions [adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2008]
made 2 dinner servings and 1 small lunch serving
362 calories, 7.6g fat, 1.4g sat fat, 58g carbs, 18g fiber, 19g protein
Ingredients:
Chop kale into large bite-size pieces. Rinse well. Saute' 2 garlic cloves in 2 tsp olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute. Add drained kale, with water still clinging to leaves. Stir, allowing the kale to wilt slightly. Cover the saucepan and let kale steam for 2-3 minutes. Remove lid and stir, tossing kale for about a minute. Squeeze 1/4 of one lemon on kale, and sprinkle with sea salt. SO GOOD.
Dinner: lentil chili, sauteed kale and a hearty oat biscuit.
[630 cal - eek! a little high tonight, especially since I didn't get my planned run in...]
Alrighty, I'm off to bed, with 8 minutes to spare! WooHoo!!! I hope you all have a great night...get some sleep!!! :)
My hubb was such a sweetie and made me this gorgeous salad for lunch, complete with homemade vinaigrette! He even took pictures...can you believe him?!? I also was craving some soup, so I ran across the street to 
My salad had:
When we got home I knew I wanted something warm and comforting. Luckily I had some soup on the menu... This weekend I managed to fit in 2 long hot baths, complete with bubbles, vino and the latest Bon Appetit magazine. I also had the February 2008 issue of BA, which I hadn't had a chance to read last year because I was deeply entrenched in my graduate studies. I held on to all of my neglected foodie magazines so that I could read them this year, during their intended month to take advantage of the seasonal recipes always featured. I read about yukon gold potatoes, kale, meyer lemons and leeks. My reading left me craving a hearty winter soup...and a lemon drop martini. I fulfilled the first craving tonight, the second will probably wait until the weekend. :)
Tonight's dinner isn't a recipe from BA, unfortunately...it probably would have turned out a bit better if it had been. It was good, the flavors were spot-on, but the texture of the soup was a bit, well, gluey. For lack of a better descriptor. I believe the reason for the extra thick creaminess was my use of yukon golds, which in hindsight I think would be better suited to a chunky soup than a pureed soup. Lesson learned. I will definitely try this recipe again, just with a different type of potato.
Dinner: potato leek soup with kale and hearty oat biscuits.
[437 cal]
Potato Leek Soup with Kale
226 calories, 7.4g fat, 1g sat fat, 37.5 carbs, 4.9g fiber, 9.2g protein
makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
I also made some
Dessert: more beautiful grapes.
[110 cal]
Alrighty, I'm feeling much better now but am ready for bed. I really want to get up in the morning for my run so that I can keep my evening free for yoga, although that means I'll only be getting about 5.5 hours of sleep. :( There are not enough hours in a day!!! How many hours of sleep do you get a night? I feel really lucky if I get 7, but I'm usually closer to 6. Not good...
G'night!
This yummy bowl contained:
I took clothes with me to the office so that I could run home after my haircut. It was such a gorgeous afternoon that I decided to push myself and take the long way home, about 4-1/2 miles. It was tough, I was dragging because I hadn't run more than 3-1/2 miles in the last couple of weeks with my foot injury. And, my foot was pretty sore when I was finished. :( It did feel great to be outside though, stretching my legs and soaking in the sun.
Saturday Exercise: 4-1/2 mile run, 10 min/mile pace
[-475 cal]
Saturday Afternoon Snack: the other 1/2 of my Clif Iced Gingerbread bar and my blood orange, perfect re-fuel after my run.
[193 cal]
I was wiped out when I got home, so the grocery trip my hubb and I had planned got bumped to Sunday. It also led to a very lazy evening during which cooking didn't really seem like an option, so we ordered in. If you've been reading my blog for long you know that Thai is our take-out of choice, and last night was no exception. :)
Saturday Dinner: take-out pad thai and veggie spring rolls with pineapple spice dipping sauce.
[about 525 cal]
We watched 
Sunday Exercise: YOGA!!! At my normal studio. I've realized that the new studio that I bought an unlimited month pass to doesn't have many classes that work with my schedule, so I'll be continuing to join my normal Sunday class that I love love love so much. Today was no disappointment. I was a sweaty, leg-shaky pile of goo afterwards.
[about -250 cal]
Sunday Afternoon Snack #1: a Clif Nectar bar, consumed immediately after yoga. Thank goodness I had it in my purse.
[160 cal]
My eating schedule always gets off on Sundays because I typically sleep later than normal then have yoga from 12:30-1:30, aka lunchtime. Today I had to go back to the office for another hour then went grocery shopping, so lunch slipped right by me. Needless to say I was famished while grocery shopping (bad, bad idea) and gave in to these Mi-Del Lemon Snaps.
I of course ripped into them as soon as I got in the car. They are SO GOOD! Just a hint of lemon with the same crunch as a classic ginger snap. They are dangerous... When I realized that I could easily finish the whole bag on my way home, I quickly reached behind me for the bag of grapes and noshed on them instead.
Sunday Afternoon Snack #2: 5 Mi-Del Lemon Snaps and a handful of red grapes (recreated for your viewing pleasure...).
[250 cal]
I had big plans to make dinner tonight, but when I opened the fridge I realized that we still had some leftovers to use up. So...another repeat.
Sunday Dinner: leftover Pad Thai and a big ol' salad. Also, a glass of cab (which was actually started while sitting on the back deck with my hubb and our pupps, enjoying our amazing weather).
[salad = 225 cal, thai = about 350 cal]
My salad contained:
Sunday Dessert: 2 lemon snaps and another bunch of grapes...they just looked so good when I was taking their picture for the snack re-creation.
[155 cal]
This post has taken forever for me to write because I'm watching the Grammy's at the same time. :) And now, its just about bed time. But first, a big reminder that tomorrow starts the 
practice practice practice!
I know you've probably heard it 1000 times, but that is truly how I learned about light and composition. You have to experiment with different settings on your camera and different lighting configurations in your home to figure out what works best for you. Photography educators recommend keeping a journal, although with the digital age I don't know if its necessary anymore since most cameras store information about camera settings used for particular shots. But if you're like me and learn through recordation, start a journal. Try different settings and record each small change you make, noting which pictures use which settings. There are no excuses to not practice and experiment now that everybody has digital cameras...there's no waste!
composition.
I'm very careful with setting up my photos when I take them. I probably take 20 different photos for every 1 that turns out how I want it. I try to keep the background simple, focusing on the food and keeping clutter out of the shot. Try lots of different angles to get the perfect one that will showcase exactly what you want to show.
Whole-dish shots aren't always necessary. Sometimes a picture of just a portion of the dish is enough.
Prep shots are fun too, and help to bring some variety to the blog.
light.
Daylight is always best. I love the weekends when I can take my photos during the day. During the week I have to take a lot of my shots in the dark and I have some pretty sophisticated equipment that helps me out. For a point-and-shoot camera, (which are great! I have one that I use often) the best bet is to keep the flash off because you don't have much control over it. Bring in lamps that you can use over your food. You want to try and light the food evenly so you don't get any major shadows (which will happen with the flash from a point-and-shoot). If you want to experiment with the flash on your camera, try putting a piece of white posterboard on the opposite side of your camera and flash, to help bounce light back onto the opposite side of your food. This should help with the harsh shadows.
This shot was taken with just the daylight from my window.
inspiration.
Look at other great photographers and practice trying to emulate the things they do. Don't copy their backdrops, props or styles, but you can learn a lot from looking at the different angles and compositions of other artists' photographs. Check out some of the "visual inspiration" blogs and websites listed on my blog. Some of the mouth-watering food photography that I aspire to?
Not nearly as pretty as when freshly made, but still just as tasty! PS: you'll be seeing this again.... :)
Afternoon Snack: 1/2 a Clif Iced Gingerbread bar...I only have 1-1/2 left and will be so sad when they are gone!
[125 cal]
When I got home from work last night, totally brain dead, I decided to go for a run. I went to campus and did a 3-1/4 mile loop at about a 10 min/mile pace. I REALLY enjoy my 3-4 mile runs. I've been thinking a lot about long distance running lately, and my training, and have lots to share with you. But not this morning. Soon, I promise. :)
When I got home I did 25 minutes of vinyasa flows...lots of down dogs, chathurangas, warriors, twisted triangles and pigeon. Perfect way to stretch out my hamstrings and hips. :)
Exercise: 3-1/4 mile run, 25 minutes of vinyasa yoga
[about -400 calories]
Dinner: leftover 
Dessert: snackie bowl with 6oz 0% Fage, 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries, small handful of Annie's Bunnies
[223 cal]
It is such a BEAUTIFUL day here! The high is supposed to be 60*!!! Woohoo!!! I planned to go for a run this morning when I woke up but it was still only 23*, I decided to wait until later when it will be MUCH more enjoyable. :)
What are your plans for today? Unfortunately, I have to work. Boo. I'm getting ready to go to the office, but I have a hair appointment at 2pm so will have to stop working then. After that I'm going for a run, then to the grocery store with my hubb to stock up for the week, and maybe a movie tonight?We'll see. Busy day!
I hope you all have a great Saturday!
The lasagna was excellent reheated for lunch, just like it should be. :) My salad contained:
Dinner: the best split pea soup I've ever had! And a slice of homemade honey wheat bread that I pulled out of the freezer.
[502 cal]
I've never made split pea soup before, but it was so easy and so deliciously warming on this very cold winter night. The hot italian sausage added the perfect amount of heat, just at the back of the throat. It was the perfect complement to the sweetness of the peas and carrots. And the rosemary? Divine. Just the right touch of earthiness. This soup has made its way solidly to our list of regulars, I feel certain.
Split Pea + Sausage Soup [inspired by
Lunch: a salmon spinach salad. I had about 2.5oz of salmon leftover from last night, 1/2 cup of TJ's Harvest Blends and 2 cups of fresh spinach. I also crumbled 4 walnut halves on top and squeezed blood orange juice all over it. SO TASTY!!! I'm usually a little weary of leftover fish, but I actually really loved the salmon icy cold on top of a salad. Also, a blood orange.
[340 cal]
Snacks: I forgot to take pictures! :( I had a single-serve Oikos, blueberry flavor, at 3:30 and a Quaker True Delights granola bar at 5:00. Both were delicious and kept me fueled for yoga.
[250 cal]
Exercise: YOGA!!! Oh how I love going to classes. Tonight I tried out a new studio that several friends have recommended numerous times. They are running a special right now that all new students can sign up for unlimited classes for one month for only $50!!! I jumped on that, so you'll be seeing lots of yoga workouts popping up on the blog for the next 4 weeks. WooHoo! :) I'm excited to improve my balancing and upper body strength...I am majorly lacking in that area of yoga. Tonight's class was a 90 minute Intro to Ashtanga. I've always gone to Vinyasa classes, which are very similar to Ashtanga, but I think Ashtanga has the potential to be more strenuous. Both are considered to be power yoga, and both leave me dripping with sweat. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to trying out more classes at the studio! :)
I wasn't sure how to count my calories...myfooddiary isn't too specific. They just break up yoga into "power" and "stretching". So I counted 60 minutes of "power" and 30 minutes of "stretching", figuring I was REALLY working for at least 2/3's the class, and the other 1/3 was warm-up and cool-down. Anybody have any other suggestions?
[-400 calories]
My hubb and I cooked dinner together tonight. I love that! We made a healthier version of lasagna, inspired by the Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook, one of my faves.
Dinner: "healthified" veggie lasagna and a small glass of cabernet
[about 550 cal]
This lasagna was SO good, and while we couldn't eat it every night, it is so much healthier than my old meaty, cheesy, creamy versions from the past.
Healthified Veggie Lasagna [inspired by the 
Must. Go. To. Bed. G'night! :)
Edited to Add
Daily Total:
Sadly, most of it has now melted. I think they've predicted more for tomorrow though. I don't mind the cold as much when we have snow to look forward to!
Before I get to far ahead of myself, I wanted to share the last of yesterday's eats with you. I decided to discard the cabernet that I wasn't enjoying and made a snackie dessert bowl instead (are you proud, 
Back to Tuesday...
My days are going by SO fast because I am SO busy at work! I've got a big deadline next Friday and I'm working really hard during the days to try and keep the late nights next week to a minimum. Its stressful, but I'd much rather be busy at work than bored like I was for the last few weeks. I had planned to get up early for some morning yoga, but forgot to turn my phone volume on after work yesterday so slept through my alarm for over an hour! Yikes. Needless to say I was in a bit of a rush, so I packed my breakfast to take with me to the office.
Breakfast: 6oz Fage 0%, 1/4 cup TJ's pumpkin spice granola, 1 banana, 1 medjool date.
[355 calories]
SO good! And it stayed with me for a full 4 hours.
I had a bit of a fish theme going on today...lots of protein and Omega 3's! :)
Lunch: tuna salad wrap on 8" whole wheat tortilla with yellow bell pepper and spinach, the rest of the tuna salad with peppers and carrots and two Back to Nature multigrain flax crackers.
[about 400 calories]
The tuna salad contained:
Snacks: a pink lady apple at 3:30 and a Clif ZBar at 5:30, to fuel me for a run.
[211 calories]
I decided to skip tonight's yoga class and go for a run. The weather was decent (30* and clear), and it got warm enough today to melt the ice on the sidewalks. They are predicting snow again tomorrow so I decided I should run while I had the chance, and go to a yoga class tomorrow night instead. It was great! I think my feet have gotten used to my new inserts because I didn't have much pain at all. I'm still planning to see a podiatrist because I don't think I should have to deal with any pain while running, right?!?
Exercise: 3-mile run, 10 min/mile pace. 20 minutes of vinyasa flows to stretch out afterwards. I'm feelin' good! :)
[- 400 calories]
Dinner tonight was inspired by 
The asparagus was super-easy, and SO good! I heated olive oil in a non-coated skillet, then added 1 clove of garlic to saute' for about a minute. Then the asparagus went in, with some salt and ground pepper. After it had been cooking for 3-4 minutes, the garlic was really starting to brown and trying to stick to the pan. I splashed in about 1/2 cup of orange juice to de-glaze, gave everything a stir and covered the pan. The heat was lowered to simmer and the asparagus cooked for another 3-4 minutes until tender. YUM.
This TJ's blend was really good too...israeli couscous, baby garbonzo beans, orzo and red quinoa. We cooked ours in chicken broth for a little extra flavor.
Thank you all for the sweet comments about my new table! I know it will take some getting used to, but I'm glad you're open to it. I'll get a picture of the whole thing soon, but I'm waiting until our new dining room light gets here so you get the whole picture. :)
Daily Recap:
This yummy bowl contained:
Morning Snack: 3 dried apricots and 3 walnut halves (leftover from my road food snack this weekend). My breakfast only hung with me for about 3 hours, I was really glad that I had these in my bag.
[104 calories]
Lunch: salad! Oh how I missed thee... And a pink lady apple.
[358 calories]
Afternoon Snack: 5 dried apricots and 3 walnut halves. Again, a light lunch today, so I was glad I had these.
[137 calories]
Dinner: two tiny slivers of carmelized onion, blue cheese + bacon pizza ( I didn't eat the crust...just not a fan of the dough!), a spinach salad and a glass of cabernet. It was a salad kind of day! The cabernet isn't very good, I really doubt I'll finish it but I've counted its calories just in case. If I decide to ditch it I've already got a snackie dessert bowl forming in my head... :)
[570 calories]
My salad consisted of:
I'm really kicking myself for not getting out of bed this morning for a run. The weather was lovely, its getting light earlier, but I got to bed so late last night that I just couldn't get up. And now? Rain. And later tonight? Snow. I'm really starting to dislike Virginia in the winter. How we could go from a high of 62* yesterday, high of 59* today, and snow by midnight tonight is beyond me!!! Argh. Oh well, I am planning on going to yoga tomorrow night at my favorite studio with my favorite instructor...nothing beats 90 minutes of yoga. Nothing. And rain and snow can't stop me! :)
I hope you all have a great night!
The above picture is of the onions within the first 5 minutes of caramelization. The whole process took about 20 minutes, but I forgot to get a picture of the finished onions. :( We used pre-made TJ's whole wheat pizza dough that I had frozen. I'm not crazy about the TJ's dough...I think I'll pass on buying it again.
The contraption my hubb is using to get the pizza in and out of the oven is called a 
This was my first time using the 
I had a little less than 1/4 of the pizza on my plate, but only ate about 2/3's of that. It was SO RICH. I think next time I'll use less blue cheese...
This was a weird eating day for me. Breakfast was so late that I skipped lunch, but did have a peanut butter date blondie after they were photographed. Of course. Then I promptly packed them up to take with me to the office tomorrow. Definitely can't risk having those tasty little treats hanging out in my kitchen!
Snack: peanut butter date blondie
[250 calories]
Dessert: 1/2 cup of Ciao Bella blood orange sorbetto...so good.
[120 calories]
Exercise: I took my dog Lucy for a 3 mile walk/run around the neighborhood. We both needed the exercise, and I wanted to test out my foot. It did ok, but I'm still taking it easy. I think I'm going to make an appointment with a podiatrist to get it checked out... I walked/ran more for Lucy than for me...she's not used to running that far all at once. She had surgery last summer on both of her knees and didn't fully recover until December, so we're still working on getting her strength back. She did really well though, I'm a proud momma! :)
[-260 calories]
Daily Review:
I was really excited when
I'm relatively new to the world of blondie baking, in fact I've only made blondies two other times and both were inspired by 
I used natural sweeteners (turbinado sugar and the dates, of course) and whole wheat pastry flour to make the recipe a bit healthier than some of the others I was looking at. But don't let that fool you, they still aren't light in calories. Next time I'll experiment with replacing some of the butter with yogurt, and maybe add in some applesauce. Also, eliminate the egg yolks? But overall, I am very happy with the result. The rest of the batch is going to my co-workers and my hubb's co-workers. Unhealthiness problem solved. :)
The sweetness of the dates complements the saltiness of the peanuts perfectly. I thought about adding semisweet chocolate chips to the mix, even had them portioned out and ready to go in the mixer, but decided at the last moment that they might overpower the dates so I left them out. I'm so glad I did. The dates are subtle and delicious and would have been lost with the addition of chocolate.
My inspiration came from
We usually use a Dr. Oetker pancake mix from Whole Foods and add assorted dried fruits, nuts and chocolate to spice them up. But making pancakes from scratch is really not difficult or time consuming, and I was intrigued by the addition of ricotta cheese to this particular recipe. I substituted a few ingredients to healthify the 'cakes a bit, but then we cooked up some bacon to go with them so I think my efforts were canceled out.
I was concerned that the dates would stick together if I added them to the mix, so I just pressed them into the tops of the pancakes with the bananas after I poured the batter onto my griddle.
The pancakes were very light and fluffy in texture, and the pairing of bananas and dates with real maple syrup was fabulous. I just wish we'd eaten them as they came off of the griddle instead of keeping them warm in the oven while my hubb cooked up the bacon. They flattened out just a bit and probably would have had a better consistency had we consumed them immediately. The batch made 15 pancakes so I'll be freezing leftovers for future mornings. Yum.
I don't think this will be my official BSI entry because I've got some other baking planned for this afternoon. This was more of a warm-up. :)
Banana Date Pancakes [adapted from 
I hope you all have had a great weekend so far! I had a fabulous time at the shower yesterday. My friend Christine is SO cute. She's due in 2 months...I can't believe it! Here's me with the proud momma-to-be...
And the adorable ice cream cake that I of course had a piece of...along with other bad-for-me food. It was a lot of fun though, and luckily I don't go out of town very often!!!
Thanks for all of your great road food suggestions! I was happy to have my snacks on the way down and to supplement my breakfast Saturday morning, but they didn't do a very good job of deterring me from eating a fast food dinner both Friday and Saturday nights. :( Next time I need to pack sandwiches to take with me, or at least more satisfying meal-type items. Or push harder for Subway stops... :)
And now I'm off to bake up my BSI recipe...I'll be back later with the results!
Lunch: baked sweet potato with 1/4 cup wheat berries, 1 cup steamed broccoli, 2 tbsp edamame, 2 tbsp corn, sea salt
[341 calories]
Snacks: [for today and tomorrow's road trips] small pink lady apple, clif bar, quaker true delights bar, walnut halves and dried turkish apricots. These will be spread out over the next couple of days, and probably not all consumed. But I've included calorie counts below so that I can pick and choose to make up my snacks while I'm out of town. What do you pack for road trips?
[apple = 80 calories, clif bar = 250 calories, true delights bar = 140 calories, 1/4 cup walnut halves = 215 calories, 1/2 cup dried apricots = 173 calories]
And I'm off! Have a great weekend!!! :)
This was lighter in calories than a normal breakfast for me, but it stuck with me for about 3-1/2 hours! I was impressed. I need to keep this combo in mind for future mornings. I knew that I had a later than normal lunch planned for today, so I packed a morning snack to keep me going. This was perfect, it helped to bridge the gap so I wasn't ravenous at lunch time.
Morning Snack: 6 walnut halves, 2 tbsp dried cherries
[178 calories]
Lunch: at one of my favorite C'ville spots, 
I had to work late tonight, then had errands to run before heading home. I didn't walk in the door until after 9pm, at which point I was STARVING! My hubb ordered us Chinese once he knew I was en route (he hung some shelves in our laundry room tonight! yay!). I went a little overboard... My standard healthy take-out order is steamed veggies and tofu with steamed rice, sauce on the side. Tonight I substituted the steamed rice for some leftover whole wheat pasta we had in the fridge. At the last second I requested egg drop soup because it sounded so good, and I couldn't resist when my hubb offered me 1/2 his veggie egg roll. And, of course, the fortune cookie. :) The calorie count is an estimate from what I could find on myfooddiary...
Dinner: take-out steamed veggies + tofu on 1 cup whole wheat pasta, 2 tbsp garlic sauce, 1-1/2 cups egg drop soup, 1/2 a veggie egg roll, 1 fortune cookie
[about 600 calories - eek! I let my hunger take over... note to self, pack an emergency bar in purse in case of late nights in the office!]
Sadly, I missed all exercise today. I've been getting to bed so late that I have a hard time yanking myself out of bed in the morning. And with as late as I got home tonight, there was no running. :( Its probably a good thing though because my foot has been bothering me today. Argh!!! So frustrating.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Charlotte for my friend Christine's baby shower!!! I'm super-excited. We're staying overnight so I probably won't be posting again until Sunday. I hope you all have a great Friday and weekend!
This DELICIOUS bowl contained:
Afternoon Snack: 1/2 cup plain Fage 0% and one tangelo.
[132 cal]
Extras: 3 Dove dark chocolate hearts [126 cal - I should try to skip these tomorrow], 10 Annie's Honey Bunnies [54 cal]
Dinner: saffron tomato fennel soup [
This oat bowl contained the usual:
Snack: 1/2 cup plain Fage 0% and 5 strawberries...the yogurt helps pick me up and keep me going through the rest of the afternoon, and makes me think I'm eating dessert. :)
Snackie Treats: I had a serious sweet tooth today! I ran to the CVS across the street for some Dove dark chocolate hearts and ate 3 throughout the day. I also had a date while fixing dinner.
Dinner: tofu veggie stir fry on jasmine rice...a quick, easy vegetarian favorite! We try to add bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, but forgot again tonight as usual. We never remember until we've finished the meal!
This was a collaborative effort between my hubb and I tonight. He took care of the veggies, I took care of the rice, wheatberries and tofu. Our delectable meal contained:
This glaze consisted of (measurements are estimates...):
The tofu turns out just crispy on the outside, firmly silky on the inside. We LOVE it this way, and haven't been able to stray in years.
My hubb sauteed the veggies in a bit of olive oil and soysauce, then added the Trader Joe's soyaki sauce and tofu once the veggies were tender. This sauce is really great. We usually buy Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce from Soy Vay, but I picked this up last time I was at TJ's and it is almost as good, for much less $$$!
My bowl contained 1/2 cup jasmine rice, 1/2 cup wheatberries (boiled tonight to keep for the week) and about 1-1/2 cups of veggies + tofu. Yum!
Dessert: a Quaker True Delights toasted coconut banana macadamia nut granola bar, split with my hubb. YUM!!!!!! These bars are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. When I opened the package I almost passed out from the unbelievably good scent that met my nose. And the flavor was perfect...not artificial tasting at all. I could eat one for dessert every night, and they are only 140 calories!
Exercise: YOGA!!!! Mmmmmmmm. We've been having an ice storm for most of the day so the sidewalks were far to treacherous for a run this evening. I didn't even want to go back out to the yoga studio and drive on the slick roads. So, instead, I popped my favorite Power Yoga dvd into my computer and stretched out my unused muscles for 55 minutes. It felt SO good, but made me realize how much my week off from exercise has affected my strength, flexibility and endurance! Good news though, my foot felt GREAT! I'm READY for a run, as soon as the weather cooperates! :)
Question, What's your favorite yoga pose? Least favorite? I think my favorites are pigeon and twisted triangle, my least favorite is currently twisted prayer lunge (I think that's what its called...).
G'night!
Last week I decided that maybe it was time to give chard another chance, in the name of trying new things and expanding my veggie-loving horizons. I bought 2 bunches and planned to try preparing them using 
We had a couple of ingredients in the fridge leftover from this weekend, bacon and heavy cream, two items I don't get to cook with very often in my quest to eat healthfully. So, in the name of not wanting to waste more ingredients in my fridge, this recipe was born.
Swiss Chard + Bacon Linguine with Butternut Squash Cream Sauce
makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
This was really delicious. Swiss chard and I are now good friends, and I think we have quite the future ahead of us... What vegetable have you tried in the past but written off because of an unpleasant first experience?
Ahh routine. I LOVED spending so much time with friends this weekend and having an excuse to eat several meals out and drink lots of wine, but my body is thanking me for getting back on track. I was starting to feel a little blah what with all the unhealthy eats, vino and lack of exercise due to a sore foot, so today was definitely a welcome change. Granted, my dinner included a small amount of bacon and cream, but at least it was whole and homemade. :)
I started the morning off inspired by the custard oats I've seen pop up on both 
To make the custard oats I combined 1/2 cup soymilk, 1/2 cup water, 2 egg whites and 1 tsp vanilla in a small pot on the stovetop. I set the heat way too high and walked away from the stove, resulting in a very smelly mess of boiled over milk and eggs. Thank goodness for glass cooktops! Yuck. I didn't want to give up, so I quickly jumped back on Heather's blog to read that I was supposed to keep the heat on medium and whisk the ingredients constantly until they thicken a bit. MUCH better. At this point I added 1/2 cup of rolled oats and kept the heat on medium, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes. After the oats had thickened quite a bit more, but were still a little runny, I removed the pot from the heat and covered it to allow for additional thickening while cooling.
I topped my bowl with:
This beauty contained:
Snack: a peanut butter cookie larabar. After witnessing several of my fellow bloggers ignore the salmonella scare and refuse to waste their favorite bars, I decided to do the same. Its my favorite flavor, and I can't find them ANYWHERE (or at least can't remember where I found this one) so I decided to risk it. Probably stupid, huh? It was tasty though! :)
Ok, this post has been really long. I'll quickly tell you that I didn't get a run in tonight because I had to work late, but my foot is feeling much better! There is still slight pain, so its probably best that I gave it another day before pounding the pavement. I do have plans for some yoga tomorrow morning though, and I can't wait!
Oh, and I almost forgot! Look what was waiting for me when I got home tonight...Quaker True Delights bars from Foodbuzz!!!
I've been dying to try these new bars from Quaker since seeing them on