Kale, Yams, and Onions... oh my!

hello again, second post for today and then I'm done!

Decorating our Christmas tree today totally got me in the holiday spirit. We listened to festive music and ate sugar cookies :) Elli was so well behaved too.






I still can't get over the fact that she isn't interested in the tree. Maybe I should stop saying that so I don't jinx it.








We also did a lot of cooking today. Jeff made some huge turkey meatballs that he'll probably be eating all week long. I must admit they did look pretty good.



He cooked them then added peppers, onions, and seasoning.



Topped them with sauce and then put them in the oven for about 40 minutes.



Once they baked he covered them with a ton of cheese.


We each made our own dinners for tonight. I bought kale at the grocery store yesterday but have never cooked with it or ever eaten it for that matter. So I looked up some recipes on Veg Cooking and found this one. It sounded good and we had most of the ingredients. I had to modify it just a bit.

I chopped and cleaned the veggies.





Cooked the yams then added onions and garlic.



Tossed in the kale.


Once the kale was cooked down it was ready. Look at the vibrate colors!



This was a great way to eat kale for the first time. The meal was very flavorful, clean, and light. I believe I could eat the entire pot and not feel the least bit guilty. And I just might do that if I get hungry later :)



That's all for tonight. Time to put laundry away and plan my workouts for the week.

Have a good evening!

Hip pain with the Sista

Yesterday was a super productive day! We had a ‘to do’ list ready and checked it all off which is an awesome feeling. Jeff got up early to take Elli out and to my surprise also served me breakfast in bed. So sweet. He made me oats with dried cranberries, fresh blueberries, slivered almonds, and a touch of agave nectar. It was so yummy!

After getting ready we headed out to complete our list of things. We went to the grocery store to pick crab meat for my MIL. She makes crab cakes every Christmas and we found a good deal. Then we headed out to the county to order our kitchen backsplash tile. I’m so glad this is final done and can’t wait till it’s installed.

Our next stop was supposed to be the Christmas tree farm but on our way we passed a tree stand that advertised all trees $25. What! We were feeling cheap so we stopped and found a beautiful Scotch pine tree. We’ve never heard of the Scotch pine before but it’s a nice looking tree that ended up costing $28. Not sure how they managed the additional $3 but it was still a good buy. The past couple years we have paid around $70 which seems insane considering we’re never really home for the holiday.

We set our tree up to see how Elli would react and she could have cared less. I thought she would try to play with it, eat it, pee on it, who knows what. Anyhow we decided to let it sit one day and soak up lots of water and are decorating it today.

Our naked tree


I finally went for a run once the tree was up. According to my training schedule I was suppose to run 2 miles but since it was a nice sunny day I went for 4 instead. Besides I couldn’t wait to run with my sista aka my Garmin! Yeah, that’s her name now. Sista! It’s appropriate since we’ll be spending a lot of time together exploring the city.

Jeff snapped a picture of me before we headed out.



And one of Elli too… with his earmuffs on :)



Running with my sista really pushed me to run faster. During the first mile warm up I was confused with the display screen and couldn’t see how fast I was running. I need to change the display but got used to it on this run. After my run I couldn’t wait to log into Garmin Connect to see my stats. Here goes…


Distance: 4.01 miles
Time 39:48

Splits

Mile 1- 10:44 (warm up)
Mile 2- 9:47
Mile 3- 9:41
Mile 4- 9:26


Seeing my time each mile pushed me to do better. I hope that this will help me to achieve a PR at my next race.

Bad news

My body is screaming for rest! Apparently my hip hasn’t completely healed from my fall 10 days ago. After the 4 miles I felt pain in my right hip and by the evening I could barely walk.

I am the type of person who hates being hurt and tend to push myself too hard which of course makes it worse. Today I will be resting and that I can justify since I worked out every other day this week.

Well I’ll be spending the last day of my weekend decorating the tree, packing lunches, planning meals for the week, doing laundry, and whatever else I can get into. Oh yeah, I’m supposed to be resting. We’ll see how that goes.

Enjoy the day everyone!

Santa Came Early!

Last night when Jeff got home from work he threw a package on the counter and said Merry Christmas baby!

Santa (aka FedEx) delivered my Christmas gift. It’s a…drum roll please…. Garmin Forerunner 405!! Definitely an upgrade from the Timex Ironman on my wish list. My hubby does it right.

Here take a peak! Charging...



Isn’t she darling? Yes, she!


(these pictures suck)

I was eager to post this last night but spent the entire evening reading the owner’s manual and setting up everything. I can’t wait to run this weekend.

There are so many cool features. It has a heart rate monitor and a USB to upload all my stats to the Garmin Connect website.



This means that I will be running outside a lot this winter! Hopefully no frostbite!


Workout

This morning I did the Ace Fitness At-Home workout again. This time with music! If you haven’t looked at the site yet here is what the workout included:

Warm Up
Cobra pose
Cat-Camel pose
Supine Pelvic Tilts

Workout: 3 sets of 12 unless noted otherwise
Glute Bridge
Contralateral Limb Raises
Side Lying Hip Abduction
Side Lying Hip Adduction
Side Plank with straight leg (held 15 secs/3 times per side)
Push Ups (only did set of 12, then 10 more)
Forward Lunge with Arm Drivers (did 2 sets of 12/side)
Side Lunge (2 sets of 12/side)
Supine Reverse Crunches
Bent-Knee Sit-up/Crunch

Cool Down
Cobra
Downward-facing Dog



This felt great and I figured out that the lunges were what made me so sore last time. I think I’ll continue this workout at least twice a week.



Meals

I had another breakfast cookie this morning alongside some chia tea with unsweetened soymilk.



This b cookie was even better than the first, I tried stevia instead of agave nectar. It had a more subtle sweetness that was perfect.

• ½ cup oats
• unsweetened soymilk
• 1 tbs raw almond butter
• raisins
• vegan chocolate chips
• stevia


I still can’t believe how long this breakfast sticks with me. No morning snack and I didn’t eat lunch until almost 2:00. I think it was 1:50 to be exact. Lunch was a huge salad from the grocery store salad bar with Annie’s balsamic vinaigrette dressing.



There was so much in this salad…

• spring mix
• spinach
• cucumbers
• carrots
• broccoli
• broccoli slaw
• bean mix (black, pinto, kidney, black-eyed, lima)
• red, green, and yellow peppers
• mushrooms
• black olives
• cherry tomatoes
• grapes

I think that’s everything. It took me 40 minutes but I managed to eat every last bite of these beautiful veggies. I just couldn’t stop once I started.

You know sometimes I get sick of posting what I eat every single day. It does help me keep track of my diet rather than journaling, which gets old real fast. Besides I am even more conscious of what I do since I share it with the world. (Well I know that no one really reads this but the world has access). Just wanted to get my thoughts out there. I will continue writing as I have been since this blog is about me and what I do. It keeps me sane and gives me my sort of a diary to look back on.

Anyway! Jeff is planning to make us dinner tonight since he may get home early. We are trying to be creative and avoid the grocery store. (Although I stopped this morning for a few items that were on sale). He is planning to make chili with baked French fires and a vegetable on the side. Hey sounds good to me!

Tomorrow I’m going to test out my Garmin. Yay! I haven’t looked forward to a run like this in a while.

I hope that everyone (the entire world) has a wonderful weekend. Stay warm.

My first breakfast cookie!

This morning I woke up early to run my 2 miles from yesterday. Surprisingly I am still sore! What the heck? I feel like an old lady when I get up from bed, out of a chair, even walk.

I snuck out of the bedroom trying not to wake Elli. I planned to run quick then take her out when I got back. It worked since she was sleeping soundly and I even covered her up with a warm blanket as I tiptoed out the room.

I bundled up with lots of layers and ran my two miles. My stomach was growling the whole way. I usually don’t eat breakfast till 9-9:30 so this was strange for 6:00 a.m. I kept thinking about my breakfast cookie waiting in the frig which made me run a little faster.

Once back home I stretched my sore body, took the recycling out, then woke Elli. I couldn't believe she was still sleeping. When we got back in I had to try the breakfast cookie. After the first bite I knew it needed a little sweetener (there wasn’t any included to start with) so I drizzled some agave on top.



I ate half and brought the other half to work. I can’t even describe how delicious this was! And a nice change from my regular oats.



Once I got to work I had some breakfast blend coffee with a little unsweetened soymilk.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot that I baked some vanilla cake last night. I had some Nasoya leftover from the sugar cookies and found this recipe on Tina’s blog. Since I had all the ingredients I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve baked a lot this week but end up freezing most of it. Whenever I get on a baking kick I throw most of it in the freezer that way we can have treats anytime.



Back to today… my bfast cookie held me over till 1:00! I couldn’t believe it.

Lunch was Amy’s Organic Chunky Vegetable soup. This is one of my favorites! I also had, for my first time, Mary’s Gone crackers that were really good.



Look at all the veggies!



Plus I finally remembered to pack a reusable napkin and spoon, see!



There’s something about Mary’s crackers, I kept going back for more. (Wonder if that's where the movie came from..hehe) I think it’s the crunch. It’s a nice texture. After my soup I had a sweet tooth so I had 2 clementines.


Around 3:30 I felt hungry and my blood sugar felt low but I was in a training session. As soon as I finished I felt a binge coming on since my body was so weak. (I’m hypoglycemic). So then at 4:00 I ate a lot! An apple, crackers, and an organic Z Bar. What a terrible feeling it is to have to get your blood sugar up without inhaling too many calories. I thought that I balanced my meals pretty well today so I’m not sure what made me crash like that.

After getting rid of my shakes and feeling normal again, I realized that I didn’t photograph my late day snack. I’m sure you got the idea though.

There are no major dinner plans for tonight. I think I’ll be eating a salad with some Mexican inspired toppings since I still have leftover rice and beans.

I’ve gotta catch up on all my recorded shows from last night. I still can't believe we didn’t stay up for the Top Chef finale!

Shhhh… don’t tell who won :) Night!

Tina's Element Bar Giveaway

Have you ever heard of Element Bars? These are so cool and super fun! Element Bars allows you to create your own bar without all of those unnessecary artifical ingredients.

I haven't tried any yet but their website has some great options to choose from. There are endless possibilities!

If this interest you, check out Tina's giveway for your chance to win a box of Element Bars!

Change in schedule

So I don't forget, here is dinner from last night. Baked sweet potato with earth balance and cinnamon, steamed green beans, and black beans with onion.



This morning was not a typical morning in our house. Jeff had to leave at 5:30 a.m. to catch the train to DC for the day. This threw me off a bit since I usually get up at that time and he is still snoring away in bed. The weather is crappy today and it's raining pretty hard, so I decided to stay in bed while he got ready. I woke around 6:00 to take Elli out and couldn't believe how sore and stiff my body was. I guess that workout yesterday worked my muscles more than I thought. To my surprise I was really feeling it. Since the weather sucked and I was sore I decided to skip my run this morning. Instead I started my morning off with a good cup of black coffee,



read some blogs and then did some much needed yoga.



This yoga series on Fit TV is just what I needed today. It felt so good to stretch my sore muscles.

Afterwards I took Elli out again and showered for work. By the way, I plan on running my scheduled 2 miles either tomorrow or Friday. Depending on the weather. I'll do the Ace Fitness workout again the other day.

My breakfast this morning was pb oats with raisins...mmmmm..yummmy.




• ½ cup oats
• cinnamon
• raisins
• quick squirt of agave nectar
• 1 spoon full of nature’s promise organic pb



After breakfast and reading Bobbi's post I felt like I needed a little bit more of a workout. Since my upper body wasn't sore I got out my little 5 lb. wieghts.

• Hammer curls (3 sets of 10/arm)
• Standing triceps extensions (3 sets of 10/arm)
• Double-arm raise (2 sets of 12)
• Shoulder presses (3 sets of 10)
• Chest fly (3 sets of 12)
• Upright row (3 sets of 10)

(Big thanks to Fitnessista and Bobbi for these links)


Then it was time to get to work...

I worked from home today so I was able to prep a few things for tomorrow. During lunch I made my first breakfast cookie to try tomorrow morning. I followed Fitnessista's recipe here.

I made mine with the recommended oats, raw almond butter, unsweetened soy milk, and my "add-ins" were vegan chocolate chips and raisins. I cannot wait to try this!




Training
I was checking the schedule of events for the race and also found this training schedule. It's a beginner training plan but seems more intense than the one I got from Runner's World. I might mix the two together and see what works for me.


Here is what I whipped up for lunch. I had some green and black beans leftover from dinner and added this Kashi whole grain pilaf and carrots sticks.



Added taco sauce and it was perfect! Lovely lunch and very satisfying.



I even had black beans and pilaf leftover for dinner tonight. Works well since tonight is "clean out the frig" night.

Well I hope you have a wonderful night :) We're half way through the week! Yay!

Let’s have dessert first

I always liked the saying that you should eat dessert first to make sure you have room for it.

Last night after dinner I made the Nasoya sugar cookies. They were huge and had a nice flavor! Much sweeter than I expected from the ingredients and they had a cake-like texture. Oh yeah, they look more like Easter cookies since we don’t have any green/red sprinkles.



I got a little creative with my dessert.



The end result: sugar cookie soy ice cream sandwich! This vegan treat was sinful and oh so tasty.



Onto this morning’s workout… I tried something new today. Yesterday I discovered the Ace Fitness website and their At-Home workout caught my eye. I have to try new things at home since there will be no gym in my life. This was a good workout to do and I’ll probably do this on my days off from running. It was pretty quick, about 25 minutes, and targeted several different muscle groups. The warm up and cool down include yoga poses and the workout is pretty basic. Take my advice and play some music if you decide to give this a try. It got a little boring and music would have jazzed it up. I was too lazy to turn any on.

I also ordered 3 of Jillian Michaels’ DVDs from Amazon this week. I read from other bloggers that she has some great workouts.



My plan is to make our basement a comfortable place to workout and keep things interesting. Unfortunately I’ll be stuck inside a lot through the winter months. I just hope the weather doesn’t keep me from running outside, safely anyway.


I changed my oatmeal this morning since there was no fruit on hand.

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/4 cup Bear Naked granola
• Cinnamon
• 1 tsp agave nectar
• 1 spoonful of natural pb



I added too much water to the mix so it wasn’t as good as it would have been. I also finished off a bottle of Trilogy Kombucha that I had at work. This stuff takes some getting used to but I find myself craving it now, weird.

Back to training- I’m jumping around a bit today.
I charted my training schedule today since I like to check off the days as I go along. I used Runner’s World to create my schedule through the Smart Coach application. It’s a moderate schedule with Saturday as my long-run day, a total of 15 weeks ending on race day. I’m not sure how to post the chart so I’ll try my best to explain it. I will run on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday (weather permitting) and cross-train/rest the other days. After running 2 half-marathons I am comfortable tweaking the schedule if needed but this is the plan.

Week 1: M 2 mi, W 2 mi, S 2 mi – 6 miles total
Week 2: M 2 mi, W 2 mi, S 3 mi – 7 miles total
Week 3: M 2 mi, W 3 mi, S 4 mi – 9 miles total
Week 4: M 2 mi, W 3 mi, S 5 mi – 10 miles total
Week 5: M 2 mi, W 5 mi, S 6 mi – 13 miles total
Week 6: M 2 mi, W 5 mi, S 6 mi – 13 miles total
Week 7: M 2 mi, W 5 mi, S 7 mi – 14 miles total
Week 8: M 2 mi, W 6 mi, S 7 mi – 15 miles total
Week 9: M 2 mi, W 7 mi, S 8 mi – 17 miles total
Week 10: M 4 mi, W 4 mi, S 4 mi – 12 miles total
Week 11: M 2 mi, W 6 mi, S 8 mi – 18 miles total
Week 12: M 2 mi, W 7 mi, S 9 mi – 20 miles total
Week 13: M 2 mi, W 8 mi, S 9 mi – 21 miles total
Week 14: M 2 mi, W 7 mi, S 10 mi – 21 miles total
Week 15: T 2 mi, Th 5 mi, Sun Race Day! 13.1 mi

Hopefully that makes sense. I find it difficult to squeeze in long run during the week since I work full time and try to run in the mornings. So I tend to adjust this schedule as needed.


Ok enough about running for today!


What was on the menu for my other meals today…

Lunch- Amy’s Organic Vegetable Barley Soup, carrots sticks, and two clementines. I also had Celestial Seasoning’s gingerbread spice tea since my office was freezing.



I’ve realized from all my lunch pictures lately that I am very wasteful. I consider myself to be fairly ‘green’ so are all these disposable spoons necessary? I have reusable plastic spoons at home and need to start packing them for my lunch. I promise to start working on that.


Dinner- Baked sweet potato with black beans and green beans (me) and baked chicken (Jeff)
I'll post that pic tomorrow.

It's now time to clean up from dinner and watch Fringe (DVRed from last week).

Help me out and cross your fingers that we don’t get the icy mix their calling for tomorrow morning! I’ve gotta run!

Have a great night!