My Day of Small Meals

I have officially taken on the June Yoga Challenge along with Courtney at SweetToothSweetLife and other lovely readers and bloggers.

(You can click on the above photo if you want to check out Courtney’s page)

Basically, the challenge is to incorporate more yoga into your life. You set your own goal as to how you wish to do so. Courtney’s challenge was to incorporate three yoga sessions into her weekly routine. It doesn’t matter how long the session, or at what difficulty, just as long as you do it keeping your own personal goal in mind. Or, you can create a different type of yoga-related challenge, such as mastering a new pose or trying out a new yoga studio for the first time. It’s up to you.

On Fridays, we all check in with our weekly yoga status updates and motivate eachother through those weekly updates as well as through twitter. It’s always more encouraging and motivating working out with others, and this is a fun and different way to do it!

At first I was thinking my goal would be to incorporate one yoga session into my weekly routine, but considering I have already tackled two yoga workouts in the past two days, I figured I could create a heftier goal. I am going to also have a goal of completing three yoga sessions through the week. I am finding I am enjoying this workout first thing in the morning; it is very relaxing and allows me to mentally and physically relax as I begin my day.

The other part of my challenge is working around this big dude who likes to sit directly next to me on the carpet during yoga time.

And inevitably he just HAS to go outside during this time.

He keeps me smiling at least. 🙂

My brain and body could really use the stress relief from yoga. Thank you Courtney for creating this and motivating me to get yoga’ing! It’s always a good idea to set fitness goals for yourself, and I look forward to continuing this challenge.

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Food Recap from Yesterday

I had a day full of small meals and snacks versus three bigger meals and small snacks in between. I prefer to eat this way, but my work situation doesn’t really allow for this type of structure. Well, our schedule was a little different yesterday and it just so happened that it did work out for me. So, here it goes.

Breakfast: Cream of Wheat with cinnamon, brown sugar, and bananas with a cup o’ decaf coffee with cream and stevia on the side.

Snack: the rest of the banana from breakfast with PB2

Snack #2: Unphotographed tuna noodle salad at work

Lunch: Lower-sodium turkey breast, hummus, and avocado wrap

A spoonful (or two) of peanut butter…

Pomegranate no-added sugar applesauce…

Snack: Unphotographed peanut butter M & M’s at work

Dinner: Cooked spinach, pureed black beans, cheddar cheese, and avocado with salt and onion powder

Lastly, pretzels with honey mustard dipping sauce, and then I made myself I small batch of PB2 with honey to finish’er off!

I love these kinds of days! I get to eat all day long. I was extra hungry yesterday too so this worked out perfectly.

I slept much better last night by the way and am very thankful. I had a rough night of sleep the following night and was hoping it wasn’t going to be a reoccurring theme.

Alright, I’m off. Happy Thursday everyone.

Question of the Day: Which do you prefer? Small meals and snacks throughout the day/grazing or 3 larger meals?

I prefer grazing throughout the day but like I mentioned, work doesn’t always make that possible. I feel like my energy level is so much greater when I am eating smaller meals throughout the day and I am able to regulate my blood sugars more evenly versus many highs and lows which makes for a happier me overall.

Continue Reading My Day of Small Meals

Baby Love

Hello world! How was everyone’s Saturday? Mine was seriously awesome.

My morning started out with a bowl of my very standard cinnamon Cream of Wheat with stevia and a little brown sugar, but to switch it up a bit I added some leftover white rice which added a different texture to the dish. I also added a few bites of banana.

After breakfast we headed to the city of our alma mater, Mankato, to visit a good friend of mine who recently had a baby girl. Their beautiful baby was born less than two weeks ago and she is such a doll. Dana and I had such a good time visiting with our friends and oogling over their precious miracle.

I love babies!

Since we were in Mankato, we just HAD to go visit our old campus. We headed over to Minnesota State University, Mankato to cruise the campus, notice renovations and reminisce.

I asked Dana to snap a picture of me in front of the library since I spent a whole lot of time there in my day (nerd-alert). Dana on the contrary, said he hardly spent any time in there. The difference between us though is that I need complete silence when I study, whereas he prefers noise whether in the form of television or other people.

It was good to be back. We also drove by our old houses, apartments, favorite bars and hangouts, and the Mankato Mall. Seriously so many memories packed into one city.

While we cruised, we ate our packed lunches: Peanut butter and grape jelly, veggie chips, and a banana.

On our way home we stopped at the Medford outlet mall so I could hit up the Nike Outlet Store since it was on our way home. I really like Nike workout apparel. They have such fun colors and their clothes are very comfortable which is the most important thing I look for when buying workout clothes. First, comfort, second for cuteness. I controlled myself and just bought one pair of workout shorts. These particular pair are a brownish gray color with pink and white details on the sides. Cute and comfy and at discount price. Score!

When we got home, we pumped some air into our bike tires and biked to the store to return our redbox movie from last night. Then it was time to give some major attention to our large furry baby. Into the car we went. Destination dog park.

Look at the excitement in his eyes peering over the back seat.

He went crazy sniffing every square inch of the dog park, making sure to leave his scents along the way.

He found the other dogs and immediately tried making friends with them all. Unfortunately for Moose, many of the dogs steer the other way when they see him coming. Poor guy. Is it because he’s so big?

It’s okay, he still had plenty of fun.

He did manage to steal the heart of this young lady.

But it was short lived. We wore Mooser out at the dog park. We loaded him back up in the car and headed home.

It was a warm one around here yesterday at about 92° or so, but there was a nice breeze which made for a really pleasant day. We dragged out the doggie pool and filled her up. Talk about spoiling this guy today. If only he liked the water. We had to pretty much force him in the water for this picture. He warmed up to it after a while, probably after the water warmed up a bit.

Such a big baby, but I love him.

For dinner we fired up the grill to cook up a random combo of shrimp, mushrooms, and green beans. We seasoned simply with salt and pepper and let the grill add the rest of the flavor.

Num! After dinner we threw the ball to Moose to really wear him out, and enjoyed the beautiful night. What an AWESOME day.

Continue Reading Baby Love

First Frittata and Team Ortho

Super creative post title today, right? I covered my bases with that one.

I mentioned that I wanted to briefly describe some of the details of the Minneapolis Half Marathon, in relation to Team Ortho’s wonderful organizational job with the race. The day of events put on by Team Ortho included a full marathon, a half marathon, and a relay.

I also wanted to share some of the inspirational and comical signs I saw throughout the run, to help get me through to the finish. So, we’ll start with that…

  • A woman dressed up in a banana costume with a sign that read, “Nipple Chafing Turns Me On.” This one was for the men mostly.
  • “Pain is temporary; Pride is forever.”
  • “Worst Parade Ever”
  • “You’re So Pretty”
  • “It’s okay to go in your pants. Just go.” This one was more geared toward the marathoners.
  • “Run like you stole something”
  • “Beer at the finish”
  • “You go girl”

What I loved about this race

Although, personally I had a very difficult time throughout this run physically, and couldn’t enjoy myself as much as I had hoped, there are still pieces I reflect upon that I am thoroughly impressed by and that I can say I loved about this race.

1. The staff and volunteers were awesome. The people in charge of handing out water were on top of their game; always prepared with handfuls of filled water cups. The medical staff was right there in case of emergency; post-race I was not feeling so hot and immediately a medical staff member approached me to make sure I was okay, and brought me a bag of ice. The pacer’s were incredibly energetic and motivational; they kept cheering everyone on throughout the race and also instructed runners to stay off parts of the course as marathoner’s were coming through at the time.

2. It was so well organized. Packet pick-up was coordinated so that it was quick and easy to navigate. On race day there were so many staff members helping with bag check, water, answering questions, etc. You didn’t have to look far to find someone to help you if needed. They had plenty of Port-A-Potty’s available because we all know how important those are pre-race. The lines were very long right before the race but that is to be expected. Race start was organized into expected pace/mile and groups were set off on the run in “batches” so that a running clog wouldn’t be created. The course was marked off clearly with staff there to instruct as well (turnarounds, water stops, etc.). Post-race bag pick up was set up very nicely and staff were eager to assist.

Photos courtesy of Team Ortho and Minneapolis Marathon

3. I loved certain aspects of the course. Passing the 35w Bridge Memorial Site was really neat. I had never seen it before and what better way to see it than to run by it. The Mississippi River was flowing behind it which was another beautiful site to see. The way the course was drawn out was as such:

You can see that there are two turn around spots. At first I wasn’t sure how I would like this. The idea of retracing my steps didn’t sound too appealing to me.

However, I ended up liking it and here’s why. I knew other runners in this race: my husband, my brother, and a couple of other friends. They all ran faster than me which meant that they were going through the turnaround before me, therefore we were basically running right by each other, just in opposite directions. I got to cheer them all on as they passed me in the other lane! Also, it was inspiring to see the top finishers bolting by. The speed of some of these runners leaves me speechless.

Overall, I am very impressed with this organization. Thank you Team Ortho for all of your hard work in making this day of events such a success. It’s no wonder they always have such high registration rates and such a great rate of runners returning year after year to participate.

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Dinner

Last night I made a frittata for Dana and I. This was my first ever attempt at a frittata and I have to say I am proud of it. I went with a mushroom, spinach, and onion combo. I used a recipe from Health.com as my guide, and made adjustments as I always do. For anyone unfamiliar with frittatas, it is an egg-based dish which is cooked in a skillet.The first portion of the preparation involves cooking on the stovetop, and the second part involves baking in the oven.  I used our cast iron skillet and it worked perfectly.

Review: We loved it! We ate the entire thing. If anyone is interested in the recipe let me know. I can post it if there are any takers. If not, I won’t be offended. It was very tasty and satisfying. If could be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

The rest of the night was spent preparing for our garage sale…..price check!

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Continue Reading First Frittata and Team Ortho

My First Half Marathon

It’s time for a recap of my first half marathon experience.

I want to premise this recap by reminding you all that I have been struggling with a colitis battle now for one month or so. A voice in my head kept asking me if I thought it was a good idea to run this race yesterday or not, not to mention the fact that I came down with a 24-hour stomach bug on Friday. Was my body trying to tell me something? I usually listen to my body, but not this time. After all of the training and anticipation of this race, there was no way I wasn’t going to give it my best shot. I HAD to do it. I didn’t care what time I finished in, I reminded myself it was okay if I needed to walk, I just wanted to finish. Period.

The morning of the race I woke up at 5:15 am, hopped in the shower for a quick wake-me-up spritz, put my running gear on that I had placed out the night before, and made myself my usual pre-run breakfast.

I had my usual pre-race jitters. It doesn’t matter if it is a 5k, a 10k, or a half marathon, I react the same way. I give myself plenty of time to use the facilities before a race (and this is if I’m in a flare-up or non-flare up). This is how my body has reacted to nerves for as long as I can remember; before basketball games, before dance competitions, before the Registered Dietitian Exam, etc.

We loaded up the car at 6:15 am and headed to the race.

Upon arrival, we parked, walked to our destination, checked our bags, and headed to the biffy’s (port-o-potty if you will). I forgot to take any pre-race photos and that’s probably because I was totally nervous and more focused on finding the bathrooms before we had to go into our start corrals.

7:15 am rolled around, and it was time to make our way to our corrals. We dropped my brother off in the 8:30 minute/mile area and Dana and I headed back towards the 9:30 minute/mile area. During our other long runs, we averaged a 9:30 minute/mile pace, but we knew that this may be far-fetched today since we had never ran this length before. We gave ourselves some slack and knew we could fall back if necessary, of course.

A woman sang a beautiful version of the national anthem and I tried to use this time to close my eyes and relax. It really was beautiful.

Then the race began. They started letting groups off by start time, and then held the rest, so we were walking in a slow pace to the start. It was a very dramatic moment to me, and it’s the moment that I noticed I had a rock in my shoe. I was about to start running with it when Dana told me I’m not going to want to run with a rock in my shoe. It turned out I had plenty of time to remove my shoe and dump out the miniature rock. Ok, all better. Now, get your music ready. It’s time to rock.

Our corral was set off and it was go time. Immediately I felt the excitement from the cheering crowd holding their awesome signs and from the other runners who were just as excited as I was to be running this race as I was. But I wasn’t about to let this excitement run me into an overly fast pace. We kept it low and slow. In the first few miles, we ran by the 35W bridge collapse memorial site which I had never seen before. We passed the rolling Mississippi River and of course passed hundred’s of energetic spectators and cheerleaders.

We made one bathroom stop around mile 2. Around mile 3 I started to get an awful feeling in my stomach. I thought it was maybe just the jitters and kept praying that it would go away. It felt like my stomach was completely empty and cramping at the same time, and it was bringing me to nausea. I thought that I might just be hungry as I hadn’t eaten for two hours now, so I snacked on a couple of Blueberry Pomegranate Gu Chomps. I also sipped on some water from the water stop and waited 15 minutes or so to see if the pain would go away. Not a chance. It only progressed and got worse.

I kept running up until mile 6, when I told Dana I had to walk. I HATE walking on runs. I don’t like stopping because 1. I find it harder to start back up again and 2. It slows me down and keeps me from reaching the finish line sooner obviously. When I stopped to walk I was fighting to inhale a breath and felt tears beginning to swell. What is going on with me? Then it was time to give myself a little pep talk (in my head of course): Melanie, your body is going through a lot right now with the colitis, the stomach bug, etc. You can do this though, I know you can, but remember that time doesn’t matter today. It is OKAY to walk. No one is going to judge you except for yourself, and you’ll get over it. Take care of yourself and you can finish. I began running again but was only able to run for about 5 minutes before needing to stop again to walk. At this point I made Dana go ahead because there was no way I was going to hold him back like this.

Once I talked him into going ahead, I walked for probably another 5 minutes or so before I tried giving the running a chance again. I was able to run for a long time after that but at a pretty slow pace. I would walk through the water stations and then pick up the running again. I would tell myself that I would run to the sign ahead, or run until I saw some of my family and friends that were there to watch us, and then I could walk but only if I really needed to walk.

When I saw mile 10 I thought okay, one 5k to go. I’ve done how many 5k’s? No big deal. Ha, well, that last 5k seemed like the longest 5k ever (and looking at my time it literally was my longest 5k ever). At about mile 11 we had to run up what seemed like a mammoth hill at the time. I ran up half of it, then walked the rest. I picked up the running again and told myself I cannot stop until I get to that finish line. I am way too close now, and there are so many people watching…and that was enough to keep me going.

I reached a corner where everyone was yelling, “You’re almost there! Just around the corner!” Sure enough, I rounded the corner and saw the finish line. Out loud I said ‘Oh, Thank God’ and I bolted to that finish line. They announced my name as I was running through and I felt such a great amount of pride at that moment. I thought I would get emotional but I think I was in too much pain to get emotional. In fact, Dana greeted me at the finish and it was a good thing because I felt like I was going to fall over. Immediately, a member of the medical team was at my side with an ice pack and water, and that was just what I needed. Well that, and to sit down, stat.

My official time was 2:20 which  makes for an average pace of 10:42 minutes per mile. I am usually a 9:30 minute/mile runner, but not today, and that is okay. I just finished a half marathon. Wow, what an incredible feeling.

We gathered with our family that had come to watch and then eventually conjured up enough energy for post-race photos.

In the photo above: Kevin’s friend Jeremy, Kevi, Me, and Dana.

My body was so unhappy at this point. That smile on my face and standing up there was taking every last bit of energy in my body. After photos, we made the lengthy trek back to our car (about a mile to our car…..blech) and I tried munching on a banana on the way. I felt such a void in my stomach yet everything sounded awful to me. The banana tasted extremely starchy to me but I know it was just an imbalance in my body so everything would taste off right then.

We headed back to our cozy home making one pit stop at Subway to pick up some lunch. At home, I immediately jumped in the shower, put on comfy clothes and settled myself on to the couch with water, Powerade Zero, and a blanket. This was going to be my spot for a while.

My day of eats minus breakfast which you already saw:

Newman’s Own Thin & Crispy Margherita Pizza that we protein-ified by adding some honey ham (and pineapple) making our very own Margherita Hawaiian Pizza. Num!

My favorite food from today: Froyo from Freeziac. I once again went with Cake Batter Froyo and added brownie pieces, cookie dough pieces, crunch bar bits, reese’s pieces, a dash of hot fudge, sprinkles, and one red gummy bear on top.

It was definitely a lazy food day. We were on the couch until about 3pm after watching a movie and taking a short nap. Then we decided to run and get groceries for the week. Once we got home, I returned to my spot on the couch which is where I spent the rest of the evening before bed.

As mentioned yesterday, TeamOrtho did an incredible job of putting on this event. I would love to go over what I loved about how they organized this event, as well as the amazing supporters and their encouraging signs, but I think I will save that for another post (this one is getting pretty lengthy).

Although I struggled throughout this entire race with some pretty awful stomach issues, I still finished. I will forever take pride in knowing that I completed 13.1 miles in the Minneapolis Half Marathon. If I ever decide to run another half marathon, I will run it when I’m not in a current flare-up. The trouble is, when I registered for this one I was completely healthy, but a lot can change in 3 months so it’s difficult to plan for. I know I can complete a more successful half marathon, without the pains, and actually be able to enjoy it a little more than I did this time around. I don’t think this will be my last one, but who knows!

I am so proud of my husband and my brother and myself for completing our first ever half marathon together. I am so lucky that I got to share this incredible moment with such amazing people.

Thank you for our cheerleaders who came to watch us yesterday, and for those who were cheering at home in spirit! Your love and support meant the world to me and my heart melts from all of the love I felt from you all.

Sorry for such a lengthy post, but this was an event in my life that will never be forgotten, and I’m so happy to be able to share it with you all.

I have the day off today to recover and to get a few things done around the house. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Continue Reading My First Half Marathon

The Day Before The Half Marathon

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I survived my first half marathon today! Unfortunately, it was a pretty painful run for me, but I will be saving these details for tomorrow’s post. All that matters though is that I finished!

Recap from yesterday

I did my best to get a good mix of carbohydrates and protein in my diet yesterday. Friday I stocked up on the carbs as well (that was when I wasn’t feeling well and only bread and fruit tasted good to me). I was building my glycogen stores!

Anyway, I began my day with my standard as of lately: Cream of Wheat sweetened with stevia, a touch of brown sugar, and cinnamon.

After breakfast, we walked a few blocks down the road to cheer on a friend of ours who was running a 5k race in our neighborhood. It was a gorgeous morning and it felt good to stretch the legs on our walk to the race.

We spent a couple of hours out there, cheering (she did awesome btw), supporting, and chatting before heading home.

I was starving by the time we got home so I snacked on a banana some peanut butter.

I made sure to drink A LOT of water throughout the day to hydrate myself well for race day.

We relaxed for a while, gathered some items from Dana’s parents for our upcoming garage sale, and eventually ate lunch. I heated up the last of the grilled chicken breast, sauced it with Kraft’s Asian Dressing. On the side, I had green beans.

In the afternoon, Kevin, Dana, and I headed out to pick up our race bibs, race chips, shirts, etc.

I was EXCITED! Team Ortho did a wonderful job with the production of this Minneapolis Marathon. We have run one other race with them when we ran the Get Lucky 7k in March (which was great too). Everything from registration, to race-info pickup, to the actual day of the half marathon, was very well organized and the volunteers were great too!  I would recommend their races to anyone.

When we got home from picking up our stuff, we fired up the grill. I wanted to make sure we get dinner in at a decent hour so that we had plenty of time to digest it, and sleep it off, so that we wouldn’t feel icky in the morning. I planned a protein and carbohydrate packed dinner. I gotta take care of my boys. On the menu: Super lean turkey burgers and sweet potato fries on the grill, and ketchup obviously.

The rest of the night was spent preparing for the run. I laid out my running gear, pinned my number on, placed my race chip on my shoelaces, packed our bag, charged the iPod, iced, stretched, and did anything else I could think of to make the next morning go as smooth and painless as possible for us. I’m a planner.

We got a good chuckle from the doggie when Dana put a backpack on his back. Moose is all ready for school. He’s always such a good sport, not to mention the cutest thing ever. I wish I knew what he was thinking at that moment. Probably something like, “Really guys? Again? I’m the brunt of your joke…again? You’re going to have to start paying me for this kind of entertainment.” Love you Moosey.

We got to bed around 9:30-10ish, and slept pretty well surprisingly. Excited to fill you in on the race details. Stay tuned!

Continue Reading The Day Before The Half Marathon

Carrot Soup Take Two

Happy Friday and Happy 8 Month Anniversary to my honey!

Recap of yesterday coming right up.

After my morning run yesterday, I whipped up a bowl of Cream of Wheat. This is a recycled photo from a few days ago as my breakfast yesterday was completely the same except it was in “to-go” form (plus I forgot to take a picture). I had a meeting yesterday morning and was running late, so I heated my bowl of cereal right before I left the house, and it was still fairly hot when I got there.

For lunch I made rice with soy sauce, leftover chicken breast with teriyaki sauce, and green beans. Mmm, salty.

And for dessert….I couple bites of banana with peanut butter. This is a very common dessert for me but I always forget to snap a photo.

Dinner was a real easy one last night. I took a batch of carrot soup I had made a while back, out of the freezer, and began the defrosting process.

In the meantime, I sliced three bread-butts from the freezer (I save the butts of the breads for croutons) into bite-size squares, sprinkled them with garlic powder and a little salt, and set them under the broiler. Voila. Homemade croutons to go on top of the soup; healthy and simple.

I also cut up some fresh cilantro and fresh chives. Reminder to self: I need to dry the chives this weekend before they go bad.

So what do you get when you take your carrot pumpkin soup, add croutons, and fresh herbs? THIS!

Here’s the recipe if you’re interested: Carrot Pumpkin Soup. I made this batch back in March. The only thing I left off on the March ingredient list was the chives and croutons as those are optional items.

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This morning I woke up not feeling so hot. My tummy feels pretty nasty. I am wondering if I ate a little too much salt yesterday? It’s a possibility that I am just feeling über dehydrated. I hope it goes away soon.

Anyway, I am off. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day in our  neighborhood. Have a great Friday.

Continue Reading Carrot Soup Take Two

Veggies with a Runny Egg Are Back

Hello there! Everyone excited it’s Thursday? It’s almost Friday!

Yesterday morning started off with the usual Cream of Wheat, but this time I sweetened it with stevia, added banana slices, and Pb2 with cinnamon. Since I’ve been eating Cream of Wheat pretty much every morning, I’m trying to keep it jazzy and switch it up a bit.

I have been noticing that I have been eating a whole lot of extra sugar (maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, fruit, etc.) lately, and I really am working on trying to cut back on it again. But I LOVE the taste of brown sugar on my Cream of Wheat, so I will be putting a little bit on there every once and a while.

For lunch I ate a half of a grilled chicken breast with BBQ sauce and a bunch of green beans. I also ate a half of a banana with peanut butter and a no sugar added pomegranate apple sauce. Sorry for this totally unappetizing photo.

After work I headed to the gym, and on the way there I snacked on fresh honeydew melon. On the workout agenda was a 20 minute warm-up on the elliptical while drooling over delicious food photos in Rachael Ray’s magazine, followed by weights where I focused on triceps and chest.

On the drive home I contemplated dinner options, and decided that eggs were sounding pretty good. Should I make a frittata? I’ve never made a frittata but would really like to sometime. Should I make an omelette? Egg-white omelette? Scrambled eggs? A runny egg? Runny egg on top of a small salad?

YES please to the last option.

I plated up a small green leafy salad with cilantro, bacon bits, and Western Dressing. For the egg, I cooked it over-easy and sprinkled one side of the egg with nutritional yeast and freshly cracked black pepper. I gave the egg a gentle flip towards the end of the cooking process and left it on side two for just a short time before plating it up on top of my salad. I don’t want the inside to cook through because I want runny egg.

Oh, how I’ve missed you salads with a runny egg on top. So easy, and so delicious. I’ve still got to cool it on the green stuff but I am still slowly working it back in to my diet. Not yet onto the cabbage and broccoli point though. I am feeling a lot better these days and trying my best to stay positive.

Other variations of my favorite  veggie/egg combo from the past:

Leafy greens, broccoli, banana pepper, tomato, quinoa, and a runny egg.

Southwestern style salad including sautéed onions, black beans, tomato, corn, avocado, cheese, salsa and a runny egg. This one was killer.

Sautéed vegetables including broccoli, kale, mushrooms, onions, black beans, tomato, cheese, and a runny egg. There are so many great ways to eat your veggies with a runny egg (or 2). I am crazy about this combo obviously.

To top off dinner I ate a small bowl of non-fat Greek yogurt mixed with a little maple syrup for sweetness.

After dinner, Mom and Abbie came over last night to hang out with me while Dana was out golfing. We relaxed, chatted for a while, and hung out with the pups. Always love her company.

I made sure to get to bed early last night, because I was really hoping and also planning to get myself out of bed early this morning and get a run in before work. Well guess what? I actually did it! I got up before work and got a run in. Sometimes I think all it takes is me telling myself before I go to bed that I WILL be running in the morning versus saying I might run in the morning. I made sure to have all of my stuff laid out last night so that it would be as easy possible for me in the morning.

I wanted to get this last run in before the race mostly to test out my outfit for the race. I know this may sound silly, but it’s so important. I may have bought a new bright pink shirt to wear for the run and wanted to make sure it wouldn’t rub me the wrong way anywhere. 🙂 Good news, no chafing. It’s a great shirt and it makes me feel good. You will get to see it in a few days.

I completed 3-easy paced miles this morning and obviously feel fantastic for running in the morning before work. I feel energized. This was my last run before the half-marathon on Sunday. It’s time to rest.

I have to get going and charge through my day. I hope you all have a good one!

Continue Reading Veggies with a Runny Egg Are Back

Beautiful Surprises

Hola! No messing around today. Let’s get down to business.

My day of eats yesterday….

Breakfast: Cream of Wheat with stevia, cinnamon, banana, and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Cinnamon apple tea on the side. This has become my usual breakfast lately. It sits very well in my tummy and it tastes good too!

Part of my lunch: Slightly burnt sweet potato fries with cinnamon maple Pb2.

Dinner: Tilapia seasoned simply with salt and pepper, leftover potato salad, and a plain salad with honey mustard. Call me crazy but my favorite thing on this plate was the GREENS. I have missed my green salads so much and although I’m still not going to go all out into the roughage types of foods, I am enjoying my small salads whenever I let myself have one.

After work yesterday I geared up to head out for a 3-mile run around the neighborhood. I ran an easy, relaxing pace, and it felt great to stretch my legs out. Just 4 days until the half marathon!

When I got back from my run, I found the sweetest surprise waiting for me in the dining area.

You always know how to brighten my day. Thanks, honey! They are gorgeous and make me smile every time I look at them.

Happy Wednesday to you all.

Question of the day: What is your favorite way to prepare tilapia or any other white fish?

Continue Reading Beautiful Surprises

Every BODY is Different

Happy Memorial Day!

This weekend has been extremely productive. It has been nice to spend a weekend at home to catch up on things around the house.

How about a recap from yesterday?

Breakfast: Cream of Wheat with maple syrup, cinnamon, and brown sugar. On the side, some cinnamon apple decaf tea.

We did our usual Sunday morning gig of browsing through the newspaper, but unfortunately we didn’t get to cut any coupons because there were no coupons in the paper yesterday! I was incredibly bummed. I love coupon cutting on Sunday mornings. We then went to the grocery store and then home to work on the yard.

It was finally time to plant our vegetable garden. This year we planted: zucchini, 4 different varieties of tomato including 1 grape tomato plant, bell peppers, onions, jalapeno, green beans, and kale.

We decided to buy the pre-grown tomato plants this year because our tomato plants were extraordinarily late last year. When all of my co-workers were bringing in tomatoes to share, mine still didn’t come up for at least another month after that. We are hoping these work out better. We also moved them to a different area in the garden, so we’ll see what happens.

On the deck in separate containers we planted a few herbs: Basil, Dill, and Mint. I have a strong desire to make mojitos this summer if we get our mint to come up!

We worked on the yard all afternoon; trimming bushes, trees, cleaning the gutters, etc. It was a hot and steamy day here in MN at about mid 90’s and very humid, so I was a sweaty mess.

I snapped a couple of photos of some beauties in the yard.

For dinner we bought very lean pork tenderloin which I had marinated in the fridge using this lovely Lawry’s Hawaiian sauce.

The description: “An enticing combination of pure honey, soy sauce and ginger blends with tangy pineapple, papaya and a touch of mango to unlock the flavor secrets of the islands.” I was sold.The pineapple from the marinade also serves as a natural meat tenderizer. I would definitely recommend this sauce.

Nutrition per tablespoon: 20 calories, 0 fat, 250 mg sodium, 5 g sugar. Although I prefer making my own sauces and spices whenever possible, I think it’s okay to “cheat” every once and a while too.

For those of you who have been following my blog recently, what you see on my plate in this next photo may surprise you due to my current health situation and low-fiber, low-residue diet that I had said I was going to try to follow. Enter: greenery.

Alongside my (awesome) grilled pork tenderloin, I made myself an experimental small side salad. No toppings except for a little of my fav Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard. I wanted to see how my body would feel after eating one of the most missed components of my normal diet.

Lately, I have been following the low-fiber diet, but the truth is, I am feeling totally crummy and it’s not just from the colitis. My body is craving green veggies and I am getting burnt out of canned green beans real fast. I have been thinking that if I feed my body a little bit of the foods that make me feel good normally, and the food my body is craving (greens), that maybe this will help me heal (as long as I don’t get too extreme about adding fiber back in). I don’t plan to slam down the raw broccoli, beans, and cabbage, but slowly incorporating some side salads and other greens may possibly be the best medicine for me. There is no significant evidence that proves that any particular diet really helps people with U.C., so why not experiment and see how my own body reacts?

I wanted to see how I felt this morning after my salad experiment and guess what? I feel no different, and that’s a good thing. Like, I said, I’m not condoning a veggie smack down by any means, but I am going to continue to experiment and learn how my body reacts to different options. Every BODY is different. I will be very careful and also continue to be cared for by medical professionals.

I am off to make a potato and chive salad (thanks for the chives, Nicole!) for a get together with some of my family and some of Dana’s family later this afternoon. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Have a great day!

Continue Reading Every BODY is Different

A Successful Day of Low-Fiber Meals

Hello! Is the anticipation of hearing about my boundary waters trip really driving you crazy? Well, you’re going to have to wait, because I didn’t get it around to putting it together yesterday. Tee hee. Sorry. I’m sure you’re all going to be okay.

How about a recap of yesterday’s low-fiber intake?

Starting with breakfast: Cream of Wheat with maple syrup, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Holy cow this was great. It sat very well in my tummy too, which is very important being I was at work and no one likes to be uncomfortable at work.

I snacked on a banana mid-morning. For lunch I ate the innards (didn’t realize that was actually a word until right now) of a sweet potato with a scoop of natural peanut butter. Ah are you kidding me? Why I have I waited so long to make this beautiful concoction. Love. Meal numero dos = success.

I also ate some honeydew melon, and a handful of pretzels.

After work I headed to mom and dad’s. I decided to hop on the elliptical for a half hour lag to stretch my legs out. I got real sweaty hence the shiny face in this photo below. Abbie doesn’t seem to mind. Mom and I took her for a quick walk around the neighborhood before we hunkered down to work on dinner.

fettuccine noodles and marinara sauce with mushrooms, spinach, and italian spices. On top of ol’ fettuccine were two meatballs. On the side, green beans (canned because they are easier for the body to digest). Meal three was also a success and I got to eat it with mom, dad, and Kevin which made it that much better.

For dessert I munched on dark chocolate and mint chocolate chips and a few mini marshmallows. What is with me lately and having to eat dessert every night? Mmm, I love my sweets.

After dinner I came home to the boys and threw the ball to Moose for a while before a storm rolled in. Check out these peonies blooming in our backyard. Beautiful! I wish they lasted longer than they did.

The day’s eats in combination with starting my medications, made for a pretty good day on the colitis front. I did not feel bloated today which is such a glorious thing. I will fight this fast, I know it.

I am out. I have company coming for dinner tonight and have plans to make something nummy, and I will be keeping it low-fiber. I will be sure to fill ya in later.

Happy Thursday!

Continue Reading A Successful Day of Low-Fiber Meals
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