They Can’t All Be Good

Last night, we made one of Dana’s favorite meals: Fish Tacos. I enjoy them as well, but they don’t rank as high as to me as they do for him.

Dana got to work on cooking the tilapia in a pan on the stove top with lemon juice, salt and pepper, while I got busy chopping the veggies. I chopped up the leftover iceberg lettuce, making some of it into shreds, and some of it into cups to use as my taco shell. I do use regular tortilla shells sometimes too, just didn’t feel like it today.

For our tacos, I chopped lettuce as mentioned, as well as tomato, cilantro, and avocado. I layered all of the veggies into my lettuce cup, placed my perfectly cooked tilapia next, and lastly topped it all with roasted tomatillo medium salsa which really gets my nose running.

Forgive my flash versus non-flash photos. I couldn’t decide which lighting was better as neither was really helping me out much.

With flash:

Without flash:

Dana’s fish tacos were way prettier than mine so I made sure we snapped a photo. See, you can accommodate everyone in your household….carb or no carb.

I tend to feel a lot better when I go lighter on my carb intake, which is why you’ll notice I tend to skimp on them and go bunless with burgers, shell-less with tacos, choose salad versus sandwich, etc.

I have a minor gluten intolerance so it’s not to say I don’t eat breads, tortillas, etc. because I do, I just pick my battles. Some days I can eat a bagel and have no repercussions whatsoever in the stomach ache department, and the next day I will eat a bagel and feel like there is a blown up balloon in my belly. I continue to learn about my body and what makes it happy and unhappy every single day. I do love fresh bread though. Mmm…

The rest of the night was spent doing more laundry, packing, and relaxing with the guys.

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My morning today started out with a pre-run breakfast/snack. Half of a banana with peanut butter, and half of a cup of coffee. I would have loved more coffee but know it’s not a good idea considering I will be running outside sans bathrooms.

I suited up in my asics and headed out the door for a 5.21 mile run.

I will start off by saying that the weather was perfect this morning. Blue skies, birds chirping, and a cool breeze, so at least that part of the run was beautiful. There are good workout days and bad workout days, and this morning I definitely had a bad workout day.

During my first mile, it’s standard for me to struggle a bit but I know that my body is warming up and after the first mile I will usually feel better. Today though, I felt that struggle throughout the entire run. I was getting side aches on each side and tried breathing through them to work them out, but didn’t have much luck. My ears felt like I was on an airplane and they were full of pressure and aches. I felt dehydrated and out of breath with no stamina at all. It was a hard run.

I kept comparing this run to my Saturday run and I couldn’t believe how different I felt. I know this is normal but you always hope each run is going to be a good run. You can’t always get what you waaaannnntt.

I ran and walked 5.21 miles in 55 minutes. Not my fastest by any means but hey, I finished it. Hopefully my next run will be more enjoyable.

I am off to drink the second half of my morning coffee and head out for the day. I hope you have an excellent Tuesday.

Question of the Day: How do you fight through a “bad” workout day?

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Seven with Sprinkles on Top

Happy weekend my friends! I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend so far, I know I am.

Last night, I made my self a salad that always hits the spot: BBQ pulled chicken salad. I’ve mentioned before this one is inspired from Famous Dave’s BBQ pulled chicken salad.

In this salad: leafy greens, shredded cheese, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, and BBQ pulled chicken. I drizzled a small amount of Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard over the top. All I was missing was a fresh batch of corn bread (which I debated making but ran out of time).

After dinner, we met up with a bunch of my friends from high school because the two guys that we visited on our recent trip to California, Brandon and Will (please don’t get mad for posting this photo :wink:), were in town. Love these guys. It was so good to see everyone.

Dana and I called it an early night however because we had plans for a big run this morning.

Saturday morning

We woke up leisurely this morning at 7:20 am (who are we?), opened up the weather.com app on our phones and noticed a big blob of nasty weather heading our way on the radar. Hmm….we had plans to run seven miles this morning but really wouldn’t appreciate getting pelted with freezing cold rain in 40° weather. So, we decided to get out and run our errands and just do our big run tomorrow instead. I was extremely dissapointed but hey, lifes goes on.

Anyway, we brought the car in to get an oil change and tires rotated, and while we waited, we meandered over to Starbuck’s for some delicious java to warm my heart. We went for a little walk while I sipped my latte. Still no rain at this point. We were really starting to kick ourselves because original plan had been to drop off the car and go for our run while it was getting work done.

Too late though.

Once the car was ready we made a couple of stops to pick up food for a family BBQ we are hosting tonight. I was really feeling down about not getting our run in today.

When we got home, it was starting to clear up a little, and we made an executive decision that we should get our run in today, right now. We geared up and hit the ground running.

We had to leave Moose at home this time because no offense doggie, but you can’t handle seven miles. I can hardly handle seven miles. Sorry.

Towards the second half of the run, it started to sprinkle which I thought was pretty darn funny. Mother nature was teasing us today. At that point, I totally appreciated the light sprinkles. They were very refreshing.

The run was challenging as all runs are, but overall it wasn’t that bad. I was really starting to feel nervous about my lack of long distance mileage covered in conjunction with the upcoming half marathon, and this run really helped alleviate my anxiety. I am fine. I will be fine. Mind over matter.

There were two large hills during our run, and the second one at the end was particularly gruesome. I cursed it as Dana encouraged me and reminded me to let my arms help pull me through, and I made it to the top with no walk stops.

I am so extremely proud we covered seven miles today and so fortunate to have been able to run it with Dana by my side.

Now, it’s time for some lunch, and some major house cleaning. Can’t wait for our company tonight.

Have an awesome Saturday!

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Is it Friday Yet?

My initial thought this morning: Is it Friday yet? I don’t what the deal is this week but it is crawling at turtle pace and completely kicking my butt. Also, I haven’t been super motivated to workout this week either. Hmm…possible correlation between lack of working out and being tired? It could very well be.

To top it off, I woke up with a terrible headache.

K, that was my speedy downer rant. It feels good to let it all out. Now, gimme some coffee.

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I worked late again last night but was actually hungry when I got home unlike the night before.

I threw together a salad topped with broccoli, peas, corn, cheese, black beans, and Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard and had my self a pretty tasty salad in no time.

So delicious as always.

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I neglected to take a photo of my breakfast this morning possibly due to extreme crabbiness, but I can tell you it looked a lot like this.

Ok, more like identical to this, same bowl and all. Fage non-fat Greek yogurt, black berries, and raspberries, all drizzled with honey.

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I’m trying to think happy, positive thoughts so that I can make it through the rest of the work week, so, I thought I would leave you with some funny photos of Moose getting his teeth brushed by Dana.

I think it is one of the funniest things. He acts like he doesn’t like it at first and hesitates to lay down, but once he does cooperate, he warms up to it and ends up licking the brush afterwards like he loved it.

You brush your teeth...ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch
Mmm...minty.
Don't forget the eye teeth, dad. The smile gets the ladies.
Love this.

I hope everyone has a great Thursday. I will try to remain positive the rest of the day if you do!

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Low-Fat Banana Bread

It’s Monday, so how about a banana bread recipe to kick off your week? What’s even better is that it is low fat, but you would never guess it seeing as there is no sacrifice in flavor. I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light and am extremely  happy with the results.

 

Low-Fat Banana Bread (makes one loaf)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup bread flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 Tablespoon butter, softened
  • 1 Tablespoon non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tablespoon almond milk*
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
  • 1/3 cup almond milk*
  • 3/4 Tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Cooking spray

*almond milk is used two different times in this recipe

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. In medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, stirring with a whisk.
  3. In a large bowl, cream sugars, butter, yogurt, and 1 Tablespoon of almond milk with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute).
  4. In small bowl, combine 1/3 cup almond milk and vinegar, mix to combine, set aside.
  5. Add eggs to the creamed sugar, 1 at a time. Add banana, and vanilla, continuing to mix.
  6. Alternate adding the milk vinegar mixture and flour mixture; mix at low speed until moist (do not over-mix).
  7. Pour batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch bread loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool, then remove from pan and transfer to cooling rack.

You can eat the bread plain, with your favorite nut butter, apple butter, honey, or anything else that floats your boat. This recipe is my “positive” for my Monday positive talk. I don’t always win when it comes to baking because I really like to experiment with recipes, which leaves a bit of a mystery as to the results of the finish product. This was a win. Another perk to making banana bread besides it tasting wonderful, is that it perfumes the house with such a warm, comforting scent. Have I convinced you to make it yet?

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I am off to tackle the world, aka laundry, errands, cleaning, etc. I ran two miles this morning and plan to run 2-3 this afternoon. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. But first, one more cup of coffee.

Have a great day!

Question: Did anyone else bake up any delicious snacks this weekend?

 

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An Overdue Appointment

I had one of those mornings where it seemed like everything I was trying to do was taking me double the amount of time. Seriously everything from doing my hair to deciding what to wear… I was just a mess! I even had to pack my breakfast “to-go” because I didn’t have enough time to eat at home. I did however have time for this…

Which is a good thing. My coffee is very important to me in the morning. It is such a comfort to me to sip on a hot cup of coffee with fat- free hazelnut creamer and stevia first thing in the morning.

My to-go breakfast was one you have seen before. Fresh blueberries, strawberries, banana with Greek yogurt sweetened with honey. Creamy and fruity deliciousness as always.

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Fast forward to dinner because lunch was boring.

For dinner I had some veggies on the mind (what’s new, right?). Just like breakfast, and lunch actually too, dinner needed to be fast. I threw together a salad with mixed greens, shredded chicken, black beans, cheddar cheese,  and topped it with a little barbecue sauce and lite honey mustard. Oh, and corn. Can’t forget the corn! I also snacked on some sugar snap peas.

The reason I had to hurry through dinner was because I had an appointment to get to. An appointment at the Hair Salon!  Wahoo! It has been five months since my hair has been touched which is a little too long for my liking. Here are the before and after photos.

Before

After!

It is very blond and will take me a little time to get used to, but I like it! I kept it long but cleaned up the ends and added some layers and bangs. Now I am off to hang with Dana for a bit before bed. I am extremely tired. Good night!

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My Coffee

Alright coffee, it’s you and me baby. Help me get through the day. I slept terrible last night!

This morning I wanted to try and attempt those 2 miles that I missed yesterday on the treadmill. I was able to successfully complete the two mile with no shin pain at all! After the run, I did three sets of pushups and three sets of tricep dips. Tonight after work I am hoping to do some more strength training and/or a little walk.

Did you know yesterday was National Peanut Butter Day?! Good thing I ate my peanut butter on my pancake! =)

Catch ya later. I’ll be the lady with the mug o’ joe all day long.

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

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