Nuts for Nuts

I am so happy it is the weekend! I cannot wait to relax and enjoy the two glorious days ahead.

My day started off with a bit of indecisiveness. I really wanted peanut butter and banana, but I also really wanted cereal. What to do? Throw it all in a bowl, add a splash of almond milk, and you have the best of both worlds! That’s proof that sometimes being an indecisive person can be a good thing.

I made to sure to get my peanut butter banana fix in at breakfast because I knew I wouldn’t be having it at lunch (if you can believe that). My coworkers and I decided to go out to lunch at a Bakery and Cafe called Patrick’s. Patrick’s is connected to Bachman’s and the inside is just beautiful. There are fresh flowers everywhere, the ceiling is made up of some material (like the stuff used in metrodomes maybe?) where a little bit of sunlight shines through and lightens the room naturally. The menu wasn’t ginormous but still offered a nice selection of soups, salads, and sandwiches. They do also have bakery items but I didn’t feel like tempting myself so I didn’t really look at it.

I decided on one of my all time favorite soups, French Onion. It was topped with a large crouton melted with what tasted like gruyere cheese but I am not for sure. On the side a nice hunk o’ baguette.

Pretty with the table linens and natural light, huh? I was pretty excited about that. I am working on my camera skills you know.  The soup was pretty good, a little too salty though. I have very high expectations when it comes to my french onion soup though because my mom makes DYNAMITE french onion. She will be modest and say, “o, goodness really it’s so easy, but thank you.” But really, hers is the best. I only spent $4.00 at lunch today and it definitely held me over long enough to get home and stuff my face have a few almonds.

Let’s talk about almonds for a second. Clearly, along with peanut butter, I really enjoy almonds. I eat them every day pretty much. It must be their slight saltiness and crunchy texture that really get me. They are a good source of protein (6 g per 1/4 cup), they do have some fiber (3 g per 1/4 cup) not to mention that evidence suggests that eating 1.5 ounces of nuts daily can help lower your risk of heart disease. HOWEVER, it is important to watch your portions with these bad boys because they do pack a load of fat at 15 g per 1/4 cup. Many of these fats are the “good” kinds but you still want to be careful with portion control. Yea, I’m still working on that one myself. Sorry Dana if I ruined my appetite for dinner. That’s what you call a tangent my friends. There will be lots of them. The moral of the story is I am Nuts 4 Nuts (just like the vendors in New York right Bets?). I am a pretty nutty gal.

One more important bit to share with you. I resisted sweets (specifically doughnuts with chocolate frosting and sprinkles) again today for the third day. I am very proud. Now if only the pants would start fitting a little more comfortably again. It takes times, I know.

Off to run a few errands then we’ll see if I’ve conjured up an appetite for dinner by then. Then it’s relaxation time including kicking butt in SkipBo, Sequence, and maybe Rummy. I don’t know. We’ll see if we have time. 😛 Har har har.

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No Dreadmill

Good evening friends! How was everyone’s Tuesday? Mine was pretty good. Work was smooth and flew by, but what helped my mood the most today was the beautiful weather! We are having some seriously out of season weather here but I LOVE it! I’m not sure what the official temperature was today, but my car said 43° when I was driving home from work at 4:00. Talk about a heat wave! 🙂

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First things first. I didn’t take snap a photo of breakfast this morning because I kinda flopped on it. I was trying to make Oatmeal No Oats again but decided to “wing” it and make  it from memory versus looking at the recipe. Whoops. I forgot the cinnamon and it completely changed the taste and ended up with a slightly egg-y taste. It wasn’t horrible, and I still ate it after adding a little brown sugar and some banana. It was actually kind of good in a weird way, but next time I will remember the cinnamon.

Fast-forward to lunch… I actually decided to pack a lunch today versus coming home. I had an errand to run so I packed a peanut butter banana wrap, Pink Lady apple, mini bell peppers, carrots, clementine, and string cheese. I always pack more than enough when I do pack a lunch because I never know how hungry I will be. Today I ate everything pictured below minus the string cheese and clementine.

After I ran my errand I parked my car in a sunny spot and pulled out my book. I am still reading the Help but am getting towards the end of it. I am loving it still and will probably finish it tonight before bed! When I was driving back to work after break I decided since it was so beautiful outside that I was going to run outside after work. No “dreadmill” today! Alleluia!

It’s been a while since I ran outside due to unkind Minnesota weather and due to the fact that I am pretty much a big baby when it comes to cold temperatures.  After work, I geared up in my long underwear, headband, gloves, and hit the road running. It was challenging but felt SO good to be outside. It makes a world of difference breathing the fresh air, having the constant changing scenery, the entertainment of other walkers and cars, and the challenge of hills. I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t love the hills but they are great for training and building stamina. I think I had a little bit of a hard time maintaining any sort of steady pace because I noticed myself breathing heavier than normal. I have a lot of work to do in order to feel more confident in my running. I will get there though! I know it doesn’t happen overnight.

The good news is I didn’t have any shin pain today. I am hoping I can get another outside run in soon so I can see if I have ditched the shin problems all together or not and then see what happens when I run on the treadmill again. Experiment time!

Get it 40 for forty degrees? Neat.

I will be the first to admit that the picture above totally grosses me out. I am not one of those people who thinks it’s cute to get slobbered on by their dogs. This picture was an accident as I was trying to get Moose to sit with me for a picture. It was too funny not to post though. I immediately washed my face after this happening occurred. Gross. I love you, Moose but honestly you don’t have a clean mouth. I don’t care what everyone says about “dogs mouths are cleaner than human mouths.” I know where that mouth has been. Ew.  Sorry to anyone eating while they are reading this.

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After a nice little shower, I started pulling dinner together. I threw some Alexia’s Sweet Potato Crispy Bite-Sized Puffs, aka tator tots  in the oven along with a whole bunch of broccoli sprinkled with garlic powder. As I waited for the tots to cook, I snacked on some broccoli and  Holy Land  Roasted Red Pepper Hummus which is made in Minneapolis. I love supporting the locals.

So let’s see, I had a starch, a veggie….I needed a protein. How about an egg? Sure, why not. I cooked an egg over-easy and topped it on the roasted broccoli alongside the tator tots. I dabbed a bit of good old Heinz Ketchup on the plate, sprinkled a little parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, and a dash of salt over the whole rainbow bright dish. Then, dug in.

Random, but good and very pretty! I would do it again! Dessert was a handful or two of Craisins. Now, on to the rest of the evening involving relaxation and possibly a cup of tea. Good night good night, and tomorrow is Wednesday. I love Wednesdays!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Love

I am so happy today is Wednesday. I really like Wednesdays because it’s halfway through the work week  and especially like today because my wonderful co-worker brought me home-made chocolate chip cookies that were to die for (you are the best). Thanks for the nice surprise!

Breakfast

My day started with a favorite but with a little extra jazz. A perfectly ripe banana topped with slightly warmed peanut butter, sprinkle of cinnamon, and chia seeds. It was so so tasty and did a great job of holding me over until lunch which is a good thing because work was VERY busy.

Quick morning snap shot before heading out the door….

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Lunch

I decided to head home for lunch which I have been doing more often than I ever used to. I used to run errands on break but instead of going to spend money, I am going home. Plus, I love not having to pack a lunch every day. I have a hard time knowing what I’m going to be in the mood for until the time comes to eat! Ya know?

Today’s lunch looks a lot like last night’s dinner except in a bowl, and I added some bright banana peppers on top. It was so delicious. I also had a couple of Pepperidge Farms Cheese Chips then finished off lunch with a dark chocolate Adora disk and another bite of peanut butter.

I gave Moose a kiss, then headed back to work to finish off the afternoon.

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Dinner

Driving home from work I felt so hungry, but couldn’t decide exactly what I wanted for dinner. I had a feeling it was going to be a snacky kind of dinner, and I was right. I started off with some carrots.

Then moved on to some protein. Hot pinto beans with BBQ sauce (I’m in a BBQ sauce kick apparently) and a sprinkle of onion powder.

A Wasa hearty grain cracker with a Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese wedge.

The last of my chocolate chip cookie gift.

And that’s when I stopped taking pictures of my snacks/dinner. I continued on to have some almonds and dates. I will probably have another snack before bed because that’s just the kind of mood I am in and have a bottomless pit stomach today. Off to stretch the legs a little while on the treadmill and then call it an early night hopefully!

Buenos noches amigos!

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Veggie Egg Skillet

Last night I pulled out our brand new cast iron skillet that we got as a wedding gift. It was time to give it a shot. I munched on some almonds while I put this gig together.

I started by sautéing one small onion on the stove top. I then added chopped broccoli, and let that cook for a few minutes. At this point I sprinkled the vegetables with garlic powder and cracked black pepper and also preheated the oven to a low broil. Next, I started to add the fresh spinach to the skillet. I had to do this in stages because the skillet wasn’t big enough to house all of the raw spinach, but I knew it would all fit once it cooked down. I eventually got all of the spinach added to the pan. I sprinkled the veggies again with garlic powder, a pinch of salt, and grated Parmesan cheese. I made two wells in the veggies and cracked one egg into each well. I placed the super heavy skillet into the oven and cooked for about 5 minutes, watching to make sure I didn’t over-cook the yolk. Once removed from the oven, I split the dish in half for Dana and I, and topped with salsa.

Wanna hear a funny yolk?

My first attempt at skillet cooking was a S.U.C.C.E.S.S. I can’t believe how much one bag of spinach cooks down! The yolk in the top picture looks kinda funny because the top began to cook a little bit while the bottom of the yolk was still runny (runny was what I wanted).

A couple of hours after dinner Dana made a Dairy Queen run for us and we both enjoyed a double fudge Blizzard. I could eat those things on a daily basis and never ever get sick of them… but I wouldn’t do that because I like fitting into my pants.

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Now here we are, Monday morning. Oh boy, I don’t like Mondays, not one bit. Especially when I know the roads are going to be terrible because of freezing rain. Sounds wonderful. I started it off right though with a big ol’ banana slathered with peanut butter.

Off to drive with the crazies to work. Who am I kidding? I am one of the crazies. I don’t like driving when the roads are even a little bit bad.

Check ya later home skillets. I will stay positive and say that today is going to be a GREAT Monday.

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Training Plans

I am so looking forward to celebrating Betsy and Matt’s birthdays tonight, but first there are a few things I need to do.

This morning I headed downstairs to the treadmill to get a 2 mile run in before meeting my long time friend Amanda for ZUMBA! I have taken a couple of Zumba classes before but they are all so different because each instructor has their own style. Today our instructor was this spunky little thing and I loved her! She kept us shakin’ our booties for a solid hour and let me be the first to say it wasn’t just my booty that was shakin’ (har har)! I had such a blast and can’t wait to go back.

After Zumba I went back home to tackle two more miles on the treadmill. Running again after Zumba? Come on, seems like overkill right? Well, that’s because Dana and I are training for our first half marathon!

We have not officially signed up because registration doesn’t open until February, but we have started our training and are pumped! The longest run we have done is a 15k or 9.3 miles, which was in August 2011. The race we ran was for more “elite” runners and it was set up as a 3-loop run. Needless to say we are not elite runners, and it was a little degrading finishing our second loop when a good chunk of the other runners were finishing their third. We did finish in under an hour and 30 minutes which was our goal, but when we both finished we said, “I am not doing that again.” Ha, we’re eating our words now.

Ear buds are out, I see the finish line!

We think/hope that our next experience will be a little more fun, and it should help to do one huge loop versus three small loops. Plus, we have other friends planning to run it too!

The training plan we used for the 15k was one from Hal Higdon. For this round of training, I found this half marathon plan by him and Dana found this training plan by Jeff Galloway that he is following.  I can’t decide which one to do so for now I am just kind of doing a combination of the two. I like the idea of running Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and having Saturday be my long run which is what Hal Higdon suggested, but so far have not done the short run on Wednesday, so I am pretty much following the Jeff Galloway plan. I don’t know, we’ll see. I will keep you posted about training progress as well as registration for the race. Runners are chosen through a lottery once registered.

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Breakfast recap

Coffee and peanut butter banana much like this one except a little more sloppy and on a paper towel to go.

 

Lunch started with some appetizers (samples) at Costco: chocolate chunk cookie, protein bar, bite of meatball which I handed off to Dana, cowboy caviar, and mango peach salsa, all served in bite size samples.

Once we got home I threw together a whole grain tortilla with a laughing cow wedge, lettuce, tomato, and mustard and a handful of almonds.

I wasn’t sure how this would taste but it was actually pretty good! After lunch I finished up the birthday dessert I started making last night which I am bringing to tonight’s festivities. Now I am off to tackle a couple more weekend “to-do’s” and get ready for the rest of the day including a much needed shower.

Happy Saturday!

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Plantain Trial

It’s the freakin’ weekend baby!

Thank goodness! Today was wild and crazy and I am so happy to have a fun-filled weekend ahead.

I am feeling back to normal today. I regained appetite at about 9 p.m. last night and ate some kettle corn and then some mukimame which is the bean from the edamame (for when you’re feeling real lazy and don’t want to mess with the pod).  I got a good night’s rest and was good as new today.

I began my day with a peanut butter banana

 

Followed by 2 (errr more like 3) cups of coffee with cream and stevia.

I was feeling a little hungry mid-morning and munched on a small handful of almonds.

Lunch was a little bit of this:

In the mix was: broccoli, peas, carrots, mushrooms, green olives, mixed greens, laughing cow, and lite honey mustard dressing (Newman’s Own). Alongside a deliciously sweet clementine and some more almonds.

Cut to post-work. I get home and am ravished. The fridge is not very well stocked but I did manage to find some dates. I ate a handful of dates and a spoonful of peanut butter. I am starting to realize why we go  through peanut butter so fast around here. Anyway, I headed out to run some errands. I needed to pick up some wedding photos from Walgreen’s including one that completes our “guest book” cork board photo frame! We are so excited about it. For our guest book at our wedding we went non-traditional. We had our guests write their names on a wine cork which we then glued into a frame. Check it out…

Wooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! Love it!

Besides Walgreen’s I also needed to return the book, “The Help” to the library (didn’t get to finish it and couldn’t renew because someone had reserved it—I will be finishing it though one day).

Last stop was Target to pick up some ingredients needed for tonight’s “dinner” and for a special birthday dessert I’m making for Ms. Birthday Girl Betsy and Mr. Belated Birthday Boy Matt.  Oreos are involved! OOoo ahhhh.  I also managed to snag a bag of Whole Grain Cheddar Goldfish which I cracked into as soon as I got home, alongside some chocolate chips. Hmmm…all of this snacking this afternoon, no wonder I wasn’t hungry for dinner. I had good plans for dinner too.  I still made part of the fun special dinner and hubby enjoyed it immensely.

Last weekend I picked up a plantain at the grocery store. I love trying new things as you may know by now and had eaten a plantain before but never cooked one myself. I did a little brainstorming and a little researching for recipes, and then remembered a delicious appetizer I had this summer at Chino Latino’s with  my girl friends.

It was fried plantains served with a spicy black bean dip. After chatting with my co-workers today, two of which are from Columbia, I learned that my plantain was not going to make for the best “chips” because it was too ripe. In order to make good chips you need a really green plantain apparently and mine was more of a yellowish-green with some brown spots. Sounds appetizing right? Well, I wasn’t going to give up on it and I’m not one to throw away perfectly good food, so I got creative.

I started by peeling the plantain and slicing on an angle in 1/8-1/4 inch slices. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, and covered a baking pan with aluminum foil and non-stick cooking spray. I placed the plantains on the baking sheet (pictured below), sprayed the top with cooking spray, and sprinkled with cumin and chili powder. I popped them in the oven for about 17 minutes, turning halfway through.

In the meantime, I sautéed one small white onion in about 1 teaspoon of  Annie’s garlic olive oil (thank you Brian and Amanda). To the pan I then added: one can of drained and rinsed black beans, one 4-ounce can of diced green chilies, a dash of garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Once all ingredients were combined, I continued heating on the stove top for about 5 more minutes while the plantains finished in the oven. I then transferred the bean mixture into the food processor and processed until smooth. I removed the plantains from the oven and served them along side the bean dip.

I don’t know if it was the fact that I had snacked so much prior to this, or the sweetness of the plantains, but something wasn’t appealing to me in this dish. However, Dana LOVED it. Thanks to him my self-esteem wasn’t completely battered. I wouldn’t say my first attempt at plantains was a fail whatsoever, it just wasn’t my favorite ever. Stay tuned to see what new food I try to cook up next week!

I am off to start working on the mystery dessert for Betsy and Matt’s Birthday Party tomorrow! I am so suspenseful I know. Wish me luck!

Have a great night everyone. Peace and love. Out.

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