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!

Continue Reading Seven with Sprinkles on Top

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!

Continue Reading Is it Friday Yet?

Keeping Sugar Intake Under Control: Mind Over Matter

Happy Good Friday to you all!

After work yesterday I headed to the gym. I rowed on the row machine for 5 minutes as a quick warmup, then headed to grab some free weights. I headed to the back to my favorite area of the gym for privacy, and plowed through the Pyramid Arm Workout. I don’t think “plowed” is necessarily the most accurate term to use though, because that makes it sound like it was a piece of cake for me when in reality, this was pretty challenging for me today. I was feeling exhausted with low energy. I always figure though, at least I’m doing something which is better than nothing.

Dinner last night came together in a pinch thanks to the help of the crock pot. At lunch break, I placed two chicken breasts in the crock pot (without any seasonings) and set the crock pot to “high” as it was already lunch time, and wasn’t going to have quite as long of a time to cook as usual. I love the crock pot because you set it, and forget it!

When I got home from the gym the chicken was cooked through in the crockpot. I removed it and placed into a round bowl, grabbed two forks and began shredding. I removed about half of the shredded chicken, covered it, and refrigerated it for use another day. This is the reason I don’t like to season the whole batch, because I like to use it in several different dishes. The other half of the chicken was for our dinner.

I mixed the chicken with KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce and placed it on top a bed of baby kale, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, red onion, cilantro and corn.

I then added reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese and Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard. I have made this combo before and I must say, I really struck gold again. This combination was fantastic! My inspiration for this combo was from a salad I had eaten at Famous Dave’s that was loaded with pulled chicken and honey mustard. NUM!

After dinner we headed out to run a couple of errands. We needed to buy another photo album for our wedding photos because we ran out of room on the first one. Is it bad that it’s been six months since our wedding and our wedding photos still aren’t all in an album yet? Meh.

After errands I plunked down in front of the computer because I needed recipe ideas. I told mom I would bring desserts and a fruit salad to Easter Sunday at their place. Yes, you read right, DESSERT. I haven’t had dessert since February 22nd, when Lent began. It has been great to get my sugar intake under control again especially after the holidays. My body does not crave sugar like it used to.

When re-introducing sweets back into my life, I am going to continue to be very mindful of my eating, and want to make sure not to fall into an over-indulging of sugar stage again.  I will need to remember to keep sweet treats, indeed a sweet treat every once and a while, not a sweet snack everyday. Knowing me and my sweet tooth this will probably mean keeping sweets out of the house for the most part, and if I really have a hankering for something , I will have to go out and buy it, which will slow me down.

I don’t want to “crave” sugary treats and I have a big vacation coming up in a few weeks which involves being in a swimsuit. I am hoping this motivates me to stay smart. My goal is to keep my sweet tooth under control, and it’s mind over matter.

Anyway, after browsing many photos and recipes, and drooling on my shirt, I think I have decided on two recipes, possibly three that I will be making.

1. Chocolate Caramel Bars or Carmelitas; something like these

2. Lemon Bars

3. Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (I haven’t for sure decided on this one yet)

I thought these all looked so good! I could waste so much time looking at recipes and food photos. I find it so fun and relaxing. I am such a foodie.

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Breakfast this morning was cinnamon flaxseed oatmeal with bananas and PB2. I added in a small amount of egg whites towards the end of the cooking process to add more protein to the dish. I decided to top it off with a little bit of maple syrup. It was muy delicioso.

Now, my computer is really starting to test my patience so I think this post needs to come to an end. I hope everyone has a beautiful Friday!

Continue Reading Keeping Sugar Intake Under Control: Mind Over Matter

Tastes as Good as it Looks

I have been seriously lacking in the photo-taking department lately. I’ll get on that.

Anyway, I found out at about 2:00 pm yesterday that it was National Peanut Butter and Jelly day. Why is it that I always find out a little too late about these awesome theme days after I have already eaten breakfast, lunch, and have dinner planned?

I did have peanut butter for breakfast, just not jelly. This is a recycled photo from a while back. Today’s was not this pretty and there was no cinnamon or chia seeds involved. I did mix honey into the PB2 today though which was a winning combo. I will have to make up for the pb and j day another day. I just may, what do you say?

This reminds me, I had a PB2 dream a couple of nights ago. I had a dream I was in a PB2 type store or factory, and there were hundreds of different flavors. I specifically remember a raspberry swirl PB2 which really didn’t sound appetizing to me. Huh, very random.

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I started my day yesterday with a 2 mile run. I had decided that I wanted to split up my distances today and do some in the morning, and the rest in the afternoon. The morning run was fine, but in the afternoon when I was tackling a 3 mile run, I realized I have a lot of work to do in getting myself into running uphill shape. I have to admit that I walked a little bit up two hills on my afternoon run. It’s early in the season though, I will get there!

Let’s see what kind of fun facts I can conjure up for you from Monday…

  1. Moose got his 2nd tick in 2 days (we were 1 day too late on giving him his flea and tick medicine)
  2. My swimsuit I ordered from Victoria’s Secret came in the mail
  3. I bought a 5 pack of Lara Bars for $4.00 at Target
  4. I bought a shower curtain for the bathroom downstairs (it’s coming along!)
  5. I made a super delicious refreshing salad for dinner

Baby kale, cara cara orange, blackberries, red onion, avocado, black beans, and  Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard!

I posted three photos because I couldn’t decide which one I liked best seeing as they’re all pretty similar looking, so my indecisive self decided to show you all three. It was so pretty, and this time tasted as good as it looked unlike Saturday’s salad.

It was honestly AMAZING! I have made this before using strawberries instead of blackberries, regular mixed greens versus baby kale, and mandarin oranges instead of cara cara. I used the ingredients I had on hand tonight. Either way this salad is the bomb. Refreshing, healthy, and so super easy. It is perfect for entertaining as well. You could top the salad with grilled chicken breast and serve it with a side of hearty whole grain bread. MMMmmm….

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My morning today began with a bowl of Overnight Chia Yogurt that I jazzed it up even more by adding a dash of cinnamon. I have been in a bit of overnight yogurt “rut” lately. Except rut is not the right word because I take rut to mean it’s a bad thing. I have just really been into it lately! Maybe I’ll switch it up soon to keep things interesting.

I am off for now. Hitting the gym after work today to get my sweat on. Have a wonderful day friends.

Continue Reading Tastes as Good as it Looks

Half Marathon Training Guidance

Dinner last night came together quickly. Sunday evening I prepared a tuna salad to have for lunches (or dinners) during the week.

In the mix:

  • 1 can albacore tuna packed in water
  • cottage cheese
  • mustard
  • pepper
  • green pepper
  • zucchini
  • kale
So very random I am aware, but it actually tasted good! I served this salad on top of mixed greens and added some fresh broccoli and grape tomatoes. I finished it off with my favorite Newman’s Own Honey Mustard. I also ate a piece of bread with grape jelly and a dark chocolate adora disk dipped in Smart Balance peanut butter.

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This morning, breakfast was waiting for me in the fridge. Last night, I mixed together a small amount of oats, Fage non-fat greek yogurt, almond milk, chia seeds, and blueberries and refrigerated over night. This morning I gave the mix a good stir, added a bit of honey and banana and ate a breakfast of champions. It was so creamy and just the right amount of sweet. It really hit the spot.

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Half Marathon Training

As you may know, I am registered for my first half marathon on June 3rd, 2012 in Minneapolis (Dana is also registered), and so far, I’m happy my half marathon training schedule is going as planned. Throughout the winter I maintained some of my running endurance by hitting up the treadmill a few times a week, however my boredom hindered me from accomplishing anything further than 5 miles on the treadmill. I decided that any distance longer than 4 miles was going to have to wait until Spring rolled around so that I could run outside (remember I am a big freeze baby and don’t like to run outside in the cold winter). Now that Spring is here, it is time to reevaluate our half marathon training plans.

Originally, I had found one by Hal Higdon I liked, and Dana had found one by Jeff Galloway that he liked. Could we both train on separate plans leading up to the big day? Surely, but it would be a whole lot easier if we trained on the same plan, that way we could run together and keep eachother on track. In either plan, we would have our long runs on the weekend so we could at least run together on Saturday, which in retrospect would probably be the only run that we would be able to do together unless I started running after work. That’s a whole other bag of worms: my total dislike for running after work. I feel like that is when I am the most sluggish. I prefer to run in the mornings but that doesn’t always happen either!

What I do like about Jeff Galloway’s plan is that he only has you running 3 mile runs on Tuesday and Thursday for the most part, which, in working around a work schedule, seems like the nicest option. However, I don’t know if that is enough mileage for me. I am at such a crossroad and sort of don’t know what to do.

I know it is an option to adapt pieces I like of each and make it work for me, and that’s probably what I will end up doing. Any thoughts/tips/advice from runners out there would be greatly appreciated!

Anyway, enough of my rant.

Basically, I just need to get my booty in gear and make some decisions so I can move on with the training. June 3rd is not that far away! Yikes!

Continue Reading Half Marathon Training Guidance

Short and Sweet

Well hello! I hope everyone is having a fantastic Sunday. Ours has been pretty productive! I have lots of photos to share.

Starting with lunch yesterday. I threw together a fruity salad. In the mix:

  • mixed greens
  • strawberries
  • grapes
  • walnuts
  • feta cheese

The salad was topped with this gem of a balsamic vinegar. I was inspired while out in California by all of the tasty balsamic vinegar combinations, and spotted this one at Target, so I thought I would give it a go. It is Strawberry Basil by Archer Farms and it is really good!

I had to scarf down lunch, because apparently no matter how much time I give myself to get ready, I am almost always getting ready down to the very last minute.

After lunch, I headed off to a friend’s baby shower. She is due in April and looking great! It was great to see all of the ladies.

For dinner we met up with Dana’s mom and dad for dinner. It was a celebration for Sue and Dana’s birthdays, which are both coming up this week! We met at bd’s Mongolian Grill which has create-your-our own stir fry.

I opted to go for the vegetarian option today, but they do have a great assortment of meats if you would rather go that route: beef, chicken, turkey, crab, shrimp, scallops, etc.

Here is my bowl o’ veggies (and one lonely egg) before I brought it to the stir-fry men. I chose a teriyaki soy sauce blend with a little bit of garlic.

In the stir-fry mix: zucchini, broccoli, baby corn, water chestnuts, carrots, edamame, mushrooms, onions, bean sprouts, and an egg. I think that was everything in there. Oh, and sugar snap peas maybe. It was very delicious and so healthy. I felt just comfortably satisfied after I was finished.

We had a great time as always! After dinner we headed home to our big man who was very happy to see us. He was in need of a little attention.

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This morning began with pb2 toast with banana alongside some coffee and coupon cutting.

Later I headed over to mom and dad’s and went for a walk with the little dog and my mama.

Although it was only about 26° out, there was no wind and the sun was out so it felt pretty nice. Aren’t they adorable?

This afternoon Dana and I ran a few more errands including some birthday boy shopping. Now we are home for the night, and contemplating having a fire in the fireplace. I have dinner simmering away in the crock pot and can’t wait to share this recipe with you tomorrow.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. That was the short and sweet version of mine. 🙂 Have a cozy night!

Continue Reading Short and Sweet

And We’re Off

“I hopped off the plane at LAX, with a dream and my cardigan…”  We are officially California bound baby and yes I just quoted Miley Cyrus! So what? I am pumped. I’m still hoping to can spot some celebs, but more than anything I am just very excited to get away and see some friends.

Aww, Kate I wish you were going to be there too. 🙂

First things first, a little recap from yesterday. I could not quite capture the deliciousness of this salad but I will still share the photo to give you some idea of what into my belly at lunch.

I wasn’t quite sure of how this would turn out because I was literally just tossing items into the mix that I had on hand that I thought might blend well together in a salad.

In the mix:

  • raw kale
  • chopped walnuts
  • feta cheese
  • two clementines, peeled and segmented
  • Craisins
  • balsamic vinegar

At first bite I still wasn’t sure what I thought of it, but I kept mixing and kept eating and eventually came to the realization that I really enjoyed this mix. It’s packed full of superfoods and vitamins too! For lunch I also ate a banana, apple, and carrots. Crazy veggie intake I know. I like to really fill up on them before a vacation because I don’t know what my intake will be like while I am away.

For dinner, I wanted to try and use up some of our perishable items in the fridge. I steamed a whole lot of broccoli, topped it with cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper, and threw an egg on top with some mustard, and called it a dinner. I’m so sorry you have to witness yet another runny egg. I have been in such a kick with this egg bit. It’s probably getting old but it is just so tasty and such an easy way to get some protein into a meal.

Here’s a couple of not very attractive photos.

K, seriously ugly photos but seriously delicious. If I haven’t convinced you to try runny eggs over veggies, I will. I won’t give up on it.

Alright, I am out! I will do my best to keep you updated on the trip but can’t make any promises! Either way I will catch you up at some point. Happy Friday everyone!

Continue Reading And We’re Off

Kitchen Staples

It’s Friday!

My day started off with this…

I couldn’t decide if I wanted bananas on my pb toast so I decided just to put them on half! I love variety. It was a good decision. 😉 Banana and peanut butter is such a winning combo. What a great way to start the morning.

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Last night was a “wing-it” night, so I decided to throw together a kitchen sink salad.

Which brings me to the topic of kitchen staples. You will notice that my salads have a lot of the same ingredients almost ALL THE TIME. I apologize if it gets boring but I have found that there are certain foods that we almost have on hand. Items that we always seem to keep stocked because we use them so often, which can easily be made into a meal.

Kitchen staples in our house

  • Huge container of mixed greens lettuce
  • Black beans, usually canned
  • Frozen veggies: peas, corn, broccoli, mukimame (soybeans)
  • Tilapia (frozen)
  • Chicken Breasts (frozen)
  • Oatmeal
  • Peanut Butter
  • Eggs
  • Insane amount of condiments–like I said I LOVE sauce
  • some sort of bread or tortillas
  • We generally have quite a few fresh fruits and veggies on hand as well, but get low toward the end of the week

With these staples on hand, it makes tossing together a quick and healthy meal a pretty easy task.

Options from these staples:

  • Crockpot pulled chicken
  • Salad
  • Tilapia and roasted broccoli
  • Full o’ veggie hash with an egg on top
  • Stir fry
  • Bean burritos
  • Fried egg sandwich
  • Peanut butter wraps
  • Etc., Etc., Etc.

So colorful! I often go straight for the salads because they are fast, they help me increase my veggie intake for the day, they taste great, and I don’t think I have ever regretted eating a big ol’ salad. You can switch them up and make them a million plus different ways which keeps things exciting. Plus, I am a gal who likes volume when it comes to my food. I like snacks like popcorn, dinners like soups and salads, breakfasts like yogurt loaded with fruit. You know, the kinds of meals and snacks where you can get more bang for your buck; a larger quantity of food versus a very calorie dense food like pizza (but I do love pizza), and where you can eat a larger amount of food but not suffer the calorie consequences. This is probably because I truly enjoy eating; but not in an obsessive way. I love exploring foods and trying new recipes, as you have probably noticed by now.

Alright, I am off to finish getting ready for work. Happy Friday!

What are YOUR kitchen staples? Feel free to comment!

Continue Reading Kitchen Staples

Great Friends & Homemade Sushi

Man, yesterday was a great day!

When I left you yesterday, I immediately went and made myself some lunch. Homemade bread (recipe coming soon), with cinnamon pB2, bananas, and chia seeds, with a clementine on the side.

After lunch we went and picked up Moose from the groomer…

He was brushed and looks so handsome!

Then, Dana and I registered for our very FIRST HALF MARATHON! June 3rd, 2012. I was so nervous to hit submit in the registration because that means I have actually committed. It’s official, submitted, fees paid, and there’s no turning back. I am so pumped! Bring it on!

Dana’s parents came over shortly after and visited for a couple hours. It was nice to catch up with them as always.

Next, I got ready for our sushi night with friends. I prepped some of the veggies for the sushi and also made some chocolate dipped pretzels to have out for dessert. I had to decorate them with Christmas sprinkles because I didn’t have valentine sprinkles on hand, but they were still pretty and tasty! I snacked on a bunch of pretzels while I made those sweet treats.

The night was full of Asian-inspired snacks: Baked sugar snap peas (crunchy and salty, so good), edamame, and we even tried seaweed snacks. I wasn’t a fan of the seaweed at all. I know they are supposed to be extremely good for you, but I just don’t love the taste of sea and plants combined very much. At least I tried.

We ate lots of homemade sushi which turned out awesome! We stuck to California Rolls with carrots, cucumber, avocado, and crab.

It was a great, relaxing night with friends including getting my tush whooped in Scattegories (and Dana didn’t even cheat)!

Can we please, please do this more often? Love you guys.

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This morning began with a fruit and yogurt bowl and coffee (“the best part of waking up, is Folger’s in your cup!”).

Coupon clipping, grocery shopping, and Byerly’s salad bar for lunch while we were out and about. My salad was loaded with: edamame, peas, zucchini, beets, mushrooms, carrots, jicama, pumpkin seeds, sprouts, cheese, sunflower seeds, tofu, ground flaxseed, and light ranch dressing. Holy cow I guess I got my veggies in!

After lunch, we scoped out Byerly’s fresh fish selection for our Valentine’s Dinner. I think we are going to go with the swordfish. Swordfish and roasted artichoke hearts and fennel. Dessert is to be decided still but we are leaning towards warm brownie with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

And now I am home, and can’t keep my paws off of chocolate. That’s all I want to do the rest of the day…veg out and eat chocolate. I’ll probably do some laundry too, and also I plan to post that bread recipe for you all too, and maybe go to the gym or for a walk on the treadmill.  We’ll see what happens! Okay, that’s it for now. Enjoy a relaxing Sunday!

Continue Reading Great Friends & Homemade Sushi

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!

Continue Reading An Overdue Appointment
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