Salad Fever

Guess what? The sun finally came out! After over a week of non-stop rain and temps in the 40s, its finally starting to act a little like spring. When its cold and rainy all I crave is hot meals (usually covered in some kind of cheese)...and when its hot I constantly want salads. After a hot and humid run last night the only thing I wanted was a big salad.

Organic baby spinach, orange wedges, red bell peppers, boiled beets (hot, I don't really care for them cold), goat cheese, and toasted walnuts, drizzled with some balsamic vinaigrette. Toasting walnuts is easy, just bake them for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees - it really brings out the flavor a lot more.

With my salad I had some tofu. And some popcorn. Yes, I'm random.

I woke up to another warm day today, and after running and going to the gym I wanted another salad. I had salad for breakfast a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it. I guess I didn't stick with it because it takes a lot longer to prepare a salad in the morning than a quick bowl of oatmeal or a smoothie. Since I work from home on Wednesdays, I had time to make myself a big breakfast salad. 

Organic baby spinach, red bell peppers, and avocado. I squeezed some fresh lemon on top, sprinkled with cayenne pepper for a kick, and topped with some scrambled egg whites. I had a bowl of mango on the side and a glass of skim milk for extra protein.

Some of my friends have told me its weird that I like salad for breakfast. I would have said the same thing, too. Give it a try and then let me know if you still think its weird! It is very satisfying to fill up on something other than carbs (and this is coming from the carb queen) and it gives me more energy throughout the day.

Its been one week since I started my 30 day challenge (to run at least one mile per day). Here's how I've done so far:

Day 1 - 3 mile run; Bikram yoga class

Day 2 - 3 mile run; Bikram yoga class

Day 3 - 2.25 mile run

Day 4 - 3 mile run

Day 5 - 1 mile run

Day 6 - 1 mile run

Day 7 - 5 mile run; abs and legs strength training

Day 8 (today) - 2.6 mile run, back and bis strength training

As you can see, a few of those days I only ran the minimum 1 mile. Those were super busy days that I normally would not have done anything. My excuse would always be that I didn't have time, or that doing something as short as just one mile wouldn't make any difference. Since following this challenge, I've found a way to squeeze in a mile even in my busiest days, whether waking up a little early to get it done or quickly doing it when I got home late at night. Those mornings that I forced myself out of bed at 5am to fit in a quick mile were some of the best mornings - I love working out early in the day because it gives me such a boost of energy. If I didn't have to leave before 6am for work, I'd definitely do all of my work outs in the morning. 

I printed out a free calendar template I found online and have been marking down my mileage. Its a good way to keep track of what I've done and motivate myself to keep going. Even better is that I've heard from a few of my friends who are doing the challenge, too! I'm glad that other people are participating, and I think talking to each other about it helps keep us on track. If you can't run the miles, choose something else. My friend Chrissy has several injuries left over from college basketball, so running can be uncomfortable for her, but she's decided to do the challenge by biking and other forms of cross training! 

In terms of my other challenge, the 100 push ups challenge, that was a little bit later in getting off the ground. I actually just started it this morning. I did the initial test to see how many push ups I could do (to see where my training should begin) and I did 12. Not on my knees, either! I contemplated first doing this challenge with knee push ups and then doing it with standard push ups, but decided to try the real deal. I'm sure I'll be regretting this in a few days.

Anyone else want to join us in the 30 day challenge?

What are your favorite foods of summer?

Mine are salads and tons of fresh fruit. Oh and ice cream, that's pretty important, too!

Sweets and Sweats

Let's start out with the sweats, shall we? On Friday I told you all about my first two Bikram classes. I loved them and couldn't wait to do more. I made it home in time on Friday afternoon to hit the 4:30pm class, but this one didn't go quite as well. I thought that since I saw so many people wearing just little shorts and sports bras that I should try that, too (instead of capri spandex and a t-shirt or tank top) so that's what I did. I wore a pair of running shorts and a sports bra. This was bad for a couple reasons. First of all, running shorts aren't really ideal for hot yoga. The material isn't stretchy and isn't absorbent - it just got wet and clung to me. Halfway through class I started getting nervous that I would lean too far into a pose and my shorts would split, revealing my super classy pink tie-dye undies from Vicki's. Luckily that didn't happen, but the fear of flashing an entire room of strangers kind of ruined the peaceful mindset I was looking for. The second problem was that with so little clothing, my sweat had nowhere to go but to run down my body and drip even more (instead of being mostly soaked up by my capris and t-shirt). Everything was slippery and I actually felt hotter with less clothing on. On top of that, all I had was a water bottle full of warm water because I didn't have time to fill it with ice before class. This combination of things did not add up to the best experience ever. Shorts and sports bras might work for some people, but I quickly found out that I prefer spandex and shirts. 

After class I made myself a big salad to curb my hunger until Pat came home (incidentally, dinner ended up being a second round of salads). I find that after class I'm craving fresh fruits and veggies more than anything else.

Very green and orange salad!

My salad was a bed of organic baby spinach, some organic baby carrots, avocado, and a segmented orange. After segmenting the orange, I squeezed the "skeleton" (not sure what the stuff that's left over after the pieces have been cut out is called) to have fresh orange juice as my dressing, then dusted it with some ground pepper and sea salt. Delicious!

I didn't do another Bikram class on Saturday because I had my last "long" run before the half marathon next Saturday. It wasn't really very long, I just ran 8 miles because I'm tapering down this week. I wasn't terribly happy with how the run went. The first couple miles felt good, but then I slowed down and my legs felt tight and heavy as lead. I'm thinking that this is because I did three days in a row of Bikram and my body isn't used to the extreme stretching or poses. I finished my 8 miles with an average pace of 9:00 minute miles. Not the pace I'm hoping for at the race next weekend, so we'll see how this week goes. I'm going to do a couple short runs (2-4 miles each) throughout the week and rest on Friday.

The rest of Saturday was spent running a bunch of errands with Pat. I brought my car to the shop to have some last minute check ups done before my road trip to Charlottesville on Wednesday. We bought a new GPS, since Pat's was stolen. I borrowed a couple audio books from the library to listen to on my trip. We did all of the grocery shopping, went out for ice cream cones, and even fit in a couple episodes of Mad Men. On Saturday night we met up with some friends to go bowling. I hadn't been bowling in forever - it was a lot of fun!

On Sunday morning I went to my fourth Bikram class. The alarm went off at 6:45 and I surprised myself by easily rolling out of bed and heading out the door. Class went from 7:30-9:00 and was the best yet. I was wearing the right clothes, had a big bottle of ice water, and enjoyed a pomegranate popsicle on the way home.

The Bikram studio in Nashua has a freezer full of many different flavors of Edy's Fruit Bars which is such a great way to end class. When I got home I made myself some breakfast:

Egg whites with spinach on whole wheat toast (with some melted light Swiss cheese on half), drizzled with Sriracha hot sauce, and a side of cantaloupe.

I've heard from some friends and some blog friends that they're afraid to try Bikram. I was really nervous about going and waited until I had a friend to go with because I was convinced that I'd find a way to embarrass myself the first class. I've only been four times at this point, so I'm still quite a beginner, but I urge anyone who's interested to give it a try (even if you don't have a friend to go with you!). All of the instructors have been really welcoming and put absolutely no pressure on you to do anything aside sit there and breath. I thought I'd be too hot, class was too long, and I'd look stupid next to everyone else. You actually get used to the heat (once you've found the clothes that work for you), class goes by pretty quickly, and you'll see that there are people of every level in the room with you, so it isn't at all intimidating.  I'm so glad I finally went!

Bikram? 

Speaking of lots of baking...I made about 175 cookies, 25 cupcakes, and platters of cheese, crackers and grapes for the get together on Sunday night. I didn't remember to take any pictures of the cookies, aside from this delicious picture of one of the doughs:

Cookie dough with butterscotch chips and white chocolate chips

I made two types of cookies (although basically the same idea): chocolate chip and butterscotch/white chocolate chip. I used the Chewy Chocolate Chip recipe from a few months ago - I wanted to try a new recipe but Pat insisted that I make these (they're his favorite).

I cheated for the cupcakes. Rather than baking from scratch I tried Paula Deen's mix for white cake. I was surprised that it didn't call for a few sticks of butter, and even more surprised when I saw that just 2 tablespoons of oil was needed and she suggested egg whites instead of full eggs. For the frosting I used a can of store-bought vanilla, and jazzed it up with some color and added sugar to make my favorite CRUNCHY SUGAR frosting! Yum! All you need is:

Sugar In The Raw, Frosting, Food Coloring

I learned this from my friend Krissy. All you do is add Sugar In The Raw to frosting and it creates a crunchy, sugary frosting that makes ordinary cupcakes a lot more fun.

This looked more violet than blue in person. Just cover your cupcakes in frosting, and if you want, add some sprinkles on top.

These are delicious!

I wish I'd taken pictures of the full display of cupcakes and cookies, but it was barely set up before dozens of hands began reaching in for the goods.

Its very cold and rainy outside now, and I'm trying to convince myself to get outside for a 4 mile run. Doesn't sound too tempting at all.

What are your favorite kind of cupcakes?

My favorites are carrot cake, coconut, and white cake with crunchy sugar frosting!

Food Matters

Last night after work I went to the gym to bike for 45 minutes. The Hyannis Half Marathon is this Sunday, so I'm officially tapering now (rested Monday and Tuesday, 5 mile run on Wednesday, 45 minute bike ride on Thursday, and either an easy jog or walk today). I don't know why but I still have a lot of soreness in my legs and I have barely done anything this week!

For dinner I tried something new - fish tacos. I decided to make them because I realized that I had all of the ingredients, and it would be quick and healthful. I used another Joseph's tortilla and stuffed it with baby spinach, avocado, trout (simmered for a few minutes in water in a skillet over medium heat) and spicy salsa. 

On the side I had an orange and some lentils. Trader Joe's carries cooked lentils that are so delicious - I like them hot and cold, either on their own or thrown into a salad.

How beautiful is that?! Since we're all friends here, I need to be honest with you. I realized that I'm not a fan of fish tacos. I'm not sure why, because I like all of the ingredients separately, but it just wasn't very appealing to me.  I gave it a chance and had a few bites, but it just wasn't working out, so I disassembled my wrap and ate the fish and salsa on its own and had a spinach and avocado wrap (which was very good).

At the recommendation of Callie, I borrowed the movie Food Matters from the library.

Its a really interesting documentary that discusses the great impact food has on us and our well-being (you are what you eat) and talks about a variety of different studies about the effects of vitamin supplements on general health and on treating disease. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in eating clean and improving their health (without the use of prescription medications). Lately I've been overwhelmed by the amount of prescribed drugs that "heal" all of these conditions (Food Matters refers to it as "a pill for every ill") and I do believe that eating right, exercising and getting the right supplements will strengthen your immune system and give you the ability to fight off sickness without a trip to the pharmacy.

Some interesting points of discussion from the movie:

• The ideal diet consists of mostly plant-based, organic, and raw foods.
• Heating food causes it to act as a toxin in our body; every meal we eat should be at least 51% raw.
• To flush toxins out of your body you should drink 1-2 liters of water first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything else.
• High levels of Niacin have been proven to treat depression.
• High levels of Vitamin C (given through IV) have been shown to arrest and reverse cancers and other diseases.
• Less than 1% of medical doctors have training in nutrition, and 26% of patients leave hospitals more malnourished then when they were admitted.

This really got me thinking and makes me want to learn more about the research behind their claims. For more information about this movie and related health resources, visit their website.

I Love Long Weekends

I think everyone will agree that long weekends are a wonderful thing. I didn't know that I had President's Day off of work until last Tuesday, so that was exciting news! I had a wonderful weekend - saw a lot of friends and family, got a lot accomplished, and still managed to have some serious lazy time.

This weekend I...

Friday Night

1. Ran TONS of errands after work. 

Returns, exchanges, and purchases made at Babies R Us, Christmas Tree Shop, Burlington Coat Factory, and Hannaford's.

2. Had a delicious pasta dinner and discovered an amazing new way to eat broccoli (which makes me even more obsessed with it).

Steamed broccoli with marinara sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.

3. Met up with some friends, then made the obligatory candy stop on the way home.

Have you ever seen this many peeps?! I like to cut open the packaging and let the peeps get a little bit stale (so they're nice and chewy) before eating them.

Saturday

4. Went for a great run with Callie.

After the run I refueled with some chocolate milk, an orange, and an open-faced chicken salad sandwich.

Chicken salad - cut up grilled chicken breast mixed with 0% vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, craisins, and fresh ground pepper. Put on piece of toast covered with a bed of baby spinach.

5. Helped celebrate Maddison's 1st birthday.

Maddison and Mama!

Maddison and Pat

Me, Maddison, Kayta and Kristen

6. Went shopping with Pat and found some amazing deals at Nordstrom Rack.

7. Went to a surprise birthday for Colin's 30th. 

Colin was quite surprised and we had a great time! The party was at Pepperoncini's (in Framingham) and though it didn't look like much from the outside (read: thought it was probable that this could be a gang hang out and our car might be stolen/vandalized in the parking lot) the inside was a fun bar and restaurant - complete with my favorite game!

BIG BUCK HUNTER!

The pizza was amazing, too - I'd definitely go back!

Sunday

8. Put together all ingredients for Chicken Cacciatore in crock pot.

 

9. Went to Krissy's Baby Shower.

Diaper Cake - people go crazy for these things!

BEAUTIFUL cake! Colton's room is decorated with a fishing theme, so this cake had a fishing boat, rod, and fish on it, and along the sides there were cattails, ducks, and candy rocks.

Party favors: little satchels of swedish fish tied with string and buoys. 

Gina, Kath, Krissy, Julia, Me, and Gerene (who's also pregnant!)

10. Had family over for LINNER (lunch/dinner).

There were 10 of us total: My mom, brother, brother's girlfriend, Pat's mom, brother, aunt, cousin, and  cousin's friend. And Pat and me. Since I knew I'd be spending the morning at Krissy's baby shower, I prepared the meal ahead of time and put it in the crock pot. We also delegated extras for other people to bring: my mom brought a salad, Pat's mom brought bread, and Pat's aunt brought brownies.

My mom brought mixed greens for the salad, and prepared some delicious toppings for people to add: roasted sweet potatoes, roasted peppers, and mozzarella cheese.

I'd never thought of having roasted sweet potatoes on a salad, but it was unbelievable! My mom also made a Maple Mustard salad dressing to go on top, which was delicious.

Here's my full plate of salad and chicken cacciatore:

*I'll post the recipe for the chicken soon!

11. Went out with some friends.

Shortly after our family left, Pat and I had to rush out to meet up with some friends for dinner (hard to believe we had more food!) and hanging out.

Monday

12. Watched the entire first season of Mad Men.

Yes, you read me right. Pat and I watched the whole first season of Mad Men, basically in one sitting. Since we had such a busy weekend, all we wanted to do on Monday was relax. On Monday morning we discussed going out to breakfast, going to the gym, and going grocery shopping, and decided that those were the only things we'd leave the house for. I thought we should stay home for breakfast and put the gym and groceries off until later in the day. By the time we were a couple episodes into the first season, we decided that we didn't want to go anywhere, and even ordered delivery for dinner to avoid leaving the comfort of the couch.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekends!

I Finally Ran Outside!

...and other exciting* things.

*Note - what I find exciting may not fit everyone's definition of exciting. I think the small things count though...

I am quite excited because I was finally able to do a long run outside this weekend. Its been over a month (maybe even 6 weeks!?) since I ran outside, partly due to the low temperatures, but mostly due to the vast amounts of snow and ice covering the roads and sidewalks. All of the treadmill running had started to take a toll, though - instead of giving me energy, relieving stress, and making me happy, I'd started to dread my runs, and as I ran I'd always be looking to the end when I could finally stop. But this weekend it was warm enough and I decided that I needed to brave the icy roads. But first let's start with dinner on Friday night.

Pat and I had plans to go out on Friday night. I was really looking forward to it because its been a while since we've had a "date night" out just the two of us. I picked a great place to have dinner and another place to go for dessert and planned to surprise him...

We went to Surf for dinner. This is a fresh seafood restaurant in Nashua that we've been wanting to try for a while. As usual, I looked at the menu earlier in the day and had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to order, though I think I would have been happy with anything. The menu is very creative and full of things I wanted to try.

The pictures of dinner are pretty dark - I think Pat was very a little embarrassed that I was taking pictures of my food in such a nice restaurant, so I had to be as inconspicuous as possible.

We started with two appetizers. The first was the Fried Tomato and Crispy Bacon Salad (served over greens with creamy cracked pepper Parmesan dressing). They separated our salads onto two plates for us, so this was mine.

We also got the Pan Sauteed Sea Scallops which were served with pancetta bacon, roasted red peppers, white wine, olives, cream and butter on grilled ciabatta.

Both of these dishes were so good! The salad was amazing - the creamy cracked pepper Parmesan dressing was perfect with the bacon and fried tomatoes. I'm normally not much of a dressing person, but this was certainly worth having. The scallops were delicious and so fresh, and the topping was great. I decided to eat mine without the ciabatta, I thought it distracted from the other flavors.

For my entree I ordered the Sesame Seared Tuna, which was served over wasabi mashed potatoes with tempura carrots, maple soy drizzle and scallion oil.

Everything about this dish was perfect! The tuna was amazing, the wasabi mashed potatoes were delicious on their own, but especially when combined with the tuna, and the carrot tempura was light and irresistible. This was probably one of the best meals I've ever had, and now I'm dying to recreate it at home (well at least the tuna and potatoes, probably not the tempura).

Pat ordered the Chili-Lime Glazed Swordfish, which was served with warm noodles in peanut sauce and Korean cucumber salad. Normally Pat isn't a fan of peanut sauce, but this was a light and delicate sauce that complimented the chili and lime flavors of the swordfish perfectly.

We were both really happy with our meals, and had leftovers to bring home. The dessert menu was presented to us (and looked delicious), but we had plans to go across the street to an Italian place for cappuccinos and cannolis, so we declined. We had a great time at Surf - the food and service were wonderful, and the decor of the restaurant was beautiful and very relaxing - large paintings of waves and fish covered the walls. There was also a man playing the piano in the corner throughout dinner, which was very nice. I tried to be sneaky and took a picture of him from outside after we left, but I'm pretty sure he still saw me.

We ran across the street for dessert, only to find that the Italian restaurant closes at 9:30 on Fridays. So early!! So then we proceeded to the next logical place...McDonald's. Is that what you would have guessed? It was funny to end such a nice meal at the drive-thru, but McDonald's does have some good soft serve, which I promptly loaded with gummy bears and Reese's pieces.

I'd say I did a pretty good job of carbo-loading for my Saturday morning run!

Okay, now back to the excitement of running outside! So I'd decided that I really couldn't do another long run on the treadmill. It was a warmer day than what we've had lately (26 degrees when I left for my run) and the roads were the clearest I'd seen in a while. I piled on a pair of Under Armour spandex pants, two long-sleeved technical shirts, a Polartek vest, my new North Face running jacket, a hat and gloves and I was off. 

It felt so good to be running outside, in the fresh air, and actually moving (instead of running continuously on a belt in the gym). I started out on the sidewalks (since the roads are narrower with all of the snow) but had to move to the roads after about a mile. Most of the sidewalks looked like this, and I wasn't in the mood to fall on my face:

GU right now, and candy does a great job of delivering sugar to your body quickly).

I finished the 13.1 slowly - this is probably one of my slowest training runs, but that didn't bother me at all. I was just so happy to have run outside and feel good while doing it. 

When I got home I drank a large glass of chocolate milk and opened a package that arrived from my mom. Valentine's candy! 

Thanks, Mom!

After a few pieces of toffee, I spent some quality time with my foam roller. Foam rolling is very good for you, both before and after a hard workout (I usually only do it after, if you're doing it before - be sure to warm up first). Foam rolling helps aid in muscle recovery by breaking down lactic acid build up in muscles, and also helps prevent future injury. IT band (the muscle that runs along your outer thigh from your hip to your knee) issues are common among runners, and this has certain helped me with my issues in the past.

Then I made myself a nice big salad which included a few handfuls of baby spinach, 1 red bell pepper, 1 orange, 1/2 cucumber, and 1 large carrot.

I also had leftovers from the night before (seared tuna can be reheated by spraying a pan with cooking spray and cooking on high heat for a couple minutes on each side).

(I know my presentation isn't nearly as nice as it was at Surf, but it still tasted amazing!).

So are you all thoroughly excited by my long run outside, my dinner at Surf, my huge salad and my Valentine's candy? If not, there's one more thing that might interest some of you.

That's right, pumpkin taffy! Pat's mom bought it for me and gave it to me on Sunday. I'd never heard of such a taffy! Since I love all things pumpkin, Anne thought of me when she saw this and picked it up. It is so delicious - they really got the pumpkin pie flavor exactly right! I'll have to get details about where this is made and sold.

Oh and I almost forgot...a new oatmeal creation! I made my usual oatmeal, and added a small spoonful each of peanut butter and strawberry jelly. Stir well and enjoy! I can tell that this is going to be a new favorite - the oatmeal makes the peanut butter taste extra creamy, and it is very filling!

I hope you all had wonderful, exciting, weekends!