Category Archives: Recipes

Treadmill Avoidance

Posted on October 28, 2010 | 12 comments

Yowza – it’s Thursday already? Seriously, where is the time going? And next week it will be November. That is just crazy.

I started yesterday off with a yummy and filling breakfast of oatmeal with banana and topped with brown sugar.

Lunch was pretty boring – just leftovers of my shell-less taco from the night before.

I Can’t Let Go…
It was such a dreary day yesterday, that I had planned on heading to the gym after work to run a few miles on the treadmill, but part of me just wasn’t ready to take that step indoors yet. So I’m going to try to run outside tonight instead. I want to take advantage of every last second of outdoor running before darkness, cold and snow force me inside more often. I honestly can’t quite understand how I trained for a May marathon from Jan-March of last year in the cold and snow. I guess I must have just sucked it up and bundled up or made nice with the treadmill.

How are you coping with the shorter days and the loss of daylight for outdoor running?

As you can tell, I am not welcoming it with open arms.

When I got home after work, I set to making us some dinner. We had some mushrooms in the fridge that were begging to be used. So I came up with this creation…

Sautéed mushrooms, carrots and broccoli with chicken in a butter, white wine, garlic and lemon sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. This was pretty yummy and I made enough to have some leftovers for today.

On an unbelieveable side note: I was attacked by a mosquito again last night. I woke up this morning with 5 bites on my left arm. I guess I should be relieved they aren’t on my face. I know it’s happening because our screens in our windows are soo bad and there are gaps that allow mosquitos to squeeze through. It’s sad to say this, but I am actually really excited for it to get cold so we can close the window. Why is the mosquito army attacking me?!! I found the culprit on the wall this morning after I showered and made Hubby kill it. But I am seriously contemplating buying Skin So Soft and using it as a moisturizer at night. 😦  And I’m praying for a more restful night tonight.

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Running Sans iPod and Boston Registrant

Posted on October 27, 2010 | 11 comments

Good morning all – Happy Hump Day! What a dreary day out in NYC. Blah. I planned to head to the gym this morning and run, but that definitely did not happen, so the gym it is tonight after work.

Good news of the day: Guess what email I received yesterday?!! My official registration for the Boston Marathon!! They confirmed my qualifying time and then I checked myself out on their Registrant Page.

Sorry – I blocked out my last name, in case there are any crazy stalkers out there.

After receiving my Boston confirmation, yesterday turned into a pretty busy day, as it seems all days are now. But I managed to get out of work at 5 p.m. and get home early enough to go for a quick run outside before the rain started and it got too dark. I ran with my worn out and broken Garmy (his replacement band should be coming soon). Here are my stats:

Mile 1 – 8:17
Mile 2 – 8:25
Mile 3 – 8:38
Mile 4 – 8:35
.29 – 2:47

Total mileage – 4.29 in 36:44. Average page – 8:33 minute miles.

I felt pretty good on this run, like I was working hard, but not exhausted.

Sounds of Silence
I have a strange confession. I haven’t run with my iPod since before the Pocono Marathon in May. It started out that I just forgot it once or twice and then suddenly, I was just never bringing it. And to be quite honest – I don’t really miss it. I know – it’s totally weird. But when I start getting back into longer weekend runs, I will probably grab it again. For these short 3 – 6 miles runs over the past few months, I haven’t felt the need. I feel like without it, I’m more in tune to what’s happening around me. More aware of the people and the scenery.

Do you ever ditch you iPod once in a while when you run?

I think it’s a great thing to try every now and then. I also feel like I’m more aware of my breathing and exertion in general. It just seems to make for a more cognizant run overall. But – that is just my opinion. I know lots of people who would never dream of running sans iPod.

After my run, I stretched a bit and then headed inside to make some dinner. I wanted to use up a can of beans that had been lingering in the cupboard, and with us still being ovenless, the choices were limited. Hence, I had what appears to be a taco, without the taco shell.

Brown rice with beans and corn, topped with lettuce and salsa. My shell-less taco was pretty decent, albeit probably a bit strange to most people.  

I then managed to watch a bit of Glee and The Biggest Loser before passing out quite early. That’s my MO as of late. I think the change of the season is draining me, along with the weird weather. It’s super warm here right now and I switch between sweating and feeling chilly. It’s pretty frustrating.

Have a great day all!

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No Excuses Run and Rice Pudding

Posted on September 21, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning everyone – happy Tuesday. We made it past dreaded Monday. My day was pretty busy yesterday, plus I had my guest post on Legally Fit. I was at an offsite meeting from about noon until 5 p.m. yesterday. By the time I got home, I definitely did not want to run.

I had some good reasons to scrap the whole running idea – I was exhausted from my hectic day, I hadn’t had a good lunch or much food throughout the day and I hadn’t hydrated well at all.

But then I decided those were all just excuses and I could manage a 4 mile run if I went at a slower pace and didn’t push it. No excuses!!

So I ran along the East River and attempted to use Garmy, but he wasn’t locating satellites quick enough and I was too impatient to wait. So I ran what I know to be about four miles, but I have no clue on time. And I felt so much better after I did my run. I was so happy I didn’t blow it off.

How do you get yourself motivated to run or exercise after a long and tiring day?

I was really just trying to remember the post-run relief and how great I would feel. I knew I would be so happy if I got out there and so mad at myself if I didn’t.

After my run, I made some soup for my still-sick Hubby and then decided to join him and had some soup myself. Then our evening was spent flipping back and forth from the football game to Dancing with the Stars. I’m not obsessed with the show, but I was interested.

I was also craving some kind of dessert. However, being that we still do not have an oven, I was limited by the options that can be made on a hot plate. I decided to make a Rice Pudding recipe from the Happy Herbivore website. It actually turned out pretty well. I only had skim milk, so I used that instead of non-dairy milk.

The final result…

It was totally yummy and made me very happy. I originally planned to go to bed early last night and get up super early and run this morning, but as usual, that did not happen. I may give it another shot on Thursday.

Today is another busy day. I’m in training all day and have a dinner date with a friend after work. I honestly don’t know where September went. Between vacation, travel, training and events, I feel like I’ve barely been around. And it’s true – I figured out yesterday that if I add it all up, I’ll only have spent about 8 days in the office in the month of September. Kind of crazy.

Anyway – have a good Tuesday all!!

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200 Posts and Half Marathon Training

Posted on September 16, 2010 | 9 comments

Yay, I’m finally hitting my 200th post. It sure took long enough. I used to be an everyday poster, but the past few months have lagged a bit. But I’ve reached 200 nonetheless!

I’ve seen other people do some fun stuff for their 200th post, but I can’t really think of anything cute or entertaining at the moment. So I will dedicate my 200th post to getting back into running. As I mentioned, I started off by running 3 miles on Monday night and, despite the consistent rain, it felt really good. My body missed it. And I think I had enough of a break where I’m truly ready to get back to it.

So on Tuesday, I drafted a half marathon training plan. Afterall, my half marathon is a very short 5 weeks away. And no, that’s not typically how long I would train for a half, but it’s all I’ve got so I’m making do and praying that my faint muscle memory from the Poconos Marathon may help get me through this. So here’s my schedule:

Yup – it’s pretty tough to see. Here’s the link to the Google spreadsheet. Basically my long Saturday runs will be 9, 11, 12, 8 and then 13.1 on race day. So essentially, I’m praying I can run 9 miles this weekend. 🙂 We’ll soon find out.

On Tuesday after work I forced myself to run a full 5 miles and boy did it hurt. I could not manage to run under a 9 minute mile. I have some major work to do.

After the tough run, I made a quick and easy dinner on the hot plate. Yes, we STILL do not have gas.

No real recipe on this one. I cooked the pasta and then made a sauce with mushrooms, grape tomatoes and peas using chicken broth, white wine, butter, a little lemon juice and some shredded cheese.

I thought it had a nice little kick and was very tasty and filling. I’ll end this post with a few things I learned while in Ireland…

  • “Cheers” can be used to say hello, goodbye and thank you.
  • Small, compact cars are the optimal choice
  • Always carry an umbrella, it can be sunny and bright one minute and downpour the next. And then be sunny and bright again.
  • If you don’t want to drink a full pint, simply ask for a “glass” of whatever beer you drink. It’s the same as a half pint. (I’m sure people already know that, but I never knew it.)
  • Many people in Ireland were greatly affected by 9/11. On numerous occasions, when people heard we were from NY they began talking about how saddened they were by 9/11 at great length.
  • An Irish breakfast typically includes a fried egg, bacon, sausage, a fried tomato and sometimes beans.
  • Blood pudding is sometimes included in an Irish breakfast and it consists of  a combination of animal blood, suet, grains, raisins or currants, and spices, which cause the resultant sausage to look either deep purple or black. It’s also not liquidy.
  • Potato pancakes are a surprisingly filling meal and quite delicious.
  • Ketchup tastes a little off in Ireland – a bit too tomatoey.
  • They love cream, butter and full milk…as well as ice cream.
  • In some of the bigger cities, the teenagers and college students were often very scantily clad on the weekend. It was kind of shocking.
  • Apparently, we witnessed a Gypsy wedding while we were there. We were visiting a church and watched as people filed in dressed like they were ready for Halloween. It was a sight to see.
  • When you “buy a round” with people, it means that however many people in your group, is the number of drinks you’ll be having. Ex. If you buy a round for 7 people. Then those 7 people will buy a round back. There is no way of getting out of this. The point: think carefully about the size of your group before buying a round. 🙂

I think that’s all I can come up with for now. I’m already getting nostalgic about our trip and can’t believe it’s really over already. Anyway – have a good Thursday!!

9 Comments

Posted in Recipes, Running, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacation

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Looking Forward to the Weekend

Posted on August 12, 2010 | 10 comments

Happy Thursday all – we are officially more than halfway through the week and I am pumped about it! I am looking forward to the weekend for a few reasons:

1. Hubby and I will likely go see Inception.
2. I think it will be a relaxing weekend.
3. I’ll probably finish my book “The Hour I First Believed” and get to start “Once a Runner.
4. I’m going to try to do a longish run (9-10 miles).

I’m hoping that maybe I will start “Once a Runner” before my run on Saturday morning, so it will inspire me a bit to get moving. This has been the longest and most difficult running slump I’ve had in a while. I’m also hoping that maybe the cooler weather forecasted for this weekend will also put me in the right spirit to run. I hate running in the heat.

What are your plans for the weekend ahead?

So I realized yesterday that someone (other than just me) has been particularly absent from my blog lately: Mr. Murphy! Here he is just about falling off his window perch. He’s really big.

He loves to lounge on his window perch and stalk the birdies outside. I woke him up when I took this picture and he proceeded to give me the stink eye…

In other cat news, Hubby tortured me last night by turning on a Hoarders show about animals! I started getting really upset. This one woman had 219 cats living in her house and a lot of them were very unhealthy. Her house was actually pretty much a shelter and she thought she was helping these poor animals, but they weren’t getting the medical attention they needed. At the end of the show, the Humane Society convinced her to give a lot of them up — they still allowed her to keep 85 cats in her home though.

While watching the sad hoarders show, I made these No-bake Protein Bars from this recipe.

My bars had:

1/2 Ripe Banana 
1.5 cup Oats
1/2 cup Shredded Sweetened (couldn’t find unsweetened) Coconut 
1/2 cup Raisins 
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Agave Nectar 
3/4 cup Peanut Butter  
2 scoops of Protein Powder

I then placed them in the freezer for 2 1/2 hours. I snacked on one before bed and brought one to work with me today. I’m also thinking about fueling with a bar before my weekend run.

Some interesting health news in the headlines lately:

Can Exercise Moderate Anger?

4 surprising reasons women can’t lose weight

Why Getting Old Means Drinking Less – this explains my pathetic tolerance level this past week. 🙂

Obesity linked to lower sperm count in young men

What do food allergy labels really mean?

Have a good day everyone – we’re soo close to Friday!!

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Bookworm & A Break in the Heat

Posted on June 30, 2010 | 2 comments

Hello all – happy hump day! Except today really isn’t my hump day because I have Friday off! Yay! So today is really like my Thursday.

How was everyone’s Tuesday? Mine was pretty decent. It wasn’t as hot as I expected it to be – thank goodness. I started off my day with some oatmeal – no pic.

Lunch turned out to be kind of a mish-mash of things. Triscuits with Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb cheese with a side of carrots.

It’s a little random, but it worked. Sometimes I crave a bunch of little things for lunch, rather than a sandwich or other typical lunch items.

What is your strangest or most interesting lunch choice?

In the afternoon I snacked on a Chobani, an apple and a few of these bad boys.

After work, although it wasn’t sweltering, I decided I still preferred to hit the gym for an “easier” run. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill in 33:55. After my run, I did some ab work and arm work and then headed home.

I had some remaining few grape tomatoes in the fridge that were about to reach their peak, so I used them up in our dinner. Use them or lose them – right?!

Chicken with brown rice, grape tomatoes and corn. For flavoring, I used some chicken stock, lemon and a sprinkle of shredded cheese. It was a very enjoyable meal. 🙂

After dinner I literally buried my nose in my new book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I am not a fast reader at all. I think I take longer than most people, but I seem to be flying through this one. The book is almost 600 pages and I’m about 150 pages in at this point. I have a feeling that I’m going to be really happy that there are follow-ups to this book.

So when I left this house this morning, it was a brisk  and beautiful 68 degrees outside. Woohoo! It was lovely. I’m going to try to do a 6+ mile run tonight to take advantage of the weather and feel a bit more prepared for the 15k next weekend. Eeks – I can’t believe how fast it snuck up on me!

Have a great Wednesday all!

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Heading Back to the Mill

Posted on June 29, 2010 | 9 comments

Good morning all – happy Tuesday. I’m super excited because I have a short week this week and next week! I am looking forward to a nice long weekend.

So we made it through Monday. I started off my day yesterday with some plan old Kashi Heart to Heart cereal for breakfast (no pics).

The morning was busy and flew by and then I grabbed a nice big salad for lunch.

Romaine lettuce, carrots, cheddar cheese, dried cranberries, almonds and chick peas with balsamic vinaigrette. My afternoon snack was a Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal mixed in.

So yesterday I had planned to get up early and run outside. Well, as past efforts have shown, I just don’t do well with getting up early to run. So yesterday I didn’t end up running. 😦 And then today I didn’t get up either. However, then I remembered my other option – the gym! So tonight I plan to run 4-5 miles on the good old treadmill. I get so into the groove of running outside, that I think I totally forget that the treadmill is still an option. So off to the mill I go tonight.

Do you ever choose the treadmill option in the summer when temperatures spike?

I love running outside and will usually always choose that option, but I think I need a change of pace as well. It might be good to switch it up a bit.

After work yesterday, I headed home, started a new book and then made some dinner.

That would be some baked tilapia with butter, lemon, seasoning, crushed garlic and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, topped with grape tomatoes. I actually really liked the tomatoes baked on top. I am starting to like our tilapia and fish dinners more and more. We also had a side of broccoli with a sprinkle of cheese.

As an FYI, the newest book I’m reading is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I finished Olive Kitteridge this past weekend and will have a review posted before this next weekend.

Health & Interesting Stuff in the News

In Summer’s Heat, Watch What You Drink: I like this tip: “To calculate how much water you need each day, multiply your weight in pounds by 0.08; the result is your requirement in eight-ounce cups.”

Teens who snack may weigh less – This is another study that really doesn’t say much in my opinion. It’s a broad statement to say that teens who snack weigh less because there are so many factors to consider: what they snack on (healthy vs. junk food); activity level; snack size, etc.

Exercise: Bicycling to Keep Off Extra Pounds – I wish I was a bike rider, but it’s just never been my thing. Kudos to those who bike though – it’s obviously good for you!

That’s all for today folks! Hope you have a great Tuesday – stay cool!

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A Running Rut

Posted on June 16, 2010 | 12 comments

Good morning all! I’m back and a little less stressed finally. The big meeting on Monday went very well. And then yesterday was a busy day full of follow-up stuff related to it.

But I did get out for a run last night, although it was kind of pathetic. I only ran 3.5 miles and not at a very fast pace. I pretty much feel like I am starting at square one with training for the Boilermaker on July 11th. Plus, I’m signed up for a 5-mile run this Sunday and I have a feeling it’s going to be tough for me.

What I thought might help inspire me and get me back into running mode a bit was to review some of my marathon training runs I did from Jan – April.

January

February

March

April

May

So I know that totally just bored you, but it was a good exercise for me. We all have ups and downs with running. It really helps me to see the progression of my training, see that it wasn’t perfect, that I had some tough spots and recognize that this little struggle I’m having right now will also pass.

I’m a runner and I think I’ll always be a runner, but I need to understand that I’m not always going to be the most motivated runner or always have awesome runs. I may go through ups and downs, but that’s okay.

So – I’m taking my latest stinky runs in stride (no pun intended) and am going to run however I feel comfortable and not worry too much about measuring myself against my previous times or feelings, or other people.

Do you ever get in running ruts? How do you deal?

Ok – moving on! There seems to a consistent color scheme to my foods lately.  This weekend I had some delicious fruit – kiwi and apricot.

And then for dinner last night, I made this:

Do you see the green and orange them? A little weird.

This recipe was simple – brown rice cooked in water and chicken broth. Chicken with cooked veggies, including corn, peas and carrots. Then I sprinkled some shredded cheddar cheese into the pan and cooked it all together a little while longer to make it creamy. One of my favorite easy recipes!

I think I’m taking tonight off from running, especially since rain appear imminent. And I promise that a book review for Cutting for Stone is coming – I swear!!

Have a good hump day all!

12 Comments

Posted in Recipes, Running, Uncategorized

Lessen the Stress!

Posted on June 13, 2010 | 7 comments

Happy Sunday afternoon! How is it Sunday already? Sorry I’ve been MIA for a few days, but the work stress reached a new level on Thursday and Friday. Both days are sort of a blur because I was going, going, going all day, and ended up working late both nights. This weekend has been me catching up on some much needed rest and house-work.

I don’t have any new runs to report. I plan to get back into the swing after this big meeting on Monday.

As far as eats, I made a different dinner on Wednesday night that I liked, but Hubby did not.

Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, chicken sausage, and apple in a white wine, lemon and butter sauce. Like I said, I thought it was good, but Hubby did not.

On Thursday night, I finished Cutting for Stone and it was amazing! Seriously, it was so good. I was crying hysterically for the last 100 pages though – just a warning. The glass of red wine that I had in conjunction with finishing it probably increased the waterworks. I hope to have a review coming soon.

Friday was work and more work and then Saturday was some much-needed rest. I also whipped up a few cookies from my family’s “Bump Cookie” recipe. I halved the recipe below:

Bump  Cookies

1 stick of butter
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of milk

Mix together in a saucepan over moderate heat.  Once it comes to a boil, boil for approx 2 1/2 minutes.  Take saucepan off the burner, add 3 cups of Quick Oats and 5 Tablespoons of cocoa and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Stir quickly until is combined and starts to come together.  Quickly drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper to cool and set.

These cookies get their name from my childhood – whenever my aunt would make these, I’d call them “bump cookies” because they looked so bumpy. The name stuck. They aren’t the healthiest cookies, but they are really good.

My last noteworthy eat from the weekend was my breakfast this morning, which really hit the spot. I haven’t been craving oatmeal lately, but today I was and this banana and peanut butter bowl was delish.

Yummy and I loved the light.

The rest of today is cleaning up the apartment a bit, making some steak for dinner and then watching True Blood at 9 p.m.!! I’m soo excited.

Tomorrow is going to be crazy hectic, so I likely won’t be posting. But then Tuesday will be back to normalcy and hopefully back to me running a lot more. Also, my friend Lauren starts her marathon training tomorrow! I’m excited for her and am hoping that her training will inspire me to run more as well.

How was your weekend?!!

7 Comments

Posted in Books, Dessert, Recipes, Uncategorized

Stuff Those Peppers!

Posted on June 4, 2010 | 3 comments

Good morning all – happy Friday!! I totally overslept today and was running around like a mad woman. Typically Murphy wakes me up every morning around 5:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m., so oversleeping is usually pretty tough to do. Today for some reason, the little bugger decided to leave me alone and let me sleep in peace. And I certainly did – 45 minutes past my normal waking time. Yikes!!

First – a quick recap of yesterday’s eats, which includes a fun new recipe I tried!

For breakfast I reverted back to the hot stuff – oatmeal with banana, a splash of almond milk and brown sugar sprinkled on top.

For lunch I grabbed a quick salad with romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, carrots, walnuts, dried cranberries and chick peas. But I forgot to document it. Afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt and then this…

I know – so bad. I bought these for the Yankee game we went to earlier this week and then never ate them. I was having a sugar craving and was a little bit stressed at work, so this was definitely some stress eating. Boo!

But then my dinner completely brought my spirits back up!

Mmm I made stuffed peppers for the first time! I wanted to use red peppers, but the selection available at my nearest grocer was appalling and I didn’t feel like traipsing all around. Green peppers worked just as well.

Here is the recipe, adapted from CookingLight.com’s recipe search.

Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 medium bell peppers (recipe called for four, but I made three and adjusted the ingredient amounts to fit), tops removed and reserved, and seeds removed
  • 1  tablespoon  olive oil
  • 1  yellow onion, diced
  • 1  large carrot, peeled and diced
  • 2  cloves garlic, minced
  • 8  ounces  lean (90 percent) ground beef
  • 1  teaspoon  salt
  • 1  teaspoon  pepper
  • 1  (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup  cooked brown rice
  • 3/4  cup  grated Monterey Jack

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add peppers and pepper tops and cook until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove peppers from water and invert to drain fully.

Make filling: Warm olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add carrot and garlic and continue cooking until vegetables are just softened, 4 minutes longer. Add beef, salt and pepper and cook, breaking up large chunks, until meat is no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes and rice and cook 5 minutes longer. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese.

Fill peppers with meat mixture, dividing evenly. Sprinkle mixture with remaining cheese and top with pepper lid. Bake until cheese is melted and peppers are heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.
 
I made two stuffed peppers for hubby and one for myself. Hubby gave them his seal of approval, but also said it was way too much food for him.

Awesome dinner! The rest of my night was cleaning up my dinner mess, vacuuming, watching a little bit of So You Think You Can Dance and then reading more of Cutting for Stone. It’s a really good book so far – I’m about 300 pages into it and I’m engrossed. I still have about another 200 pages to go, so I probably won’t have a review up this weekend, but hopefully by next weekend. Then it will be time for me to choose my next book and I’m torn between 1) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or 2) Olive Kitteridge.

Anyone recommend one over the other or read either of these?

I might have to read Olive first because it’s my mom’s book and she needs to pass it along.

What’s on your summer “to read” list? Any great suggestions?!

Ok – well I hope everyone has a great weekend. We are visiting friends who had a baby about two months ago and we haven’t had a chance to meet him yet. I’m also hoping to maybe get in a short and easy run at some point. My darn toe is still hurting, but I just can’t sit around anymore!!

Have a great weekend!! 🙂

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Posted in Books, Recipes, Uncategorized