Eat, Read, Run

More Curry Please!

Posted on November 19, 2009 | 5 comments

It’s Thursday – yay! Before I get to today, here’s the end of yesterday. After work yesterday, I hit up the gym and this was my workout:

4 miles in 35:35
75 crunches
25 leg lowers
50 (25 on each side) twist crunches
Arms: 5 pound weights – 2 reps of 15 biceps, two reps of 15 shoulder press, 2 reps of 15 tricep kick-backs
15 squats
15 lunges

Then I came home and found this:

Bill is taking some time off and heading up to his parent’s house and I won’t see him until Thanksgiving! He also took Murphy up with him, so the house is super quiet. Very strange. So sweet of him to leave me a nice gift. Love you hubby!

I was so hungry after the gym that I instinctively grabbed one of the Workout Cookies I made Sunday from Tina’s recipe. I just couldn’t wait for dinner to be ready. And I didn’t remember to take a pic until it was almost gone – I was devouring it.

How do you stop from snacking too much before dinner’s ready? Do you have a light snack that holds you over, do you drink tea, etc.?

For dinner, I made a recipe from Cooking Light. It’s old – from 1997, but the curry idea drew me in after my Indian dinner last month with Katie.

Do you have a favorite curry dish?

Curried Sweet Potato Apple Pilaf

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 cup water
2/3 cup diced peeled sweet potato
1 cup cubed peeled Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons currants
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in rice; sauté 1 minute. Add water and sweet potato; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed. Stir in apple and remaining ingredients; cover and simmer 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

My Modifications: no currants (the grocery store I went to didn’t have any and I was too lazy to go elsewhere), instead of a granny smith apple I used a Gala apple, and I used brown rice instead of long grain wild (we already had some in the house).

It was gooooood! I actually think my apple substitution worked really well – it went perfectly with the curry and sweet potato. I held back a bit on the curry, (having not cooked too much with it), but next time I’d add a bit more.

After dinner I treated myself to two squares of chocolate – yum!!

It was a quiet night in the house with my boys gone. And this morning was silent as well. Usually Murphy is running around trying to get me to play with him and Bill is in the kitchen making coffee and his breakfast. So I made my breakfast of a multi-grain English muffin with peanut butter and banana in solitude.

Thank goodness it’s Thursday! I am ready for this week to be over and for the fun to begin upstate. Tomorrow night I have a dinner date with two lovely ladies, Saturday is Kelly’s bridal shower, and then Saturday night a bunch of us girls are going to see New Moon. It should be interesting – I fully expect to be surrounded by teenage girls.

Anyway – here was my lunch for today: veggies (carrots, green pepper and cucumber) with balsamic vinegar, honey Greek yogurt with oats, and a clementine.

I’m hoping to go for a nice run outside with my co-worker after work (if the rain holds off) and so my afternoon snack is pretty decent. Triscuits with Lite Original Flavor Laughing Cow Cheese and a Workout Cookie.

As you may have noticed, I am not trying the “Vegan Blogger for a Day” challenge, organized by two other bloggers (Katy and Michelle), but I fully support the idea. Maybe next year I’ll give it a shot!

Are you participating in Vegan Blogger for a Day? How’s it going?

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Posted in Uncategorized

A Bloggy Dinner in the City

Posted on November 18, 2009 | 14 comments

You know the drill – it’s Wednesday, but my Tuesday night recap comes first. After work last night, I headed to Candle Cafe on the UES to meet up with Megan and Chelsea, two other local bloggers, and Darien and Courtney – local blog readers! I’m constantly reading Megan and Chelsea’s sites for interesting recipes and running tips.

It was so nice to get together with these welcoming and interesting ladies. I really enjoyed my meal: the Ginger-Miso Stir Fry. And everyone elses’ dinner looked and smelled amazing as well. Here’s my dinner and the two other bloggies snapping away!

Aren’t we so cute?!

(This photo courtesy of Megan – thank you!)

Our convo was all over the place: food, running, blogging, reading blogs, restaurants in the city, etc. It was nice to hear everyone’s perspectives and finally meet Megan and Chelsea in person. Hopefully we can all do it again soon and maybe even plan a run in the near future!

I left our dinner party pretty full and tired. I headed home and watched the hubby pack for his trip to Utica and then headed to bed early. I can’t believe Thanksgiving is almost here… as is Bill’s Birthday!!

This morning’s breakfast was oatmeal with FlaxPlus Granola, pumpkin butter and blueberries.

Lunch was leftovers from the Sunday night (it was time to finish them up): rice and beans with onion and corn. It actually really hit the spot. I also had some Greek yogurt (honey flavor) with oats. I’ve never tried the honey flavor before (I don’t know why), but the hubby picked it up for me and so I gave it a whirl. Pretty tasty.

Snacks for the afternoon will be carrots, two clementines and probably a few chippers.

I’m hitting up the gym tonight to add some POTM miles to my list and to train for the Turkey Trot, which is not so far away! Dreaded treadmill here I come!!

Happy to see this headline: USDA Backs Rewarding Schools Serving Healthy Food

Wary of this headline: New U.S. Guidelines: Routine Mammograms Start at 50 (instead of 40)

14 Comments

Posted in Bloggers, Restaurants, Uncategorized

To Eat Meat or Not to Eat Meat…

Posted on November 17, 2009 | 7 comments

Happy Tuesday! But first let me recap my Monday night. I had my dinner last night at the office before heading to the book reading. Dinner was leftover rice and beans.

Event: Eating Animals Book Reading at Barnes & Noble
Last night, I went with my co-worker and one of her friends to this book reading in Union Square. I have to say, the author Jonathan Safran Foer was extremely articulate, engaging and passionate. It was one of the best readings I’ve gone to so far.

I was a little nervous that the reading/discussion would be all about the slaughterhouses and cruelty. I was relieved when Foer specifically veered away from the area. Instead, he talked a lot about how the meat industry is a very closed-off and untouchable business. He said the most disturbing thing he encountered during his research was that we buy these meat products, ingest them, give them to our children, and yet we have no idea how they are made and can’t find out if we tried.

Foer wrote to Dyson and other meat producers and asked for admittance to their factories and he never so much as received a response. It’s really scary to think that we are eating this food and we have no idea what’s in it! He talked about the fact that the meat industry actually makes more money by producing “sick” animals – animals injected with antibiotics and hormones. And then we eat these animals and everything in their bodies.

He actually really didn’t focus on the “humanitarian” ideals that lead many people to become vegetarians – not wanting to hurt/kill animals. According Foer, that’s not the question we should be asking at this point. The meat industry and its issues were more prominent focuses by far. And he brought up the thing the gets me most – how these antibiotics and chemicals are being ingested and affecting humans in so many ways: girls going through puberty at an earlier age, increase in issues with pregnancies (miscarriages), and much more.

Here are a few pics from the event (I didn’t have my Rebel with me):

I left right after the discussion and apparently missed out on seeing Natalie Portman! She was in the front row. Oh well – maybe at the next book reading I’ll run into her.

Sorry for the long recap, but this event really got me thinking. What do you think? Do you eat meat, and if so, does the lack of transparency in the meat industry scare you? Would you or have you considered going vegetarian? Do you buy local non-factory-farmed, grass-fed meat – where?

After the reading I headed home and was still a little hungry despite my earlier dinner. I snacked on some popcorn (with a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top) and a few raisins (no pic).

Then I headed off to read some more Copperfield before bed (I broke 500 pgs!).

Breakfast this morning was just what I was craving: a multi-grain English muffin with peanut butter and banana. Yum!

I set my alarm for 5:15 a.m. because I was going to get up and do some pilates and that never happened. I am definitely not a morning person. Bill always laughs at me when I do this, but it’s frustrating.

What are your tricks or tips for actually getting up in the morning to work out?

Lunch today was a mix: a workout cookie (I know – I didn’t workout today!) and Greek yogurt with oats.

My afternoon snack will be walnuts and raisins and carrots:

Tonight a few local bloggers are getting together for a nice little dinner at a place in my neighborhood that I’ve wanted to try. Can’t wait!

7 Comments

Posted in Bloggers, Books, Uncategorized

Master Murphy = Murky Monday Morning

Posted on November 16, 2009 | 8 comments

It’s Monday (ugh), but first I have to recap Sunday night. I left off after my beautiful run. I wish every weekend could be as nice and cooperate with my plans.

After my run I started cleaning like c-r-a-z-y. The apartment was gross. I stopped after a little bit to have a snack. Triscuits with Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss and two pickles. I LUV pickles.

Cleaning ensued for way too a LONG time. Murphy is terrified of the vacuum cleaner, so he was not a happy camper. But finally, I finished around 4:00 and read a few blogs. Tina’s adapted Workout Cookies sounded divine, so I decide to make them. I used bigger muffin tins and filled them a bit more, so it only made six.

I tried one and it was really good. And then I’m ashamed to say… I ate another one! I know – probably too much for one day, but I felt my long and great run earlier entitled me to a treat.

I was pretty full after that, but knew that I needed to have a “real” dinner a little later. I needed something quick, so I made rice and beans. I cooked the rice with some chicken (bouillon cube) flavoring, corn and onions. Toward the end I added in the beans. We had “pink beans” in the cupboard, which I must have bought because they sounded pretty. They weren’t too bad – added a different flavor to the rice.

After that, I was very full. The remainder of my night was watching some football, reading and missing my hubby – who was away again this weekend.

Are you a “three square meals a day” eater?

Do you eat/cook differently when your significant other isn’t around?

And so finally we come to Monday morning. UGH again! Murphy harassed me all night, so I’m very tired today. He was snuggling, purring, laying on me and then biting me all nite! Bill came home late and ended up sleeping on the couch because, and I quote, “Murphy was hogging my side.” Don’t move him or anything?! Let the little prince have his way.

Is your pet(s) allowed to sleep on the bed with you?

So I got up late and ended up having a lame-o breakfast of Kashi Cereal.

Lunch was sort of lame-o as well – as salad from a nearby cafe: lettuce, cheddar cheese, walnuts, craisins, peas and carrots. And some Greek yogurt.

My snack for the afternoon will be raspberries and blueberries. I usually have more, but I’m actually going to eat my dinner right before I leave work tonight because I’m going to a book reading/signing at 7:00 p.m. and I know I’ll be hungry before the end of it.

The book is Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer and the event is at Barnes and Noble in Union Square. I actually don’t have the book yet and I’m hoping the reading will help me decide whether to buy it or not. Here’s a little blurb from the synopsis:

“…Eating Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits-from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth-and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.”

I know he’s probably going to talk a lot about the slaughterhouses and all sorts of terrifying and depraved circumstances animals are raised in. We’ll see how I do. I’ve already been eating less meat, but I don’t think I could ever go entirely vegetarian.

A full recap of the event will come tomorrow! Hope the rest of your Monday is great.

8 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

A Great Weekend to Run

Posted on November 15, 2009 | 3 comments

It’s Sunday and I didn’t get any blogging in yesterday. But I did get something else in… a nice run!! I woke up to a light drizzle yesterday, but checked weather.com and it said no “real” rain was in the forecast until later on. Ever since marathon-training, I’m an eat-before-I-run-runner, so I had a multi-grain English muffin with peanut butter and banana before I headed out.

Then I went for my much-needed run. I did probably around 5 miles on the East River Esplanade. I tried to figure out the exact distance on mapmyrun, but the site doesn’t show the esplanade, so it’s hard to estimate. That’s why I really want a Garmin!! I ran what I guess to be 5 miles in 46 minutes, not my fastest, but not my slowest. Then I did some stretching afterwards.

About an hour later I was hungry again, so I had some Greek yogurt with Flax Plus Granola.

The rest of my afternoon consisted of two loads of laundry, a little boob tube and this (yes, I’m STILL reading it):

And I may have napped for 3o minutes by accident. Oh well! Then it was time to eat some food and get ready for my friend Alexondra’s apartment-warming party on the West Side. For dinner I finished up the lettuce and some veggies and fruit in the fridge: lettuce, cheddar cheese, apple, grape tomatoes, cucumber, walnuts, raisins – balsamic vinegar on top.

I’m a bad blogger – I forgot to bring my camera with me to the party! But I can tell you that her apartment is gorgeous – what a great find. And there was some tasty homemade humus which I nibbled on, along with a glass of red wine and 2 beers. Then I called it a night. I knew I wanted to get up and try to run again today.

Today’s weather was even better for a run! Again, I had some breakfast first: oatmeal with pumpkin butter, flax seed and blueberries.

Then I set out for Central Park – it was 60 degrees outside! It’s 1 mile from our apartment to Central Park, so that serves as my warm-up and cool down. If I hit the lights right I can fly there non-stop, which happened this morning and helped set my pace. Here are my times:

1 mile warm-up there: 9:13
6.1 mile CP Loop: 51:30
1 mile cool down home: 8:30

I calculated my average mile time for the loop and I was averaging an 8:26 minute mile! That’s almost exactly where I need to be to qualify for Boston. However, I felt like I was pushing it and was pretty tired after the loop, so I don’t know if I’d be able to sustain that speed for 26.2 miles. It’s something to work on.

I also feel like I tend to run faster in Central Park because there are soo many runners and I’m the kind of runner that doesn’t like to be behind people or too close to other runners, so it seems like I’m constantly focusing on passing the next runner.

Do you have certain running routes that push you to run faster or harder than others? What helps you increase your speed?

After my fantastic run I came home, stretched, showered and had a snack. Chobani Greek peach yogurt with more blueberries, apple, and Flax Plus Granola with Pumpkin. The pumpkin bread is finally gone – sadness!

Murphy also stretched a bit:

Now it’s time for the not fun part of my weekend…CLEANING. Our apartment needs a really good once over. So that is my plan for the remainder of the day. I’m thinking dinner tonight will have to be quick and easy, because I’ll probably be exhausted. Have a nice Sunday!

3 Comments

Posted in Books, Running, Uncategorized

It’s “Tricky”

Posted on November 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

Wow – how did it get to be Friday night already?! Let me start with yesterday’s workout after work. I tried another class at my gym called “Urban Rebounding.” Basically, you’re on a mini trampoline the whole time while doing other exercises, with and without weights. It was a really great workout.

My only mistake was taking this class the day after taking “Power Sculpting.” I was already hurting pretty bad and the Rebounding class just intensified the pain. It’s good pain though right?! I think I’m going to try to work at least one of these classes into my weekly schedule. It was nice to mix it up and “trick” my body.

The instructor talked about one thing I really need to work on and that’s continually changing up my routine. He reminded us that when you do the same exercise for too long, without any sort of variation, your body becomes used to it and finds ways to cut corners and do less work. Well my body was certainly stunned into submission the past two nights. Running tomorrow will feel like a breeze.

How do you switch it up and “trick” your body? Do you ever become bored with your routine – how do you spice things up?

I felt like I ate a ton of grains yesterday, so I was really craving some veggies for dinner. I had a HUGE (not kidding – out of control) salad for dinner. It was soo big, I had to put it in a giant plastic bowl, which doesn’t look pretty, but served its purpose. My salad contained: lettuce, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, cheddar cheese, raisins and walnuts with balsamic drizzled over top.

Lovely plastic bowl right? And notice the Boilermaker plug (glass)?

For dessert I mixed a ton of stuff thrown together: pumpkin bread, flax plus granola with pumpkin, pumpkin butter (yay I finally found some!) and blueberries. Obviously the theme was pumpkin. It was so yummy, but not so pretty.

This morning I awoke in pain (literally I was groaning) and decided that more pumpkin would surely help. Hence, my breakfast of oatmeal, flax plus granola with pumpkin, bananas and… pumpkin butter!! MMMMM!

When I got to work I was pleasantly surprised when I remembered we were having a “Health Fair” today! Hurray. Unfortunately, there wasn’t all that much health-related stuff going on. A few gyms touting their discounts, local banks trying to get you to switch to them, and two people giving massages. Slightly disappointed. But then……. we found the smoothy station!! I had this delicious banana and mango smoothy made with low-fat yogurt. I thoroughly enjoyed it – to the point where I got brain freeze from drinking it too fast.

The fun for the day was not over yet! Shortly after the fair, one of my old co-workers (who happens to work right across the street) emailed to ask if I wanted to grab lunch. I was planning on popping out for a salad, so I said yes! We decided to hit up Chipotle. I had a yummy chicken burrito bowl with: chicken, rice, black beans, pico de gallo, cheese and a tiny bit of sour cream. The best thing about Chipotle is that it’s a CLEAN FOOD eatery. And I don’t mean they mop the floors often. What I mean is that Chipotle uses “unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal” ingredients. Their motto is “food with integrity.” And for that, they are a good choice in my book.

That lunch sustained me for a while – but I couldn’t finish all of it. So much food. Later in the afternoon I had some Greek yogurt (pineapple flavor – my fave) with oats and it was just what I wanted.

And then miraculously it was the end of the day! Once I got home, I planned to make an omelet, but found my omelet skills are lacking (Bill usually makes them) and instead ended up with scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, grape tomatoes and green pepper. I added a side of salsa for dipping and a glass of wine and my meal was complete.

Now it’s time for me to relax, drink my wine, maybe catch up on The Soup and a few other shows, and call it an early night. Sometimes Fridays are the best! Enjoy your night.

A Satisfactory Soreness

Posted on November 12, 2009 | 2 comments

So last night after work I headed to the gym again, but this time not for a date with the dreaded treadmill. For the first time in the over two years I’ve belonged to my gym, I finally tried a class. What took me so long, right? I’d say probably fear and obstinacy. I loved taking classes (Body Pump!) at my gym back home and I was afraid and maybe even determined that no classes here would measure up.

For those of you wondering, I go to Boom Fitness on the Upper East Side. Boom is a small chain with only two locations, but I got a great deal on my membership with them when I signed up through GlobalFit (highly recommend). I think I pay about $54 a month – which in NYC is a pretty decent deal. And the gym is very nice – everything you need and very clean.

So last night I tried a class the instructor called “Power Sculpting” and the schedule called “Ripped.” Regardless of the actual name, it kicked my butt. I can’t even name all the exercises we did, but it was essentially a circuit class. We did lunges, squats, lifting, push-up, etc. each for one minute and then moved on to the next. These were some complicated moves too – not just your basic lunge. The instructor varied everything and made it into kind of a choreographed movement.

The Result: I am super sore today. I was even sore when I left the gym last night. I’m heading back to the gym tonight to try another class called “Urban Rebounding.” This class looks really fun – it’s done all on a mini trampoline!

What is your favorite class at the gym? Did you jump right into classes at your gym or did it take you a little while?

Here are some of my new-class tips:

Strike up a conversation with someone else in the class before it starts – ask them if they take this class a lot, do they like it, what’s their favorite part? When I did this, I found another woman who was also a newbie and felt less alone in my newness.
Introduce yourself to the instructor – make sure he/she knows you’re new. If the instructor doesn’t know you’re new, he/she will proceed full speed ahead and you may get lost. With newbies, instructors tend to help out and coach a little more.
Ask questions – ask them before, during and after the class. If you’re not sure you’re doing an exercise correctly, ask the instructor. Better that than risking injury.
Don’t be afraid to scale back – if you’re just learning the exercises and routine, you want to be sure you’re doing them correctly, rather than worrying about keeping speed with everyone else. Don’t rush it – learn it right or even do the modified version first.
Be prepared to be sore – new exercises will work different muscles than you’re used to. Expect that you will be sore the next day and feel gratified in knowing you’re challenging your body and reaching a new level of fitness.

After the gym, I came home and threw together an easy dinner. This idea actually came from my co-worker Reena. I recently bought some of Amy’s Butternut Squash Soup and Reena suggested adding some cheese to it to thicken it up and make it a sauce. That’s just what I did:

I added about 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese to it and let it sit for a while to thicken. Then poured it over some multi-grain pasta. I thought it was very good. The hubby winced when I told him it was butternut squash and told me he doesn’t like squash. I said it didn’t taste “squashy” and he should try it. He did so, reluctantly, and gave it “an okay.” Baby steps.

What do you think I had for dessert?

That was way too easy. The pumpkin bread is coming to an end though. It lasted us a while – thanks Mom!

The rest of the night was filled with reading (David Copperfield) and helping prep the hubby for some work-related things.

This morning’s breakfast was oatmeal with raisins, a teaspoon of agave, dollop of apple butter and flax seed. It was a yummy combo.

I’m happy that last night I finally brought home and cleaned my work water bottle. It was getting a little funky and now it’s nice and clean. I use a water bottle from my old office that was a give-a-way. It is BPA-free, but I’m considering making the switch to Stainless Steel. There just seems to be too many unknowns out there about what plastic is and is not safe. So now I’m looking for recommendations!

What water bottle do you use and/or recommend?

For lunch I had some leftover pasta from last night and Greek yogurt with oats.

Snacks for later this afternoon will include an apple and triscuits with laughing cow original swiss flavor cheese.

And lastly, some great blogger news – a big congratulations to Tina from Carrots ‘N’ Cake on her book deal! Tina and I went to college together and hers is the VERY FIRST blog I ever read/followed. If you haven’t checked it out (but come on, who hasn’t?!), you should! Her blog actually inspired me to start my blog. Her success is extremely well-deserved!

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Posted in Bloggers, Uncategorized

Dinner on the Fly, Biggest Loser Makes Me Cry

Posted on November 11, 2009 | 8 comments

Well, unfortunately my tentative plan to run outside with the hubby last night did not come to fruition. He’s been very stressed and busy with work lately and he ended up having to work later than he thought. So I was forced to hit the gym and treadmill after work. My workout consisted of:

4 miles. increasing speed from 6.3 to 7.2 (averaging a 9 min mile)
100 crunches
25 alternating leg lowers (for abs)
Extensive stretching

Check out this article in the NY Times about running in tough weather: Train the Mind to Run Right Through Winter. I don’t mind a little rain or snow, it’s the absence of light that holds me back. I think NYC is a pretty safe place, but I don’t like to test the limits more than necessary.

When I got home from the gym I began throwing together dinner. I wasn’t working from a recipe or anything, but it ended up turning out delicious! Here is my make-shift recipe for it:

Tomato and Goat Cheese Stuffed Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
10-12 grape tomatoes halved
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkle of Asiago cheese

Preparation
In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the balsamic vinegar, chopped onion and grape tomatoes. Set to the side.

Slice a pocket into each chicken breast starting in the thickest area of the breast. Fill the pocket with as much of the tomato, balsamic and onion mixture as will fit. Then insert 1 tablespoon of goat cheese into the pocket as well, spreading it out as much as possible.

Place the filled chicken breasts in greased baking pan. Drizzle lemon and balsamic vinegar over the top, salt and pepper lightly, and sprinkle a dash of Asiago cheese. Cook in the oven at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Remove and drizzle the remaining balsamic vinegar, onion and tomato mixture overtop. Serve over lettuce or rice. Here’s what it looked like:

The hubby gave it his seal of approval.

After dinner I had…can you guess?

More pumpkin bread!

The rest of my night consisted of watching The Biggest Loser and getting emotional (why do I always end up crying?!), and then reading David Copperfield for a bit (I’m 440 pages in – moving slowly but surely).

I have to say, I didn’t really want Shay to leave BL yet. And did I miss her “big reveal”? I only saw Daniel’s. My bet is that they are going to have her on again next season – just like they did with Daniel. I’ve never watched the show before this season, but for some reason I got hooked this time around. I think the transformations are amazing. I’d like Jillian to come train me for a day or two.

I got to bed later than I wanted, but had a very good night’s sleep (no kitty waking me up at 5 am!)

Breakfast this morning was a multi-grain English muffin topped with peanut butter and banana. I got a little eager and started eating it before I took a picture – notice the big chomp taken out:

Today’s lunch is a repeat of yesterday’s leftovers. Why did I have so many leftovers you may wonder? Well, the hubby took one look at the Quinoa dinner I was preparing on Monday night and promptly decided he would not eat it. He went out and got two slices of pizza for himself instead. Hence, I ended up with more leftovers than anticipated. Note to self: for the time-being, only make Quinoa dinners when Bill is not home for dinner. Hopefully he’ll come around later.

Snacks for the afternoon will be two clementines and a bag of raisins and walnuts:

It looks like I’ll be hitting the treadmill again tonight to up my mileage for Pile on the Miles. I’m praying this weekend is nice so I can do a nice long run in Central Park.

Are there any recipes you make that your significant other refuses to eat? How do you accommodate varying likes and dislikes in your household?

Am I the only one who cries when watching The Biggest Loser?

8 Comments

Posted in Books, Recipes, Running, Uncategorized

I Miss Sunlight

Posted on November 10, 2009 | 4 comments

I don’t know what I was thinking last night when I went to bed, but I set my alarm for 5:15 a.m. so I could get up and run outside. I checked the weather and it said that even at 6:00 a.m. it would be a balmy 55 degrees!

Alas, when the alarm went off, I looked at my windows and saw that it was still pitch black outside. Running along the East River in total darkness did not seem like a smart plan, so I snoozed (a lot).

So begins my frustration with the fall/winter months. It’s too dark to run outside in the morning and too dark to run outside after work. I guess I’ll be paying a visit to the dreaded treadmill tonight. Sadness.

How do you cope with seasonal barriers to running? Does anyone run during their lunch breaks? I’ve thought about that, but I doubt my co-workers would appreciate my sweatiness after. Any other creative ideas?

Breakfast today was oatmeal with almond butter, flax seed and a little agave.

After setting my alarm for 5:15 and snoozing until 6:15 (yes, I should have just reset it), I was pretty tired and needed a big coffee and water to revive me.

Lunch today is boring – leftovers from last night and yogurt.

When I packed my lunch this morning, I added a little Newman’s Light Balsamic dressing to this (I figured it might dry out a bit) and it definitely made it tastier.

Snacks this afternoon were an apple and the remainder of the rice chips. I can’t believe these chips lasted me a full week. I think they will be a definite re-purchase.

A running update…I’m trying to convince the hubby to go running with me after work. He could use a stress reliever and it’s so freaking nice outside! I’m hoping he’ll agree.

I think tonight for dinner I’ll make balsamic chicken with grape tomatoes and whatever else I can find in the fridge.

Fun Fact: Since my entrance into the blogging world, I’ve found quite a few other healthy living bloggers who reside in NYC. I’m hoping that Megan, Chelsea and I will be able to get together sometime in the near future… maybe even for a run! A mini blogger-fest of sorts!

4 Comments

Posted in Bloggers, Running, Uncategorized

Pumpkin Bread, Quinoa…and Chemicals?

Posted on November 9, 2009 | 3 comments

I needed to switch breakfast up a bit today, so instead of oatmeal I had a multi-grain English muffin with peanut butter and some light cranberry juice.

I have to say that it didn’t hold me over as well as oatmeal. I was hungry by 10:00 a.m.! Any ideas on what I could add to my English muffin to keep hunger at bay? I’m thinking of doing half peanut butter-topped and half jelly-topped next time. 🙂 And then later, maybe peanut butter and banana on top!

Morning snack was the usual granola bar (no pic). And then lunch consisted of: carrots, Greek yogurt with oats, and some of my mom’s delicious pumpkin bread!

The bread was pretty much like a dessert at lunch – good thing I only had one slice with me. Here is my mom’s recipe for this deliciousness!

Crumb Topped Pumpkin Loaf

Loaf:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin pie mix (not just canned pumpkin)
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Topping:
1/4 cup butter – cut up into small pieces
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 finely chopped walnuts

Loaf: Beat egg and sugars in large bowl. Beat in pumpkin, oil and vanilla till smooth. Add flour, baking powder and salt – stir just until moistened and it comes together. Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into 9x5x3 loaf pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Topping: Mix butter pieces, brown sugar and flour in small bowl until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake loaf at 350 for 50 to 55 minutes, until wooden toothpick tests clean. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes then turn out onto rack to cool completely.

I’m not a huge fan of Pumpkin Pie (I know – I’m crazy), but this bread is one of my favorites.

Afternoon snack: rice chips and two clementines

After work, I stopped at Jack Rabbit Sports to see if they had any good ear-warmers for cold-weather running. Then I popped into a nearby health food store that I just noticed a few weeks ago to browse their selections.

Dinner tonight was a new adventure: Quinoa!

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 can beans, drained
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
10 grape tomatoes, quartered
½ green bell pepper
½ cucumber
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
dash cayenne pepper
dash cumin

Directions:
Boil quinoa in a saucepan with 1.5 cups of water until all water is absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Combine all chopped veggies and drained beans with lemon juice, vinegar and spices. Toss with quinoa, add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

It was a decent meal – but not my absolute favorite. I used red wine vinegar because it was all I had, but I think if I make it again I would get some apple cider vinegar.

I’ll likely have another piece of pumpkin bread for dessert!

!Chemicals!
Here’s my last commentary of the night. I came upon this article today:
Chemicals in Our Food, and Bodies – an op-ed in the NY Times. Reading things like this scares me half to death!

“While most of the studies are on animals, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported last year that humans with higher levels of BPA in their blood have “an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities.” Another published study found that women with higher levels of BPA in their blood had more miscarriages.”

The fact that BPA is being found in so many things is even more terrifying. It started with water bottles, but this study says it’s also been found in many canned goods. Canned soups are sometimes my go-to “quick” food if I don’t have time to or feel like making a “real” dinner. BPA has already been banned in Canada.

What do you think? Have chemicals like BPA and MSG changed our bodies significantly? Should they be banned?

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Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized