Race Reflections

It’s been one week and I thought about my 5K race  a lot today.  Ironically, the weather this morning was as crappy as it was last Saturday, so I think that brought up some of my thoughts!  I was replaying the race in my mind again and trying to figure out what I could do to be better next time.  Yes, I think I just said…next time!  Oh no!  But, the more I think about it the more I see that I have to try it again.  I can’t got down like that with my first race – LOL! 

Seriously though, it’s not about competing with others.  I’m not a competitive person at all.  I would classify myself more like “everybody’s cheerleader”!  It’s more about how to be better for myself.  There are lots of things that went wrong and thinking it over, I realize that the main thing is that I did not train as hard as I should have.  I kinda took the attitude that if I ran 3.1 miles once, I can do it over again, no problem.  And yes, that is true mentally, but physically, I think my body needed much more practice than I was giving it.  I primarily backed off due to my hip.  I was concerned that training may damage it so that I would have to bag out of the race altogether.  So I backed off, but that ended up hurting me in the end because I realize that my legs weren’t ready.

Another thing I need to learn is how to manage the racing jitters.  I was so nervous when the start gun went off  and that threw my whole breathing pattern out of whack.  I was unable to focus at all.  Even my music did not help.  And my head was so filled with nerves and doubts that emotions took over causing me to really lose it!  I’m not quite sure what to do to help with the jitters, but I did do some research on training for a 5K.  I found some good articles on Runnersworld and Cool Running, so I think I’m going to try out the program and see if I can get myself to run stronger and faster!  I would love any additional tips from my runner blog friends, so please feel free to leave a comment or email me!

Well, that being said, I took the day off from exercise today –LOL!  So much for training, right?!  Seriously, I am planning on starting tomorrow!  I’m a bit apprehensive due to my bouts of dizziness, but my plan is ,as long as it’s not acting up, I’ll get in a run.  Today, I was still experiencing a little dizziness, so I just puttered around the house which was kinda nice!

I wasn’t especially hungry for breakfast and couldn’t figure out what I wanted.  I finally decided a smoothie sounded right.  Not any smoothie…a BLUE MONSTER!  Green monsters have been all the rage, but I’m going blue…

• 1/2 cup Silk Heart Health Vanilla Soymilk
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 ripe banana
• big handful of baby spinach
• 1/2 packet NuNaturals NuStevia

Loved it!

For lunch I made a ginormous salad…

• lots of romaine
• diced ham
• 1 lite string cheese, chopped
• 1 hard boiled egg white
• 1/2 cup pinto beans
• 1 hummus filled egg white (filled with Trader Joe’s Chipotle Pepper Hummus)
• Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch Dressing

and some tuscan crackers topped with asiago spread (from our Anniversary basket)…

I tried another Zevia this afternoon…

I didn’t like this flavor, so I tried another…

It was definitely better.  So far, I’ve only liked 2 of the flavors.  I think my affinity for diet soda has really diminished though. 

I felt like munching this afternoon, so I pulled out the Cheez-its!  I made sure to “control” myself…slightly, by putting them in a bowl instead of having my face in the bag :)  My cup overfloweth…

Dinner was random.  We were all in relax mode, so I just reheated some turkey meatballs for sandwiches and sliced up sweet potatoes for fries.  I went bunless but layered on the cheeeeese…

And ended the flop- around day with chocolate…

Running is definitely on the agenda tomorrow ;)

ONE GOOD THING:  While I was relaxing, I went through some magazines and pulled out some great new recipes to try this week.

Have a great day!!

Uninspired

I am uninspired food-wise today.  Part of me wants to eat the same old same old and another part of me wants to make some fabulous new creations.  I have weeks where things flow and I can think of hundreds of new recipes that I’d like to try.  Other weeks, I feel like boiling a pot of water for pasta is about all I’m capable of doing.  I know that when I get a meal plan together for my week, I tend to be more in control of my eating.  I like having a new recipe to look forward to and enjoy trying different things.

I have tried a few times this weekend to get a meal plan together, but it was thwarted by other chores around the house.  Another problem is I have waaaaaaay too many recipe binders to choose from! It’s very overwhelming.   I have 4 binders now filled to the brim and I must say that they are haphazardly put together which is part of the problem, too!  I tried just picking out a cookbook and going from there, but that wasn’t working out either.  I’m just organizationally challenged this week!  I plan on getting better at meal planning for the future.  As life gets busier, it really is a time saver and a great tool for staying the healthy eating course!   If you need some meal planning inspiration, check out Heather’s blog and Andrea’s blog.  Both of these ladies are awesome meal planners.  Heather even does hers a month in advance.  Now that’s some planning!

I started the morning with the promise of something new to try.  I got this Kashi Island Vanilla Cereal at a bargain price (99 cents with a coupon!) the other day…

I teamed it up with some blueberries and skim milk…

This was a dud.  The cereal was great, but my blueberries stunk.  They were really sour – blech.  Then, I realized that I had them in the fridge for an ice age, so even though they looked okay, they were probably bad :(

We went off to church with a stop at the Walmart before hitting home and it was there that trouble found it’s way into the cart.  Big daughter wanted to get some candy corn and although, I tried to talk her out of it, she really wanted them, so in the cart they went.  Can you guess where they went next???

Sugartopia!  Those big honkin’ pumpkin ones really sugar you up good!  I poured them into a pretty bowl when we got home because putting them out in the open for all to see is the best idea in the whole world.  NOT.  They look so pretty in the bowl, but they don’t like to stay in there.  Large handfuls get removed quite a few times a day.  You can’t eat just one. Ever.

My stomach pretty much hated me after that, but later I thought I should get something other than sugar in it.  Nothing sounds good after a sugar bomb is lying in your stomach, but I decided that eggs would be the least offensive.  I made up an egg white scramble using egg whites, diced ham, baby spinach and a slice of asiago.  For some crunch, I had a flax cracker on the side…

Since it was an outrageously beautiful day, I decided to go on a long walk to soak in the sunshine and fresh air.  It was wonderful!  I jammed to some tunes (is it weird that I mouth the words to the songs as I walk??) and before I knew it, I got in a nice 3.5 miles.  I felt invigorated when I was done;  the sugar slugs didn’t get to me!

I felt a little hungry later, so I nibbled on a Choco-Cranberry-Almond Granola Bar before dinner…

I was in the mood for a giant bowl of pasta for dinner.  I was also still in the zucchini mood, so I combined them to make  Angel hair with Zucchini and Chickpeas.  This was a “no sauce” pasta dish.  I just sauteed the zucchini in a little evoo and garlic and added a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas to warm through.  Before the pasta was done, I saved 1/2 cup of the pasta water and added it to the zucchini mixture along with 1/4 c. parmesan cheese.  When the pasta was done, I tossed it with the zucchini mixture and sprinkled with more cheese.  Delish…

Hope you had a great weekend!

ONE GOOD THING :  I took a nice walk instead of giving in to the lazy sugar crash!

Question of the Day:  Do you plan your meals for the week?

The Power of Suggestion

I woke up to yuck!  It was stormy, pouring, windy, chilly and just plain nasty!  When did winter get here?  It was just summer last week!  Hoping this doesn’t stick around :(  Anywho, I got the daughters ready for school and tried out another Yogurt Bowl:  Pineapple Coconut.  I topped Chobani nonfat plain yogurt with 1/2 c. crushed canned pineapple (in its own juice) and a sprinkle of shredded coconut…

This was not my favorite, either.  I was hoping for a pina colada taste to it, but it was a little too bland.  Maybe it was missing a cherry on top, or a little drink umbrella, or…rum :oD  But, drinking , driving and going to the gym don’t mix, so I just made due.

After kicking everyone out sending everyone off with hugs and kisses, I headed to the gym.  I got on the elliptical for 35 minutes while chatting with my friend, Coleen. We went our separate ways and  I ran (I know I shouldn’t have) and walked on the treadmill for 25 minutes, then did a 20 minute upper body workout – chest and arms.  Something about that environment really fuels me!  Kinda like “we’re all in this together” to quote that ever-annoying High School Musical song:)  Maybe, it’s the newness of the whole gym thing for me, so I’m thinking this might wear off, but I’ll ride it while it’s here!

I wasn’t too hungry when lunch rolled around, but knew I’d be out all afternoon and didn’t want to get caught with the munchies.  The weather of the day dictated a Soup and Sandwich kind of meal.  I decided on one of my favorite canned soups from Trader Joe’s…

And I was inspired by Andrea’s awesome grilled cheese, so I made a grilled cheese to go with it using Seven Grain Bread, asiago cheese and some diced ham.  I had some leftover  grilled sweet potatoes on the side, too…

Chunky and cheesy…like me :)

It was the perfect rainy day filling lunch to get me through and afternoon of shopping with Mom and Gram!  They are great shoppers;  I, however, do not love it so much, but I needed some non-schlocky, stain free, rip free, not 3 sizes too big gym clothes, so I bucked up and met them at Marshalls/Home Goods.  I scored some good clearance deals in the active wear department and got some serving bowls on clearance, too…

All four bowls for $20!  My Mom also found me a cool picture for my kitchen at a great price, so with deals galore, it was worth the trip!

Once home, the daughters came in from school and snack time was here.  Per your suggestions in response to my “GINORMOUS bag of blueberries” dilemma, I decided to make a Blueberry Tofu Smoothie.  Tofu, you ask?  I know you are saying that you did not suggest tofu, but I bought this new Nasoya Silken Creations Vanilla flavored Tofu and thought it might be a good addition…

I used 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup Nasoya Silken Creations Vanilla and 1/2 cup water and blended away.  I split it with little daughter;  we both really liked it…

It wasn’t enough though.  For some reason, I was craving “crunch”, so I grabbed a handful of Cheez-Its, but put them in a bowl to remind myself that this “is” a snack, not just mindless nibbling…

That was better and held me over nicely until dinner.  Pizza was on the menu, but I decided on something else for myself.  I made “Seafood Scallops” with Spinach and Beans.  This was inspired by a Cooking Light recipe for Seared Scallops with Warm Tuscan Beans.  For my version, I used…

• 1 Trader Joe’s Seafood Sausage, defrosted and sliced in 1/2” pieces
• 2 tsp. evoo
• 2 tbsp. minced shallots
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. dry white wine
• 1/4 c. fat free chicken broth
• 2-3 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 1/3 c. cannellini beans

This was a quick dish.  I pan-seared the sausage slices in the evoo; added the shallots and garlic and sauteed for a minute or two;  added the wine, broth and spinach.  Let that simmer for 2 minutes until the spinach wilts and added the beans to warm through.  Viola!  I added s+p to taste and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper…

I put it in one of my new bowl to make it seem “restaurant style”…

After dinner, the soreness came.  Big Time!  I think I overdid it at the gym.  My hip is really sore and throbbing a little.  I know I need to get it checked out .  My big fat babyness / I’m a chicken laziness is holding me back from getting around to it.  I popped some Advil and I think I will take a day off this weekend from exercise.  Ah, the horror!  The guilt will kill me, but I think it’s necessary.  Okay, I’ve blabbed your eyes off long enough, so I’ll leave you with a…

Question of the Day:  Do you take a day off from exercise?

ONE GOOD THING:  I made my snack “official” by putting it in a bowl instead of chomping out of the bag!

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Card Sharks

Happy Friday!  Wow, can’t believe it’s the last weekend of the summer :(  It’s been a great one;  so sad to see it go…

I have been enjoying lazing around in the morning and so have the daughters.  We are getting it all in before the school grind begins on Tues.  We lounged around in our pj’s;  they played, I played around on the computer and then did some cleaning.  I finally got around to eating breakfast.  Another yummy yogurt bowl…

• 1 c. plain nonfat Chobani Greek yogurt
• 1 c. blueberries ( 1/2 c. made into blueberry syrup)
• 1 tbsp. Post Trail Mix Crunch Cereal

A little while later, I got on the kicks and headed to the basement for a treadmill run.  I felt really good…at first.  Then, that darn hip pain acted up, this time on the left side!  I was so annoyed because I actually felt strong otherwise and got in a good groove right away with this run.  I decided to stop at 30 minutes, so as not to push it any more.  I felt so sore the remainder of the day and ended up icing my hip tonight.  Boo!

Trying to use up some of the leftovers in the fridge, I made up a Chicken Tzatziki Salad for lunch…

• 6 oz. grilled chicken breast seasoned with evoo, garlic, onion powder, oregano, s + p
• romaine lettuce
• diced tomato
• 1 oz. light feta cheese
• scoop of leftover tzatziki sauce

It was delish!

More cleaning up – the inlaws were coming for dinner!  I stopped mid-clean and had a quick snack…

And a quick break of trampoline jumping with the daughters!  Well, I mainly laid on the trampoline while they jumped around me :)  The inlaws came while we they were jumping, so I limped off and started on dinner.

I planned on grillin and chillin.  I made up burgers using 96% lean ground beef  and grilled up a bunch of veggies for a Grilled Veggie Salad…

while the burgers were cooking, I made up a simple green salad, too…

My plate…

After the daughters put on a “dance show”, we started up a serious whoop ass friendly game of cards with the inlaws.  I snacked on a  Choco – Cranberry- Almond Granola Bars and a few cantaloupe to keep my mind sharp…

Score:  Me + Husband = 2,  The Inlaws = 1

Go Us!!!

I have to tell ya, I’m loving the ONE GOOD THING that you all are sharing with me!  I think I’ll keep it going for a while, so feel free to share your ONE GOOD THING anytime!

ONE GOOD THING:  I did not pick on any extra slices of cheese for the burgers while I was preparing them :)

Have a great night!!

It’s All Greek To Me

I wanted to thank you all so much for your comments, encouragement and feedback with respect to my eating and trying to transition into being intuitive with it.  It is so helpful to hear about your experiences and I often think about your comments during the day to get me through some of the rougher moments.  I appreciate the time you take to read my babbling and comment.  I do read each comment and suggestion that each of you offers and I’m so,so grateful for your support!  Okay, before I get out the box of tissues, I’ll get on with the food =)

I lounged around in bed this morning with little daughter and caught up on some blog reading which took a lot longer than I planned on;  so many blogs, so little time!!!  Before I knew it, breakfast was calling my name.  I decided on 6 oz. Chobani nonfat  plain  Greek yogurt with 1 c. blueberries.  Now, if you’re not a fan of plain yogurt, I completely understand.  I used to eat it only if sweetened with Splenda.  Now, that I’ve weaned myself off Splenda, it’s definitely more palatable.  But, what made this really special this morning is taking 1/2 c. of the blueberries, put in a microwave safe bowl ( I used a Pyrex measuring cup) and nuke it for about 15-30 sec.  The berries burst and become a sweet syrup.  I poured it over the yogurt and topped it with the rest of the berries.  A-mazing…

I’ll have to try it with strawberries next!

And my new habit formed Teeccino…

Before I decided to slug out, I grabbed my kicks and headed to the basement.  The treadmill beckoned me and I said “screw the hip” and decided to run.  I told myself if I felt real pain, I would stop.  But, I only felt a little soreness, so I kept going and got in a good groove for 30 minutes.  I wanted to go longer, but decided not to push it.  Just in case, I followed my run with a “chaser”…

I planned ahead for lunch today by making some Smoked Salmon and Parmesan Omelet Muffins from Kath’s site.  These are easy to make and store well in the fridge/freezer.  I made up a double batch and stored them, but left a couple out for lunch.  I paired them with a simple spring mix salad dressed with 2 tsp. evoo, 2 tsp. dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp. honey and a splash of red wine vinegar…

a look inside…

I felt like more crunch, so I grabbed handful of pretzel slims (x3 – UGH!!!) * not out of hunger, more because once I started, it was hard to stop…

Later, I was getting a mild hunger pang and nibbled on 1/2  of this fabulous Larabar…

Dinner was pork and beans.  Not the typical, though!  This was a greek inspired instead of campfire inspired =)  I grilled a pork tenderloin that I seasoned with garlic, parsley, oregano, s + p and evoo and paired it with Greek Lima Beans and homemade tzatziki sauce (1 c. greek yogurt, 1 clove minced garlic, 1/2 grated cucumber, 1 tsp. white vinegar, fresh dill, s+p)…

Very flavorful and filling.

So, lesson learned today was that I need to push away from my plate after lunch and give myself time for my meal to settle in before digging into something else.  I realized that I wasn’t still hungry after eating my delicious lunch.  I was satisfied with the flavors and really enjoyed it.  But, something drives me to dig in the pantry after and I haven’t quite figured that part out yet.  I think if I remove myself from the kitchen area after my meal, it may reduce the craving to nosh.  I’m a work in progress… :)

Question of the Day:  What’s your favorite Greek food?

Have a great night!

Speed Blogging

Hey Everyone! Hope you're enjoying your Saturday! As usual, I'd love to blog your eyes off, but I'm gonna speed blog tonight as I am worn out from an all afternoon into evening baby shower! So, let's get to it...

 

I woke up starving today! I did no exercise (slug) and got right to breakfast. I made an egg sandwich with one egg white, a slice of 2% cheese on a Pepperidge Farm Deli Flat. It looked kinda plain to me, so I spruced it up with a handful of baby spinach...

I got ready and headed out to a lovely baby shower for my SIL's niece. I was really hungry by this time (2:30!), so I nibbled on some of the table snacks...

 

my snacking plate…

 

After chatting for a while, the buffet was ready for the taking....

I decided on fruit salad, pasta salad with sundried tomatoes and romaine salad with mandarin oranges, olives and feta. It was all delicious!

 

Cake and cookies were also served later, but since I felt satisfied with my meal, I decided not to eat any :)

Lots more chatting it up and present opening, then it was time to go. I finally made it home by 7:30 and was feeling really hungry. I went right to the fridge, but couldn't decided what I wanted. As I was thinking, I snacked on a small piece of banana bread and leftover calzone. Nothing really jumped out at me ( I think I was beyond hunger at this point and couldn't decide), so I opted for a small bowl of Post Trail Mix Crunch with blueberries and unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze...

That hit the spot!

Off to cuddle up with the hubs. Have a great night!!

btw, tried out Windows Live Writer tonight - have NO idea what I'm doing or how to size/load my pics! Guess it's a learning process! Anyone have a copy of WLW for Dummies - LOL!