Routine Eats

Gosh, it’s so hard to get back into a routine after being away for a weekend!  I spent most of the morning on the computer between blogging and catching up on blog reading.  My Google reader was filled to the brim!  You guys sure have been busy :)  Anyway, I did take a break for a quick, but hearty breakfast – Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookie topped with PB2…

I submitted the cookie recipe for Jen’s e-cookbook, so you will get a chance to try these and a slew of other awesome blogger recipes when her book debuts!

The morning and early afternoon flew by and before I knew it, lunch was calling.  Actually, the daughters were screaming calling “we’re starving!!!”, so I broke from the chores and got lunch going.  I had planned on using my leftover salad from Lettuce Head, but it was way too wilted to eat on its own.  I guess it didn’t transport well;  I had hopes it would be okay since there wasn’t dressing on it, but no dice ( no casino pun intended!).  In the interest of “saving” it, I picked through the good stuff and added it to a wrap made with turkey, wasabi mustard and rolled in a Joseph’s Lavash Bread. 

I had some carrots to go with it and for more crunch, some Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips…

They definitely lived up  to their name :)

The remainder of the day was spent at the dentist for the daughters and haircut appointments.  We didn’t get in until dinner!  While out, I did snack on a Very Cherry Larabar that I had in my handbag.

Dinner had to be quick, so it was pizza breads for the husband and daughters ( rolls spread with sauce and cheese – run under the broiler) and I nuked up my dinner of leftover Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomato Sauce  which I served over orzo…

I love this dish! 

Later, I also grabbed 4 Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Crisps, mainly for noshing purposes.  I wasn’t hungry for food, I was just “looking” for something.  My nerves are getting the best of me.  Did I mention that my first 5K is THIS SATURDAY???!!!  Freaking OUT.  Anyway, before bed I took a few minutes to talk to myself and made a commitment to myself that I would eat as healthy as possible this week so that I can feel strong and energized for the race.  I also committed that I would feed myself what I craved so that I wouldn’t use my anxiety as an excuse to binge or overeat.  What I mean by that  is sometimes I really want some carbs (mainly in the form of a bread-type item) for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  I usually talk myself out of having that many, even though I chose whole wheat or whole grain products, I guess I still carry that old “too many carbs are bad” mentality.  So this week, if I want to have it, I’m doin’ it!

Hope you all have a great day!

Question of the Day:  Could you share some race tips for first time racers (i.e.  what to bring, eat, wear, drug yourself with)?  YIKES!!!!

Crankin’ It Out

I am on a roll crankin’ out my list of  things “to do”!  It feels so great to cross those suckers off as I go through the day.  Why have I not done this before??  Apparently, I’ve tried.  I came across a list of “to do” in a notebook that I had written in the summer.  Whoops!  Funny, many of the items I had written then, ended up on my current list!  At least, I remembered them :)

I took the day off from official exercising , but I made sure to huff it as I was tackling the list, so at least “movement” was involved.  I decided on a long lasting breakfast on Green Eggs and Ham – egg whites, diced ham, baby spinach and a slice of asiago cheese…

It was good, however, I made the GIANT mistake of eating it while watching my boyfriend talk about hemorrhoids.   I almost barfed.  I might have to break up with him, now.  It was very bad, but an excellent appetite suppressant at the time.

I made it all the way to lunch with no problems.  Visuals of roids helped:) I chose to go with a wrap made with turkey, Laughing Cow Light cheese, Wasabi mustard (love), lettuce and roasted pepper rolled in a Joseph’s Lavash Bread.  So fab with a super sweet fuji apple…

I spent the afternoon crossing more stuff off the list and unfortunately did some digging in the pantry.  Crap!  I’m not sure what was up with that;  I tried to detect the feeling, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was causing this mini-binge.  Looking back, I guess it was a variety of a couple things – anxiety and frustration probably being the main players.  Anyway, it involved sweet potato tortilla chips, string cheese and a BIG handful of nuts.  I felt badly for a minute after chowing this stuff, but then, I tried to find some good.  I’ll leave that for ya at the end :)

I had a PLAN for dinner!  Getting my dinner making mojo back!  I was inspired by a recipe in Cooking Light for Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomato Sauce.  I changed it up a bit by using more wine and adding baby bella mushrooms…

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• s+p
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 container (think it’s 10 or 12 oz.) fresh baby bella mushrooms, quartered
• 1/4 c. pitted kalamata olives

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  In a large pan (dutch oven), heat oil  and add to pan.  Brown on both sides.  Remove chicken to a warm plate and set aside.
2. Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.  Add tomato paste and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.  Slowly add the wine, while scraping the pan to loosen the browned bits.  Add in the tomatoes, mushrooms and olives.  Return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices from the plate.
3. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes.

The end result was deliciously moist chicken with a rich tasting sauce.  Little daughter :  Mom, this chicken is good.  YES!  She said that!  And she wasn’t even trying to hit me up for something!  I swear, the band started to play and confetti fell from the sky!  This one goes in the keeper file :)

I served it with a green salad and whole wheat naan.  Good stuff…

I ended the night with a dose of antioxidants ;P

ONE GOOD THING:  Although, I wasn’t able to pin down the feeling that was running my mini-binge this afternoon so that I could try to stop it, the foods that I overate were very different than what I would have chosen in the past.  Normally, it would have been lots and lots of sweets(cookies, chocolate, brownies), then change over to lots and lots of salty( pretzels, cheeses, Doritos, fast food);  those type of things.  But this time, I chose sweet potato tortilla chips, a light string cheese and mixed nuts.  Although I ate a lot of the chips and a lot of the nuts, it was a different eating experience.  I didn’t feel like total crap afterward from the bad fats and loads of sugar.   Basically, what I ate was considered “healthy”, it was just too much of it.  Too much of anything isn’t good and the fact remains that I overate ,ate when I wasn’t hungry and was using food as a crutch.  But, I liked being able to acknowledge that the food choices changed and hopefully, that is a another sign of a step in the right direction :)

Question(s) of the Day:  Are you a “to do” list maker?  Do you find you accomplish more with a list?