Run, Dine And Dash

No time for breakfast before the gym this morning.  I had a date with the treadmill for another 3 mile run.  I decided to try out the pre-5K training schedule from Cool Running in an effort to get my legs and body used to the mileage.  After replaying my race in my head, I realized that my legs weren’t quite ready.  I needed more training than I ended up doing.  So, basically, the schedule goes like this:

Monday –  Off
Tuesday –   3 M
Wednesday -3M
Thursday -   3M
Friday -   Off
Saturday – 2 M
Sunday - 3M

A total of 14 miles per week.  That’s a lot of running for me, but I’m looking forward to trying it out!

The date went well.  The treadmill and I hit it off right away!  I was able to get in a  groove right away and hammered out the 3 miles.  I decided that good tunes are a must for running;  it really spurs me on!

I was starved after the run and thankfully had remembered to bring my dashboard breakfast – Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookie(recipe to be featured in Jen’s e-cookbook for charity-details soon)…

As I was heading home, I veered off for another dashboard treat…

 

I think it’s official – I like DD’s Pumpkin Latte Lite better than the ‘Bucks!  Mainly because the small is only $.99!  I know!!!!

Once home, I showered and headed out to Gram’s apartment.  We had a nice lunch together and did lots of chatting.  Gram’s fridge is always stocked, so I was able to put together a  great ham and swiss sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce and fat-free ranch dressing.  I was happy to see Gram had my frequent lunch side of carrots!  She also had some leftover squash, so I snuck a bit of that, too…

Before I left, we went for a long walk throughout her complex.  I was so confused and had no idea where I was within that building, but Gram knew the lay of the land well!  Not too shabby for an 81 year old!

Later, I was ready for a snack.  I got this free sample in the mail and thought it would make a great topping for yogurt…

I liked the banana chips!

The dinner plan was Philly cheesesteaks (Go Phillies!) and sweet potato fries.  I wasn’t feeling the cheesesteaks, so I decided on some baked bbq tofu for myself.  Weird, right?  Who swaps out cheesesteaks for tofu?!!!  I’m glad I did, though;  it was just what I wanted! I rounded out the meal with some roasted zucchini…

Very Philling! <------corny.

Gotta dash!  The “to-do” list is back!!!!

Have a great day everyone:)

ONE GOOD THING:  Enjoying my coffee again without heartburn!  I am so old :]

Questions of the Day:  Have you ever tried tofu?  If so, what did you think of it?

Fridays Are For Dates + Pizza

I love Fridays!  I love them even more when the husband is off from work and the daughters have school.  Instant date time with no sitter required !  Our big date plan was to go for a walk together.  I know, we’re really wild and crazy ;P 

I made sure to get in some breakfast, but one that wouldn’t be too heavy.  Yogurt sounded good this morning, so I went with some plain nonfat Chobani with fresh strawberry “syrup”.  I topped it with some granola crumbs.  It was really good…

Because I was using the plain yogurt, I decided to sweeten it with a packet of NuNaturals NuStevia that I received a while back…

  Now, I have to say that in my quest to reduce the amount of artificial sweeteners (especially Splenda), I have tried stevia as a sweetener in my coffee/tea.  One word –blech.  I wanted to like it, but I couldn’t get past the bitter aftertaste.  The NuNaturals product claimed to be non-bitter, so I was interested to see if that was the case.  I used about half a packet in my yogurt this morning and it was great!  No strange aftertaste and just the right amount of sweetness.  I think with stevia, less is more and you do need to play around with the amounts to get the level of sweetness that you like.  For me, half the packet was perfect.  I’m looking forward to trying it out in some coffee or tea and see if it still holds the non-bitter claim.  Also, Ron at NuNaturals was kind enough to send me quite a few of their products to try out which included baking blends and extracts…

Might make for some good sugar-free holiday treats!  Thanks, Ron:)

After the daughters were off to school, the husband and I set out on our walking date.  With the dog :)  We walked at a good pace for about 50 minutes and 3.5 miles.  It was a beautiful morning!

On the way home, I had a craving for coffee, so we stopped for a small Pumpkin Latte Lite…

I can’t believe I’m saying this, buuuuut, I think this was better than Starbucks!  Gasp!

Lunch was a fiber powerhouse – Mixed Bean Melt and a pear the size of my head…

The Mixed Bean Melt…

• Joseph’s Lavash Bread 
• 1/2 c. pinto beans, mashed
• 1/4 c. chick peas, mashed
• 1 Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge
• handful of baby spinach – you know I put it in everything

Spread beans and cheese on one half of the Lavash.  Add spinach and fold over.  Spray skillet with nonstick spray.  Cook until browned on both sides and warmed through.

Very filling…

As always in this house, Fridays are pizza night!  I usually make our pizzas and alternate between making my own dough and using Trader Joe’s pre-made dough.  I have fooled around with my own dough recipe quite a bit, trying to tweak it and get it just right.  I’m always open to new recipes and when I saw Biz had a No Rise Pizza Dough that’s ready in 5 minutes, I jumped all over it!  I doubled the recipe to get two pizzas and actually ended up making 2 and a small one for me.  For my pizza, I used Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade for the sauce, added some baby bella mushrooms, Chavrie goat cheese and a tiny sprinkle of mozzarella…

It was fab!  I ate quite a bit of it along with a side salad of arugula dressed with evoo, red wine vinegar and a shaving of parmesan…

Now, that’s a pizza!

ONE GOOD THING:  I indulged in pizza tonight.  Guilt free.  That hasn’t happened in a loooooong time :)

Happy weekend, everyone!

Running Scared

It was the most gorgeous day! It started off a little rainy, but the skies changed pretty quickly and the sun came out for a beautiful fall day.  Since it was raining to start, I decided to go to the gym for a run instead of outdoors.  I can’t believe my first 5K race is in 8 days!  Holy crapola!  I felt a little scared thinking about it.  I haven’t run in a week.  I’m trying to keep my hip damage to a minimum before the race, but at the same time, I’m not really training like I should be.  I know it’s just 5K, but I started feeling uncertain about it;  a million doubts about my ability were flooding my mind…

I fueled up with a little protein before heading to the gym – a spoonful of PB & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter…

The best stuff ever…

and I snagged half of little daughter’s toast spread with some of it on the way out the door!

I don’t know why I felt nervous about running on the treadmill today.  I didn’t quite feel up to it and my confidence was shaky.  But, I ended up kicking those nerves to the curb after I got started!  I chatted with my friend, Coleen who moved to the next treadmill to keep my company and keep my mind off the time.  I wanted to try to shave some time off my last run which was 50 minutes.  She left when I had a 1.25 miles to go, so I plugged in my tunes and cranked out the rest of the run.  I pumped up my pace toward the end and , surprisingly, felt pretty strong.  I ended up taking 4 minutes off my time!  I like 46 minutes way better than 50!  Hopefully, next week it will be even less, but as long as I finish, I’ll be thrilled!

I treated myself on the way home to a small Caramel Latte Lite at Dunkin Donuts.  Only 99 cents this week!  I’m treading on dangerous ground by slipping in the coffee here and there, but so far, my stomach and throat seem to be up for it…

I was ready to chow come lunch time.  I found some leftover Eggplant Parmesan Pizza in the freezer, heated that up and paired it with some crunch…

I made sure to have a serious snack so that I wouldn’t dig and munch on too much.  I went with a strawberry Chobani yogurt topped with these cuties…

All the bunnies in…

I also tried another flavor of Zevia.  This was the Cola flavor…

I dug it!  It’s a great Diet Coke substitute.  I like mine on ice…

I bumped Pizza Night and decided to make some comfort food:  roasted chicken, mashed potatoes topped with bacon and green onion and sauteed spinach.  I served it all family style…

My plate…

I’m off to pack.  The husband and I decided on an impromptu overnight to celebrate our anniversary which isn’t for a couple weeks, but this weekend worked out best!  I won’t be posting so that I can spend QT with the hubs, but I’ll be taking lots of pics and will catch up with you all on Monday morning :)

Have a great weekend!!!!

ONE GOOD THING:  I had an awesome run on the treadmill and feel confident that I can make it through the 5K next Saturday!

Question of the Day:  What’s one good thing that happened for you today?