A Foodie Gets Fit

Perfect summer salad - too bad it's winter...

2012-01-25T08:07:00.000-06:00

I keep making these salads that would be perfect in warm weather. Granted, it was 75 here last weekend, so I guess that would qualify as warm for January. Recently I heard about mini-cucumbers, or Persian cucumbers. I hadn't noticed them in my local grocery store, but I found them, not with the regular cucumbers, but in the "fancy packaged vegetables" section. You know, the neighborhood where the baby carrots and skinny green beans in their steam-in bags live. So I picked up a package. It totally is not salad weather today (I have a pot of soup on) - we have gotten 7 inches of rain in less than 24 hours, and it was thundering and lightning all night. So what do I make? A salad. Very tasty, too.

Asian Mini-Cucumber Salad

4 mini cucumbers, sliced
1 t sesame oil
1 t rice vinegar
1 T lime ponzu
1/2 t Togarashi seasoning

Mix together the oil, vinegar and ponzu. Dress the sliced cucumber and sprinkle the Togarashi on top.

Tweaking a recipe

2012-01-23T07:53:00.000-06:00

I admit it. I love to tweak other people's and publication's recipes. Maybe it's an ingredient subsitution, maybe it's adding something that I think will make it appeal more to me and The Aussie, maybe it's doubling the veggies to make it more filling... there are many reasons. Every week there is a recipe in the Weight Watchers flyer that we receive at each meeting. The recipe in last week's was for pearled barley sauteed with grape tomatoes and arugula.

I made my version with farro, because I didn't happen to have pearled barley. After I tried a few bites of it, I decided it would be better as a cold salad, so I stuck it in the refrigerator. Having just had a serving for breakfast, I can safely tell you that yes, it is a very tasty cold salad.

Tomato and Arugula Salad with Farro - serves 4 (2 WW +points)
1/2 cup dried farro, cooked according to directions (15 minutes in 3 cups water)
One 10 ounce container of grape tomatoes, cut in half, lengthwise
3 cups of arugula leaves, rinsed
non-stick cooking spray (olive oil flavor)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the farro according to package directions. Drain when cooked, and set aside.

Spray non-stick pan with olive oil cooking spray. Over medium high heat, sautee the garlic for a minute (don't let it burn) and add in the halved tomatoes. Cook very briefly if you're doing this as a cold salad, maybe a minute or two. Add in the cooked farro and cook for another minute. Finally, add in the arugula leaves and stir until they are wilted. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Before serving, mix the oil and vinegar together with the black pepper, and toss together.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

Quality vs Quantity

2012-01-17T08:31:00.000-06:00

Many of you who chat with me on Twitter and FB know that The Aussie recently went to Australia because his mother is very ill. He's back now, which I am immensely grateful for. This continues to be a very difficult and sobering time for us. We are experiencing first-hand that a person's quality of life is as important as quantity of life. We don't quite know how to deal with the tipping point where quantity means little without quality. Being poked, prodded, hooked up to machines, in pain, and in the hospital is not quality, and we accept that. But we don't want to miss the quantity either. We don't want to say goodbye...

A Tale Of Two Sweet Potatoes

2012-01-09T07:46:00.000-06:00

I don't recall ever eating sweet potatoes when I was younger. I was probably in my late 20s before I tried one (I'm not counting sweet potato casserole at a relatives house for Thanksgiving, either). Darned shame, if you think about it. Sweet, savory, healthy goodness rolled in to one convenient package. Usually I roast them in the pan, along with regular potatoes for The Aussie, when I roast meats. A trick I learned from one of my Donna Hay cookbooks is to place the meat on a rack above the pan. The potatoes cook in the meat drippings. Sweet potatoes get browned on the bottom but are still soft. The white potatoes turn golden brown and crispy all over. Totally drool-worthy. A while back, one of my foodie friends mentioned curried sweet potato hash. Curry+Sweet Potatoes=Awesome. I've tweaked my version a bit to use what spices I have on hand. Served with a fried or poached egg on top, it's nothing short of delicious.

Curried Sweet Potato and Two Pepper Hash (6 servings - 4 WW+pts/serving)

2 T of oil (use 1 T for sweet potatoes and the second T for the spices)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 " cubes
salt/pepper to taste
1 t cumin seeds (or fennel seeds, your choice)
1 t coriander seeds
1/2 t ground coriander
1 large onion, diced
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 t curry powder
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 T grated ginger root
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced into 1/2 " pieces
2 poblano peppers, seeded and diced into 1/2 " pieces (and by the love of all that's good and decent, don't rub your face or eyes like I did - they were much hotter than I expected)
juice of half a lemon
fresh cilantro to garnish (optional)

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat for a minute. Add 1 T of oil and swirl around to coat the pan. Add the sweet potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook the potatoes, try not to stir too much since you want some brown on them, until they're just getting softened. This may take about 10 minutes or so. Remove the potatoes from the pan and set aside. Scrape any stuck bits off the pan with a spatula or paper towel.

Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining oil. Add in the cumin, coriander and fennel seeds to the pan and cook for a minute. Add in the diced onion, red pepper flakes, ground coriander and the curry powder, stirring well. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is softened.

Stir in the garlic, ginger, red bell pepper and poblano peppers and cook for a few minutes. Add back in the sweet potatoes, mixing them with the peppers. Squeeze in your lemon juice and stir. Turn the heat down and cover. Cook until the potatoes are fully cooked. This may take about 8 more minutes.

While the hash finishes cooking, heat up a skillet to fry some eggs to serve on top of the hash. When the hash is done, spoon out on to plates, top with the eggs and garnish with cilantro. This is delicious and filling and works for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Salud!

My take on a classic - bouillabaise

2012-01-04T09:06:00.004-06:00

I have to admit, the first couple of days this week I ate really badly. Pizza, chicken fried steak, and lots of wine. I'm not sure the chicken fried steak with cream gravy was worth the 18 WW points, but man, it tasted great. I allowed my self a couple of days to indulge in comfort food because I'm really missing The Aussie. Last night, however, I took ahold of the reins and made an amazing (and amazingly large) batch of bouillabaise. If you aren't familiar with this soup (like friend who thought I said "boullion base"), it's a French fish and shellfish stew that tastes like healthy comfort in a bowl. This made 14 cups, and in WW's recipe builder, it totalled 3 points for 14 servings or 4 points for 12 servings.

Bouillabaise

1 T oil (can be olive, grapeseed, canola...)
4 cups of leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced (I used 1 bunch of 3)
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced or chopped
1 bottle (8 oz) clam juice
3 cups of chicken stock (fish stock if you have would be great)
1 cup water
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 c dry white wine (I used Fish Eye pinot grigio)
1/2 t saffron threads (this really makes the flavor, so please don't omit)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
2 medium red potatoes, diced
3/4 pound cod or halibut (I used cod), cut in to large bite-sized chunks
1 1/4 pounds sea scallops (the large ones)
2-6.5 ounce cans of chopped clams with their juice
2.5 ounces of shrimp (it's what I had...)

Note: thinly slice the leeks and then wash them very, very well. They are notoriusly dirt, so you want to make sure you get all of the grit out.

In a large dutch oven or soup pot, heat over medium high heat for a minute. Add the oil, then the leeks, stiring for a minute, then add the garlic. Cook until the leeks are soft, at least 5 minutes. Stir in the fennel and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add in the clam juice, stock, water, diced tomatoes, white wine, thyme, saffron and cayenne. (Some recipes call for orange zest, but I omitted). Bring to a light boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the diced potatoes and cook until they are a little soft. This may take 15 minutes, depending on the size of the dice. Add in the fish, scallops and shrimp, and simmer until the seafood is opaque and cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Traditionally, you can also use more shellfish, such as oysters and mussels in your bouillabaise. Serve with a nice slice of hearty bread and a glass of wine. Perfect for a chilly night.

Life is too short

2012-01-03T10:59:00.003-06:00

When I signed on to FB this morning, one of the first things I read totally shocked me. An old friend that I knew back in the Northeast died yesterday. He fell from a ladder while working on his house. He was a wonderful guy, married to the sister of a very good friend of mine, and was the father of 13 year old twins. At only 51, he has been taken too soon. He will be sorely missed.

H. Brian Mc Farland

Rest in peace, my friend.

New Year's Eve Appetizer

2011-12-29T14:46:00.002-06:00

Our New Year's Eve tradition is fairly simple. The Aussie and I have our friends Korean Cowgirl and her fiance Mr. Handsome over for cocktails, munchies and movie watching. It's never a bad thing to have a bunch of tasty appetizer recipes to chose from, and if they're easy, even better.

Spicy Crab Bites (makes 12)

1 can of lump crabmeat (pick through to remove all shell pieces)
3 ounzes of cream cheese (can be regular, low fat, fat free...)
2 T mayo (ditto)
1/2 t sriracha chili sauce (or a little more if you like even spicier)
2 t chives, minced
non-stick cooking spray
12 wonton wrappers

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix all of the ingredients, except the chives, together until well blended. Put the wonton wrappers in muffin tins that have been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon the crab mixture in to the wonton wrappers and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle minched chives on top to garnish. This appetizer can be made with small salad shrimp too.

Happy New Year!

Just because

2011-12-23T11:13:00.004-06:00

10K A Day Wednesday Check In

2011-12-22T08:50:00.002-06:00

I'm a day late, and more than a dollar short, with my 10K A Day Wednesday Check In. This past week I was only over 10K a couple of days. Saturday I was over, and that was without having my BodyMediaFit on during a 4.6 mile run. I'd love to know what it would have been if I'd been wearing it!

12.14 - 9.675
12.15 - 7,678
12.16 - 9,485
12.17 - 11,131 (plus 4.6 miles)
12.18 - 14,157
12.19 - 6,002 (awful storms, didn't get out)
12.20 - 8,783

Shrimp and Grits

2011-12-22T07:54:00.000-06:00

When I was little and we were visiting my grandparents in Houston, we'd have grits as a side dish when we ate dinner at the neighbor's house. Kids in the kitchen, too. I thought grits were disgusting, and the only way I would eat them is to have a big blog of ketchup mixed in. I mean, they were plain. No cheese, no herbs. Slimy yuck. Since moving to the South, I've heard of this mythical dish called Shrimp and Grits. Given my past history with grits, this dish didn't really sound appealing. Then yesterday afternoon, Andrea mentioned that she couldn't wait to make shrimp and grits for dinner. For some reason, that sounded pretty good. Truth be told, everything sounded good because I didn't want to eat much before going to a makeup Weight Watchers weigh-in last night. So I started surfing through the interwebs for a recipe, tweaked it so that it was a bit more Weight Watchers friendly, and came up with this! Oh my gawd, it was good. I will definitely be making this again. I'm sorry I don't have a picture - I was too hungry to stop and take one!

Shrimp and Grits (serves 4 generously - 5 PP per serving)

1 slice bacon, cooked very crispy and crumbled
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup AP flour
1/2 t salt and 1 t black pepper
3 cups sliced mushrooms
2 t canola oil
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
3 T fat free half and half
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 t sriracha chili sauce
Non-stick cooking spray

1. Cook bacon, crumble and set aside (it will top the shrimp and grits)
2. Peel, devein shrimp. Dredge in the flour, salt and pepper.
3. In large skillet, sprayed w/cooking spray, saute the mushrooms over medium high heat until tender. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the canola oil to hot pan. Saute the shrimp until halfway cooked and the shrimp are lightly browned. Add in the garlic and cook for a minute. Add back in the mushrooms and green onions and stir together. Stir in the broth, half and half, lemon and hot sauce. Cook for 2 minutes or until the shrimp are done.

Cheesy Grits (serves 6 - 3 PP a serving)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1 cup of quick cooking grits
1 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese
1 t sriracha hot sauce
black pepper to taste

In a small sauce pan, heat up the chicken broth until just boiling. Add in the fat free half and half. Whisk in the grits and cook for about 5 minutes, or as instructed on the package. When almost done, stir in the shredded cheese and the hot sauce. Finish cooking until grits are soft. Add pepper to taste.

Spoon the grits on to your plate, top with the shrimp mixture. Sprinkle bacon bits on top. Enjoy!

Wisdom. Or important things I've learned from my dogs

2011-12-16T12:44:00.011-06:00

This post has been running around in my mind for a while, but I wanted to wait until today to share it. You see, a year ago, my boy was on the streets. Literally. He was picked up by animal control on December 26th, 2010, and they guessed he'd been out on the street for about a week. He had been dumped at Christmas time. It breaks my heart that people dump their pets any day of the week, but at Christmas time it devastates me. So in recognition of what he, Puppygirl and ShortStuff endured prior to their becoming my children, I give you these life lessons I've learned from them.

Puppygirl, my sweet girl with a beautiful soul, who was very badly abused by her owners and their children. She was taken in by a rescue group because she wasn't adoptable from the shelter and her time had run out. She's taught me that it may take time and patience, but you can learn to trust, find love, and live happily ever after.

Shortstuff, my adorable little girl, was found as a stray as a puppy by the SPCA. The Aussie and I had gone to a home show where the rescue group that cared for Puppygirl was supposed to have a booth. They weren't there that day, but the SPCA was, and The Aussie made a rapid beeline for a crate at their booth. By the time I caught up with him, he was being handed an adorable 4 month old puppy with a personality as big as Texas. She's taught me that it's important to start the day with a smile, a kiss, a good mood, and to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you.

And lastly, The Boy. We're approaching the 1 year anniversary of The Boy coming to be a part of our family. We've had a few rough times. His trust did not come automatically, however nice we may be. He's had to get to know and trust us, and we've all had to get to know him, but we're so thankful that he's a part of our family. What I've learned from him is that even when it seems like everything bad is happening to you and you don't understand why, something wonderful can still come of it.

So, with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, the doggies and I wish you all a Happy Hanukkah, a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

10K A Day Wednesday Check In

2011-12-14T15:16:00.002-06:00

I've been slacking on my steps the last couple of days. Cleaning and other chores needed to be done and I didn't make an effort to go for walks after dinner.

12.08 - 4,558
12.09 - 10,545
12.10 - 14,006
12.11 - 11,121
12.12 - 6,407
12.13 - 8,646

I'm already at 5,044 for today. I did elliptical and training at the gym. It's raining out, but I've promised The Boy that he'd get a walk today. Yup, it's gonna smell like wet dog...

Guilty Pleasures

2011-12-13T16:21:00.004-06:00

Tis the season to get carried away by snacking and sweets. Considering my great weigh in on Sunday afternoon, I don't want to throw the whole week away. I do want a little something that tastes nice too, though. I don't work in an office, so I don't have vendors plying me with gift baskets and goodies. It's up to me to make them if I want them.

Yesterday, a person that I tweet with occasionally tweeted about some coconut macaroons that she had drying in her dehydrator. Curious, I asked her about them. Turns out, they were vegan/raw macaroons. I wasn't really into pulling my dehydrator off of a high storage shelf, and I don't follow a raw food diet anyway, so I have nothing against baking macaroons. I also don't want to wait 7-10 hours to eat my macaroons. There are a bunch of similar recipes floating around the interwebs, but you know I like to tweak things. Since I really like Almond Joy candy bars, I used almond extract in my cookies to get that flavor.

Coconut Cocoa Almond Bites (makes 78 cookies at 1 WW point+ per cookie)

3 cups shredded coconut (I had sweetened in freezer, 1 cup had been toasted previously)
1 cup dark cocoa
1 cup of ground almonds
1/4 cup sugar free "maple" syrup
3/4 cup agave
1 T almond extract
1 t salt (which I forgot to put in)

Preheat oven to 250. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine all ingredients together. With a small teaspoon, place small scoops on baking sheets. Bake for 30 minutes.

Weight Watchers - week 6 update

2011-12-12T10:08:00.002-06:00

This past week was the first week with the reduced points. While I still go over the points, it wasn't by as much. I've gone back to eating more soup too, which really has helped. The veggie soup fills me up and I know I'm getting several servings of vegetables in each bowl. I'll tell you what. It's worked too. After a few weeks of either gaining, having no loss and having a .2 loss, I was down 4.2 pounds yesterday at my weigh in and I hit my 5% goal. This is the lowest I've been in probably 6 or 7 years.

I'm not getting on the scale for a few days though, because we went out to dinner with a friend last night to a Thai restaurant. I was very careful with my points early in the day because I knew I'd be splurging for dinner, and boy, did I. My dinner alone came to 39 points. Add in a couple of big glasses of wine, and I topped the day out at 60 points. It was delicious. And now I'm back to soup...

Red fuzz

2011-12-10T10:35:00.002-06:00

I just got back from doing the North Texas Great Santa Run. It wasn't a timed race, but my garmin time (by the time I got the long santa suit sleeve rolled up and hit stop) was 37:32. Lots and lots of santas there, cute dogs dressed as reindeer, good music, good weather, if a bit cold at 34 degrees. I'm glad for the extra layer the red santa suit gave me, but I'm going to be finding red fuzz around the house for a while. And that's after I was given a once over by The Aussie with a vacuum cleaner and a once over with the sticky roller we use to get dog hair off of our clothes.

BBC Soup

2011-12-09T14:14:00.008-06:00

Do you remember the children's story called "Stone Soup" from many years ago? It was about a man who wandered into a town, hungry, but the townsfolk were so poor, they said they couldn't spare any food. He pulled out a stone from his pocket and said that he'd make some stone soup, if someone could give him a pot to use. The folk are curious about what stone soup would be like. The stranger says, well it would be better if I had a little potato to put in it... next thing you know, someone has a shriveled potato that he can have. It would be even better, he says, if he had a little cabbage.. it goes on and on, until, you guessed it, he has made a huge pot of soup from food they didn't think they could spare, and there is enough to feed everyone. Today I made my own version of stone soup, but no rocks were involved. Everything came out of the pantry or the freezer, and I had everything already on hand. I'm calling it BBC soup, because everything came out of a box, a bag or a can (or cannister, as the case was for the garlic powder and spice blend). This makes a huge pot that will serve about 12, and counts as 1 Weight Watchers +Point per 1 cup serving.

BBC Soup (mixed vegetable soup)

1 1/2 - 2 quart boxes of chicken stock (I had a partial open, used 2nd + 2 cups water)
1 bag of chopped frozen spinach
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, corn, green beans)
1 bag of frozen asian style vegetables (broccoli, onion, mushrooms, green beans)
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed
1 T no-salt seasoning blend (from Costco, but you could use Italian seasoning blend)
1 t garlic powder

Empty the boxes of chicken stock into big pot. Add in all of the vegetables, tomatoes, beans and seasoning. Stir to mix. Heat over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until everything is piping hot.

I'm going to be eating vegetable soup all week!

Shrinking Jeans 10K A Day Update

2011-12-07T10:05:00.002-06:00

Wednesday is the official check in day for the 10K A Day Challenge, so here goes:

Tuesday (12.06) - 8,235
Monday (12.05) - 3,721 (was not feeling well in evening, no doggie walks)
Sunday (12.04) - 9,098
Saturday (12.03) - 12,732
Friday (12.02) - 9,255
Thursday (12.01) - 7,973
Wednesday (11.30) - 10,285

Well the days over 10k are days were doggies definitely got walks. It's strange how my lower count days, with the exception of Monday night when I was sick, are strength training days at the gym. Saturday's count was really helped by the Zumba class that I took. Lots of steps! I'm planning on taking Zumba again on Friday and maybe a yoga class tomorrow. Add in the Santa 5k I'm doing on Saturday, and my numbers should be up next week. :)

Gee, is there anything else to add to the list?

2011-12-06T11:52:00.003-06:00

Last night was not a good night for me. For the last couple of years I've been occassionally getting these strange "attacks" while eating. I basically become unable to swallow any food, and what I have eaten won't stay put. At first I thought it was just because I have a tendency to eat too quickly. Then I thought it was because I eat quickly and, if I'm eating at the coffee table, which is more likely than not, I'm hunched over a bit. Stopping eating doesn't help, sitting up straight and rubbing my upper chest to make it feel better doesn't help, my husband's offer of a drink of water is the last thing I want when it's happening. The results are not fun, to put it mildly. Now it looks like it's something a bit more than either of those things. I'm going to have to put on my big girl panties and go to the doctor to get tests done to confirm this, but all indications point to this possibly being eosinophilic esophagitis. (Strange coincidence, The Aussie's boss was tested for this earlier this year, which is how we found out about this condition. The Aussie described what was going on with me and the boss told him that he's been suffering the same thing.)

According to several websites, EE may be linked to food allergies. The list is not encouraging, for someone who really likes food: milk, eggs, peanuts, shellfish, peas, beef, chicken, fish, rye, corn, soy, potatoes, oats, tomatoes and wheat. The most common food triggers are milk, egg, wheat, rye and beef.

I'm not a vegetarian, for @#*%$'s sake. Granted I've joked that I'd give up meat before I'd give up my wine, but really??? Last night for dinner I made chicken paprika, which I LOVE. So, let's see what's on the trigger list, shall we? Chicken - check, milk - check, wheat and egg (noodles) - check, tomatoes - check. About the only things in the dish that aren't on this list is the paprika and the onion. I can joke that at least I didn't use up all of my WW points yesterday, but I actually would have liked to eat my dinner.

I'm not sure what to do about this. My primary protein sources are chicken, egg, dairy, fish, shellfish and beef. I like tofu as well, but soy is on this list too. Am I supposed to eat pork chops, barley and vegetables for the rest of time?

Soup of the day

2011-12-05T15:51:00.002-06:00

Well I think I've figured out one reason I did so well the first two weeks on Weight Watchers. I was eating lots of homemade soup, filled with vegetables. Today has been so dreary that I figured it would be a perfect time to start some soup during my lunch break.

Curried Squash, Carrot and Cauliflower Soup (makes at least 10 cups)

1 winter squash, peeled and cubed (I had a kabocha sitting on the counter, so I used that)
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 head of cauliflower, broken down into pieces
several cloves of garlic
1 1/2 quarts of chicken stock or broth (1 1/2 boxes of Pacifica chicken broth)
1 T curry powder (I use hot)
1/2 t smoked paprika
2 sage leaves
salt to taste (use at the end)

Combine in large pot. Cook over medium-low heat until all the vegetables are soft. Add salt to taste. The veggies are rather sweet when cooked. Puree with stick blender if you have one (they are fantastic) or carefully puree in blender or food processer. If you don't have any of those, mush everything with a slotted spoon. It will just be a chunky soup. I put this in to the recipe builder on weight watchers. The entire pot of soup comes to 14 points.

10K A Day and Weight Watchers Week 5 Update

2011-12-05T07:36:00.001-06:00

It's Monday. A dreary, rainy, chilly Monday that followed a dreary, rainy, chilly Sunday. We really need the rain, but this weather was not conducive to getting outside and run. At least for me. Way to go to all the runners who ran White Rock yesterday. I admit I teared up while watching the beginning of the marathon on tv yesterday morning before church, but I am glad I wasn't running in that weather. Because I didn't want to run in the cold rain, I didn't get the run in that I promised FB and myself yesterday. I did get my butt on the elliptical for 25 minutes though, so that counts for something.

Weight Watchers weigh in: unchanged at 172.4. I'm not surprised. We went out to dinner on Saturday night after picking up our Christmas tree. I had gift cards, so we went to Carrabbas. The points splurge for me was having calamari, and it was very good. The rest of the dinner, not so much. Everything was so salty. We were sucking down the big glasses of water and finished my big bottle of water on the way home. And what is with them putting cheese in everything? When I order minestrone soup, I don't expect cheese in it. And when The Aussie orders something breaded, he doesn't expect cheese in the breading. Hello, breading?? Not cheesing. I'm guessing we won't be going back there any time soon.

Speaking of Weight Watchers, I was dropped to 26 points with the new program upgrade. The points were downgraded retroactively, so on Friday morning, my totals were recalculated for the week. All of my weekly points evaporated. By Saturday night's dinner, I was in to my activity points. (I took my first Zumba class on Saturday morning and burned 500+ calories per my BodyMediaFit, so I had LOTS of activity points earned over the week) It's only 3 points a day, but why do I feel like I'll starve? I was logging over 29 each day anyway, using my weekly points spread out. I'll give the 26 points the old college try. I'd like to be at my 5% by Christmas, and this will help. So will running more races. I have the North Texas Great Santa Race coming up on Saturday. :)

I've been using my BodyMediaFit to log my steps for the 10K A Day Challenge. This week's totals are:

Monday (11.28) - 5,000
Tuesday - 10,298
Wednesday - 10,285
Thursday - 7,973
Friday - 9.255
Saturday - 12,732
Sunday - 9,098

Chocolate??

2011-12-02T13:16:00.002-06:00

I received an email today about a race that's coming to Dallas in 2012: Hot Chocolate 5k/15k. A race with Ghiradelli Chocolate as a sponsor and purveyor of the after-race party treats? How could you not sign up for something like that. So I did. Yup, the person who isn't a fan of 10k races because there are fewer slow people to hide behind has signed up for a 15k. Go me. :)

How Is It December Already?

2011-12-01T09:41:00.003-06:00

Happy December! I really don't know where this year went. The summer passed in a blur because it was so stinking hot that I stayed in side a lot. The fall went quickly, with the weather cooling into much more user-friendly temperatures that the doggies and I have quite enjoyed. The Aussie has even been joining us on evening dog walks. (It's either that or he has to listen to The Boy bark and whine while I take Puppygirl out for a walk first) This time, last year, I was getting ready to run my first half marathon. Oh, the nerves! I'm not participating in White Rock this year, but I want to wish my friends who are, a great race! It's a great course, and the Christmas decorations on the houses in Highland Park are a treat to see.

My update for this week for the 10K A Day Challenge:

Monday: 5,000 steps
Tuesday: 10,311 steps
Wednesday: 10,285 steps

Tuesday and Wednesday I went to the gym and did 30 minutes of cardio, which helped with my step count and activity points for Weight Watchers. Today's plan is weights with The Cajun (my trainer). No race this weekend, but I'm doing the North Texas Great Santa Run next Saturday. I've signed up to run Bold In The Cold in January with my cousin. My plan for this weekend is to head over to run with the LGRAW group either Saturday morning or Sunday morning before church. The problem with Sunday is that Sunday afternoon is my weigh in/meeting day. I don't want to be too hydrated before the weigh in since 20 ounces of water equals a pound. When I run, I suck down water like mad. I always bring a BIG bottle of water with me to the meeting and as soon as I weigh in I start drinking. It's hard to imagine how dehydrated I've been for so much of my life.

Weight Watchers - week 4 update

2011-11-28T10:24:00.006-06:00

Um, yeah, there wasn't a week 3 update. That's because I was +1.4 pounds week 3. (hangs head) I was active, I ate somewhat well, drank too much... the usual story. Because I didn't want a repeat of that so early in the whole Weight Watchers journey, I was pretty careful this past week. Well, with the exception of eating Chinese food with The Aussie on Friday evening. We split an entree and I had a cup of egg drop soup before. Good thing I did. General Tso's chicken is 17 points for 1 cup!!!! Shoot me now. I found this out as I was eating leftovers yesterday afternoon after I got back from my weigh in and meeting. So yes, I seriously went over my points yesterday and a huge chunk of my weekly points are gone and it's only Monday. It really tasted awesome, though!

So yesterday's results: -1.6 pounds. I've lost last week's gain and an additional -.2 pounds. Not bad for a weigh in a few days after Thanksgiving. The leader didn't have any 5k charms, which I'm bummed about, because I did share that doing a Turkey Trot was part of my strategy this week. My total down is -6.2 pounds. I have -2.8 to go until I reach my 5% goal. That would be a really great Christmas present to myself!

Last week I started the 10K A Day challenge with The Sisterhood. I've logged my steps with my BodyMediaFit.

Wednesday - 3,532 (wore arm band for half the day)
Thursday - 18,305 (yay Turkey Trot and dog walks!)
Friday - 13,094
Saturday - 10,493
Sunday - 1204 (I took the armband off after church to charge it, plus I didn't want the weight for my weigh in so I didn't wear it the rest of the day)

Steps and activity = happy dogs = activity points. Win/win situation.

Eggy Cups - Or What To Do With Leftover Veggies

2011-11-25T12:45:00.005-06:00

My favorite Thanksgiving side dish that I love to indulge in is stuffing. Specifically, Pepperidge Farms herb stuffing. I didn't make much, so the leftovers are already gone. (dipping cold stuffing in cold gravy is my favorite way to eat it!) I did make a lot of veggies yesterday - a bag of steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, and a tray of roasted asparagus. I made a batch of my Eggy Cups with spinach yesterday morning after I got home from the Turkey Trot, and they got polished off very quickly. This afternoon I made another batch, this time with the leftover veggies. At 1 Weight Watchers Plus Point each (17 points for the entire dozen), these are filling and healthy.

Eggy Cups with Sausage and Veggies (makes 12)

12 wonton wrappers
2 Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patties, diced
1/2 cup chopped, cooked asparagus
1 cup steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, chopped
1 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 cup shredded fat free cheese
PAM cooking spray (olive oil)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray each wonton wrapper with cooking spray, using your finger to evenly coat wrapper if needed, and place in muffin tin cup, spray side down. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

In a small skillet, heat up the diced turkey sausage and chopped veggies. My broccoli, etc., was very over cooked, so it became more of a mush. Attractive sounding, right? Add in the Egg Beaters and stir until well mixed together and eggs are almost set. Add in the shredded cheese and mix in. Fill the wonton cups. These can be seved hot or cold.

10K A Day Challenge

2011-11-25T10:44:00.004-06:00

Yay, another Sisterhood challenge that doesn't involve getting sent to Exile Island! This goal is to get up off our butts (my words) and log steps. Since I work from home, my butt spends a lot of time in a chair. I need to make an effort to increase my steps. Yesterday's Turkey Trot and the afternoon dog walks really helped. I logged 18,316 steps on 11/24/11. I put on my BodyMediaFit this morning. So far, I'm only at 755 steps, so I have a long way to get to my goal of 10,000.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

2011-11-24T11:17:00.007-06:00

It's 6:45 am and the intrepid runner leaves the house, spouse asleep, a couple of doggies at the door, wanting walks and wondering why they're being left behind. The fog was very thick as I drove to the race location in Frisco. I'm not familiar with the area and visibility was awful. Today, I am thankful for having a GPS in the car, even if her voice is annoying and I call her "bitch" quite frequently.

This was my first time running a Turkey Trot. I missed running one 2 years ago (when I first started to do C25K) because I rolled my ankle while running with the dogs a couple of weeks before. Little did I know it would be 6 months before I'd be able to run again at all.

The course was nice and flat and included a loop around Pizza Hut Park. I had the chance to look around the area beforehand. There are definitely some shops and restaurants that I'll want to come back and visit. The turnout was great, and I'd guess there were quite a few hundred people. Lots of people, lots of dogs, lots of babies in strollers, lots of kids running too.

The link to the results isn't working for me, but my Garmin put me at 36:35 for 3.17 miles. Any finish is a good finish!

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with your loved ones.

Weight Watchers - week 2 update

2011-11-14T09:45:00.004-06:00

Let's hear it for tracking your points and eating a lot of fresh fruit and piling the veggies on your plate. Oh, and exercising your butt off and earning 16 activity points in a day. I'm down another 2 pounds, for a total of 6 pounds since I started Weight Watchers at the end of October. I earned my first 5 pound star sticker. I'd hoped to earn a 5k charm or 2 because I did a 10k this weekened, but the substitute leader made no mention of it when I told her I'd done a 10k. Bummer. Hopefully the regular leader will be there next weekend and I can tell her. Totally materialistic of me, but I'd really like a charm. I plan on doing a Santa Run in December, so that's another one. By the time I earn my 10% key ring I'll have a bunch of 5k charms to put on it.

This week's topic was about planning ahead for Thanksgiving. The Aussie and I aren't much into roast turkey, but I love the sides. I was a bit bummed to see that 1/2 a cup of stuffing is 5 points. I could easily use my entire 29 daily points on stuffing and gravy. I'll have to check the Pepperidge Farms bag to see what their calorie count is. I also love green bean casserole, and that can be made with fat free ingredients so it will be less than the 6 points for 1 cup that WW has listed. I bought a 2 pack of cornish game hens last week, so I'll cook those for us with the green beans, the stuffing for me and crispy roast potato for The Aussie. Fresh cranberries cooked down with a little orange or apple juice, and splenda makes a great relish. Pumpkin pie is something I like, so I'll try to make up a small crustless version to keep me happy but on track.

I'm really learning that I will have to plan ahead if I know there's a splurge day so that I don't go too far off course. And a 5k race course on Thanksgiving morning will help too!

Rematch Update

2011-11-12T11:12:00.002-06:00

I finished! And it was a better time than the July race, so that's a plus. My time on my Garmin was 1:18:27. Garmin also told me that I ran 6.3 miles, too. I noticed that the course markings were different from my GPS by mile 2. The conditions were crazy. It was sunny, about 60 degrees, and SUPER windy. Since the trail goes along the lake for the majority of the race, there were some serious winds to run in. Shout out to New Friend who finished her first 10k in just over an hour! And big thanks to the tall bald guy with a beard who passed me around mile 4 when he was on his return loop and yelled out some encouragement to me. He also cheered me on from his car when he was leaving the park and I was about half a mile from the finish. Thank you. :)

Now, I'm going to finish me lovely omlette, help The Aussie with a few things around here, and then take my doggies on a long awaited for walk. :)

10k Rematch Playlist, Honeybadger Style

2011-11-11T16:31:00.005-06:00

So, I picked up my race packet this afternoon for the 10k tomorrow. This should be interesting. The weather will be in the mid-50s at the start of the race, but it's also going to be really windy tomorrow. Much better than mid-90s like it was in July. I also met a really cool woman, about my age, who was picking up her packet. She's never done a 10k before, so she's excited. I look forward to meeting up with her tomorrow. I don't expect to be running with her because her 5k pace would leave me in the dust. We'll see.

Anywho, in honor of getting my butt back out on the racecourse, I have put together a new running playlist. One with Honeybadger attitude.

I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab For Cutie (extended version, warm up music)
Solar Midnight - Lupe Fiasco (old faithful)
Ready To Go - Republica
Lose Yourself - Eminem
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police
Big Neon Glitter - The Cult
Don't Change - INXS
Times Like This - Foo Fighters
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne (yes, I'm a MFing Princess..)
She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
These Days - Foo Fighters
Dog Days Are Over - Florence And The Machine
Everlong - Foo Fighters
Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters (Trainer Dude suggested this one)
Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns (another old faithful from last playlist)
Mr. Brightside - The Killers
What's My Scene - Hoodoo Gurus
Dear Prudence - Siousie & The Banshees

Yup, this should be interesting...

It's Soup Season

2011-11-08T13:37:00.003-06:00

We haven't had any freak snowstorms in Texas, but it is cooler these days, and the overcast sky is making me think of soup. Luckily I didn't roast my butternut squash or kale on Sunday afternoon, when I roasted my fennel and acorn squash. I remembered I had left them in the oven at 6am on Monday. Doesn't it just figure?

Butternut Squash, Andouille and Kale Soup (serves about 12)

1 T olive oil
half an onion, diced
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 quarts of chicken or vegetable stock
1 large bunch of kale, rinsed, stemmed and chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 cup farro
1 t seasoned salt
1 package (4 links) of Aidells sausage (I used cajun andouille because that's what I had, but any of their sausages would be wonderful)

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the oil and the diced onion. Stir and cook until the onion is softened. Add in the cubed butternut squash and the stock. Simmer about 20-30 minutes, or until the squash is slightly tender. Add in the seasoning, chopped kale, black beans, farro and sausage. Cook another 30 minutes, until the farro is cooked and the sausage is warmed through. A serving is 5 Weight Watchers plus points.

Weight Watchers - week 1 update

2011-11-07T08:43:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was my 1 week weigh in at Weight Watchers, and I am happy to report that I am down 4 pounds. I know some of this is because it isn't TOM and I didn't have a big breakfast yesterday morning. But I also know that some of it is because I have tracked my butt off, exercised, and have eaten more apples in the last week than I have in a year!

In black and white... (pg-13)

2011-11-03T12:46:00.004-05:00

Pardon the "F bombs" (and grammatical errors) if they offend you, but I needed to share this. I saw this in today's post by Steph. I liked it so much that I'm borrowing it (she nabbed it from Gene, who saw it on Strong Is The New Skinny...) Sometimes you need to see something in black and white for it to sink in.

Interesting weekend

2011-10-31T09:24:00.003-05:00

Slowly getting back into running. Did a couple of miles on Saturday that were decent. If I'd had more time I probably would have gotten in more, but time was tight. Did get in a nice walk with the dogs, too.

Sunday was interesting. Started the day by dropping a dinner knife on my foot. The corner of the handle end hit the edge of the nail on the top of a big toe. The pain reminded me of the "I want to throw up this hurts so much" pain I've experienced when breaking toes. Hopefully this will not be a break, but just a nasty bruise. Of course I stubbed the same toe later in the day, scraping the end of it on the driveway when I was putting garbage in our bin. Figures, doesn't it.

And I also joined Weight Watchers on Sunday afternoon. Several years ago I had an online account. Managed to lose the 20 or so pounds that I put on after we moved down from the Northeast. I've pretty much maintained that loss for a couple of years, but stayed around that same weight since then. Recently it's been creeping back up, so it was time I got my act back together. I've never done WW meetings before, and it was really different. People have been raving about the Points Plus method of tracking and there are so many people on FB and Twitter that have had such success on Weight Watchers. And seeing Suzi Storm as the newest WW Success Story is so inspiring. If she can have her beer and do WW and lose the weight, then I should be able to have my wine and do WW and succeed.

I'm a bit scared though, and not in a "it's Halloween" kind of way. I look at the points values of certain foods that I've been eating, and I know I have been waaay overeating. Usually more healthy than not, but way more than I needed to be. (Speaking of more healthy than not, what is with the fact that there are almost 60 pages of desserts, cakes, candy and cookies values in the Complete Food Companion? You aren't supposed to be eating crap, even if you know how many points it is.) I'm afraid of being hungry, I'm afraid I'll fail because I'm not usually very disciplined, I'm afraid I'll give up...I'm even afraid I'll succeed.

Lessons in life from The Honey Badger

2011-10-28T14:48:00.003-05:00

Lord help me, but the Kindle is a nifty invention. Last night, waiting for the HOA meeting to start, I pulled out my Kindle and began reading one of the many books on running that I've downloaded. This one, Marathoning For Mortals by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield, has got me itching to race again. I'm feeling better, I did a slow and easy 5k last weekend, and it felt good. Next month I'm planning on doing a 10k at the scene of the July 4th race fiasco. This time, excuse the expression, I am going to make that race my bitch. I need to re-awaken my Inner Honey Bager.

Shrinkvivor - And Now For Something Completely Different

2011-10-19T08:17:00.000-05:00

You may recall (if you're old enough) the Monty Python skit where the John Cleese, as the announcer, turns to the camera and says "and now for something completely different." Well, I wish I had something completely different to report. I'm up .4 of a pound. This week was not a big exercise week due, in part, to the fact that we drove 1200+ miles from Texas to Tennessee and back for a wedding. Can't log a lot of exercise miles in a car. You don't always eat healthy meals during roadtrips either. Add to that, I'm still sick. I was feeling better on Saturday, but woke up with another sore throat and congested chest on Sunday morning. My abs are certainly getting a workout with all of the coughing I've been doing, but I'd like to be healthy again.

Congrats to all of the Shrinkvivors that are kicking butt in this challenge. You're amazing and inspiring.

I can finally share!

2011-10-17T07:50:00.002-05:00

This weekend, The Aussie and I travelled to Tennessee for the wedding of Mary and Kepa, one of the most fun and inspiring couples in blogdom. We had a lovely time, the ceremony was sweet and fun, and we are so happy for them.

Now, some of you may know that I dabble in quilting. I haven't been doing it for years and years, but I find it enjoyable. Earlier this year I asked Mary what their favorite colors are, and she replied "purple and blue." I had decided that I wanted to make a quilt for them, and it would be in their favorite colors. Bit by bit, over the long, hot summer and fall, The Quilt came together. I was so excited as it grew, but I couldn't share on FB or twitter because Mary and Kepa might see the post! I took a class to learn how to use a longarm quilting machine at my local store, because I wanted to make the entire quilt, start to finish. This was quite an adventure, and both The Aussie and I fell in love with this quilt along the way. It made me smile just to look at it, and The Aussie said that it glowed, which was such an amazing compliment for him to make about The Quilt. The dogs, two of whom met Mary and Kepa last summer when they stayed with us on their cross country trip, were my faithful companions through the the entire process, from cutting to piecing to binding. (I must admit that, yes, there is dog hair and love sewn into the quilt, which should make Senor Kitty Snugglepuss feel right at home when the quilt arrives in New Zealand at the end of this week!) I hope they love this quilt as much as I loved making it, with happy thoughts sewn into it the entire time.

Really?

2011-10-12T08:05:00.000-05:00

It's Shrinkvivor check in day. This is getting discouraging. I've logged more minutes (315 usable minutes), was not able to log a lot of what I did this week because they weren't "exercise" minutes (dancing for almost 2 hours at a concert, 2 hours of yardwork, walking for 4 hours at the Texas State Fair...). It's been TOM, but I've been eating fairly well, eating a lot more fruits and veggies, eating less meat, trying to get more sleep. What do I get? Up 1 pound. Jeesh. I've started doing weights again, so maybe it's muscle, but it still is discouraging when you get on the scale. I can only hope that my tribemates are feeling benevolent towards me and I don't end up on the Exile tribe.

Recipe request

2011-10-10T15:28:00.004-05:00

Last week I tried out a new slow cooker recipe that I saw, in all places, the November Woman's Day magazine. This one for coconut rice pudding, which, of course, I have tweaked a bit. It's meant to be a dessert, but it make a tasty breakfast, too.

Coconut Rice Pudding (serves 6)

2 1/2 cups reduced fat milk
1 14 oz can of light coconut milk
1/4 cup of Splenda (You can use sugar if you want. Recipe calls for 1/2 but coconut milk is sweet)
1 cup of arborio rice
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped

In a 5-6 quart slow cooker (I'm not sure what mine is, it's big. This mixture only came up part way) whisk together the milk, coconut milk and Splenda. Stir in the rice and cinnamon stick.

Cook, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours. Add in the chopped apricots, re-cover, and cook for another 30 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.

Seventeen again

2011-10-07T12:03:00.003-05:00

Last night, a dream almost 30 years in the making came true. I FINALLY saw Duran Duran in concert. My bedroom was covered in posters of Duran Duran when I was in high school. And yes, John Taylor was my favorite. The concert totally lived up to my expectations. I still don't have much of a voice because of the nasty cold, but I sang my heart out and screamed just like all the other 40-something women in the crowd. It was a blast.

What can I say? I'm a 17 year old trapped inside the body of a 46 year old.

Shrinkvivor - Week 2

2011-10-05T08:08:00.001-05:00

Well this has been an interesting week. Last Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat. That sore throat quickly progressed into an all out, no holds barred, head and chest cold. Needless to say, my ability to rack up fitness minutes for week 1's challenge was seriously hampered. They weren't very energetic minutes, but I managed to eek out 200 minutes. My loss was not great, just .6, but I've been drinking so many fluids this week (and it's almost TOM, too) that I'm lucky I had a loss at all.

I finally was able to get back to the gym yesterday evening. My trainer was there, he was apologetic, and he does owe me a few sessions. I don't know why, since my telephone number was correct in the gym computer system, but he was calling another gym member's number last week trying to get in touch with me. That was a fail. But all's well that ends well. I had a good session last night and will have another make up session today. I'm glad our physical challenge will be tracking fitness minutes again - I have to redeem myself now that I'm not constantly coughing up my lungs. Hmmm. Does dancing at a Duran Duran concert count as fitness minutes?

Last week's mini-challenge, not eating fast food, wasn't too difficult for me since I rarely do. This week's mini-challenge, getting more sleep, will be much more difficult. I rarely get enough sleep, but I'm willing to sacrifice some waking hours for the tribe!

Frustrating

2011-09-28T14:04:00.001-05:00

I like the convenience of the gym I recently joined, it's so close to my house. The training is leaving a lot to be desired. Or should I say, the lack of training... Last night, after waiting for him for almost 15 minutes (I was on the treadmill and elliptical warming up) my trainer had to reschedule my session. Two of his trainers were out and since he's the trainer manager he has to cover their appointments. The sessions are only 30 minutes, so he would have had to stop before my session was over. We rescheduled the session for today's lunch hour. I show up and he isn't even there. The guy at the front desk, I think he's the owner, gets through to him on the phone. He says he'll be there in just a few minutes. By 26 past the hour I give up and leave. That's twice now he hasn't been there for a scheduled session. I don't care if they say it's on the house. I NEED A TRAINER.

Shrinkvivor: Outfit, Outlose, Outlast

2011-09-28T08:06:00.002-05:00

I've got to hand it to The Sisterhood. They come up with some cool challenges. Today is the start of Shrinkvivor. I am a die-hard Survivor watcher, so this sounds like a really cool challenge. Go Tribe Yellow!

These challenges are good because they motivate you to accomplish something, but they also introduce you to new people. The support system you grow through The Sisterhood and through new twitter friends is so important. We all need support, I know I certainly do. The possibility/likelihood of being voted off by my tribemates terrifies me, but I'm just going to have to suck it up! The last challenge I joined, Burst Into Summer, I totally got off course on. The crappy 10K on July 4th weekend, and my trainer, Barbie's Evil Twin, moving away to Vegas, really threw me off. Clean slate time. New gym, starting with new trainer, and hopefully, a new improved attitude.

Starting weight: 174.0

Hunger Challenge Recipe

2011-09-20T12:18:00.004-05:00

I had good intentions on following through on this challenge. Getting sick put a big damper on this plan as well as just about all others this past week. I'm still not 100%, but slowly I'm getting better. Here's an easy and inexpensive soup recipe. I've made it with chicken broth, but if you're vegetarian you could make it with vegetable broth. These prices come from my list that I've made up from my grocery receipts as well as my recent foray to Super H Mart and are broken down by how much I used. This soup makes 4 very generous servings. I had a half a package of the tofu in the fridge that needed using, otherwise I would have used the entire package.

Asian Soup
1 carton of Pacifica lowfat organic chicken broth ($1.67 Costco)
2 bunches of soba noodles ($.86 Super H Mart)
1/4 pound Shanghai bok choy, thinly sliced ($.55 Super H Mart)
1 carrot, thinly sliced ($.08 Super H Mart)
1 can whole straw mushrooms ($1.49 Super H Mart)
1/2 package firm tofu, cubed ($.60 Super H Mart)

Total: $5.24 for 4 servings ($1.31 per serving)

Heat the chicken broth in a medium-large pot. While this is heating, boil water to cook soba noodles. Add the sliced bok choy, carrots, straw mushrooms and cubed tofu to the broth to heat. Cook the soba noodles for 5 minutes, drain, rinse and add to the soup. I flavored this soup with 1/2 t sesame oil, 1/4 t chili oil, 1/2 t garlic powder, 1/8 t ginger paste and 1/2 t soy sauce. I do not have per serving price breakdown of these items yet as they are pantry staples. I will have to price them on my next trip out.

2011 Hunger Challenge

2011-09-12T13:20:00.005-05:00

I'm not going to lie to you. This will not be an easy challenge to do. It will, however, be a worthwile challenge to try. Meal planning isn't simple for me, primarily because The Aussie tends to be a fussy eater. Meat and potatoes, meat and rice (plain with gravy or sauce) with some veggies thrown in, tend to be the way he rolls.

In preparation for this challenge, I started going through grocery receipts to see what I've paid for frequently purchased items, I've prowled through various grocery stores with a notebook and pen, jotting down prices and servings. What I'm finding has surprised me.

To start with, I did some grocery shopping at The World's Largest Retailer on Saturday morning. I purchased a few things that we were low on, and took LOTS of notes. On the way home, I stopped at another discount grocery store to write down a few comparison prices. Once home, I started writing down recipes and calculating cost per serving. Since I'm using the $4.72 per person, per day allowance, I need to know how much what I want to cook will cost.

Breakfast, at least for The Aussie, was easy. He basically eats 1 of 3 things, along with his coffee, every day.

Breakfast 1: Eggo Nutrigrain waffles (2), 1 T butter, 1 ounce of real maple syrup = .55+.09+.40=$1.04

Breakfast 2: 1 cup of Kellogg's cornflakes, 1 c 2% milk, 1 t sugar = .13+.15+.01=.29

Breakfast 3: 1 serving oats, 1/2 c 2% milk, 1 t sugar=.06+.08+.01=.15

Yesterday afternoon I went to an Asian grocery store in my town because I had some coupons for fruits and vegetables that were expiring that day. What a madhouse it was! It was also enlightening. The vegetables you can purchase at an Asian grocery store are super fresh, very reasonably priced, and there is a tremendous variety. If you like cooking Chinese food, you can buy your staples like soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil and chili paste much cheaper than you can in the specialty section at your regular grocery store. I also found chicken thighs (bone in with the backbone section) at this store for .69 per pound. That's a huge difference between the 1.08 per pound and 3.36 per pound at the first large store I went to. Do I like to buy organic? Yes. If I was on a food stamp budget would I have that luxury? No. The entire package of 5.28 pounds was $3.64 and it contained 9 large pieces. That's .40 per chicken thigh.

Last night for dinner I made a spicy chicken curry. The Aussie is sick, so I figured he might be able to taste something spicy (I was wrong). Here's my cost breakdown for TWO SERVINGS for this meal:

2 large chicken thighs (.80)
1 chopped onion (.20)
1 can diced tomatoes (.48)
2 garlic cloves (.08)
2 T vegetable oil (.06)
curry powder (.20)
rice (.12)
peas (.25)
Total for meal: $2.19 for two people

Which would you choose?

2011-09-06T14:04:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm starting to get back into running, soon it will be time to get in some long-ish runs. I'm looking forward to them, especially since we're having a wave of cooler temperatures. I was looking through my packages of sports chews in the pantry this afternoon, trying to organize things, and started reading labels. One packet was a brand I haven't tried, but was given out at a race expo. I love samples. The other two were brands I've tried, one of whom I absolutely love to have with me on long run/race days. The labels read as follows:

Brand 1 ingredients: sucrose, corn syrup, water, gelatin, vitamin premix (sodium ascorbate, acrola concentrate, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, green tea, pyridoxine HCL, cyanocobalamin, sodium selenite), pectin, citric acid, natural flavors, sodium citrate, paprika extract (color), carnauba wax, carmine.

Brand 2 ingredients: organic rice syrup, organic rice syrup solids, organic evaporated cane juice, pectin, organic white grape juice concentrate, citric acid, sea salt, colors added (black carrot juice concentrate), natural flavors, organic sunflower oil, carnauba wax.

Brand 3 ingredients: organic tapioca syrup, organic evaporated cane juice, organic honey, organic grape juice concentrate, pectin, citric acid, color (black carrot juice concentrate (red), annatto (orange)), ascorbic acid, natural flavors, potassium citrate, organic sunflower oil, carnauba wax.

Alrighty then. I might love samples, but I don't love the ingredients on bag number 1. What surprises me is that they bothered using natural flavors...

What's for dinner

2011-08-19T07:20:00.000-05:00

The Aussie and I had some friends over for dinner last night. No pictures, but I have some recipes to share.

Slow Cooker Pork Loin

Pork loin - I used a large 4 pound loin
1 packet of onion soup mix
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup red wine
1 T garlic powder
1 t fresh ground black pepper

I did things a little backwards. Some recipes call for you to brown the meat, some don't. So I didn't. But then I did. I started this out with part of the onion soup mix, garlic powder and pepper sprinkled on the bottom of the slow cooker. Then I put in the pork loin and sprinkled the remaining soup mix, garlic powder and pepper on top. I poured in the chicken broth and the red wine and set the cooker on low. During my lunch break I decided that it would be nice to brown the meat, so I took it out of the cooker and browned it in my cast iron skillet. Then I put it back in the slow cooker to continue cooking. This cooked for seven hours on low and was absolutely delicious. Falling apart tender, I had to lift it out of the cooker with a spatula. Serve the juice that it cooked in as a sauce.

Zucchini and Summer Squash Casserole

I'm calling this a casserole for lack of a better way to describe it.

2 medium zucchini sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 small yellow squash sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1/2 cup fat free half and half
mozzarella cheese - about 8 slices off of a round of cheese
parmesan cheese
bread crumbs
olive oil

Lightly coat the bottom of your casserole dish with olive oil. Spread half of the veggies in a thick layer. Pour on half of the half and half, sprinkle a little parmesan (I use the stuff that comes in a green container. The real stuff goes moldy on me.) Take a couple of slices of mozzarella, break them into pieces and cover the veggies. Layer the rest of the veggies on top, followed by the rest of the half and half and mozzarella. Top with bread crumbs and more parmesan to give it a nice crust. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Mostly finished

2011-08-15T13:19:00.001-05:00

One good thing about all of the heat we've been having here in Texas. I've had lots of time to sew and the doggies have been keeping me company in my sewing room. I'm almost finished with this quilt top I've been working on. The last thing to do is the black sashing around the edges. I won't be able to quilt it this weekend on the long-arm machine at the quilt store because I'll be quilting the dresden plate quilt top pieced by either my grandmother or my great-grandmother. How cool will that be? A quilt finished by the great grand-daughter of the woman who pieced it by hand decades before.

Today's Fortune Cookie

2011-08-11T10:19:00.003-05:00

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

2011-07-26T17:02:00.000-05:00

I've had this salad before, but never prepared it. O.M.G. It was good. Perfect for these hot Texas summer evenings. I brought it to a potluck dinner last night. LoL, someone else made a broccoli salad too! At least one person said they prefered mine because of the added cauliflower, but both broccoli salads were polished off by the masses. If you can find low fat shredded cheese and low fat coleslaw dressing, all the better, and you may need more dressing, depending on how big the broccoli and cauliflower heads are. If you can, start this the day before, to give the broccoli and cauliflower plenty of time to chill with the dressing and the flavors to blend.

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

1 head of broccoli
1 head cauliflower
12 pieces of center cut bacon (1 package)
1/4 red onion, diced
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup coleslaw dressing
1/4 c sugar
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 T lemon juice (or sprinkle in about 1 t of True Lemon)
1/2 c craisins, soaked in pomegranate juice
1/2 c sunflower seeds

Trim and cut the broccoli and cauliflower into bite sized pieces. Wash and drain the broccoli and cauliflower and place in a large bowl. Mix in the coleslaw dressing, making sure to coat the vegetables well. At this point, I covered the mixture and put it in the refrigerator to sit overnight. It at least needs a couple of hours to chill so that the flavors mix.

Put the craisins in a small bowl with the pomegranate juice. This can chill overnight too.

Next Day: Cook the bacon until it's very crispy (I did this in the microwave). When bacon is cool, cut into small pieces. Set aside. You'll add these at the last minute along with the sunflower seeds so that the bacon doesn't become soft.

Stir the broccoli and cauliflower mixture. Add in the diced red onion, shredded cheese, chopped eggs and the craisins.

In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 c sugar with the apple cider vinegar and lemon juice. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour into the salad and mix well. When you're ready to serve, stir in the bacon bits and the sunflower seeds.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-06T07:47:00.001-05:00

Sometimes...

2011-07-05T07:59:00.001-05:00

Sometimes a finish is good enough. Last Saturday I ran (and I use that word very loosely since I walked for half of the race) the Liberty By The Lake 10k in The Colony, TX. Remind me next year that racing in July in Texas isn't the brightest idea. And doing a 10k (thank you very much trainer, Barbie's Evil Twin, for having to back out at the last minute) is really, really not a bright idea. It was very hot, very sunny, no breeze, no shade, and it was 95 by the time I was done. And boy, was I done. I finished second to last, with a time of 1:31:21. But I finished.

Eureeka!

2011-06-26T09:03:00.007-05:00

Some times it's three strikes you're out. In this case, it's third times a charm. You see, I've been attempting to bake a clean, or reasonably so, pie since I saw the recent issue of Clean Eating magazine.

First attempt was the cover recipe: banana chocolate freezer pie. Meh. Not successful, in that I don't like eating shards of ice in my pie. Might as well just stick to my breakfast smoothie for those flavors.

Second attempt was a variation on their strawberry lime pie. I didn't want to use tofu in my pie (ask me about the tofu "cheesecake" my sister used to bring home from the hippie bakery in the 70s some time), so I used greek yogurt instead. It didn't set up, plus, I couldn't find no salt cottage cheese, so the flavors were off.

Third attempt was a variation of a no-bake berry cheesecake recipe. Eureeka. The pie set, it tastes good, and it's actually full of healthy, low fat, whole grain ingredients. In fact, with ingredients like fruit, oats, almonds, whole wheat, low fat cream cheese and fat free greek yogurt, I just had a slice for breakfast. ;)

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

Crust:

1/2 c oat flour
1/2 c almond flour
1/2 c white whole wheat flour
1/4 c rice flour
1/4 c cocoa roast almonds, finely ground (I couldn't dig out my regular almonds from the freezer, and I had these in the pantry. Feel free to use regular almonds)
3 T butter, cold and cut into chunks
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t sea salt
1 1/2 t splenda (you could use 2 T agave or brown rice syrup in place of splenda)

Mix flours and other dry ingredients together in bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. With processor running, add in the cold butter and process until it has the appearance of large crumbs. Slowly add in the water until the dough combines into a ball. If you need to add more flour because it's too sticky, now would be the time. (I originally started with 1/4 c white wheat flour, but needed a little more, which is why I put 1/2 c in the ingredients list) BTW, the reason I'm using white wheat flour and rice flour is because I don't have whole wheat pastry flour, plus I was trying to make this a lower gluten crust.)

Remove the dough from the processor bowl, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for about 15-20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 375.

After your dough has chilled and the oven has heated, press the dough into your pie pan. You'll note that this is what could be termed a "short" crust. It acts more like shortbread than a stretchy dough that you'd roll out. Bake the crust for 20 minutes at 375. Allow to cool completely before you fill the crust.

The filling:

1 1/2 lbs strawberries, hulled and quartered. (1 pound goes into the pie, the 1/2 pound you'll cook down as a topping)
1/4 cup water
2 packets of unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 packages of low fat Neufchatel cheese (aka low fat cream cheese. I don't know why they just don't call it cream cheese... whatever...)
1 6 oz container Chobani fat free vanilla greek yogurt (this stuff is like crack, I tell you)
1/2 c. splenda (you can use real sugar if you want to)
2 packets of True Lemon lemon crystals or 1 T fresh lemon juice

Pour the 1/4 cup of water into a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the 2 packets of gelatin over the water and let it soften for about 15 minutes. Stir with a spoon, and over low heat, make sure that the gelatin has all dissolved and that you don't have clumps.

Put the cream cheese, greek yogurt, splenda and about 3-4 cups of the quartered strawberries in the bowl of the food processor. Process until well combined. You'll need to stop a few times and scrape the mixture off the sides of the bowl. When it's thoroughly mixed and you don't see streaks of cream cheese or yogurt in the pink mixture, while processor is going, slowly add the gelatin mixture in through the feed tube of the processor. Pour into cool pie shell. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Topping:

1/2 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 t splenda (again, you can use regular sugar or even agave syrup if you like)
splash of orange juice (if you have, it's not necessary)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook down the strawberries until they start to break down.

Here's the pie just after I took it out of the refrigerator this morning and removed the plastic wrap. As you can see, the plastic leaves marks in the top of the pie. It'll still taste great though, and you're going to drizzle strawberry topping on the pie anyway... ;)

And here, my friends, is the final product, mere seconds before I dug my fork into the pie. So, yogurt, fruit, almonds, oats... sounds like breakfast pie to me.

Burst Into Summer - week 1

2011-06-22T07:32:00.003-05:00

The Shrinking Jeans Burst Into Summer bootcamp challenge is in full force this week. We started last week with a mini-challenge: hydration. It's been so stinking hot in Texas that hydration is super important. This week's mini-challenge is to make sure we eat breakfast every day this week. Also super important.

I don't know about you, but I find that I really have to condition myself to make changes if I want to continue to treat myself properly. Maybe it's a helpful reminder to go fill up your water bottle. Or maybe it's a mini-challenge issued to make sure you grab something, a yogurt, a Larabar, just something, for breakfast. (No, just a cup of coffee doesn't count as breakfast). Since I started working out with my trainer, I find that I really need to eat every couple of hours. Sunday, I made the mistake, after doing 6 miles in the morning) of not having enough to eat and hit a wall when The Aussie and I were at Cabela's (the doggies gave him a gift card for Doggy Daddy Day). Luckily, they have a food area and I was able to get a salad that had smoked turkey and hard boiled egg. I was a wreck.

Another thing I've discovered about myself is that I really need to track what I'm eating. Some times I'll log the food into my BodyMedia account, but at the very least, I'm tracking what I'm eating and drinking in an excel spreadsheet. It's helping me see where I could fit in a few more vegetables with my lunch, or perhaps a piece of fruit along with some protein for a snack. And I've also discovered that my idea of breakfast is very flexible. Some days, like today for instance, a greek yogurt with a half a cup of granola is what I feel like eating. Other days, I feel like having leftovers from dinner, or a sandwich made with a bagel thin or sandwich thin, some smoked turkey and a Laughing Cow wedge.

Today is W1D2 of the bootcamp portion of the challenge. We're doing the kind of exercises that boost your metabolism and work your core. It's been a while since I've done sprint intervals, and I have to tell you, I forgot how much they kick my butt. In a good way. And the side plank dips and one arm tricep extensions are good and challenging.

I've needed to be challenged. I've needed to get out of my slump. I've needed to push myself off of the plateau I've been on for a very long time. I'm headed in the right direction: today's weigh in was 170.6. Definitely the right direction, and I'm going to keep moving forward. Go Team 10!

Burst Into Summer

2011-06-15T07:54:00.001-05:00

I have to admit it. I need challenges to keep me motivated. Maybe I'll be successfull at them, maybe I won't be (Marathon Week), but I'll at least try. Last week I signed up for the latest challenge hosted by the kick ass ladies over at Shrinking Jeans. Good thing I did. I knew the birthday present weight of 169.2 was too good to last. (Thank you Benihana chef Buddy for all of the soy sauce saturated goodness that was my birthday dinner celebrated on Monday night) This morning's weigh in was 172.8. I totally forgot that today was weigh in day, so I'd already eaten breakfast (1 cup Fiber One cereal with 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and a large cup of coffee with 2 ounces of 2% milk).

Let's rock this challenge, Team 10!

Happy Birthday to Me :)

2011-06-10T07:36:00.004-05:00

Well this is a nice birthday present to me. I haven't seen anything below 170 in quite a while. Now if only my husband hadn't thought my birthday was tomorrow... ;)

I really wanted to like it...

2011-06-09T07:52:00.004-05:00

I really did. By "it," I mean the cover recipe in a healthy eating magazine. It's a banana chocolate freezer pie. What's not to like, it's like your morning smoothie. It was easy to make, I had the ingredients on hand, and I had my own wheat free crust that I wanted to try out. Maybe it was my freezer, I don't know, but the texture of frozen pie was not pleasing. It was like little shards of ice imbedded in the pie. It tasted good, but it wasn't fun to eat. This won't deter me though. They have a berry pie recipe that looks good too, so that's up next! The strawberries are waiting!

Eat Your Greens

2011-06-06T13:47:00.001-05:00

This is the first year I've grown swiss chard in my garden, and to say it's done well would be an understatement. Sauteing anything with garlic and olive oil is going to be great, but you can get tired of it if you have a LOT of swiss chard to use. I recently picked up a copy of Fine Cooking's Cook Fresh magazine. There was a recipe for escarole with pine nuts, raisins and capers that sounded interesting. I didn't have any escarole, but I had lots of swiss chard!

Swiss Chard with Pine Nuts, Raisins and Capers

1 large bunch of swiss chard
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 1/2 T olive oil, use 1 T w/greens, 1/2 t w/garlic
2 T pine nuts, toasted
handful of raisins
1-2 T capers
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 t balsamic vinegar
squeeze of lemon or dash of True Lemon

Tear your swiss chard into pieces and rinse really, really well. This is the bowl from my salad spinner. After I remove the pieces of chard to the spinning basket I use the water, which has turned light green, to water my houseplants.

I recently wrote about the folks over at True Lemon sending me a True Citrus test kit to try out. While I actually did have a lemon in the fridge, I wanted to try the True Lemon crystals in this recipe.

Heat up a large pan to medium high heat, I've used my wok, and add 1 t of olive oil. Swirl it around the bottom to coat, and then add your greens. Be careful of splatters when the greens, which will still have a little water on them, hit the hot pan. It will look like a lot, but it really cooks down.

In a separate pan, toast the pine nuts over medium high heat. When they're golden brown, remove from the pan.

I use tongs to turn the greens so that they cook evenly. After about 5 minutes, cover, reduce to medium heat, and let the greens cook down for about 10 minutes.

Add the remaining olive oil to the pan you toasted the pine nuts in. Add in the garlic and lightly brown, making sure you don't burn the garlic. Add in a handful of raisins along with the capers. I used a little of the brine from the capers to help plump up the raisins.

When the swiss chard is done, remove the cover and add in the raisin mixture and the pine nuts. Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Finish it off with either a squeeze of lemon or a few dashes of True Lemon. Enjoy!

Friday Night Recap: Runs With Garden Tools, Plays In Dirt...

2011-06-05T11:07:00.007-05:00

When I was younger, my Dad had a huge vegetable garden. I love most vegetables, but wasn't a big fan of gardening. Weeding and picking beans. Ooh. Fun. Funny how things turn out, actually.

Fast forward 30 or so years, and you'll find me playing in the dirt in my plots at our community garden. Aside from the fact that I am part of the group that got this garden off the ground, I'm proud of all we've accomplished in the last two years. This is our second season, and we're already off to an amazing start. Just yesterday, we donated 50 pounds of fresh, organic vegetables to a local foodbank.

This is my first plot. It's our second year together. Digging up potatoes. Fresh potatoes are amazing.

Here's some of my haul. This next is my second plot. It's our first year together.

One of the few vegetables I'm not a fan of: eggplant. I'm growing them for the foodbank. Aren't they pretty?

A zucchini is hiding in here. But I found it! Ooh, pretty. Nothing like digging in the dirt to ruin your hands. I had been wearing gloves, but it was easier to find the potatoes without them.

Heading home. 99 degrees and it's 7pm. Here's the haul of 7 pounds of potatoes! A bunch of these guys will head back to the garden on Saturday morning for harvest and delivery to the foodbank.

Anyone need some herbs? My sage and oregano are taking over the courtyard bed, and my rosemary is taking over the front bed. And yes, that rosemary does span the entire field of this picture. The inner part had to be cut out a year ago after the first bad freeze killed that section of the plant. This rosemary was a birthday present from my sister 5 years ago. It came in a 1 gallon sized container. I'd say rosemary does quite well in North Texas, wouldn't you!?

Now it's time to relax on the patio with a shandy, my kindle and get the grill fired up for dinner. Here's Puppygirl and The Boy in picture 1 and Featherbutt (in the cage), ShortStuff (behind the chair) and Puppygirl in picture 2.

Can I Get A Few Do-Overs, please?

2011-06-05T06:54:00.004-05:00

Warning: Grumpy too early in the morning rant coming up....

I just want to go back to sleep and start this day over again. Because I needed to beat the Texas heat (we're in for another 100 degree day) I was up at 5:30 to get dressed to go running. Not fun, in the first place. I'm dressed, water bottle filled, I go get my iPod and my Garmin. I strap on my Garmin and hit the power button. Then I hit play on the iPod. Hmm. The iPod isn't working. I thought I had put it on charge for long enough, but I guess not. Okay, I'll go without tunes - it won't be the first time. So I grab my water bottle and head out the door. At the bottom of the driveway I hit Start Timer on the Garmin, and off I go. A block and a half away, I realize that the Garmin isn't showing distance or pace. Just peachy. I stand there for 10 minutes trying to get a satellite lock, and it just.won't.do.it. By this time, the sun is coming up, and there are few things I dislike more than running in the sun when it's this warm out. I'll go without one of the two, but no iPod and no Garmin? It's a total first world problem, I know, but if I'm not going to run with no tunes and no tracking, I might as well be on the treadmill at the gym, where it's air conditioned. Two strikes against me. Sorry. Do Over #1.

I should note at this point that my trainer, Barbie's Evil Twin, would ask me if I wanted a straw so I could suck it up.

Back home I go. I let The Boy out of his crate, and all three dogs are circling me like furry land sharks. The Boy stands on his hind legs and puts his paws up to greet me. Very sweet. But then Puppygirl decides to give me an "up" too, resulting in me getting raked on my arm by her toenails. Ouch. Do Over #2.

I let the dogs out in the yard to do their business. I sit down on one of the patio chairs to hang out while they're busy. ShortStuff comes over and hops up on my lap to snuggle and give kisses. (I have to say, having a stronger core is good when a 35 pound dog hops up on your lap). We have a nice snuggle, but she starts squirming, so I lift her down. All her wriggling causes me to smack the top of my hand into the corner of the next patio chair. The heavy, metal patio chair. I really hope there were no neighbors in their backyards, 'cause a choice word came out of my mouth then. Loudly. Do Over #3.

Since I'm not going for a run, I have to at least take the doggies for their morning walk. Usually I take all 3 together. Let me tell you, that's an exercise in patience, core and arm strength. Puppygirl and The Boy are each around 68 pounds, and ShortStuff is 35 - I'm halfway to a sled team. This morning I decided to take Puppygirl first and then the other two. We've walked about a block when she needs to do her business. Afterwards, I'm bending down to pick up after her, when she starts in with the "kicking the grass behind her" thing. Just my luck to get a big clump of wet grass in the face. I am glad it was just grass, though. Do Over #4.

All this fun by 6:30 in the morning. I wanna go back to bed. Harumph.

Citrusy Goodness!

2011-06-01T07:33:00.001-05:00

Now that the weather is heating up, I have been looking for ways to lighten up my recipes and cook with really fresh ingredients. I'm also trying to eat cleaner, and one way to brighten up the flavors in dishes with with citrus. A great company that I've tweeted with a number of times recently asked if I'd like to sample their product, True Lemon. Would I? I would love to, I replied. I absolutely love citrus, but I always end up buying too many lemons or limes and end up having to toss them out when they go bad. Or I'm making something and think that a squeeze of lime would be fantastic in it, but I've run out of limes, or the only one left is shrunken and dried and is hiding on the bottom of the veggie drawer. With True Lemon, problem solved!

I was so excited to open up the box to see what goodies were inside. Boy, was I surprised at the variety! There was lemon and lime, orange, raspberry lemonade...What I really love is that these products are all natural. They're made from 100% real fruit. The lemonades are sweetened with stevia, so they're low calorie too.

These are the cooking products. There's lemon, lime and orange packets, as well as lemon and lime shakers. I'm looking forward to cooking with the citrus packets. I have a few summery pies in mind, and as soon as I've worked out the recipes I'll be posting them to share with you. Key lime pie anyone?? :)

These are the drink mixes. So far I've had the original lemonade, the raspberry lemonade and the orange. I really try to stay on top of my hydration, especially since we've already had a few 100 degree days here in North Texas. These drink mixes have been fantastic. They aren't overly sweet, which I really appreciate. The flavors of the fruit really come through.

These little guys are my new favorite kitchen products. Last night I made a southwestern chicken salad. It was fairly simple: mixed greens, chicken breast from the rotisserie chook we had the night before, cherry tomatoes, black beans, pine nuts, cilantro and light ranch dressing with chili powder. What made it really zing was the True Lime I sprinkled on it. It, no pun intended, truely did taste like fresh lime juice was squeezed on my salad. No more spoiled limes, yay!

I am really looking forward to cooking more with all of these products. I'll keep you posted!

R.I.P. Piglet

2011-05-24T16:05:00.003-05:00

Little Piglet was getting old, so I knew this was coming, but it doesn't make it easy when it happens.

Happy Anniversary

2011-05-20T07:59:00.000-05:00

16 years ago today, I married my best friend. Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!

Why Am I In A Rut?

2011-05-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

I have mixed emotions about seeing all of the tweets about FitBloggin. On one hand, I'm getting such a kick out of seeing Tara's "Hi!" videos, seeing people I only know from their blogs and twitter together in one place. On the other hand, I see how far so many of them have come in this last year, and I know I haven't. This depresses me a bit. Plus, I'd love to be there with everyone, so that depresses me too.

I had my weigh in the other night. Weight was pretty much the same, measurements were pretty much the same... (though my thighs were less, which pleases me to no end) Everything is pretty much just that. The same. I've been losing and gaining the same 5 pounds for over a year. I'm working out plenty, so that leaves my eating. What is my deal? Why am I letting myself get away with this. I'm eating (fairly) healthy food, with a some indulges, but still eating too much of it. Tracking has been difficult for me too.

What am I afraid of? Why am I letting my comfort for the familiar get in the way of doing what I know, at least intellectually, is the right thing for me to do? How do I get the part of me that wants to succeed to push to the front of my brain and get things accomplished?

Hail Damage - Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T07:57:00.000-05:00

Would the alien in my brain please leave?

2011-04-26T13:57:00.000-05:00

I seem to have come down with a serious case of "I don't give a crap." This past weekend was very busy, not lots of sleep, plenty to eat and drink, plenty of company. Sunday evening's post Easter dinner run got rained out and wasn't able to do one yesterday, so I knew I had to fit something in today before I meet with my trainer. This week's goal was to push myself longer before I took my first walking break because once I take a walking break it's harder to get myself to run for longer sections. I don't know what's going on with me. I made it half a mile before I took a 30 second walking break. I was huffing and puffing like I'd never run before. I started back up again, but I hadn't run more than a minute when I stopped. I realized that I didn't want to run, wasn't enjoying myself in the slightest, and didn't give a crap. So I stopped running. I finished my walk back home, less than 1.5 miles total, changed out of my running gear, and started a load of laundry. How's that for exciting. I, one of the least enthusiastic housekeepers in history, preferred to do a load of laundry rather than run. Quite truthfully, I am not very thrilled about going to the gym right now either, but I've paid for the training sessions, so I have to go. What evil little worm has gotten into my brain and made me not give a damn about something I've been doing for the last year?

Today's Fortune Cookie

2011-04-15T15:16:00.001-05:00

Courage is contagious.

All Quiet On The Southern Front

2011-04-15T15:05:00.003-05:00

I've been quiet lately. Out of sorts may be a better term for it. The Aussie has finally gotten home after his trip to visit the family overseas. It was sooo quiet in the house. I missed him, the dogs missed him. The parrot, maybe not. I'm sure she thought about it though.

While he was in the Sydney airport on the first leg of his trip, he bought me a snowglobe. On the return, the security personnel confiscated it. He was seriously P.O.d. Well, wouldn't you know that there was a gift shop on the other side of the security checkpoint that had the same snowglobe, so he bought me another one. Hah! He said he'd have to remember to put it in his checked baggage once he reached the U.S. It's really difficult to remember things when you've been travelling for over 20 hours. Needless to say, he forgot to put it in his suitcase before it was re-checked. Thankfully, they had a storefront in the airport where you could mail things rather than have them confiscated, so he had it packaged up and mailed home. So, thousands of miles later, my snowglobe!

Today's Fortune Cookie

2011-04-08T08:05:00.001-05:00

A true friend is someone who is there for you when they'd rather be anywhere else.

Chicken Divan

2011-04-02T20:01:00.004-05:00

Well, I lost a follower this week. I don't know if it was because I blogged about my race last Sunday or if it was because I hadn't posted a chicken recipe in a while. An IRL friend, one who's actually known me since 6th grade, said it was the chicken issue. Oh well. Enjoy the interwebs without me, unknown former follower.

So, The Aussie's never been a casserole person, which I think is a crying shame. I grew up with "weird" casseroles (aka stir fries before they were cool) so I love real, honest to goodness, casseroles. I picked up a rotisserie chicken at Costco last night, so I had leftover chicken to cook with. Here's what I cooked up tonight:

Chicken Divan (and then some)
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes
2 cups cooked broccoli
1 cup cooked spinach (I had leftover from last night, sauteed with garlic)
2 cans low fat cream of mushroom soup mixed herbs
1/4 c white wine
panko bread crumbs
parmesan
salt/pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 375. In a sauce pan, combine the 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup with the white wine. Add in some herbs and stir. When warmed up, remove from heat. Dice your cooked chicken. If you need, cook your vegetables. I had a few asparagus spears from the garden that I steamed in a bag for 45 seconds, then I steamed the broccoli. I had left over spinach from last night, so I added it in the dish. Spread the vegetables in a casserole dish. Add in the diced, cooked chicken. Pour over the cream of mushroom soup and stir until the soup is settled in with the vegetables and chicken. Cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from the oven and top with some parmesan and panko crumbs. I, do humbly admit, use parmesan from the large green container I get at Costco. Last time I bought the real stuff it went moldy, so I use the "fake" stuff. Bake for 10 more minutes.

If you need to run it under the broiler to get it browned, like I did, feel free.

I have to say, this was really good, and I think, not that bad for you. I just wish The Aussie liked casseroles...

Today's Fortune Cookie

2011-04-01T08:01:00.000-05:00

Through greater effort and hard work a precious dream comes true.

I Am Stronger

2011-03-29T14:00:00.001-05:00

Yes, I am stronger. I am stronger than some others are petty. Maybe not at first, but I am working on it. You see, I have toyed with the idea of getting a 13.1 tattoo. During lunch today I entered "13.1 tattoo" into a search engine. Silly me thought that the search results would be of people talking about their own tattoos. As it turns out, the first two results were far different. It seems there are some people in the running community who think that getting 13.1 tattoos, Iron Man tattoos, 26.2 tattoos, 13.1 stickers for their cars and such are people to be laughed at and scorned. Somehow, our accomplishments are less, that what I take pride in completing is their mid-week run. That my putting a sticker on my car or wanting a tattoo celebrating an accomplishment makes me lame.

At first I felt hurt and ashamed. Maybe they're right, maybe I am just a silly jogger. Maybe wanting a tattoo or sticker for my car is stupid. There are so many out there who are much better than me, what right do I have boasting about what I've accomplished. Yeah. At first I felt that. Then I got pissed. Who the hell are they belittling others who are pushing themselves. Who the hell are they to berate others for stepping outside of their comfort zone and striving to make themselves more. Who the hell are they for calling us hobby joggers and lame triathletes with blogs who just don't f***ing get it.

I'll tell you who am I. I'm a badass hobby jogger with a blog who stepped out of her comfort zone and got off the effing couch and just finished her second half marathon. That's who I am. And if you don't like it, you can shut the eff up.

Why I Do This

2011-03-28T07:56:00.000-05:00

I asked my husband yesterday morning, as he dropped me off near City Hall in Dallas, "remind me again why I do this?" We both laughed. He, in amusement. Me, with a nervous lump in my stomach. You see, he's not exactly sure why I do this, and by "this" I mean run. But he's proud of me for doing it. A year ago, I wasn't even a runner. Yesterday I ran my second half marathon.

So why do I do this? I run because I am stronger and tougher than I thought I was. I run because it gives me goals I can accomplish. I run because it gives me freedom. I run because of how I feel when I'm done. I run because I have a new-found sense of determination. I run because it makes me feel strong. I run because I can.

I'm thrilled that this race was a PR. My chip time (I forgot to turn off my Garmin when I finished) was 2:46:43. I improved over my White Rock time by almost 12 minutes. I am beyond happy with how much I've improved. I hope to finish my next one around 2:30.

Thank you to the crew that put on the RnR Dallas Half Marathon. It was a great course, a fantastic cause, lots of awesome people running, fun costumes, and even an Elvis! And thank you to the people who came out on a chilly and dreary Sunday morning to cheer us on. Families, babies, dogs, cheer teams from area high schools. Thank you to the bands that played along the course. You guys, literally, rocked! Thank you to the woman sitting near Campisi's on Mockingbird, just before mile 7, with the sign "Embrace the suck." So true. I needed that!

Thank you to my trainer, EJ. My mileage has not been good this winter due to injury and weather, but the strength training was a major part of my finishing the race this strong. All in all, it was a good day. A lot cooler than I expected, but a good day. When we got home at noon, I fired up the oven. I earned my treat. I had three of these bad boys. They were soooo good!

My 13.1 flowers from my husband. :)

ABCs

2011-03-09T07:57:00.000-06:00

There's a fun thing spreading through the bloggers called The ABCs of Me. So, I'm hopping on the bandwagon!

Age: 40s
Bed size: Queen. Not quite enough room for 2 people and lots of dogs
Chore you hate: cleaning the bathroom
Dogs: 3
Essential start of your day: puppy kisses!
Favorite color: cobalt blue
Gold or silver: yes, please
Height: 5'5"
Instruments I play (or have played): flute, piccolo, oboe (badly), recorder, piano
Job title: consultant
Kids: none of the human variety
Live: Texas
Mom's name: Mom ;)
Nickname: Kyra
Overnight hospital stays: none
Pet peeve: too many to list, but not picking up after your dog when they poop in my front yard is right up there these days
Quote from a movie: "Auutttooowwaaaashh" - Leeloo in The Fifth Element
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: 1 sister, multiple dogs
Time you wake up: 6.30, if the dogs let me sleep in or I'm not doing long runs
Underwear: yes
Vegetable you dislike: eggplant (dislike is a mild term for my feelings about this vegetable)
What makes you run late: the dogs or my husband
X-rays you have had done: elbow, knee, dental
Yummy food you make: curry
Zoo animal: Bears. If I'm at Seaworld, the dolphins, rays, and beluga whales.

Fast, Easy, Fresh

2011-02-25T07:47:00.005-06:00

My local Border's is, unfortunately, one of many that are closing. The Aussie and I stopped in last weekend. My word, the line was as bad as for the midnight release of Breaking Dawn, but without the squealing girls. I immediately headed over to the cookbook section. I may make the same things over and over again, but I love cookbooks. One of the first I picked up was Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh cookbook. I'm so glad I did. It has some great recipes. Last night I made sauteed chicken with garlic and rosemary. I did substitute balsamic vinegar for the red wine vinegar, but it was super easy. The recipe calls for chicken thighs, but I'm sure you could make it with chicken breast if you prefer white meat. The recipe serves 4, but I cut it in half. My version is below.

Sauteed Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary

1 pound of chicken thighs, with bone and skin
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1 T chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper

Heat heavy skillet over high heat and add oilive oil to skillet. I used my huge cast iron skillet. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet, skin side down, and brown for about 7 minutes. Flip chicken over and brown on the other side for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cover. Cook until chicken is cooked through (at least 165 degrees). This took 20-25 minutes for me because one of the pieces was larger than the others. The recipe calls for 15 minutes, but I don't like any red near the bone, so I cooked it longer.

Transfer the chicken to a plate. If there is a lot of drippings in the skillet, drain all but 2 tablespoons. Add the garlic and the chopped rosemary. Saute for a minute. Add the chicken broth and the vinegar. Reduce the sauce by half, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. Serve with sauce spooned over the chicken pieces.

My thoughts: this tasted wonderful. I usually give my chicken skin to The Aussie, so having the sauce to spoon over the chicken was really lovely.

Baked Chicken Parcels

2011-02-14T13:28:00.003-06:00

In honor of Valentine's Day, I wanted to post a quick and easy, yet elegant recipe.

Baked Chicken Parcels

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of baby bella mushrooms, finely sliced
2 yukon gold potatoes, finely sliced
1 cup baby carrots
2 T olive oil
1 T parsley, finely minced
1 t lemon zest
juice of one large lemon
4 small bay leaves
salt/pepper
1 t garlic powder (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Score the top of each chicken breast in the thickest section 2 or 3 times. Salt and pepper each side to season.

Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and gently toss to combine.

Cut off four sheets of heavy foil large enough to hold a single chicken breast and an equal portion of the potato and carrot mixture. Place a handful of the potato mixture in the middle of each sheet of foil, making sure each has a bay leaf. Place a chicken breast on the top of each portion of vegetable mixture. Fold together the foil, bottom to the top and then the sides, folding over and crimping the edges closed. You want to make sure that each pouch is completely sealed, but that there is room in the parcel for the steam.

Place the parcels in a shallow pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the chicken is
done (165 degrees). Be careful opening up the pouches, as steam will build up.

Simple, yet elegant. You can't go wrong!

Memories of Egypt

2011-02-11T13:41:00.001-06:00

Along with the rest of the world, The Aussie and I have been watching the events unfolding in Egypt on television. This is a new chapter in their history. We had the privilege of travelling to Egypt several years ago and met many lovely people. We wish them well.

The view of the Nile from our hotel. Tahrir Square is to the right of the first bridge

Outside the Muhammad Ali mosque

My first glimpse of the pyramids

Cairo at night

Entering the Khan el-Khalili market

The Great Pyramid

The Aussie and the pyramids

First camel sighted

The Sphinx, with the pyramids in the background

The crowds at the Sphinx were overwhelming

The Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel shortly after dawn

Carvings at Philae

Philae - stunning place

Balloons at dawn on the Nile

Valley of The Kings

Oatmeal Pumpkin Creme Pies

2011-02-09T11:45:00.004-06:00

It's such a winter-y, icky day for so many of us today, I thought I'd post a recipe to help cheer you up. I made these on Sunday, but I had a lot of leftover batter, so I baked up a fresh batch to share with the class.

I read about these creme pies here and here. I love how people make recipes their own. Beloved Green tweaked the original and I tweaked it too, to suit my taste and on-hand ingredients. This recipe makes A LOT of creme pies. The original said 12, but I can't see how that's possible unless a serving is 5 pies. I made 16 pies (32 cookies) on Sunday and didn't even use half of what the recipe made in batter and filling. I used parchment paper on my cookie sheets, per the original recipe. I read you can use no stick cooking spray, but I can't confirm that.

Oatmeal Pumpkin Creme Pies

For the cookie:

1 c brown sugar
1/2 Splenda
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c apple sauce
1 can pumpkin (15 oz.)
2 whole eggs (I was out of Egg Beaters)
1 t vanilla
1 c ground oatmeal (I put in the blender to grind)
1 c white whole wheat flour
1 c AP flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 T ground cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg
1/4+ t ground cloves (I love these, so I used 1/2 t)
1/2 t salt

Filling:

1 package of low fat cream cheese, softened (8 oz. box)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
16 oz. powdered sugar (half the regular sized bag)
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 ground cinnamon
1 t milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar, sugar, oil, apple sauce and pumpkin. When that's mixed well, add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Add in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Slowly add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture until combined.

Cut off parchment paper, if using, to fit your cookie sheet. If not using, spray your cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon the batter into a large zip top plastic bag. Smush down (like my technical term?) until the batter is in the corner. Snip of a small corner of the bag. Starting in the middle of your cookie, squeeze the batter into concentric circles until it's about 2-3 inches big. Repeat until your cookie sheet is filled. Try and do even numbers of cookies so you don't have an odd cookie out. Or don't worry and eat the odd cookie!

Bake for 12-14 mintes. I tried the 11 minutes the original recipe called for, but it wasn't enough in my oven. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Now for the filling! In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.

Frost the bottom cookie in the sandwich and pop the top on.

If you were impatient, like me, and the cookies are still warm, it may get a little messy!

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-09T08:01:00.001-06:00

An addition to the family

2011-01-13T08:04:00.001-06:00

Guess what I did on my lunch hour on Tuesday? I went to the local shelter to meet my new boy. My friend Dogblogger at Dog and God posted a video on FB Tuesday morning, asking for help for a dog that needed a home. I watched the video and started bawling. Yes, I am a mush, but that's beside the point. The point is, that he is a sweet, mellow boy who'd been picked up as a stray in town. Sweet Boy's time had run out, and he needed to be adopted that day. Was I looking for another dog, no. But I couldn't let him die, either. The video really got to me. I emailed The Aussie, asking what he thought about a third dog, one who desperately needed our help. His reply: "Oh boy...will call you soon." When I told him what the situation was, he said "Go, get him. Send me a picture." So I called the shelter, emailed my boss to say I needed to take an early lunch hour, and at noon I headed to the shelter. When I got there the receptionist said that someone was already meeting him. *stops in tracks* Now what? I sat and waited, prayed for the best for Sweet Boy and to not be selfish because of what I wanted. About 10 minutes go by and a young woman walks out of the meet and greet room and tells me that I can go in. I poke my head in and smile at him, said hello sweet boy, and plunked down on the floor. He sniffed, let me pet him, had some treats while Shelter Man Joe told me about Sweet Boy. If it wasn't for the fact that he already had a "sticks like glue" dog at home, he would have loved to adopt Sweet Boy for himself. I hung out with Sweet Boy for a while, and by the time I had to leave, he was lying on the floor next to me, leaning in to me while I rubbed his head and his ears. He was still a little cautious, but seemed content. I looked at Shelter Man Joe, smiled and said I wanted to adopt Sweet Boy. So one day, and a rather "important" vet visit later, Sweet Boy came home. :) And they all lived happily ever after.

The moral of this story? Please save a life. Adopt a shelter dog or cat.

We can be...

2011-01-07T14:26:00.003-06:00

Always on the lookout for new music to run to, I downloaded the Taio Cruz album on iTunes during lunch. I've heard the singles, lighthearted, fun songs. As I was listening though, another song stood out. I stopped what I was doing and really listened. And it made me think of so many of my twitter/FB/blogging friends. This is dedicated to you, who have touched my life in so many ways. Monique, Eddie, Lori, Nadeen, Joey, Jen (the whole lot of you!), Jenn, Shannon, Sue (all of you!), Jan, JB, Ryan (both of you), Terri, Trish, Kerri, Steve, Karen, Tara, Jack, Stephen, Mandy ... the list just goes on and on...

Together we are all stronger. Thank you.

Happy New Year and a 100th Post

2011-01-01T13:15:00.003-06:00

100th post. How'd that happen? Well, since it's New Year's Day, I want to wish you all a wonderful New Year. Hopefully you're well hydrated and don't have too much of a hangover this morning.

I received a wonderful calendar from the lovely Healthy Loser Gal (Thank you!!) for Christmas. This morning I jotted down my goals and my training plan in this calendar for the Rock N Roll Half I'm running the end of March. It will hang out on my desk, gently nudging me each day and inspiring me to get moving in a way that a Google calendar reminder won't. It's kind of shocking, seeing my training plan written out, but I have to remind myself that I can do this, I have done this, and I will continue to do this.

I got outside for 3 miles this morning, some of it was a walk with the dogs, so the pace was rather eratic with all the stop, sniff, sniff some more, piddle, sniff... Overall, the 3 miles was done in 48 minutes. I've only run three times since White Rock, with 3.5 miles on Christmas Day in Virginia being the longest distance, so to say I'm rusty would be an understatement. Lol! Speaking of running on Christmas Day, when I got back from the run, The Aussie whispered to me that seeing me go running, especially since it was super cold and windy that day, kind of freaked my family out. I got a kick out of that, I have to admit. Almost as much as I got from the look on The Aussie's face when he opened up a present from me. It was a key ring weather station from National Geographic. He looked at it, looked at me, and with a shocked look on his face, because he hadn't figured out what it was yet, said "Is this for running??" Major LOL on that one! Sweetie, I love you, but I know you aren't ready to get off the couch yet. I'll be waiting for you when you are, though. :)

Well, I'm off to go do some New Year's pantry organizing. Yes, I know you wish you were me. Have an awesome weekend and do something to inspire you and get you moving! ...Now, where's my Rick Astley CD? He's great to clean to...

Saying goodbye to 2010

2010-12-31T11:44:00.011-06:00

Around the world, people tonight are celebrating the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. I've often gotten rather melancholy on New Year's Eve. It's been a really good year, and I'm sad to see it go.

In January, The Aussie and I went on a cruise and I met my some fantastic twitter friends, @FabShanneyPants, @FitInMyHeart and @JeepJenn. I had a great time on the cruise and am so glad that I had the opportunity to meet these amazing women.

February came in with some unexpected weather for Texas. 8 degrees in DFW. Really? The end of that month though, we broke ground on the community garden. Seeing this project move from a sermon at church, planning meetings (lots and lots of planning meetings), to having an actual garden has been amazing. To date, we've donated over 400 pounds of produce to a local food bank. I also got to meet to cool twitter friends, @Pinksugacupcake and @MsAnneK, when they stopped in Dallas on their cross country road trip.

March. Hmm. Other than running up to the garden to cover the tomato plants every time we had a freeze warning, I don't know what happened in March.

April. Ha! April 1st was the day I started C25K. My ambition was to run a 5K before my birthday. I never did make it through the program, but I'm still running.

May. Boy, the weather go hot quickly in May. Any traning was done when the sun wasn't up. On May 22nd I ran in the Run For The Retrievers 5K and met @Nicci_NiftyEats too. We celebrated The Aussie's birthday and our anniversary in May too. :)

June. Had a birthday. Headed to NYC for a couple of days to hang out with my sister and mom and to meet up with everyone at the office. I rode the carousel in Central Park. This is a birthday tradition that dates back to my early years working in NYC. My sister and I also had fun time at dinner with my twitter friend @PassionMD and his girlfriend @ctreacy. So glad I was able to meet up with them.

July. This was a busy month! We had a visit from the cutest couple on twitter, @amerrylife and @gatekepa. We went on vacation to Florida! By the seat of my pants, I finally finished @FitInMyHeart's birthday present. Yeah, you're right. Her birthday was in April... We went to Sea World for the day and had a fantastic time with her and @QTHouseofBeauty and the kids. There was plenty of splashing by dolphins and rays! Oh. And I signed up for a half marathon.

August. Running.

September. Running.

October. Running. Did the Firefly Run 5K.

November. Running.

December. Woo Hoo! Completed my first half marathon in under 3 hours. Oh yeah. And I signed up for another. Road trip. Saw family, celebrated Christmas, ate lots, ran little, road trip home.

This has been a very cool year. Here's hoping for an amazing year to come.

I wish all of you a prosperous, healthy and joyous 2011.

Blessings,

Kyra

Shaking my head

2010-12-13T13:05:00.000-06:00

*whisper whisper whisper* Did you hear what happened to Kyra? She just registered for another half marathon? Is she nuts? Don't know. She might be. *collective shaking of heads*

Yup. I signed up for another one. Hey, I've got some nice kicks, a shiny new Garmin from Santa (aka my wonderful-I-haven't-told-him-I'm-doing-this-yet husband), quite the collection of running shirts that need something to do, and a finisher's medal that's lonely.

In all seriousness, I think I need to have a goal. Running circles around my neighborhood isn't fun, so there has to be a purpose to all of this. Plus, as the magnet I picked up at the DWRM expo says, Running Is Cheaper Than Therapy. My plan is to be a lot more diligent with my training, doing the cross training as well as the running, and lots and lots of stretching. I've got more of a clue this time as to what I'm doing, so I'm looking forward to this. The adventure continues...

13.1

2010-12-06T07:52:00.005-06:00

This spring I had the goal to run my first 5K before I turned 45 in June. I accomplished that goal, and set about looking for the next one. How strange. I kind of liked running. Whodathunkit? In July, someone I know IRL suggested doing the Half at White Rock in December. You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea... Say what? If you told me a year or so ago that I, an overweight woman in her mid 40s would be running a half marathon, I would have politely (*snort*) asked what you were smoking and if you were nuts. Yeah. Well. Maybe not so nuts after all...and I have the aches, pains and YES!!! a finisher's medal to prove it.

Me, before the race. It's about 36 degrees out and I'm very cold. I'm also feeling rather anxious, hence the cheerful expression on my face. You can see the big ferris wheel on the Texas state fair grounds in the background, which is pretty neat.

This is the course map. The half runners didn't get to run around White Rock Lake, but other parts of the course were really beautiful. I was in the last corral, so I didn't actually start the race until it had been going about an hour. NOT FUN. Standing around in 36 degree weather with limited clothing on is not a good time. In fact, we had just started and were less than a mile in when we saw the elite half runners coming in. They were screamingly fast. Very impressive.

Odds and ends that stick out in my mind from the race: the really cute black lab puppy I saw at about .25 mile in (yes, there is a dog theme here!); the historic houses on Swiss, between miles 1 and 2, were beautiful; the BRIGHT BLUE Bentley that I saw somewhere just after mile marker 3 (I didn't know they made them in that color); the wait in line for the first port-a-potty stop took waaay longer than I wanted; the gorgeous golden retriever that I got a high five from around mile 4; being thankful for the hill down McKinney as we headed onto Turtle Creek; how beautiful the Turtle Creek, mile 5, area is; how disgusting the energy gel that rhymes with eeww is (IMO only); how beautiful the Lakeside area is and how impressive their holiday decorations are; running for a little while with the friends from church around miles 5.5; seeing their family cheering us on Lakeside around mile 6; getting a call from my husband when I was nearing mile 7 - he was trying to figure how to get through the street closures to come see me; the neon yellow sign held by a guy at mile 8 who totally reminded me of @damanlovett saying "congratulations total stranger"; seeing my husband just before mile marker 10 and getting a hug and kiss from him (I also got to leave my purple hoodie with him since I'd really warmed up); the cute yellow lab around mile 11 who'd just gotten to say hi, along with his mom, to a family member running. He sooo wanted to join in and run too!; seeing other runners along the route getting hugs and kisses from their family members; seeing a police officer get out of his car to check on a man who was crouched over by a telephone pole near mile 12. The man did look a bit wobbly, but he was just trying to stretch out his legs and he was okay; the sheer number of people stretching their legs in the last few miles (including me); the bands that were playing along the way - very interesting musical selections some of them were playing; seeing the marathoners, still so full of energy and speed where the courses met back up again. They were so impressive; the crowds cheering and other runners who'd already finished clapping and cheering us on, saying "you're doing great runners, keep it up, you're almost there"; being acknowleged as a runner by these amazing athletes just because I showed up to try and do this race; CROSSING THE FINISH LINE!! My chip time was 2:58:28; making it into the automobile building, covered in my mylar wrap, and being handed my Finisher's Medal. I have worked so hard for this medal. I started to cry a bit when I got the medal. Heck, I'm tearing up writing this, remembering how it felt; Getting a huge hug from my husband after the race, hearing him tell me how proud he is of me; meeting up with Mary, Syble and Ben afterwards; the LONG walk back to the car; my husband handing me a bouquet of roses - 13 long stemmed roses and 1 short rose for my 13.1 miles.

I sent text messages to both @FitInMyHeart and @damanlovett to let them know I'd finished. They, along with @DareToBecome, @whiskyd, @foodiemcbody (who also ran her first half yesterday!!!), @KCLAnderson, @MizFitOnline, @tidbits_of_tara and so, so many more, have been so full of encouragement. It means a lot to me that there are so many supportive people out there in twitterland. You guys rock!

I'm about to cross the finish line in this picture. I'm just behind the person in bright red in the middle. If you look closely, you can see a tiny bit of hot pink in there!

We've all got our bling on!

Now on to more adventures in running! The story continues...

Quinoa "Rice" Pudding

2010-12-02T13:20:00.000-06:00

I mentioned this morning on Twitter that the quinoa "rice" pudding I made for breakfast was actually quite good. I've been looking for easy pre-run breakfast ideas, and I like pudding, so I figured a pudding that's reasonably good for you is worth a shot. Since a few of you asked for the recipe, I am happy to oblige. I thought I found the recipe on Epicurious, but I haven't located it again. Anyhoo, I played with the recipe, which called for whole milk, and came up with the following:

Quinoa "Rice" Pudding

1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1/2 t cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup of quinoa - rinsed VERY well

Combine the milk, coconut milk, vanilla bean, maple syrup and salt in a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium high heat. Bring the liquid to a hard simmer, not quite at a boil. Add in the quinoa and the cinnamon. Stirring frequently, cook for 30 minutes. (I lost track of time and cooked it for 40 and it was fine) Once thickened, remove from the heat and let cool. You can top with berries, dried fruit, nuts, whatever you like. I heated mine back up in the microwave and topped it with more cinnamon. It was lovely.

My Thanksgiving menu is set...

2010-11-24T07:59:00.000-06:00

After some hemming and hawing on adding extra sides and which appetizers to have, I've finalized the menu for Thanksgiving dinner. Some things are traditional, some aren't. For example, I roast a chicken, not a turkey. When there's just a few people, there's no need to have a 10 pound turkey. Besides, The Aussie doesn't care for roast turkey. The skin doesn't get crispy enough. Other things, like the Pepperidge Farms stuffing and green bean casserole are old school, and I totally love them.

Appetizers:

baked brie in puff pastry

shrimp cocktail

Dinner:

roast chicken

crispy roast potatoes

stuffing

roast butternut squash with cranberries

giblet gravy

green bean casserole

cranberry relish

rolls

Dessert:

creme brulee and coffee

I've never made baked brie or creme brulee before. And I've only ever made soup with butternut squash, so this should be fun! And Yay! We have a cold front coming in, so I'll be able to have a fire in the fireplace! These 70-80 degree days in November are getting old. ;)

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with laughter, great food, and good times with friends and family.

Blessings,

Kyra

One of those days...

2010-11-20T08:38:00.007-06:00

I try to be a positive person, I really do. Today, I'm finding it hard.

1. I was supposed to do at least 10 miles today on my long run. My hamstring is bothering me so much I only made it 4.23. Much of that was walking. Oh yeah. White Rock is in 2 weeks. At this point, I'm praying just to finish. Hopefully I can do that, even if I have to walk most of the way. I know it's shallow, but I'd really like a finisher's medal.

2. The person who invited me to go running with her early this morning never called to confirm. No call yesterday. No call today. Disappointed.

3. Friends from down the street are in the midst of a divorce. Today's the day they're moving out. I ran past the moving van at the end of my run. Very sad. I'm going to miss them. Even their five kids.

4. Situation at my husband's office is so stressful. Co-worker and he are supposed to share information on the IT projects they're both working on. Co-worker has refused to "share knowledge" pretty much since he started there. Co-worker is on vacation and husband didn't know what stage other guy's project was at and he got in trouble for it. Doesn't that just figure.

Yeah. Today's shaping up to be a really great day.

Turkey, it's not just for Thanksgiving anymore

2010-11-09T07:45:00.002-06:00

I stumbled across a recipe for turkey meatballs recently that sounded interesting. I tweaked the recipe that was there a little bit. Sorry, I can't recall where I first saw it, otherwise I'd give you credit for your adaptation of the Bon Appetit recipe. Since turkey is supposed to be really healthy for you, whether you're a runner or not, I figured I'd give them a try since I'm training for White Rock and I need all the help I can get. I'm glad that I did. They're really good.

Turkey Pesto Meatballs

2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce (used Merzetta's Puttanesca and Porchini Mushroom)
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (about 3 slices of bread)
1/2 cup pesto
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 t salt
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
1/2 t garlic powder (yes, I know, there's already garlic in the pesto. But I like more)
1/2 t fennel seeds

Pour one jar of your sauce into a large pan. Set over low heat while you make the meatballs.

In a large bowl, mix all of the other ingredients together wo that the pesto, breadcrumbs and eggs are well incorporated into the ground turkey. Wet your hands and form meatballs. They should be about the size of a golf ball. You can use a small ice cream scoop to make the meatballs if you want a really consistent size. Place the meatballs in a single layer in the pan and pour the second jar evenly over the meatballs. Over medium-low heat, bring the pan to a simmer and let them cook for about 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. I lightly stirred the sauce over the meatballs a couple of times during the cooking process.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil for your spaghetti. Cook your spaghetti to however you like. I'm not an al dente type, so my spaghetti cooked for about 9+ minutes. Drain the spaghetti and serve with the meatballs.

I have to tell you, these meatballs are really good cold too. Right straight out of the refrigerator. Sitting down is optional, but a fork is mighty useful.

A New Challenge

2010-11-03T17:27:00.003-05:00

Everyone knows that the holidays can be especially challenging when you're trying to eat healthy and move your butt. Co-workers bringing in cookies they've baked, leftover Halloween candy, companies sending corporate gifts designed to tempt you and fatten you up, office parties, neighborhood parties, family gatherings .... it goes on and on. *pass the eggnog, would you please?*

I was psyched to see that Amanda from twitter has posted a new challenge: The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge. How can you not love a challenge with a name like that? You earn points for all types of working out and eating all your fruits and veggies. These are things, along with drinking enough water, that we try to do anyway, so it's a win-win challenge. On the plus side, Santa will know you're on the Good List this year for eating all your veggies. You don't want to disappoint Santa, do you?

They keep me going...

2010-10-31T22:07:00.006-05:00

I was never much of a gardener. I grew up around gardens, my father's vegetable garden and my mother's multitude of flower beds. To me, it was a chore. I had to weed. I had to pick green beans and zucchini. Heaven forbid. I was lucky enough to have access to fresh vegetables like those my father grew. He had an amazing vegetable garden. One that I wish I had. The carrots and beets in the picture above came from seed. Last February. Go figure. I planted them then, they got harvested today. And I have to tell you, I had wire domes covering the carrots to keep the bunnies out of them. I'd find bunny pellets surrounding the domes, any greens growing outside the domes sheared down. (I think the bunnies were practicing their telekenesis skills on those domes) These are the little carrots that could... I'm not a great gardener, but at least I'm trying.

Last year, the pastor of my church gave a sermon about how great it would be if we could use some of the property owned by the church to start a community garden that would help feed those in need. Some days I don't know what I was thinking, going to those first planning meetings, but I'm so proud of where we've come. To date, we've harvested almost 400 pounds of produce that was donated to a local food pantry and to the church's food share program. We're growing organic produce for the hungry and for our families, and that really makes it all worthwhile. And yes, organic, local, fresh produce is good for you and tastes like nothing other. Would I have stepped up, knowing what would be required of me to see this project come to fruition? I don't know. But I did. The garden, and all it stands for, helps keep me going.

This second picture is of another thing that helps keep me going. In the first few months of our first year here in TX we adopted a wonderful Puppygirl. She had a REALLY awful first few years of her life. She's slow to trust, spooks easily, and is very skittish around strangers and cameras. I can rarely get a decent picture of her. The only reason I got this picture of her today is because she was wondering what I was carrying in the colander (see above) when I came in from outside. I had the camera in one hand and *snap* I got a picture of her with a smile on her face. Her smile is something few people outside of her family and comfortable friends group will ever see. I have to be honest. She is one of the loves of my life. She is an amazing, sweet, loving girl. (So is Shortstuff, my Sous Chef, next to her, don't get me wrong. She's our meet and greet committee who loves nearly everyone.) I love my furry kids. They make my heart smile.

What makes your heart smile and keeps you going?

Way to go Rangers!

2010-10-23T10:43:00.003-05:00

I don't actually follow baseball, but I'm very happy that the Rangers won the title last night. (I was never a Yankees fan when I lived/worked in NY. I prefered the Mets.) A lot of my friends are huge Rangers fans, and I'm sure there will be a few AL Champions shirts worn to church tomorrow. From what I've observed since moving to Texas, Texans take their religion and their sports very seriously.

In that light, the following prayer was written in the comments section on a FB friend's post last night after the win by a man named Tony Mc. I don't know where he read it, but I thought I'd pass it along to you.

Our Rangers, who art in Texas, winners be thy name. The Yanks will come, they will be done, in New York as they will be in Texas. Give us this week a series win, and forgive us our bullpen loss, as we cause losses upon their bullpen. Lead us not into the off-season, but deliver us a championship title. For the Rangers are the swingdom, the claw, and the antlers, forever and ever. Play ball.

My second 5K

2010-10-16T21:28:00.003-05:00

What a great day! I did my second 5K tonight. Thank you to The Aussie for heading to Plano with me and sitting around while I played. Tonight's race was the Firefly Run, benefitting Children's Medical Center in Dallas. It was a night race, with participants wearing LEDs. I finished in 36:21:43. A five+ minute improvement over my first 5K in May. I was hoping for a sub 35 since my training runs have been going well, but stupid me forgot to bring her iPod. So I'm actually quite pleased that I did as well as I did with NO music.

This was the inaugural year for the Firefly Run. Some things, like starting 15 minutes late, could be better. But what was great? There was toilet paper in the port-a-potty.

It's the little things that count. :)

Soup is on... fall flavors edition

2010-10-11T12:14:00.004-05:00

My Dad had an amazing vegetable garden, so I grew up eating lots and lots of vegetables. There are very few I don't like. (Sorry eggplant and lima beans) Winter squashes weren't part of the mix though, which is a shame. They're really good. I had a butternut squash sitting on my counter, begging to be turned into curried butternut squash soup. Who was I to tell it no?

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 T curry powder
1 T olive oil
4 cups of low sodium chicken stock
1 t garlic powder
salt to taste
yogurt to garnish (optional)

In a heavy pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the chopped onion and stir. Since I'm going to use my stick blender to puree this, rough chop is fine for the onion. Cook until transluscent, about 3 minutes.

Add in the curry powder and stir. Cook for 1 minute to let the curry spices bloom.

Add in your butternut squash, garlic powder and chicken stock. You can make this soup with sweet potato too. My guess is that pumpkin would be fantastic as well, but I haven't made that yet.

Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the squash is soft and the soup is hot. This is the soup after 30 minutes. If you don't have a stick blender, you could use a potato masher to mush the squash. Or if you want a chunky soup, you can serve as is.

Add salt to taste. I added a dollop (don't you just love that word?) of low fat sour cream to my soup. And lunch is served. Enjoy.

Thankful, and other mixed thoughts

2010-10-06T11:56:00.004-05:00

Often on Wednesdays I like to do Wordless Wednesday, but there are words today that need to be used. Thankful. Grateful. And Hateful.

I'll explain the Hateful first. Hateful is for the hackers that hacked three of my email accounts, including the email account linked to this blog, causing my blog to be suspended. I was in tears when I tried to access my blog Monday morning, only to be met with a screen saying that the blog has been removed and that the name is not available for use. I might not be a daily, big numbers blogger, but I love my blog.

Thankful and grateful is me, because I have access back to my accounts and my blog. And I'm very thankful and grateful for you, the people who stop by, read what I'm up to, and leave encouraging comments.

Canning

2010-09-27T07:44:00.001-05:00

It looks like my first attempts at canning have been successful. So far I've canned 7 half pints of strawberry preserves and 6 half pints of pepper jelly. The pepper jelly has apricot, red onion, jalapenos and anaheim peppers and is so pretty. In the future, I need to carefully write down the exact amount of ingredients I need though. Instead of 3/4 of a pound of jalapenos, I ended up buying 3 pounds. Oops. We're not much on salsa (I know, and I live in Texas, right?) but I guess I'm going to end up making some anyway. And canning it. For presents. For everyone. (I can leave jars of salsa on the front steps of neighbors I don't know, can't I?)

Next up: cardamom plum jam, nectarine jam and spiced apple butter from Canning For A New Generation by Lisana Krissoff

The fail post

2010-09-26T22:14:00.005-05:00

Well I was going to do a post on a pesto shrimp recipe that I cooked tonight for dinner, but it was a total fail. When the quinoa spaghetti box says "don't overcook" they really do mean it. It breaks apart into mushy spaghetti. And the shrimp? It was a bit past it's prime when I de-thawed it. So, the kitchen smelled a bit like pesto and iodine/bleach. It wasn't the best dinner.

So, I'll give you a picture of the basil that I made the pesto from. (I made 3 cups of pesto for the freezer and leftover for dinner) Believe it or not, I just thinned out the basil. I still have boatloads more. Anyone want some?

And the running update: I walked for 1 mile with the dogs this morning, dropped them home, and went for my run. I made it 4 miles, but I swear that multiple body parts were complaining. My countdown to the half marathon is 2 months and 9 days. Wish me luck.

Belated Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-23T13:13:00.001-05:00

Dog Toys Update...

2010-09-19T13:24:00.004-05:00

Well the dog toys didn't go over as well as I'd hoped. The braided tug toys sold out, and two of the squeaky toys sold, which I'm very happy about. I got a thank you email, complete with this picture, from the doggie parents who bought the big squeaky toy. Their girl is very happy, and is carrying her toy around the house, wagging her tail. So those of us who buy stuffed toys have to clean up debris fields after our dogs play with toys. They're having fun, which the whole point of giving dogs toys.

In other news, the dog cookies were a HUGE hit. I made 8 dozen peanut butter cookies and 6 dozen turkey egg and cheese cookies. Sold out, with requests today at church for the recipes. I am baking another batch of the turkey egg and cheese cookies for my girls, as they're a huge hit at home too. :)

Dog toys!

2010-09-17T13:46:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist posting a picture of the dog toys I made for my church's upcoming fundraising event. I'll also be making dog cookies. We have so many dog-parents that they sell out at our bake sales. :)