Tag Archives: spinach

9 miles + 3 square meals

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27

Good morning! I have high hopes for this week guys. Last week it seemed like everyone was a little worn down. Surely this week will be awesome! Or at least suck less than the previous one?

I enjoyed the last day of an otherwise wearing week by waking up early and eating a balanced breakfast.

Scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes and a blood orange served as my pre-run fuel. I had a 9-miler to accomplish and this time I wasn’t going to quit.

After several Sex and the City re-runs (wherein I realized that my latest ex is exactly like Jack Berger) and some stretching, I headed out to get my retribution.

The first five miles were great. I maintained a sub-11 min/mile pace, which is awesome for me.

Then I stopped, took a Clif shot (lemon lime flavor – not too bad) and drank some water before knocking out the last 4 miles.

Those last 4 miles wanted to kill me. There were a couple of walk breaks and some internal cursing of the very idea of running long distances. I sweat, I stumbled, I ran slower.

But then… it was over.

9 miles – done and done. I ran it in 1:39:56. Part of me is super annoyed at myself for caring about time lately, and even moreso for blogging about it, but I have to remind myself that it’s okay to have time goals even if they aren’t super fast time goals.

Honestly, I’m still figuring out how I feel about the whole time/speed thing as it relates to my running life. I’ll get back to you on that.

I got home and showered and then forced myself to eat in hopes my stomach wouldn’t get upset, as it usually does after my long runs.

I enjoyed a veggie burger with cheese and a spinach salad.

The Boca cheeseburger patties are actually not that bad. I’m glad the coupon convinced me to give them a go. I’ve not been buying things of that nature lately, but it was a nice and convenient change.

However, despite my best laid plans my stomach still turned on me moments after finishing my lunch. I guess it’s just my lot in life. Running gives me the runs (yeah, I said that).

I lounged around some more and soaked up the glorious art of doing nothing, before heading out to a meeting at the part-timer.

There are lots of fun running events coming up in the next two months that I’ll be working. I think stuff like that is super fun, so I’m looking forward to it. I’ll miss the running store when I move.

When I got home, I whipped up the easiest dinner I could think of - whole wheat spaghetti with light alfredo sauce and some spinach.

It was actually quite delicious. I miss cooking real meals though, I think I may have forgotten how.

I was impressed with myself, however, for eating three square bloggable meals yesterday. That hasn’t happened in a while. Ice cream has more and more become a meal replacement for me these days, haha.

One bubble bath, 5 restless hours of sleep and one cup of coffee later – here I am.

Bring it Monday! I’ve got this.

If you run – what are your thoughts on time and speed? Does it matter to you? Are you competitive about it, or is it just a personal competition?

Clearance beans

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22

I am one tired cookie this morning. Yesterday was a day of tests. I will be completely honest and say that for most of the day at work I felt very defeated and overwhelmed.

By the time I left to go to my facial I was nearly in tears, but thankfully spending an hour getting pampered alleviated my stress somewhat.

I felt renewed enough to head to the gym and kick ass at a workout. Sometimes when it feels like you can’t control anything, there is nothing more satisfying than a good, sweaty run.

I had actually planned to do 5 or 6 miles, but found out that my Dad is coming to see me tonight (yay!) so I wanted to get in tomorrow’s strength training as well.

I hopped on the treadmill and decided to run a “fast” 3-miler. For me, fast means a sub 10 min/mile pace. I’m hoping to get faster someday, but right now it is what it is. I busted out the 3 miles in 29 minutes and felt victorious.

Then I headed downstairs to Body Pump, which was a new release and very challenging.

As I left the gym, dripping in sweat and looking like a drowned rat, I felt much better.

Better, but starving. After showering I knew I needed to get food into my facehole (which is almost healed by the way!) as soon as possible.

reduced sodium garbanzo beans

These clearance garbanzo beans have been sitting in my pantry for many months. I’m a sucker for a clearance deal, but after purchasing them I feared they might be funky.

Last night, I took the risk. They tasted just like full-priced beans to me! I rinsed them thoroughly and stuck them on top of some spinach along with some corn and Kefir Caesar dressing.

spinach corn and chickpea salad

Random dining at its finest. This was actually really good. I may have added some cheese and hot sauce to the mix post-photo.

spinach corn and chickpea salad

Devoured.

It was much later than I was used to (I had to go to the late Body Pump) and I had a ton to do around the apartment, so a 6-minute Meal was the perfect solution.

I rushed around trying to get everything done and then hopped into bed by 9:45 so I could get up at 4:26 this morning to head back to the gym for cross training.

I’ve really noticed a huge difference in my endurance during this round of training and I think it’s due to the larger amounts of low impact cardio and strength training I’m incorporating in with my running.

I haven’t felt as fatigued from the training and I don’t feel burnt out, which is usually the case by this point.

I ellipticalled for 3 miles, which served nicely in loosening up my tight leg muscles.

Honestly, I don’t like morning workouts. I hate getting up that early and I always feel tired throughout the day. But… I’m glad it’s over and now I can focus on a night with my family. I need it.

Holy ramble today. I’ve had more caffeine than usual. I guess we’ll blame that.

Morning workouts: love ‘em or hate ‘em?

If you run, what are your tips for increasing speed?

Baked Ziti

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13

I know I already said it yesterday, but that you all so, so much for your comments on my engagement post.

I always feel a little self-indulgent when I write personal posts like that, but I am always glad that I did. There’s something so magical about realizing how much we all have in common as human beings.

I also love that not one of you said, “Oh, honey it’s okay the right guy will come along one of these days.”

That’s the comment I get most when I tell people that story in real life, which leads me to believe that they didn’t hear a word I said.

And for everyone who shared a story, thank you thank you thank you. You made my day and I’m sure many other peoples’ days as well with your honesty. I loved every single comment.

I celebrated the happiness of the day with a happy dinner. I made Ziti baked with Spinach, Tomatoes and Smoked Gouda from Cooking Light.

I pretty much stuck to the recipe, starting with some fresh chopped onion and bell pepper.

chopped onion and orange bell pepper

The best part of the whole dish was the fresh-grated Gouda.

fresh grated gouda cheese

I used less than the recipe called for and used regular Gouda instead of smoked, because I think smoked cheese tastes like bacon and I don’t like bacon. Yep, I’m a wierdo.

I love that this recipe featured fresh spinach. I often forget to cook with spinach since I drink it for breakfast every morning.

spinach

Bad, bad, bad lighting. So sorry!

I was really impressed with how quickly this meal came together.

Cooking Light's Ziti baked with spinach, tomatoes and gouda

I’ve never really been a huge fan of baked pasta, but after trying this recipe I think I’ll be creating many more similar dishes in the future. It was so gooey and comforting.

I can’t wait to eat the leftovers, of which there are many. Sweet!

Today is going to be a busy day, so I better get back to it. “See” you guys tomorrow!

Q: In honor of today being the last official day of Summer (apparently, it turns to Fall at 10:09 this evening) – what is your best memory of the Summer of 2010?

Budget!

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17

Dinner last night was hopefully my last boring one for a while. Perhaps you will recognize it.

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Old standby – zucchini plus marinara. I made a huge batch last night so I would have some for lunch today, and I froze a serving for emergencies. This version included spinach and a different pasta sauce. It may look the same to you, but it was slightly more nutritious and tasted a bit different. Little changes like that keep me from falling asleep mid-bowl.

Nothing else of any import happened last night. My evening are becoming quite uneventful on yoga nights because I don’t get home until after 7 p.m. and start getting sleepy at 9.

My Green Monster was so good this morning! I forgot to freeze my bananas, so I had to use fresh ones. I’m not sure if that’s what made it taste so good, but it was probably in the top 5 of all time.

Picture

So, yesterday wrapped up my first month of being on an official budget. I actually exceeded my goals and saved a lot of money. It felt difficult at the time, but looking back it wasn’t too hard.

I did the basic spreadsheet thing, and gave myself goals in all the areas I typically spend money on, e.g. groceries, food out, clothes, dry cleaning, etc. I also went back and looked at the previous 4 months to see where my trouble areas were. This allowed me to focus on the necessities I had to spend on, e.g. bills, savings, gas and put more thought into the things I could live without. I only wish I had done this sooner!

In other good news, I get to go grocery shopping today! OMG I’m so excited. I have been doing some meal planning, so I have a very detailed list and I think I’m going to have a very cost-effective trip. I can’t wait!

Do you have a budget? Any budgeting tips for a newbie like me?

Here are a couple of links I’ve been thinking about, just in case you get bored.

Should the government bail out newspapers?

I know several of you have backgrounds in journalism or communications, so I’m curious as to what you think about this. Personally I will be sad to see print journalism die out, but I understand the importance of online media (hello… blogging). However, sitting down on a Sunday morning with a newspaper and a cup of coffee is so much better than reading news online, in my opinion.

And here’s a very well-written piece on the upcoming November issue of glamour featuring “real” women as models. I’d love to hear thoughts and opinions about this too.

And finally, a recipe idea for all you pumpkin lovers out there. I’m not sure this appeals to me, but I’m not as into pumpkin as most.

Have a good one guys. The weekend is upon us!

Pizza?

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10

I was so excited about my raw adventure last night that I didn’t recap my afternoon yesterday.

Remember how I said I spilled my yogurt mess? Well, here’s proof in case you doubted me.

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Sorry the picture is blurry, but taking this photo was kind of unnecessary considering the circumstances I was facing, so I just snapped and ran to get supplies to clean the mess up so I could return to work.

I did eventually find a snack replacement though.

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Oh yes, oatmeal raisin cookie – leftover from a meeting I didn’t even have to sit through. Major score.

That’s really all that was noteable yesterday though, aside from what I posted about last night. So… moving on to today!

The morning was rather routine, other than an intense pain in my right eye. Both of my eyes are really blood shot today, even though I didn’t drink yesterday and I got a decent amount of sleep. I guess I will just blame allergies, but I wish it would go away. I changed my contact at lunch and it’s a little better but now I have a pressure headache. Boo allergies (and the ridiculous high price of allergy meds).

For lunch I made a pizza-like creation, but I’m not sure I can really call it pizza. I topped my other whole wheat naan with cottage cheese, spinach, black beans and hot sauce.

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This was my kind of food, I tell ya. Sometimes I get somewhat embarassed because I post really similar ingredients on the blog over and over again. But I actually think it’s really nice to have a few standby foods that I know I will love no matter how I combine them.

For me those ingredients are: cottage cheese, beans of any kind, spinach, avocado, and hot sauce – just to name a few. And it’s fun to find new ways to present them. 

Today’s lunch break went much more smoothly than yesterday – so for now I’m happy to maintain my lunchtime blogging schedule. I just hope it stays that way!

I had plans to go to a rooftop cocktail hour at the local art museum, but the weather doesn’t really seem to be cooperating. I hope it clears up so we can go!

Do you have any go-to ingredients that you combine over and over again?