Baked Lentil Casserole

A new recipe to try in 2010! I got this recipe from a co-worker. She is a vegetarian and said she really loved this recipe. I made it a few days ago and all I can say is YUM! It is rich in flavor and texture. I have yet to tire of the leftovers! My slight variations/comments are in red.

1 – 12oz package dried, rinsed lentils <- store brand = $.80

2 C. water

1 bay leaf

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sage

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp cumin

2 large onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced <- at store I removed 2 cloves from fresh garlic = cheap

1 – 28oz can tomatoes, either crushed or petit diced, with juice <- used what I had 2-14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, one was no salt added and the other had green chiles mixed in.

2 large carrots cut in 1/8 inch slices

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 yellow or red pepper, chopped

2 T. parsley, finely chopped

1.5 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Place lentils in a shallow glass 13x9 inch baking dish with water, bay leaf, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, cumin, onions, garlic, and tomatoes with juice. Bake covered in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Add celery and carrot and bake covered for 40 more minutes.

Remove from oven, stir in parsley (I actually mixed the parsley in with the chopped celery and carrots and added in the step above) and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake uncovered for 5 more minutes (or until cheese is melted).

Happy New Year!

I'm back after being M.I.A.

Surprise! I’m back! I realize I’ve been M.I.A. for almost four months. I wasn’t enjoying myself and I felt sort of bored. Ran out of the desire to write. However, I’ve not been absent from the blogosphere…I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s blogs but just haven’t written on my own.

I don’t plan on writing everyday and may not write every week. But I will be more present and I am excited to write about new recipes that I try, my workouts and goals, and whatever else floats my boat at the moment, lol! The goal of my blog is still the same, to document my experiences relating to my mind, body, and soul!

Big thanks to those of you that haven’t given up on me! Also thanks to the other wonderful bloggers out there that continue to motivate and inspire me!!

I'm 30!

Almost a week ago I turned 30! I kept trying to wrap my mind around the concept of turning 30 in the months and days leading up to the big day. I’m not going to lie, I experienced a bit of anxiety and nervousness. Most of that came from the fact that my twenties felt like they flew by. The idea of turning 30 was a bit foreign to me and I was having a hard time imagining myself being 30. On the outside I was playing it cool, but on the inside I was secretly freaking out….just a little. I’m not exactly in the place I thought I would be in my life when I turned 30….but hey, who is?!

I knew I was going to be ok, when the night before my birthday a wave of excitement washed over me! I have a bunch of things planned this year that I’m really excited about. I’m looking forward to those things as well as any new surprises that my 30th year will bring me!

I started celebrating about a week before my birthday and I even celebrated a few days after. Below are a few photos of my week and half celebration. Thank you to my friends and family for helping me to celebrate!!

Mediterranean Stuffed Bell Peppers

The other day I tried a new recipe which included an ingredient that was also very new to me. It called for Quinoa. If you were like me than you were thinking, what is quinoa? According to wikipedia, it’s “a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds.” Quinoa can be used as a rice and/or couscous substitute.

I thought the stuffed peppers were just ok. The recipe called for quinoa, diced tomatoes drained, feta cheese, and fresh basil. The fresh basil was too overpowering, so I ended up picking out most of it. I think I prefer fresh cooked basil. I also felt it was missing something in flavor, but I’m not sure what. I’m thinking if I added some balsamic vinaigrette to the mix, it might have been more satisfying. Maybe. I also realized that I prefer cooked stuffed peppers as opposed to raw peppers. I discovered my stomach doesn’t like that much raw peppers. But than again I guess I never really practically ate a whole pepper in one sitting. I also think you could use small to medium sized peppers instead of large peppers. Large was a bit too much red pepper for me. I may or may not make this again, we shall see! The prep time and cook time didn't take long at all. I also cooked the Quinoa in too much water, I think it is suppose to look fluffier and maybe not quite so slimy. It looks slimy but didn't taste slimy.

The stuffed peppers did look really colorful and yummy! Oh and I do like quinoa!

1st Annual Fort McHenry 5k Tunnel Run

We did it! Jamie and I completed our second 5k run...

and Stephanie finished her first 5k run! What a perfect day for the run, the weather was gorgeous…sunny and comfortable. I hadn’t realized that this was the first time they had ever done a run through any of the Bores of the Fort McHenry Tunnel. I’m happy to say I was a part of this event! We ran to support the Maryland Special Olympics.

Tolls Before the race

I was lucky enough to have my mom there to cheer us on! She was very nice and held/watched all of our bags for us while we were running. She also took most of the pictures for us! Thanks mom, I love you! The race started at 9am and everyone started to gather around the mysterious starting line around 8:45am. A blow horn sounded and the race began!

I was a little worried about the race course because a little over half of the course was up hill and the rest was down hill. Picture running down into the tunnel, up out of the tunnel, turning around and running down back into the tunnel, and the last mile or so is uphill. We did not have time chips to capture individual times so I have a very rough estimate of my time. Based on my time (not sure where the starting line was so guesstimated it) my “rough” splits are as follows:

1st mile – 9 mins

2nd mile – 7.34 mins

3rd mile + .14 – 10.96 mins

Like I said, who knows for certain when I started and when I finished according to time. The finish line was a little confusing because the women had to go to the left and men to the right. The girl in front of me literally stopped at the finish line which confused me because aren’t you suppose to run through the finish? That slowed me down some, area was very narrow and there wasn’t room for passing unless I had intended to plow her over, which I wasn’t! Although the thought did cross my mind. The time on the clock at the finish line was 28:08.

Here’s me (pink shirt/blue shorts) just a little while after crossing the finish line.
Overall, I felt really great in this run. My first 2 miles were awesome! I felt pretty good my last mile considering it was all up hill. I kicked up my pace a little too soon and petered out some towards the last stretch. I truly believe the training I’ve been doing the last 3 weeks (easy, long, tempo, repeats) really contributed to my endurance and pace. Granted I don’t think I beat my last 5k time, but I think I finished in the same time or right around it. I feel AWESOME because the majority of the race was hills and that is WAY different than running mostly level ground. I just know that if there wasn’t that last hill I would have creamed my last 5k time. I was well on course to a personal record. Another time!!

Jamie and Stephanie finished the race not to long after me and they were FANTASTIC!

Race mascots!

Yummy Treats

Just the other day I was happy to find my bruised and battered sample of cereal from Kashi! Thankfully it was only the outside box and not the actual cereal box that had taken a beating. Before I opened the box I was already going through my head how I was going to ask Kashi for another box of cereal, I was desperate to try it. For those of you that don’t know, I heart Kashi products more specifically their cereals and granola bars. Anyways, back to my free sample of cereal… I selected to try the Oat Flakes and Wild Blueberry Clusters. I tore into the box Friday at lunch time and ate it with skim milk. Wow! I really enjoyed this box of cereal. The blueberry flavoring was great, not overpowering and not too sweet! I can see myself eating this for breakfast, lunch, and/or a snack. You still have time, hurry and get your free sample of cereal!

This evening I decided to try my baking hand at Montana Whoppers. I first heard of them on Meghann’s blog. They looked so yummy! So of course it was my turn to recreate these cookies in my kitchen. I put semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate M&M's, and raisins in mine. There’s a reason why I don’t bake cookies very often. I enjoy the mixing of the batter, but get really impatient with the baking part. I don’t like to wait which leads to huge cookies and them being in the oven FOREVER because I made them too big so they have to cook 10 times longer. I tried a cookie from my first batch and it was ok, it didn’t wow me. My other batches look pretty good, so I’m hoping they taste just as good!

Tomorrow, I will have the perfect test subjects! I run my second 5k tomorrow through the Fort McHenry Tunnel with Sweaty Hugs and her friend; this will be her first race!! EXCITING…so what better way to reward them than to treat them to one or two of my cookies?! After the race of course! I’ll let you know what they think…hahaha!

Night, Night…dreams of running in a tunnel…hmmm…

What a difference!

What a difference a week and the proper preparation make in my 6 mile run! Yesterday was Week 2, Day 3 in my 5k running plan. The goal was to run 6 miles, each mile at an 11:14 pace. I ended up running it in 58.31 minutes! This run went way differently than last week’s 6 miler. Here’s what I did differently:

• Ate a big nutritious breakfast which consisted of an egg, 2 slices of whole wheat bread, banana, some cottage cheese, and a mug of English Breakfast tea.
• Continued to hydrate moderately with water for the next 2 hours.
• Downloaded new music
• Stretched before my run
• Wore my knee strap, stopwatch, and hat
• Drove to my running site and began my run approximately 2-3 hours after breakfast (ran same trail as last week).
• Monitored my pace and ensured I ran at a comfortable, not too fast of a pace.
• Focus on relaxing my body
• Found the 10 mile marker post; they replaced it! I started at the end of the trail so the 10 mile post told me when I had run 3 miles and that I needed to turn around.

I felt so good and happy that it wasn’t a rerun of last week. I wasn’t sure how I would do because I was out celebrating a friend’s birthday the night before and I consumed some beer as well as a hot dog, hamburger, chips, crab legs, and some dip. On top of the not so good food and beer, I didn’t get home until 2am. I did drink lots of water throughout the night though. I find that does wonders for me both during the evening as well as the next morning. So when I woke up Sunday morning I decided I would allow my body to relax, eat a good meal, and ensure I was completely hydrated before going on my run. I went around 1pm and finished just before 2. The weather was great! I still need to purchase a new pair of shoes, which I’m going to do as soon as I post this!

Week and a half in review

9-11: I WILL NEVER FORGET! ALWAYS IN MY HEART, PRAYERS, THOUGHTS, and BEING!

Wow it’s been a very busy week and a half for me: beach, work, workouts, planning, etc. My excuse for being MIA for this past week. So for your reading pleasure I’m going to share with you what I’ve been up too! In an effort to keep from writing a book, I’m going to use key words and phrases to describe some of my days :)

Fri, Sept. 4: 6:30am take-off (road trip), brunch at Sonic…YUM, meet up with the other half of our posse, 3 hours later…arrived at BEACH, 5 ladies grocery shopping, snacks, hummus and veggie crisps, boxed wine, chatting on the beach=cloud & slightly chilly, turkey & cheese roll-ups, dancing, beer, shots, pizza, awesome DD = Amy, more snacking, sleep!

Sat, Sept. 5: Breakfast = scrambled eggs & ham, whole wheat english muffins, fresh strawberries, juice, milk; SUNSHINE, hours on the beach, dolphins, playing in the waves, 1 mile walk to boardwalk, dinner at Mangos, mint chocolate moose track ice cream, 1 mile walk “home”, 80’s movies marathon needed, charm city, chocolate city, sleep!

Salmon w/mango sauce, black beans, rice, steamed veggies

Sun, Sept. 6: early riser = reading on balcony while listening/watching waves crash on the beach, quick trip to Outlets, MORE BEACH TIME, paddle ball, jellyfish, beach “police", moved chairs 10 feet to our beach, almost time to go, dinner = not so good server, very helpful bus girl, drive home. Thanks Michelle for driving, very much appreciated!!

Monday: Week 1, Day 3 of 5k training plan = 6 miles. Goal to run easy 11:14 miles. Was suppose to do Sunday. 1st mile = 9:00, 2nd mile = 9:11, 3rd mile = couldn’t find mile marker, confusion, lost momentum! 4-6th mile = 4:1 run/walk ratio. Wasn’t well hydrated and didn’t eat enough nutrients. My hips, quads, and calves were a bit sore as well as my lungs, lol! I powered through and finished!! I’m in desperate need of a new pair of these:

Tuesday: Feel good day! Picture…new black button up dress and red heels. Lots of compliments! I’m in no way bragging, but we all need compliments every now and again and this was my day! I felt great. Week 2, Day 1 of 5k training plan = 2 easy miles. 1st mile at 10:23 and second mile at 10:54. I made a mental effort to focus on my pace. Felt great!

Wednesday: rest day. Received awesome news!! My Grandma, who is a cancer survivor is going off chemo for the next 3 months!! I’m thrilled for her. LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

Yesterday: Attended training for work = best training I’ve had in ages! Dealt with the Law Enforcement aspect of my agency. I have a huge appreciation for our nation’s law enforcement officers (LEO), probably because it’s always been a part of my life. Thanks to my dad, I’ve grown to understand and appreciate the importance of LEOs and how every day they are putting their lives at risk to protect us. The training was engaging, exciting, informative, and I’m trying to convince my director for more. Ha!

Week 2, Day 2 of 5k training plan = 5 miles. I ran 1 mile for warm-up and then ran the next 3 miles at a 9:31 pace, my last mile was my cool-down. I did this run at the gym on the treadmill. It was raining and getting dark by the time I was ready for my run.

Today: 5 minute warm-up on the arc trainer, 20 minutes on Stairmaster…Aerobics program, levels 9-11, 10 minutes on treadmill walking at 3% incline. Abs and lots of stretching. Planning my dear friend’s 30th birthday party and planning my other wonderful friend’s bridal shower! Lots of fun things happening the next few months!!

Week 1 Day 2 = Speedwork

Today was my first day ever doing any organized speedwork. I debated trying to run on a local school track, but didn’t want to risk being booted off. So I headed to the gym, which was very painful because the weather is unbelievable!

I ran a total of 5 miles in 51:19. This included an easy 1.5 mile warm-up. I then did 3 x 800 meter runs in 4:19. In between each repeat I jogged 400 meters. For my cool-down I ran 1.25 miles to complete my 5 miles.

I did complete each 800 meters in under 4:19. I made sure I ran a slow 400 meters in between allowing myself to recuperate and be ready to run the next 800 meters.

The workout was challenging. I did notice a small cramp creeping its way into my side but managed to keep a full blown cramp at bay. I didn’t hydrate enough before my run, which is probably the cause of the cramp. I also had a slight headache off and on throughout the end of the run. One last thing…I really need to learn how to relax my upper body when I run. Like a lot of people I hold tension in my neck and shoulders. I’d say about 50% of my runs are uncomfortable for the simple fact that either my right or left shoulder is tight. Over and over again I have to remind myself to relax and allow my body to move in a natural flow while running.

All in all, I’m quite pleased with my first speedwork run. I believe doing speedwork outside on a track or wherever will be more challenging because I have to pace myself instead of the treadmill setting my pace. This is part of my goal…learning to run outside successfully!

Week 1 Day 1

Today was the first day of my 3 week training plan to a faster 5k. My mission was to run an easy 2 miles at a 11:14 pace. My mission of running 2 miles was accomplished; however I completely failed at running at the 11:14 pace. I ended up running a tad over 2 miles at ~7:52 pace. Big OOPS! I know your probably thinking, is she crazy, she ran faster that should be good, right?! It’s not bad, but I really want to stick to the plan to see if the science behind the different paces/tempos/repeats really does make me run faster come race day.

I stepped outside, the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, the temperature was an awesome 70 degrees, I turned my IPod on and it was all over! I downloaded several new songs today and HOLY SMOKES did they make a difference. The first song in my new list was My Time (thanks Jamie for the recommendation!). The song started and I immediately felt chills run up and down my body; the chills you get when you literally feel a song that good! My feet started tingling and I just couldn’t wait to get started. What an awesome feeling!

These lyrics especially, spoke to me:

“Go hard today. Can’t worry bout the past, coz that was yesterday. Ima put it on the line coz it’s my time…”

I started off fast and was trying to slow down both mentally and physically, but the beat of the music was propelling my feet. I was really pumped! My next easy run is next Tuesday. I’m going to change my strategy up by listening to more relaxed chill music. Slow it down some!

Biking + Run/Walk

Background: For quite awhile my friend Jamie and I have been thinking and planning on training for a sprint triathlon; however we don’t plan on doing the triathlon until 2010. So any hardcore training won’t begin until next year. At the same time I’ve been very curious how my legs/endurance would feel biking and then running right afterwards. Something I can experiment with now.

Today: I spent the early part of my afternoon with my niece, nephew, and sister at the park. The humidity is down and it was a gorgeous day, although a bit hot in the direct sunlight. So after about an hour of hard playing we went to Cold Stone Creamery and got some ice cream. I got a kids cup of chocolate ice cream with Heath Bar (in honor of my dad) mixed in. I’ve been craving ice cream all weekend and it hit the spot!

I was a bit worn out when I got home, so I relaxed with my book for about an hour. But while I was reading, I kept seeing the beautiful sky above the top of my book and biking was running through my mind. That was it, I decided to go for a ride!

I filled my Camelbak up, changed clothes, fought with my helmet briefly, remembered to put my stopwatch on and got my bike off my balcony. My warm-up entailed carrying my bike down a couple flights of stairs, lol! I was off! Overall, I rode ~9.4 miles in 44.10. I realized when I’m on my own, there really isn’t a leisure pace. I rode at a steady and what felt like a good pace for the whole ride. I had to slow down to cross at a traffic light and one cross-walk. I rode on a bike path. I’m not one for riding on the road, just don’t trust drivers out there! I could feel my quads burning for the duration of my ride. I felt it was a good mix of inclines, declines, and 1 pretty big hill coming and going.

When I got home, I carried my bike back up and I was feeling so good that I decided I would go for a walk to stretch out my legs. But since I was feeling so good, I decided to do a bit of run/walking. I ended up doing a total of 2 miles. For the first mile I did 1:1 min ratio of run/walk. The second mile I did 2:2 min ratio. I’m not sure how long it took me to complete the miles. But my overall workout took me about 1 hour and 10 minutes. That included the 44.10 bike ride, carrying my bike back up and then the 2 miles of running/walking and then about .25 miles of walking for my cool down.

At the beginning of the run/walk session my legs felt tight from biking, but I felt them loosen up as I got into it. My lungs/breathing was feeling a bit “tired” but I powered through and eventually I got that under wraps! For my stretching I decided to try one of Yoga is Yummy’s videos. I did the Yoga for triathletes video which lasted about 10 minutes. I really enjoyed it and my muscles felt great afterwards, thanks Polly!

I now have confidence that I will be able to survive a sprint triathlon with the proper training and of course incorporating the swimming in. In due time! I will note that the next time I decide to do the biking and running scenario I’ll eat a snack before (my stomach wasn’t hungry nor did I feel out of energy, just good practice) and remember to wear my knee strap during the running portion. My knee felt a little sore, but overall I felt really good!

Yesterday I made a quick stop at Trader Joe’s and came out with a few snacks to try:

Smart Coach = 5k Training Plan

After some research and helpful suggestions from Fit Chick in the City, I decided to give the SmartCoach a try to help me come up with a 3 week program to help to attempt to train to run a faster 5k come September 20. SmartCoach is a training tool provided by Runner’s World. I realize I’m not giving myself a lot of time to train. But hey, I’m willing to put all my effort into this program for the next couple of weeks. I’m curious to see if the combination of my motivation and this program will help me run a faster pace come September 20 resulting in a faster time!

Here's your individualized training program:

Your current race time is: 0:27:27 for a 5 K Your distance training goal is: 5 K You currently train: 11 - 15 miles/week How hard you want to train: Hard Your long-run day: Sunday Your training program Starts: Monday, 8/31/2009and Ends: Sunday, 9/20/2009 Length of your training schedule: 3 weeks

Wk	Dat	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun	Tot
1	8/31 9/6	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @11:14	Rest / XT	Speedwork Dist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3x800 in 4:19 w/400 jogs; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Long Run Dist: 6 mi @11:14	13 miles
2	9/7 9/13	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @11:14	Rest / XT	Tempo Run Dist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3 mi @ 9:37; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Long Run Dist: 6 mi @11:14	13 miles
3	9/14 9/20	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @11:14	Rest / XT	Speedwork Dist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3x800 in 4:19 w/400 jogs; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Race Day Dist: 5 K @8:50 Time: 27:27	10 miles

I’m already going to have to make adjustments to this training plan. Tuesday is the first day of my program. I head to the beach that Friday for Labor Day weekend. My first “long” run is suppose to be on Sunday, which is the day I come back from the beach. I’m not sure what time we are coming back, but I’ll do my best to fit it in at some point on Sunday. I’m also interested in my Thursday runs, I’ve never tried repeats before. I’m going to have to run on or near a track in order to accomplish these because I don’t have something like this to track how far I’m running at what pace. I’ll also have to figure what track to run on because school is back in session and I’m not sure of the rules of the school tracks due to after school sports and when the public (me) is allowed to use the track. Also if you haven’t already noticed, the last day of my training program is actually my race day…so hopefully I’ll be running faster than my 27.27 time!

Minor adjustments, nothing that I can’t handle! I’m looking forward to throwing myself into this program, I feel I do better mentally and physically when I’m working towards a goal! Send me happy positive thoughts and vibes (telepathically that is, ha!)!!

Sleepy mornings

For the last two weeks, I’ve been struggling to get out of bed. I feel so tired when I wake up, I can’t really figure it out. I’m going to bed at a decent hour and should be getting plenty of sleep; anywhere from 6 to 8 hours depending on the night/morning. I do dream pretty wildly, so maybe my dreams are too active and I’m not getting enough quality sleep. I never really use to be a “snooze” button hitter, but I swear this morning I hit snooze every five minutes for a half hour. Yes, I realize I’m not getting any sleep if I’m hitting the snooze every five minutes, but I just don’t want to get out of bed! The worst part is that I know once I’m up and moving around I’m fine but it’s almost like I don’t want to do that. Bizarre! I’ve also become somewhat of a nap taker (when I can); just 20 minutes and I feel rejuvenated.

I finally got up this morning and ate a quick piece of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam. I forced myself out the door to head to the gym. I’m glad I went because I felt ten times better once I got there. I worked my quads and abs. I know I was getting tired my last set of bench jumps because I actually missed the bench with my left foot/leg and ended up slamming my shin into the side of the bench. Ouch! Haven’t done that before, but it was bound to happen eventually, ha! I regrouped and finished it out. My goal was to step out 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, but only 1 of the 3 were working and that the "one" was being used. So I ended up doing 20 minutes on the Arc Trainer.

Dinner was very light and tasty this evening! I made a salad that included black beans, corn, couple of sliced olives, diced white onion, pieces of rotisserie chicken (got from Costco), sliced apple, feta cheese, topped with a dollop of hummus. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! I’ll be eating this salad or a variation of this salad for the next couple of days, plenty of leftovers! Next time I’m going to add a little more onions and some red pepper flakes. Several years ago, my friend Kimberly made a variation of this salad and I really enjoyed it. Not sure what made me think of it, but I’m glad I recreated it!

Argh, picture blurry! (new camera maybe?!)

I just realized today that I have a 5k in about 3-4 weeks. I haven’t been running all that regularly this summer. My goal is to run a faster time than my last 5k in May. I’m going to do some research on some 5k running plans that will help me to increase my pace.

Anybody have any suggestions on what I can do to run faster and survive; recommended training programs or plans that have worked for you?

Blueberry Banana Muffins

My mouth has been watering ever since I read ELR’s post about her blueberry banana muffins. She said everyone had to try them and I agreed! LOL! Yesterday, the idea of these muffins kept popping into my mind. I decided I had thought about them enough, it was time to take action. As I mentioned, after the gym last night I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some blueberries, bananas, whole wheat flour (couldn’t find whole wheat pastry flour), and some other random items I needed. After a shower and dinner, I created my first batch of homemade muffins. I’m really starting to enjoy making things, who would have thunk it!

I tried one of the smaller muffins last night. They turned out great!!

I had another one for breakfast this morning along with an egg and a mug of tea. It left me feeling energized and ready for the gym. I did my normal workout of warm-up, chest, shoulders, triceps, abs, and a 20 minute walk on the treadmill.

I made myself a blueberry banana Green Monster. It wasn’t my favorite. I couldn’t really taste the blueberries. I thought it would be sweeter than it was. I’m thinking I’m a blueberry fan when they are cooked. They seem more flavorful to me. Or maybe I’m just not picking out the right ones. I’m stumped!
After a quick shower, I came up with this concoction for lunch
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Baked beans, tuna fish from a can, olives, feta cheese, and red pepper flakes sprinkled on top. I know it doesn’t look appetizing and I realize it looks like it could have come out of one end or the other, ha! Believe it or not, it did taste pretty good. I think it would be better with black beans, but I had thawed out a whole container of baked beans and I need to eat them up. I had a few Kashi cheddar crackers on the side as well as a handful of carrots.

Note: I had written this post early afternoon, but didn’t get around to posting it because things came up. So just getting home, figured I would finish it up and share what I had for my afternoon snack and for dinner. Exciting, don’t you think?! I ate an apple and a Kashi granola bar around 3ish. For dinner I raided my mom’s refrigerator for leftovers. I mixed leftover mac & cheese with leftover ham steak. My sister made me a salad with sunflower seeds, Craisens, mozzarella cheese and light ranch dressing. Oh and I had what was left in a Cheetos snack bag. I spent most of the evening with my niece and nephew. But after they went to bed, my stomach was growling. So I ate a spoonful of peanut butter with chocolate chips strategically placed throughout my peanut butter mound. I also had a mug of mango peach white tea. It tasted as good as it smelled!

Treadmill Mania

This week has been an interesting week to say the least. I feel like I’m surrounded by a ton of negativity, which some of it is my doing in the way I’m thinking. Throw in some sad news that I received this afternoon and I’m a big pot of UGH! To get myself on track to a better attitude, I left work a little early. Things were slow so it was a good time. Came home and hate half a ham sandwich, didn’t eat lunch. BAD GIRL! I then headed to the gym for a hard workout.

A few years back when I was still meeting with my personal trainer, he introduced Treadmill Mania to me. It’s a tough workout that incorporates running and various lifting movements. I think he found it in a magazine, but I can’t remember which one. I pull the workout out every now and again when I want to get a full body workout and push myself. Normally I wear my stopwatch, but once again I forgot it..oops! On great days I can finish the workout in less than 1 hour, other days it takes me about 1 hour to complete. Below is the basic workout and you can adjust as you see fit. I modified the leg movements today and picked movements that focused on my Quadriceps (front squats and leg extensions). I’ve done enough hamstring movements this week. My legs are still sore from Tuesday; probably over did it.

Treadmill Mania

1% incline - 5 minutes easy (warm-up) -- I normally just walk
Stretch
1% incline - 5 mins at LT (Lactic Threshold) pace
Push-ups - 1 min (an alternate exercise would be to do 1 min of dumbbell bench press)
20 squats
1% incline - 5 mins at LT pace
Crunches - 1 min
3% incline - 5 mins at LT pace
20 dips
1% incline - 5 mins at LT pace
30 back extensions
5% incline - 3 mins at LT pace
20 one leg squats (per leg)
1% incline - 5mins at LT pace
Decline push-ups - 1 min (an alternate exercise could be decline dumbell bench press)
1% incline - 5 mins easy (cool-down)
Stretch

I am always a sweaty mess when I am finished with this workout. Imagine red face, dripping sweat, sweat soaked shirt...ahhh...I'm glistening, have a happy glow! LOL! I normally feel a mixture of fatigue but at the same time engergized. It succeeded in changing my mood for the better, all those happy endorphins were released!

After the gym, I made a “quick” stop at the grocery store to pick up a few special ingredients to try a new recipe I’ve been thinking about for several weeks now. Stay tuned!

Kardea Nutrition Bar

Thank you to Kardea Nutrition for sending me samples of their nutrition bars; very generous!

From the Kardea nutrition brochure, about the founder: “Rob Leighton founded Kardea as part of a personal mission to lower his own cholesterol. Coupling a love for culinary creations with the science of natural cholesterol management, Rob founded Kardea to create great tasting, natural foods that enable daily compliance to heart healthy therapeutic nutrition.”

Kardea Nutrition gave me samples of each of their nutrition bars: Banana Nut, Cranberry Almond, Chai Spice, and Lemon Ginger. First off, I really enjoy nutritional bars when they taste good and are enjoyable to eat; these bars fit into this category. I like all of the flavors. My favorites are Banana Nut and Cranberry Almond. I also liked Chai Spice and Lemon Ginger but found them to be similar in taste. One just had a lemon flavoring. The bars look similar and share the same texture but are different based on flavor. They have a soft and crispy texture. The crispy part reminds me of rice crisps found in a candy bar. The flavors are light and enjoyable, not overwhelming at all. Yum!

I typically ate a bar as an afternoon snack. They satisfied my appetite for about 2-3 hours.

Thanks again Kardea Nutrition, I’d definitely recommend these to a friend!

Today’s workout

10 minute warm-up on Arc Trainer

Superset: 3 sets of 12 reps each
Good Morning Stretches – 25lb barbell
Leg Press on Hip sled Machine – 90lbs each side = 180lbs
Calf Raises on Hip sled Machine

Superset: 3 sets
Leg Curls Sitting – 75lbs (12 reps)
Walking Lunges – no weight

Abductor/Adductor machine: Light weight, high reps (2 sets)

20 minute cardio on Arc Trainer

2nd Bike Ride of the Summer

My friend, Ray, and I went on a bike ride Saturday morning. He has a bike rack, so he came down and picked me up. I have not invested in a bike rack yet, so if I want to ride anywhere other than around my neighborhood I have to wait for my lovely friends to offer to come get me. I got up and had a quick breakfast of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jelly and a side of cottage cheese. I also drank a mug of English Breakfast tea. When Ray arrived, I was all ready with my helmet and camelbak; I was excited to be using my camelbak for the first time!

We headed over to a new trail that has been paved over old railroad tracks. When the whole trail is finished it will be 13 miles one way. They still have to finish paving one small section and that is supposed to be done by this fall. We had a great ride! What I really like about this trail is that most of it is covered by trees. So even though it was hot, we had consistent shade and a constant breeze to keep us cool and refreshed. On our way down we ended up sprinting (riding our bikes as fast as we could) for 1 mile. WOW, that was a workout indeed; my legs were burning, my heart rate was up, and the sweat was pouring! We started at the beginning of the trail and rode until the trail was closed (the section that’s unfinished). We took a quick break and headed back. The ride back doesn’t look hard…but man oh man! It’s a slight incline all the way back. Our legs kept hoping and expecting for the incline to peak, the part where you feel the burn in your legs ease some once you realized you’ve hit the peak and are either on level ground or heading down hill. I kept wondering when it was going to end, lol! However, all whining aside, it was an excellent workout! I really enjoyed myself and it was a nice change for my body.

I believe I filled my camelbak all the way up, but I’m thinking that I might not have because I ended up drinking the whole thing up. It’s 70ml and should last you for about 3 hours. I finished it after the ride, which was good, but I was a bit surprised I drank all the water up. I definitely kept myself hydrated! I think we rode 14-15 miles total. I don’t know how long it took us because I once again forgot my stopwatch. I had a great ride and am looking forward to my next bike ride.

When we got back to my place, I made Ray the Cantaloupe-Banana Green Monster. He liked! It was a great refresher after our ride. When Ray left, I dug into my leftovers from the night before. I enjoyed half a chicken breast marinated in olive oil and a vinaigrette topped with fresh cherry tomatoes, arugula, and shaved parmesan cheese. I also had some leftover grilled mixed vegetables. Very tasty! I ate well during the day because Saturday night I went to a Crab Feast and enjoyed my first Blue Crabs of the season, along with a variety of yummy foods and of course some beer!

There will be no working out today for me. We will be celebrating my mom’s birthday this evening. I might try and do some stretching tonight. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Greek Pizza and Banana Soft Serve

My drive home yesterday was wonderful! I got home in just under an hour and that doesn’t happen very often. I left at my normal time, 4:30, smack dab in the middle of rush hour. My goal was to run last night but I wanted to wait until it cooled down a bit more. So while I was waiting I prepped for my dinner. I cut up olives, tomatoes, and white onion. I wanted to recreate a Greek Pizza I had the other week.

I headed out the door a little after 7. I forgot to bring my stop watch, so I’m not sure how long I actually ran. I’m guessing between 20-25 minutes. I ran up the road on the new path they just paved and then turned around and came back. I think it was about 2.5 miles. It wasn’t a good run. I once again started off to fast. I wore my running shorts for the first time and the dri-fit top that I got to match it. The shorts were all right, not sure that I’m the running shorts kinda girl. Just might be something to get use to. The top was annoying because it kept riding up my stomach…uhh…too small maybe? LOL! To top it off I started to get shin splints in my right leg. I’m glad all my ailments are sticking to the right side of my body…haha! It might be time to buy a new pair of running shoes!

Got home, stretched, showered, and prepared and cooked my Greek pizza. First I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees. I used whole wheat pocketless pita for my pizza. I sprinkled mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, tomatoes, onions, and black olives over the top. I also sprinkled a little more mozzarella and feta cheese over the top. Place pita pizza right on the rack and cook for 7-8 minutes. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes over the top. Tasty!

Topped with spinach.

For dessert, I attempted to make Gena’s raw banana soft serve. I think it turned out pretty good. Although I think the next time I make it I might blend some chocolate syrup or flavored natural peanut butter with it, maybe even raspberries.

I started to melt some chocolate chips in the microwave, but I got impatient. So I just dumped the semi-melted ones with some frozen ones over the top.

This morning after my breakfast of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam, cottage cheese, and a cup of English Breakfast tea, I headed to the gym. I had a good workout which included a 7 minute warm-up on the Arc Trainer and weightlifting (chest, shoulders, and triceps). I did a small ab workout. I then completed 20 minutes on the Life Stride machine. I had the machine set on manual, level 8 and I did 1 minute at a 5 -5.5 pace and then 2 minutes at a 7.5-9 pace. I worked up a good sweat. I made sure I stretched really well afterwards.

After I showered I made myself a Green Monster. This time I used 2 cups of organic spinach, 1 cup of skim milk, ¾ of a banana, a heaping tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and a handful of ice. If you like bananas and peanut butter this is a drink for you! I liked it, but thought it could have been a bit cooler. I’ll add more ice next time. For lunch I made myself another Greek pizza.

The rest of my day will involve errands and then dinner with some of my best girlfriends! Happy Friday!

Vita-Mix = Green Monster

Guess what?! I finally got a Vita-Mix! For the last month or two, I’ve wanted to get one. I’ve been reading so many different recipe ideas and a lot of them require a good blender. I have a cheap one but it doesn’t blend frozen foods or ice at all and the last time I used my blender, it emitted a burning smell. Uh, not good! I’ve done a ton of research on Vita-Mix and other blenders and I have read nothing but positive things about this blender. Yes, it costs a pretty penny. But for me I feel like it will be a worthwhile investment. I had been looking online for good offers when my mom spotted a sign at our local Costco stating that the Vita-Mix would be coming for a two week period. It was a sign, it was meant to be!! I bought one yesterday. Brought it home and read all the instructions and recipe book, still have watch the dvd. My first blend was of soap and water to give it a nice cleaning, lol!

I was off to the gym early this morning. I completed a total of 30 minutes of cardio, my normal 10 minute warm-up on the elliptical and then 20 additional minutes on the Arc Trainer at the end of my workout. I worked my back and biceps, along with two ab movements.

One of the drinks I’ve really wanted to try is the Green Monster. I’ve read so much about them on all the blogs out there. I was so excited to get home after the gym, so I could attempt creating my first Green Monster. I desperately need to go grocery shopping and that was in my plans last night, but because of dinner plans I didn’t make it. But after dinner I quickly stopped by a grocery store to pick up spinach and milk, so I would have all the ingredients for this morning! I made the “Amazing” Cantaloupe-Banana Green Monster. I used 2.5 cups of organic spinach, 1 cup of skim milk, half a banana, about 1 cup of frozen cantaloupe, and a handful of ice. It was as good as everyone says it is. Very light and refreshing!! I can’t wait to try out different recipes to find my favorites! I paired the Green Monster with a slice of toasted Ezekiel bread with peanut butter.

Behold!

I know I look serious, but it really does taste great!

Bonefish Grill

Monday’s workout was another hour session of Power Yoga. I’m thinking this is going to be a staple in my workout for the time being. It was way too hot to run outside and I don’t enjoy going to the gym in the evenings due to the crowds. Yoga was the winner. This time I eliminated any distractions and threw myself into the workout. What a difference that makes! I felt stronger and more relaxed then last Monday. I built up a good sweat.

Can anyone suggest any other good Yoga dvd’s? I’d like to change it up some so I don’t get bored.

Early this morning I forced myself out of bed and headed to the gym. I started out with a 10 minute warm-up on the Arc Trainer. I focused on my Quadriceps and abs. I supersetted Leg Extensions with Front Squats and I did 3 sets of 12-15 reps for each. I then used another machine which I have no idea what it is called. But you squat in it and depending on your foot placement you can work your glutes or your quads. I of course worked my quads. I supersetted that machine with 1 minute wall-sits. Feel the burn! For my abs I supersetted hanging leg raises (12 reps) with bicycles (25) and did 3 sets of those. My last ab workout focused on my sides. I laid on my back with my legs bent. My feet were spread shoulder width apart and I moved back and forth along the ground touching my heels with my fingers. I did 2 sets of 30 reps. I finished up my workout with a 2 mile run on the treadmill. It’s the first time I’ve really run in a few weeks. I felt a bit tired, but powered through! I was drenched in sweat when I was finished, which I like because I know I worked hard!

This evening I went to dinner with the family to celebrate my sister passing her test and remembering my parent’s anniversary. We tried Bonefish Grill for the first time. We finally got another seafood place in town besides “Ed Lobster” aka Red Lobster. Dinner was FANTASTIC. My sister and I got the meal for two promotion they currently have running. We started off with the Singapore Calamari (pretty good) and then I had a house salad which had a wonderful citrus herb vinaigrette dressing, so light. In between all that they brought out some bread and oil. My main dish was the Wood-Grilled Authentic Norwegian Salmon topped with mango salsa, YUM! My two sides were a medley of vegetables. I brought half home to have for lunch tomorrow. It took a lot of restraint not to eat it all. I paired my meal with a glass of Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio. I had a few bites of Misty’s dessert which was a macadamia nut brownie with raspberry sauce on the side; also very yummy! It seems like we ate a lot of food, but I left there feeling very light and quite content!! That’s how I would describe the food I had, light and tasty! In case you were wondering…Misty got the Sea Scallops and Shrimp and my mom got the Coconut Crusted Shrimp appetizer as her main course. Both of them liked their meals as well.

5 Years

This weekend marked the 5 year “anniversary” of my dad’s death. In order to celebrate my dad’s life my mom, sister, the kiddos, and I decided we would spend the weekend together doing some of the things that my dad loved to do. He was a wonderful outdoorsman from an early age. Because of my dad, I have a deep love and appreciation for nature…anything and everything Mother Earth has to offer. We spent the weekend at Shenandoah National Park. We entered at the northern most point (Front Royal) and took our time driving south on Skyline Drive. There was no camping involved; we feel the kiddos are still too young and maybe we are all a bit nervous to attempt camping for the first time in a long time. I’m not sure if it is quite like riding a bicycle…you never forget?! True “dad” fashion would have been camping, loved our camping trips growing up, but I think my dad would have been quite proud and happy with our little trip!

Our first day in the park, included a picnic at the first visitor center, Dickey Ridge. We brought enough food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. We had dinner at both the Skyland and Big Meadows restaurants; such a great way to save money and to eat healthy meals. After lunch we took a hike on the Fox Hollow Trail which is a 1.2 mile circuit. Alena (5) walked the whole trail and Sean (3) walked most of it. I’d say he walked all but .2 miles. They did great on their first hike!

Our next highlight was getting to see a young black bear run across the road. We were back on Skyline Drive heading towards Skyland when we saw this head poke up over the barrier wall. We of course stopped to observe. He proceeded to climb over the wall and run across the road and into the woods. I got a picture of his butt, because I was not fast enough pulling out my camera. I think we were in all in shock and awe that we saw a wild black bear. SO COOL! We ended up seeing one or two more, actually my mom did. But I couldn’t see anything, seems my reflexes were a bit on the slow side that day.

Red square marks the spot!

We checked into our room later in the afternoon and ate a snack or two or three. For whatever reason I was famished, I had to get out of the room because I was afraid I was going to eat anything and everything in sight. Ha! After our break, we piled back into the car and headed further south towards Big Meadows. We stopped and took another walk on a fire road that bordered the Meadow (trails wind throughout the meadow). Dinner was at the Skyland Dining Room. The food wasn’t good at all; I’m a bit sad about that. I should have ordered the fries and chicken off the kids menu! Bedtime was at 10pm for me, I was so tired! All the fresh air!!

I'm in the middle.

Our second day we spent the early afternoon at Luray Caverns. It’s been a long time since I last visited; I don’t remember the audio self tour, but what a fabulous idea! You can go at your own pace and they have an adult and kids audio tour. The caverns were beautiful as always. We headed back into the park and had another wonderful picnic. After another hour or two of driving we hit another hiking trail. We walked the Limberlost Trail where we saw a multitude of wildlife: deer, turkeys, bunnies, and tons of butterflies and moths.

Dinner was at the Big Meadows Dining Room and it was ten times better than dinner the night before. After dinner we took a night stroll to the Amphitheater where a park ranger was giving a presentation on animals and mating. Did you know that most owls mate for life? The male owl goes through a lot to try and impress the female owl. If the female accepts him they are mated for life. They are forever in love!! So sweet! Another little tidbit I learned was that black widow spiders are completely misunderstood. She only invites a male spider into her web if she is hungry. She doesn’t eat every day and sometimes not even up to a month. She only eats when she is hungry, and it just so happens she prefers male spiders as her meal! She eats purely for survival purposes!

Fire roasted marshmallows were a treat at the end. Unfortunately, the kiddos didn’t appreciate the wonders of almost burnt marshmallows…oh well, their loss. Just means more for me. YUM!

Our third day at the park consisted of us checking out of the hotel and then heading to a nearby trail to get in one more hike before making our trek home. This turned into a very interesting hike! We parked at the Stony Man Nature Trail which was only supposed to be about a 1.6 mile trail circuit. We failed to look at the map and like a lot of trails in Shenandoah other trails share similar names. We ended up walking the Nature Trail and then the Stony Man Trail itself which took us to a different parking lot about 3 miles north (by road) from where we parked. LOL!

We started by hiking up to the Stony Man Summit, which had an amazing view! On our way down from the summit we came to an intersection. There were two ways we could go, back the same way we came or follow the arrow on the trail marker stating the Stony Man Parking was 1.2 miles to the left. I was thinking that this took us a different way back to the parking lot we parked at. We were having such a good time that we decided to take the “longer” way back. It ended up being longer alright! On the 1.2 mile hike we got to see the Stony Man Cliffs, another gorgeous view. The last .6 miles were down hill and very rocky. I ended up carrying Sean down most of the way because I was worried he might get hurt; definitely a bit tough for a 3 year old to walk down. Alena conquered the trails fabulously! As I already mentioned, our hike ended at a completely different parking lot! We failed to study a map of the trail, and like a lot of trails in the Shenandoah, other trails share similar names. A huge mistake that can get hikers in serious trouble!

Stony Man Summit

Needless to say we were in a pickle. Instead of having the kiddos walk back which would‘ve taken a long time, Misty (my sister) and I hoofed it back by taking the trail. My mom stayed with the kids. The hike back was mostly uphill and by my calculation was about a two mile hike back. I LOVED this part the most. Hiking with kids is a lot different (although very enjoyable) than my normal hiking pace (which is steady and quick). Misty did great and stuck with me. We made it through the trail and back to my mom and the kiddos in 45 minutes. I felt absolutely fabulous after the hike, so energized and rejuvenated! Call me crazy, but I really think my dad was listening to my inner thoughts and giving me this opportunity for an invigorating hike.

Although we were quite stupid for not looking at a map and understanding the trails, we handled the situation very well and stayed positive. It was actually quite funny. However, Alena was pretty sure I lead everyone the wrong way she told me as much when we came back with the car….bwahahaha!

We picnicked again and spent the rest of the afternoon leaving the park and driving home. It was a good trip. Much needed for my mind, body, and soul.