Fancy

Yesterday, I had a good run at the Y.  I had posted about feeling frustrated with my runs, and I decided to back down to a run 5 minutes / walk 2 minutes cycle, which I successfully repeated 4 times.  This was perfect for me yesterday.  I felt like I had gotten a good workout, but I wasn’t going to die.  I’m still anxious for the day that I can just run…

I also finished up yesterday with a reception for my Husband’s work, where I had two glasses of red wine and a few hors d’ouvres.  I wish I had stuck to just one glass, but oh well.  For the food, I had a teeny twice-stuffed potato – the size of a walnut, but yummy enough – and then a few shrimp with cocktail sauce.  Then, I saw this whole nice little assortment of fresh asian rolls with veggies in them, so I grabbed one of those with peanut sauce as well.  After the red wine, which makes me munchy, I went back for a fried potsticker, which my body did not thank me for.  I had eaten a very light 5:00 snack – the other half of a veggie wrap that I started at lunch – so this was a snack/dinner for me.

I had quite the time getting dressed up, though.  As a teacher, I literally wear jeans every day to work. “Casual” at work to me means jeans and sneakers instead of cute flats.  I wish I could say I like getting dressed up, but I really don’t.  The only thing I like is pointy high heels, and the novelty of those wear off fast.  Anyway, I couldn’t find anything I felt comfortable in, in part because I’ve had a pretty bad body image lately.  But as I said yesterday, I am going to try to stick to honoring my body and hope that everything else flows along after – could stand to have a little less “mush” on me.

That said, this morning I had about a serving and a half of Shredded Spoonfuls and a juicy, delicious pear.  Obviously that wasn’t a very big breakfast, so I am starving already at 10:30 – meaning I am going to break into my caramel Oikos and maybe pop a dried fig or two before lunch rolls around.

I’m going to the gym this afternoon and I fully plan to thank my body for everything it does for me – learn to run, for instance.  Wish me luck!

Succeeding with Oats

This morning I engaged in what is becoming a repetitive cycle for me – seeing all these other people eat their oatmeal and stay full for hours thereafter.  This just doesn’t work for me.  I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!  But, the latest I can usually eat breakfast is 7:15, and that doesn’t hold me over until lunchtime.  How are all these other people held over until lunch?!

Furthermore, I feel like I am stuffing myself silly that early in the morning.  I think I would be good if I could eat my hearty bowl of oatmeal at 8:30 or so, but that’s just not possible.  Sigh.

Well, this morning I tried again, but tried with toasting the oats, just for fun.  I had just recently read a post about toasted oats on Courtney’s blog, and had a craving.  So I started with this…

mmm, raw oats...

And then heated up a small pan, coated lightly with cooking spray, and threw in the oats, some unsalted cashews, and some deliciously gigantic unsweetened coconut flakes.  A minute or so in I decided to layer in about a teaspoon of honey.

While that mix was toasting, I cut up some strawberries.  When I was through with everything, I had a mix of strawberries, my toasted oats, and a splash of skim milk.  Ta-da.

I also boiled water for my tea-on-the-go, which this morning was a new one.

Coconut Mango.  I do love me some Stash tea.  The verdict on this one?  Not great, not bad.  I love coconut, so I was really looking forward to it.  But, there was something off about the taste, to me.  I’m going to give it another chance, though – it’s possible the agave I put in it was too overwhelming.  I’ll try it next time with less.

And the verdict on my oats?  Well, it’s about 11:00AM now, and I’m a little hungry, but not starving.  Let’s consider that a success!

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of stepping on the scale this morning. Ugh.  I haven’t stepped on it since I decided to try not counting calories anymore, and I am far heavier now than I have been in months, despite the fact that I’m pretty sure I’m eating much cleaner and am certainly not NOT exercising, though I’ll admit I could do more.  I guess that will be my goal…

Going to the gym in a bit, just after lunch, to pick back up with my attempts to run for longer periods of time in succession.  I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’m thinking 7 minutes was a little too much and I might back it down to 5 or 6 for now, which means I’ll plan to warm up, run 5 / walk 2 and cycle that four or five times.

[How did you learn to run for more than a mile straight?  Did you do a run/walk plan?  If so, what was it?]

Being a Bookworm

Howdy!

This morning, I grabbed two slices of my favorite Ezekiel sesame bread on my way out the door – but not before patting with a little butter, toasting, and adding some raspberry preserves.  I’m a big sucker for butter AND jam on my toast.  Every time I eat toast this way, I can’t help but remember a section of Little Women (despite the fact that it’s been forever since I’ve read that delightful book) in which the girls are at home with their mother while dad is away at war (is it bad I can’t even remember which war?), and mom is telling Jo and the gals about how it’s hard times, so they can’t afford to have butter AND jam on their toast anymore.  And, I always say a little thanks in my head that I’m lucky enough to be able to have both.  Silly.  Weird how those little things sometimes stick with you, huh?

While we’re on the topic of books, I had an Amazon order arrive today!  I just love Amazon – I feel like you can find anything and everything there, the books are at awesome prices with tons of reviews to peruse before purchasing, and they save my credit card information!  What could be better?

Anyway, I had to buy Tender at the Bone for my next month’s book group meeting, so I went to Amazon to find it.  But wait!  I could earn free shipping by adding only $14.15 to my cart!  How could I resist?

I ended up with several goodies that I had had my proverbial foodie eye on.

I’ve recently read In Defense of Food, so I was excited to go ahead and purchase The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  And, I keep seeing The Eat-Clean Diet at Target but don’t get it because of the “diet” word in it.  I’m hoping that there are a bunch of fun recipes since it is now “recharged.”

And there’s my Tender at the Bone, plus French Women Don’t Get Fat.  When the latter initially came out, I remember having scoffed at it and rejected the idea of reading on account of its obviously fad-like subject.  However, Jenna and a few other bloggers convinced me in their reviews that it might have some worthwhile tidbits.  Plus, the shipping’s free, right? And, I loooooooved every time I was in France, so who wouldn’t want to relive that?

I’m pretty excited to check them all out!

Now, I know everyone’s just dying to hear about my food options today, but I am literally falling asleep at my keyboard, and Husband’s already in bed here looking annoyed at the clicky-clacking.  So, I’m going to leave you with my BEST discovery of the day…

Bulgur wheat!

Okay, perhaps that wasn’t the best discovery of the day, but my camera’s battery died as soon as I had tossed together the warm bulgur wheat with chopped red peppers, crumbled goat cheese, and plopped on top of spinach.  It was amazing!  I’m so bummed, because the colors were be-a-u-tiful and would have made an awesome picture.  Fortunately, I have a feeling I’ll be repeating that one.

No workout today – my body felt really tired and like it needed a break (I know, I know, two days of running in a row is just SO hard).  But seriously, I’m glad I listened to my body.  Around noon today I was sure I was developing a cold, but after chilling out for the afternoon with no major workout and just some stretching on the living room floor, I feel so much better.  Back to the pavement (ahem, rubber?) tomorrow.

Night!

Today’s Most Delicious Pictures

8:00AM: Choco-Hazelnut tea with a splash of milk and a cereal baggie of Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls

9:20AM: Banana

10:20AM: Celery sticks and 2T almond butter

11:30AM: Baby carrots, multigrain bread, caramel Oikos

1:15PM: Apple

Seems pretty clear my body rejects the idea of “meals” and knows only snacks!  From there on, I have pictures

I described my confusion about my body’s behavior after my workout today, but I accidentally lied about what I ate right afterward.  It was not a Larabar, it was a Pure bar.

I know I’ve heard people rave about these, but I had never tried them before.  Gosh, are they delicious!  Our Trader Joe’s carries a Cherry Cashew flavor and a Chocolate Brownie flavor.  I bought a couple bars to keep as emergency snacks in my purse, workout bag (I’m learning!), and car.  So, hopefully I will have an “emergency” need to try to chocolate one soon.

I was mostly excited by the awesome ingredients list – all organic, but more importantly, all stuff I could recognize, picture, and figure out where to buy for myself.  Wahoo!

When I got home, as I mentioned, I cooked up some Kashi 7-grain Pilaf, seasoned with some red pepper flakes and garlic salt, and plopped over some microwave-wilted lemon spinach.  It was a great dish, and one that I will certainly be recreating in the future for a quick dinner or large snack.

In the interest of full disclosure, I also ate a handful of dark chocolate M&Ms at this point.  I also grabbed a couple unsalted cashews; I guess I was craving some good fat.

For dinner, I had been craving the peas in my freezer with some sort of pasta.  I racked my brain for almost an hour trying to figure out the “dish” I was going to create, but then I realized that my slow-but-steady breaking away from processed foods and added sugar has allowed me the chance to fully appreciate the complex tastes of food that comes from the ground.  So, I just decided that peas, whole wheat pasta, and a pat o’ butter was all I needed.

First, I ran some warm water over the bag of frozen peas to let the ice chunks melt away.  Then, I sprayed a pan with cooking spray and sauteed two minced cloves of garlic.  Then, the best smell in the world filled the house! I added a pat (a bit less than a tablespoon – figuring that this dish would be about 3 servings when I was through) of butter and a dash of salt and pepper.

I’m a sucker for fresh pasta, and not just because it only requires two minutes of boiling.  I love that I can get whole wheat linguine (I hate spaghetti – my long noodles must be flat!) in fresh form.

When the pasta was cooked, I just tossed it with the pea mixture and sprinkled with an ounce or so of parmesan cheese.

For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to make this a pretty picture.  It was delicious, though!

Usually when I make dinner, particularly “one-pot” dinners like this, for my husband and me, I plan on roughly three servings.  That way, I get a full serving, Husband gets a full-serving-plus-some, and I have a slightly-less-than-one-full serving as leftovers for lunch the next day.  This works out well; it’s all too easy to fall into the married trap of eating the same amount as your spouse simply because you make two servings and, duh, split the final dish in two.  Then, you end up eating the same amount of food as someone almost twice your size!  No wonder it’s so easy to gain weight following marriage.

While I was making my lunch for tomorrow, I realized that the strawberries I had in the fridge were pretty much on their last day.  So, I cut them up and put half in my lunch for tomorrow (to stir into my vanilla Greek yogurt), and decided to eat the other half as a reward once I had cleaned the kitchen.  Success!

I also decided they could use some creaminess.  Don’t worry, the ice cream in the picture is literally all the ice cream there is.  It was maybe 1/4 a cup.  Dash almonds, and we have the best dessert ever.

Another curious observation following a good week with almost zero processed foods and lots and lots of fresh fruits and veggies is that while I usually save the hunk of ice cream for last with this dessert, because it is so gosh darn delicious, tonight each time I took a taste I was thinking, “Man, that fro yo is way too sweet – more strawberries, please!”

Funny how life works.

Well, I said I would be in bed early (and took some Advil PM to ease my headache and get to bed), and it’s already 9:44PM – past my bedtime!

P.S. Thanks tons for the suggestions on my lightheadedness

Yay Running

And yay me!  I only have a couple of minutes, but I had to post that I have seriously improved my running in all of…a week?  I always forget (when I stop exercising for periods of time, that is) that one of the reasons running is so great is that it seems like you improve at a quick rate.

So, today was nothing too exciting for those of you who are seasoned runners, but I am working up to being able to run several miles straight, which I’ve NEVER been able to do before, so today I decided to do a run 7 minutes/walk 2 minutes cycle three times.  I totally succeeded!  Okay, before the last 7 minute run I needed to recover for more like 3 or 4 minutes, but I am still pretty darn proud of myself.  And, okay, so I only ran at a pace of 11:00.  I ran!

After that, and after a similar run yesterday (but for more like 4 cycles!), I am absolutely pooped.  Plus, I haven’t gotten as much sleep as I need for the past two nights or so, which just makes it worse.  I plan on crawling under the covers especially early tonight!

Before I go make dinner (something with peas? pasta maybe?), I also had to recount something weird that happened to me after my run, which I’ve experienced a few times before.  Toward the end of my workout, during cool-down, I started to feel lightheaded.  This usually means I need to eat, so I promptly went down to the locker room to take an uber-fast shower and head my butt home.  By the time I got down to the locker room, I was REALLY lightheaded and faint.

Fortunately, I remembered I had half of a Larabar in my gym bag, and I ate that before coming home, eating another Larabar, and then cooking up some spinach and grains (Kashi 7-grain pilaf, to be exact – fabulous) with lemon.  I’m much more satisfied, but I still feel a little hungry!  What’s up with that?

I don’t feel like I ate much less this morning and for lunch than I usually do, but this faint headed feeling only happens once a month or so.  I can’t seem to pinpoint the cause, though.  And, how normal is it to be SO hungry after a workout?  I’m already hungry again, in fact!

This leads me to another point, which is that it’s been quite interesting to try to pay attention to when I’m “really” hungry.  I’ve been pretty good about asking myself whether I’m physically hungry or whether I’m tired, lonely, bored, etc., before I eat.  And, a couple times I’ve noted that I’m not actually hungry, but had a tiny handful — truly, maybe 10 pieces — of dark chocolate M&Ms (yes, switching to dark chocolate is another tiny thing I can change to make myself healthier and happier) anyway.  I’m pretty proud of myself for being able to say, “I’m not hungry, I’d like something sweet, a smidge of chocolate would satisfy this, and I don’t feel guilty about eating the smidge of chocolate.”

This doesn’t change, though, that I’m still feeling a bit of anxiety over the fact that I don’t really know how many calories I’ve eaten the past few days.  I guess I just need to trust my body that if I’m listening to it and feeding it good, whole foods, I’ll be okay.

Whew!  Off to the potential peas and pasta dinner (an English teacher’s gotta love that alliteration!).

Hot and Sour Soup

HOT AND SOUR SOUP – almost the same as the one that appeared in a recent issue of Vegetarian Times.  The main difference here was that the recipe in the magazine was part of a raw menu, so there was obviously not as much heating involved.  I’m sure the soup would be good at room temperature, but I like it hot

• handful bean sprouts
• 3T soy sauce
• 6 dried apricots
• 1.5 – 2 cups tomatoes, diced
• several tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2-3 zucchinis or cucumbers, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 1t agave nectar
• pinch cayenne pepper, to taste

1. In a skillet, heat the soy sauce and toss bean sprouts in it for a few minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Cover apricots with boiling water and let soak for 5-10 minutes.

3. Combine tomatoes, apricots, handful of the cilantro, agave, and 3 cups water in a pot.  Blend until smooth.

4. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.  Add zucchini, jalapeno, and remaining cilantro (if desired).  Add soy sauce and bean mixture, and allow to continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Serve hot!

Quite a Weekend

Well, this has been quite a weekend!  I have a couple fun items to report.  First, I had a YUMMY weekend.  I’ve been eating out at restaurants a bit more than usual, mostly because one of my best friends was here to visit.

However, I’ve been incredibly successful in not eating processed junk, and despite the fact that I made half a batch of chocolate chip cookies today and ate most of them (and despite the fact that I have a pretty good sized stash of those chocolate Easter eggs), I know exactly what was in them and exactly where it came from, because I made them from scratch.

The cookies were delicious!  In the past few years, I had forgotten how far superior cookies from scratch are compared to cookies that arrive in break-and-bake formation.

Since recounting the past few days in their entirety would be nearly impossible, I’ll give some of the highlights.  One of them was this Amy‘s Thai Coconut Soup.  I added a handful of spinach to it, and this really kicked it up a notch.  Indeed, it needed the spinach to feel like a filling, nutritious meal.

The soup had some delicious stuff: coconut milk, of course, sweet potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, and my spinach.

Yesterday, I hit a milestone (pardon the pun) in my running career.  My bunions had been bothering me while running, possibly contributing to my knee problems as well.  So, I finally decided to admit that I have no idea what kind of shoes I should be running in, and I got my bum over to Charlotte Running Company to get a little advice.

Man, I have been wearing terrible shoes that exacerbate my foot problems for YEARS!  Goodness gracious.  Turns out I have terribly weak ankles and a terrible pronation problem.  However, I’ve always picked cushion-y shoes, probably because they feel, well, cushion-y.

The second I got in some shoes that were supportive and helped control motion, I felt like I was flying (well, around the parking lot while I tested the shoes anyway)!  I’ll have to take a picture of those.  I’m using them for the first time for “real” at the gym tomorrow.

Tonight, I made some hot and sour soup from a recent issue of Vegetarian Times.  The recipe was in a section about raw food recipes, but I love my heat, so I kicked up the burner and served it hot with a hunk of rosemary olive oil bread and some amazing Taleggio cheese.  Recipe for soup forthcoming.

This was the first time I’ve tasted Taleggio, but I would definitely buy it again.  It’s got a brie quality, but there’s a sharp bite that brie doesn’t have.  I’m not so good with the descriptions of cheese, huh?  Will have to work on that.

Still no camera…

…but I’m fun without it, right?

Am having a few technical difficulties on that end, but it’ll get straightened out in the next few days.  I haven’t had much time this week, what with it being the end of the trimester at school (hello piles of papers to grade!), our washer breaking, and last night being my book club night!

BOOK CLUB (I thought this post might be easier to navigate with headings)

I love, love, love my book club.  This month, we read I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak, and it was an immensely enjoyable book.  If you are someone who likes to read (or even if you’re not!), I highly recommend it.  It’s very easy to get through, but don’t let that fool you; Zusak’s use of language is nothing short of beautiful.  The dialogue is very real, and the use of metaphors and personification is perfect.  It’s got a great metatextual element, as well, which I always get a kick out of in books.

EATS

Well, we went to a new place for our book club meeting last night – The Liberty.  My thoughts?  It wasn’t so-amazing-I-have-to-go-again, but the food was solid.  I got the shrimp and grits, which was actually shrimp and scallops and sausage and grits, and it was pretty good.  Particularly the grits.  Oh, do I love carbs.  Really, never met one I didn’t like.

A few of us went out for dessert after, at a place right next door called Pewter Rose, where I ordered my classic go-to dessert – creme brulee.  YUMMY.  I adore creme brulee, and I have a kitchen torch at home and am reminded now to go make some on my own!  Truly, it’s not that hard to make (which is why I’m particularly annoyed when it’s not SUPERB at restaurants.)  No worries, because this one was a winner!  What made it out-of-this-world, I think, was the extra-thick sugary coating on top.  I “shared it,” but I probably ate 2/3 of it.  Oh, well!

WORK IT OUT, BABY

I also got to the gym yesterday.  I am consistently intimidated by the distances and speeds that so many bloggers run, but I guess a gal’s got to start somewhere, right?  I feel pretty lucky to be able to jump in to week 5 of C25K, so I guess I should be thankful for that.  Yesterday, I didn’t have tons of time, so I ran 10 minutes, walked 3, ran 10, walked 5, cooled down, and that was it.  I’m gonna try for the same thing today.  I hate when I convince myself that I’m SO busy I can’t possibly fit in 30 minutes of exercise.  Come on, Kyle, that’s just not true!

BACK TO EATS (SURPRISED?)

I’m also happy that yesterday I did a pretty good job just eating when I was hungry, and sticking to 90% healthy foods (10% was the creme brulee and a little handful of dark chocolate M&Ms).  I’m happy that I only have a very, VERY vague idea of how many calories I took in, and based on yesterday I’m more than willing to try going on like this for a few weeks and seeing how I’m feeling getting-into-my-pants-wise (as opposed to weight-wise, I guess).

This morning, I grabbed some more of my delicious chocolate hazelnut tea, a banana, and a baggie with about a serving and a half of Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls.  Delish!  We’re having a faculty lunch today, so I don’t know what will be served.  Crossing my fingers there are lots of veggies to choose from, though.

Ash comes tonight, and I’m expecting to have yummy pictures from wherever we hit up for dinner!

Washer and I are Alive!

Just a quick post, because I’m so behind on my life right now!  Last night, Husband and I spent a couple hours taking apart the washer and putting it back together (pictures of that coming soon – hilarious), and were certain that its little life was over, but we finally figured out what was wrong, and now I will have clean clothes again soon!  Today I look a bit like my closet threw up on me, I confess.

More good news to report.  Yesterday, I decided to focus just on eating fresh, clean, healthy foods, and not worry so much about how much of them I was eating.  I figure, if counting calories hasn’t helped me and I’ve been doing it for years(!), then perhaps I should take a new approach.

Yesterday was awesome!  Only downside was a few too many handfuls of Annie‘s chocolate bunny grahams, but I figure those are significantly less-bad-for-me than Cadbury chocolate.  I felt totally satisfied after my big veggie wrap for dinner (hours fixing the washing machine equals I don’t have to cook), again from my new favorite deli/market, Common Market.

Around 10:30, I began to get hungry again.  No wonder, I guess, since I am usually in bed by then.  I contemplated getting myself some chocolate, but decided I would drink a big glass of water and wait 20 minutes.  Lo and behold, 20 minutes later, I was engrossed in my book and on my way to dreamland.  Woohoo!

All right, my job needs me – this is going to be a busy few days, with work and Ash coming to visit.  Pictures forthcoming.

[To anyone who has thoughts on the to-count or not-to-count calories debate, what do you find has worked for you, and why?  Focus just on eating when you're hungry?  That scares me!]

If it’s not one thing, it’s another…

Isn’t that how life always goes? I feel like I’ve been running around like crazy lately, trying to stay caught up at work and keep the house running (sorry, Mom, I never realized how much work you did!) – even with my single [furry] child!

My friend Ashley is coming to visit this weekend, which I am super-excited about. However, visitors always mean I feel extra compulsive about the cleanliness of my house. Which, I guess, is probably a good thing. Anyway, I decided to start laundry mid-week yesterday. I usually save laundry for the weekends, but Husband had no underwear, and this seemed like a cue that it had been too long since I spent quality time with the washer and dryer.

They must be holding a grudge about my ignoring them. The washer won’t drain. Frustration! My husband’s job keeps him too busy, so I try to keep the Stuff Around the House he has to do to a minimum, since I have a lot more time at home that he does. However, appliances will never be my specialty, despite the Dare to Repair! book sitting on my shelf.

Well, for those of you who will have to be near me in person, my apologies in advance for the strange outfit combination I might be forced to concoct in the next few days.  When, oh when will I be able to have my trusty black tank clean again?!

On to food.  I’m feeling a little better this morning, although having a hard time fathoming how I’m going to fit a run in today.  Last night, in addition to the massive amounts of chocolate caramel eggs, I warmed up some of my leftover couscous and ate it on top of some wilted (in the microwave) spinach with lemon juice.  This would have been even more delicious if I didn’t already have quite the sugar flobiliness going on.  I invented that word, can you tell?  I’m thinking, how can I combine “slothlike,” “slovenly,” “flubby” (okay also maybe not a work), “full,” and “grossness”?  Flobiliness it is.

I deliberately avoided serving myself much chicken, per the vegetarian thoughts from last night.

This morning, in the midst of worrying about the washer, I just threw some random stuff together and hoped for the best.  Forgot to take a picture, too.

I toasted my new favorite – Ezekiel bread – and smothered one slice in a pat of butter and some organic raspberry preserves, and the other in a glob of almond butter.  Yum!

Have already eaten the banana I packed, but there’s also some peach Chobani, pomegranate seeds, sliced red pepper, sliced grapefruit, and…I think that’s it.  I’m not sure how long it will keep me happy, so I might have to go out and get something.  We’ll see!

Oh!  I also made myself some dee-lish-us chocolate hazelnut tea with a splash of milk.  This stuff is awesome!  Definitely has the chocolate flavor to it, but it’s not sweet (of course, you could change this if you wanted), and it still tastes like tea, which is especially nice for my morning ride.

Chugging through the day, now, hoping it remains this one thing to deal with and not another new thing…