can be found over here.
because i can't decide where is the best place to talk about running. here or there?
i decided there.
4.19.2011
4.18.2011
my week in meals ~ week four
week four a day late. the week has felt nuts. busy in a good way. i'm glad i write down what i eat. otherwise, i wouldn't have remembered a single bite. i'll make it quick:
sunday
workout: rest day
(breakfast) blueberry coffee cake
(lunch) the kids had turkey sandwiches, chex mix, a pickle and strawberries for lunch. i made some weird chicken veggie wrap using leftovers from the fridge (apple chicken, brown rice, spinach, swiss cheese and mango salsa).
(dinner) we crashed my parents house for dinner (again). costco chicken pot pie and cottage cheese. not my favorite but, it was free and took zero effort on my part. plus, my dad loves pot pie and, i love to hang out at my parents house.
i ate a lot of m&m's at my parents house and then felt sick to my stomach all night. one of these days i'll learn my lesson.
monday
workout: 4 miles on the treadmill in the a.m. and yoga in the p.m.
(breakfast) fruit (strawberries, blackberries and banana's) with soy milk and 1/2 bubba's whole wheat bagel with almond butter.
(lunch) salad (grilled chicken, spinach, romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers and balsamic dijon vinaigrette)
(dinner) teriyaki meatballs with asian veggie mix and brown rice. SO GOOD! recipe to come soon.
tuesday
workout: early morning run with maxine (4 miles ~ taper for 1/2 marathon)
(breakfast) same old breakfast. exciting.
(lunch) turkey sandwich on a bagel (turkey, romaine, swiss cheese & banana peppers) with cottage cheese and tomatoes.
(dinner) grilled chicken with garlic pepper seasoning. pasta with tomato sauce (carb loading!): whole wheat farfalle with homemade tomato sauce, shredded parmesan and steam fresh green beans.
pasta sauce:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large tomatoes, peeled", seeded and chopped
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup reserved noodle water
heat olive oil in a heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat. add onions and saute until soft (6-7 minutes). add garlic and saute until fragrant (1 minute). add tomatoes and saute for about 2 minutes. add broth, wine, tomato paste and noodle water. simmer over medium-low heat for a few minutes to allow liquid to reduce and alcohol to cook off. add noodles to pot, toss to coat and then add fresh parsley and shaved parmesan to top.
*before adding noodles to boiling water to cook, throw the whole tomatoes in the boiling water for 1 minute and then immediately put them in a bowl of ice water. they will peel easily after this.
wednesday
workout: rest day/taper
(breakfast) chobani topped with cherry almond granola
(lunch) spinach salad (spinach, whole wheat farfalle, toasted slivered almonds, mandarin oranges, cucumbers and newmans light sesame ginger dressing)
(dinner) husband made himself and the kids dinner tonight. i wasn't feeling well. cold? stomach flu? i couldn't decide. either way, i didn't have much of an appetite. i had 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich. he is the KING of grilled cheese around these parts and he even obliged me by taking pictures of his creation.
{campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches}
thursday
workout: rest/taper .. lower back on the verge of going out. taking it easy for race on saturday.
(breakfast) same old thing.
(lunch) today i had an appointment for my annual physical. my mom helped me with the kids so i dropped them off to her at my grandma's house where they were just cleaning up lunch and i happened to be starving so i ate what was left of my grandma's chicken and broccoli casserole. not a low fat meal by any means but, a super yummy one!
(dinner) another attempt at enchilada's. i make horrible enchilada's. i admit. i try to "healthify" it but, it never works. seems i should take the hint. i also gave mexican rice a chance using ingredients from scratch and brown rice. it actually turned out really good. i could have let it cook a little longer though. next time. once i perfect this recipe, i'll post it. as far as enchilada's go, i'm all ears. do you have a healthy-ish version you can share with me?
workout: rest/taper
(breakfast) same old thing.
(lunch) for the life of me, i cannot remember what i ate for lunch today! my mom went with me downtown to pick up my race packet for saturday. we stopped at gateway for a little browsing and enjoyed ourselves some juicy berry. i had "original tart" with strawberries and graham cracker crumbs. it was okay. so far as i know, nothing beats red mango.
(dinner) kids slept at my parents so the husband and i could go birthday shopping for our little guy and get the fixin's for easter baskets. we stopped at noodles and company while out and i ordered pasta fresca with grilled chicken and cleared my plate. more carb loading! very important (heehee).
saturday
workout: ran the salt lake 1/2 marathon (that's 13.1 miles folks)
(breakfast/lunch = brunch) the hub and i went to the blue plate diner after my race with my brother and sister-in-law and little baby nephew. i ordered eggs benedict with spinach, mushrooms and avocado. i'd never tried eggs benedict. it was really good. i'm certain not even a little bit low fat or low calorie but spinach is good for you, right?
(dinner) oven fry chicken with a minute brown rice steamer cup and steamed broccoli. quickest dinner ever which is the most i could muster with such little energy. (i can't get the underline off. really making me angry!)
the end!
4.13.2011
blueberry coffee cake
blueberry coffee cake
adapted from whole foods
cooking spray
2 tbsp + 1 cup white whole wheat flour, divided
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups frozen blueberries
.25 cup almonds (i used slivered because it's what i had but next time i'll used sliced)
preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease a 9" round cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.
put 2 tbsp of the white whole wheat flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon and cardamom in a small bowl and mix together with a fork or your fingers until well combined and mixture is in large clumps; set streusel aside.
combine remaining 1 cup of white whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
in a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, vanilla and eggs and then pour mixture into the dry ingredients. stir until combined. gently fold in 1 cup of blueberries (i made the mistake of mixing both cups of blueberries into the batter which made the cake a little too moist and therefore requiring a longer cook time).
spoon batter into prepared pan and sprinkle streusel over the top. scatter remaining 1 cup of blueberries over the streusel and then top with almonds. bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 30-40 minutes. once cooled, loosen edges of cake and transfer to a plate. cut into slices and serve to daughter after assuring her there is not actually coffee in the cake.
yields 8 generous portions
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4.09.2011
my week in meals ~ week three
week three.
sunday (4/3):
workout: rest day
i was rather rebellious today and slept in way too late. this meant that no one had a nice warm breakfast, including myself. i can't even remember what i ate. probably the same old thing. i'm certain i didn't have much for lunch because my mom was making dinner for my birthday and i was saving room.
(dinner): my mom has always has us choose our own birthday dinner. even as i get older, she wants to serve me something i love for my birthday. this has become more and more tricky as i (seemingly) get more and more picky. my poor mom. in the end, she ordered the delicious house pasta salad from red butte cafe and then made an entirely separate meal on top of it so everyone would have something to eat. it was nice of her. i felt truly high maintenance (sorry mom)!
for dessert: "nothing bundt cake" red velvet cake. OMG. love!
monday (4/4):
workout: date night at the gym with my hunk of a husband. 4 miles on the treadmill and then yoga together (which was a little bite of heaven for me = yoga with my man!).
(lunch): leftover bday dinner
(dinner): the kids had dinosaur chicken nuggets and i had a pb&j sandwich. not in the mood to cook. it happens.
sissy had to have two teeth pulled and was afraid to eat anything that might get "stuck in the holes" so i made her a yummy shake; 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt, 1 cup vanilla soy milk, 1 banana & 1 cup frozen berry blend (coscto). she gobbled it up.
tuesday (4/5):
workout: 10 mile run on the treadmill. movie required: "love and other drugs" two thumbs up (out of five?).
(breakfast) typical; fruit, milk, 1/2 bagel & almond butter
(lunch) massive salad using the leftovers in the fridge; grilled lemon pepper chicken, whole wheat linguine, spinach, romaine, cucumbers & tomatoes with chipotle cheddar dressing.
(dinner): i had really high expectations for this recipe when i put it together in the slow cooker earlier that day. sadly, it was only okay. okay enough that we ate it but not something worthy of it's own post. sniffle.
{those are raisins, apples, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, apple juice and chicken atop brown rice}
wednesday (4/6): my birthday! look who's 30!!
workout: p90x "kenpo" dvd with weighted hand gloves
(breakfast): typical but, i didn't have lunch. out running errands and i treated myself to a "chaicicle" sans whipping cream from my favorite beans and brews.
(dinner): we had family over to celebrate my birthday. my sweet mother in law brought a lemon cream cake from the olive garden and i made teriyaki chicken, my favorite sesame noodles which is an adaptation of this recipe from the pioneer woman (i'll post my version one of these days) and steamed asian blend veggies.
thursday (4/7):
workout: 4 miles on the treadmill in the morning and yoga after dinner.
(breakfast) same ol' same ol' ... i'm so boring.
(lunch) simple salad with grilled portabellos and homemade balsamic dijon vinaigrette
(snack) chobani with cherry almond granola and i made a batch of basic chocolate chip cookies for the kids and hub cookie bin with 1/2 cup of toffee bits added.
(dinner) barbecue chicken (grilled) with rosemary red potatoes and broccoli.
friday (4/8):
workout: rest day
can you believe we were out of coffee creamer when i woke up today!? the nerve. a full pot of freshly brewed coffee and no creamer. i could have died.
(breakfast) yogurt and granola.
(lunch) i made mini pizza's for the kids using whole wheat bagels, pizza sauce, mozzarella and turkey pepperoni. they love these!
(dinner) BUNKO! i didn't have to cook :) ... the family had pizza. go husband!
saturday (4/9):
workout: planned 10 miler failed due to these terrible weather conditions. 8 miles on the treadmill at the gym instead which = way too many miles on the treadmill this week.
(lunch): my sweet friend kalisa treated me to lunch for my birthday at omar's rawtopia. i ordered coconut curry rice and there wasn't a bite left on my plate. it was so amazingly delicious. for a second, i thought about learning to cook raw. then i remembered my poor family.
{i think my dad would dig this place. laugh out loud.}
{kalisa ordered zucchini pasta and sweet basil salad}
then we hit the red mango. for me, always an original yogurt with strawberries and graham cracker crumbs. it was a lovely date. i'm looking forward to doing it again (hint hint hint).
(dinner) another bowl of leftovers from the fridge; teriyaki chicken, whole wheat linguine, french cut green beans, shaved parmesan and about a tablespoon of light italian dressing all warmed up. surprisingly good! the fam had nachos (yes, we were being really lazy).
week three down. how'd i do?
rosemary red potatoes
don't judge me when i complain about the snow again.
i made this dinner on thursday night before yoga. the snow was really coming down so i didn't want to grill outside which is reasonable, i think. as a result, i ended up grilling the chicken breasts over the stovetop in my grill pan with a little bbq sauce spread over each breast while the potatoes roasted in the oven with onions and garlic.
once the plates hit the table i realized i was going to be late for yoga so i didn't get to eat just like last week. clearly i need to time thursday dinners better. yoga take precedence over food and, i was excited to share my new playlist with the class. i couldn't be late!
in a rush, i left the house and then when i got to class i realized my clothes and my hair smelled really, really bad. i can't stand it when i can smell food on people so i was apologizing profusely and really embarrassed. luckily, they're all a bunch of awesome women who forgave me. just this once.
before i ran out i asked the hub to save my plate. he got distracted trying to potty train the toddler and then the dog at my chicken straight off my plate. when i got home, there wasn't anything left. sniffle. the fam loved the bbq chicken and these potatoes. in fact, they were abnormally enthusiastic about this meal. when questioned, the hub replied with, "we're american."
i get it. you don't like curry.
moving on.
rosemary red potatoes
adapted from allrecipes
1.5 - 2 lbs small red potatoes, scrubbed and halved
1 small onion chopped into 2" pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp garlic salt
preheat oven to 425 degrees and line an insulated baking sheet with foil.
boil the potatoes for 8-10 minutes and then drain.
boil the potatoes for 8-10 minutes and then drain.
aside from the potatoes, put all ingredients in a gallon sized ziplock back or, whisk together in a large bowl. add the potatoes and toss until well coated.
spread potatoes evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are crisp and golden turning the heat up to a broil for the last 5 minutes of baking.
yields 6 servings
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4.08.2011
simple salad with grilled portabello and balsamic dijon vinaigrette
{recipe adapted via annies eats}
when i first read annie's post about this salad i knew it was something i wanted to try so i grabbed some portabello mushrooms at my last trip to the store and then i sort of forgot about them. when i finally noticed the mushrooms again i knew i needed to use them up right away so this became my lunch. fancy, right? i know, i spoil myself.
when the making began, it became quickly apparent that i was lacking many of the necessary ingredients to complete the recipe as is so i had to improvise to make my own version.
first, i marinated the mushrooms by lightly drizzling olive oil over the mushrooms and then spreading it around to cover the mushrooms completely (using my hands). then i did the same with balsamic vinegar until the mushrooms were well coated. i'd say i used a 1:2 ratio of oil and vinegar.
while the mushrooms were soaking up the marinade i made the salad dressing.
balsamic dijon vinaigrette
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup (scant*) olive oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp kosher salt
pinch of black pepper
combine. i used a small mason jar by screwing the lid on tight and shaking the heck out of that jar. the heck out of it, i say! *i like a higher ratio of vinegar to oil so scant was probably a tablespoon shy of a 1/2 cup.
once the dressing was ready i grilled the mushrooms on the stove top for about 6 minutes per side over just above medium heat.
the warm mushrooms were perfect on the bed of greens with shaved parmesan. yum. yum. yum.
we had some chicken leftover from my bday dinner that made this lunch a complete meal. go me!
dressing yields approximately 10 - 2 tbsp servings
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cherry almond granola
cherry almond granola
dry ingredients:
2.5 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup brown rice cereal (erewhon)
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
2 heaping tbsp sweetened coconut flakes
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
wet ingredients:
4 tbsp brown rice syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
add-ins:
1 cup dried sour cherries
pre-heat oven to 300 degrees and line an insulated baking sheet with parchment paper.
combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
in a small saucepan, heat wet ingredients over medium heat. bring to a boil, stirring often. once boiling, turn heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, for 8-10 minutes.
pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine until well coated.
spread mixture evenly onto parchment paper and bake for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes.
let cool in pan and then crumble into an airtight container.
yields approximately 20 1/3 cup servings
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4.03.2011
my week in meals ~ week two
week two.
sunday:
(breakfast): belgian waffles. recipe courtesy of the big oven iphone app. on sundays, i try to make breakfast for the family and i try to make enough so i can freeze leftovers for the remainder of the week (see bottom right photo). the troops said these waffles were delish. crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside with little pockets of air. that's what i heard in so many words.
maybe i'll post the recipe here one day. for now, i can email it if you'd like it.
(dinner): martha stewart slow cooker pot roast i took dinner up to my parents on sunday. all tasters said the roast was good. i tried to be discreet with photo taking so not to weird my dad out even more than i already do. my boy says "she takes pictures of her food." ... we're not big beef eaters but, it's nice to mix it up every now and then and the carrot/onion mixture was delicious. a five star recipe (imo).
monday:
(workout) three miles on the treadmill in the morning (still recovering from the 1/2 marathon on saturday) and yoga at the gym in the evening.
the first day of the exodus GI cleanse that didn't happen. the idea is to consume 1 tbsp of this powder mixture with a little bit of applesauce 3x a day and then eat only veggies. do this for three days and it's supposed to clean out the pipes real well.
i was set up for success. i had everything i needed and i made it through first two tablespoons but once it was time for the third tablespoon, i just couldn't get it down. my pipes were the opposite of empty at that point and i was literally gagging at the smell of the stuff.
so what did i do instead? i went on a mini-binge. three chocolate chip cookies, two graham cracker sheets and one frogurt later, i felt like myself again. yeah, so, that didn't work out as planned.
(lunch) veggie salad with balsamic vinegar.
(dinner) spaghetti squash with tomatoes and zucchini. have you ever tried spaghetti squash? it's really good and it's really simple to prepare. just cut the squash in half length wise, scoop out the seeds, rub a little olive oil, salt and pepper over the top and then microwave for 7 minutes either wrapped in plastic wrap or by using a ziplock "steamers" bag. after it's done cooking just shred and enjoy.
i sauteed a sweet onion in a little olive oil with garlic. once the onion was soft i added a handful of halved cherry tomatoes and about a tablespoon of vegetable broth. continue adding a tablespoon of the broth at a time until the tomatoes have softened completely creating a sauce of sorts and then add the zucchini. simmer over low heat (covered) until the zucchini is softened and then toss it all together.
this is one of those "recipes" that makes me believe vegetarianism wouldn't be that bad.
tuesday:
(workout) no workout. cleanse started working during the night making me nervous to leave the house for a run.
i'm over the cleanse by this point.
(breakfast): fruit and vanilla soy milk topped with tropical granola.
(lunch) i didn't have lunch tuesday. my bad. i was elbow deep in serious house cleaning all day and i was having so much fun, the time just flew by.
(dinner): grilled chicken seasoned with lawrys lemon pepper seasoning. baked potatoes topped with light sour cream and salsa. steamed fresh broccoli.
wednesday
(workout) 5.5 mile run with my friend maxine in the a.m.
(breakfast) blueberry chobani yogurt with tropical granola.
(snack) protein drink made with chocolate protein powder and click espresso protein powder.
(snack for the kids) i made this snickerdoodle recipe. my family said the cookies were really great straight out of the oven but they hardened very quickly even though i stored them in an airtight container with a few pieces of bread. anyone have a good snickerdoodle recipe they'd be willing to share?
(dinner) basil coconut curry chicken with coconut brown basmati rice. husband took the leftovers for lunch the next day so, i consider it a success (especially considering the established fact that he is not a fan of curry).
thursday:
(workout) 5.5 mile run with my friend maxine. had to miss yoga tonight because the boy had baseball tryouts.
grocery shopping with my peeps. always an experience but, the full fridge before the weekend is always worth the effort.
nothing exciting for breakfast or lunch.
(dinner) pioneer woman's sloppy joes served on whole wheat buns with alexia baked oven reds and fresh steamed broccoli & carrots. i figured it would be a nice change to serve some PW labeled "manfood." gavin and brooklyn gobbled theirs up. i was surprised. of course, the "men" were pleased too. i'll post the recipe soon just for my own records. the original link is provided above.
friday:
(workout) friday is my rest day. so, i rested.
breakfast was typical. my mom took the kids and i to see HOP and then to paradise bakery for lunch where i had the walnut chicken salad sandwich. for dinner, we had leftovers. exciting?
saturday:
(workout) 6 mile run at the new rec center then some weight lifting with my man.
(lunch) sissy and i went on very fun date. we shared a chicken sandwich for lunch from food for thought in draper. it was delish!
(dinner) my health-i-fied version of the pioneer woman's baked lemon pasta with grilled chicken and steamed zucchini.
week two down. how'd i do?
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