noBOLOGNA

Healthy Holiday Cooking Class

Good Morning friends and Happy Friday before Thanksgiving!! I’m sure a lot of you are getting ready to go out of town – I know I am!  Nick and I will be heading to Gainesville next week and of course, we’ll find ourselves at our beloved Disney World for a day!  Unfortunately, my posts are going to continue being spread out because I don’t have a working laptop at the moment and although I have my personal desktop to work on, it’s not always as convenient.  Until I decide on a new laptop though, I’ll try to keep y’all as up to date as I can!

This week has been busy with personal & work stuff!  I’ve had something to do every single night and my boss’ computer died on him this week, so it’s been hectic!  I certainly don’t mind staying busy, but it keeps me from doing other things I enjoy (such as blogging!)  Wednesday was a really long day, but it was probably my favorite day of the week!  Wednesday morning I met up again for Java Jog and it was a blast, per usual.  I love running with Louise and Mary Lindsey, they’re at my ideal pace and they’re always a joy to be around.

java-jog-friends

I am loving those leggings I have from Fabletics!  They’re the perfect thickness for a winter run and they’re maximum compression.  I’m so glad I purchased these and they have a VERY FAIR PRICE when it comes to leggings!  << I was not paid to promote Fabletics, but that is a referral link and any support is appreciated!  They’re a monthly subscription fitness workout clothes service, but you can choose to not receive each month for as long as you want.  Your 1st outfit is 50% off, so I got these Salar Leggings, a tank top, and a sweater for $39!  Feel free to ask questions in the comment section.>>

I already have plans to purchase another pair or two for my winter marathon training!

I headed off to work after I got my delicious free coffee and worked from 7:30-5.  There was a ribbon cutting that I attended at 4, so it lasted past my normal 4:30.  After the ribbon cutting, I had some time to kill, so I went to a friends new apartment to check it out.  Ended up spending a little more time there than I expected, but I finally made my way to the Healthy Holiday Cooking Class that I had been looking forward to! Everything was absolutely delicious and I cannot wait to make these at home.

cranberry-salsa

 

This cranberry salsa was ON POINT.  It had the perfect spiciness and  consistency.  I can’t wait to try this at home.  I’m pretty sure Nick’s going to LOVE this recipe, possibly more than our usual Avocado Salsa.  I look forward to trying it out on him and getting an honest opinion.

pumpkin-nice-cream

 

Banana Nice Cream is a big deal on the Health Starts Here Challenge because it’s simple, delicious, and perfectly represents ice cream without the added dairy and calories.  Mary Lindsey went creative and made a Pumpkin Nice Cream with an added Gingersnap cookie.  The combination was beautiful and really satisfied my taste buds.

stuffin-muffins

 

Then came the stuffin muffins which can be made with vegetable broth instead of the usual chicken broth, but Mary Lindsey suggested that you add more of the fresh herbs and spices because you’ll lose some of the seasoning with that route.  Covering the stuffin muffins was a pomegranate reduction sauce that was to die for!   I love pomegranates and she taught us a different way of cutting them than I’m use to.  Instead of the typical fattening (but delicious, I’ll say!) green bean casserole, she made a Balsamic Green Beans with Shallots recipe was wonderful.  I wouldn’t say that I necessarily enjoyed it as much as the fattening and creamy green bean casserole that I’m use to, but it’s definitely delicious enough to make the switch more times than not.  I think those green beans would also be the perfect side to an at home date night dish.

  • What are you looking forward to making over Thanksgiving?
  • Have you tried Fabletics?
  • How was your week?  Was it busy?  Any fun things going on?  I’d love to get an update!

First Sub 30 5K!

Hey there!  How did y’all’s weekend turn out?  Mine went well with the exception of Mississippi State’s first loss of the season!  It was unfortunate, but both teams played fairly well.  I’d say that touchdown was questionable, but what’s done is done.

On Friday night, Nick arrived in town with my little sister.  My mom made Mexican and we all just hung out eating & chatting.  I was pretty tired already and I had a 5K planned for Saturday morning, so Nick headed home about 9:30 and I went on to bed.  My alarm went off bright & early on Saturday to get ready for my race.  I went and picked Nick up and we stopped by Chick-fil-A so he could get some breakfast and then we waited for the race to start.  My goal was to do my first sub 30 5K and much to my surprise, I DID IT!

IMG_5302

The course was hilly.  My toes and fingers were numb for the first mile and a half.  It was a rough morning to run – so cold!  Luckily the wind wasn’t a huge issue.  I came up on the finish line and saw 29:30, so I booked it in to finish right under 30 minutes.  The second I slowed down, I dry heaved.  It was a painful race and it made me realize that I certainly don’t run in the cold enough.  I think my breathing had a hard time getting comfortable and by the time I finished, my head & chest hurt that it caused the dry heave.  After the race, Nick and I ate at Corner Bakery.  It was delicious!  I got the Farmer’s scrambler with potatoes and toast.  I ate the entire plate, plus some of Nick’s oatmeal.

When we finished up breakfast, I headed home to shower and change and then we met up with Nick’s dad to help him put in some fence posts.  I had the grueling job of running to Chick-fil-A for everyone.  They worked and I ate all the fries.  True Story.

IMG_5305

We finally headed to the Tailgate party to watch the game.  Like I said, it was less than stellar for us Mississippi State fans so moving on….

After the game, we headed out to Primos to meet Nick’s mom and her boyfriend for dinner.  (I know, we eat a lot.)  I got the 4 veggie plate with mashed potatoes, dressing, pasta salad, & mac & cheese with a side of cornbread.  It was absolutely delicious!  Afterwards, I dropped Nick back off at his dad’s and we watched 2 episodes of Friends.  His dad is borrowing my series collection right now since he was recovering from his open-heart surgery.  He’s loving it as much as I do!

On Sunday, I spent the better part of the morning lounging around and eating cinnamon rolls with my peppermint creamer coffee.  I finally got dressed and headed out to get Nick.  We went to his Grandma’s house for lunch with his mom and her boyfriend.  His grandma just got out of the hospital for fluid buildup in her lungs and they’re running tests for some other things going on.  Hopefully they’ll figure out what it is and get her on a good treatment plan.  She’s 82 and as talkative as can be!  She still lives alone and makes her own trips to the grocery store.  We helped her bring in 4 large cases of water that we later learned she had put in her trunk all by herself.  She’s sweet and we certainly don’t get to visit with her enough.  Nick made a comment that he wishes he had stopped by to visit more often when he was going to school near where she lives.  It made me think that we all miss opportunities like that to spend time with the ones we love.  It was just a good reminder to cherish the opportunities that are presented to us to spend time with family & friends, even when it’s not so convenient.  The time we spent over there yesterday was wonderful and it was good to see her up and about.

Sadly, it was time for Nick and my sister to head home, so I finished off the weekend with some Criminal Minds & cleaning my ridiculous room.  I also did some Laundry.  Well, that’s it!   I had a nice weekend at home.

  • What did you do this weekend?
  • Any races in your future?  If so, what’s your goal?

Baby it’s cold outside!

Brr… Winter has finally hit Mississippi!  I went to Java Jog yesterday morning and it was one of our very first cold runs.  Thankfully I just got some leggings in that I wanted to try out.  They worked great and I look forward to wearing them this Saturday at my 5K.  I gave myself a sub 30 goal for the 5K because I’ve always wanted to do one that fast and just haven’t yet.  Granted, I haven’t done a lot of 5K’s the past few years since I’ve been running more heavily, but I still consider myself a very slow runner and my motto is usually “Slow and steady wins (or at least finishes) the race!”  I know sub 30 would be awesome to do though, so let’s hope I can pull it off.  For Java Jog, I met up with my usual running partner, Louise.  Her husband is the Marketing Leader at our local Whole Foods.  After running into Mary Lindsey the other night at Lucky Town Brewery, she decided to give Java Jog a try as well.  I finally feel like I’m finding my running buddies in Jackson.  I’ve had some great ones in the past, but it doesn’t always last long because of people moving or getting too busy to keep it up.  Mary Lindsey offered to run with me during my marathon training and all 3 of us stayed together throughout the run yesterday morning.  They’re the perfect pace for me – slow enough for me to keep up, but fast enough to keep me challenged.

fabletics-leggings

After my run, I got my free coffee & I had a smoothie waiting for me in the car.  This smoothie is delicious and it has some great fruit & veggies.  One tip I learned from this recipe is to blend up your spinach first and then you won’t have an issue of your blender getting clogged.  Sometimes I get smoothie happy and throw a ton of stuff in the blender without realizing how it will all mix together and that I should have blended part of it beforehand.  I blended 2 cups of spinach with water, then added 2 bananas, pineapple, and mango.  It makes one large smoothie, but this was the perfect post-run treat on my way to work.

beginner-green-smoothie

WEEKLY MENU

This week’s menu has been pretty good.  I’ve been trying to cook more of my Health Starts Here approved dishes and not eat out so much.  So far I’ve made vegetarian chili (still have some leftover), pad thai (didn’t turn out as good as I expected, but I’ll have to work on the recipe some), morning glory muffins (which have been a lifesaver in the morning and for snacking), the beginner green smoothies (pictured above), and I have plans to make a hummingbird cake on Friday.  I meant to make the cake earlier in the week, but just never got around to it.  Yesterday I did have lunch with my boss’ wife since he’s out of town the rest of the week and I’m having lunch with a friend today who is leaving for China next week to do missions for a year or so, but other than that, I’ve been very devoted to eating at home and eating healthy.

MARATHON TRAINING

Training isn’t going stellar, I’ll be honest, but it’s going….  On Monday, I did a 3 mile run on the treadmill at the gym.  On Tuesday, I did my favorite HIIT class.  On Wednesday, I did the java Jog which on my training is suppose to be 4 miles, but we did right under 3.  Today, I’m suppose to do 3 miles, but depending on how I feel, I may go for 4 since I missed that yesterday.  Friday I’ll rest to get ready for my long run on Saturday which is just 6 miles.  I have a 5K to get me through the first 3 and then I’ll probably go and do the course one more time to get through my second 3.  Overall, it’s going okay, but I have a lot of room to improve!  I need to better plan my eating schedule so I can be properly fueled for when I do my runs.  I also might talk to my boss once I get into longer runs about switching up my schedule some so I can either come in early and leave early or come in late and leave late so I have more time to get my longer runs in during the week.  Honestly, I’m not sure how he’ll take it, but I might as well give it a try.

  • What are your weekend plans?
  • What is your favorite smoothie?
  • Do you have any plans for a race?  Are you training for anything?

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The views and statements expressed on No Bologna are my own. You are reading No Bologna at your own risk and I am not providing any type of professional advice. Unless otherwise noted, all material on No Bologna may not be used, reprinted, or published without my consent. I do occasionally have affiliated links on my blog - this does not raise the price of the product, I simply get a very small commission from the regular retail price if something is purchased using an affiliated link on my site. I appreciate any support by you in regards to affiliated links.