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November 21, 2014

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

November 13, 2014

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.

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.

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?

November 9, 2014

Big Hero 6 and Food Prep

Good morning! How was your weekend? I hope it was full of fun, laughs, and relaxation! My weekend turned out pretty great, so let’s re-cap. Friday after work, I attended a Brewery Grand Opening with a co-worker. You may have seen me blasting your instagram feeds, but a special re-cap of the event is coming to a blog near you!

On Saturday, I spent the morning sleeping in, going on a 30 minute walk, watching Grey’s Anatomy, and meal planning. It turned out to be quite productive and I had a full weeks meal plan and grocery list ready to go. Once I was showered and dressed, I headed up to Starkville for the rest of the weekend. Our first stop was Starbucks and I tried their Gingerbread Latte, let me say.. not a fan. I politely asked them to replace it with a Cinnamon Dolce Latte and the barista completely understood. After that, we were both a little hungry so we went out for Mexican. I got rice with sauted veggies & cheese drizzled on top while Nick went a nice healthy route with a grilled chicken & avocado salad. After we ate, we decided to see a movie. It seemed as if Big Hero 6 was the only good option out and it’s Disney, so it was a no-brainer. If you haven’t seen it, please go see it!! It’s wonderful. Be warned, you may tear up, there are some seriously sad parts, but it’s a feel good in the end type of movie and I promise, you will NOT be disappointed!

On Sunday, I headed out to Starbucks to get some planning done. I went with my usual Cinnamon Dolce Latte so I wouldn’t be disappointed and a loaf of pumpkin bread – seriously, it’s my favorite! I was planning out our Mississippi Women Bloggers meet-up and dabbling with some ideas of a non-profit idea I want to work with. That’s all up in the air right now and really just thoughts, but we’ll see how things transpire.

It was good quality time with myself and I personally felt productive. Later I thought about how it might gross people out that my feet are propped up on a table they may eat on… I moved them.

After Starbucks I went and watched some tv with Nick then we finally headed out to lunch at City Bagel. It was delicious, per usual. We then grabbed some groceries for Nick and proceeded to watch more tv. When we finally got hungry again, we headed out to Stagger Inn before I left Starkville. I was going to get their veggie burger, but it was Morning Star brand and I find it absolutely ridiculous to pay 8 bucks for a burger that’s not home-made. I went with onion rings, not exactly a healthy choice, but I did enjoy them. Nick went with the most ridiculous sandwich I’ve ever seen! It was 2 large chicken breasts, bacon, cheese, and ranch piled high.

I finally made my way home and I had grocery shopping and meal prepping to do. I had already picked out my meals for the week and the majority of them are being used 2-3 times throughout the week. I think I did fairly well on my groceries and I’m excited to try 3 new items on my meal plan – Morning Glory Muffins, Hummingbird Cake (as a snack) and Pad Thai. You may remember the Pad Thai & Hummingbird Cake I raved about from our Health Starts Here 28 Day Graduation.

I forgot that I’m also trying out a smoothie for 3 days this week, hence the large bag of mango.

When I got home, I knew I wanted to make the Morning Glory Muffins and Pad Thai because I want to eat the muffins in the morning as part of breakfast and I wanted the Pad Thai for lunch. This took a little longer than I anticipated, but I think they both turned out looking great and I’m excited to try them out tomorrow. With my marathon training, I really need to revert back to my healthier eating to help fuel my body and keep the junk out.

The rest of my evening was spent typing up this blog post & getting ready for bed. It’s way past my bed time, but I feel super productive having cooked up some food for tomorrow so I’m now scouring for the quickest & easiest thing without taking the health factor into consideration.

What’s on your menu for the week?
Have you seen Big Hero 6? Thoughts?

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