The Right Foot

The week, the plan:

Last night I wrote out my week’s worth of dinner plans, workouts, and to-do’s…

Today…

Only planned to Friday because FH will be home!!  No structured plans for his first weekend back!!  (although I did throw in an extra workout on Friday so I don’t have to worry about it over the weekend…).

Did I mention this is also my birthday weekend?  And Farm Girl’s birthday weekend!  tooooot tooooot!!  :)

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This week’s Project Energize goals…

• fitness: 4 workouts, including 3 runs (at least one outdoors) and 2 strength sessions
• diet: continue menu planning, up fruits and veg, lower sugary snacks, drink more water
• work: create daily/weekly/monthly to-do lists
• home: all household chores done prior to weekend, clean bedroom/dresser
• relationship: FH home on Friday!!!
• finances: monitor budget daily
• health: get X-ray, take vitamins, stretch, earlier to bed

What are your goals this week?

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Breakfast this morning was something different…French Toast!

Whole wheat bread soaked in a mixture of egg whites, vanilla Almond Breeze and cinnamon.  Cooked in a sprayed pan until brown and crispy.

Topped with maple bananas.  Chopped banana mixed with real maple syrup and heated in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Hot syrup goes further, tastes better and keeps your French Toast warm!  nom nom nom.

With coffee of course.  Fully caff’d today!  :) weeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Off to complete 30 minutes more work and then taking to the trail for an outdoor run.  The skies are blue!!

The One With Lots of Gushing

I have the BEST readers!!  You guys are so awesome! 

Over the last couple of days I’ve gotten some great comments from you all and even a cool shout out from Tamara that totally made my day!  Seriously people, if you are a blogger you know that it’s all about the readers, the comments, and the fantastic support system built here.  If you aren’t a blogger, you are totally missing out on the freaking great feeling you can get from a positive comment.  :)

OK, enough blathering…you’re really here for the food porn aren’t you?  *grins*

I am pretty pleased with tonight’s dinner!!  It was totally a “dig around the fridge and see what goes together” meal and it turned out fabulous (if I do say so myself!). 

Star of the show: Spaghetti Squash!

Mini-tutorial…

Poke a few holes in the rind using a sharp knife (air vents).

Cook whole in the microwave for 5 minutes.

Cut in half with a big knife and scoop out seeds.

Place face down in an oven-proof dish with about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom.

Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes (until you can poke a fork right through).

Let cool long enough to handle with your hands, then scrape the flesh out from “stem to stern” in spaghetti-like strands.

Easy peasy!

Using a few leftovers and a can of navy beans for fibre and protein I created a quickie-ragu. 

Sauteed onion and garlic, added 1/2 can of navy beans, the leftover Amy’s Tomato Bisque, Italian seasoning, sea salt, fresh pepper, and the leftover zucchini and carrots from last night.  Simmered until warm and dished over the squash.

Topped with parmesan sprinkle.  Served with steamed brussel sprouts.

Holy freaking deeeeeeelish.  So glad there are leftovers!

Oh, and confession time:

1. I didn’t go to the gym.  Decided to wait until later so the gym would hopefully be less busy tonight and totally lamed out.  Lesson learned…don’t wait until too late.  Booo to me.
2. I found these (hiding them in the pantry was apparently a good idea because I totally forgot about them until now!):

So now I guess I have to do a run AND yoga tomorrow!  Should be interesting trying to schedule that.  oooooooops.

The One Where I Got Off the Couch

Ya that’s right.  5:00 came and went and I was still trucking along on work stuff.  The weather got blustery and gross (I watched my neighbor’s BBQ blow over), so my walk plans went bye-bye.  I lost all my steam, ate cookies, put on my slippers, wandered aimlessly around my kitchen, and GAVE UP.

Then, after dinner and a bowl of jelly beans, I decided that flipping channels was NOT the way I was going to spend my night.  Something snapped.

At 8:00 I washed my face, changed my clothes, and stormed out the door.  45 minutes at the gym turned my night (my week!) around.  This is the feeling I’ve been looking for.  I don’t know where it’s been, but I’m glad it’s back!

• 20 minutes on the elliptical, cross country
• 3 sets: tricep pulldowns, bicep curls, shoulder presses
• 2 sets: crunches, reverse crunches, scissor crunches
• 2 minute plank!

If this doesn’t help me sleep tonight I’ll scream!!

Before I went I did have another comfort food dinner.  Leftover Chowdy Doody chicken corn chowder, with some cheesy Multigrain Tostitos.

These dangerous fancy jelly beans (ie: Jelly Belly knockoffs) made their way into my basket at Walmart last night.  Uh-oh.  This huge bag was only $3.  Danger Will Robinson, Danger.

 

I had one serving.  OK, then after the picture I had like two more servings.  The bright side is that I got a massive sugar rush that I put to use at the gym.  :)

That bag is now well buried in the pantry.

Oh, and before I forget…I totally stole Lynn’s FABULOUS idea for mint hot chocolate!  Soooo deeelish.  I brewed a cup of strong peppermint tea and mixed it with a packet of organic hot chocolate mix.  What a fantastic afternoon treat!!

People.  I’m back.  I promise.

Recovery Dinner

Thanks for the comments on my stagette party post, dear readers! I felt pretty hot. That black tube top never fails for me. When in doubt, I wear that top. The freaking excellent hair day totally helped too. haha. :)

Today's recovery continued on with a simple Spring dinner. (Did I mention is was a crazy 14 degrees here in Halifax today? It was actually Spring. Amazing.) The easy route really would have been to get drive-thru, but knowing that wouldn't make us feel any better I opted to rummage around in the fridge and came up with a simple, tasty, healthy supper. Spinach salad and chicken salad sammiches. Lucky for you all, I had my camera in the kitchen so I have a few pics for you.

I did the salad up with baby spinach, red onions, tomato chunks, quartered mushrooms, about 1/2 oz shredded old white cheddar, a sprinkle of Ready Crisp bacon bits, and a splash of ranch dressing. Toss that all up with some s&p and I dare you to find a better 3 minute salad. :) (My trick is to make one big salad and toss it all, then serve. You can use WAY less dressing this way...like maybe 1 tbsp for the entire huge bowl.)

For the sammich filling I started with a leftover grilled chicken breast, diced it up and mixed it with a chopped green onion, s&p, some light mayo and a healthy squirt of grainy dijon. I made FH's sammich with this, then added some extras to my share....red grapes, chopped walnut pieces, and a few raisins. Put all of this on my favorite Country Harvest sunflower flax bread and a bit of extra light mayo and served with the salad.

In the end, I threw a handful of Mrs. Vickie's chips on my plate too for some crunch and salt.

I did it!!!

That's right. I stuck to the plan and I ROCKED out the best workout EVER.

I ate my meals just as planned. Dinner right at 5:30 so it would have 2 full hours to digest before I hit the gym. I left promptly at 7:00 as I planned, got there, changed, and was on the treadmill by 7:25. Nice. (I'm never early for anything!) I couldn't start on the rowing machine because there's only one and it was in use...so I did a 5 minute walk then got into my interval runs. I'm so proud. I haven't even attempted running in months, and I stuck to my plan and breezed right through it. Yaaaieeee me.

1 min jogging, 1 min fast paced walking, 2 mins jogging, 1 min walking, 3 mins jogging, 1 min walking...then down again...with a sprint for the last minute...then a 3 minute cooldown. Total 25 minutes.

After that the rowing machine was free so I jumped on for 10 minutes. Boy are my arms going to hate me tomorrow. Even with all the gym time I was getting in a few weeks ago, I was really neglecting my arms....and it shows! I could feel myself getting tired, so was making myself do 30 second sprints and it worked. I powered right past my 10 minutes and almost did 11. haha.

Then I did my full body strength training routine...with a few new additions just to keep it interesting. I'm going to have to revamp the plan soon anyway, so I figured I might as well try a couple of new things now. What I learned is that I need gloves. My hands are always so raw by the end of the workout....hello Christmas list. :)

I finished up with 20 minutes on the ramped elliptical. I kept the ramp high for 5 minutes, then lower in reverse for 5, then low for calves with a higher amount of resistance for 10. Finished with a 5 minutes cooldown...half in reverse, half forward. I ended up on there 5 minutes longer than planned, and had been on the treadmill longer too...so when I looked at the clock I opted to skip the recumbant bike. It was almost 2 hours and I still needed to do a good stretch out.

That was the first workout in a long, long time where I actually felt spent at the end. I'm pooped and I'm glad. I will sleep like the dead tonight...I need it.

The only menu change I made was that I opted for a 1/2 serving of Kashi Crunch with some Almond Breeze instead of fruit when I got home. My body was craving something heartier than a bowl of grapes. I heart Kashi.