Back to Square One

Good Morning, Everyone! Although I am suuuper nervous about my test tonight, I am so glad it is Thursday. One more day until the weekend!

On the way home from work last night, Mike and I stopped by Trader Joe's for a few things we needed for the weekend and to check out the prices of wine and champagne for an engagement party we throwing. That place, is seriously the best place ever. You know how pumpkin obsessed I have been since the beginning of fall? Well, TJ's just upped my ante.

I resisted the temptation to buy pumpkin cream cheese, because there is already some plain cream cheese at my house that I should not be eating. Throw pumpkin cream cheese in the mix and I will be screwed. Instead, I just filled my free hands with other pumpkin items. I picked up some pumpkin puree and pumpkin ice cream, along with brussells sprouts (for a kick ass recipe I am trying tonight) and spicy jalapeno chicken sausage for Saturday's tailgate. 

Once we got home, I quickly changed and grabbed Franklin for a run before the sun went down. My run was awful. Franklin was tripping me, I got tired so quickly, and barely made it 2.5 miles in 28 minutes. I couldn't believe how different my run could feel after only 2.5 weeks of not running. It really isn't worth it to take any kind of time off, but what do you do when life just gets in the way. I try to make running a priority, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. 

By the time we made it back to the house, it was pretty dark outside. Mike told me he would run with me tonight after my test since it will be very dark, because I really want to go. I guess we will see how I feel after the test. Hopefully, I will be in an amazing mood because I passed. Otherwise, I may go to bed and cry myself to sleep. ;)

When I got home, we made a quick dinner out of the leftover ground turkey that we had on Tuesday. I just browned the meat and added some taco seasonings to throw into tortillas. We added some pinto beans, cheese, hot sauce and chopped tomatoes and it was an excellent quick meal.

After dinner, we watched some TV while I put my calories in my phone app from the day. As it turned out, I had a bunch of calories left over, so this happened...

 Oh yeah...

...and it was fabulous!

RECIPE

On Monday night, I was freezing cold and really wanted some tomato soup. I don't buy canned soups very often because of their extremely high salt stats, but I wasn't sure I could come up with one from scratch. When I got home and saw that I had most of the ingredients needed, I figured I would give it a whirl. I am very glad I did, because it was really good!

Tomato Soup
1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes (28 oz maybe?)
1 small can of fire roasted chopped tomatoes (14.5 oz)
4 cups of Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
1 stalk celery - chopped
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 medium onion - chopped)
2 tsp Italian seasoning blend (or you could use thyme, basil, etc)
2 tbsp olive oil
Black Pepper

Heat the oil in the bottom of a large heavy soup pot. Add the celery and onion and saute until soft. Add in the garlic and seasonings. Add the chicken broth and both cans of tomatoes. Let the mixture come to a boil and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree. Return to pot and re-heat. Serve with bread or grilled cheese!

We have tons of leftovers and have been eating it for lunches all week.

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Yesterday's Stats:
Breakfast - Dry cereal (frosted mini wheat) and a banana
Lunch - 1/2 peanut butter sandwich with 2% cottage cheese and grapes
Dinner - 2 ground turkey tacos on whole wheat tortillas with pinto beans, cheese, tomatoes and hot sauce
Dessert - PUMPKIN ICE CREAM!

Calories (+) 306 :) 
Sodium (+) 494 :)
Protein (-) 19 :(

I'll let you know how that goes...

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I have been doing nothing but studying for this test I am taking tomorrow. I am so nervous! But, I am feeling much better about the material and thinking I might just pass! I'll let you know how that goes. :)

So, on Monday, I gave you a little teaser of what was going on around here. My co-workers and I did an "Occupy Halloween" theme with emoticons. It was really fun to put together and we ended up winning 2nd place. Frowny face.

This is the first year we haven't won first place, and although we are a little bummed, we also are fine with it. It was time to let someone else win for a change. We are currently first place in the "Best Group" running that our peers are voting on. I will have to let you know how that goes. 

Besides studying lately, I have just been trying to keep myself in the healthy eating mode. I am doing great with my eating and have stayed somewhat on track. But, I have been quite slack about running lately due to a. freezing cold weather and b. darkness. By the time I get home each evening, it is really dark out, and I just don't want to go running in that.

I have also been pretty slack on the gym since returning from Mexico. I just can't seem to get up early enough to get there. But, I am trying to turn that around. I get off at 5 today, tomorrow, and Friday, so I plan to go running each evening after work. Next week, I hope to get to the gym at least 3 times in addition to running.

I just signed up for the Gobbler's 5K Run for Thanksgiving with my sister and mom and I would like to try to improve my best run of 33 minutes. So that means I have some work to do. I am really excited to be running with  my sister and mom, though. I think it will be a fun event for all of us, including our husbands and kids who get to come watch and cheer us on. It will make eating all that Thanksgiving food so much easier! haha.

So, my goal for tonight is to get home, go running with Franklin, and then sit on the couch. NO SITTING ON THE COUCH WHEN I GET HOME! I'll let you know how that goes. :)

Have a great Hump Day! hehe

Yesterday's Stats (definitely blew my calories and sodium out!):
Breakfast - cream cheese on toast, banana
Lunch - Homemade Tomato Soup with 1/2 grilled cheese (recipe coming soon!)
Dinner - Turkey Burger with pepper jack cheese on a sandwich thin and sweet potato fries
Dessert - About 5 Oreo cookies and milk, I couldn't stop eating them! 


Calories (-) 535 :(
Sodium (-) 653 :( 
Protein (+) 20 !! :)

Happy Halloween!

There are a lot of shenanigans going on around here...

But I am trying to focus on studying...

Be back tomorrow with some weekend food re-caps and my Halloween crazed work pictures!

Holy Yum

Hello there! I hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday so far. I am just working away here (as evidenced by what I have actually been working on in the below picture). My job does a HUGE Halloween competition and we all dress up as a group and decorate our area. Our group has been 1st place for the last 6 years, so we have a lot of pressure to keep the streak alive.

This year, we are doing an emoticon theme. I will try to post more pictures after everything is decorated completely on Monday. It is crazy how competitive everyone here gets around this time. Everyone is whispering their ideas and suddenly, the real work just comes to a halt. Everyone just starts decorating and making their costumes. It is quite interesting. At least it makes the day go by.

Last night, as promised, I made butternut squash and black bean burritos with caramelized brussels sprouts on the side. Ahhhmazing... I got both recipes from other blogs and made a few adjustments to them based on what I had in the house.

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Burritos
adapted from Oh She Glows

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cubed and roasted
1 cup chopped sweet onion 
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup cheese (I used Monterey Jack Shredded Cheese)
4 tortilla wraps


Preheat oven to 425 F and cube your squash. Using hands, coat with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread on to a tin foil lined baking sheet. 

 Roast until tender (roughly 45 minutes). Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Be sure to taste the squash several times to make sure they are tender. :) 
In a medium skillet, heat some olive oil and add in the garlic and onions. Allow to saute for about 5 minutes. Now add your seasonings and stir.

Add in the roasted squash and mash up a bit to create a mixture of the black beans and squash. Heat until the squash is warm throughout. 

Sorry, horrible picture, but you get the idea.

 Load up your warmed tortilla with the filling and any toppings you may want. I added hot sauce and cheese to mine. 

 Roll up and Enjoy! 

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
adapted from Eat Live Run 

12-14 brussels sprouts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch sea salt
2 tbsp brown sugar (to taste)

Slice brussels sprouts into thin ribbons. 

 Heat olive oil in a medium skillet and add in garlic. Allow to saute for a minute or 2. Add brussels sprouts and allow to soften up and become coated by the garlic and olive oil mixture. Add in sea salt and brown sugar. Note: I thought 2 tbsp of brown sugar was a little too much, so I would start with 1 and slowly add more. They were a little sweet, but still delicious. 

Overall, a fabulous dinner! Exactly what I wanted and needed!

 

I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend. Happy Halloween!

Chocolate Dipped Breakfast

Gooood Morning! Well, I guess it is almost afternoon, but this post is about breakfast, so we will stick with morning for now. :)

Last night we went to the Jason Isbell show and I loved it! I really like his music and we had a good time with our friends. I hadn't really listened to his music until this week. My close friend has been obsessed with him and she is always trying to get me to jump on board. I finally started to listen to his pandora station and research his songs on Monday, since I wanted to be prepared for last night. I must have done a good job because almost every song he played, I had listened to several times over this week. I will certainly continue to listen to him and try to catch his shows when he is in town. Nice job recruiting me, Linds!

The only downfall about last night was that we didn't get out of the show until 12:30 AM. That is very late for someone who is usually in bed by 10 on a work night. Because of our late return home, I didn't have time to prepare my breakfast and lunch like normal. For these types of mornings, I usually have a back up plan.

Enter - Better Oats Dark Chocolate Oatmeal.

I found this oatmeal one day while browsing around Whole Foods. I usually don't buy a lot from that store since it is so expensive, but these were only $2.99 and came with 5 pouches. Also, I am not normally a fan of instant oatmeal. I feel like I can taste the artificial sweeteners and they just taste so fake to me. I gave this a chance since it was all natural and the ingredient list was relatively short for an instant meal.

Let me just tell you, I love this stuff. It is actually carried by most major grocery stores and I always have some at home and some at work. It is the perfect blend of semi-sweet, dark chocolate and nutty oats. It does contain sugar though, so I wouldn't do this on a regular basis, but on those mornings (or nights) where you just don't have the time or energy to make breakfast, this is a really great choice. Jaime - you will love this!

I tried to take a picture of the ingredient list, but they just came out blurry. So what is inside of these compact pouches? Whole grain rolled oats, sugar, chocolate chips, cocoa, flaxseed, salt, natural flavor, and guar gum. Really not bad at all. Each pouch has 160 calories, 220 mg of Sodium and 4 g of protein.

Chocolatey Goodness

For lunch I am having a peanut butter sandwich, apple, and greek yogurt. Luckily natural peanut butter on whole wheat bread is a pretty healthy option since I eat it almost every day. I am getting a little sick of it though, which is why tonight I am making dinner.

Tonight's dinner will include butternut squash and black bean burritos and caramelized brussels sprouts. I can not wait. I am in need of some vegetables and a home cooked, non-microwaved, meal. I'll post recipes and adjustments tomorrow!

Have a great Thursday! The weekend is almost here!
 

Addicted.

I may have a TEAnsy weansy obsession with iced tea. I am not a soda drinker and I do not drink coffee. I have water in a bottle on my desk all day and that is primarily what I drink. But, when it comes to iced tea, I am addicted. When I am the thirstiest, when I go out for a meal, when I want something refreshing, or when I am just plain sick of water, I want tea. I know that it is mostly water, but there is something so satisfying about a glass of ice cold, unsweetened, black tea.

I know the caffeine probably isn't good for me, but the caffeine in tea really doesn't affect me the way that caffeine in other products do. If I have 1/2 a shot of espresso (because I have never been able to tolerate a full shot) or a few sips of coffee, I have a reaction like no other. I get shaky and my stomach is unsettled. I feel like I have a million butterflies in my stomach and I start talking a mile a minute. Then, I crash. Like, I can barely keep my eyes open, crash. And I am rarely that tired at work. It is not the norm for me and I hate the way it makes me feel. But tea? Not a single side effect. I love it.

When I make tea at home, I usually make decaffeinated because sometimes I notice that it keeps me up at night. Plus, I am not the type of person that really needs a pick me up through out the day so I don't really see the point in making it caffeinated.

Just a little tid bit about myself that I thought you might enjoy. :)

Today I was in a bit of a rush to get out the door. I worked at the hospital last night so I only had the energy to put my leftovers in a container for lunch. I made a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast and downed it with a glass of skim milk.

For lunch, I had leftovers of my pasta. I have portioned the leftovers out quite nicely to provide a meal here and there all week.  It tasted even better re-heated, but boy was it greasy. I had to pour a little of the sauce off the noodles so that I didn't feel too bad about eating them.

I am about to head home for the evening and then Mike and I are meeting some friends for the Jason Isbell concert tonight. If you haven't heard of him, you should check him out. I am currently loving his song Good.

Have a great night!

So, so bad...

I am not a huge Italian food fan. Besides pizza, Italian food is just not something I ever usually want. I like it and I will eat it, but it is very rare that I would ever actually request it or want to go to an Italian restaurant.

Last night was certainly an exception. For some reason, I wanted something with garlic. I wanted bread with garlic. Mike and I were out at Home Depot picking out paint for our foyer and bathroom and he asked me what I wanted to do for dinner. Neither of us felt like cooking and it was already 8 PM, so we figured we would just get something while we were out. When I said, "I feel like having Italian," we both just kind of stood there. Mike knows that it is not my favorite and when I said that, he didn't waste any time and drove straight to the closest Italian restaurant.

We live pretty close to a smaller suburb of Raleigh called Knightdale. We found a small, independently owned Italian restaurant called Mama Mia's. We were slightly skeptical. But when I saw they had garlic knots on the menu, I was sold.

This was definitely not a part of the healthy eating schedule, but sometimes, you have to step outside of the norm and just enjoy some homemade garlic knots, white pasta and cream sauce. Luckily, I probably only ate about 1/12 of the enormous serving they brought me. I would bet that I would have enough leftovers for at least 5 lunches and probably a dinner or 2. I am going to try not to do that though. I have been doing really well with my eating and adding this to the daily meals would not help me in any way.

It was delicious though, and certainly a place we will return to on the very slight occasion I feel like having Italian. When we left, I felt like garlic was seeping out of me. I had to brush my teeth 3 times when we got home to try to get the taste out of my mouth. It was exactly what I was hoping for. :)

On Sunday evening, I made a version of buffalo chicken enchiladas. It was super easy, and besides the sodium content, I would say it is pretty healthy and low in calories and fat.

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts - cooked and shredded
1/2 cup monterey jack shredded cheese
1 16 oz can/jar of enchilada sauce
1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Franks Red Hot Sauce)
8 whole wheat flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease the bottom of a baking dish and place a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish and set aside. Mix together the hot sauce and enchilada sauce in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the chicken and 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Place about 2 tablespoons of the hot sauce and enchilada sauce mixture into the chicken mixture. Mix well. In each tortilla, place a few heaping spoonfuls of the chicken and roll up. Place seam side down into the baking dish. Pour remaining hot sauce and enchilada sauce mixture over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are hot.

There were plenty of leftovers and I have been bringing an enchilada with a side salad to work with me. So good!

Now I need to go brush my teeth again, I can still taste the garlic.