hungry no more!

Since we have been really busy over the last several weeks, we haven't taken a lot of time to stock our kitchen with the foods that we normally have on hand. Our grocery trips have been quick and short lately, getting just enough to get us through until the next week. We are still getting the weekly produce delivery, and without that, I think we would be living on take out or eggs. Because of this, our breakfasts and lunches have seriously sucked... like I mean peanut butter and jellies and granny smith apples.  Who eats granny smith apples for lunch? ugh.. not this girl.

Each evening, as we are driving home from work, I am STARVING. Like, I mean, I can't even focus I am so hungry. I know it is because I haven't been eating a solid breakfast and lunch, leaving me starved by 5 pm. Last night, I decided that I had had enough.

We stopped by a friend's house on the way home from work and I raided their pantry. I sampled several different chips, crackers, and chocolates as soon as we got there. I thought about what to make for dinner the entire time we were there and couldn't wait to get home to start cooking. Even though we didn't get home until almost 8, I went ahead and made what was on my mind.

My sister and I are always sharing recipe ideas and last week, she sent me a message with a picture of her leftovers that said; "I think my new favorite meal is roasted veggies, pasta, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and garlic." Ever since I got that message, that combination would not leave my brain.

I know that my sis just uses what ever veggies she has on hand, so I decided to do the same, even though I have some really random vegetables right now, thanks to GoLocal.  So, no matter what veggies you have on hand, here is a recipe for Jaime's Roasted Veggie Pasta. Don't mind the massive amount of olive oil in the recipe, I got 8 servings out of this dish, so per serving, it is just right. 

Jaime's Roasted Veggie Pasta

1 sweet onion, chopped
Vegetables, cubed (last night I used an ivory eggplant, garden carrots, and an acorn squash. Jaime has used broccoli, cauliflower, brussell sprouts, etc. so have fun with it!)
4 garlic cloves, left whole
5 tablespoons EVOO
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 lemons
Sea Salt, to taste
Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
1 package of whole wheat penne pasta (or whatever pasta you like)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place your cubed vegetables, garlic, and onion into a baking dish (I always use parchment paper to reduce clean up). Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to the veggies, along with sea salt and red pepper flakes. Mix with hands and rub the veggies with the EVOO. Roast in oven for about 30-40 minutes, depending on the type of veggies you have, until soft. While your veggies are roasting, cook pasta according to package directions.

Last night, I decided to also use up some of the red and green peppers we had, so I sauteed those in olive oil while everything was cooking. I also threw in some chopped tomatoes at the end of the roasting so that they would still be crisp.

Once the vegetables and pasta is done cooking, mix them all together in a large serving bowl, along with the last 2 tablespoons of EVOO, parmesan cheese, and squeeze the juice from the lemons onto the mix. Stir together and serve! I had some avocado that I was afraid would go bad, so I diced it up and threw it on top of our servings for last night.

By the way... ivory eggplant is delicious! The skin is not bitter like purple eggplant and is so good!

I am currently eating my leftovers for lunch and am sooo happy I made plenty. We will be eating this for lunch all week!

--

Mike and I got up a little early today so we could run together. The weather was perfect for a morning run, considering lately it has been so humid and miserable before 8 am. We did the normal path by his work, a quick 3 miles.

When we got to 3 miles, we were both done! We went our separate ways and headed to the gym/work to get ready for our day.

I had packed myself some overnight oats for breakfast this morning and they were AWESOME. I don't know what I really did differently, but they were amazing. Here is what I threw in: old fashioned oats, skim milk, chocolate protein powder, 1 teaspoon peanut butter, a little sprinkling of shredded coconut, and a few squares of dark chocolate.

It was like heaven. Seriously, try this combo today.

Look at me, 2 posts this week?? Whaaat?!

a long hilly run

So, remember how I was going to run 6 miles last night, then a few miles tonight, then a long walk on Friday?  Well, after 6 miles last night, I will be doing a whole lot of nothing tonight. My legs still feel like jello.

I really just wanted to make sure I could do 6 miles, so now that I know I can, I feel good about resting the next few days. My time is not the best, but I am really not trying to finish in any amount, just as long as I finish.

As soon as I hit the 6 mile mark, I stopped running, gagged a little, and then immediately felt sore in my legs. My knees felt tired and my hips felt like they were going to collapse at any second. Mike and I did a short cool down walk before heading inside to stretch.

Gotta love the post run pic!

Speaking of Mike... that guy is going to smoke me on Saturday. He is doing such a great job with running lately, and I am normally trailing behind him by a few hundred yards. It is funny that a few months ago, he was the one trailing behind me.

In case you didn't believe me when I said that my neighborhood is super hilly, I took some pictures for proof (which could be the reason my times aren't the best...).

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

See??? It is like a mini San Fran route! Slight exaggeration.

It was also a little chillier than normal last night. So I was wearing pants, long sleeves, gloves, and an ear band. Come back spring weather!

As soon as we got home, we threw some veggies in the oven. Mike had already prepped them, so all we had to do was coat them in EVOO and sea salt, and stick them in the oven.

They turned out amazing. They were perfectly cooked. We thought this wouldn't fill us up enough, but since it was almost 9 pm before we started eating, we didn't end up making anything else. 

Today I got up a little early so that Mike and I could ride together, and I could get some errands ran. We actually got up in time to make breakfast at home and we left a little early. Mike had some cereal, while I made a smoothie.

I added a handful of spinach, 4 frozen strawberries, 1 banana, 1 scoop of chocolate Sun Warrior, and 8 oz of skim milk. Spin away!

It turned out really good! I thought it would be greener, but I guess the chocolate protein powder kept it nice and brown. It was exactly what I was thinking about for the past few days, and I hope it amps up my nutrients some.

Tonight we have a list of things to get done before the weekend, and I plan on trying out that acorn squash I got last week in our produce box. I just can't decide if I want to stuff it with quinoa and veggies, or try it with butter and brown sugar. I have seen both recipes floating around, now I just have to decide... Any recommendations?

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 247
Sodium (+) 86
Protein (-) 14

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!