Pump It Up

Yesterday was a great day! I started with a cafe au lait on my ride to work followed by breakfast once I arrived. I had a bowl of whole grain Cheerios topped with flax seed, dried blueberries and milk. The dried blueberries made this bowl of boring cereal a rock star. They had been tucked away in our pantry for weeks and I am certainly glad they made their way into rotation. You’ll be seeing alot of these little gems as the days pass.

For lunch, the chef made me a mescalin greens salad with tomato, cukes, carrot and a few poached shrimp he was looking to get rid of. He tossed it all with balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make a fantastic little salad.

I also had a small bowl of 16 bean soup that I pulled from the freezer. I wasn’t able to eat most of it because the shrimp on the salad made it more filling.

To cure my lunchtime sweet tooth, I had this little package of dried pears. I really liked these, they make a great sweet treat that you don’t feel guilty about. The only ingredient is pears.

Around 3, I was hungry for a snack. I had spoken with my friend, Sarah, earlier in the day and she reminded me about my passion for lemon curd (I know that word sucks) and greek yogurt. I drizzled my berry covered bowl with a healthy dose and it was heavenly. Isn’t if funny how we forget about foods we love so much?

After my delightful treat, I headed home and hit the treadmill. I did a 5 minute brisk walk to warm up, ran for 20 minutes and then did a 5 minute cool down. I’m so thankful to be running again; I really can’t wait until the weather warms up enough to make running outdoors possible. I am hoping to be able to run about 6 miles without walking by then because there is a race that the dear husband and I want to do.

Once I was stretched out from my run, I made another fast dinner. Pinto bean taco salad. I had done all of my chopping and other prep work this weekend so all I had to do was heat it up. I sauteed an array of colorful peppers with onion and garlic and then tossed in the beans and corn. I added in some cajun seasoning and a hearty salad topper was born. For the salad I used spring mix, the pinto bean mix, salsa, sour cream and cilantro. On the side we had a few blue corn chips for crunch. Both the dear husband and I enjoyed this five minute dinner.

 

After dinner, we bundled up and headed to the gym for Body Pump. It was a madhouse. You would have thought it was the only class available…ever. They opened the doors and people rushed it like it was Black Friday at Walmart. People were running and pushing and slinging steps and weights. It was a site to behold. Finally, once the chaos settled, the teacher said there was not enough equipment to go around; she didn’t have any weights! She asked the group who hadn’t signed up in advance and gotten their hands stamped. She asked them to leave! There was cussing and foot stomping. I was thankful that the dear husband and I had signed up for the class when we were there on Tuesday. After the madness settled, the class got started and we got a great workout. I left with my whole body quaking.

Once we arrived home, I made us cups of caramel hot cocoa to warm us back up. We watched a little tv land and then hit the hay.

Thought Provoker: What foods do you sometimes forget that you love?

The Stress Monster

By the time I got home from work last night, I had a migraine. It had been a few hours since I had eaten so I decided to make dinner right away. I made a thai coconut curry with seitan and veggies over brown rice. For the sauce, I used lite coconut milk, green curry paste, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, basil, cilantro and, of course, a little rooster sauce. It turned out really well.

After I ate, I laid on the couch and eventually went to bed around 7:30 as I wasn’t feeling any better. I woke up this morning feeling better but thankful for the coffee that was waiting for me. I made a cafe au lait and then headed in to work. Once I arrived and got settled, I had a toasted whole wheat english muffin with a natural peanut butter smear.

Work has been uber stressful this morning since we are trying to close out 2008 and continue to run into accounting road blocks 😦 Needless to say, this little break to blog feels nice. I’m having my lunch that I grabbed out of the freezer this morning: spicy black bean soup. I topped it off with a dollop of sour cream and a crumbled cheese stick.  So good and warming on such a cold day.

I have a massive insane pile of work and hope to plow through that so that I can leave work with a clear mind. After work, I have  a therapy appointment and a date at the gym with the dear husband. We are planning to lift weights and do a short run on the treadmill. Hopefully, when we get home, I will have time to squeeze in some yoga and a short meditation.

Be back later!