On a dessert-ed island

Before I get any further in discussing the day, I have a confession to make. I ate frozen yogurt today ... twice.


And I liked every last, delicious bite.

But before we get to that, let's discuss the day. I returned home from the grocery store ravenous - I had eaten just an English muffin during my WW meeting. I drank a glass of chocolate Silk as I put away groceries and quickly got to thinking about lunch. I had picked up alfalfa sprouts and other fresh veggies at the store and decided to throw them in a wheat pita with with roasted red pepper hummus.

Alexia sweet potato fries on the side. I added salt this time, and I liked them much better. Frozen yogurt No. 1 followed - black cherry-vanilla swirl.

The afternoon seemed to go by so quickly - I went for a mani-pedi (runner's feet = ugly) and went shopping for a gift for my father-in-law for Father's Day. Before I knew it, we were heading out to dinner at a fantastic local BBQ joint - Moosewood.


It would be so easy to go all-out at this place. (From what I hear) The ribs and brisket are AMAZING. Each time, I've opted for fish. Tonight was blackened tilapia with steamed broccoli and vinegar slaw.

The portions were huge. For $10.95 , I got three fillets - about 12 ounces - and the two sides, as well as a piece of the cornbread. Best cornbread on the planet. I ended up taking two pieces of the fish home.

I had to leave room for dessert, right? Lemon fro-yo from the soft-serve stand that everyone loves. I grabbed a small cone and basked in the last bit of the day's sun.

A bit corny

Saturday = Rest Day!

I went to my WW meeting this morning where I was down another 1.2 pounds (despite eating more in an effort to maintain my weight loss). After learning about the importance of keeping track of what you eat - thank you blog - it was off to the grocery store.

I'm the kind of girl who always shops with a list, has her coupons in tow and is always looking for a bargain. What I buy is often dependent on the latter two. Last night, though, I had a rude awakening. I was eating a pineapple upside down cake-flavored yogurt and glanced down at the ingredients. Among those listed in the beginning was high-fructose corn syrup. What? I thought yogurt was healthy, and I had bought that particular yogurt because it was fat-free and 100 calories.

Lesson learned: All yogurt is not created equally.

So while at the store, I still had coupons and still looked at the sales but I began to look at the labels. Many of the brands I buy have high fructose corn syrup. The only ones that did not were the organic varieties, of which there is a smaller section and few fat-free flavors. They are more expensive, too.

I stood there for a moment to think. Eating healthy isn't just about reducing calorie content. It's about thinking about the things you put in your body. What do you want to put in your body?

I want things that are good to me, not advertised to be good for me. So I picked up some Stonyfield yogurt - fat-free strawberry and pomegranate raspberry acai and probiotic strawberry. As luck would have it, I had some coupons.

Now the big decision: Throw away the yogurt with high fructose corn syrup, give it away or suck it up and eat it?

Repeat after me

Workout: ~0.5-mile repeats along Forest Park Boulevard
4.82 miles in 44:14, average pace 9:10
Pre-run fuel: French toast coffee and slice of wheat toast topped with peanut butter and a smidge of blackberry all-fruit

The dog began to stir at 6:30 a.m., ready for his trip outside and a big bowl of Kibble. I begrudgingly got up, threw on a shirt and got him ready for the morning. I had intended to go back to bed for a half-hour but I decided to check my e-mail, then start the coffee and then it made no sense to go back to bed.

I enjoyed my coffee and slice of toast all the while dreading what I had planned: half-mile repeats.

While most of my running is focused on training for the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago half-marathon, I have hopes of killing a 5K next month. Like, really killing it. I ran this race two years ago and crossed the finish line in 38:50 - great for me then, not so great for me now. (Because of a route mishap at a 5K in March, it stands as my PR.) I have a magic number in mind, and I know that I need to work on speed to get there.

I brought my husband with me, knowing that he could and would set the pace for the repeats. We headed at a slow pace to a gorgeous stretch of boulevard in our neighborhood that is about 1 mile when you run the loop. And then came the torture. The first repeat was tough (8:34 pace). I couldn't wait to get to the turnaround so we could slow up. The second repeat was tougher (8:30 pace), and I used an allergy cough as an excuse to stop. The third - more of the same, just a bit faster (8:24 pace).

After the third repeat, we doubled the recovery period so that we could really run the last half-mile home. I like to finish strong. It's just me. And I finished strong - even though I wanted to stop and cry. It was my fastest repeat at an 8:06 pace.

Follow-up: Holy, Batman! I am SORE. Between the abbreviated "No More Trouble Zones" and the Tank Top Arms workout, my upper body is one tight ball of pain. The entire upper body. Chest, triceps, biceps. Oh, and the shoulders. Goodness, the shoulders. I'm thinking of purchasing "NMTZ" and trying it more consistently though I may wait until after the half Aug. 1.

Eggs-elent choice

The chicken was thawed, and I was all ready to make the Bruschetta Chicken that I had planned for the evening. But Mark was going to the baseball game, and I would be cooking for just me. Yes, I could make the dish for me but the more I thought about it, the less effort I wanted to put into dinner.

I ran through my options: frozen meal, picking up Panera, another hot dog, egg sandwich ... eggs ... eggs and hash browns.

My mind began to spin around the idea of eating actual eggs and not just egg whites. An over-medium egg sounded fantastic. I also knew that I had potatoes, green peppers and onions - all of which would make a terrific hash.

It was an amazing breakfast for dinner. The hash had a ton of flavor, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. The sprinkling of cheese didn't hurt, either. I put two over-medium eggs right on top, added more pepper and had a wheat English muffin on the side.

I felt so spoiled eating the eggs that it made me forget about my crock of a lunch and enjoy a relaxing night on the couch, just me and the pup.

Do you cook differently when your significant other isn't home?

Bar exam

Things I hate about the salad bar:

• Three kinds of cheese and one kind of lettuce
• Six kinds of dressing, none labeled and none light or non-fat
• Tomatoes and broccoli are the only vegetables available
• Iceberg lettuce dispersed throughout the mixed greens

My friend and I decided to try out the options at the hospital cafeteria, which is across from the street from the office. Everyone raves about the food (weird, I know), and the hospital offers us the employee discount.

We walked in, got our trays and began to examine the offerings. On the hot bar, I found stuffed peppers, vegetable lasagna, scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and a vegetable medley. All of the items were posted with nutrition info! There was also a grill with burgers, chicken and black bean patties(!) - with nutrition info, as well. Along the side was a gyro bar, and I found a salad bar in the middle.

I knew I'd have the salad bar before I even stepped through the doors but I was wooed by the gyro. Love tzatziki! I decided to go with a chicken breast from the grill and make a gyro. I was all set to get the pita and slather on some yogurt sauce when I saw the pita nutrition info. It had 240 calories for one piece. Fail. I already had the chicken so I made a deconstructed gyro and made myself a salad.

All in all, it wasn't a satisfying lunch. Dry chicken, non-creamy tzatziki and an abundance of iceberg. I found myself back in line, still hungry, and grabbing a cup of chicken noodle soup ... and Cinnabon coffee.

Next time (and I hear there's a next time) I think I might go for the black bean burger and search for some complex carbs.

Love, sweet love

Sweet potato, how I love thee. Let me count the ways. You are pretty, bright orange. You are sweet. You can be salty. You are oh so good for me - full of vitamin A and antioxidants. You taste good for lunch. You taste good for dinner. You taste good for breakfast.

Sweet potato for breakfast? Yes, ma'am.

Last night, I made a stop at the Health Food Shoppe to pick up some sweet potato fries so I could pretend there was nutritional value to my dinner of leftover sauerkraut atop a Ball Park smoked white turkey frank. The tiny shop didn't have much of a selection: Alexia Spicy Sweet Potato Fries and Alexia Sweet Potato Julienne Fries. I opted for the juliennes and headed toward the checkout. As I stood in the checkout line, I saw Jewel Yams and decided to grab one.
I hurried home, with a grumbling tummy, and quickly counted out some fries and put them in the oven. I didn't even wait for the oven to preheat. I also pierced the yam and put it in to bake.

Twenty minutes later, I was eating this:

I wish I could tell you that it tasted better than the photo shows but it wasn't. Not a huge fan of the Alexia fries - minimal seasoning. Maybe I should have left them in longer to get crispier but I was so dern hungry.

Just as I finished up dinner, I could smell the yam and knew it was ready. I pulled it out, let it cool and removed the skin. I added it to a bowl with a splash of Silk unsweetened almond milk, a half packet of Truvia and pumpkin pie spice. Mash, cover and refrigerate.

Why would I do that? Because this morning, I was able to make a parfait with Oikos honey-flavored Greek yogurt, mashed sweet potatoes and Chappaqua Crunch granola. Don't wrinkle your nose - it's delicious. The sweet potato mimics pumpkin, which is impossible to find, especially when you add the almond milk, sweetener and spices. The honey yogurt isn't overly sweet, and the granola is crunchy (unless you leave it in your lunch pail while you "swim").

I only wish I had bought more yams so I could have this tomorrow.

Off the deep end

Workout: 35-minute weight workout (20 minutes with Jillian on OnDemand)
Swam 500 yards in, umm, 20 minutes.
Workout fuel: 1 slice wheat bread with Peanut Butter & Co. chocolate peanut butter before weights, another slice with PB between weights and swim.

I love OnDemand. I love it about as much as I hate high school girls but we'll get to that in a bit.

I haven't had a good weight workout in over a week, and who better to get my butt back in gear than Jillian Michaels. I found an abbreviated "No More Trouble Zones" on Exercise TV and followed along as we did lunges, squats, lunges, sumo squats all the while doing lateral raises, bicep curls and tricep extensions.

Although none of it compared to the surrender:



Brutal? Maybe. Enough? No.

The actual workout (sans cool down) was 18 minutes, so I chose another OnDemand selection: Tank Top Arms.

With this lady:
I thought she was going to come out of the TV and beat me with her crazy ripped arms. Seriously, I saw veins. Twenty minutes of that, plus Jillian, and I was done.

Sort of. I still had plans to make my way back to the pool after a three-month hiatus. Needless to say I was a bit nervous. And it only got worse when I realized the pool was set up for a "long course" and I'd be swimming alongside the high school swim team.

Kim, I'd like you to meet high school girls. They think Washington, D.C., is in Washington state. They think it's funny when someone gets pulled over for going 23 mph over the speed limit. They complain that they can't breathe but somehow find the air to giggle incessantly as you try to get ready for work. They try to round up the team for prayer but somehow forget to stop the aforementioned giggling.

Fast, good swimmers, I'd like you to meet the slowest, least graceful swimmer on the planet. You will see me cling to the wall right before finishing the last few yards because swimming in the deep end scares me. You'll see me close my eyes so I don't realize how deep the water is. You'll see me gasp for air because I forget to breathe out when I put my face in the water.

I ended up doing 500 yards. I could have done more. I should have done more. Except I thought I had done 1,000 yards until the lifeguard schooled me. I have a few more (well, like 10) swims on my punch card so I will be heading back to the pool a few more times this summer. As much as I dislike, I know it makes me a better runner.

Do you do workouts that you don't like?

Buffet concert

For lunch I had this ...
And this ...
And this ...
Oh, and this too ...
For lunch today, Mark picked me up from work and took me to the Taj so we could get our Indian buffet on. I can't lie - I was a bit nervous. I've never been to an Indian buffet, and I wasn't sure what would be on it or how well it would work out for me nutritionally. I did do some Internet research, and I knew to look for the words:

• Dal
• Biryani/pilaf
• Roti
• Bulgar
• Tandoori

I saw the tandoori chicken immediately and put a small piece on my plate. They had Dal, as well, and I dished up a small bowl. As for the rest, no such luck. I opted to enjoy small portions of things I had never tried: Chicken Curry, Saag Paneer and Rajma. Somehow a bit of rice and a couple slices of naan appeared on my plate, as well. Silly, naan, this plate is healthy.

The Saag Paneer with its cheese was the worst of the bunch but it was also the tastiest. Me + Spinach = Lovely pair. I also enjoyed the Rajma, a kidney bean dish, as it had more of a kick than the mild buffet offerings.

I left feeling satisfied, not deprived, and went back to work to enjoy a lovely marathon of safety videos.

How do you stay healthy at the buffet?

Spilling the beans

Remember the days when you used to have two Egg McMuffins, a hash brown and orange juice and thought it was healthy?

OK, maybe I was the only one.

Moving on ... this morning's breakfast reminded me of those Egg McMuffins and how far I've come in the past year or years.


Egg whites on a light English muffin with a side of sliced tomatoes. It wasn't the frittata with leftover asparagus, tomatoes and feta that I had hoped to make but it was filling and easily transported from room to room as I scurried to get ready for work. Put on tank, take a bite. Comb hair, take a bite. Put on dress, take a bite.

After I was all set, I rushed out the door and realized I had enough time to score a latte. I was hoping to try out a new place that has non-profit status but it doesn't open until Friday. I ended up at another local joint, where I got my latte ... and a pound of Cinnamon Roast coffee beans.

Funny how that happened, isn't it?!

In a tight spot

Ran 7.2 miles at 9:33 pace
Pre-run fuel: French toast coffee and mini Larabar (Key lime)


I was not feeling this run today. Actually, I was feeling it - in my hamstrings and in my right big toe. The hamstrings, mainly my right, have been tight since the Flying Pig half-marathon. I don't think I strained them; I think I need to do some lunges and good stretching. As far as the big toe, I'm fairly certain that I stubbed it a few days ago. It hurts like a mother just relaxing while I watch TV so you can imagine how it feels during a 7-mile run.

Nevertheless, I trekked ahead and let the mind games ensue. Slow up to this telephone pole and then you have to pick it up. Speed up to this crosswalk and you'll get a rest while it reads "Don't Walk." After a while, though, I just wanted to go. The slower I went, the more I could feel the tightness. And stopping at crosswalks? Well, it just got difficult to start back up.

I did some quality stretching when I got home, making sure to give the hammies some attention. I'm hoping to look up more stretches and do some more tonight.

Given how mediocre I felt, I was glad to see a 9:33 pace on the Garmin when I plugged it in post-stretching.

What do you do to get through a bad run?

Baked with love

I have to ask: Is there anything more attractive than a guy who can cook?


Now, Mark can't cook per se but last night he volunteered to follow Martha Stewart's recipe for Baked Risotto, which I had planned for dinner. He also baked the chicken as well. And you know what? It tasted phenomenal. The best part, though, was that it was waiting for me when I got home from work. Mark had his with sliced tomatoes; I chose steamed asparagus.

After dinner, it was time to think about dessert. Of course. I had a couple options: Skinny Cow sandwich, root beer float with diet root beer and fat-free ice cream or a sundae with the ice cream.

I chose to go with a sundae, slicing some strawberries and adding a drizzle of chocolate. Chocolate-covered strawberry sundae. Yum!


I do have to say that I miss full-flavor (full-fat) chocolate sauce. The light just tastes so, well, artificial. I think a better option would be to just get some dark chocolate and shave it over the ice cream.

I also munched on popcorn last night as we watched "House Hunters." Pick No. 1!

Lucy, I'm home

I was excited to go home for lunch so I could enjoy this:


Instead, I got to enjoy this:

A few weeks ago, I entered a contest over at FitBottomedGirls.com and actually won! I received a pair of Lucy core knee pants and a pretty blue sports top. If the weather isn't too atrocious, I might try them out for tomorrow's midweek long run (7 miles).

Despite all my jumping around and trying things on, I still managed to put together my Cobb salad - lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, 2 egg whites, center-cut bacon and a sprinkling of light blue cheese. I did have to take it to work to eat, and I threw in a cup of vegetable barley soup and a WW mini bar.

Afternoon snacks include an apple, cut veggies and a Kraft 100-cal cheese pack. I already tried out the Kraft cheese and, to be honest, not sure how I feel about it. I had the three-cheese blend, and it was a bit pungent, like Swiss cheese. They're a weird shape, too. I'll finish out the bag but I think I'll return to my old pal, string cheese.

Hot fuss

Ran 4.79 miles at 9:11 pace
Pre-run fuel: Wheat toast (1 slice) with Peanut Butter & Co. Chocolate Peanut Butter (YUM!) and French toast coffee

I was so impressed with myself. I woke up before the alarm clock, and I even got out of bed. I started the coffee and put a piece of wheat bread in the toaster.

"This is great," I thought. "I'm actually going to get out early."

What a lovely thought. A thought that might have come true had I been able to find my shoes. I spent a good 10 minutes tearing through the apartment trying to find them and intermittently blaming Mark for their absence. He had to have put them somewhere weird ... you know, like under my purse in the butler's pantry.

Yeah. Moving on.

Mark and Denali joined me this morning, and we set out a pretty good clip. Mark runs fast, I run not-so-fast, and we usually meet in the middle. Denali just goes. Just a half-mile or so in, I noticed an older, lanky gentleman power walking in short red running shorts. Just the shorts. His arms were flailing at his sides, his shirt whipping in the wind as he walked around the addition. It was fantastic. I wish he would have joined us for the entire run for my amusement but alas that was the only sighting and the only interesting scenery the whole run.

The remainder of the miles were spent trying to keep pace, knowing when to fall back and making sure all of us got enough water in this super humid weather. By the time I got home, I was dripping with sweat. Seriously, dripping. If only the hose had been hooked up, I think we all would have done a sprinkler run.

Breakfast:

I planned to make oats post-run, so I put them on the stove as I got ready for work. Into the pot went: 3/4 cup Silk unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, a drop of almond extract and a drizzle of honey. Cook on medium/medium high till it bubbles and turn down to simmer. I add a lot of liquid to oats and cook it all together for a fluffier, softer consistency. I usually add a banana to the pot and peanut butter once they are done cooking but today I added chopped peaches at the end. And half a packet of Truvia.

Let me tell you, these were some good oats. They weren't overly sweet - just enough - and the cinnamon, almond extract and honey really complemented the peaches. Definitely will make 'em again, maybe with some apricots next time.

Toss the salad

Cobb salad has been on my mind for a week- ever since I put away the blue cheese (from my Blue Cheese Portobello Burgers). A bed of lettuce topped with tomatoes, red onions, hard-boiled egg whites, center-cut bacon, maybe some chicken and, of course, blue cheese. YUM!

Today being a meatless Monday, though, the bacon and chicken were out. If only I hadn't been too chicken to buy Quorn when I went to the store this weekend ... Anyway, I still planned on having the salad at lunch today, with just egg whites as protein, and called my husband from work, asking him to boil the eggs.

Problem: I forgot to tell him that I was coming home for lunch and wanted him to start the process right them. Oops. No eggs, no chicken, no bacon. Blue cheese alone does not a Cobb salad make. Knowing I needed some protein, I opted for the last helping of the black bean-corn salad on a bed of lettuce with salsa, homemade guac and a toasted tortilla with cheese.

(To toast a tortilla, heat the oven to 400 degrees. I use a low-carb whole-wheat tortilla. Feel free to use a pizza cutter to slice it into "chips" before toasting. I like to toast it whole, melt the cheese and then slice it.)

After lunch, I got ready to go back to work and assembled my afternoon snacks - a WW 1-point bar, some strawberries, radishes and celery sticks. I find that my requisite 2 and 4:30 p.m. snacks are a great time to fill the day's fruit and veggie requirements. Plus, the radishes have about 20 calories, the celery about 12 cals and the strawberries are about 50 - it's a lot of volume for very few calories.


Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Smoothie deliciousness

I thought my WW leader was crazy when she said that she made smoothies with frozen milk. Yep, frozen milk. She put a cup of milk in the freezer at night, and the next morning would put it in the blender with smoothie mix and an additional half-cup of milk.

"It makes it chilly and frothy," she insisted.

And the samples she passed out were definitely frothy and chilly - just like a smoothie should be. Always one to up the ante, though, I decided that I had to make it even better. Last night, I put a container of non-fat cherry yogurt in the freezer. If she could freeze milk, I could freeze yogurt ... right?

After the walk with the dog, I nuked the yogurt for 20 seconds to loosen it from the container and put it in the blender with 1 cup of almond milk (Silk unsweetened) and chocolate smoothie mix.

What came out of the blender was pure heaven. A chocolate-covered cherry in drink form.

Hello, love ...

Please ignore ugly cabinets. We rent.

Down with the dog

I was not really excited when the alarm went off at 6:15 a.m. In fact, I wasn't even happy. More like tempted to shut it off and go back to bed. I could feel the soreness in my legs, though, and I knew that I needed to get up and do some yoga as planned.

I rolled out of bed, threw on some leggings and warmed up some day-old coffee. I cued up the DVD - "Joy of Yoga" - and rolled out the mat. "Joy of Yoga" is a pretty basic practice but I like the flow and all its downward dogs to stretch out my legs. I tried to keep Denali in the bedroom so I could do the practice without a wet tongue on my arm but he whined, and my husband let him out to join me.

(This was before I threw his head up and smacked me in the chin. One of these days, I will lose a tooth.)

After the half-hour routine, I did a baby weight workout. Well, baby in terms of length but not weight itself. I pulled out the 10-pounders for this one. I could definitely tell that I failed to lift one pound all of last week. I'm definitely going to change that this week.

A breakfast of Van's light waffles and half a banana - all sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with honey - followed.

Now it's time to get in a couple miles (walking) with Denali and then it's off to work. A pretty good start to the day, I'd say.

Hungry like the wolf

It was about 12:30 p.m. when the post long-run hunger set in. Time for lunch! (Who cares if breakfast was just two hours earlier?)

I started off with a homemade black bean and corn salad atop a bed of lettuce and served with salsa, homemade guacamole and a toasted tortilla. Umm, yeah, I also added some cheese to that tortilla. It was super delish! The black bean and corn salad was super easy to make - a can of black beans, 1 cup of frozen corn and chopped red bell pepper, red onion half a jalapeno and a handful of cilantro.

After lunch, I played some Wii (don't judge!) and decided it was time to eat again. I had an apple and a small peanut butter cookie. More relaxing ensued and a small nap. I woke up and decided it was time to eat another snack, this time choosing some leftover grilled squash and zucchini. I feel like I can eat forever on the days when I run more than 10 miles. I just try to focus on eating filling foods and getting in my fruits and veggies. Probably should have had some more protein, maybe some almonds.

Dinner was a turkey brat, served on a light bun, with low-fat mac and cheese, sauerkraut and steamed broccoli. The brat came from the butcher just up the road, and it was made with spinach and some peppers. It definitely had some kick and a lot of flavor, and I think I liked it more than just your regular, fat-filled brat.

Now it's time to settle in for the night - with some ice cream and popcorn - and get ready for the "Next Food Network Star."

Sweet as pie

Ten miles - that was the goal for the morning.

I had hoped to wake up early and get the miles in before the heat (and humidity) set in but I decided to lie in bed until 7:30 because, well, the bed felt so nice. It wasn't until my husband sat on the bed, fully dressed in running gear, that I got up and started the coffee. As the French toast roast got brewin', I threw on the shorts and tank and pulled the hair back.

When the coffee was ready, I poured myself a cup and broke off part of a Cherry Pie Larabar. I finally broke into the mini Larabars that I scored at the Flying Pig expo and decided they make a good pre-run food. Even the mini bars seem substantial with about 100 calories but they don't sit too heavy on the stomach. Today, I was trying something new - eating half of a regular-size Larabar before the run and taking the other half in the zip pouch my Nathan handheld for a mid-run carb replacement. While I've done OK with Gu and Hammer gels, I feel like I have to choke them down and don't get that energy burst I'd expect.



I did the first 4 miles of this run with my husband and the last 6 miles by myself. The 4 miles were on the fast side, but I kept in mind that I could slow down if need be once Mark left me. I stopped at the park around mile 5 to fill up my water bottle and eat the rest of the Larabar. I wasn't really hungry for it but knew I should eat it. I thought I might have to force it down but it tasted great and it was easy to chew. At mile 6, I was passed by the running company's shirtless brigade and felt inclined to kick it up as if I could keep up with them. Not even a chance. I managed to do well until about mile 9 when my hamstring tightened up. I took a minute to stretch and pushed myself through the last mile. 10 miles in 1 hour, 39 minutes at a 9:49 pace.

I got home and knew I should eat but the Larabar had held me pretty well. I took a cold bath, stretched and then cleaned up in the shower. By then I was feeling a bit more with it, and I made myself a homemade frap with 1 cup almond milk, which I froze the night before, more French toast coffee and a chocolate smoothie mix. I toasted an English muffin, added 2 teaspoons of peanut butter and had a banana on the side. Protein, carbs, fruit and caffeine = post-run goodness.