What's on the Menu

So, I posted that I was going to share some recipes for the week with you here today. I always meal plan and grocery shop on Sundays, usually as early as possible in hopes to avoid the huge crowds. I'm 100% not a nutritionist or dietitian. I don't create any recipes. I try to find recipes in cookbooks or online that are healthy, yet still flavorful. I'm not a person who enjoys eating plain baked chicken with broccoli. We enjoy a lot of ethnic food and I love using spices other than salt and pepper. I try to be strict during the week, but it doesn't always work. Sometimes I snag a Reese cup or end up eating pizza rolls for dinner. So, I am by no means perfect, but even the small changes have made a big difference in my life.

When I got home today, I made  Broccoli Quinoa salad with lemon dressing for lunches. The flavor of this salad is great, however, I didn't feel like it made enough for 4 servings if it's your main dish.I would definitely make it again though and maybe double the recipe. I left the tarragon out, because it's a spice I don't personally like, and it was fine without it.

I also had old bananas that I wanted to get rid of so I made Blueberry Banana Bread. I didn't have applesauce, so I use coconut oil instead. The bread turned out good, however I think the blueberries are a bit overpowering so next time I would use less of them. For some reason, we never finish a hand of bananas so I end up trying healthy banana breads all the time. I would say this is one of my favorites so far.

On the menu this week for dinner:

Monday: Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Mixed Veggies: This is a recipe from a cookbook in our home. I prefer to use cookbooks because I think they are easier to look at while you are cooking. I guess I'm old school. Anyways, it incorporates salmon with shiitake mushrooms and red peppers in a sauce that is made with sriracha and soy. We eat a lot of Asian inspired dishes.

Tuesday: One Pot Southwest Pasta: This stuff is delicious and vegan. Tuesdays are my workout runs, so I like to eat some extra carbs and try to do something with pasta or rice. We've had this before and both really enjoyed it. It makes excellent leftovers for lunch as well. Also one pot=EASY

Wednesday: Crock Pot Balsamic Pork: My husband is more of a meat and veggies kind of guy and his favorite recipes are not casseroles or one pot meals like mine. We already had a pork loin in the fridge, so I thought it might be a good week to use this up. The flavor is really nice and the pork is super tender after cooking in the crock pot all day long. We will be making Brussels sprouts to go alongside the pork.

Thursday: Shrimp A La Criolla: Again, this is from a recipe book at our house. We've never tried this before, but I'm just beginning to like shrimp. My taste buds have completely changed-I used to hate shrimp! The stew incorporates tomatoes, red pepper, and olives. I'm not sure how it will turn out because I've never made anything even remotely like this before, but I'll keep you updated. The "stew" cooks in the crockpot, with the shrimp being added later so it won't burn.

I am willing to share recipes from my cookbooks individually if anybody wants them, I just didn't want to post photos to respect the chefs who created them.

I think the number 1 myth I feel like people believe is that cooking healthy is expensive. My bill was under $100 today. Fresh vegetables and fruits really aren't terrible and Kroger has them on sale a lot. I only try and buy what I need for the recipe so I don't waste the rest. We've gotten a good supply of spices built up and after you buy them once, they can least for a year. You may have to push yourself into something new for some of these recipes, or find a new ingredient that you've never used before, but since we started doing that we feel a lot better about eating at home because our food actually tastes good! We have struggled with going out to eat in the past too much, and we still do on the weekends, but everything's a work in progress! Also, I said "I" a lot but the truth is we take turns making dinner, which also helps with eating at home since I don't particularly like cooking.

Happy eats!

One Week of Doing the Runs I'm Supposed To

I'll be the first to admit that I rarely have stuck to the training schedule in the past. I've never felt bad about that but I figured maybe that could contribute to some of my times not being exactly where I've wanted them to be or me feeling fatigued on some of the runs. I'm not a person who likes to do the same exercise over and over again so that was another problem for me. I feel like running can get boring and I like to mix it up. I never want to get burnt out on training, especially this early into my running career. I don't wake up with my legs twitching to run like some people do, but this week I stuck to the recommended schedule of running.

Let's rewind one week. Saturday I missed the run because I was in Frankfort for a meeting with teachers across the state of Kentucky. It's something I have a passion for, but I was bummed to miss the run with my group. I had to make it up on Sunday, alone, which is always much worse because it's not so much fun to talk to myself. However, I finished and felt good about completing it.

Monday was a recommended 3 miles. After having a giant Italian dinner on Sunday (thanks friends) I needed this run and since 3 miles is a shorter distance, I even got to do a strength workout afterwards. Tuesday was my birthday and I really wanted to skip so that I could go out with my husband, but I decided to stay dedicated and I went to run fartleks (I hate any workout that involves sprinting) but I actually felt great. It must have been because I was powered by a chocolate cake my friend brought me at lunch. That was 6 miles and I bet people that know me can't believe I didn't bitch the whole time about sprinting. Sprinting uphill most of the time, if I might add. Wednesday and Thursday I did morning strength workouts and then the schedule says to do a recovery run. I hit up the gym with T.J. and did 4 miles on the treadmill, remembering how much I flipping hate the treadmill. Friday I chose to do strength in the morning, which brings us right to today which was an 8 mile, long slow distance workout. I workout a lot and adding in the required runs I felt like would just exhaust me, but today actually went really well. I am enjoying my 4:30 group so far and getting to know them better. It was a pretty flat route, but sometimes those take the most mental stamina.

I was glad I stuck to my "required running" for training this week, but since it was my birthday my diet was VERY lacking. Wow wouldn't it be cool if I could have a week of good eating and following the training schedule? I might like gain some awesome super power I didn't even know I had. I'm not a nutritionist by any means, but tomorrow I'll post my meal plan and give you some ideas of what I'll be (hopefully) eating this week. I hope I can stay dedicated and consistent this week.



I hope everyone has an awesome weekend! Get out an enjoy the 50 degree temps in January!

PS My husband bought me a fancy new apple watch for my birthday. I am still figuring out how to use it, but so far I'm really enjoying the push it gives me for the high level exercise goals, the music controls while I'm on on a run, and checking the weather with a push of a button while I'm getting ready for a run. I'll try and share more as time goes on!

Here We Go Again

I really wanted to get back to blogging in 2018 but sometimes I feel like I've already said everything there is to say. Honestly though, there were a lot of things that I could have written about last season, but ended up not doing and I now regret. I dealt with my first injury, and completed a half marathon with said injury. I also had a sinus infection. It was mentally and physically one of my toughest races and I know a lot of people could have related to that struggle.

Blogging is something I enjoy and I'm really hoping to get back into it for this running season. I always start the year with a vision board and one of my visions is to keep up with this blog again.

Our first group run was January 9th. I missed this run because we had tickets to a UK game in Lexington that night. I did not regret missing the run because I had such a blast, but unfortunately our Saturday run was cancelled also, due to snowy conditions and icy conditions. We had a makeup run on Sunday but it wasn't quite the same as our whole group wasn't there.

With the Indianapolis Monumental being the last time I had really run, I have to admit I'd been in a funk of not running. I wanted to allow time for the sprained ankle to heal completely so I did no exercise for about a week (made me absolutely crazy) then started doing other exercises that didn't incorporate heavy running or jumping. I have to be honest that I grew accustomed to really enjoying other things and I didn't miss running. This was weird to me because when I first thought about having to not run, it made me miserable. How would I stay sane? What would I do? This was my healthy addiction and love! But I got comfortable. Other exercises became a new routine for me and running a short 3 miles when the weather was pretty became just an add on when I felt like it. I didn't feel super motivated to start this season and Tuesday was the day that changed that for me.

This Tuesday we had gotten about 4-6 inches of snow over the weekend and Monday during the day. When I stepped outside I realized just how cold it was, 10 degrees with a feel of 3 degrees. Of course all I could think was "I don't feel like doing this." and "This is stupid." Once I got with my training group my feelings quickly changed. I caught up with friends I hadn't seen in awhile. It was good to see them again. I went out with my new pace group (4:30-YIKES!) on plenty of packed snow, in the dark, in freezing temperatures and guess what? I didn't suck. I felt....good...? I think it's partly scary to get back into something because you think that you've lost so much, but your body is smart and it can do amazing things. I didn't feel like a person who hadn't been running for 2 months, I felt like a runner and a strong runner at that. I was confident again and felt ready to train for 26.2 miles. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the accountability and fellowship of being with a group is extremely important for me.

I've got many goals for the year, as I hope all of you do, and The Flying Pig is just the start. I'd also like to complete my first Tough Mudder. Beyond exercise, I've been working to eat 2 vegetarian dinners each week and many more vegetarian lunches. I've already cooked tofu and tempeh pretty successfully, which was fun. T.J. and I are doing ethnic dinners on Sundays. So far udon noodles (Thai) and spatzele (German) have turned out great! I always have goals of multiple vacations and saving money, yes I know, these work against each other. I'm trying to read more novels as well.

As you approach the year it's not too late to set goals. If you get into the routine of doing something specific, it becomes second nature and isn't really something you dread. I don't dread 5:30 AM workouts anymore because I do them regularly. However, I was dreading getting back to running because I was so used to not doing it. Activity or inactivity both provide a level of comfort once you get used to them.

Consistency is my word this year and there's sooooo many goals I have that fall under that. I might fall short, but I'd like to achieve as close to 100 visions as I can!