Highlights/Lowlights

It has been a rainy mess in Baltimore for the past few days and that means I have felt pretty "blah". Weather has a way of doing that to my mood. Thank goodness the sun is out today in full force and it is supposed to be a great weekend.


Eats


Some food highlights and lowlights from the past few days....


The other day I was talking to Kevin on the way home from work and was in a foul mood because of the traffic that occurs when rainy weather hits this area. I was also hungry. That can be a bad combo for me. I came home and found this...
This guy is good. :) Whole wheat pita w/ cashew butter, honey, and chocolate chip smiley face.


Lunch yesterday was supposed to be Shrimp Summer Rolls from Trader Joes refrigerated section. They were horrible. It said they were good for another two weeks or something, but the lettuce inside was brown and the shrimp was slimey. yuck.
Dinner last night was seared scallops and steamed brussels w/ garlic. Oh and a small amount of leftover rice noodles w/ peanut sauce, but they looked like brains, so I left that picture out.

I picked up the Green Tea flavor of Mochi from Trader Joes and am sorry to say they were SO bad. It tasted like freezer burn, so I am thinking it had been sitting for awhile. The outside rice doughy stuff was hard - and it should be stretchy and gooey. ughh. I still ate it for some reason that I can not explain.

I tried a new flavor of CLIF nectar bars - Cherry Pomegranate. I love the nectar bars - big chunks of nuts all throughout and a great chewy texture.
The ripest mango I have ever eaten was consumed today. They were on sale for 99 cents each, so I bought one. Is that even good? I don't buy them enough to know.

But seriously, so sweet and juicy - my desk is a sticky mess now. Oh well, my last day is tomorrow. ha!

Workouts

I decided the take the week off from running to try and let my hamstring rest a little bit so I can make the best decision about whether to do a marathon this year. Also, I am competing in my first Adventure race next weekend, so I want my hamstring to be ready!

I have been doing other forms of cardio (arc trainer, biking, rowing) as well as more lifting than usual.

Saturday, Kevin and I have plans to do a run and then rent a canoe to practice our skills (or see if we have any) for the adventure race. It should be comical.

Other

Tonight is the Baltimore Blogger Meetup @ Abbey Burger Bistro in Federal Hill. Be there at 6pm. I cant wait to meet some of you!

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Gummy Pills

You guys are so freakin supportive - it still kind of blows my mind. But, thank you for all your great comments about the marathon and my new job! I am still deciding on the marathon. A run is planned for tonight, so hopefully my hamstring doesn't give me any issues.


Wednesday PM


I decided to take the night off from working out. Instead, my night was spent taking a walk in the park with Oscar, dusting the house, doing laundry, running an errand, and then making dinner.


Tofu Stir-fry was on the menu, but I decided to use fresh veggies instead of my normal frozen stir-fry veggies. It took a little more time, but I think it tasted better in the end.



Broccoli and sugar snap peas went into a steaming hot pan with 1 T of EVOO and a clove of chopped garlic. I eventually added a little salt, black pepper, ground ginger, toasted sesame oil, red curry paste, and a splash of Soyaki.

Meanwhile, tofu was baking in the oven. I drizzled the pressed, sliced tofu with Soyaki from TJs. (I feel sorry for whoever has to clean that pan. All I know is that whoever cooks - the other one cleans up. Sorry Kevin.)
I mixed the veggies w/ the baked tofu and topped with scallions and roasted peanuts.

Voila! The flavor on this turned out just right and I really wish I had measured the spices so that I could re-create it. Next time, I would add more veggies - carrots and water chestnuts would be good.
Dessert was the last mango mochi ice cream. I am probably heading over to Trader Joes during my lunch break today to pick up more. I love them.



Thursday AM


I realized that I haven't had oatmeal in awhile. When I feel rushed in the morning, I usually just grab a greek yogurt and cereal to mix in at work. But my new green bowl has been calling my name, so I finally made time to use it.
In the oatmeal mix: oats, skim milk, honey, unsweetened coconut, roasted almonds, dried bing cherries, and a spoonful of White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter.

The dried bing cherries really made this version of oats taste delish - they are plumper than raisins and have a nice tart flavor. yum.

OK - does anyone else hate taking big pills? I really don't like swallowing any type of pills, but I especially hate the big multivitamins. Well, guess what I found at Trader Joes? Gummy Multivitamins!!

I love all types of gummy candy, so to be able to eat gummies and know I am getting vitamins - I am SOLD. My shadow, a.k.a - Oscar, thinks they are a treat for him. :)

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I Can't Believe I Am About to Say This...

...but before I do, let's look at some food. The suspense!

Dinner last night was Chicken Fajitas. The star of this show was the chicken that had been marinating all day in Goya Zesty Mojo Criollo marinade. It was extremely tender with a ton of flavor.

Served on grilled, white corn tortillas w/ homemade guacamole, grilled red peppers & onions, and cheddar cheese

Kevin made his plate look prettier than mine...for the blog. :)

He is great and brought me these pretty things with a card.

The reason?...I got a new job and start in 2 weeks. With the economy the way it is I feel very fortunate to have a great opportunity in a new place. Once I start, my blogging may be less frequent, but I love this hobby of mine and plan to keep up with it as much as possible.

Dessert was 2 of these little Mochi ice cream thingees - Mango flavor - that I picked up at Trader Joes.

I think that the trick is to let them thaw for about 10 mins, so they are all ooey and gooey when you bite into them.

2 pieces = 210 calories, 6 g fat, 3g protein.

Tuesday Workout

Last night, while Kevin was slaving over the oven preparing dinner, I took an hour spin class at the gym. The instructor was really annoying and would sing along to every song and then be like "Whohoo!" - she probably said it 50 times. I think I have been to this Tuesday class and even wrote about how annoying it was on here. Oh well - got a good workout in at least.

Hamstring

Sooo, I haven't been writing as much about running and workouts out because I didn't want to face the fact that my hamstring has been bothering me since the mountain bike race a few weeks back. When Kevin and I ran our 60 min trail run on Sunday - I felt it - twinges anytime I would take longer strides or jump up over logs. I ended up having to go much slower than normal to ensure I didn't feel it as much.

Last night in spin - it actually hurt a few times and was throbbing afterwards as I sat on the couch watching The Biggest Loser. I was thinking how glad I am that I didn't sign up for many longer distance running races this year.

Plans Change

That is why I can't believe I am about to say this, but, I am considering signing up to run the Baltimore Marathon this fall. Why? Well, my boyfriend ran his first marathon last year - Recap Here - and wasn't happy with his time. He wants to improve and said that he wants to try Baltimore again this year - and wants me to do it with him. He is ready to sign up today, but I said I need some time to consider it. Am I ready to commit to this training again? Is my hamstring ready to commit? It would be my 6th...oh geez...I kind of want to do it. What is wrong with me?

So yeah - lots of thinking to do and I want to look at the calendar to see how a training schedule would look - consult my marathon trainer - a.k.a: dad. Will keep you posted!

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Dinner/Dessert (9.07.2008)

Tonight’s version of “healthy” pizza had so many toppings that I could only eat one piece. It may also have to do with the fact that I had eaten a ton already during the day.

We had so many layers of stuff (cheese) on this pizza that I am not sure it could actually be considered healthy anyways. The vegetables represented in the saute pan are:

Yellow squash
Zucchini
Onion
Orange pepper

Also in the mix are a few slices of chicken sausage (sweet Italian style) and 1 tablespoon EVOO.

I rolled out the whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joes with a little flour, placed it on my baking stone, and then spread the fat-free pizza sauce over the dough.

Kevin had the good idea to sprinkle the sauce with Old Bay and then put with some pieces of Asiago on the bottom also. We loaded the pizza up with our veggie/chicken sausage mixture; topped it with 2% mozzarella cheese, threw on a few tomatoes, some dollops of ricotta and a few oregano sprinkles to finish it off.

Here it is coming out of the oven and let me tell you - it tasted as good as it looks.

For dessert, I had picked up a few new items I noticed at Trader Joes. First off, has anyone else tried the dark chocolate covered edamame?? I saw them and knew I had to try them. I am in love with the salty/sweet combination and had a feeling this might satisfy those cravings. These are really GOOD. The edamame is crunchy and combined with the dark chocolate – these are a great snack. And don’t forget – you are getting some protein with this snack! I had a small handful.

The other item I found is MOCHI ice cream, which is this AWESOME thing they serve at sushi restaurants. Well, they may serve it other places, but this is the only place where I have had it. They have all sorts of flavors, but my favorite has always been the mango. Wikipedia describes Mochi Ice Cream as a Japanese confection made from mochi (pulverized sticky rice) with an ice cream filling.

Here is my small piece which was light, refreshing, and a perfect dessert.

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