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Gearing up for the weekend…

August 6, 2009 by

Finally! And what I mean by that is finally I get to sit down and write my post. My afternoon was just as busy as the morning and it flew by. Luckily, I’m off tomorrow so it will be nice to relax a little – if I can!

For dinner, my husband made the basil chicken stir-fry that we were supposed to have last night.

8.6 dinner2

He made the dish around lunch time, before heading for work, and then left my portion in the fridge to warm up. I usually love this dish but tonight, it was just ok, probably because it wasn’t fresh off the stove. I don’t have time to write a full recipe right now, but the stir-fry included:

Basil Chicken Stir Fry

  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 5 green onions
  • 1 jalapeno pepper
  • 1-2 chicken breasts cut into short strips
  • brown rice
  • soy sauce
  • brown sugar
  • Chicken stock

8.6 dinner1PG

This weekend my whole family is taking one huge family portrait at a studio. We haven’t done that since my sister got married so I’m so excited. The picture will include my parents, brothers/sisters, spouses, and children – 17 people in all. The studio only booked us for a 20 minute photo shoot – I hope that’s enough to corral all of us!

Have a great night everyone!

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A Well "Balanced" Lunch

August 6, 2009 by

Hi all! It’s been a great morning so far, although I have been in meetings for a total of about 2 1/2 hours. Luckily it has not been one straight meeting, because I tend to zone out after an hour or so.

After my great run this morning, I munched on more crunchy cereal…

8.6 ceral1

It was my standard mix of Kashi Go Lean Crunch and cheerios.

On my way to work, I heard Starbucks calling my name so I stopped to get a tall mocha frap with light whip cream. Bummer that it nearly melted completed before I was able to drink it. I don’t like taking “frozen drinks” into business meetings. Even though it’s technically coffee, it somehow screams “spring break” and I don’t like to give that impression. Any hoo, the drink just sat there lonely on my desk, developing condensation. I came back to a melted drink and a wet desk. No fun…but the drink was still good.

Because a girl can’t live on frozen coffee alone – although I’m sure some girls think they can! – I made sure to eat a healthy lunch. It’s all about balance, ladies!

8.6 lunch2

I had a 1/2 turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread with three-layer Trader Joe’s hummus and a little feta cheese. Hmm…good! I also had a side of carrots and a few pretzel “chips”.

Now, I think I’m all set for the afternoon.

We have a big day planned for tomorrow and the whole weekend. More details to follow tonight!

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Stepping out to the Corner B

August 5, 2009 by

Hey all. This is going to be a quick post because I’m exhausted and want to get to bed early.

I had an afternoon full of meetings and phone calls. Being busy sure does make the time go by faster.

My husband and I had planned on having basil chicken stir-fry for dinner but at about 4:30 PM, we decided that neither of us wanted to cook. So instead, we headed to one of my favorite healthy quick-service restaurants, Corner Bakery Cafe.

8.5 dinner

Dinner was a cup of baked potato soup and a 1/2 a Bavarian sandwich, with smoked turkey and Havarti cheese on pretzel bread. It’s funny that even when I go out to eat, I choose a sandwich for my entree! I guess I really am a sandwich kind of a gal.

The soup was awesome! It is probably the best potato soup I’ve eaten at a restaurant yet.

8.5 dinner1

I’m sure it’s really low in calories too (yeah, right!). I try to only eat it once in a while. The sandwich was pretty good as well but I decided not to finish it to have more room for soup.

8.5 dinner2

Now I’m fairly content, but still plan on having a couple homemade chocolate chip cookies tonight before bed.

I forgot to mention that before heading home after work, I stopped at our local Gala Tea store to buy my mom her birthday present. I bought her the cutest light blue tea pot from Amsterdam and a matching cup and saucer. I hope she likes it. And, if she doesn’t, I will gladly take it off of her hands – wink, wink! It’s already wrapped so I’ll post pictures of it next week after she opens it.

Now it’s off to bed for me. Good night all!

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Plain Jane Lunch

August 5, 2009 by

Wow, what a hectic morning it’s been! I’ve been working non-stop since I arrived at the office. Crazy I tell ya! 

After my fantastic morning run, I made a yogurt bowl for breakfast…

8.5 yogurt3

I started with TJ’s low-fat Greek yogurt in vanilla flavor, then added a couple teaspoons each of chopped walnuts, dried pineapple, and banana chips. Awesome! I served it in my new cool bowl that I snagged at the outdoor concert I attended a few weeks ago…

8.5 yogurt

It also came with a matching, curly-Q spoon that changes colors with the temperature. It gets darker when it touches something cold and lighter when it touches something warm. How cool!

8.5 yogurt2

I also stopped at Starbucks on the way to work and grabbed a tall mocha frap. It’s really not bad calorie-wise – only about 230 with light whip cream. But, it ranks very low on the nutritional needs scale if you know what I mean. I don’t have a pic because I drank it before I remembered to take a picture. You all know what it looks like anyway.

The morning went by so fast. Before I knew it, my stomach was growling for lunch. I only brought a plain Jane chicken sandwich today – blah…

8.5 lunch

No frills, no fuss. A girl can’t eat fancy everyday. But, it was on whole-grain bread (you can actually see the little seeds/nuts, which I love!). I also paired my sandwich with a few sweet carrots…

8.5 lunch1

I know, I know, what a dull lunch. I’m hoping dinner makes up for it. We’re having a basil chicken stir-fry dish, one of my husband’s favorites. Can’t wait!

Have a great afternoon and see you all after dinner!

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A Sandwich for My Solo Dinner

August 4, 2009 by

Hola Everyone. Hope you had an awesome day. I was off to a slow start this morning, but then I made a steaming cup of Tazo Awake tea, and I was good to go…at least for a little while.

I ended up having a pretty good day. I had a very long meeting on a project I’m heading and it went fantastic. Now I have even more work to do, but I’m so psyched about it.

For lunch, I had a very healthy salad with a bunch of goodies added in…

8.4 spinach salad

….including:

Chopped Chicken and Baby Spinach Salad

  • 3 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 oz chopped rotisserie chicken
  • 1 1/2 oz mixed cheese (I used cheddar and feta)

Dressing

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

The salad was fantastic and very refreshing on a hot summer afternoon. Although the salad was pretty filling at the time, I did end up having 2 Dr. Kracker flatbreads later in the afternoon.

I was really hoping to take a walk after lunch but my husband’s car battery died and I had to be on stand by to help him. Luckily, a few nice people stopped to give him a jump. We now have a shiny new battery, but the radio doesn’t work. It needs to be “reset” – it’s a built-in security thing. I ended up taking a walk after dinner instead.

Dinner was on my own tonight (hubby working late) so I didn’t feel like making anything elaborate:

8.4 sandwich

I made a 1/2 peppered turkey and low-fat salami sandwich with cheddar cheese on multi-grain bread from the bakery. Caution, this sandwich looks much bigger in the picture than it really was! I also had a few sour cream and onion chips and a few slices of a granny smith apple on the side.

8.4 dinner

Some people need a huge dinner or at least a hot dinner to be satisfied. I literally grew up on sandwiches – they were a necessity in my house with 5 kids all active in team sports. So now, I actually find sandwiches comforting. You can also create so many different and healthy masterpieces with a sandwich. I love experimenting with them, seeing how I can make a better, tastier, and more healthy sandwich. 

And, another great thing about eating a light sandwich dinner – aside from no clean up – is that you have room for dessert!

8.4 chocolate pb

Just like the sandwich, the ice cream looks bigger in the photo because I served it in a very small “dipping bowl” dish. It was actually equivalent to about 1/2 cup.

I have an early morning tomorrow. I’m waking up at 5:45 Am tomorrow to run because I didn’t run today. Night everyone!

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It's Crunch Time…

August 4, 2009 by

I just couldn’t get to sleep last night. My mind was racing and it was really hot in the house, even with the ceiling fan on and the windows open. I didn’t get to sleep until after 12:30 AM, or at least that’s the last time I looked at the clock. So, it’s been a very slow and rough morning. Even though Tuesday is typically a running day for me, I opted to not run this morning because of my bad night. I do plan on taking a walk on at lunch.

I was feeling so groggy at breakfast that I needed a huge energy boost, with a little sugary sweetness added in. I went the cold cereal route and combined a 1/2 cup of cheerios with some Kashi Go Lean Crunch..

Kashi cereal box

Kashi cereals are all-natural and so, so tasty! And, they are full of fiber. There’s 8 g of fiber in the Go Lean Crunch and you get a bunch of omega-3 and protein thrown in – all the things I need to keep me running strong.

Kashi cereal bowl

And this cereal really does pack a huge C-R-U-N-C-H. Seriously, when I eat this cereal, I can’t hear anything that my husband is saying because the crunch is so loud.

Now I’m off to make some of my newly purchased Tazo Awake Tea! Have a great morning everyone.

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Tazo Tea Keeps Me Awake!

August 3, 2009 by

Hey everyone! Can you believe it, after only eating a pear for breakfast, I wasn’t hungry for lunch until 1 PM. I’m so glad I brought my split-pea soup that I had leftover from Saturday. I was hoping the soup would give me extra energy to tackle my afternoon projects.

Pea Soup

Well, the pea soup must have worked because I had a super productive afternoon reviewing video footage and doing other work-related projects. 

I arrived home from work about 6 PM to an awesome dinner prepared by my awesome husband!

8.3.09 dinner

He grilled mesquite-flavored chicken breasts and a huge sweet potato that we shared. It was so yummy that I was sad we didn’t have more – hello appetite!

8.3.09 sweet potato

We also had some fresh cut greens beans and chunks of watermelon (not pictured). After dinner, I had a little piece (1/3 a slice) of the raspberry cream cake from last night.

8.3.09 Raspberry cake

It was just as sweet and delicious as it was last night. During dinner, I found out that my husband bought one of my favorite teas on his quick trip to Super Target….

Tazo Awake Tea

Tazo Awake tea! i just love this stuff! Apparently, hubby was reading my post from the other day and found out that I was out of Awake tea and decided to surprise me with more. How thoughtful…and I thought he didn’t read my blog! Just kidding – I know you do honey.

I can drink tea almost any time during the day, even when it’s hot outside. But I especially love it on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Awake tea just gives me that natural jolt of energy that I sometimes need in the morning. I am sooo looking forward to having a cup tomorrow after my run.

Because I only had a very small piece of cake, I’m thinking of having a cookie or two before bed. Hmm…we’ll see…

Well, time for me to sign off for tonight. Sweet dreams everyone!

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To Stretch or Not To Stretch

August 3, 2009 by

Morning everyone! I have to make this post quick because I am really running behind today.

I had a great morning run even though the wind was pushing at me head on! I always seem to push a little harder when it’s windy, maybe it’s because I want to get finished faster.

After my run, I did some stretching and strength exercises (squats, lunges, abs, etc.). I rarely stretch before my run, I just walk for about 5 minutes then get right into my run. But I always stretch after my run, when my muscles have been warmed up quite a bit. Some experts may argue that you should always stretch before exercising, but this method of stretching has been working for me for years so I’ve kept with it. Also, just last year, researchers from the University of Nevada found that static stretching (stretching before exercising) may actually hinder athletic performance.

After my run, I wasn’t very hungry but wanted to eat a little something before I headed off to work.

Pear1

I had a perfectly ripe pear. So sweet and juicy, and just the right amount of food for my not-so-hungry tummy. I did not have any protein to speak of this morning, but I did bring some Dr. Kracker flatbreads to munch on in case I need a protein fix before lunch.

Alright, gotta scoot for now. Have a great morning.

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A Blue Danube Dinner

August 2, 2009 by

We had such a great evening listening to live classical music outside in a picnic-like setting. The orchestra was playing famous waltzes, including the Blue Danube. I don’t know how to waltz but when they played the Blue Danube, I really wished I knew!

Before the performance, we walked around the concert park to browse some of the vendor tables. They had a children’s instrument petting zoo, where kids could actually play a variety of instruments from strings to brass. Whole Foods also was exhibiting. The store was giving away granny smith apples (Yes, I took one for tomorrow’s lunch!) and samples of a bunch of all-natural hair/skin care products. Check out my loot…

Jason Conditioner

This is Jason’s Lavender and Rosemary curl defining conditioner. I’m looking forward to using this because I have naturally curly hair and need everything I can get to tame it!

Avalon Peppermint cream

And this is Avalon Organics Peppermint Hand and Body lotion. I plan to put this on my heels and feet before I go to bed. I’m hoping it makes my rough runner’s feet a little smoother.

The concert started at 5 PM sharp and our classical music entertainment was complemented by an awesome picnic dinner:

Picnic dinner

We brought rotisserie-like chicken, white cheddar cheese, French garlic rounds, and…..

Hummus2

Three-layer hummus from Trader Joe’s! I bought this a week or so ago and have been waiting for the right occasion to try it. The hummus included the flavors of red pepper, regular, and cilantro. My husband raved about the cilantro flavor and I loved them all.

Hummus3

We also had some super juicy watermelon chunks.

Picnic watermelon2

We brought cut-up veggies as well, but I’m still a little veggied out from my huge, but disappointing, salad at lunch. So no dinner veggies for me.

The performance only lasted until 6:30 PM, so we waited until we returned home to eat our dessert…

Raspberry cake1

A raspberry white chocolate swirl cake. It was so light and fluffy and just the right amount of sweetness. I’m not usually a white chocolate fan, but I loved this cake!

Now, it’s off to bed for me because I have a really busy week and it all starts tomorrow. Have a great night everyone!

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Morning Glory Run

August 2, 2009 by

It was an awesome morning for a run! It was 60 degrees, sunny, and no humidity. Perfect. So, it really goes without saying, I was so in my glory running this morning. On my way around the lake, I even threw in a few speed intervals on my 5-mile run because I had so much energy.

By the time I came home from my run, I was quite the hungry girl. For breakfast, I made a beautiful blueberry breakfast parfait…

Parfait2

Here’s what you’ll need to make the parfait:

Blueberry Greek Yogurt Parfait

  • 1 4-6 oz container Greek yogurt (I used Trader Joe’s nonfat blueberry)
  • 3 tbsp. chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Put a couple of heaping spoonfuls of yogurt in the bottom of a parfait glass (a glass mug or martini glass will also work), then add 1 tablespoon of nuts and about 1/3 of the blueberries. Continue to layer the ingredients in this order until all the ingredients have been used.

Serves one and is about 200 yummy calories. Enjoy!

Parfait1

I just love adding walnuts or pecans to yogurt, because in between all of the creaminess, you get a surprise crunch! And the colors are so pretty, don’t you think?

After breakfast, I spent most of the morning inside making the house acceptable again. Then, my husband and I headed out to do a few errands. We also made time for a little lunch at a local Italian cafe…

Chopped Salad2

I had a huge Italian chopped cobb salad which was brand new on the menu. And I do mean a HUGE salad- it could easily have been split by two people. It included smoked chicken, salami, chickpeas, tomatoes, salad greens, provolone, and tons of fresh basil. It sounds sooo good, right? Well, I thought so too. But after a few bites, the balsamic vinaigrette  dressing was a little too much for me and the basil was really overpowering the taste of all of the other ingredients.

Chopped Salad1

I ended up only eating about 1/3 of the salad. I really wanted to like this salad, but I don’t think I’d order it again.

Now, we’re packing up the car with our picnic supplies. We’re headed to another outdoor concert – this time to hear a variety of waltzes, including the Blue Danube, which is one of my favorites (ok, I’m really not that old, I’ve just heard it so many times that it’s grown on me.) 

Dinner is going to be great though – fresh chicken, hummus, and a raspberry white chocolate roll cake. Can’t wait.

I’ll post pictures later.

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