Stacy Grows Healthy

4 months later

2010-11-03T18:58:00.000-05:00

It's been four months since my last confesion...

Well I'm not catholic, but it certainly feels like I have some confessing to do. I have been working too much, eating too much and not exercising enough.

I'm turning 29 in a couple of days and I would like to make sure I'm my healthiest self by the time I'm 30. So I really need to make my health a top priority.

All your blogs are super motivating, so step one for me will be to start back up reading your posts.

I'll be back later with hopefully an exercise update.

Recipe: Crunchy Granola

2010-07-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

Over that past few years I have been playing around with different breakfasts. One of my favorite is yogurt with fruit and granola. The problem with granola purhcased at the store is often pricey and loaded with fat and sugar. Making it at home gives you the freedom of controlling the sugar and fat and including exactly what you want.

I found a recipe on the New York times website over a year ago and have been modifying it ever since.

I made a new batch of this granola this past weekend and have been enjoying it for breakfast all week.

This batch included:
- 3 cups of rolled oats
- 1 cup of nuts and seeds (I just take a measuring cup and added random nuts - this batch had almond slivers, walnuts, pumkin seeds and sunflower seeds).
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons agave
- salt
- vanilla
- cinnamon

Step 1: Mix all ingredients together

2) Bake at 425 for 40 minutes or so. Stir midway. Watch carefully because it can burn quickly.

3) Store in a dry cool place. This will be good for a month or so.

4) Enjoy!

This is really tasty and it is fun because you can mix up the ingredients any way you like it.

What are your favorite ingredientes for granola?

One step back

2010-06-30T23:16:00.000-05:00

Hello to all my loyal reader. I'm sorry I haven't posted in the past week. I was hit by the trifecta of blog road blocks: super stress at work, a broken camera and a barrage unhealthy choices.

After missing a couple of posts, I noticed my choices get worse and worse. So I really think the blog has been helping keep me motivated. My plan of attack is to take Friday off from work and enjoy a fabulous four day weekend, fix my camera or purchase a new one, and get back to posting!

Even more importantly I'm going to get back on track with my running program and make sure to eat lots of fruits and veggies.

Thanks for being here wonderful blog world!

Green Chicago Restaurant Co-op

2010-06-23T00:32:00.000-05:00

The ten o'clock news on abc last night had a segment on"environmentally sustainable" restaurants. The Green Chicago Restaurant Co-op just announced the initial group of restaurants. This co-ops mission is to group together to make sustainable options more feasible for local restaurants.

This is the list of restaurants currently in the co-op:

Avec
Big Jones
Blackbird
Bleeding Heart Bakery
Blind Faith Cafe
Dining Room at Kendall College
Frontera Grill
Keefer's Restuarant
Poag Mahone's
Roti Mediterranean Grill
Simone's Bar
Sopraffina Marketcaffe (5)
Topolobampo
Trattoria No. 10
Uncommon Ground (2)

Amazingly one of the restaurants on the list, Sopraffina is in the lobby of my office building and Roti is just one block away. Both of these lunch places are super tasty, but I could never get out without spending at least $10. Knowing they support environmentally sustainable practices, I will be more willing to drop a little extra mullah!

I'm really excited about this news and think I need to visit the Frontera Grill and sample some Rick Bayless cuisine.

Fleet Feet's Women's 5K, 10K & Festival

2010-06-22T07:05:00.003-05:00

It's been a little over a week since my half marathon and I am ready for a new challenge. I really want to get faster and while the long races to give me a great sense of accomplishment, they deter me from the speed training I need to do if I want to get faster.

I signed up for the Fleet Feet's Women's 5K which is on July 18th. So I have about a month to train to try and get my speed up. My first and only 5K time was 34:28. I really want to get my 5K time to under 30 minutes. This might be agressive for this timeline, but there will always be another race. A PR would be fantastic!

I also joined a Summer Hockey Mixer, so I will be playing hockey 1-3 times per week for the next couple of months. Hockey is a very sprinty sport and after doing mainly longer runs the past couple of months, I have noticed that I am a bit slower on the ice than ussual. So speed work should help more than just my running. I also want to incorperate a step class here and there because they are so much fun and a great workout.

Knowing I wanted to play hockey and do step, I was worried that I wouldn't have time to run enough to get my speed up. Bobbi at NHerShoes just posted about how she trained for a marathon and got a Boston qualifying time while just 3 running days a week, so I'm going to try to incoperate some of her tips.

This is a rough outline of a schedule. The Hockey nights are pretty set in stone, but the other nights might switch around a little. I'm also going to try to fit some weights in.

Basically in addition to other workouts I am going to try to have 1 sprint workout, 1 tempo run and 1 long run per week. Sprints will be a good warm up and cool down with 1-2 minute followed by 1-3 minutes recovery with probably 4-10 total sprints. Tempo runs will be 3 miles at a fast pace - hopefully they will get faster and faster. Long runs will be 5-6 miles.

Have you increased your speed as a runner? How?

Cedar Valley Sustainable Meat Share

2010-06-21T06:52:00.001-05:00

After seeing Food Inc, I knew I wanted to purchase meat that didn't come from the large CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations). I looked on the Internet and found several meat CSA's that deliver locally. I ended up choosing Cedar Valley Sustainable because they raise chicken, pigs and cows, so we'll get a nice variety.

I picked up our first package from Cedar Valley last week, which was perfect timing because I was just finishing reading Omnivore's Dilemma, which really left me wanting to support local sustainable farmers. This is what we got in our first month's share.

1 dozen eggs

2 lbs ground beef

1 lb ground pork

1 lb Italian sausage

1 package bacon

1 large chuck roast

2 half chickens

1 whole chicken

I was really excited to try this meat because I had heard that farm raised/ free range/grass fed meat tasted better. First off this weekend I made some meatballs. I used the pound of ground pork and mixed it with 3/4 of a pound of ground turkey. These turned out great, but meatballs always taste great to me.

For dinner Saturday night we had one of the half chickens marinaded in BBQ sauce on the grill. I think we might have cooked these on too high heat, so they ended up a little oddly cooked. I'm hoping the next chicken we make comes out better because this was a little disappointing.

Yesterday morning, I broke into the bacon and eggs. I like my eggs cooked hard and these were tasty but no super fresh farm taste. The bacon was different looking out of the package, but it was super tasty (although I think all bacon is super tasty).

TJ liked his breakfast too.

So while I have yet to try all of the different sustainable farm meat, I have to say I don't think the taste is much different than what we are used to. Well the chicken was different, but definitely not better. I think we are so used to the commercially raised meat anything that taste different will take some getting used to. So for now we can be happy that we are supporting local farmers. Perhaps our taste buds will change to enjoy these meats more.

Review: Omnivore's Dilemma

2010-06-18T09:46:00.000-05:00

I have been reading the Omnivore's Dilemma for the past couple weeks, and I think everyone should read this book. I'm going to be giving several of these books out for Christmas or maybe forth of July because this book is seriously eye opening and everyone should know this stuff.

Michael Pollan takes the reader through the American food industry examining the inputs to four separate meals:

1) McDonald's fast food

2) Organic dinner made from purchases at Whole Foods

3) Dinner made from locally & sustainably produce food

4) Dinner made from foods personally grown, foraged or hunted

Most of us 'aware' consumers know that the food that goes into McDonald's empire is not ethically raised by any sense of the imagination. Unfortunately I don't think the masses understand the extent to how unethical the production of this "Food" is.

The entire perfection of nature is turned inside out to make things "cheaper" and quicker for right now. The true cost of production is not taken into account. Following the meat for a McDonald's hamburger was one of the most upsetting things in this book. Cows are forced to eat corn which makes them sick and in need of constant antibiotics because corn is cheap(thanks to government subsidies).

Surprisingly, when Michael starts tracking back the organic food people purchase at Whole Foods, the reader sees that consumers aren't getting what they expect. While no(or very little) pesticides are used in producing their food, the practices are not sustainable at all when production is at such a massive level. Whole Foods does not buy from the local farmer, but from the massive farms in California, Chile and Argentina (for example).

The way Michael explains why massive organic farming isn't sustainable is by sharing his experience spending a week at a very sustainable farm Polyface. Joel Salatin, one of the farmers of Polyface, shows Micheal's the ins and outs of his farm. He explains how the cows and the chickens and the pigs all work together over the same land to create a perfect equilibrium.

While the cows eat the grass, their manure fertilizes the fields which produces grubs that feeds the chickens who spread out the manure to better fertilize the fields. It is all a big circle and becomes hard to see which piece is feeding the next. Over a generation of farming Joel, his father and his son have developed movables chicken coops and cow pastures to optimize the symbiotic relationship.

While reading this book, I became so upset with myself. I understood how terrible the mainstream meat production was, but I still wanted this food. My brain doesn't want to support this, but my stomach is still hungry for convenience. I love to eat out, but I know 99.9% of the restaurants are buying antibiotic pumped meat and pesticide covered produce.

I am working on changing my families habits so we can support local farmers. After watching Food Inc, I felt it was important to vote with my dollars. This book made me understand where I really want to put those dollars. I don't feel like I have given this book justice, so please just read this book. Michael is so good at explaining everything.

Please support your local farmers. There are more and more of them and with more demand, this 'opt out' option will get bigger and bigger. Check out eatwild.com to find local farmers and CSAs.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

Coconut Butter Three Ways

2010-06-17T05:12:00.000-05:00

I bought this coconut butter at Newleaf, the organic grocery store I pick up my produce box from every Saturday. I had seen this all over the blogs and thought I would give it a try.

This week I have tried the coconut butter three different ways. First I made it on a twist of one of my normal breakfasts.

Toasted whole wheat English muffin with dark chocolate dreams and coconut butter drizzled on top. The dark chocolate peanut butter and coconut flavors meshed great. I think the coconut butter made this muffin richer than usual. I also think I needed the added fat because I had been feeling hungry just a few hours after this muffin pre coconut butter.

Next I tried some coconut butter on my first ever batch of overnight oats. I have seen overnight oats everywhere in the blog world and knew I needed to give them a try.

Overnight mix:

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup yogurt

1/3 cup skim milk

Toppings:

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1/4 cup walnuts

drizzle of coconut butter

This was a bust for me. I think I need to try the oats again and either leave out the strawberries or leave out the coconut butter. Not a great combo. Also I'm not sure about adding the coconut butter to cold dished because it hardens completely which is kind of odd for texture.

Lastly, I made some multi grain pancakes. I bought this pancake mix from Costco and it is really fantastic. It is 100% whole wheat with different seeds in it. The pancakes are super filling.

The only downside is a batch is too big for me and too big for my family. I keep it in the fridge but end up having to eat pancakes for a few days in a row when I make these. Check out the nutrition facts.

I had three pancakes and for variety I dressed each one differently. From left to right I have dark chocolate dreams, then naturally nutty butter toffee peanut butter, then coconut butter with unsweetened coconut flakes. All pancakes had banana on top.

I was a little intimidated by the coconut butter after the overnight oats fiasco. But they were fantastic like this. The butter melted into the pancake and it was delicious!

Have you tried coconut butter? What is your favorite way to have it?

Northshore 1/2 Marathon Race Report

2010-06-16T04:29:00.002-05:00

My friend Jody convinced me to sign up for the Northshore half marathon shortly after finishing my first race ever. My spirits were high and while the race was only a 5K, I thought of course I could do a half marathon. Why not? Well a couple months later as the race approached, I lost some of that confidence. The race was this past Sunday. It was VERY tough, but overall I had a fun time and I finished!

On Sunday, I got up at 5am and had a toasted whole wheat English muffin with butter toffee peanut butter (delicious) and strawberry jam. I planned on having a banana as well, but I ended up forgetting it at home. I made myself an ice coffee, grabbed my ipod, garmin and phone off their chargers and hit the road.

On the drive five miles or so from my exit, I randomly look at my gas gauge and notice I am passed empty! Ahhhh! The gas light never came on. I got off at the next exit, fueled up and then followed the detour signs to get back onto the highway. Of course I got off where you can't get back on. It is about 6am at this point and I am starting to get a bit nervous about time. About then my friend Jody text'd me to say she was running late and wouldn't be there until 6:30.

Once I get to the race, I easily found a parking spot and headed off to find the bathroom and scope out the starting line. I met Jody back at the car geared up and realized my Garmin was dead! So much for it charging all night. Grrr!

We went for a quick warm up jog and then got situated for the start. Jody started with the 8-9 minute milers and I started with the 12 minute milers.

Miles 1-5 went really well. I was averaging about a 12 min/mile pace which is what I was planning. The course was through a suburban neighborhood and it had a slow incline at the beginning. This was pretty cool because you could see the sea of people ahead of you.

About mile 5 I noticed the blister on my toe starting to form. I should have planned ahead because I have had this blister before and it probably could have been prevented with a simple band aid. My lungs and legs were still feeling great though.

At the end of mile 6 we went down this HUGE hill. It kind of hurt my knees going down so steep. I had heard of this infamous "Park Avenue Hill" and had foolishly thought it was one of the previous hills.

Once we got down the big hill, we turned a corner and there was just as big of a hill up! Ouch - I made it to the top running but seriously huffing and puffing. There was even an ambulance waiting at the top for the hill's victims. I had past the mile 7 marker on the hill, so I was officially more than half way.

I kept trudging along and felt pretty good. In the middle of mile 8 we turned a corner and were running the opposite direction of the racers that were a few miles ahead of us. This was really neat and I was hoping to see my friend Jody, but no luck she had already passed.

While it was cool to see the other runners, this did kind of bum me out a bit. I was running mostly alone with a few people in front and behind me, but the group already heading back was packed. I felt a little bit SLOW at this point.

We were running into onto an Army Base and eventually split off from the other runners, to run a circle around the base. At this point a little into mile 9, my legs were tightening up. I was feeling tired. I kept trying to pump myself up only 4 more miles to go! I got to mile 10 and was DRAGGING.

A bunch of people had been running up to me, passing me, then walking and me passing them. We had done this probably 10 times over the course of the past 10 miles. I had been running the whole way and thought maybe I should walk a little, my legs we killing me. Once I stopped, I realized my legs were tightening up immediately. I decided I better just run, but at this point my legs were bricks, so I walked. I didn't want to hurt myself and reminded myself this is my first one, just finish.

I walked to mile 11 and started running again. Not 100 ft later my calf spasmed. OUCH. So I had to walk. I tried running several more times, but it wasn't happening. I was in serious pain and the nicely manicured Army lawns looked very inviting. All I wanted to do was lie down and cry (pain serious pain at this point). But instead I trudged along, probably scaring some camera men with my pained expressions.

Eventually and finally I heard the music at the end. Jody came running out to finish with me. I had to walk, but once I saw the finished line I managed a hobbled run, my calf's were full on locked up as I crossed the finish line, but it was great! I did it!

My official time was 3:08:39. Not great, but I finished. Honestly the last 3 miles took more than an hour, I was in so much pain. I am really proud of myself that I finished.

I don't think I'm going to run another half marathon anytime soon. I really want to work on speed, and I want to make sure I have enough time to seriously train before I do this again. Perhaps a Northshore 1/2 in 2011?

This was way out of my comfort zone. I almost decided not to do it weeks ago, and early Sunday morning I was considering not going (lazy bum!). I'm glad I went and did it. I do think it was a little much for my current running ability, but I am really glad I completed the goal I set.

Recipe: Potato Pancakes

2010-06-15T07:59:00.001-05:00

When I had 4 large organic potatoes growing sprouts I knew I needed to come up with some way to use them. I really don't cook with potatoes very much so my friend google, helped me figure out what to do.

I found Emeril's Potato Pancake recipe and after reading several reviews thought it was worth a shot. I'm not a big measurer, so I didn't follow the recipe exactly.

Ingredients:

- 4 large potatoes (pealed)

- 1/2 large onion

- 1 egg

- handful of parsley (I grabbed a few leaves from the garden)

- 1 tbsp of flour

- 1 tbsp of italian breadcrumbs

- salt and pepper

Step 1 - grate potatoes and onion

Step 2 - squeeze excess liquid out of potato and onion mixture. I just got my hands dirty and grabbed gobs of the mixture and squeezed. There might have been a cleaner/classier way to do it, but this worked. Below is a picture of the excess liquid.

Step 3 - Mix in egg, flour, bread crumbs, parsely, salt and pepper. Mash up together - again I just used my hands.

Step 4 - heat oil in frying pan. I used probably a half a cup (not the healthies recipe - but worth it!) Add scopps of batter and mash down into a pattie. Fry for about 5 minutes per side.

Step 6 - Enjoy! These are fantastic with apple sauce on the side.

This recipe is not very nutritious and is kind of loaded with fat, so I decided to pair this with some healthy grilled chicken and veggies. The plain skewers are for my veggie hating husband.

Tasty dinner! I ended up having 2 skewers and a side salad and maybe a second potato pancake :)

Raspberries and Slip n' Slides

2010-06-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Check out my post from yesterday to hear briefly about my half marathon. I will be putting out a detailed race report in the next couple of days.

Last year when I was starting my garden, I knew I wanted to grow some fruit. I planted strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Unfortunately raspberries don't produce any fruit their first year, strawberries only put off a kind of pitiful crop in their first year (at least for me) and the blackberry plant died.

But raspberries come back STRONG in the second year. I planted one small plant and this year I have probably 20 or 30 shoots. The shoots I don't believe put out fruit this year, but the branches from the original plant are already giving me berries.

There are many many berries already formed from last years wimpy branches. I think I am going to be hit with a surplus when these puppies ripen. Have you ever frozen raspberries? Is there anything special I need to do - I was thinking to just throw them in a freezer bag and freeze.

I am excited to see how many berries I get next year. Wikipedia warns about raspberries taking over gardens with their shoots. My garden is so big and kind of hard to keep up with, so I am happy for the raspberries which don't take much work to take over a good piece of it.

More fun in the garden, we have more lettuce than we know what to do with! Any advice on how to package this up to give it away?

My broccoli plants grew a bunch more shoots after the main head was cut. Score!

Not really related to the garden except that we set this up right next to the garden and it keeps my son very happy while I am gardening, the toy story slip n' slide. Possibly the best $7.99 I have ever spent. He hasn't quite gotten the slide part down yet.

I'm not going to lie, I went down this a few times. So much fun.

What childhood toys have you played with recently?

I finished!

2010-06-13T13:08:00.000-05:00

I completed the Northshore half marathon this morning! It was tough and I have a ton to say about it. I want to give it the attention it deserves, so I'll probably post a full race report later this week.

Plus I want to wait for the pictures to come out. I brought my camera. I was limping so much afterwards, so I was to tired to run back to the car to grab it.

I'll leave you with this beautiful souvenir I'm left with.

I was going to get a pedicure today after the run, but I think I might give this blister a couple days to heal.

Do you have advice on what to do to help with the extremely sore muscles?

Final Preparations

2010-06-12T20:25:00.000-05:00

I'm keeping this post short and sweet. Right after I hit publish I'm hitting the hay. I'm really excited for my race in the morning. The weather looks like it should be good, not too hot and no rain. I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way.

My plan is to get to sleep by 9pm tonight and wake up at 5am for a total of 8hours. I haven't had 8 hour of sleep in weeks. I have all my gear layed out, so I should be able to hop up get dressed grab an english muffin and a banana and be on the road by 5:15. I can be quick :)

I'm hoping to get there by 6:15 and the race starts at 7:00, so I should have enough time to hook up with my friend Jody and scope out the start and finish lines.

I'm hoping I have enough enery to write a race recap tomorrow. If not tomorrow, expect it on Monday.

Thank you for all the nice comments on my post yesterday. You guys really helped pump me up.

Are you doing anything exciting this weekend?

1/2 Marathon Jitters

2010-06-11T05:28:00.000-05:00

There is something about driving through Chicago on Lake Shore drive in the Spring or Summer that makes me want to go out and run. It is the beautiful lake and beaches, but probably more so the many many Chicagoans that are out there enjoying the sun and running!

My marathon is this weekend, wait no it must be qualified, my 1/2 marathon is this weekend. To me it feels like a marathon. I am definitely feeling a bit scared. I have to drive up Lake Shore Drive to get there, so hopefully there will be some early morning runners to help pump me up.

I have yet to run more than 6 miles in one go. I kind of fell off the training program because the long runs we so daunting that I wasn't doing anything. After about a week and a half of that, I decided to just try and run. So for the past couple of weeks I have been running between 3-6 miles every couple of days. I feel ok and I am just going to do my best on Sunday, I can't do any better than that.

I am hoping to run the whole way, but if I have to stop and walk I'm not going to beat myself up. I don't think I gave myself enough time to train for a race of this distance. Honestly I'm ready to mix up my workouts. I feel like everything has become runcentric and I have to run a certain distance and keep a certain time. I'm looking forward to getting past this race.

My plan is to have a pasta dinner on Saturday night and a normal breakfast in the morning. I have to pick up my packet tomorrow, so when I get there on Sunday I wont need to worry about too much. Wish me luck!

Have you run any long races? How did it go?

Garden Thieves

2010-06-10T06:04:00.005-05:00

There are thieves in my garden! Stealing my strawberries.

I know they are delicious, but birdies beaks off! The birds are getting several strawberries, but they 100% stay away from the one planted in the pot on my deck. I think my son and/or dog have scared them away. Plus there are so many in the garden, they don't need to venture close to the house. I have been thinking about getting a second pot for the deck.

Even with the thieving birds, I am getting lots and lots of strawberries. It is honestly shocking to me. Last year I really only got one or two berries every few days. This crop was pulled in one day! Two days later I pulled another handful out.

My husband thinks it is great. He thinks we can freeze them, so he can use them in his tea and we wont have to buy frozen strawberries. I don't think he realizes how wonderful fresh strawberries are and that most will end up like this:

And devoured within 30 minutes of being picked!

Gardening is so much fun! This is my second year and we are getting so much wonderful produce. If you have never gardened before don't be intimidated. The worst that could happen is the plants die, but you could end up with tons of tasty fruits or veggies!

Do you have any suggestions on how to keep birds away from berries?

Green Monster! Really Green!

2010-06-09T05:38:00.002-05:00

Green Monsters are all over the blog world, but I made my first one based off of Bobbi's recipe sometime last summer. I used to make "Green Monsters" after hard workouts. I put "Green Monster" in quotes because these always came out purple for me. I'm not one to measure, so I think I put in too many blueberries and not enough green (Kale, spinach or whatever). They were delicious and not quite as scary being purple so I just kept at it.

Lately I have been overrun with produce. I had some spinach that was going bad and decided to make a truly Green Monster. You could never taste the spinach or kale in my purple monsters, so I thought a green one might not be bad either.

Ingredients:

- bowl ful of spinach

- 1/3 cup frozen blueberries

- 3 large frozen strawberries

- 1/2 frozen banana

- milk

I think I might have over blended this because it came out very frothy! TJ would not have anything to do with it, but I enjoyed mine alot. I think I might start adding this to my daily routine. It is pretty low calorie, but super nutrient dense, plus it will help me use up some of my aging produce!

Do you have any tasty variations of the Green Monster?

Update:
Check out Eating Journey for a great giveaway!

Chicago Healthy Living Challenge

2010-06-08T06:01:00.011-05:00

When I heard that Bob Harper from the biggest loser would be at the Chicago Healthy Living Challenge at Navy Pier this past weekend, I thought it would be great. My friend Taryn is a big fan of Bob's. I am a huge fan of Biggest Loser and while I am a bigger Jillian fan, I thought it would be really neat to meet Bob.

We decided to get there around 11 because Bob was due to show up at 12. When we got to the expo around 11:15 there were already probably 100 people in line to meet Bob. We decided to just walk around and see Bob from afar.

There were a couple of booths that I found interesting including CARA, VitaMix and a child fitness course which TJ liked. Aside from the few interesting booths, it felt like we were in an infomercial. We could have lost fat and inches in 45 minutes or 3 dress sized in 90 seconds. Ugh - not my cup of tea!

Bob eventually showed up which was exciting. I have to say that I was really not impressed by his speach at all. He was saying 'why aren't you where you want to be?' I just got the impression he was very much like if you aren't at your goal you must be doing it wrong. Maybe I was just cranky because someone had just handed me a packet on lapband surgery, but his message didn't come across great for me.

I love the biggest loser and think it is very inspiring, but I don't believe it is the right way to loose weight. I am much more into gradual changes with some room to wiggle. I am completely aware that it will take me longer to reach my goals this way, but I am hoping I will be much more likely to remain successful this way.

Michael Ventrella, this years Biggest loser, also showed up. This man is inspiring! He lost 260+ lbs and looks great. His mother, Maria was also on the show and she too looks fabulous! They were both really gracious and are truly inspirations.

While it was great to see Bob, Michael and Maria, the expo was dissapointing. At a healthy living expo, the only true swag we were given was a candy bar and a bag of potato chips?!?! Truly odd.

We did get some coupons for interesting foods and I got some information on the Chicago Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon. Maybe I will do this one next summer.

I am signed up for the Healthy Living Summit coming up in Chicago in August. I have much higher expectations for this because of the women who are throwing it. If someone hands me a lap band information or reccomends some booth where I can loose 3 inches in 45 minutes at that conference, I will be truly shocked!

Is anyone else signed up for the Healthy Living Summit?

Too Much Produce!

2010-06-07T06:24:00.005-05:00

On Sunday or Monday depending on how busy I am over the weekend I like to put together a rough plan for the week. I hate wasting produce or really any food, so I try to take an inventory of what we have and what will go bad. Then I figure out what we should eat for the week. To keep things interesting I have been searching for new recipe's.

Produce is the biggest thing when I'm planning out our meals because it goes bad the quickest. Lately we have had too much produce - gasp! I know how can you have too much produce? Well we get our weekly produce box, plus the garden is putting out a lot of veggies. Right now we are swamped with broccoli and lettuce. Soon we will have our hands full with peas and tomatoes. This is fantastic and I am in no way complaining!

I picked up our produce box on Saturday morning with my handy Envitote! I bought this bag from NHerShoe's open sky shop. This bag is really great. When it is empty it folds up nice and small, but it has sturdy sides so it can handle heavy cargo.

This week from our Newleaf produce box we got:

- 4 Bananas

- 3 pairs

- 3 apples

- 4 oranges

- 1 lbs strawberries

- 4 beets

- 1 lg onion

- 3 yellow squash

- 1 bunch of kale

- 1 head of lettuce

From Newleaf, I also picked up some coconut butter that I have seen around the blogs. I almost bought this a couple weeks ago, but the price tag made me hold off. I decide to splurge this week. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Hint - do not put this in the fridge.

Since we have been overwhelmed with produce lately, I downgraded our Newleaf order to just a fruit box. I will probably miss the variety, but I can always fill in what we are missing.

So after reviewing everything this is our plan for the week:

Sunday: Grilled chicken kabobs with onions & squash, potato pancakes and a large salad

Monday: Salmon in flaky pastry with broccoli and large salad

Tuesday: Frozen pizza and large salad (operation freezer defrost still in effect)

Wednesday: Tacos or taco salad w/ avocados, broccoli, and sweet potatoes

Thursday: Grilled pork chops, apple sauce, roasted potatoes and salad

Friday: Leftovers and salad

Saturday: Pasta with red sauce, garlic bread, broccoli and salad (1/2 marathon carbo load)

Sunday: Out!

Do you plan out your meals?

P.S. Thanks for all of your comments last week. I really like hearing everyone's thoughts!

Food Inc

2010-06-04T05:56:00.000-05:00

I had been wanting to see Food, Inc ever since it came out. I had heard so many things about it, including that it would make me turn vegetarian. Finally a friend of mine with Netflix brought it over. Oh my goodness, this movie is great!

The movie talks about food production in the United States. It explains how big business over the past several years has taken over. I honestly want to watch the movie again with a note pad because there was so much interesting information.

It is really scary how so few coporations can have such a huge influence on our country's food production. Farmers are forced to bend to the wills of big businesses (Tyson & Perdue) otherwise they risk having their contracts canceled.

The scenes showing chicken houses and cows 'pastures' were horrifying. Chickens never see the daylight - ever! And cows are ankle deep in manure.

It also talks about how cows are fed corn because corn is cheap! Thank you government supported agriculture. Corn is not only cheap, but it fattens the cows up so that they can be slaughtered in 1/4 the time of grass fed cows. This isn't safe for the cows because genetically they should be eating grass. The corn can actually kill the cow if not for being fed a constant stream of antibiotics. Yuck!

My main take away from the movie was that we as consumers need to vote with our purchases. As more and more consumers demand organic produce and ethically raised meat, farmers will come to meet that demand. As long as we buy McDonalds and cheap meat at the supermarket, big business will continue to rule.

Over the past few months I have become more and more interested in locally grown and raised food. I have been buying a weekly organic produce box and after seeing Food, Inc I decided to buy a share in a local farm and recieve a monthly package of meat and eggs. I will recieve my first package of meat in a couple of weeks and I'm really looking forward to it!

I am not prefect and I think it is easy to think that since we can't eat 100% organic, then we shouldn't try. But I really think that if we all can make small changes, the local farmers will be able to grow. As more and more people make sustainable choices, the farmers economies of scale will grow and the cost of organic will come down.

Have you seen Food, Inc? Did it cause you to make any changes in your food purchases?

Superfood: Broccoli

2010-06-03T06:02:00.002-05:00

Broccoli is one of the original superfoods loaded with nutrients and many healthy benefits including: increasing immunity, increasing cardiovascular health, reducing risk of cataracts, building bones and reducing birth defects. Broccoli is high in vitamin C, K and A and full of dietary fiber.

Broccoli is also rather easy to grow at home. I attempted to grow it from seed last year and was unsuccessful. It is possible that I pulled up all the seedlings thinking they were weeds. This year I bought a package with eight beginner broccoli plants and they have grown super quickly.

I cut two heads of broccoli this weekend and roasted them for our Memorial Day cookout. I was worried they would be over ripe (not sure if this is possible), but they were actually kind of young, very similar to the expensive broccolini. They were super tasty and I am looking forward to eating the rest of them.

After I but the head off, I noticed there were a few other florets coming out of the same plants. I am hoping I will get multiple heads per plant, but I have a feeling the others will be kind of small.

Along with broccoli, I pulled out a bunch of baby lettuce, a few raddished and a few strawberries.

I was reading that some broccoli plants are perrenials meaning they come back every year. I am hoping that mine come back.

What are your favorite things to grow?

P.S. Check out the WiFi Scale give away by DC Rainmaker

Recipe: Walnut & Date Bars

2010-06-02T03:26:00.000-05:00

I bought my son a Walnut and Date Kind bar a few weeks ago and it was delicious, but it was 2 bucks for a 150 calorie bar! The bar seems to be mostly made up of walnuts and dates, but there were some other random ingredients - I wish I kept the package.

I decided to try and replicate the bar at home, and they came out really well!

Really tough ingredient list:

- 2/3 cups walnuts

- 12 large dates (about 1 cup)

Step 1: Toast walnuts

Step 2: Pit dates

Step 3: Chop walnuts. I used the food processor and I chopped them pretty finely. You could probably keep them in bigger pieces depending on your preference.

Step 4: Chop dates. I put these in the food processor as well. I had to pulse these because they jammed up the processor a little. This turns into almost a paste.

Step 5: Combine date and walnut mixture and kneed together. Beware - make sure the walnuts have cooled.

Once combined this is what it should look like:

Step 6: Form into bars and wrap.

These were delicious. It made 2 bars and probably another half that I ate strait from the bowl. I kept the bars in the fridge because they didn't have any preservatives. The longer they stayed in the fridge the worse they tasted. But by worse I mean not as super delicious, but still very tasty.

These are definintely a winner and will probably become a staple snack in our house.

Check out Jill's So Called Health Life for a kind bar giveaway!

What are your favorite bar flavors?

14 Day Recommitment

2010-06-01T05:33:00.058-05:00

I committed to a 14 day "detox" a couple of weeks ago. I have been slowly putting back on some of the weight I lost and I wanted to recommit to healthy eating. My guidelines were kind of vague, but rather restrictive. No fried foods, no ice cream, eat fruit and veggies and work out.

It is so simple to talk about, we all know how to do it, but actually doing it is the tricky part. I did an ok job of recording what I ate, only forgetting a couple of times. But I didn't follow the plan. I ate ice cream and fried foods, but I did eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Most of the days breakfast and lunch were on plan, but by the time dinner rolled around, I was famished and ready to eat anything. I think I really need to plan better and have a good hearty snack in the afternoon.

Well I hate to have to do it this way, but I think I need to go back to counting calories at least for a little bit. My sister has been telling me this for months, so yes Sam you were right! With this plan, I can have ice cream and I can have chips, but I need to account for it.

Source

So this is my 14 day recommitment to a healthy diet. From June 1st through the 15th I will:

1) Eat 1500 - 2000 calories

2) Exercise at least 20 minutes a day (every day)

3) Eat more healthy food than unhealthy food

This leaves gives me more room to falter while still staying within the guidelines. I'm a math person, so I always like playing with the numbers. 2000 calories might sounds like a lot for someone trying to lose weight, but I am not a skinny minny and I know how I get on less than 1500 calories (STARVING!). I am a believer in doing something you can stick to. If I loose 1lb a week, I will be happy.

I will be tracking my eating and calories on this google document. Call me out if it isn't updated. I really need to do this. I'm starting to feel defeated, which is so NOT me! I am debating about putting my weight on the blog. I'm not sure about it. We'll see. I'll let you all know how this goes.

How do you get yourself back on track?

Recipe: Thai Green Curry

2010-05-28T07:19:00.030-05:00

I love Thai food, but I have not been super successful recreating meals at home. I have tried to make basil chicken and pad thai countless times, but they always come out tasting fishy.

The Thai Kitchen green curry recipe on the back of the coconut milk can only called for minimal fish sauce, so I thought I would give it a try. As ussual, I modified the recipe slightly.

The ingredients:

large chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
small yellow onion roughly chopped
2 carrots
a few mushrooms
1 can bamboo shoots
14oz coconut milk
1 tbls thai kitchen green curry paste
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup frozen peas
1 cup dry brown rice

1) Simmer coconut milk and curry paste for 5 minutes

2) Add chicken, vegetables & chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes, reduce heat to low and cook for additional 30 minutes. I cooked this longer because I added in so many more vegetables and I wanted to make sure they were all tender.

3) Cook brown rice to package directions

This recipe was pretty easy and turned out tasty. I wished it was spicier and ended up adding in some red pepper flakes, but I will probably add more curry paste next time.

Superfood: Sweet Potato

2010-05-27T05:53:00.000-05:00

Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious vegetables. They are high in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium and manganese. Americans generally do not get enough orange vegetables (pumpkins, sweet potatoes, carrots). We really should have a serving every day!

I love baked sweet potatoes. Unlike baked regular potatoes, they don't need a ton of toppings because they have more flavor on their own.

When we have chili (and an hour to bake a sweet potato) I eat it in a baked SP. This means every football Sunday I am getting my vitamin B6!

This past weekend, I decided to try a new way to include sweet potatoes in my diet. Sweet potato home fries. These were delicious! I started with Paula Dean's recipe and modified it.

2 medium sweet potatoes (cubes)
1 small onion (diced)
2 tbls olive oil
salt and pepper

Boil sweet potatoes for 6 minutes and drain
Heat olive oil in frying pan and saute onions for 2 to 3 minutes on medium high heat.
Add sweet potatoes to onions and season with sale & pepper. Saute for 5 minutes or so.
Enjoy!

My husband is super picky about vegetables. But I have found a way where even he will eat them. Sweet potato chips.

To make these, slice the sweet potato very thin, a mandolin would probably make it easier. Then drizzle a little olive oil on the sweet potatoes and rub the oil all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crisp. I have cooked these at a variety of temperatures, based on whatever else I was cooking. I think 400 is probably ideal.

Exploding Garden

2010-05-26T06:32:00.002-05:00

The garden is starting to explode, both with bounty and weeds! We pulled out a probably a third of our radishes, giving us an overflowing bowl that should last us a couple weeks.

Our strawberry plants have lots and lots of fruits. We are trying to balance, letting the fruit ripen and getting our hands on them before the birds.

We have already picked a handful of berries. Ours are much smaller than the organic strawberries we got in our produce box.

Our broccoli is developing into heads. This is especially exciting because last year we did not get any broccoli. TJ was running between his baby pool and the broccoli this weekend pouring water on it, all while telling me he wanted to eat it, and that I should cook it. So adorable!

While our fruits and vegetables are doing well, so are the weeds, especially clover. They are everywhere!

Luckily my husband is helping a ton with the weeding!

After an hour or so of both of us weeding on Saturday and Sunday, the garden looked a little better.

There must be a way to limit the weed growth, but we definitely haven't found it. I am a little nervous about the hot weather in July and August because that is when I remember the weeds being the worst.

Does anyone have any tricks for keeping weeds at bay?

Recipe: Spring Green Tart

2010-05-25T05:32:00.003-05:00

My friend Taryn receieved hon tsai tai in her weekly produce box and mentioned it to me along with the fact that she had no idea what it was or how to cook it. I looked around online and found that it was good in salads or stir fries.

I stumbled upon an old post on Erin's Kitchen of a Spring Green Tart recipe that used both hon tsai thai and rainbow chard. Chard was coming in my produce box, so I suggested we combine the two to make the tasty looking tart. I didn't have all of the ingredients and I ended up forgetting a couple along the way, so it is slightly different than Erin's.

Ingredients:

1 puff pastry
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 package goat cheese (5.3 ounces I think)
half a bunch of green chard
large handful of hon tsai tai
olive oil
salt and pepper

Step 1: Thaw puff pastry. As Erin recommended, I put a wet paper towel around the pastry. This seriously sped up the 40 minute thaw time mentioned on the package. Once the pastry is thawed, put it on a greased baking sheet. Use a fork to scrunch the edge to create a border for the tart. Mix together 1 egg yolk and a splash of water and brush onto the border of the pastry.

Step 2: Remove stems from chard and hon tsai tai and roughly chop. Sautee olive oil and chopped garlic for 2-3 minutes, then add greens. Cook until greens are wilted. Put aside to cool slightly.

Step 3: Mix cottage cheese, salt, pepper and splash of olive oil. Spoon on top of tart. Add greens to tart and sprinkle goat cheese on top.

Step 4: Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes or so and enjoy!

Taryn and I each ate half of this for lunch and loved it. It was pretty filling, but so delicious we were happy we didn't have to share with another person. The only thing we might change is to decrease the amount of goat cheese.

Eating at home

2010-05-24T05:31:00.082-05:00

I love to eat out. I love to order take out. Thai food, Chinese food, Pizza, Burgers, Italian - you name it, I probably like it. Eating out right now is counterproductive to many of my current goals: losing weight, saving money and cleaning out the freezer.

So as a family we have decided to really cut out the eating out/take out. We love it, so this isn't 100%, we're trying to limit it to once a week. With my weekly produce box from Newleaf and my freezer full of tons of food, I am creating weekly meal plans.

My produce box this week had:

5 apples
3 oranges
1 grape fruit
3 spring turnips
1 large head of lettuce
bunch of chard
4 russet potatoes
1 lb strawberries
pint of mushrooms
garlic
4 bananas

The large squash is actually from last weeks box; it is a kabocha squash. My friend Taryn gets a produce box from a CSA and she got hon tsai tai this week and had no idea what to do with it. I found this Spring Green Tart recipe and realized I had the chard coming in my box. We decided to have a cooking day this weekend, so she brought a bunch of her stuff over. From her box she brought hon tsai tai, baby spinach, carrots, parsnips and rhubarb.

After picking up my box on Saturday morning, I wrote out a meal plan for the week. I mostly only plan out dinner because breakfast and lunch are more spontaneous. Breakfast is usually a homemade breakfast sandwich, a bagel with almond butter and jam, or yogurt and granola. Lunch is leftovers or a frozen meal with some produce.

Saturday: Chicken Curry w/ mushrooms, carrots, onions and peas

Sunday: Lunch: Spring green tart. Dinner: Spinach and Artichoke dip, grilled pork chops with corn on the cob and salad

Monday: Salmon Dream Dinner with roasted parsnips and carrots and salad

Tuesday: Grilled pork loin w/ corn on the cob and salad

Wednesday: Tacos w/ turnips and salad

Thursday: Baked chicken tenders with chard and roasted potatoes and salad

Friday: Frozen Pizza night with salad

Eating at home is easier with a plan, but it will still be a challenge to fight the daily urge to order something tasty and easy. I don't plan the fruit into the meals, but I do serve fruit at meal times. Sometimes the fruit can be overlooked, but if I put it on our plates at breakfast and/or dinner, we generally eat it up.

Dream Dinners

2010-05-21T08:45:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I bought a Groupon for 50% off at Dream Dinners. I browsed their website, picked out the dinners I wanted to make, and called them to schedule an appointment.

On my scheduled Saturday morning, I went to Dream Dinners in Lakeview and made eight different meals for our family. When I arrived, a Dream Dinner's associate gave me a stack of index cards with the recipe's I had chosen and gave me a brief overview of what to do. It was a little overwhelming, almost all of the stations were full and I was left searching for a opening.

All of the customer's were friendly and we kind of figured it out as we went along. Dream Dinners had everything down to a science, with about six different stations each hosting two to three different recipes. Each station had all of the ingredients conveniently chopped to size with the appropriate measuring utensils in easy reach. All in all it was a plesant experience and the food turned out ok.

Last week I made (aka baked in the oven) Mediterranean Pasta with Chicken. This was chicken, olives, artichokes, and sundried tomotoes with an alfredo pesto sauce mixed with pasta. It was tasty and a little different which was nice, but I thought the sauce was a little too much.

When you pack up the food, you stick on the instructions for how to cook the dinner. This is super helpful because shortly after you put something in your freezer it easily can become unrecognizable and/or forgotten.

I still have not mastered the art of food photography, but to bring a little more life to this here is my tasty dinner. Pasta, strawberries and salad. Not bad. It was super convienent to be able to take this from the freezer and have a meal ready to serve within an hour with almost no work needed.

So overall, I think Dream Dinners is tasty and SUPER convienent, but I think it is a touch expensive and the food isn't amazing. I don't think we will go back anytime soon because I do really enjoy cooking myself, but I could see us using it again sometime if I get in a cooking funk.

Race Report: C4Miles 2010

2010-05-20T08:10:00.054-05:00

So I signed up for a half marathon, yes kind of crazy. I have never run more than 5 miles at one time in my life. Never ever! I was buzzing from the adrenaline of finishing my first race when I signed up. A couple days after signing up and deciding on a training plan, I realized how hard this would really be.

I decided I needed some extra motivation to help push me to keep up the training. So not even a week after siging up for the half marathon, I registered for a 4 mile race the following weekend.

The race was really nice. It was along the lake on the north side of Chicago. There were only a few hundred people in the race so it was more spacious than Wrigley. I ended up running the race pretty much on my own. There were people in front and behind me, but it was just me, where in Wrigley there were people on all sides. Running along the lake was really beautiful, the scenery helped make the time move.

I had my Garmin Forerunner, which tells me how far and how fast I run, and the mileage for the course was kind of off which was frusterating. When I reached the half way point I had already run 2.04 miles or so, and at the finish line I had run 4.11 miles.

I ended up picking up my speed too early at the end because I thought I was closer to the end than I was. The course could have been correct with me just zig zagging to much. I guess it is a good lesson to learn for the Half, the Garmin is helpful, but the course markers are LAW.

My Half instigator, Jody joined me for the race and after finishing a good 10 minutes before me, cheered me on for the last hundred yards or so. She urged me to pick it up, but I didn't have much left to give. My official time was 35:32 (11:23 min pace), but my Garmin said 45:31 but 4.11 miles so 11:05 pace, which is 2 seconds faster than my pace at Wrigley!

It was nice to finish strong and it took me a good five minutes to recover at the end. That is what I thought I should feel like at the end of a race.

Superfoods: Tomatoes

2010-05-19T06:23:00.074-05:00

Superfoods are foods with high nutrient content that help reduce risks of diabetes, cholesterol, heart disease, cancer and more. There were 14 original superfoods, but many more have been identified.

Tomatoes are one of the original superfoods boasting disease fighting lycopene. Lycopene is said to help fight all sorts of cancers including lung, breast and prostate. Additional benefits from the tomato could reduce risks of heart attacks and strokes. All good things!

Tomato sauce and paste actually have more lycopene than fresh tomatoes. It is recommended to have a serving every one to two days. Tomatoes are versatile and tasty so this is an easy addition to most diets.

Tomatoes are also one of the easiest vegetables to grow, and they produce so much bounty that they should be included in any backyard garden. With tomato plants in the backyard, you can have fresh tomatoes in your salad all summer along with plenty of extra tomatoes to freeze, share or make into sauce. I just finished using up my frozen tomatoes this weekend in a big batch of chili. Earlier this winter I made several BIG batches of tomato sauce with our home grown tomatoes.

The weather in Chicago has been warmer than usual, so we decided to plant our tomatoes this past weekend, which is a little earlier than usual. My husband took the lead on tomato planting this year. He started by turning the soil. Then he added some top soil and evened everything out.

After he got all the plants into the ground, I helped by putting the tomato cages on. I learned last year that it is much easier to get the tomato cages on when the plants are small. Hopefully we get lots of tasty tomatoes this year!

Do you prefer fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce?

1/2 Marathon Planning

2010-05-18T06:21:00.000-05:00

After running the Race to Wrigley I felt a little disappointed because I didn't get that I'm so tired I could puke feeling. I just thought the race was a little anticlimactic.

Yes I finished and I ran the whole way, but with all the build up it seemed a little to easy. I mean I had been planning and training (well kind of) for 3+ months. I think I might have run a little too conservatively because I was worried I wouldn't be able to finish.

I mentioned this to my hockey teammates and fellow racers and we decided to go home and review the upcoming races to decide on another race where I could go harder and leave it all on the course. I was thinking another 5K and to try to increase my time or maybe a 10K.

Jody, one of my teammates, threw out the idea of the Northshore Half Marathon on June 13th. I was still all excited, having just completed my first race and thinking it was too easy, so I agreed.

We signed up for this about two weeks ago and I have since been questioning my sanity. I know I will feel so accomplished when I complete this (thinking positively). I do have doubts to my capabilities, but I am trying to keep them in check. I can do this, I will do this, it will be great!

I have been trying to follow a training plan. This calls for 3 runs a week with one long run which increases by 1 mile every week. I completed my 5 mile run this weekend and it was tough! It has been really difficult to get my morning runs in during the week. I need to work on getting to bed earlier so 6 am isn't so painful.

This is my run schedule for this week:
5/17-5/23
Tuesday - 3.5 mile easy run
Wednesday - 30 min cross train
Thursday - 3.5 mile easy run
Saturday - 45 min cross train
Saturday - 7 mile long run

Operation Defrost Freezer: Inventory

2010-05-17T06:14:00.107-05:00

After declaring my mission last week, I had to inventory both freezers to truly understand the situation and prepare for action!

This is embarrassing. We have SO much food it is ridiculous. Other than produce and dairy we should not need to buy anything for a couple months. This post is case in point for the dangers of a chest freezer. Beware interested buyers!

Salmon burgers (5lbs)
Hot dogs (10)
American cheese slices (3lbs)
Eye of round steak (1lb)
Pork chops(3lbs)
9 chicken breasts (~7 lbs)
Turkey mignons (2)
Salmon filet (1)
White fish filet (1)
Ground turkey (3 lbs)
Ground beef (1.5 lbs)
Breaded Cod (2lbs)
Dream Dinners - simmers Chinese chicken (3 servings)
Dream Dinners - Dijon honey lime grilled salmon
Dream Dinners - chicken Mirabella
Dream Dinners - Mediterranean chicken pasta
Salmon patties (5)
Pork tenderloin (1.5 lbs)
Pork brisket (1.5 lbs)
Bacon (5 lbs)

Corn on the cob (24 half ears)
Frozen corn
Garden tomatoes (1.5 gallon bags)
Chicken nuggets
French onion soup (4)
basil garlic Tilapia
Foccasia chicken
Lean pockets (6)
Chicken teriyaki bowls (4)
Chow mein bowls (3)
Misc frozen lunch meals (7)
Potato skins
Frozen pizza (3)
Panko breaded cod
Steak fries
Swiss miss bars (24)

Blueberries (8 lbs)
Strawberries (12 lbs)
Bagels (6)
Whole chicken
Arnold sandwich this (8)
Multigrain bread
Ciabatta rolls
Tortillas
Hamburger buns
Hot dog buns
Pita bread
Swiss cheese

With about 35 lbs of meet in the freezer and several ready to prepare meals, we should plan on eating out of the freezer at least 5 nights a week. This will take us about 7 weeks to get through - ugh! I am going to shoot for 7 days out of 7, but I think 5 is more realistically attainable.

I am going to put a ban on purchasing anymore freezer items unless we are desperate for something. Since my husband does most of the shopping, I cannot guarantee this will be followed to the T, but I can try.

I can't believe there are still tomatoes in the freezer. I thought I had used them all up over the winter to make tomato sauce.

Menu Ideas:

Chili - using freezer burned ground beef and frozen garden tomatoes
Beef stew - using freezer burned steak and frozen corn
Fish night - using the last filets of salmon, white fish and tilapia
Cheat at home night - using up the goodies in the freezer: pizza, potato skins, fries, etc. (this will take a few nights - once every week or two)
Grill night - pork chops, pork tenderloin, chicken, salmon burgers (lots of these nights in our future)
Chicken & Turkey - these are staples for us, so we have countless ways to use them
Frozen lunches - I have several weeks worth of frozen lunch meals. These can get real boring (and super salty), but as long as I'm not out of town I am going to bring frozen lunch 3/5 days a week. I will probably supplement these with fresh fruit or a salad to give myself a little bulk.

Operation Defrost Freezer

2010-05-14T06:55:00.038-05:00

Mission: Defrost the freezer without wasting lots and lots of food.

Deadline: 7/23/10 before our vacation to my parents. This might seem like a very generous deadline, but I am not talking about a small freezer. In addition to the freezer above we have a large cheast freezer in the basement completely packed with food.

This freezer is so packed it is really hard to find what we are looking for, or to even know what we have. In addition to this allowing us to defrost the freezer, I am hoping we can save a little money on groceries by eating down what we already have.

Plan of attack:

1) Take inventory
2) Plan meals
3) Fix & Eat meals

I will keep you posted on how this goes. The real hard part will be not refilling the empty space once we clean it out.

Is there anyway to save freezer burned food?

14 day "detox"

2010-05-13T05:24:00.005-05:00

A few months ago I was my lowest weight since college, possibly in the best physical shape of my life and about to start a new job. Most of my clothes were too big, so I bought myself a bunch of new work clothes. Now a couple months, many late work nights and 10 lbs later my new pants are tight and uncomfortable. I am having upset stomachs way too often because I am not eating properly.

My new job actually isn't so new for me because I used to work for this company a few years ago. My first stint here, I gained a good 30 lbs due to long hours, lots of travel and many many team dinners. I promised myself I would maintain my healthy habits of exercise and eating right when I came back, but it has proven more difficult than I thought. I honestly almost pulled my "fat" pants out of their storage bin this morning. Instead of bringing back my 22's I am going to make sure my 18's fit again and comfortably!

In an effort to get back on track and comfortably back into my "new" pants, I am going to focus on making good choices for the next two weeks. I am not perfect - not even close! So while I want to be healthy for a lifetime, I will eat chips, cookies and fried goodness of all sorts. I just need to make sure I am eating the good stuff most of the time. So to re-ingrain the good choices, I am going to be kind of strict on myself for the next couple of weeks.

No I'm not going to be eating nothing except lemonade and maple syrup, if you really thought that you definitely do not know me. I am going to keep this kind of loose because if I am traveling for work I still want to be able to follow it.

These are the guidelines I will follow:

No deep fried foods (yes no chips, no french fries, no egg rolls, no orange chicken - so sad)
No ice cream or store bought cookies
Load up on veggies (at least one BIG salad a day)
Eat fruit (at least 2 pieces a day)
Exercise (break a sweat at least 3 times a week)
Drink water

I made a google document where I will keep track of all of this. This way it wont take over my blog, but I will still feel a little more accountable. This is my first try with google docs, so we'll see how it goes.

Strawberries are Amazing

2010-05-12T06:32:00.006-05:00

Strawberries are delicious, versatile, nutritious, and I can grow them in my backyard!

I love strawberries plain, mixed in yogurt, and the desserts where I can incorporate strawberries are almost endless.

My father in law knows how much I love strawberries and when he heard I wanted to start a garden bought me the nicest strawberry pot for my deck. He also brought me more strawberry plants than could fit into it. I planted the extra plants in the garden.

What I think is super amazing about strawberries and gardening, is that they come back like three fold the next year. The above and below pictures are two seperate patches. If I can beat the birds, I am going to be rolling in strawberries this year!!

These should probably start ripening in the next month or so. The plants will only be good for 3 years or so, but they put out strawberries all throughout the summer.

My favorite stawberry indulgence is strawberries sliced up and mixed with vanilla ice cream. So delicious!

What is your favorite way to eat strawberries?

"I run 5"

2010-05-11T06:36:00.002-05:00

I went out for my first five mile run outside this past weekend. I have run five miles on the treadmill a handful of times, but I'd never done it outside. For the non treadmill & road runners out there, running outside is significantly more difficult for than the treadmill. I was a little nervous about being able to complete the run.

Once I was over half way, I became confident I would finish. I did finish and I finished with an OK time for me. I averaged just under an 11:30 minute mile.

This is my snazzy garmin forerunner 305. It has GPS and a heart rate monitor, so it tracks my speed and distance throughout my runs. It really helps keep me motivated and honest in my runs. I just bought this a couple weeks ago, and so far I love it. I will probably post more on it once I have had a chance to play with all the bells and whistles. Notice the cutie pie in the background.

Towards the end of the run I thought, I can run 5 miles! I am a 5 mile runner!

This reminded me of an article I recently read, Flying Solo from the May edition of Runner's World. The article talks about the difference between being able to run 5 miles and being a 5 mile runner. Basically the difference is, to be a 5 mile runner, you need to have run 5 miles with some sort of frequency.

For now, I should probably say "I can run 5" instead of "I run 5". Give me a couple more weeks and maybe I'll have enough 5 milers under my belt to be an official 5 mile runner.

Newleaf Organic Produce Box

2010-05-10T06:18:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to buy more fruits and vegetables in an effort too eat more fruits and vegetables. I know brilliant idea.

I stumbled on an organic food store by Loyola University called Newleaf Natural Grocery. They offer produce boxes in various sizes for $15, $25.5, or $35. You can get fruit or veggie boxes or a combo box. This is similar to the CSA produce delivery service a friend of mine uses, except I have to go pick it up. They also sell groceries, but I really like the box program.

I have been getting the $25 box with both fruit and veggies for the past few weeks. You do have to order the box ahead of time and the items are a surprise. I get a good variety of items and usually there is something out of the ordinary that helps me branch out and try new things. I pick up my goodies on Saturday and enjoy them all week long.

This is what was in the box this week:

Peaches (5)
Mangoes (3)
Braeburn apples (3)
Bananas (4)
Bunch of radishes (local)
Watercress (local)
Scallions (local)
Broccoli (2 heads)
Red leaf lettuce (huge head)

Not in the box, but also purchased at Newleaf:

Strawberries
Eggplant

I'm not really sure what to do with the watercress. It looks like I could probably just put it in a salad, but I will have to google some recipe ideas.

Any suggestions on how to use Watercress?

Beet and Potato Salad

2010-05-07T07:56:00.012-05:00

Ingredients:

1 large beet
2-3 red potatoes
1 tbls sour cream
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbls chopped red onion
1 tbls chopped parsley (from the garden)
1 tsbs horseradish sauce
1 tsp garlic
1 slice of bacon
salt and pepper

Step 1: Add beets to boiling water cover and cook for 10 minutes, then add in potato and boil for another 10 minutes. Drain and cool. Peel beets and cut beets and potatoes into bite size pieces.

Step 2: Mix together sour cream, vinegar, horseradish sauce, onions, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix sauce with potatoes.
Step 3: Top with beets and crumbled bacon and enjoy!
I don't ussually follow recipes to the T, but this one I did pretty close. I made a much smaller batch because we're not the biggest leftover family and recipes don't always turn out great the first time. This recipe came from cooking light and turned out pretty tasty and I'll probably make it again. Although I will definitely cook the potatoes longer next time.

Do you have any interesting beet recipes?

Our Garden

2010-05-06T07:15:00.009-05:00

Last year I started my first ever garden. I didn't start with a small area of tomatoes to get my feet wet, no no no. Instead I dug out a good 30' by 10' patch of our lawn. I proceeded to stuff as many plants in this large area as humanly possible.

I couldn't tell the weeds from the plants because I had never grown anything before, so I was hesitant to pull out anything. The weeds ended up taking over for a bit.

Despite my complete lack of a green thumb, I did get lots and lots of bounty including lettuce, zucchini, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, cantaloupes, and strawberries. These are my peas from last year and you can see they are kind of crammed in there.
Last year I was not successful with broccoli, eggplant or brussel sprouts, so I am trying those again this year and hoping for the best.

This year I am trying to spread the plants out a little more. My husband is taking a much bigger interest in the garden, which is great. He planted lettuce, radishes and peas, and is keeping everything alive by watering daily. I have been working longer hours lately, so everything would probably be dead if it wasn't for him. Thanks honey!

So far we have scallions, lettuce, radishes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, peas, strawberries and rasberries planted. As well as a small herb garden with basil, parsley, chives and stevia.

I bought the stevia plant because we use stevia as a sweeterner, but I have no idea how to process the plant.

Do you know how to get the sweetness out of the stevia plant?

My First Race

2010-05-05T07:13:00.001-05:00

April 24th, 2010 I completed my first race ever! In my list of new years resolutions this completed three(well at least two) different items:

1) Sign up for a race (check)
2) Train for a race (not 100% for this one)
3) Complete the race (check)

I signed up for this race back in January when a I convinced a couple of my hockey teammates to run with me. They are both much more experienced runners and racers than I am, but I wanted a little camaraderie on my first race. I also thought, if I was responsible for two other people getting up at the crack of dawn, I would indeed show up for the race. This logic worked perfectly.

Throughout January and February I was following a strict training schedule. My speed and distance were both increasing steadily. I even topped out at 5 miles in close to 50mins and ran three miles in under 30mins (a first for me).

And then . . . the excuses came. I got tendentious, I got sick, I got busy blah blah blah! In March and April I ran maybe twice before the race. I lost all my speed and discovered that running outside is much more difficult than running on the treadmill.
Well thanks to my two lovely teammates, I dragged myself out on race day anyways and had a great time, well not finish time, but a lot of fun.

I was a little disappointed that I couldn't sprint to the finish line because there were so many people. Throughout the race you had to dodge slower runners (I was often the one being dodged) and the road narrowed so much at the finish line, that you had to go the speed of the mob.

I finished the race in 34:28 averaging an 11:07 minute mile and came in 566/708 in my age division. Not what I was shooting for, but not terrible. I am proud of myself because I ran the entire way. That was my big goal as well as getting over any race anxiety.

I didn't get that 'I am going to die I am so tired' feeling that I thought I should at the end of the race, so I am determined to race again and race harder!

Menu Plan

2010-05-04T08:52:00.001-05:00

Eating out is Yummy! We all know it, we all love it. Yes you can eat healthy even when you eat out, but doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose? For my family, the key to healthy eating is cooking our own food.

My family really struggles with take out. My husband and I enable each other. At the end of the day when neither of us want to cook we take turns planting tasty thoughts in each others heads. We are coming off of a take out bender and have both committed to significantly reducing this in the interest of both our wallets and our wastelines.

I have read many times that having a menu plans helps, so I'm going to give it a try to see how it works for us. I'm planning on taking leftovers for lunch, so I'm just going to plan out dinners. Currently this is the plan:

5/3 - 5/7

Monday - Orchiette w/ sausage and rapini with salad and roasted beets

Tuesday - Chicken Cordon Blue w/ roasted potatoes, salad, and brocolini

Wednesday - Ham and bacon pita sandwiches w/ sprouts, salad, kale chips and beet & potato salad

Thursday - Chicken Jambalaya w/ salad and beet greens & mushrooms

Friday - Grill - sausages and scallions w/ salad and roasted sweet potatoes chips

Monday was a sucess. I only got a picture of the orchiette, but my first attempt at beets was tasty as well.

What is this all about?

2010-05-03T10:34:00.001-05:00

About two and a half years ago the best thing ever happened to me. I had this beautiful baby boy, TJ.

Early September 2007

Having your first child completely changes your life. The first week you wont sleep at all, not because the baby keeps you up but because you are constantly worried if they are OK, what they need, or if you are going to break them.

We were really lucky because TJ was a great baby, he slept through the night after 3 or 4 weeks. But still I gained about 20 lbs AFTER I gave birth to him. We were eating out a lot and not exercising and kabam I got to my highest weight ever.

January 2007 - highest weight where a camera snuck past me

Over the past two years, I have been making small but meaningful changes in my life. I planted my first and second garden, I started running and playing ice hockey again, I have researched and researched nutrition and learned how to cook healthy and tasty food, and I recently ran my first race and have signed up for a half marathon in a couple months. This has all contributed to a weight loss of 45lbs, and hopefully along with this blog will help me with the 45 - 65 lbs I would still like to lose.

I am not even close to perfect and have veered way off the healthy path several times. I think living healthy will always be something I have to work at, but it has been a fun growing experience for me and my family.