The Organized Salad

It's soup and sandwich Tuesday with a post-thanksgiving twist.

 

First up...home made chicken noodle soup from the freezer, over leftover stuffing!  Delish!  The broth plumped up the bread in the stuffing and made it that much more filling.  

 Next was what tonight I affectionately named, the organized salad...aka the veggie wrap.  As I was eating this and thoroughly enjoying it, I mentioned that it was an awful lot like a salad that's been all wrapped up.  But why did it taste better than a salad?  Steve and I determined it was because it had an evenly layered distribution of veggies.  You get every single vegetable in every single bite.  And thus, the organized salad.  Perfection in the eyes of a type A gal like me.

In the layers:

red pepper

celery

spinach

carrots

cucumbers

tomatoes

light mayo

red pepper hummus

pickles

We'll chalk tonight's dinner up as a simple success...with a cheese stick on the side!

Fiberlicious!

Tasty tasty!

2 cups uncooked brown rice

1 jar salsa

1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded

1 green pepper, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 can no added salt black beans, rinsed

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

1 head lettuce, chopped or torn

2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella

splashes hot sauce

2 cups crushed multi-grain tortilla chips  
1 cup fat free sour cream
1 cup extra salsa

1.  Cook rice in 4 cups water (I didn't use instant so it took about 45 minutes)

2.  While rice is cooking, chop all your veggies and rinse black beans.

3.  When rice has soaked up just about all the water, add salsa and mix well.

4.  Add all veggies (except lettuce), beans, and corn.

5.  Simmer until everything is heated through.

6.  Serve over bed of lettuce.  

7.  Top with cheese, tortilla chips, hot sauce, sour cream, and salsa.

*Serves A LOT.  

I made this for 2 and got 6 extra lunch servings!
(Garnished with a clementine.)

 Nutrition Content Per Serving*

Calories		301.4
Total Fat		6.2 g
	Saturated Fat	1.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.4 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.8 g
Cholesterol		9.7 mg
Sodium		233.3 mg
Potassium		617.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		51.6 g
	Dietary Fiber	8.1 g
	Sugars	4.3 g
Protein		12.4 g

*calculated using recipe calculator on Spark Recipies

ENJOY!

I feel good…

I knew that I would, now
I feel good, I knew that I would, now
So good, so good, I got you

Whoa! I feel nice, like sugar and spice
I feel nice, like sugar and spice
So nice, so nice, I got you...

This is what I sang at the gym on my very first day of 5K training.

About two weeks ago I was thinking about how it would be nice to work toward something at the gym. 

About a week ago my sister said, “Want to train for a 5K with me?”

So I said, “YES!”

I am 25 years old and don’t consider myself terribly unhealthy, but I know I could be A LOT healthier.  I started thinking about my future.  I tend to be a very future thinking individual, but many things have happened in the past two years that have made me even more future thinking. 

I completed college, an internship, acquired a job, quit, and found a new job.

I got married.

I bought a house with my husband. 

I brought home my “children,” two very friendly calico kittens.

 

I found myself saying “now what?!”  A LOT!  I reached every goal I had set for myself since I was a little girl.  This is when I realized I am a person who thrives on setting and achieving goals…and I needed a new one.

Why not get fit and lose a couple of pounds.  I eat reasonably healthy being a registered dietitian and all, but there is always room for improvement.  More importantly, I have been putting off exercise for years since I was always “too busy.”  If I wasn’t going to make time now, will I ever? 

Soooooo it was time to establish a lifestyle:  a sustainable, healthy lifestyle.

After a couple of months...here I am.

I find myself meeting mini goals that I set in my head and feeling great.  So now it’s time to really commit and make some progress.

My progress so far (tracked using the My Fitness Pal app):

August 26 --> 178 pounds

September 12  --> 174.8 pounds

October 15 --> 175.6 pounds

November 8 --> 173.8 pounds

November 28 --> 171.8 pounds

My weight goals and rewards:

1.        170 pounds --> new water bottle with a built in straw (for easy sipping on the treadmill)

2.       165 pounds--> cloth napkins (I like things that make my house look pretty and are good for the environment)

3.       160 pounds --> iPod Shuffle (so I don’t drop my iPhone while running)

4.       155 pounds --> cook book(s)

5.       150 pounds --> start the hunt for a new dining room table and chairs!

My fitness goals and rewards:

1.       5K --> new running shoes

2.       10K --> new workout pants and shirt

Today’s efforts:

Pre-workout snack

Week one/day one workout:  Warm-up.  90 seconds walking, 60 seconds jogging, alternate to total 20 minutes. Cool down.

Refueling lunch

Christmas light hanging snack

Satisfying dinner

Apples Apple Apples

Tonight I baked my first apple "pie" with home made pie crust!  I am quite pleased.  It is currently sitting on the counter top steaming and looks almost like a cartoon.  

Can you see the resemblance?

Really it's a tart because it doesn't have dough on the top.  But in my house it's a pie because none of our pies actually have "tops."  I guess we just like the filling too much to cover it up.  And isn't the filling the best part anyway?

The mix for the pie included...

*4 Golden Delicious

*3 Macintosh

*3 Gala

And it went something like this...

VIOLA!  Happy Apples!

 

Food For Thought.

Ever wonder, how did I get here?  How did I gain these couple (or 20) of extra pounds?  How did I reach the point that I’m out of breath going up one flight of stairs?  How do I not eat any vegetables in an entire day?

Take responsibility.  These things don’t happen overnight, but it does not mean they were not preventable.  They happen.  They happen to you.  Do something about it.  It is in your control.

Did you know that eating one life saver (approximately 10 calories) everyday for one year causes one pound of weight gain if you don’t burn off those calories.  One lifesaver doesn’t sound like a lot and neither does one pound, but imagine that over 10 years or 20 years.  IT ADDS UP. 

Do you know what else adds up?  A small change.  So make one today.  Take a walk.  Eat a serving of vegetables.  Eat one square of chocolate instead of the whole bar.  It will make a difference in your future.

Productivity Feels So Good!

What a productive evening.  And I credit it to the GYM.  I'm as surprised as you are.  I've only been going to the gym for a couple weeks now.  I've been doing a good job of averaging three times a week.  And I've found that on the nights I stay home I end up sitting in front of the TV and ignoring everything...cleaning, laundry, paying bills.  But on the nights I go to the gym I actually get more done around the house even though I have less time at home.  Go figure! 

Tonight I spent about an hour at the gym.  Thirty minutes cardio and thirty minutes working on my legs.  I try to push myself as hard as I can while I'm there.  If I'm going to devote a total of two hours of my night to drive there, work out, and drive back...I'm going to make it worth my while!  And I can tell I did tonight.  It's that kinda sore, but so productive feeling.  And I'm going to sleep well tonight!

Planning, Lists, and Coups

I love planning my meals!  I know it makes me a nerd, but it’s just a fact.  At the beginning of the week I plan my meals, check my food stock, make my list, clip coupons, and then head to the store.  It’s almost calming knowing that when I get home from work a delicious healthy dinner is easily in my future.  It helps me know what needs to come out of the freezer the night before or what needs to be prepped.  It prevents me from eating unhealthy after work snacks or junk for dinner.  And I’ve even started to use it to help me plan evening workouts.  On gym nights dinner consists of soup and a sandwich or leftover meat on a salad.  On non-gym nights I try to make the more extensive meals that I use parts of other nights in the week.  It’s definitely made my workouts more likely to happen!

Here’s this week’s plan…

 On a pretty 52 week menu planner found for $1 at Michaels.  I bought about 10 of these when I found them because I thought they were a one time great deal.  Turns out the make them year round and even for the seasons!

And since I’m in the planning mood, I’m going to go with it…

For Thanksgiving Food and Christmas Cookies:

Menu (or at least my contributions):

1 apple pie

Sweet potato gnocchi with apples, walnuts, and a cinnamon sugar sauce (get excited!!!)

Chocolate chip cookies (with and without nuts)

Pizzels (lemon, vanilla, and almond)

White and milk chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles

And the best part is, I only have to make these cookies and I get at least 8 more kinds from my mom and sis!  This is a great way to simplify the holidays and still stay true to tradition.  In this case the tradition of a gazillion types of cookies!

List:

15 apples (pie, sweet potatoes, snacks during baking)

4 Bags pretzel rods

4# Butter

Granulated sugar

Brown sugar

16 ounce bag walnuts

Almond extract

Lemon extract

Vanilla

4 bags chocolate chips

1 dozen eggs

?Nut chopper

Let the festivities begin!

Oh Rosemary!

I’ve tried to get along with you Rosemary, but I just can’t!

Tonight’s dinner…crock pot chicken with local baby potatoes, red and green peppers, onion, and carrots.  Seasonings included curry powder, garlic powder, nutmeg, fresh chives, AND fresh rosemary.

I was given a little rosemary plant from a coworker.  I was thrilled!  I had fresh herbs to brighten my kitchen and give vibrant flavor to my cooking. 

Last night in preparation to load my crock pot this morning, I snipped three small sprigs of rosemary.  It smelled woody and fresh, like taking a walk through the forest and smelling the trees.  It’s supposed to pair well with chicken, so adding it to the pile seemed like a good idea.  So I loaded all my goodies around my chicken and popped the rosemary on top. 

Turns out when I tasted my crock pot delights it tasted like I was eating a pine tree.   Oh well; it filled my belly for the night.  And the leftover chicken, carrots, and broth combined with some broken whole wheat thin spaghetti made a perfect chicken noodle soup.  I love making food that covers two night’s dinners!

So it looks like Ms. Rosemary is going to serve purposes other than flavoring my food. 

Better Homes and Gardens to the rescue!  I can make a rosemary topiary!

Everyday.

I debated if I wanted the everyday tacked on to the end of my blog title for quite a while.  But I think it holds too much meaning to leave off.  So despite the wordiness, there's the message...Dig Clay, Saute, Go Play.  Everyday.  

Dig Clay...although I do enjoy getting dirty (sandbox was always my favorite activity as a kid, along with digging up worms and hiding them under my bed), in this instance it refers to literally "digging" or harvesting the food you eat.  Or if nothing else, knowing where it came from, how it grew, or maybe even who grew it, so you could enjoy it...everyday.  This has become more of a priority in my life over the past year or so and I hope to make it valuable to others through the anecdotes of the first garden of my own and my search for local foods.

Saute...as in cooking your food (And yes I know I'm missing the accent, but I don't know how to get it to show up.  So if anyone would like to share this information, feel free!).  I try to be an adventurous cook everyday and am frequently asked for recipes or healthy cooking tips.  So here's the forum for that to finally happen!  There will also be plenty of tips on healthy eating and a glimpse into my meals.

 Go Play...although this started as a reference to living an active lifestyle, I also think it rings true for living everyday to the fullest and having FUN.  I am making my best effort to do both of these day in and day out.  I will guarantee you that I won't be successful everyday, but I'll do my best!  Maybe we can even inspire each other?!

So I hope you enjoy the ride!

Check back in everyday to learn something new!