A little crunch...

Before my 4 mile run, I had coffee with 1/2 c. 1% milk and 1 t. sugar...and I was quite sleepy and forgot to take a picture.

Post run and post shower, I enjoyed this oatmeal (Nature's Path Maple Nut Oatmeal) with a sprinkle of cinnamon and 1/2 c. blueberries. 

My mid-morning snack was this banana, I drank the V-8 in the afternoon...

And lunch was salad with light balasmic vinagrette and tomatoes.

And a turkey sandwich with 3 oz of low-sodium turkey, 1.5 T miracle whip light, and 2% sharp cheddar cheese.

                         

Along with an apple...

My boss brought dates and I had one.  I have to say that while I like dates in things, I wasn't a fan of just eating a plain date...sorry, no picture.      

Afternoon snack was a chocolate chip clif Z bar.  I really love these bars - they seem to get me to drink a lot of water with them, so a taste of chocolate with hydration!

                      

On my way home from work, I re-worked my dinner plan.  I really wanted some crunch and thought about having cheese and crackers.  But I stopped off at Vitamin Cottage and got some Guiltless Gourmet Blue Corn Chips and Spicy Wholly Guacamole.

So my dinner was 1.5 oz of the blue corn chips, 3.25 oz of grilled chicken, 1/4 c. guacamole, 2 T of salsa and 2 T of reduced fat sour cream.  It hit the spot!

                

And I finished the evening with a couple of small York peppermint patties.

                        

Daily totals:

Calories: 1673 calories (20% protein, 55% carbs, 25% fat)

Run: 4 miles

Men: zero

Sorry to be so brief, but I'm hoping to hit the sack early tonight.  Need to get my sleep for my 7 mile run tomorrow morning.  And blogger made this posting a real hassle for some reason...Have a great evening!

Laura

I Love Numbers

I love numbers.  They can be a measure of your hard work and effort.  This morning, I'm down 2.5 pounds from last week this time.  Woo Hoo!  And my year-to-date total miles is 1071.61 miles, making my yearly goal of 1100 miles well within reach!

Numbers can also send you signals to slow down, you aren't getting enough sleep or to stop mindlessly eating.  For instance, did you know that an entire package of white chocolate chips contains a whopping 1,680 calories?  And that 5 hours is insufficient to make your 4 mile morning run nice and easy...

Tiredness aside, once I got out the door, I enjoyed the 4 miles.  I was happy to see six houses along the way with the holiday lights up and on!  And I'm always to happy to smell the familiar morning aromas - fresh bread, chocolate chip pancakes and fabric softener.

Have a great Monday!  Eats later on this evening.

Laura

Bunnies and Birds

No, I didn't eat any bunnies.  I went for a 4 mile walk this afternoon on the Highline Canal Trail, just south of Colorado Blvd. and Hampden.  Along the way, my wildlife spotting was limited to some bunnies and birds (and a few dogs).  Honestly, I was thankful to see the bunnies.  This meant to me that the coyotes weren't around.  Coyotes around = no bunnies.  This route can be a little weird, coyotes aside, because there is usually a crowd or absolutely no one.  This day, the first and last miles were in absolute solitude.  And sometimes the leaves rustling make my imagination run wild - as if big foot was going to jump out and grab me.  I brought some tunes to enjoy, could still hear those leaves rustling, but I enjoyed the sun, almost mud-free path, and looking at the pretty multi-million dollar homes that line the trail.

This is my first day without diet pepsi.  I'm trying to eliminate splenda and all other artificial sweetners from my diet.  And I adore diet pepsi.  I want to elimate these from my diet because I've read and heard that they actually drive your sugar cravings.  And as today shows, I could use some help with that!

My eats for the day:

Breakfast was coffee with 1/2 c. 1% milk and 1 t. sugar...

and my Nature's Path Maple Nut Oatmeal but this morning I changed it up a bit and added 1/2 oz of dried cranberries.  It was a nice change from the blueberries.

My mid-morning snack was one slice of nine grain bread toast with 1 T. reduced fat peanut butter.  As soon as the jar is finished, I'm going to give almond butter a try. 

Lunch was lame.  And the picture makes it look disgusting.  Anyhow, it will serve as a demonstration that I don't eat all things organic or natural.  I had Progresso's 40% less sodium Italian-Style Wedding soup with 3 Foster Farms turkey meatballs (pre-cooked a "find" from Costco). 

Right after lunch, I mindlessly munched on an unknown quantity of....

UGH.  I know, if you are going to slurge on something, then pick some good quality dark chocolate, eh?  I should have measured.  But I didn't.  I decided then to skip my afternoon snack.

Dinner was 4 oz of chicken breast (grilled on the George Forman).  I tend to grill a package of chicken on Sunday nights, portion it out and use it all week long.

I like to dust the chicken before grilling with a little of two rubs from Penzey's Spices - Galena Street and Barbeque of the Americas.

And the chicken was accompanied by 1/2 c. of mashed sweet potatoes with 1/2 T. whipped butter and 1/3 t. brown sugar.  Yum. Yum.

And a pumpkin cheddar flatbread from Doctor Kracker.  I learned about these delicious flatbreads from one of my favorite bloggers Jenna. 

All together my plate looked like this.  It was all so good.

I ended the day with two clementines.  And got a kick out of the sticker, "Root for the Cute."

Daily Totals:
Eats: 1267 calories (28% protein, 46% carbs, 26% fat) + unknown quantity of white chocolate chips
Workout: 4.15 mile walk
Men: zero but profile will be active on match.com in the very near future!

Have a great Monday!

Laura

The Pursuit of the Best Man

I find dating physically and emotionally exhausting.  The physical part has to do with making good food choices, balancing an increase in alcohol consumption (nerves), fitting in my runs, and getting enough sleep.  The mental part has many elements.  You put yourself out there to be evaluated.  Rejection is hard to not take personally.  Trying to be engaging and engaging the other person is really energy consuming when you are an introvert like me.  Figuring out the "nice" way to tell someone that I'm not interested in them.  Whew!  I'm tired just thinking about it. 

But the upsides are many.  The excitement of a new relationship, the anticipation of meeting a great man, laughter and new  experiences, and the knowledge that you are sharing your life with another person.

So this evening, keeping my focus on the upsides, I will re-activate my profile on match.com.  I joked with a few friends that my goal should be to meet 100 men.  One friend thought I could blog about it, the other said "write a book."  I'm pretty sure that this all has been done.  While my goal isn't necessarily to meet 100 men, this time around my focus is going to be less about meeting "the one" and more about meeting different men so I can have a clearer picture of who I want to share my life with.  And hopefully I'll meet that best man along the way.

I'll blog about this pursuit of mine.  However, if you are looking for salacious details, you'll need to go elsewhere.  The integrity and anonymity of the men I do meet will be maintained.  Such a drag, eh?

I'm off for a walk and then I'm going to let Jillian make my abs and chest hurt.  Daily eats later!

What's Not to Love About Ravioli?

My pre-run breakfast was the usual, a cup of coffee with 1/2 c. 1% milk and 1 t. sugar and a bowl of Nature's Path Maple Nut Oatmeal with 1/2c. blueberries.

During the run, I had 1 gel (same brand as below, Carb Boom, but a new-to-me yummy flavor - Grape Pomegranate) and 4 orange slices (the candy - and yikes, each one is 50 calories!) and 4 oz of gatorade (not really a fan). 

After my run, I had a Clif Z chocolate chip bar.

For lunch...RAVIOLI.  Perfect pasta pillows of yumminess. 

My ravioli was 1 serving (which was so hard to do) of Rising Moon's Garlic Gorgonzola Ravioli with Spinach Pasta.  I made an easy tomato sauce to put over it - a quick saute, just enough to warm up two roma tomatoes, 1 t. olive oil & some chopped garlic.  Kinda looks like Christmas!

And for an afternoon snack, I had popcorn and two small York peppermint patties.

Dinner was, you guessed it, the other half of the ravioli - this time with 4 oz of roasted chicken breast (as I was a little light on protein for the day), some orange and red peppers, sauteed with 1 t. olive oil and more chopped garlic. 

And I finished the day with two clementines.

I wish I had skipped the orange slices candy and York peppermint patties.  But tomorrow's a new day!

Totals for the day:
Eats: 1936 calories (16% protein, 67% carbs, 17% fat)
Run: 10.0 miles, trail
Men: zero (more on this tomorrow)

10 Miles in Evergreen

Every Saturday morning, the running group meets up for the long run.  There are so many great things about this - fun & encouraging folks and a different route each week.  There is little reason for not getting your long run done.  This week's run was a trail run up in Evergreen, which is about 30 minutes from Denver.

On my schedule was a 10 mile goal pace run.  Miles 6 - 9 were to be at goal pace, but I knew that being on trails and at around 7800 ft altitude...that wasn't going to happen for me.  My plan became to enjoy the views and enjoy any company I could keep.

An arriving weather front, with promises of snow and rain, made the skies cloudy, but the trail was beautiful.  Living is Colorado is simply wonderful!

Some of the company kept or had close by celebrated around the 10 mile turn around of our out and back course! 

Or they were just hamming it up for the photo!

I hit mile 3 hard - and why not?  Gravity was helping me and it was a blast.  Mile 3 had an elevation loss of about 300 feet.  Of course I struggled hard on Mile 8 when I had to go back up it.  It was a deceptive incline on the way back because the trail winds across what appears to be a flat meadow.  All in all, a hard but enjoyable Saturday morning.

The daily eats report will come later on this evening!

Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover

Finally, success at getting in some strength training. 

I did the Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones DVD.  And while I only used 3 lb weights, my arms and abs are feeling the effort.  Also got my heart pumping.  This is either because the DVD rocks or I'm in really bad shape.  Maybe its a little bit of both... The DVD is challenging enough for me at this point, so I'll be coming back to it on Sunday.  The plank row is an amazing exercise!  Word of caution - while not advertised, I thought it was quite leg intensive.  Because I have a 10 mile trail run tomorrow, I took it easy on the squats and lunges...

Dinner was a turkey burger with garlic & onion powder and cayenne pepper.  Served it on nine-grain bread with 1.5 T light miracle whip and a whole roasted red pepper and some gherkins.

And I followed it up with two beautiful clementines.  One was a tad bit paler than the other and I thought maybe that it would result in a bland clementine.  But like most citrus, you really don't know what you'll get until to peel it open.  They were both deliciously sweet!

My  treat for the evening (as if breakfast wasn't a treat) was a small York peppermint pattie.

My totals for the day:
Calories: 1525 calories (26% Protein, 40% Carbs, 34% Fat)
Work-out: 40 minute DVD
Men: zero

I'm hoping to have some beautiful pictures to share of tomorrow's trail run!  Have a great evening! 

Black Friday Morning

Do you line up before the sunrises to catch all the good deals?  I didn't.  But I did get up early to go to breakfast with K at this great place called Snooze.  I've been dying to try this place.  Past attempts have been thwarted by long lines and impatience.  This morning was success!

I had coffee and this wonderful item...the picture doesn't do it justice but I hope the description does!

The Great Pumpkin Toast - challah bread stuffed with pumpkin cream cheese, topped with house whipped cream, Stranahan’s Whiskey Infused Syrup, and candied pumpkin seeds.

It was so awesome!

And my weakness...I just had to get a side of bacon...

And so, I needed to be virtuous for lunch...which was salad (with tomatoes!), 4 oz chicken breast and 2 T Newman's Own Light Honey Dijon...

Now it is time to let Jillian Michaels kick my butt to work off that French Toast!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Yesterday I brought roasted sweet potatoes to Thanksgiving Day dinner.  They were really good, so I'm posting the recipe!

Thanks to Dr. L for the recipe, which is from Culinary School in Denver.

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

8 medium sweet potatoes (I used 7 and it still was a lot.  I don't think grocery stores carry anything other than extra large sweet potatoes - I think 5 sweet potatoes would be enough)

2 T olive oil

Coarse salt to taste

2 T butter (I didn't add this because I was making it vegan - they were still yummy but I think butter will only add to the flavor!)

2 T brown sugar

1/3 c pecans, chopped

1/8 t cayenne pepper (I really recommend you don't skip this - it was great!)

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Peel potatoes and halve lengthswise; slice crosswise 1/2 inch thick.  On a baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil, season with salt.

2.  Transfer half the potatoes to a second baking sheet; cook both sheets until potatoes are tender, tossing occasionally, about 25 to 30 minutes.  (My potatoes took almost 45 mintues before they got tender).

3.  Sprinkle with butter, brown sugar, pecans and cayenne pepper, dividing evenly.  Place baking sheets back in the oven until sugar is carmelized and crisp, about 10 minutes.  Gently toss, serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

Turkey Trot Race Report and Turkey Day Eats

My very first Turkey Trot!  It was a really fun race!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It isn't commercial, it centers around some of my favorite foods, and you gather with friends and/or family and enjoy their company.  The four day weekend doesn't hurt either! 

I started the morning with my usual breakfast: coffee with 1/2 c. 1% milk and 1 t. sugar; and Nature's Path Maple Nut Hot Oatmeal with 1/2 c. blueberries with a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

I was out the door at 9:00 am to make my way to Wash Park.  The schedule called for 6 miles and I wanted to 2 miles before the Turkey Trot started.  I found parking quite easy and had a great pre-race 2 mile warm up.  My first mile was around the neighborhood that borders the park and the last one was in the park.  The weather was absolutely beautiful.  Highs were predicted to be in the middle 60s but at 9:45am it was 62 degrees already!  As I was finishing my warm-up I saw Coach from the running group.  It's always great to see Coach, he's one of those energy-giving, life-affirming people.  I made my way back to my car to ditch my jacket and gloves.  I met up with the running group folks by the flag pole and then we made our way to the start. 

I signed up for the second wave, but honestly, I'm not sure where the first wave ended and the second wave began.  I lined up with some others from the group.  One person is going to race in her first ultra next weekend and it was exciting to hear about her training and her excitement about the race.  I think it took a good 10 minutes before we crossed the start line.  The first 2.25 miles were on the street that goes around the park and then the remaining 1.75 miles is in the inner loop of the park. 

As usual, I started out way too fast, but slowed it down after the first 1/2 mile.  Things were extremely congested, so you needed to put your patience hat on.  It was not uncommon to find a whole string of walkers blocking almost the entire race course.  Usually, I hate races.  I don't really do well with all the crowds, I get easily distracted by other runners, and I far more enjoy the ease of most training runs.  But the Turkey Trot was different.  I didn't care about my time and I enjoyed looking at all the costumed turkeys! 

Around mile 1,  I ran into Dr. L and her son-in-law and we stayed together for the remaining way.  I was going to Dr. L's for Thanksgiving dinner so we were chatting about food and family.  And then I saw the finish line and picked it up a little...I was happy to cross the finish and get my 6 miles in and had a really fun time doing it. 

After I walked through the vendor area for some swag...i.e. Clif bars, I made my way home.  I had a snack of one slice of bread and 1 T. reduced fat peanut butter.

For lunch I had a little lettuce salad (out of tomatoes!) with 1 T of Newman's Own Light Honey Dijon

and Cedar Lane's Low Fat Chicken Burrito with 2 T reduced fat sour cream with some ancho chili powder.  Yummy!

Thanksgiving dinner was at Dr. L's.  I met Dr. L from the running group and it isn't unusual for us to run in the morning 2 -3 times each week.  I made roasted sweet potatoes and I'll share the recipe in the next post.  Dr. L's daughter and son-in-law are vegans, so the majority of sides were vegan.  I hope that means I didn't do so badly food wise.  Thankfully, they still had turkey, dressing with sausage and turkey gravy.  It was all so yummy.  No picture, sorry.  Dr L's husband did take one of my plate, so I'll post it if he passes it along...

My eats included turkey and dressing with gravy, vegan sweet potatoes, vegan mushroom bisque (made with tofu - and I'm not a fan of the mushroom, but this was good), homeade roll with butter, two glasses of wine, cranberry relish, vegan mashed potatoes and a slice of vegan pumpkin pie with real whipping cream.  I'm hoping my estimates for the day are somewhat close! 

Totals:

Calories: 2386 (15% Protein, 55% Carbs, 30% Fat)

Run: 6 miles

Men: zero

Happy Eve of Thanksgiving!

I started the cold morning with a cup of coffee with 1/2 c. 1% milk and 1 t. sugar....

and a 2.21 mile walk,  where I was greeted by this beautiful sunrise...

I'm training for the Little Rock Marathon and today the schedule called for a cross-training day - as this is a recovery week.  I was really hoping to get a little strength training in at home by doing Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones.  But I spent too much time over my cup of coffee and opted to use the remaining time to go outside for a walk.  I always seem to choose cardio over strength training and I really need to get back to the lifting some weights.  Never fear, I'll be doing the video first thing Friday morning!  I excited about tomorrow's Turkey Trot.  My first Turkey Trot and first 4 mile race.  This is a race for fun.  Word is that 10,000 folks do this race and that it gets pretty crowded.  Beforehand, I'll run 2 miles so that I get the full 6 miles that is on my schedule.  And before the race start, the running group will meet up - and it is always great to see folks from the running group. 

Today was challenging eating wise.  Definitely felt hungry, needed to add a little to my afternoon snack, but I stuck to my calorie target.  I left work around 12:30pm, got my car registered, which required an emissions test and a trip to the DMV.  As I was out and driving around, I couldn't help but notice all the fast food restaurants.  Thankfully, I'm not a fast food fan, so I resisted the urge...And doing laundry this evening kept me out of eating trouble!

I tend to eat the same things over and over again.  So I'll spare you the repetitive photography...

Here are my eats for the day:

Breakfast:  Nature's Path Instant Maple Nut Hot Oatmeal, 1/2 c. frozen blueberries with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon

Mid-morning snack: banana and low-sodium V8

Lunch: oops, no veggies!  Turkey sandwich (with 1.5 T light miracle whip and 3 oz low-sodium turkey), a Frigo low fat string cheese, and an apple.

Afternoon snack: Clif Z chocolate chip bar and a little something more...1/4 oz of blue cheese and 5 Kashi Honey Sesame crackers - I just had to have a "taste" of cheese and crackers.

Dinner:  Tomatoes with balsamic vinegar (I adore tomatoes)

And 1 c. basmati rice (left over from last night) and one link of a smoked mozzarella with artichokes & garlic chicken sausage that I picked up at Costco.  It was so yummy...I warmed the sausage in a non-stick fry pan and the cheese melted...oh so good!

And a small peppermint patty.  I had planned on eating two clementines...but I guess I needed a taste of chocolate instead...which means I didn't get the recommended servings of fruit and veggies for the day!

And my post dinner treat (as if the peppermint patty wasn't enough): 4 oz red wine.

My food game plan for tomorrow...well, I should have one because even with a 6 mile run, I can't eat whatever I want.  I'm going to hope to come in around 2700 calories for the day.  This sounds a lot, but did you know that the average Thanksgiving Day dinner is 3000 calories?   So I'm hoping to stick to my usal eats before Thanksgiving and make sure that I only splurge on quality food...wish me luck!

Daily Totals:
Eats: 1489 calories  (18% Protein, 63% Protein, 19% fat)
Workout: 2.21 mile walk
Men: zero

Here We Go!

My first post.  A little scary.  You might have high expectations!  Hopefully not too high.  My posts will focus on my running, my quest to eat well, and my search for the best man.  So here we go...

Two more days until Thanksgiving.  I'm thankful for an extra long weekend and the promise of the feast of turkey, gravy and stuffing!  And I'm thankful for my family and great friends.  I feel fortunate that I have a job that I enjoy...but I'm not thankful for the cold weather!

My morning started with a 4 mile run with some great friends from the running group.  It was cold, 24 degrees, and did I mention that I'm still not happy with the fact that summer has left us here in Denver?  If not for my running buddies, the run would have been more difficult - it felt labored (cold air?) but I was happy to get it in.

Each week I set some goals...  This week is to make good food choices (with Thanksgiving as a "free" but not crazy day) and to get back to some sort of strength training.  As for food, I'm hoping to consume no more than 1600 calories per day.  I'm going to see if I can maintain a photo journal of my eats...forgive the growing pains of my learning how to take great food photos...but I think I've already improved.  In general, I tend to weigh and measure.  I guess I enjoy precision...

Pre-run I had coffee with 1 t. of sugar and 1/2 c. of 1% milk.  And I forgot to take a picture of this!  Post-run breakfast:  Nature's Path Instant Hot Maple Nut Oatmeal with 1/2 c. of frozen blueberries.

Mid-morning snack was a banana and a low-sodium V8.

This really kept me full.  I didn't eat my salad until 12:30 and my sandwich and apple until 1:20pm.  And usually I "have to" eat at Noon.  Lunch was a salad of greens, tomatoes, 1 T. Kraft light balsamic dressing and a Frigo low-fat mozarella stick, a low-sodium turkey sandwich (3 oz turkey and 1.5 T of light miracle whip) and an apple.

Mid-afternoon snack was a chocolate chip Clif Z bar.

Dinner was 4 oz. grilled chicken, 1 c. basmati rice, 1 T low-sodium soy sauce, 1/2 T of maple syrup, and 1 T of chopped pecans.

And my treat for the day...4 oz of red wine!

Totals for the Day:
Workout: 4 mile run
Eats:  1547 calories consumed (25% Protein, 57% Carbs, 18% Fat)
Men: zero

Have a great Wednesday! 
Laura