busy lady
Andrea
Alrighty, another quick post tonight guys. I'm sorry! I sit on the board for a local non-profit organization and have TONS of reading to do tonight before a board meeting tomorrow night. I know how I'm spending my lunch break tomorrow!
My food today was all prepared in a rush. Remember me mentioning that my poor hubb had to work late last night? Well, I got a phone call from him at 5:30am asking me to pick him up from the office. 5:30am!!! And then he had to be right back there at 7:30am!!! Which means I had to be ready at 7:20, and I of course went back to sleep after picking him up so had very little time to get things together this morning.
Breakfast: 1 slice banana date bread, 1/2 cup Fage 0% with 1 banana and 1 tsp honey (I saved the other piece of bread for dessert)
[no cals today guys...I'm too tired to log it all! :( ]
Have I mentioned how much I love this bread? Because I do. I. Love. This. Bread.
Lunch: my hubb made me a wrap! He's so sweet, even in his deliriously tired state. I also ate a large orange, which I forgot to get a picture of in my rush.
Snack: 1 slice banana date bread.
[143 cal...I remember from yesterday. :) ]
Exercise: 4-mile run with Kelly. Same route as last Thursday, nice and hilly. It felt pretty good, but my legs were a bit stiff and heavy with soreness from yoga last night. That's what I get for taking the weekend off from running and a week off from yoga. :(
Dinner: Mediterranean Pasta. This was really good, and I'll definitely post a recipe sometime but I'm going to work on it first. We didn't get home until 8:00 and I was just throwing stuff in the pan that sounded good together... Sometimes the best recipes are made that way!
Dessert: I made these cookies to send to two generous blogger bake sale buyers...so I of course sampled the dough. Probably a whole cookie's worth...I have absolutely no self control when it comes to cookie dough. None.
Ok, gotta run read! G'night!
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Have I mentioned how much I love this bread? Because I do. I. Love. This. Bread.
Lunch: my hubb made me a wrap! He's so sweet, even in his deliriously tired state. I also ate a large orange, which I forgot to get a picture of in my rush.
- dijon mustard
- smoked turkey
- spinach
- red bell pepper
- cucumber
- pepper jack cheese
- whole wheat tortilla
Snack: 1 slice banana date bread.
[143 cal...I remember from yesterday. :) ]
Exercise: 4-mile run with Kelly. Same route as last Thursday, nice and hilly. It felt pretty good, but my legs were a bit stiff and heavy with soreness from yoga last night. That's what I get for taking the weekend off from running and a week off from yoga. :(
Dinner: Mediterranean Pasta. This was really good, and I'll definitely post a recipe sometime but I'm going to work on it first. We didn't get home until 8:00 and I was just throwing stuff in the pan that sounded good together... Sometimes the best recipes are made that way!
- brown rice spaghetti
- artichoke hearts
- sun dried tomatoes
- spinach
- chickpeas
- parmesan broth (onion, garlic, chicken broth, parm. cheese)
- 1 tbsp part-skim mozzerella
Dessert: I made these cookies to send to two generous blogger bake sale buyers...so I of course sampled the dough. Probably a whole cookie's worth...I have absolutely no self control when it comes to cookie dough. None.
Ok, gotta run read! G'night!
This divine bowl contained:
Lunch: tuna salad on a multi grain flat out wrap with 1/2 cup Fage 0% and 1/2 cup strawberries
[320 cal, 8.6g fat, 36g carbs, 11.8g fiber, 32.3g protein]
Pre-run Snack: Clif Chocolate Chip ZBar
[130 cal, 4g fat, 24g carbs, 3g fiber, 3g protein]
Exercise: wonderful 4-mile, very hilly run with Kelly. I felt so much stronger today, and was careful not to eat any apples beforehand! We were tired at the end because a good amount of hills happened in the last mile, but I truly felt like we could have kept going. It gave me great hope for running the Martha Jefferson 8K next month!
[-420 cal]
I've been running around the house like a mad-woman tonight doing laundry and packing for my trip tomorrow. Dinner was quick and easy, just popped some 'taters in the oven for my hubb and I. I love dinners that allow me to do other things while they cook.
Dinner: my favorite sweet potato combo with edamame and corn, along with some leftover brussels sprouts
[392 cal, 12.1g fat, 62.6 carbs, 12.6g fiber, 14g protein]
Alrighty, I've got lots to do. Tomorrow I will be in Florida to help my best friend shop for her wedding dress!!! I'm so excited!!!! I also get to see my family (woohoo!!!), so its going to be a very busy few days. I hope you all have a fabulous Friday and weekend!
Lunch today involved another of my new purchases...Arnold's Sandwich Thins! I could say that I wanted to truly experience the flavor of the Thin by not mucking it up with lots of filling, but in truth I was just running short on time. :)
Lunch: arnold's sandwich thin with TJ's natural, crunchy PB and sour cherry preserves. Also, a salad.
[428 cal]
My salad contained:
For a snack I packed another repeat, 1 orange, 5 strawberries and 1/4 cup Fage 0%.
And then, tragedy struck. I went to the fridge for my fruity yogurt bowl at about 3:30, enough time to digest my snack before my run at 5:15. When I got to the fridge, I couldn't find my bowl! I quickly returned to my office and my tote bag, where I discovered my bowl. Warm as could be. I did some research about how long yogurt could remain at room temperature before the threat of bacteria struck and concluded that it wouldn't be a smart idea to eat it. Apparently, if the container is sealed, yogurt can last up to 8 hours at room temperature (according to some sources...but eat at your own risk!). However, if the yogurt is open and exposed to the air, I couldn't find any site that thought it was ok to eat after 2 hours without refrigeration. I can't tell you how sad I was to have to throw this beautiful bowl away. SO sad.
Instead, I had an apple and 1/2 a Clif Chocolate Chip bar. This Clif flavor was good, but I actually prefer the flavor and calorie count of the Clif chocolate chip ZBar more.
Snack: 1 apple and 1/2 Clif chocolate chip bar.
[200 cal]
I left work a little early and went for a run with my friend Kelly. We did just 3 miles and it was so laborious for me tonight. I'm always amazed at how different a run can be from day to day. This was the same route we did last week, I just cut it a little short because we had dinner plans. Tonight my legs were heavy and my stomach was crampy. I blame the first ailment on my two consecutive days of intense yoga...I was so sore today! And I blame the second ailment on my apple. Apples just don't agree with me as pre-run snacks. I've tried it before and I always get crampy. I thought today that I had plenty of time before my run, but apparently not. From now on, apples are off-limits after lunch on running days.
Exercise: 3 mile run
[-318 cal]
Dinner was sooo tasty. I LOVE Bang! We ordered an assortment of tapas to share amongst the three of us. There were wild mushroom dumplings, crab pot stickers, edamame, coconut rice, veggie curry, and other dishes that involved either beef or shrimp, none of which I ate because I'm not a fan of either. There were also delightful little slaws and salads that come alongside the main dishes. These may be my favorite part of the meal, and have inspired me to make more Asian-inspired slaws in my own kitchen.
I also had the Bang! Lemon Drop Martini. This martini is perfect. Its the martini that I strive to make at home but just haven't perfected yet. I've tried, trust me, I've tried. It has something to do with the specific sour they use, or the lemongrass infused simple syrup (I'm just not that ambitious). But it is GOOD, and I enjoyed every sip.
The food portions are tiny, so we left still slightly hungry but with much lighter wallets. I'm thinking there is some sort of pre-bed snack in my future...
G'night!
There were probably 200-300 people there, all in their bright-colored cool-weather gear. The temperature was 25* when we left the house, and it probably climbed to 30* by the time the race started. My hubb and I stayed together for the first mile, then I urged him to go forward without me once I heard our 1-mile split...9:14!!! That is fast for me, and I felt like I was going to burn myself out too quickly if I tried to keep up with him. He pushed ahead and I slowed down just slightly...my second mile split was 18:42! The first two miles were on a hilly road, and the last mile was on a very hilly trail through the woods that slowed me down quite a bit. We even had to climb over a fallen tree! So my final time was 30:20...which I am THRILLED with! I really wanted to beat a 10 min./mile average and would have loved to beat 30 minutes, but I wasn't expecting the trail and that totally threw my time off. If the entire 3.1 miles had been like the first 2 miles I think I would have finished around 28 minutes...
My hubb did really well too for his first race, finishing just ahead of me. I can't wait for our next race together!
So...I have been thinking about running a lot lately. You all know that I had a 
Lunch Thursday: big ol' salad with spinach, baby blends, red bell pepper, broccoli, cucumber, hearts of palm, black olives, roasted garlic hummus and some TJ's fat free balsamic vinaigrette.
[207 cal]
Snacks Thursday: an apple (saved my pear for a snackie dessert bowl once home) and a Clif White Chocolate Macadamia Nut bar, 1/2 before my run and 1/2 after. I am IN LOVE with the WCMN bar...even more so than the iced gingerbread. Which is a good thing because the WCMN bar isn't seasonal!
[321 cal]
Exercise Thursday: 3-1/2 mile run with my friend Kelly...it was fabulous and got me totally pumped up for my 5K.
[-360 cal]
I actually made dinner in the morning and packed it up to take to the office with me, knowing it would be a late night.
Dinner Thursday: baked chicken breast with Country Bob's All-Purpose Sauce, 1 cup steamed broccoli and 3/4 cup Near East Whole Grain Blends, roasted garlic flavor.
[406 cal]
And I know you all have seen this fabulous sauce popping up all over the blog world... I received two bottles of Country Bob's All-Purpose Sauce last week and was excited to try it on my chicken. Let me tell you, it is some good stuff. Its kind of a cross between bbq and worschestshire sauce, with a smokey tang that truly would be good on most anything I can imagine.
I"ll be hosting a give-away so that a couple of my lovely readers can try out their own bottles of Country Bob's, but I need to clarify a couple of things with the company first. Stay tuned!
Dessert Thursday: snackie dessert bowl with 1 sliced pear, 2 heaping tbsp Fage 0% yogurt, 1 tsp honey. No picture, I was too tired.
[149 cal]
Daily Totals: Thursday
Lunch Friday: 1/2 a leftover chicken breast, thawed black-eyed peas and ham from New Years Day on a bed of spinach, and some red grapes.
[360 cal]
Snacks Friday: a mandarin orange, I decided against my apple because it just didn't sound good. Weird. However, when my boss brought in red wine, cheese and crackers for our Friday afternoon festivities, that sounded good. It had been a long week, and it wasn't close to being over. I had a small glass of wine and about 2oz of swiss cheese, with 4 table water crackers.
[402 cal]
I wanted to load up on carbs for our race the next morning, so dinner Friday was a kitchen sink pasta. Saturday is grocery day, so I had some veggies that I wanted to use up. Basically anything and everything I could find went in.
Dinner Friday: kitchen sink pasta and lots of water
[548 cal]
This yummy bowl contained:
It really hit the spot. Sometimes a big bowl of pasta is exactly what you need after a long week.
Daily Totals: Friday
Snacks Saturday: 1 pear and 4 table water crackers while at the office, a ZBar after grocery shopping
[311 cal]
My hubb and I had a lovely Valentine's Day evening. We started off at an engagement party for some good friends. I have a picture of Liz and I, but sadly none of me with my hubb! Such a shame because he looked so handsome all dressed up...
After the party we went to dinner at
Lunch: leftover potato leek soup with kale, and a hearty oat biscuit.
[437 cal]
Afternoon Snack: 6oz 0% Fage and one AMAZING Murcott Mandarin Orange...it was like eating an orange creamsicle dessert!
[130 cal]
I planned to go for a run after work, so had my a pre-run snack at my usual 5pm time. But, I wound up staying late at the office and got home too late for a run...I was just too beat. And THAT is why I need to get to bed earlier...so that I can get my bootie out of bed for my morning run! Its just so hard to stay motivated to work out at the end of the day, I'd much rather come home and get dinner going so we can start winding down.
Afternoon Snack #2: Clif chocolate chip ZBar...my fave. I love these little guys!
[130 cal]
Dinner tonight was quick, simple and DELICIOUS. I found a recipe for Lentil Chili with Cumin and Green Onions in the February 2008 issue of Bon Appetit. I planned to follow it exactly, but found that we were out of a couple of key ingredients, Chili Powder and Tomato Puree. So instead I modified it slightly, substituting Ancho Chili Pepper, tomato sauce and tomato paste. I also added frozen corn at the last minute and am so glad that I did. The corn cut the heat of the chili with a lovely, mild sweetness, really increasing the depth of flavors.
Lentil Chili with Cumin, Corn and Green Onions [adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2008]
made 2 dinner servings and 1 small lunch serving
362 calories, 7.6g fat, 1.4g sat fat, 58g carbs, 18g fiber, 19g protein
Ingredients:
Chop kale into large bite-size pieces. Rinse well. Saute' 2 garlic cloves in 2 tsp olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute. Add drained kale, with water still clinging to leaves. Stir, allowing the kale to wilt slightly. Cover the saucepan and let kale steam for 2-3 minutes. Remove lid and stir, tossing kale for about a minute. Squeeze 1/4 of one lemon on kale, and sprinkle with sea salt. SO GOOD.
Dinner: lentil chili, sauteed kale and a hearty oat biscuit.
[630 cal - eek! a little high tonight, especially since I didn't get my planned run in...]
Alrighty, I'm off to bed, with 8 minutes to spare! WooHoo!!! I hope you all have a great night...get some sleep!!! :)
This yummy bowl contained:
I took clothes with me to the office so that I could run home after my haircut. It was such a gorgeous afternoon that I decided to push myself and take the long way home, about 4-1/2 miles. It was tough, I was dragging because I hadn't run more than 3-1/2 miles in the last couple of weeks with my foot injury. And, my foot was pretty sore when I was finished. :( It did feel great to be outside though, stretching my legs and soaking in the sun.
Saturday Exercise: 4-1/2 mile run, 10 min/mile pace
[-475 cal]
Saturday Afternoon Snack: the other 1/2 of my Clif Iced Gingerbread bar and my blood orange, perfect re-fuel after my run.
[193 cal]
I was wiped out when I got home, so the grocery trip my hubb and I had planned got bumped to Sunday. It also led to a very lazy evening during which cooking didn't really seem like an option, so we ordered in. If you've been reading my blog for long you know that Thai is our take-out of choice, and last night was no exception. :)
Saturday Dinner: take-out pad thai and veggie spring rolls with pineapple spice dipping sauce.
[about 525 cal]
We watched 
Sunday Exercise: YOGA!!! At my normal studio. I've realized that the new studio that I bought an unlimited month pass to doesn't have many classes that work with my schedule, so I'll be continuing to join my normal Sunday class that I love love love so much. Today was no disappointment. I was a sweaty, leg-shaky pile of goo afterwards.
[about -250 cal]
Sunday Afternoon Snack #1: a Clif Nectar bar, consumed immediately after yoga. Thank goodness I had it in my purse.
[160 cal]
My eating schedule always gets off on Sundays because I typically sleep later than normal then have yoga from 12:30-1:30, aka lunchtime. Today I had to go back to the office for another hour then went grocery shopping, so lunch slipped right by me. Needless to say I was famished while grocery shopping (bad, bad idea) and gave in to these Mi-Del Lemon Snaps.
I of course ripped into them as soon as I got in the car. They are SO GOOD! Just a hint of lemon with the same crunch as a classic ginger snap. They are dangerous... When I realized that I could easily finish the whole bag on my way home, I quickly reached behind me for the bag of grapes and noshed on them instead.
Sunday Afternoon Snack #2: 5 Mi-Del Lemon Snaps and a handful of red grapes (recreated for your viewing pleasure...).
[250 cal]
I had big plans to make dinner tonight, but when I opened the fridge I realized that we still had some leftovers to use up. So...another repeat.
Sunday Dinner: leftover Pad Thai and a big ol' salad. Also, a glass of cab (which was actually started while sitting on the back deck with my hubb and our pupps, enjoying our amazing weather).
[salad = 225 cal, thai = about 350 cal]
My salad contained:
Sunday Dessert: 2 lemon snaps and another bunch of grapes...they just looked so good when I was taking their picture for the snack re-creation.
[155 cal]
This post has taken forever for me to write because I'm watching the Grammy's at the same time. :) And now, its just about bed time. But first, a big reminder that tomorrow starts the 
The above picture is of the onions within the first 5 minutes of caramelization. The whole process took about 20 minutes, but I forgot to get a picture of the finished onions. :( We used pre-made TJ's whole wheat pizza dough that I had frozen. I'm not crazy about the TJ's dough...I think I'll pass on buying it again.
The contraption my hubb is using to get the pizza in and out of the oven is called a 
This was my first time using the 
I had a little less than 1/4 of the pizza on my plate, but only ate about 2/3's of that. It was SO RICH. I think next time I'll use less blue cheese...
This was a weird eating day for me. Breakfast was so late that I skipped lunch, but did have a peanut butter date blondie after they were photographed. Of course. Then I promptly packed them up to take with me to the office tomorrow. Definitely can't risk having those tasty little treats hanging out in my kitchen!
Snack: peanut butter date blondie
[250 calories]
Dessert: 1/2 cup of Ciao Bella blood orange sorbetto...so good.
[120 calories]
Exercise: I took my dog Lucy for a 3 mile walk/run around the neighborhood. We both needed the exercise, and I wanted to test out my foot. It did ok, but I'm still taking it easy. I think I'm going to make an appointment with a podiatrist to get it checked out... I walked/ran more for Lucy than for me...she's not used to running that far all at once. She had surgery last summer on both of her knees and didn't fully recover until December, so we're still working on getting her strength back. She did really well though, I'm a proud momma! :)
[-260 calories]
Daily Review:
Morning Snack: oikos - blueberry flavor, leftover from the snack I never ate on Monday.
Lunch: a big ol' salad.
This delight contained:
Afternoon Snack: a perfect tangelo and a Clif Nectar Cacao, dark chocolate raspberry flavor. I enjoyed the bar before my evening run and the tangelo after.
Exercise: a 3-1/2 mile run with my dear friend Kelly. This was a much more enjoyable run than last night's because (1) I had company to chit chat with and (2) we went at 5pm and still had daylight!!! Yay for longer days!!! :) Thank you all for your supportive comments on last night's post, you have no idea how much it helps to know that I have a whole community of people cheering me on! I really think that I could learn to love running in the right conditions. A little daylight, a slightly warmer temperature and good company make all the difference!!! :)
However, I need a little injury help/advice. I'm starting to feel my tendonitis flare up again. I'm embarrassed to show you what my feet look like in the winter time, but I wanted to show all you runners out there where it hurts and see if you have any advice for me.
Have any of you had pain there before? It hurts the most when I've been sitting for awhile, and get up to walk. Almost like its seized up and can't stretch back out. It started bothering me on Monday, I'm sure taking last week off then going for a long run Saturday and an intense yoga class on Sunday flared it up. I took Monday off running, but went again last night. My foot hurt all day, but I really wanted to get my run in tonight. I know, naughty. I am committed to taking tomorrow and Friday off though, in preparation for my long run on Saturday. So my question is, do I ice it or heat it? I'm going to do my own research tonight on the 'net, but I was hoping some of you might have some personal, tried and true advice for me.
Back to food...
Tonight the hubb and I were called for emergency babysitting duty for friends. The change of plans has thrown our evening and my super healthy tofu and swiss chard dinner off track, as I only had time for a quick carry-out decision. I chose Chipotle because it had been awhile, and I felt that I could make a relatively healthy and quick choice.
Dinner: Chipotle burrito bowl with rice, black beans, grilled chicken, tomato salsa, lettuce and guacamole. I also had a couple of chips. :)
We're still with the kiddos...the 2-year old is fast asleep and my hubb is giving the baby a bottle after he woke up fussing. Too cute. Looks like it will be an all-nighter for us, although I'll probably leave at some point to go back to our house and take care of our pups. In the meantime, I'm watching Lost and knitting a baby sweater for a friend. :)
G'night!
This bowl contained:
The hubb and I joined some friends and co-workers for lunch today to watch inauguration festivities. There was a huge pan of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and baked beans, and it was all oh. so. good. I was a bad healthy foodie at lunchtime. :)
Lunch: two fried chicken drumsticks, some delectable baked beans and mashed potatoes. And, of course, 
Dinner: a large [much needed] salad and some Amy's Veggie Lentil soup. After my frigid run, I just wanted something warm, satisfying and low-effort. :)
And another 1/2 a cookie...
And now I think I'm off to a hot bath with my book. I may finally finish it! Its been wonderful, but my book list is a mile long and I'm ready to move on to the next read. Good night!
My hubb and I ran 5 (ridiculously hilly) miles today!!! I tell you what, I really paid for not running all week. It was tough!!! But I finished, and that's all that matters! My hubb was so sweet and stayed with me the whole way, slowing down to wait for me on several occasions. There is no way that I would have finished if he hadn't been just ahead of me encouraging me to keep going. For the first 2 miles I was miserable. I had layered myself with Under Armor Cold Gear, a fleece vest, windbreaker, gloves, ear warmers and SmartWool socks, but I was still frozen. My toes and lips were numb and my lungs burned from the 18* (felt like 7*) air. The whole time I was thinking "why am I doing this? i don't like to run! this is crazy!". But after 2 miles I got in the groove and realized I had to keep going because I would just get colder if I stopped to walk. I finally warmed up, my toes gained feeling again, but my lips stayed frozen. When we finally finished I couldn't talk right, it felt like I'd been numbed for a dental procedure or something. Quite funny. :) I don't think I could have chosen a hillier route...what was I thinking? But, it makes me even prouder to have finished because not only did we increase our distance from last week but we added a ton of hills in as well. We rock! :)
My breakfast fuel held me over really well. No tummy growling this week. But when we got back I was ready for lunch.
Lunch: leftover roasted potatoes + squash (recipe below...SO good) on top of leftover bulgur and fresh spinach. Also, a side of 1/2 cup Fage 0% and strawberries, which my hubb helped me finish.
This combo was SO tasty. The spinach wilted a bit when I microwaved the bowl to heat up the squash and 'taters, making it more flavorful and the perfect consistency with the rest of the dish.
So a quick recap of yesterday is in order. I'll try to keep it brief, but definitely hold out for the simple Roasted Squash + Potatoes at the bottom because it is a winner!
Breakfast: same as thursday, a toasted Ezekiel Cinn Raisin Muffin with 1 tbsp natural peanut butter, cranberry ketchup and apple slices. Such a good, filling breakfast. My second favorite, the first being oats. :)
Lunch: leftover stuffed acorn squash filling with roasted garlic hummus and fresh spinach wrapped up in a 8" whole wheat tortilla. A side of extra hummus, 1/2 a red bell pepper and a carrot finished it off.
Snack: My office had our weekly wine and cheese "yay its friday!" celebration, so I had more cheese, crackers, and wine than I probably should have. :)
It was "use up stuff in the fridge before we shop tomorrow" night, and it turned out SO well! We had leftover baked chicken breast, an acorn squash, some red potatoes that were growing eyes, and a lot of fresh produce to use up. I knew I wanted to make something with the squash and potatoes, and dreamed up this simple combo while at work.
Rosemary Roasted Butternut Squash + Potatoes
Ingredients:
I can't tell you enough how good this was! Please, please, please try it! :)
The rest of dinner consisted of a HUGE salad and 1/2 a chicken breast seasoned with Chef Paul's Poultry Magic.
The salad contained:
Its no wonder I passed out shortly after consuming this feast...
The blood orange is one of my favorite winter fruits. I look forward to it every winter similarly to how I look forward to 
After my run I was famished!!! My tummy was growling at me for the last mile. I knew I had to eat as soon as I got home...
Breakfast: 1 cup of Flax Plus Pumpkin Raisin Crunch with 1/2 banana and 1 cup of soy milk.
The hubb and I had a great day running some errands and meeting friends for lunch. I won't bore you with details, but the day included mattress testing and lunch at a Brazilian Churrascaria, 
And this isn't even close to all of the books we own...
So, my big plans for grocery shopping and baking today were postponed until tomorrow, hopefully. :)
I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend...I'll be back tomorrow!
When I bit in, I was hit with an intense freezer-burn flavor and had a really tough time chewing the old bread. Into the trash it went, and off I was to a cafe' down the street for some oatmeal. What a waste of almond butter and cran ketchup (if you want the recipe shoot me an email, its straight from a cookbook so I can't post it).
Breakfast: a cup of oatmeal with cinnamon, brown sugar, golden raisins and chopped apple.
Morning Snack: a grapefruit that was supposed to be part of breakfast, but my oatmeal was pretty filling.
Leftovers for lunch make me pretty happy, especially when the leftovers are Thai!!! Thank you all for the great suggestions of places to find good Thai recipes. I have a feeling you'll be seeing some experimentation on the blog. I'm especially excited about Ellen's suggestion to check out 
Mid-Afternoon Snack: 1/4 cup of mixed nuts and dried fruit (cherries and figs, my favorites!!!). My hubb also brought me a few fries from his lunch, 'cause he knows what I like. :)
The hubb and I went for a run after work tonight...2-3/4 miles. I kept up with my love as best I could which resulted in a speedier than normal run for me. There were also hills. I've discovered that you can't go further than 2 miles in Charlottesville without hitting a decent hill. When we got home I stretched for a long time, I even did a few Vinyasa flows. My hips have been really tight (maybe because of all the hills?!?) so I spent extra time with poses that would help to release some tension. Hmmmmmmm....I feel so much better! :)
For dinner tonight I wanted to make some kind of cheesy, veggie-ful casserole thing. I wasn't sure where it was going, but I thought that this spaghetti squash might be a good start.
The hubb disagreed (don't worry, I'll try it eventually) so the squash was delegated to fill my belly at lunch tomorrow. I love getting the next day's lunch packed the night before, it makes my mornings so much easier! I'll save the picture of my packed lunch for tomorrow's post though... :)
Instead, we went with our classic mexican dip night. This is now a once-a-month favorite of ours, and typically corresponds with new episodes of Grey's Anatomy. We used to eat it at least once-a-week...I think we've come very far. I even went so far as to dip raw veggies into the cheesy goodness rather than tortilla chips...yay me!
Dinner: mexican dip with one whole carrot and 1/2 a cucumber. I caved in and had a few blue corn tortilla chips too, but not NEARLY as many as I would have had if I hadn't chopped up some veggies.
This dip included:
Lunch: More 
Snacks: Clems and Stoneyfield Yogurt. I only ate one clem, after my run.
Dinner: Take-out Thai!!!! Yay! My fave. I picked the tofu scallion soup with bean sprouts, and ordered some rice noodles on the side to throw on top. The broth was absolutely amazing! I really need to start cooking Thai food...
I also had a small pile of the hubb's tofu pad thai and a few veggie spring rolls dipped in their amazing spicy pineapple sauce.
Does anybody have a good resource for Thai recipes? I'm looking for a book, or website, or chef I should watch out for...
Before rushing off to the bath I must write about my run. I'm so excited to be past the 3-mile mark and getting in 30+ minute running workouts multiple times a week! While at dinner with our friends last weekend, Kelly and I chatted about starting to run together again occasionally. She was my first running partner in Charlottesville, we 
Lots of citrus, honeycrisp apples and CURRANTS!!!! I l.o.v.e. currants.
I look forward to this time of year because it means I get to have one of my all-time FAVORITE breakfasts...
Fresh Red Currant Pancakes! I hope you all like pictures of pancakes, because you're about to get a lot of them...I just can't help myself. And I have to give credit to my hubb for a lot of these pictures...he's catching the food photography bug too! :)
Happy Saturday!
