My Reward For Going

I really hate going to the doctor.

As in, I don’t.

Like ever.

It took practically collapsing from pain when I stood up to get me to an orthopedist about a stress reaction in my leg a few years ago. Had my boss not yelled at me, my leg may have actually fallen off before I admitted there was an issue at all.

Only half kidding on that one.

I’ve lived in Chicago over 3 years now and yesterday was the first time I’ve been to a general practice for anything. Sure, there are my lady doctor and orthopedist who both keep me in check from time to time, but a primary care physician?

Uhhh…. shame…

So when I switched up a few things on my insurance and went for an HMO, it finally became time to get myself a little physical and such.

Also, I need a primary care physician in order to get a referral to go back to my other doctors.

So really, it was a forced thing.

Anyway, I hate going (has this been stressed enough yet?). I hate the waiting room. I hate being weighed in the middle of a hallway. And I hate sitting around in a paper gown for an unnatural period of time. All after showing up 20 minutes early to get the show on the road.

So to make up for my unpleasant experiences at the doctor’s office, and since he didn’t give me a lollipop at the end like all the kids get, I went home in need of come comfort food.Ironically, I’m also not a fan of deep dish pizza. But made my own version last night with the help of Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough.

Hear me out- there’s a big difference when pizza is made at home. Because I filled it with a million veggies instead of a pound of cheese.Artichokes, olives, onions and mushrooms all to add in after letting the crust cook on it’s own for at least 5 minutes (otherwise it stays too doughy in the middle- take note).

This, along with the addition of spinach, is a combo that very few of my friends would ever agree to if we were ordering. Really, the ratio of vegetables in this probably makes my little dish qualify more as a “casserole”. However, since I used legit pizza sauce (that’s what it says on the can!), it is still pizza in my eyes.

And no, there wasn’t a pound of cheese, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a little.I mean… let’s not be silly.

It WAS comfort food, afterall.Dig in, kids.

Oh and I should probably mention the physical went well. He said I was quite healthy and even gave me some pill-a-roos to take for when I feel migraines coming on. I’m not a huge fan of pills of any sort. Asking me to track down some advil in my house usually means me fishing through the bottom of my purse for sample packets I stashed from work. But it’s nice to have some meds on hand. Just in case. 

(Source)

And I’m sure my coworkers/roommate will also appreciate it.

It’s a win for everyone.

Covering My Bases

Hey kids! Happy Thursday!

I’m glad I’m not the only one who is a little irked by the sometimes unrealistic expectations when it comes to working out. At no point was I trying to sound like a workout snob, I just wish people would understand it takes a little more than getting the gym pass and buying the sneaks- although both are a noteworthy first step. Just like anything else, you gotta put some effort into it.

Even if that means fitting it in where you can. Like with regular morning workouts…

It was my last workout of the week. Other than shaking my booty on the dance floor, it’s a vacation weekend away from the gym.

Vacation calls for such things sometimes.

But we made it count. As mentioned yesterday, there was a desire to get 4 miles in as to continue to cover my bases when it comes to the 10k I’ve got in a few weeks. The distance was a success. The time? 8:44 pace. Not my best of the week. We’ll overlook it, though. The win for me comes from the fact that I wasn’t so much fatigued by the end of the 4 miles. I was just bored with being on the treadmill.

Next week, though, that should change. I have a friend who works in a building right next to me who has been asking to start running together during lunch a few times a week. He says he needs a little kick in the butt to get back into it (knee surgery last year). There’s a forest preserve near us and since the weather has been mild and anything but summer-like, I said sure.

Hopefully I won’t be kicking MYSELF in the butt for that one.

Because I’ve been mixing and matching things in the refrigerator (as to not grocery shop the day before I leave for the weekend), this is what I came up with:The black beans and sweet potato combo has been made well-known by various kiddos in the blogosphere. I even tried it in a wrap here. It’s a great meal when trying to cover all your bases nutritionally, but there was a reason why I haven’t combined the two since then. I like my sweet potatoes mostly sweet or as a side on their own. And prefer black beans combined with other things- like mexican food. Yessss….

In short, the zucchini was the clear star of my dinner last night.

What a diva that zucchini is.

It was a nice and refreshing meal. For some reason, I doubt I’ll have anything as well-balanced this weekend in Vegas. Unless, of course, I visit Serendipity again where they must have trees of broccoli growing in the kitchen.

And before I leave you this morning, does anyone remember Cecil? My dear and elderly friend has made his way up to Boston to visit Stephanie! 

Make it a good one, kids!

A Fair Trade

All this talk about wine and brownies makes me happy. I mean- who wouldn’t be excited to talk about them constantly? And I could continue to go on and on about such things for quite some time if you’d care to listen.

But working out is also still very much part of my daily routine. As to keep up my fitness levels and to also cancel out said chocolate and alcohol consumption (we’re being honest here).

Sure, I’m a little behind on where I’d like to be when it comes to training for this 10k coming up. But not all is lost. A few sessions may have gone unmentioned but that does not make them any less important.

Like Sunday where I pulled 3 miles at 8:32- a pace range I seem to have naturally fallen into. Much like Stella, I’m slowly getting my groove back. Unlike Stella, it doesn’t include sexy men.

You win some, you lose some.

Yesterday I got up early for some morning strength by shredding with Jillian and kept the cardio pretty chill with just some time spent on the elliptical and walking on the tread after work. Nothing crazy because I wanted to get a quality run in this morning.

This strategy apparently worked. 4 miles at 8:35 pace. No discomfort. No problems. Tuesday can put that in its pipe and smoke it. Muah.

I bet we can give thanks to my pasta dish from last night for some of the early morning energy.Never would I break out the nice bowls (aka anything other than what it was cooked in) and be all OCD about the presentation for myself, but I had a guest.

Fine. It was Mon. And she knows her way around my apartment almost as well as I do. She has also been known to clean my apartment more than I do. So at this point, “guest” would be stretching it. 

As I was participating in light cardio yesterday evening, she brought me a dress I wanted to borrow for the bachelorette party in Vegas this coming weekend. And then she told me just to keep it. Because she doesn’t think she’ll wear it anymore and I like it.

I said no. It was hers. She looks good in it. I’m giving it back.

She said no. It was mine now. Deal with it.

I said fine. I mean, I do like it. But I’d pay her for it.

She said no and called me stupid.

I may have called her something inappropriate and said I’d at least feed her dinner.

She said fine. So I did.

If we’re being honest, I would have asked her if she wanted some dinner and invited her over anyway. But she doesn’t know that…

But back to the actual food- zucchini and asparagus really are two of my favorite veggies. Rarely do I put much on them other than olive oil and garlic salt- they don’t need much else. 

I’ll never pass up a sale on either. Mostly because they can go with or in pretty much anything. As evidence, I roasted extra and now have plenty for my salads/omelets the rest of the week.

Versatility is the name of the game. So is time efficiency.

Speaking of time efficiency, it’s time I skedaddle. My next few days are planned down to the minute and if I don’t get laundry started RIGHT NOW, it’s throwing off the entire week.

I’m only half kidding.

Laters!

What I’ve Been Up To

I’m so glad some of you were interested in trying the scotcheroos!  Seriously- you will not be disappointed.

And a couple of you asked if you can substitute something for the corn syrup. Well… I’ve never tried it. But a google search let me in on the secret- yes, you can sub a combo of sugar and water. Not surprising…

Speaking of google searches, someone found my blog by google searching “is there an actual city called crazy town?”. Well Mr. Unknown, I do not know the answer to that. But if there is, I am definitely an interested party. I may be moving there sooner than later…

Anyway, the lack of my regular routine has also resulted in lack of regular posting. The non-routine thing has me all in a tizzy with all these sudden rest days. And a bit of a bad mood. Thanks, leg. I guess as much as I’d love to be, there will never be a day where I can truly consider myself “spontaneous”. Lame. 

What does this mean?  Well… I had a few moments where I sorta looked like this dude.

And then I cleaned. Thanks to a crazy roommate from back in the day, I don’t like having dishes in the sink. Like at all. If they start to build up (as in more than 2 bowls are sitting there), I get all anxious she’s going to storm through the door and yell at me.

Clearly I’m scarred for life. And like to think of myself as Cinderella.

Any good roommate stories? I’ll have to ponder a while to figure out my best one…

I also grocery shopped. And- ahem- stopped by the mall. Retail therapy… ya know?

My thought process is that if I eat all the groceries I bought…… maybe I’ll also enjoy my apparel purchases a little more? 

This made me happy, but soon I looked like that dude again.

So yeah. Not too much going on here.

And I can’t escape how I really feel… grrrr.

Don’t get me wrong- it’s nice to have some rest time. But I’d rather be getting myself ready for this silly little half marathon thing I’ve got going on in about 10 days. Actually enjoy the rest time- after the race. Instead of just sitting around restless and anxious now. Meh.

Because I’ve got limitations on being able to properly prepare, I’ve at least made some rules. Mostly to keep myself from getting any more sluggish than I already am at the moment. (Does anyone else notice when you’ve got way too much downtime that you just get more and more lazy? Or is that just me?)

No wine. Lots of veggies (um… duh?). And don’t forget the protein!The ice melted funny.

I put asparagus and broccoli with the eggs, so we’re just gonna say that’s what cancels out the cream cheese spread on the bread, mmmk?

Because I had the time, and didn’t want to stop the baking extravaganza with scotcheroos, there was also some more honey oat quick bread thrown together. With walnuts added in- a must do.

Like mentioned, there hasn’t been a lot of action on the workout front (other than random situps here and there, some pushups, swearing, maybe throwing a few things, etc etc). Tonight I will be hitting the gym to see what’s going on with the whole situation with that weird feeling I’ve got in the left leggie. As in, I’m going to hit the elliptical for a bit to get in some decent cardio while loosening up and then see how the treadmill goes.

It’s not a muscle thing. That I know. I also know it will take all of 20 seconds on the treadmill to figure where I stand on it (puns!).

Wish me luck.

Or give me some advice if you have it.

Either/or.

A New Twist

More often than not, I end up buying the same things at the grocery store.  They are my staples. They make me happy. And until they don’t, I’ll continue to buy them.

That’s just how I roll.

However, I do like to mix up how they end up on my plate. It at least makes me feel like I’m doing something different…

So say hello to veggie flatbread:The differences between this and pizza are minimal. But still exist.

For one, it’s a new shape. Woooaaaahhh… way outside the comfort zone!

Also, it includes broccoli and chickpeas but not cheese. And I don’t care what people say. You may even like it. But I just don’t really feel right putting broccoli/chickpeas on pizza. Or ever calling it pizza if it doesn’t include cheese.  So that’s why this definitely couldn’t be called pizza… right?

The crust was yet again the pizza dough crust made with beer that Holly created. I made a half recipe. It still gave me 3 good-sized flatbreads.  Plus, on a Tuesday (yuck!), I didn’t mind being able to finish the other half of the beer. ;)

And yes, for those of you who asked yesterday, a Tuesday is still a Tuesday. Even if you have Monday off.  It just may not be the most “extreme” of the yucky Tuesdays… Tuesday Light?

Either way, the drunken flatbread (oooh… maybe that’s a good name for it?) hit the spot after a long day. After Monday’s long run and 5 hours of running errands, I was less than enthusiastic about getting up early to hit the gym. But as usual, I would have just been upset with myself if I really had to trudge to the gym after getting home from work late. And I felt great after the workout.  21 minutes on the elliptical- had only planned to go to 20, but when I checked the time, I had already passed it (weird!).

Then 20 minutes on the stairs. I will have to say, after the Hustle Up the Hancock, I’ll be ready to give the stairs a rest. Or at least back off of them a little. 

That was yesterday’s workout. This morning’s workout? The 4 miles I was supposed to run? Um….

I didn’t sleep in or anything. Made it to the gym. Stepped on the treadmill. And thought, “woah, this really isn’t going to happen today.”

Have you had a moment like that recently?  Had I started running, it wouldn’t have gone for very long. So I walked- for 30 minutes (2 miles) and did some serious ab work for the rest of the time there. I haven’t focused solely on that area lately. And there was no reason to waste my time since I was already up.

So now I have this 4 miles to make up at some point. A new twist got thrown into my normal routine! Not sure if I’ll work them in when I get home?  Or maybe I’ll call this my “relaxed” day for the week and do it tomorrow morning (my actual rest day) instead? Decisions, decisions…

Just So Wild

G’Morning!

I could not be more well-rested.  After several crazy weekends of running around and road trips, I took this last weekend off to stay put and have a couple low key nights with friends.  Each night ended up with me falling asleep easily by midnight.  Only to wake up around 3:00 on my couch (groggy and confused) and having to drag myself to a more proper place for sleep.

I’m just so wild.

I was efficient with my downtime, no worries.  Caught up on emails, cleaned, ran errands… you know- responsible stuff. 

And I made stew.

Yes.  Wild.Last time I was home, my mom sent up more goods from the garden (remember- I lived on a farm). This included canned tomato juice. It’s usually used for some crazy good chili, but I’m low on ground beef and have plenty of other things around- it was time to switch it up.

Oh and I also make more honey oatmeal bread.  It’s officially an obsession.Into my massive crock pot went one freakishly large sweet potato, 2 cans of black beans, approximately a cup of corn (I just poured it until satisfied), 2ish cups of mushrooms (dumped until satisfied) and half of a yellow onion. I also threw in some jalapeno chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s on a whim. Best decision ever.

Interesting fact- red onions do not make me cry. I barely cut into a yellow onion and tears are streaming down my face during a “my eyyyyyeeeessss!!!” moment.  How irritating.

Also thrown in was garlic salt, red chili pepper flakes, pepper, a little paprika and parsley. All should be tossed in according to your taste. Because I like spicy, you can be assured I used a heavy hand with each one…

Clearly I don’t follow recipes when cooking.I just sat with my feet propped up on the couch as it cooked away for 4 hours.  Ahhhh…. gotta love the crock pot.

I think my crock pot needs a manly man’s name. That way, when someone calls and asks what I’m up to, I can just say, “oh you know, I’m just resting after such a long day of work. And Hank is being a dear by cooking dinner…”

Or maybe I could make him sexy and exotic?  Cristiano possibly?  Such difficult decisions… 

Actually, it’s not.  I choose Cristiano.

Anyway, it was definitely a spicy dish (probably just Cristiano trying to get me all hot and bothered). I loved it. And now there is a massive amount of stew leftover. 

I’m definitely one to freeze almost anything, so I’ll probably keep a serving or two for this week and throw the rest in the freezer.

Thanks for dinner, Cristiano.

I really did appreciate all his hard work after a long day. After Saturday’s 7-mile run, I wasn’t sure how long my “strength training” would be.

But after all my “wild” nights of falling asleep early, there was plenty of energy to go around.  Level 2 of The Shred, 20 minutes on the stairmill, and even a quick mile run was thrown in because I felt like it.

Sure, technically there was more cardio than strength, but it’s the weekend and I do what I want.

This week’s weather is looking GOOD.  I really wanted to take my long run outside on Saturday, but there’s still a massive amount of snow sticking around. And that’s not cool.  Cross your fingers that the climb to a 50-degree day over the week will take care of a lot of it so I can hit the trails over the weekend. The treadmill and I need to spend some time apart.

Have a good day, everyone!

(Oh and PS- if you want to know where I got “Cristiano” from, do yourself a favor and google search the soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. There ya go. Happy Valentine’s Day from me.)

Time Wasted With a Sweet Potato

Thanks for helping me welcome Cecil in my life.  I don’t think he realizes all the adventures he has ahead of him. 

On the training front, everything is still running smoothly (like my pun?!?!  ahahahaa). I made it to the gym in the AM for a 3-mile run and was not bothered with the overcrowded nonsense I dealt with on Monday morning.  Thank goodness.

So “yay me!” for going in the morning, but the first mile was ROUGH.  I may have still been half asleep.  Turns out maybe a warm-up on the elliptical may be a good idea versus the  usual walking I do. At least when it comes to the morning running.

After that initial mile, everything was fine.  Maybe even great if you don’t mind my bragging. 3 miles at 8:20 pace. It was the last mile that did that- I started it at 8:07 and worked my way down to 7:47. Truckin’.

Wednesdays are a running and strength combo, so I did The Shred later after work to make sure I took care of business for the day.  Nothing new to report there.

After all that, I did one of the most stupid things ever on a night when I worked later and also exercised before eating.  I made a new dinner. That took longer than average (i.e. 10 minutes). What was I thinking???

Sweet potato bites.  Because I don’t want to use the term “balls” for fear that my readers really will think I’m obsessed with making balls jokes.

Trying to keep it classy up in this joint for once…

It was already decided sweet potatoes would be on the menu. Because I wanted them. And wanted to try something new for some reason.  Being as how I’m not the most gourmet gal in the kitchen, most things that sparked my interest required a trip to the grocery store.  And that was not happening.

Then, I ran across about a million different varieties of this sweet potato “ball” thing.  Again, I didn’t have the exact ingredients for any one of the recipes, but the idea stuck.  So I just sort of read a few and decided to wing it.

This must be how to live dangerously on a Wednesday night. 

Firstly, let’s just say I need to invest in a potato masher. And peeler.

Actually, nix the peeler.  I have a feeling that would only end in bloodshed.

The mashing was the hardest part. Mixing in the pecans and a little brown sugar was easy.I didn’t overdo it on the brown sugar. My reasoning was that I didn’t have regular corn flakes and had to use Special K. So there was plenty of sweet going on already.

I didn’t know if they would keep their shape, so after I rolled the sweet potato mix in the Special K, I used my mini cupcake tin to bake them. (350 degrees at 15 minutes)Cute, yes? One semi-large sweet potato worked almost perfectly for this.

And here’s what I really learned…It was a lot of work for something that would most likely have been just as good as mashed sweet potatoes.

However, I would assume it would be more fun for kids to eat this way? And it looks pretty. So if that’s something you find important or if you’re planning a party, it could probably be worth it. And I say to go for it (and also to try them rolled in coconut).

But I probably won’t do it again. Don’t get me wrong- they were delicious, they just took too long! I like my 10-15 minute meals during the week. Rachel Ray can eat my dust.

I Have Taken A Lover

That’s right.

There’s a new man in my life.

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind.  We’ve met before in passing, but didn’t declare our feelings until we ran into each other at the grocery store earlier this week.

Since then, we’ve shared multiple dinners, lunches and even breakfast.  He now knows how I like my eggs. 

And no, the answer is not “fertilized”.

Come on, people. I know there’s only one more day until the weekend, but head out of the gutter.

His name?

General Tsao. What can I say?  I like hot, spicy and exotic.  He’s all of these things.  *Sigh*

If you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?

Get off my case.  And I just might.  Because it’s clearly the longest relationship I’ve been willing to have in quite some time.  That says something.

In all seriousness, this is how the fairy tale began:

Megan and I were chattin’ it up on Google one day earlier this week and were having quite the animated conversation about our upcoming grocery shopping adventures. (Couldn’t make that up if I tried.)

We both had trips to Trader Joe’s planned.  Imagine that.

All I needed was spinach.  But I wondered what else I would end up with. General Tsao and I have gotten along quite swimmingly as I have found many uses for him since getting nailed with a sample (sneaky, sneaky!).

He helped me say adios to the last of my Christmas turkey leftovers:A spicy sandwich that even included jalapeno.  No mercy.

You can roast chickpeas and sweet potatoes with him.There’s quite a bit of flavor lost here (FYI), but it still worked out well.

Tsao also inspired me to actually make stir fry after always commenting on everyone else’s.Snow peas?  Yes please…

Then you can throw it all on spinach and call it a salad…Or throw some leftover stir fry veggies in an omelet:Oops.  My smugness got the best of me.  Scramble it is. Attractiveness?  Not so good. Deliciousness? Spot on.

However you decide to use G. Tsao, he will reward you with good food.  Promise.

I’ll be sad to see him leave.  But sometimes, when you really love something… you’ve just got to let it go…

Latest “fling” in the kitchen?  Anyone?

Sandwiches and Runways

It all started when I decided to buy a 2-lb bag of asparagus at Trader Joe’s over the weekend.

This is a good idea, Amy.  Surely you can breeze through 2 whole pounds of asparagus.  No problem.

To give you an idea of how much asparagus I usually go through, a 10-oz pack of it will be used randomly here and there over a week before it starts to get a bad.

Needless to say, I’ve been working on getting creative.   

Enter a new favorite veggie sandwich…Every good sandwich needs good bread.  (thanks for the coupons, Brownberry…)Layer One= Zucchini roasted with greek seasoning in the oven-a-roo (technical term the professionals use).Layer Two= the star of the show.  Also roasted with the slices of zucchini.  (I think they took about 5 or 6 minutes at 350 degrees?)Layer Three = death to your breath.  Onions sautéed in a pan with balsamic vinaigrette.

Plan to make this for dinner.  At a time you’re not doing anything afterwards.  Just a thought.Cheese!!!  Because everything else was warm, it melted pretty easily.  Otherwise, you could probably pop it all in the oven-a-roo that is still warm from roasting the zucchini and asparagus.  It’s totally necessary to use the cheese to bind it all together.

Don’t tell me it’s not.  I won’t believe you.  Cheese is a must.Baller. 

Moving on…

Guess what’s on tonight? (Source)

Now here’s my question…  Do you like watching?  Don’t care?  Appalled beyond belief? I know the issue of body image is brought up often.  I’m just curious of your thoughts?

I think I’ve watched it almost every year.  Other than seeing really cute lingerie that I probably can’t afford and will never buy, I love how these chicks strut their shiznit on the runway.  There’s something to be said about the confidence they exude.  Not that I don’t see the other side of the argument.  As a mother, maybe I would view it differently. If I were a little more self-conscious about my body (ahem- my teeny tiny boobs might be something to discuss here), maybe it would bug me. 

I guess I just don’t take the show in such a serious light.  But that’s why I want to here YOUR thoughts. 

Because that’s just my opinion.

I’m glad one thing that isn’t just my own opinion is my feeling towards T-Swizzle and my man, Jake.  It’s just weird.  And doesn’t make sense.  Maybe I’m just saying these things because I’m not jumping on the Taylor Swift fan bus.  Who knows…

Either way, it’s a rainy Tuesday here.  Let’s hope this isn’t a sign of how the day will turn out.  Fingers crossed!

Friends Cooking for Friends

After much consideration, I’ve made some new rules to follow when doing “happy hour” in the middle of the week.

I think we can all agree that no shots should be taken.  I’m not a 21-year-old college student that doesn’t have class on Friday.  I can’t swing these things like I used to.

Ugh… that made me sound old.

My boss told me my “eyes looked tired”.  I think we all know that was a nice way of saying, “seriously- you look awful”. 

I can’t help it, boss.  Things just escalated so quickly!

After work, I laid around until it was time to get moving once again.  Annie invited Mon and I over for a girl’s night.  She even cooked for us.  My friends are swell.  She is much less messy in the kitchen than I am.  So that’s why you rarely see pics like this of me cooking…

On the menu?  Tomato soup paired with veggie focaccia sandwiches.  Her husband is usually a dude who requires meat with his meals (let’s be honest- what man doesn’t?), so I think she was happy to be able to prepare a veggie-heavy meal for us.

And what girl’s night doesn’t include wine?If you look closely (or not that closely), you can see me in the red bottle.  Heeeeeeyyyyyyy!The base of the sandwiches were yellow, orange, and green peppers along with onions that had been sautéed in balsamic.  Topped off with spinach and provolone.  I chose to also go the extra mile and dip it in my tomato soup (also made from scratch- go Annie, go!). 

Faboosh.I’m excited.  But you may not be able to tell because of my “tired eyes”… 

On another note- this was the same shirt I wore out the night before.  Don’t judge me.  I swear I showered.  And it’s the  most comfy shirt of all time that can be dressed up and down.  Assume you’ll see it in heavy rotation on the blog.

Anyhoo… happy weekend!  I hope you enjoy a lazy Saturday.  I think I will be staying positioned on the couch a wee bit longer out of sheer laziness before I “start” my day.  Because I need to watch a couple more hours of Food Network and how to prepare the perfect Thanksgiving.  Even if I’m only in charge of dessert (because let’s face it- that’s the sole thing I excel at in the kitchen).

For the holiday- are you cooking the full meal or are you in charge of one dish?

Or do you bring the wine?  (Hey- that’s a very important duty, too!)

Enjoy your Saturday, kids!