Sunday wrap up
15 Nov 2010 4 Comments
What a productive Sunday I had that included a trip to the Farmer’s market and cooking up a veggie feast. Before I get to the cooking, a little JC update. I’m down a little over 7 lbs! I’m very happy with this. I’ve also been keeping up with a 5 mile run once a week with my friend so with the diet going well and the runs consistent, I’m feeling pretty great. Ok, on to the food!
The market is very small, but it’s across from my apt building so I can’t complain. I got inspired to try some new stuff so I went and picked up an acorn squash, a parsnip and cippolini onions. Random, I know.
I got pretty hungry in the afternoon so I decided to finally make those parsnip fries everyone (especially Caitlin) always raves about. They’re a little too starchy for an everyday thing (they’re a limited food on JC), but it’s Sunday so what the heck? I peeled the BAP (that’s big ass parsnip). I cut it up like fries and layed it out on a sheet.
That’s a before and after. All I did was stick it in an oven at 375 with a little EVOO, salt and pepper until they looked ready.
For dinner, I really outdid myself. I decided to save the acorn squash so that it wouldn’t be a super starchy day, and cook up the spaghetti squash I had already. Although it takes longer, baking the squash is so much easier than cutting that sucker and then microwaving. Just put it on a pan, stick it in a 375 degree oven and bake for 50 minutes to an hour.
While I let it cool a bit, I layed out the peeled onions and a box of cherry tomatoes on the pan. Sprinkled just a touch of EVOO, salt, pepper and thyme and stuck it in the hot oven for about 20 minutes.
So pretty. Time to scoop the squash.
Next I combined.
Then stick the JC ravioli on top and you have a pretty awesome and healthy meal.
YUM
How was your weekend?
Spectating the NYC marathon
08 Nov 2010 11 Comments
Marathon Sunday is one of the best days in New York. I woke up to music blasting outside my window as 1st ave got ready for the runners. Before I knew it, the women elites were coming and we went outside to check them out. It’s amazing how fast they go.
After the women passed, my friends and I went back inside to eat and have some drinks before heading back down to see more people, the first of which was the Chilean miner. He was struggling by 18 but the crowd was cheering for him.
He’s the guy in the knee brace.
Soon it was time to get ready to look for my friend Lauren. I’ve told you all about her before. We started our running journey together and I’m so amazed at her dedication to run the marathon for autism. I was so nervous I’d miss her, so much pressure to spot people you know! I remember how great it felt to see my sister and friends during my half so I wanted to make sure she saw us and my awesome sign.
Yep, I used glitter.
Here’s the group of us waiting. We joked we’d be busy taking pics of ourselves when she passed us by haha.
As we’re waiting I saw some people coming up with Subway on their shirts. Then I realized, it’s Jared! We cheered on the Subway guy.
While we were waiting we also saw 2 people fall in a pot hole. The woman lost a tooth and bled everywhere. I told the cop that was the 2nd person we saw fall and they should put a cone up, but they couldn’t even get a paramedic come let alone a cone. Can you imagine falling that far into it?
Finally, I heard a friend say, “Here she comes!” Lauren looked great for 18 miles!
After seeing Lauren, we headed upstairs to hang out and relax while some of the others went to see her at the finish. So proud of you, Laur!
If anyone ever wants to visit NYC, Marathon Sunday is such a fun time to come. Nothing like it.
Making JC gourmet
03 Nov 2010 4 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: cooking
Even though I’m eating all Jenny Craig food, all the time, doesn’t mean I can’t spice it up with what they call “free foods.”
Last night’s dinner was a JC lasagna, so I decided to bake a spaghetti squash to go with. Usually I microwave squash to save time, but I got home early and decided to go the long route. Either way, it’s hard to go wrong with some SS.
I preheated the oven to 375 and poked some holes through the squash (so it doesn’t explode). Bake for about an hour and it’s perfect.
Baking it whole also saves you the muscle work of cutting that baby in half when it’s raw. Scoop out the seeds, and then fork out the strands and it’s ready.
I also had a box of cherry tomatoes that I wanted to roast to put on top (instead of sauce). I placed them on a baking sheet with just a bit of salt and put them in the oven for 10 minutes.
From this:
To this:
I have to say, it came out great and definitely bulked up the JC lasagna.
Sunday night, I did something similar to add to my dish. Kale chips and carrot fries!
The kale didn’t take long at all and I have no idea if I did it right, but it was pretty good to me.
The carrots take much longer, but when they’re done, yum. I pretty much love any vegetable roasted.
No gym for me so far because of my back, but I’m hoping to try to get some sort of workout in today.
Happy Wednesday!
I’m a princess
31 Oct 2010 4 Comments
So much to fill you all in on. I have a new fave food, a new injury and a new race to prepare for. Let’s start with the most annoying update. Yes, I have another injury, but I’m hoping it’s temporary. I woke up Friday morning after having a great 5-mile run outside on Thursday, with pain in my lower neck, upper back. Luckily I had the day off so I stayed in bed. When I woke up yesterday, it wasn’t any better at all. I got a massage at the advice of friends (I hate massages) and she focused on the area. I had trouble sleeping on it but hoping it’s worse before it gets better kinda thing. So Happy Halloween from my Icy-Hot covered back in bed. I did manage to go out for a little last night though. Can you guess my costume?
A Bachelor contestant!
Ok so favorite food. I’ve heard a lot about kale chips, which I still haven’t made, but have been really into sauteeing it. On Jenny Craig, non-starchy veggies are free foods that you can add to bulk up meals. I take a huge bunch of kale, wash it well, and then throw it in a pan that’s sprayed with Pam. As it wilts, I tear up more pieces to add in. The only other thing I add is lemon juice as it’s sauteeing. I love how it turns so bright green.
Once it’s done, I put it in a bowl and put some balsamic on top while it’s hot. Yum.
Now, onto my new race. My friend and I officially are signed up and have flights booked to the Disney Princess Half Marathon!! I’m both excited and scared. I’m going to have a different mindset going into this one and not stress about time and running a PR. I just want to enjoy it! Who else is running in this race? I can’t wait to be Princess Robyn.
Week 1 JC review
24 Oct 2010 6 Comments
I successfully completed my first week on the JC (Jenny Craig, but you know how I shorten things). I lost 3.2 pounds! I’m pretty stoked about this and hope that I can continue the progress. I’m pretty much loving the program so far just because of the convenience factor. Every meal is there waiting for me and I don’t have to think about portion control because it does it for me. I’m also doing well on the running front. I ran a mile here and there and then on Thursday, Rachel and I did our 4.5 mile loop in the park. Considering I never liked to run with a friend, I’m amazed at how much I look forward to our weekly runs. And speaking of running, she put the idea in my head about the Disney Princess Half. If you’ve done it, is it a good one to do? I’m nervous to train and run in another half because of my knee, but it’s also somewhat tempting to do it with a friend (and make it a mini vacay). Thoughts?
Off to my own personal version of Heaven…Costco!
Running in the rain makes you sick
18 Oct 2010 7 Comments
Yep. Last week I was too hardcore for my own good. My new running partner Rachel and I had decided we were going to go for a run together on Thursday. The rain ruined out plan. Except Rach was determined to go, so I wasn’t going to bail either. We did a four mile loop in the park soaking wet. But you know once you get wet it doesn’t get much worse and it was actually pretty good of a run. Plus it was just us and the NYC marathon trainers which was pretty cool. But today, 4 days later, I’m sick. I’m guessing that might have had to do with it.
In other news, I’m on a new diet plan. (I know, how many times have you heard that before?) I’m trying out Jenny Craig, which I’ve heard a lot of people doing lately. I love cooking my concoctions and I won’t really be able to do that anymore, but my biggest struggle is portion control and night snacking and this should really help. Plus all my meals will be there for me ready to go and it doesn’t get easier than that. I’m hoping to drop 10 pounds, so today is Day 1! For your viewing pleasure, here’s my very first Jenny meal. An egg scramble. And an awful pic. Sorry.
Told ya I couldn’t stay away from blogging too long.
Taking a break…for now
12 Oct 2010 5 Comments
As I’m sure everyone has noticed, I’ve been blogging less and less. I love writing about running and cooking and whatever else is on my mind, but unfortunately I just haven’t had the time. Pair that with the fact that I’ve had to reduce my runs and there’s not so much to talk about. So while work has become my priority at the moment, I’m hoping to come back to blogging soon (if not at least once a week). Hope you’ll be joining me when I do!
The best veggie chili
05 Oct 2010 10 Comments
When I got back from my 10k on Sunday, I was motivated to get some healthy meals together for the week. I started by finally taking out my salad dressing maker I had gotten for my birthday. Salad dressing is so simple to make and is way better than anything I would either buy or get somewhere for lunch (can we say added sugar?). I followed one of the recipes on the bottle and made a dijon vinaigrette with red wine vinegar, evoo and dijon mustard. Simple. Except when I knocked it over and spilled out half of the contents on my counter. But we’ll ignore that part.
Now I have the dressing here at work for the week.
Next up I made the best veggie chili ever. I used Barefoot Contessa’s chicken chili recipe as the base, but excluded chicken and added carrots, zucchini and white beans. Man was it good.
I started by sauteeing 2 yellow onions in EVOO. After about 10 minutes added a little minced garlic (I buy the stuff in the jar), followed by 2 yellow peppers and 1 red. Then add a teaspoon chili powder and a teaspoon cumin.
Carrots and a zucchini went in next.
Next up I added 2 28 oz cans of whole tomatoes. So you’re supposed to break them up with your hands, which I did, and which caused a mess in the kitchen. Tomatoes are very squirty let me tell you.
Let it all simmer for 30 minutes and the delicious goodness is ready.
Have you made any fall feeling dishes yet?
Back in the game (10K race report)
03 Oct 2010 12 Comments
It’s been awhile since I raced, and a really long while since I felt great during one. Today I was back out there amongst my runner people for the Governor’s Island 10k.
I woke up at 5:40, way too early for a Sunday. I had my whole wheat toast with natural PB, got my gear on, and went to get my friend Rachel who was running with me. Together we headed to the ferry all the way downtown. This race was an interesting one. It was its inaugural run and it was on an island off of Manhattan. They gave us the ferry times and Rachel and I caught the first one. It was beyond freezing. It was barely 7am and the first fall feeling day and everyone was huddling together to keep warm. I snapped 2 pretty pic during the 5 minute ride of my pretty city.
Over an hour after we got there it finally time to start racing. I couldn’t wait to get warm. Rachel and I knew we’d run the first mile together than I’d asses if I was going to keep up with her 5’7″ legs.
Mile 1- 9:50. My first mile is always my fastest, but I was feeling good and ok with keeping a 10 pace.
Mile 2- 10:02. Rachel and I split up and I was still feeling strong.
Mile 3- 10:27. At this point I was thinking how much easier a flat run feels when you’re used to Central Park
Mile 4-10:30. This is where I planned to decide if I could run the whole thing and I thought, oh yeah I can.
Mile 5- 10:40. Ankles were hurting but I knew I’d run the whole thing!
Mile 6- 10:47. Ok this race is going longer than 6.2
Mile.32- 2:59. Yep race ran long, but I totally kicked my intended time’s ass.
Finish- 1:05:23
Overall, I was so pleased with how I felt and performed. My knee got sore towards the end, but it was totally strong throughout (both are pretty sore now and yes, I’m icing).
After the race I found Lisa from Early Morning Run. It’s funny how you feel like you know a bloggy friend so well when you’ve never even met. Her, her husband and I headed back to the city for brunch. It was so great hanging with them!
When I got back home I cleaned, grocery shopped and made hearty veggie chili. Recipe and pics to come!
Slacking
29 Sep 2010 6 Comments
I know, I’ve been seriously lacking on the posts. Would you believe me if I said it was because work is crazy? I’m hoping with most of the Fall TV premieres out of the way, things will slow down.
You all know about my favorite trainer Leanne. Well this week I took her “fitrition” class. It was perfect for me. 45 minutes of bootcamp style working out, followed by a session with a health coach Quinn. Due to the recent rain we had the class in Leanne’s big apartment. Believe me, indoors aint easier than the park. We did some stair runs, wall sits, lunges, push-ups, you name it. She kicked my butt. It was great since there were only 5 of us taking the class so the nutrition part was super personalized. We talked about common problems we run into, like finding a healthy lunch during the work week. Together we also made a quinoa that had a very fall feel. And it had kale, which I never have, but may now be convinced to try. I’m hoping to meet with Quinn one-on-one to shed these nagging pounds I’ve gaines. But for now, I’m going to keep trying to eat right and work out hard.
Sunday is the big 6 mile race, eek! So nervous, but excited to finally meet Lisa from Early Morning Run.
