8 Weeks

So, I'll admit it. I slipped up in my commitments, and not only to blogging at least once a week. I slipped up in my healthy eating, working out, etc. After receiving a text (thanks, Heather) asking "What happened to your blog???", I've decided to come back. So...welcome back to me.

Anyway, we're exactly 8 weeks from Christmas Day today. WHAT?!?!? Where did 2012 go? In a last ditch effort to NOT be part of the group of people who gains about 10-12 pounds during the holiday season, I've decided to start up a program that got me in shape 2 years ago: Couch to 5k.

If you're not familiar with it, Couch to 5k (or C25k, for those in the know) is a 9 week interval running program designed to get you running 3 miles (5k) in 30 minutes. Sounds like it would really suck, right? Since I'm a C25k graduate, I'm here to tell you that it's not nearly as torturous as you might expect. It's actually fairly easy; run/walk 3 days a week for 30 minutes. The 1st day of Week 1 has you doing a 5 minute warm-up, followed by alternating 1 minute of jogging with 1.5 minutes of jogging for a total of 20 minutes, ending with another 5 minute cool-down walk. EASY. I'm telling you, if my out-of-shape butt could go from loathing running to loving running (and even doing a 5k in 31 minutes) in just 9 weeks, then anyone can do it.

If you're an iPhone user, there is an app for that. Search for Couch-to-5k from active.com, it's the best app out there! I believe they also have an app for Droid, and if you don't even have a smart phone (but really, who doesn't?), check out this website for the print-out of the intervals and buy yourself a stopwatch!

So what are you waiting for? ANYONE can squeeze 30 minutes of exercise into their day just 3 times a week. Even you. ESPECIALLY you! Don't you deserve it? I know that I do :)

Talk at ya soon!

I'm Here

I swear I haven't forgotten my blog, and it didn't end before it began! Just been busy, but I'll be back soon!

Until then, start doing this with me every day:

Phoning It In

This is what I've been doing all week, and basically what I'm doing now - I'm phoning it in tonight because I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow! A few fun things coming, though:

- an update on our house situation!
- a really easy challenge!
- ruminations on why I FAILED the last challenge
- a general update.

Get excited :)

<3 Lexi

Foodie Friday + Challenge Update

Challenge = FAIL.

Okay, I know that isn't much of an update, but I have still been snacking and not eating so great. A few things that I did notice changed about my eating habits - I made better choices for the most part (a banana instead of cookies, natural PB instead of JIF, etc), I didn't worry or stress over what I was eating, but I didn't just add ingredients with abandon when I cooked, either. I find that I'm an all-or-nothing kinda girl; I either measure each ingredient and go as low-fat/low-cal/low-taste as I can, or I just throw it all in thinking "MMMM THIS IS GONNA BE GOOOOOOD!" and add about a pound of cheese. This is only a slight exaggeration.

I think the challenge has proven what I wanted it to, though. That I CAN eat a little healthier and still eat, and not count calories and feel a whole lot better about me. That's what I'm glad to see - a little less self-loathing all around.

Anyway, on to Foodie Friday!

I posted a picture on Facebook of an amazing recipe that I had found at Around the Table and tweaked a bit to my liking, and had about a million (read: 4) requests for the recipe. So I've decided to share what I did with each of you. And no, there are NO pictures of the process, just the finished product. And boy, were these goooooood.

So without further ado, I give you:

Cheesy Quinoa & Broccoli Muffins: Recipe adapted from Around the Table


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups dry quinoa (don't forget to rinse it!)
• Broccoli
• pinch of salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese (I used Sharp Cheddar...mmmm)
• Optional- Cayenne (Red) Pepper, seasoning of your choice (I used Wildtree Smoked Mozz Dip)
• Toppings - Crushed pretzels

Instructions:

1. Cook your quinoa according to package directions (about 15 minutes) and allow to cool. For extra flavor, cook it in chicken or vegetable broth.
2. Sautee broccoli, cool and then mince.
3. Preheat oven to 350 F.
4. Grease a large muffin tin with PAM, butter, or any oil of your choice. I used PAM.
5. Whisk together eggs, milk, yogurt, salt, garlic, and your seasonings in a large bowl.
6. Add cooled quinoa, cooled broccoli and cheese, stirring well to be sure to mix it all up!
7. Fill your muffin tins. Because I was adapting this recipe from one that was originally made in a 9x13 pan, I ended up with some leftovers. I froze my leftovers for an individual "someday" serving.
8. Crush pretzels and sprinkle over top, then bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pretzels brown or the egg sets. Just keep an eye on em!
9. Allow to cool after baking for about 10 minutes, then enjoy!

The finished product - yummy!

These were really quite delicious, and in fact Kevin came home and ate 4 of them. I was shocked - quinoa is not his favorite thanks to its odd texture. However, due to the double-cook method used in this recipe, it was very soft and he said much more palatable than usual. Obviously! They also reheated REALLY well, and in fact I had some for lunch and was happy with their flavor and texture. I think I'll try making a few batches next time and freezing to see how they work out! 

These could be made so many different ways, with a different combination of cheeses, spices, toppings, vegetables, you name it! Quinoa is such a versatile grain, and with 6 grams of protein per serving, it sure beats carb-y, empty calorie rice. You could still make this recipe in a 9x13 pan, but the muffin tins make individual servings easy and leftovers even easier.

Enjoy :)

Epiphany

I have realized two things about myself:

I am an emotional eater, and an emotional shopper. I don't eat when I'm sad, I eat when I'm MAD or frustrated. Same with shopping (I also find that sometimes I clean when I'm mad, but that's rare). I wonder why this is?

How about you? Are you an emotional eater, or do you stop eating when you're sad/mad/frustrated?

Weigh in below (ha! Get it?).

<3 Lexi

Challenge Update

So yesterday, I posted a quick picture of my guy holding a fish and told you it was a sneak peek of today's blog post. I'll explain what I meant by that in a minute, but first I wanted to share something YUMMY with all of you - my lunch today!

Start with all of this:

• Romaine lettuce
• Leftover quinoa from last night's dinner
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Wildtree Berry Dressing

Cut the lettuce, strawberries, and grapes, add quinoa and dressing, and end up with this:

Add walnuts, and you get:

Lunch! This was so good, and easy and quick to make. Not to mention thrifty, since I'm reusing some of last night's leftovers.

And that brings me to my progress report on the challenge. A few days ago, I decided to start filling my body with healthier things than I normally do, eating when I want to, stopping when I'm full, and replacing my sweet cravings with fruits and eating more veggies than normal. Well...I have been doing okay (and that's being nice) with the whole challenge so far, but I figure I'm only two days in and today has been MUCH better!

Yesterday started just fine (has anyone else noticed that I'm much more health conscious in the mornings?). I had an apple and almonds for breakfast because I HAD to run out the door; we're buying a house and had an appointment to meet with the Realtor. After signing some papers, we decided to check out the house again and head out. We stopped for lunch at a local pub, and I ordered a burger. Great. Normally, this is where my day starts to go downhill. I figure "Hell, if I'm going to be unhealthy, I might as well follow through!" and I order the burger with cheese, mayo, fries, and all of the not-so-great parts that go with them. This time, I opted to skip the fries and get a side salad instead, which I ate with croutons and chipotle ranch and raisins and don't regret a bit of it. It was delicious. My burger was amazing, and I skipped the cheese and mayo and only added lettuce, tomato, onion and ketchup. I didn't need all of that other stuff, this burger was AMAZING (if you're looking for a great place to eat locally, I really recommend Neighbors' Pub & Grub in the Soulsbyville area, food and owners are great).

So lunch wasn't a total bust, until Fred (the owner) casually mentioned that they had blueberry cobbler. I'm a sucker for a good cobbler (which it was) and I ordered one and split it with my little missy, Emma. We loved it! And I still didn't feel guilty! Then came dinner.

Kevin had been fishing on Sunday morning and caught a great big bass (hence the picture yesterday), so we had fried bass and quinoa with salad and green bean fries for dinner. YUM! All very good, and at this point I was feeling only slightly guilty. Then nighttime came, Kevin went to bed, and I ate a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats and a PB&J sandwich. At 10:00 PM. WHY DO I DO THESE THINGS?

I know these are wordy posts, but my point here is that I have been eating not-so-great things lately, but somewhat in moderation and most of them have either been made by me or by a local restaurant who knows the actual ingredients. Even my Wildtree dressing from lunch today has less than 10 ingredients in them, and guess what? I can read every single one.

So far, the challenge has been going so-so at best, but I'm not giving up! Today's breakfast was a healthy granola bar (made with beetsweet instead of sugar, so healthier) and water, with that yummy lunch and an apple with natural PB. Sounds pretty healthy so far, right? Currently looking for a healthy ground-turkey recipe that ISN'T spaghetti or meatloaf. Sigh.

In un-related events:

This might be our house at the end of October! More tomorrow :)

Sneak Peek

So tired, need to drop into bed face first. But before I do that, here's a sneak peek of day one on the healthy eating wagon.

More tomorrow! Night everybody :)