Never assume a meeting will be short......

Cause then it won't be!   

My little snack before my 6:30 meeting was never meant to tide me over till 10pm, blah!   

Ah local city politics, never can be done quickly. 

I was SO HAPPY to finally get home and EAT EAT EAT!!!   :)

So recap of the day....

Mid Morning SNACK

-1/2 whole wheat sandwich thin w/ Bee's Knees Peanut Butter

-iced coffee w/ skim milk and 1 sugar

LUNCH

I headed home to walk the pooch, Reggie appreciated the ability to make a pit stop.  ;)

Made myself a lovely sandwich...

-flat out, turkey, FRESH pesto, tomato, spinach and sprouts

-side o' carrots

The pesto ROCKS by the way!

Very satisfying lunch...although I still needed a mid afternoon snack after a couple of marathon conference calls and then an urgent project dumped on me.  

SNACK

-nectarine & Kashi Honey Almond Flax granola bar

Things ran late at work... I didn't get to leave till 5:30.  That left me with less than an hour till my city meeting.  :(   I tried to use my time wisely and cut up a cantaloupe I hadn't gotten to yet, snacked on a little bit of that.... but not enough to tide me over till 10pm unfortunately.  

6:30-10 is too long of a meeting.  At least in my book.  

I needed something good and fast when I got home,  another sandwich was in order. 

DINNER

-flat out, turkey, provolone, hummus, tomato and sprouts

-side of cottage cheese & melon

YAY FOOD!!

I really should start packing snacks, this not eating till 10pm on a weeknight is just not good.  Plus now I'm a bit wound and cannot get to sleep.  Fortunately I don't have to workout at 6am tomorrow (sleep in till 7!)..... unfortunately I have a 10K race at 6pm tomorrow night, crossing fingers that the weather cools down a bit OR it is cooler by the ocean.  

It will be interesting to also see how my spaghetti legs hold up tomorrow night at the race.  I haven't raced in awhile so it will be interesting to see where I am at... especially with a 10K.  The last 10K I did was in June and definitely was not my fastest, did it in 47:06..... so my goal tomorrow will be to improve on that.  I don't think a PR is in my future at the moment, but at least I have a goal!

Hope you had a great day!

Britt

Spaghetti Legs

Eeks... I'm walking a bit funny after this morning's kettlebell class. I'm scared to think of how they will feel tomorrow night when I have a 10K race!

This mornings class was a great workout.... heavy upper body, little abs and lots of lunges.

After a warm up, we did the following 5 x's
Heavy Presses 1/1, 2/2/, 3/3
Heavy Rows 1/1, 2/2, 3/3
Figure 8's for 1 minute
Hip Drop Planks 30 seconds
50 walking lunges

250 lunges = spaghetti legs

The foam roller was my friend at the end, made sure to roll my quads out good!

Headed home, showered and packed up my breakfast to bring to work. I haven't had any greek yogurt yet this week, the horror!

BREAKFAST
-plain Oikos, blueberries, strawberries, ground flax, almond butter, Kashi H2H and some caribbean granola
-keeping the cereal separate till I get to work

I'm REALLY hoping the hot weather breaks a bit tomorrow night. The race is partially along the ocean so sometimes there is a nice breeze, but after my hot long run on Sunday by the ocean I know not to count on that.

Have a fabulous day, its hump day yay!!!

Britt

Pesto Perfect!

Long day, although it could have been longer....thankfully I had one of my post work meetings cancelled, yay!!  I still managed not to get home though till almost 8pm though.  I swear time just disappears when I leave work!

Speaking of work, review of today's earlier eats. 

My breakfast held me fairly well but I did get a bit hungry and I had errands to run at lunch time so I had a snack. 

Another new product, a Mrs. May's Naturals Trio bar!  

It has 3 nuts, 3 fruits and 3 seeds.  

This was their Tropical Flavor.  

I like that you can actually identify all the nuts in it!

Verdict: Yummy!  

A little hard, its not a soft chewy bar.... it does stick to your teeth a bit.  But it was good.  

I'll try them again I think. 

I spent my lunch hour doing oh so exciting errands such as going to the bank and grabbing something at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I'm amazed at the folks that are still out running during their lunch hour.... 94 degrees and close to 100% humidity.... no thank you!  I much prefer to get up early and run when it isn't a million degrees out!

LUNCH

I headed back to work and my delicious salad.  

A bit of a repeat of yesterday.....

-tomato & black bean quinoa salad, guacamole, spinach, carrots, red pepper, broccoli & sprouts

Yum!

However, a little while later after reading some other food blogs..... and seeing all the tasty treats from the Healthy Living Summit...... I needed a COOKIE!!

PB cookie

But I still had my orange to eat as well..... and I did as it was going to be a crazy busy evening and dinner would be late. 

After work I 

• had a 5K race committee meeting
• weeded downtown w/ my volunteer group I organize
• met up with the race course certification guy
• hit the grocery store for some parmesan cheese for pesto making
• picked up the pooch from the in-law's house

I was so happy to finally get home, but sadden to see the hubby hadn't started dinner (he did take out the trash & empty the dishwasher though).  So needed to do something quick. 

DINNER

Cod, corn on the cob & left over red potatoes from last night. 

Cod

• cut into individual portions
• lemon zest on each, about half a lemon on each portion
• lemon juice on each, again about half a lemon each portion
• sprinkle of Crab Bay Co. Herbs for Seafood

Wrapped each up in foil and threw it on a grill for maybe 8 minutes or so.  

Set the table on the deck since it was such a beautiful night.

Tada dinner!  Sorry for the crappy picture....  bad lighting with my camera picture, so iphone picture instead.  

After cleaning up dinner it was time to tackle the basil and make some pesto. 

Remember my huge bunch of basil........

With some recipe input from Elizabeth and some kitchen assistance from the hubby, 

I have this.......

Pesto (I made two batches)

• 2 cups packed basil leaves
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 1/3 cup olive oil (recipe called for 1/2 cup)
• salt &  pepper

 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food
processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are
not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the
basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food
processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor
with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until
blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

I am official TIRED.  Need to get some shut eye so I'll be all lovely for 6am kettlebell tomorrow morning.  ;-)

Goodnight!!

Britt

Veggie Love.....

Good Morning!!

Its a muggy one here today.  While out for my run it was a bit eerie the way the mist was hovering over a field.  All I could see when I looked out over the field was mist and the sun trying to come through.  I love that I can run by a farm just a little over a mile from my house, meanwhile I basically live downtown.  I said hi to the cows and horses and headed home, completing just under 5 miles.  

I made sure to water my poor plants this morning.... the heat & humidity has definitely made them all a little wilty.  My tomatoes seem to be hanging in there though. 

Breakfast this morning was oats again, no nut butter jar to put them in though. 

• 1/2 cup oats
  
• 3/4 cup water
  
• 1/4 cup milk
  
• blueberries & strawberries
  
• few walnuts
  
• 1 t ground flax
  
• 1 T almond butter

As promised last night.... crop share veggie photos.  Gotta love the veggie photos!  

Buying a crop share this year was the BEST thing!  I am loving the variety and how FRESH everything is.  Definitely look into one near you if you haven't already.  Plus it just feels good to help support a local farm.  

Check out how HUGE this basil is and this is only 1/2 of what we got (since we split our crop share with friends).  I will be a pesto making machine tonight!!

Have a fabulous day!!!

Britt

Grey skies are going to clear up.....

So put on a happy face.  :)  

Ugh.. I swear I am so tired of bad news.  I won't bring my blog down, but its a definite reminder that life is short and you must live every day to the fullest!!!

So back to the wonderful world of FOOD!

I had my first Pure Bar today, after hearing about them on Iowa Girl Eats.  I noticed them at the grocery store the other day and thought I'd give them a whirl.  I had a Cherry Cashew bar. 

Verdict- I prefer Larabars.  The Pure Bar was more expensive and it was almost like another flavor of a Larabar in the end.  If I couldn't find a Larabar and all they had were Pure Bars, I would it it... but I'd pick a Lara over a Pure if given the opportunity I think.  

I was in such a rush this morning I forgot to pack lunch, so I headed home at lunch time to throw something together.  

LUNCH

big ol' salad

-left over quinoa salad, spinach, left over guacamole, sprouts, Wickles, carrots and broccoli 

That salad ROCKED!!!

But then it was time to get back to work.  I labored away.....  and eventually need a mid-afternoon snack.  

-green tea

-orange

And then more green tea and a Kashi granola bar

Apparently I was hungry today!

I stayed at work a bit later than normal, but got home in time to meet my friend and divy up our crop share goodies.  Unfortunately you'll have to wait till tomorrow for the veggie glamour shots.... they are on my camera, yes I usually slack and use my iphone... I really need to use the camera more!

After getting over the shock of how beautiful all the veggies were and how HUGE the basil bunch was (seriously I'm going to be a pesto making machine tomorrow night), I started on dinner. 

Dinner

• wild Alaskan salmon w/ lemon, lemon zest, garlic, basil and olive oil wrapped in foil on the grill
  
• red potatoes wrapped in foil on the grill w/ olive oil, parsley and a little basil too
  
• tomato salad: tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil
  

Yes if you did not involve basil or olive oil you were not part of tonight's dinner!
Very yummy. 

So based on my food choices today, can you guess what book I'm reading.... Oats, Blueberries, Broccoli, Orange, Salmon, Tomato, Tea, Spinach, Nut Butter.

...................................

.............................

If you guessed Superfoods Rx by Dr. Pratt & Kathy Matthews you are correct!

Honestly I kinda knew a lot of this already, but I think its good to help drive it home and also just knowing something is one thing..... but to actually put it into practice and make a lifestyle choice is another.  

Plus if I can make wise food choices now and possibly prevent future illness/disease, I am all for it.  The bonus part is all these foods taste so good!!

What are some of you favorite "good food" reads?  

Have a great night!

Britt

Jar O' Oats....

Ahh.... finally a good night's sleep!

I actually managed to go to bed before 11pm last night... actually I think it was closer to 10pm!

I woke up just before my alarm went off at 5:25 this morning. Just enough time for me to get dressed, fix myself up a bit, walk the dog and then fly out the door to Kettlebell.

This morning's kettlebell session was hot & sticky, the owner forgot to turn the a/c on last night. We were all dripping in no time, ick. It was a great work out though, even the "warm up" was a bit of a challenge!

Warm Up
Run 400m
5 air squats
8 pushups
10 situps
10 spiderman stretches each side
all done 4 times

Workout- How many rounds you could do in 20 minutes
Turkish Get Ups- 2x's per side
Lunges- 4x's per leg
American Swings x 12
Thrusters 8x's per side

6am is way to early for me to be keeping track of my rounds... so I just kept going and didn't count. :)

After some stretching I headed home, showered up and got ready for work. I decided to finally try a jar-o-oats. I had the perfect almost empty jar of almond butter.

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup milk
• whatever almond butter was in there, 2 tablespoons?
• couple handfuls of blueberries
• (ack! forgot my ground flax)
  

So YUMMY!
This is what I have planned for my mid-morning snack. My first PURE bar ever!
I'll report back.


Hope you have a great Monday!!

Britt

Pool Crasher!

When I wasn't running, eating or sleeping this weekend.... I was doing this.....

No idea how I ever survived living in NOLA during the summer. This weekend's heat and humidity drove me to crash my friend's pool.... Saturday and today. I just couldn't take it. Of course the fact that we don't have central a/c doesn't help either. But still it seems sad to be inside on a bright sunny day, at least the pool allowed me to be outside and not wilt.


This morning before hitting the pool, I headed to the beach for a run! It was close to 80 when I got up at 6:30 so the ocean seemed like a good place to be.... only problem was that it was hot there too and rather calm, so not too much of a sea breeze.


Before leaving the house, I had big glass of water & this......
Cliff Bar
Breakfast Part I

I ventured over with my mom & step dad, they had a 12 mile run planned and I was going to do 15. So figured we would all get done around the same time going at our own paces. I loaded up with my 4 bottles of water on my fuel belt & 2 packages of Just Plain Gu.


Some scenic shots......



I love running along the ocean, its so beautiful! Plus its nice as there are restrooms & water fountains along the way too. The side walks around the beaches were packed (where are all these people when I run this same route in the dead of winter.... wimps).

My step-dad has been through a lot the past year or so, its amazing actually that he is running, let alone training for another marathon. (I'll get to that story some day too) But he listened to his body and played it safe, he only felt up to 10 miles..... so that is all he and my mom ran. Meanwhile crazy me did 16 instead of 15. I met them back at the car and decided to snap a few pictures before heading home.

I got good genes, hopefully I'm looking THIS amazing when I'm 64!

MY MOM

Me & My Mom

Love running with my mom as she always had lots of post run snacks.

Breakfast Part II

Yogurt

Half of a sandwich thin w/ PB, chopped walnuts, ground flax and a little honey YUM!!!

It felt so good to take a shower when I got home. But I still needed something a bit more to eat.

Breakfast Part III

-2 eggs scrambled w/ broccoli, provolone, scallions and proscuitto

-half a sandwich thin toasted

After finally finishing my last breakfast of the day, I started laundry, took the dog for a walk and then hit the grocery store. I needed to cool off and this popsicle hit the spot, yum raspberry!

I packed up and headed to my friends house with the hubby to lounge in the pool. I had some camera shy green grapes & crackers. Also enjoyed a vodka & grapefruit flavored soda water.

After lounging for almost 3 hours it was time to head home, clean up and venture over to my in-laws for dinner. It was the perfect dinner for a hot night, nice and light......

DINNER

-grilled haddock

-corn on the cob

-tomato & basil salad w/ balsamic vinegar & olive oil

-field greens w/ cucumbers, blueberries, lil balsamic vinaigrette

My father-in-law LOVES ice cream so he insisted we go get some after dinner.... who am I to argue with him?

Strawberry Cheesecake Fro Yo..... meant to order a kiddie, accidentally ordered a small, oopsie.

I am so pooped after my run & all the sun today, gotta hit the hay early tonight!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Britt