Celtics and Snacks

We didn't think that we were going to have friends over to watch the Celtics game tonight, but our plans changed. We're now have 5 people over to watch the game, munch on some appetizers, and enjoy some cocktails. I need to get ready for our guests, so gotta cut this short.

My run was GREAT this afternoon! It felt wonderful to be out in the sun and active. I ran about 4.5 miles, which was tiring at points, but I was able to push myself. I'm looking forward to improving my stamina over the next few weeks.

After my run and a shower, I was hungry for lunch. Lunch was a big old salad and a strawberry-banana-wheat germ-chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast-soy milk smoothie. It was so filling... and obviously, delicious!  

In my salad was lettuce, tomatoes, almond slices, and feta-stuffed olives, which were out of this world! I love olives-- the feta enhanced my adoration for them! 

Smoothie goodness...

After hitting Target, which was very successful (new placemat photos next post!), Mal and I went to pick up our wedding bands. We were so excited to have them that we wore them while grocery shopping! We're such dorks! 

Morning Run

I'm super psyched for my run today! It's my first OUTSIDE run of the year! I've walked outside a few times now, but no running. I just updated my ipod and created a new running place list with some songs suggests by readers. (Thank you!) I slept great last night, feel well-rested, and finally feel like myself again! Thank God because I was such a downer/slug last week!

On my agenda today: running solo (my sister canceled), trip to Target, beach with Mal, Marina Bay (with my sister and a friend) for a cocktail... and tonight is still up in the air. We called friends to invite them over tonight, but most already had plans. I'm sure we'll think of something. Now that I am feeling good again, I want to be social!

My running fuel this morning was oat bran with strawberries, almond slices, soy milk, and brown sugar. 

I added too much liquid (duh), so I ended up nuking this for 4 minutes when it usually only takes 2 to cook. My oat bran still came out alright... the strawberries were really mushy. 

Happy Saturday, everyone! Can't wait to be outside and enjoy the sunshine! 

Tick Tock

Can ya feel it? The weekend is almost here! Yipee! The funny thing about this weekend is that I have practically zero plans-- my sister and I are going for a run tomorrow morning, and Mal and I may have some friends over tomorrow night to watch the Celtics, but other than that, zippo on my agenda! I am psyched for some serious R&R! I'm definitely one of those people who needs "me" time; I need downtime to recharge.

My afternoon snack today was Fage with fresh strawberries. No sweetener needed today!



After lunch, I ran some errands, and somehow ended up at Dunkin Donuts!?! Funny how that happens, right? I swung in for a small iced coffee. This beautiful weather makes me crave iced coffee in a bad way!


Lunch was Shepard's Pie leftovers. I took a photo, but it really wasn't a pretty picture-- for some reason that combination of ingredients just doesn't photograph well, so I decided to leave them out and spare you. Instead, I posted photos of the most delicious oatmeal raisin cookies ever!


I had three of these goodies after eating my Shepard's Pie leftovers.


Running Playlists

I need to update my ipod in a major way! I'm sick of listening to the same songs over and over and over again. If you have any recommendations, please send them my way! I found this playlist on Women's Health Magazine's website and thought I'd share: WH Running Playlist. There are some great songs on it! I can't wait to download some of them.

Here are some highlights from my current running mixes:

• Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy - Big & Rich
• Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
  
• Beds are Burning - Novaspace
• Only If I - Kate Ryan
• Where are We Running - Lenny Kravitz
• Land of the Living - Milk Inc.
• What are you Waiting For - Gwen Stefani
• All Things Just Keep Getting Better (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy theme)- Widelife
• Push Up - Freestylers
  
• Work It - Nelly & JT
  
• Hold Your Horses - Type E
• Back to Back - Bomfunk MC's
  
• Dancing with Myself - The Donnas
• Voodoo Child - Rogue Traders
• Slave to the Music - Nick Skitz
• In Your Life - La Bouche
• Whenever, Wherever - Shakeria
  

Is It Friday Yet? Hell, Yes!

TGIF! Whew, I am so glad that I made it through this week. Even just 4 days was rough... my body still hasn't quite recovered from last weekend. I went to bed super early last night, and I already feel 10 times better! I'm almost feeling like myself again!

Breakfast was quick and easy banana walnut oat bran. Like always, it was super filling and hit the spot!


Warm, mushy goodness...


I seriously need some new placemats-- I think a trip to Target is in order!


I decided to skip out on Tim Blane's show last night. He wasn't scheduled to play until 9:30, and I really wanted to be in bed well before that time! Instead of going out, Mal cooked dinner and I baked some oatmeal raisin cookies. I found a recipe for Giant Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies on VeganYumYum's blog. My cookies weren't really vegan because I used regular margarine and eggs, but they came out great! Mal and I both ate 3 or 4 each!


So much margarine... but oh so delicious!


A sea of oatmeal raisin cookies... I ate one before my workout this morning! Cookie fuel! :)


Mal's dinner was Shepard's Pie made with ground turkey, mashed potatoes, and canned corn. What an amazing comfort food!


I ended up having seconds! Mal is such a good cook!



Healthy Good Things

You guys responded with a number of great things that help keep you healthy and contribute to your wellness. Just wanted to share some of my favorites...

• Variety in my morning meals, always keeping my tastebuds happy, which means less "searching for something tasty" in the afternoon.
• A daily salad or chopped raw veggies to keep my snack tooth happy, and filling me up without weighing me down.
• Peanut butter...I need the extra fat and calories, and this guy always manages to make it his personal duty! (Love this one!)
  
• Keep junk food out of the house.
• Eat breakfast as soon as I wake up.
• Plan my meals to ensure they are balanced, and so I never feel hungry.
• Eating as many whole grains, organic and raw foods as possible! (Love it!)
• Snacking a lot in the afternoon! I have a bigger snack around 2:30 and another around 4, so when I get home, I'm feeling good about going to work out. I used to get home starving and talk myself out of it, so I could have dinner!
• Dark Chocolate - So rich I only need a little
• Small Bowls - keeps my ice cream to the appropriate serving size
• Hummus - not a huge meat-eater so it allows me to get that extra protein
• Exercising on a regular basis. I find if I don't, I am more likely to eat "crap" food.
• Always keeping Kashi granola bars, nuts or a piece of fruit in my purse for emergencies.
• Having a treat (or 2) everyday! I love sweets! (Right on!)

Feel free to add other healthy good things to the list! I love the exchange of ideas to better ourselves!

New Obsession: Peanut Butter Yogurt

The day is flying by! (I guess that's what happens when you have a crapload of work to do!)

Today's lunch was a Mal-made ham and swiss sandwich on a garlic baguette with a spicy mustard-mayo spread. Mal is one serious sandwich maker! This sandwich was perfect in every way possible! It had the right amount of meat and cheese, the mustard-mayo combo was divine, and the garlic bread gave the sandwich a complex flavor. I wish Mal had school vacation more often so he could make me lunch all of the time!


With my sandwich, I enjoyed some orange foods: baby carrots and dried apricots.



My afternoon snack is my newest obsession. I mixed Stonyfield vanilla yogurt with 1.5 tbsp of peanut butter. The peanut butter blended really well once I stirred it around for a little bit. The mixture is so yummy! I also want to try this with almond butter... and maybe even a little Nutella as a dessert. So many possibilities!


With mint tea...


Summer Road Races

I just signed up for two 4.2 mile road races! They are part of a summer running series here in Boston: Let's Run, Have Some Fun, and Be Fit. Following the completion of each race is a BBQ, music, and Harpoon beer. A race, food, music, and beer-- what more fun could you ask for? My sister and some of our friends also run the races, so it should be a great time for all. Anyone else have road races on their summer agendas?

Late Night, Busy Day Ahead

Busy day ahead! I just had a staff meeting, where my boss piled another 10 tasks onto my plate. Oh dear! The end of the week is going to be biz-ey!!

Breakfast today was a warm, sticky bowl of oat bran with dried cranberries, raisins, and sliced almonds.


How to make: To 1/3 cup dry oat bran, add 2/3 cup water and toppings (I used 1/4 cup raisins, 1/8 cup dried cranberries, 1/8 cup sliced almonds) in a large microwavable bowl. Stir ingredients and then heat in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir ingredients again, and enjoy!


Red Sox

We had a blast at the game, but sadly, the Sox lost.

After work, I met Mal and our friends, Jen and Carl for appetizers at Unos before the game. Jen and I shared a chicken quesadilla. (Sorry no photo-- I didn't even think of taking one until we were almost finished eating.) Everyone drank Miller Lites, but I was not at all in the mood for drinking any sort of alcoholic beverage. I'm still recovering from Vegas. Blah. I am supposed to see Tim Blane tonight with friends, but I think I am going to bail on the evening out. I'm exhausted.

Photos from last night:

Fenway Park

Crowd celebrating Papi's home run

Mal and me in the grandstands

5 Things that Keep you Healthy

What are 5 things (habits, activities, products, etc.) that help you live a healthy lifestyle and add to your wellness?

Here are mine:

• My Nalgene(s). I drink a ton of water... all day long!
• My planner. I keep track of my workout details in the calendar. Seeing my progress keeps me going.
  
• Fruit for breakfast. I try to start each day right with a piece of fresh fruit.
  
• Oatmeal. Warm, delicious, carb-y. I think we all understand this one! :)
• Mint tea. It's delicious, low-cal, and perfect for when you are craving something sweet.
  

Sunshine Day

After my iced coffee date, all I want to do now is play outside in the sunshine! Stupid work-- wrecking my fun. Don't you hate how that happens?

I decided to "splurge" at D&D today and get a medium iced coffee! Oh, boy... watch out! It totally hit the spot... every.last.ounce! My friend, Blain and I enjoyed the sun and talked about Vegas and fun upcoming summer plans while we drank our iced coffees.


Lunch was leftovers from last night's dinner. It tasted pretty good reheated, but I wasn't really in the mood for shrimp. I ended up eating about 3/4 of the leftovers.


I forgot to take a photo before I started eating, so this is about 1/3 of the way through lunch. I also munched on an apple and a few dried apricots.


Administrative Professionals Day

Yay to Administrative Professionals Day! For APD, my boss offered to treat our office to ice cream at JP Licks this afternoon! I had planned a healthy snack of vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries, but now it will become tomorrow's afternoon snack. I love warm weather and all of the yummy foods that it brings! :)