Hope you’re having or had a good Thursday. Last night at our small group, we discussed ROMANCE and how to keep it,etc.  So, the hubby and I were discussing things that we could add to our life to make sure it doesn’t fade and we decided that we’d like to have a weekly date night and do like happy hour (to keep it budget friendly) and have a glass of wine and some appetizers.  So, tonight we met up after work, which was a lot of fun.  However, we didn’t really do the Happy Hour thing…we ended up having more of a dinner, which was awesome because haven’t had sushi in a while. But before we get into what we had for our little date night, here are today’s eats.   

Breakfast: This morning I wanted another delicious  green monster!  I love these!  I also thought about how much spinach I’m able to incorporate into my diet by eating/drinking these for breakfast!  For instance, I had a large handful yesterday morning and then a large spinach salad for lunch…so good for my body. Love it!   

Green Monster

 1 cup almond milk (1/2 unswtnd, 1/2 reg)  

• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 cup silken tofu
• 1 Tbsp almond butter
• 3 sliced strawberries
• Splenda
• 1/2 cup crushed ice

Snack: 1.5 Soy Joy Bars (200 cals) + 2 pcs of Endangered Species chocolate + a handfull of Almonds   

Blueberry Soy Joy

 1/2 of this bar   

Berry Soy Joy

 Chai tea with almond milk – x2 – (15 cals)   

Lunch: Snobby Joe Lettuce Wraps – 3/4 cup snobby joe mix + boston lettuce leaves – 200 cals + 3 strawberries (10 cals) + Chickpea Blondie (95 cals) .  The snobby joes recipe is from the Veganomicon cookbook which is AWESOME! 

Lentils + Lettuce Leaves

Strawberries + Chickpea Blondie

 Dinner: Tonight the hubby and I had a date night…we met up for some dinner at Kona Grill and split the following items.  We sat at the Sushi bar, which is why the photos have a blue hue to them.   

We started off with some delicious steamed edamame.   

Edamame

 Wine: I got a glass of the Loredona Riesling and the hubby chose a glass of the Hayman & Hill “Reserve” Meritage    

Riesling

Wine + Edamame

  Salmon Wasabi Sashimi - Salmon sashimi, topped with fresh wasabi root and red onions; served with cucumber salad and ponzu sauce   

Sashimi Appetizer

 Vegetarian Roll – Asparagus, avocado, yamagobo, cucumber   

Veggie Roll

 Houston Roll: Tuna, cream cheese & jalapeno wrapped in soy paper   

Houston Roll

 After our yummy dinner and wine, we headed home to hang out.  And we are currently watching the The Real Housewives of the O.C. Reunion Show. Gonna hit the hay in a bit.  Have a great night…  

 Giveaway:
PS -  Please head on over to Amber’s Blog -  Amber’s Notebook – for a fantastic giveaway – she is giving away an adorable piece of jewelry -  Remember the Moment Bow Necklace.  It is super cute.  

Peace out guys….  

So, this morning, I spent a few hours at the eye doctor trying to get some new glasses.  I picked out a cute pair of frames and can’t wait until their ready for me to pick up.  They said it could take up to 10 days…crap!  I really thought I’d have them quicker, maybe I’ll be surprised and they’ll arrive quickly!  

So, I’ll jump right into it….here are today’s eats.  

Breakfast: An Elegant “Green Monster” (213 cals)  

Green Monster

•  1 cup of packed Spinach
• 1 cup Almond milk
• 1 Tbsp Almond butter
• 1/4 cup silken tofu
• 2 sliced strawberries
• splenda
• crushed ice

 Lunch & Snack:  

After leaving the eye doctor, I snacked on my almonds around 11:00am – so yummy!  (170 cals) And then ate my lunch around 1:30. (150 cals, 10 cals)  

Salad, Jello & Roasted Almonds

Today’s salad consisted of:  

• Spinach
• 1/4 cup cucumber
• 1 Tbsp Roasted red pepper hummus
• 1 Tbsp artichoke olive spread (finished it off- boo)
• 2 sliced strawberries
• 1/2 oz of feta cheese
• 1/4 cup mushrooms
• flat leaf parsley – for a little somethin’ different

Then a little container of Black Cherry jello to round it off  

Afternoon snack: My experimental Blondie from last night (200 cals)  

Chickpea Blondies

Snack: Soy Joy (130 cals)  

Mango & Coconut

Dinner: 1 egg + 1 egg white and 2 Tbsp roasted red pepper hummus (150 cals)  

Dessert: Chickpea Blondies (200 cals)  

Chickpea Blondie

 I also had a few pieces of chocolate (75 cals)  

Total Calories: 1128 cals  

Workout: None  

We just got back from our couples small group tonight where we talked about Romance and how to keep it at any stage life.  Good conversation tonight!   

So, now I’m just watching The Real Housewives of the O.C. reunion show…love it!  And then I’m off to bed.  Night y’all.  

“There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only experiments with unexpected outcomes”   

                      * Richard Buckminster   

After work today, the hubby and I decided to hit the sauna to relax and work on some of our “homework” for our couples group on Wednesday.  Then I decided to try little sweet treat experiment while getting dinner prepared.  But before I get into that here are the rest of the day’s eats….   

Snack: Celery + Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (60 cals)   

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus + Celery

Lunch: 3/4 cup ground turkey stew (175 cals) + Large Spinach Salad (125 cals)   

Turkey Stew

Spinach, strawberries, asparagus, 1 Tbsp hummus, mushrooms, 1 Tbsp avocado. Yum! (125 cals)   

Dessert: Black cherry jello made with diet ginger ale (10 cals)   

Black Cherry Jello

Dinner: For dinner I made 1/2 cup mashed cauliflower and topped it with 1 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese, 1/2 cup steamed broccoli and 1/2 cup sautéed asparagus.  Delicious!! (150 cals)   

Veggies

 Dessert: For dessert, I did a little experiment in the kitchen tonight – based off of this recipe from Have Cake Will Travel. (154 cals) + a spoonful of Almond Butter (50 cals)   

Chickpea Blondies    

Non-stick cooking spray
1 15 oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup splenda
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup roasted almond butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flax meal                                                                                                                                                                      2 tablespoons chickpea flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder    

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with spray.
In a food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until perfectly smooth, scraping sides often.
Pour batter into prepared pan.   

Chickpea Brownie

Bake for 26 minutes.
Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely before placing in the fridge and slicing.
Yield: 8 servings   

Chickpea Blondie

Total Calories: 1030 calories   

Workout: Sauna 20 mins    

The hubby and I are watching a movie and then it’s off to bed.  Have a great night!   

I got up early this morning and got the hubby’s breakfast & lunch ready for him to take to work and then I fixed my stuff.

Breakfast: I didn’t have time to bust out all of the ingredients for a protein smoothie, so I had some of the Egg & Veggie Casserole I made over the weekend.  (Approx 100 cals)

Egg & Veggie Casserole

Plus one of these…1 Tablespoon of Almond Butter (101 cals)

Almond Butter

I’ll post the rest of the day’s eats later on tonight, but before I got, I’ll leave you with this little freebie.  Dunkin Donuts is offering up free samples, get yours today!

Later y’all….

Work went well and then we had our small group after work in which we talked about Doubt.  Like doubting God is who He says He is when we walk through trials and we don’t understand why certain things happen the way they do.  Very relevant topic in my life right now.  But we also discussed that it’s ok to question and have doubts, but we must let these draw us closer to Him and not away.  And we must still recognize that God is good and has blessed us. We read about David and the many Psalms that he wrote.  He was very vocal about his frustration, yet he still praised God for who He is.

So, the title of this post might be a little odd, but I generally see doubt as a negative thing, but after our discussion last night, I believe it can be positive – meant to grow and challenge us where we are right in that moment.  It can allow us to discover things about who we are and what we can handle or turn the struggles into greater good for others.  Very good lesson.

So, with that said…on to yesterday’s eats.

Breakfast: Yesterday morning, I started the day off with a delicious Smoothie (213 cals).  I threw in some of our fresh strawberries we got at the Strawberry Festival.  Yum.

Protein Smoothie

• 1 cup Almond Milk
• 1 Tbsp Roasted Almond Butter
• 1 cup Spinach
• 1/4 cup silken tofu
• 3 Lg Strawberries
• Splenda
• 1/2 cup crushed ice

Snack: Roasted Almonds – 170 cals

Roasted Almonds

Soy Joy – 140 cals

Mango & Coconut

(source)

Lunch: Ground Turkey Stew (approx 225 cals)  + celery & roasted red pepper hummus (60 cals)  + tall iced skinny latte (90 cals)

Turkey Stew

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus + Celery

Iced Skinny Vanilla Latte

Dinner: During our small group, we snacked on some edamame (approx 125 cals). When I got home, I made a large salad that contained: Spinach, strawberries, cucumber, 1 Tbsp hummus mushrooms, 1 Tbsp artichoke olive spread. Yum! (147 cals)

Salad

Dessert: I snacked on some strawberries (20 cals)..they are so delicious.  We had some heavy whipping cream left over from the chocolate ganache I made and so I wanted to see if I could make whip cream and it worked!  I saved it for the hubby though.

Strawberries

After dinner, we watched Law & Order and I worked on the pile of laundry we seemed to have accumulated this weekend. Then we crashed out.

Total Calories: 1190 calories

Workout: None…still healing

Peace out…

Here’s what we did this weekend.  Sorry for the lack of pics too, I need to do better…bad food blogger, bad!

Anyway, here we go…

Saturday

We got in pretty late from our friend’s house Friday night and decided to sleep in a bit.  However, we really didn’t sleep in too late, the hubby went to a Men’s Breakfast at church and I decided to get the day started and get grocery shopping outs the way!

Breakfast: Breakfast was random and I ate some roasted almonds and artichoke olive spread on zucchini and 1 pc of focaccia bread before heading out to run some errands

We had an appointment @ 1:00pm to look at a condo over in Ybor to possibly rent that when our lease is up.  We got over there a little early and decided to walk around a bit.  Then we tried to grab some lunch before our appointment and headed over to restaurant called Mema’s Alaskan Tacos.  We placed our order but had to wait forever.  So I walked back to meet our contact for the condo and the hubby waited on the food.  So, the service was poor!  And then they only gave me one of the tacos I had ordered.  I wanted a chicken and a tofu one, but only got the chicken!  I was so mad because we both were starving and had to wait forever.  But the food was good.

Lunch: I had – 1 Chicken Alaskan taco w/ chicken breast, lettuce, salsa in a corn tortilla.  It was yummy

After our appointment, we walked around for a little while and then decided to drive around Ybor to see what was for rent out there.  Then headed home to hang out.

The hubby headed out meet up with some friends and I worked on getting some items prepared for this upcoming week and for a cookout we attended on Sunday.

For the cookout, I wanted to make a dessert and a side dish, so I made a big crumb cake and pinto bean salad.

Crumb Cake – Mine looked similar to this one below.  It was fantastic!  This recipe calls for cake flour and I normally do not have it on hand, but since I made the cake for my friends b-day, I did.  And there is a noticable texture difference and I do think I like the delicacy of the cake flour compared with the All-Purpose flour.

All cut and wrapped up ready to go

Big Crumb Cake

Pinto Bean Salad

I also made this Pinto Bean Salad from Kalyn’s Kitchen and it was yummy. I didn’t have any white balsamic vinegar, so I used the regular and it wasn’t too overpowering like I thought it would be. Super fresh tasting! I also accidentally bought flat leaf parsley instead of cilantro, but it gave it a nice flavor. I also added another 1/2 avocado since it was for a larger group. Mine looked a little like this and contained pinto beans, red onions, tomatoes, avocado, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and flat leaf parsley.

Pinto Bean Salad

Photo of Pinto Bean Salad from Kalyn’s Kitchen

Small Casserole

10 eggs

1/4 pkg of Turkey Kielbasa

1/2 cup asparagus

1/4 cup chopped spinach

1/2 cup mushrooms

1/4th diced red onion

1/4 Almond milk – plain

granulated garlic

salt

pepper

I sautéed the veggies first and then placed about a Tablespoon or so in muffin tin.  Combined the eggs, milk and kielbasa and added to muffin tins.  Then I added a little bit of cheese to these for the hubby.  Baked @ 350 degrees for about 25 mins

After these were done, I just decided to throw the rest of the ingredients into a ceramic casserole dish and let it cook for 25 mins instead of making them into “muffins” because they were sticking. So, I made 6 muffins and a small casserole dish

After making these, I moved onto making a Ground Turkey stew.  The hubby made it for us last week and it was so yummy.  Since I didn’t have any cilantro, I threw in some frozen spinach for color and added nutrition.

Ground Turkey Stew – adapted from this recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen

Turkey Stew

1.5 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 lbs. ground turkey (use turkey with less than 10% fat for the South Beach Diet)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, to season ground turkey
1/3rd large red onion, diced in 1/2 inch pieces
1 T minced garlic
2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 can pinto bean

1 can cannelloni beans

1 cans (4 oz.) diced green Anaheim chiles
1 can cups chicken stock + 1 can of water
1 can (16 oz.) spicy refried pinto beans
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup chopped spinach

Heat the olive oil in a heavy soup pot with high sides, add ground turkey, season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper and cook over medium heat until the turkey is well browned.

While turkey browns, peel a large onion and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. When turkey is well browned, push it over to the side of the pan, add 1 tsp. more olive oil, add onion pieces and cook about 5 minutes, until onion is lightly browned. Stir in minced garlic and ground cumin and cook the mixture about 3 minutes more, stirring a few times.

Add cooked beans,  diced green Anaheim chiles, and chicken stock + 1 can water. Stir to combine, then reduce heat and let the mixture simmer about 30 minutes.

Combine 1 can refried pinto beans with 1/4 cup water to thin the beans, then stir refried beans into the turkey and bean mixture. Add frozen spinach. Simmer about 25 minutes more.

Sunday

Breakfast: Veggie & Kielbasa casserole + A spoonful of Almond Butter

Bfast Casserole

Almond Butter

Then I headed to church.  This was the first Sunday that we were trying 2 services one @ 9:30am and one @ 11:00am.  So, we attended the earlier service and then volunteered in the second service.  I helped out in one of the children’s classes.  It was a lot of fun.

After church we headed home to change and grab our dishes for the cookout at our friends house.  He grilled out salmon and ribs.  He also made cheddar biscuits, collard greens and some potatoes.  I brought my pinto bean salad and we also had a spinach salad, cuban bread, parmesan baked zucchini.

Desserts were my crumb cake, tw0-bite brownies and 2 other cakes. Yum!

After we grabbed our plates, we all sat around outside eating and talking – the weather was Ah-mazing!  Then we played some games and headed out around 3:00pm.

Then around 4:30 we headed out to the Strawberry Festival in Plant City which is about 30 mins or so from us. We met up with a girl and her husband I just met through the Tampa Bay Alpha Gam Alumn chapter.

We grabbed some carnival-type food that is oh so healthy…the hubby and I had fried pickle spears and grilled chicken skewers.  The pickles were pretty good…fried pickle chips are better and the chicken was fatty.  But we tried to behave ourselves. We sat down and chatted for a while so everyone could get to know each other a little better.  They are great people – super nice and funny!

After we talked for a while, they took us to the place that made the best strawberry shortcake I’ve probably ever had.  Even their whip cream is homemade. It’s a yearly fundraiser that one of the Catholic churches host annually.  And the line is forever long, but moved rather quickly, which was a nice surprise.  You could opt for a biscuit or cake and we all chose the little cake.  I loaded mine up with strawberries w/ a hint of whipped cream.

Yes, as you can see this weekend we didn’t stay so true to the SBD…but ate as best as we could in our situations…well, maybe not the best, but better then we’ve done in the past.

So, after we walked around some more, we decided to call it a night and head our separate ways.  And on the way to our car, we bought some awesome fresh strawberries!  Score.  These babies are delicious.

Strawberries

After we got home, we turned on the Oscars for about 45 mins and then crashed out.

It was such a great weekend.  We spent a lot of time with friends and it was cool.  Peace out…

So,  here’s yesterday’s eats and events…  

Breakfast: Broccoli Casserole w/ Turkey Sausage  

Broccoli Casserole

Snack: 1 Serving of Roasted Almonds (170 cals)   

Roasted Almonds

1 String Cheese (50 cals)   

Lunch: Large Salad   

Spinach, steamed broccoli, asparagus, 2 pcs zucchini, 1 Tbsp feta cheese, 2 Tbsp Roasted Red Pepper Hummus     

Salad

 

 Dinner: Last night, we had plans to head over to Gulfport for a friend’s surprise party. The theme for dinner was Italian.  I had some of the appetizer I brought, some salad, a little spoon full of chicken Tetrazzini, and marinated tomatoes.  And I had a glass of sangria and then a small glass of red wine with dinner. 

The hubby and I split a small piece of cake for dessert…so yummy! 

We brought Sangria, Artichoke Olive spread w/ zucchini & homemade focaccia bread and of course the birthday cake!  

Sangria:  

Sangria

 (source)  

1 750 ml bottle of red wine – we used Merlot

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup triple sec

2 oranges – 1 sliced, 1 juiced

1 lime

cinnamon

  Juice 1 orange.  Slice orange and lime. Combine all ingredients together except cinnamon. Chill over night.  Right before serving add a dash of cinnamon. Serve with ice.  

Artichoke Olive Spread  

artichoke olive spread

 (source)  

1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
1 cup large green pitted olives
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil  

 In a food processor, process the garlic, olives, capers, artichoke hearts and olive oil to a coarse paste. I served it with zucchini slices and homemade focaccia bread.  

focaccia bread
from mark bittman’s How to Cook Everything  

Focaccia

 (source) 

1 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
2 tsp coarse kosher or sea salt (plus extra for sprinkling)
1 to 1 1/4 cups water
3 Tbsp olive oil (plus extra for greasing)  

1. dissolve the yeast in 1 cup of water and let rest for 5 minutes.  

2. mix the salt into the flour, set aside.  

3. add the olive oil to the yeast mixture.  

4. mix the flour into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon until it begins to form into a ball. you will soon be able to mix with your hands, using a tiny bit of extra flour as needed, until the dough is smooth, but still moist.  

5. knead into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. sprinkle with a little more flour, cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.  

6. grease a 11×17 inch baking sheet. after the 20 minutes is up, press the dough into a small rectangle on the pan and stretch a bit. let it rest a few minutes and press out toward the edges of the pan again. if the dough resists, let it rest a minute and then resume pressing/stretching.  

7. cover the dough and let it rise for at least 30 minutes. meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 F.  

8. uncover the dough, dimple with your fingertips, and drizzle the dough with olive oil and coarse salt.  

9. place in the oven, lower the temperature to 375 F and bake for 30 minutes. the focaccia should be golden – don’t let it bake too long or the edges will harden. remove and cool on a wire rack. the bread will keep in the freezer, wrapped first in plastic and then in foil, for about 2 weeks.  

I hope you guys get to try some of these recipes!  We got really rave reviews last night, especially on the Sangria!   

Alright, I’m hopping to post about the b-day cake tomorrow.  Have a good night!  

Peace out…  

 

“All the world is a birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much”   

                                                   *George Harrison   

Hey guys!  Hope you’re having a fabulous week!  I’m glad that today is Friday.  This week has been pretty hectic, which explains my sporadic postings.  I’m hoping to get back on schedule this weekend!!!     

Yesterday, the hubby and I had appointments for the dermatologist and it was our fist time ever going.  But what a great experience we had.  I just wanted to get some spots checked just to make sure they weren’t turning into anything serious and I got an excellent report…all is normal.  The hubby had a place looked at and removed…more of a nuisance than anything to worry about.  Our doctor was spunky…yeah, that’s a good word for her.  I loved her, she made me feel very comfortable and like we’d been friends for a while.  I love these kinds of doctors because, let’s face it, going to the doctor can be a little nerve-wracking because you don’t know that they’ll say or find.  But it was almost fun…in a weird way.  We even talked about a product that can help with sun damage and improve my skin.  SOLD!  I told her…If it’ll help my skin and help with aging…I’ll probably buy it!   

Breakfast: 1 egg + 1 egg white & 1/4 avocado (125 cals)   

Eggs + Avocado

 1/2 cup Vanilla Almond Milk w/ vanilla extract & Splenda 

Vanilla Almond Milk

 

 Snack: 1 Serving of Roasted Almonds (170 cals)   

Roasted Almonds

 

 Lunch: Large Salad (125 cals) w/ approx 5 oz Chicken breast (156.5 cals)   

Here’s what my awesome salad contained: Spinach, steamed broccoli, steamed asparagus, zucchini, 2 tsp feta cheese, mushrooms, 2 Tbsp Roasted Red Pepper Hummus  and sliced chicken breast. Yum!   

Salad

 

 Dinner: I didn’t really have dinner last night, as soon as I got home I got to work making the items I said I’d bring to our friend’s b-day.  So, I “taste tested” while working. So who knows how man calories…let’s say 35o…I hope it’s not anymore than that =)   

The hubby made some Sangria and we both “tasted” it…(approx 120 cals) 

Here’s a sneak peek at what I did with my time up until 1:00 am…well, I didn’t finish it until this morning, but the majority of the work was done last night.  I will post a separate post tomorrow when there’s more time.   

4-Layer B-Day Cake

 

 As much as I LOVE to bake, cakes haven’t really been my forte.  I worked in a bakery part-time for about 2 months when we lived in West Palm Beach and learned a lot, but haven’t really had the opportunity to make a homemade cake.    

But there it is…it’s a chocolate gran marnier cake with chocolate ganache between the layers and iced with vanilla butter cream icing.   

Total Calories: 1046 cals 

Workout: None   

   

 While at work today, I was asked if I’ll do Gasparilla next year and my reply was, I plan to do another race in a couple months.  I had a great experience and can’t wait for the opportunity to get back to running and training for other races.  I really liked all of the excitement and the accomplished feeling that comes over after race, no matter the distance.  

Here are today’s eats…. 

Breakfast: 1 serving of Egg & Broccoli Breakfast Casserole (Approx 125 cals)  

Egg & Broccoli Casserole

 Here’s what I used for the casserole…adapted from this recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen which is my “go to” blog for South Beach friendly recipes and just overall good delcious food! 

I used: 

•  10 eggs + 2 egg whites
• Broccoli
• Mushrooms
• Red Onions
• Shredded low-fat cheese
• Jennie-O Turkey Sausage (2 sausages)

I made it about 3/4 for the hubby and 1/4 for me, which means that mine has more veggies and no cheese.  I baked it in a glass casserole dish on 375 degrees for about 35 mins.  Yum! 

Snack: 1 Serving of Roasted Almonds (170 cals)  

Roasted Almonds

 String Cheese – 50 cals - I was in a hurry and needed a snack 

Lunch: Large Spinach Salad (Approx 125 cals) + Black Bean Brownie (196 cals)  

Salad

 Spinach, steamed broccoli, asparagus, green bell pepper, 1 celery stalk, 2 tsp feta cheese, 2 Tbsp Roasted Red Pepper Hummus  

Brownie w/ PB

 Black Bean Brownie based on this recipe except, I only baked for 20 mins and used 3/4 cup splenda  

Dinner: I decided to make lettuce wraps for dinner tonight. (4 lettuce leaves + 1/2 cup mixture – 185 cals)  

Lettuce Wraps

  Boston Lettuce for the wraps.  For the filling: ground turkey, garlic, onion, mushrooms, water chestnuts, red bell pepper, asparagus, red pepper flakes, low sodium tamari, and sesame oil  

Black Bean Brownie

 Dessert – black bean brownie w/ pb  (196 cals) + 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (30 cals)  

I think I will try to make these black bean brownies with egg substitute next time to cut some of the calories and fat.   

Workout: None – on the mend  

Total Calories: 1077 cals 

Alright y’all…I’m off to watch some TV with the hubby and then it’s off to bed with my new Book club book…Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.  

Peace out… 

“The triumph can’t be had without the struggle”

*Wilma Rudolph

Friday night when we went to pick up our race stuff, we saw a wall with all of the registered runners!  Woah…that’s a lot of people.  But I found my name…it was cool!

Gasparilla wall

Breakfast: Here’s what I had pre-race – 2 pieces of Millet toast with natural peanut butter. (275 cals)

Pre-race Breakfast

Here’s me before we headed out to the race

Pre-Race Gasparilla

Here’s me after the race with my medal!  Yay I did it!!!

Post-Race Gasparilla

Gasparilla 2010 Medal

Here’s my time…and I am really proud of it.  I haven’t been able to run much since January, and this is the farthest I’ve run since then.  So, I’m really happy with the results of my first race!  Can’t wait for the next one.

Race Results

Oh my goodness!!!  There were so many people…like 9700 running in the 5K.  When we got up to the vicinity of the starting line, we didn’t realize that the race had already started. So, by the time we actually started it was like 4 mins into the race and people were just like walking.  I was like, what are you doing…go!  So, we took off, pretty fast too and were just weaving in between people, where ever we could go, it was jam-packed with lots and lots of people. We managed to do pretty well. After the race, we couldn’t find the hubby for a while, so we walked around, claimed our beer and then when we thought we were going to have to walk back in the rain, we saw the hubby!  Awesome.  Next time we’re going to have a better plan about where to meet up because I just assumed we’d be able to find one another.  Nope!

After getting home from the race, I hung out on the couch with an ice pack on my hip and the hubby cooked us up an amazing meal.

Lunch: Chicken Adobo adapted from this recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen and homemade chickpea pasta.  We used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs, which I don’t like (or buy).

Chicken w/ Chickpea Noodles & Zucchini

The hubby made us pasta…from scratch!  We used the chickpea flour we had on hand since we’re following the South Beach diet.  I was heavier than regular pasta, but amazing.  Nice texture and good flavor.

Chickpea Pasta

After a late lunch, I read more of my book, but didn’t end up going to Book club because I could barely walk.  So, I just hung out at home and read my book while the hubby went out to “Manly Man Night”.

This quote is definitely resonating with me right now.  I was able to run and finish the Gasparilla 5K, but not without the consequences of running on a bum hip. I spent the weekend in so much pain…it hurt to walk.  I did get to see an Orthopedic doctor yesterday and he gave me a prescription for an anti-inflammatory which has helped tremendously.  I guess I’ll have to lie low for a while.  I know that this quote may not mean what it means to me right now, but it means sacrifice and pushing yourself even when you don’t feel like it.  I can’t wait to be 100% better so I can run a race with my sister!

Alright y’all, have a great afternoon and I’ll see ya later.