Corn Cakes & A Crab

Thank you all for the early birthday wishes!! Birthday plans are in the works. Josh and I are hoping to do something special this weekend (maybe rock climbing or kayaking). I’d love to get some Fresh Berry froyo too. And my parents are having a little BBQ birthday party for me on Labor Day. So lots of great things in store! Its a big birthday week in the food blogger world! I'd like to send a Happy Birthday out to Rose and Erin!!!

OK, onto today. I am super crabby.....not sure whats up, maybe just not enough sleep? I think Frank is in the same boat...


My manager allowed me to work from home today=heaven! I put in an early morning four mile run, in hopes that the run would get things moving in my tummy. No such luck. Work was fairly busy (made the day go by fast!). After work, I ran out and took my friend Jennifer’s 45 minute spin class. I was a sweaty monster afterwards (fabulous!) When I got home, I realized I had gotten my/Frank's prize from a contest we won on Meals and Moves:

Thank you so much Janetha and Penelope Jane!!! Frank & I cannot wait to enjoy our treats (Frank already opened his cookies ;)).

For dinner tonight, I made a recipe from one of my favorite blogs, No Meat Athlete. As soon as I saw this recipe, I book marked it and put it into my meal plan for this week. Since I had some TJs refried black beans sitting in the pantry, I decided to use these (versus cooking up the black beans as per the NMA recipe).

The corn cakes came out AWESOME! Aside from the refried black beans, I topped mine with salsa and bell pepper. SO yummy!!

Now I am awaiting Josh's return from the gym. I think we're headed to Lowe's to pick up our new grill. I am super excited. Maybe the new grill will make the crabby me disappear ;)

Do you have a grill? What is your favorite grill recipe (feel free to provide links!!)?

Busy Weekend, Bad Blogger ;)

Hi guys! Hope you had a nice weekend. Ours was great but very busy and filled with too much travel! I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures this weekend (sorry). Here is a quick/ general recap. Note: I am not in any way discussing all of my meals...just the ones I happened to take pictures of.



Friday:

After pump, I showered up and then we headed to the airport. I enjoyed a luna and Health magazine while we waited for our flight. I'm not a HUGE Luna fan, but this one was yummy! It actually tastes a lot like those reduced fat lemon girl scout cookies they had a few years back.



The wedding we were attending was at the Jersey shore. We flew into Philly and drove to the rehearsal. Here is a picture of Josh and I looking super tired at the rehearsal dinner:

Saturday:

The next morning, I woke up extra early. The bed at the hotel was pretty uncomfortable and the hotel was in a noisy local....so sleep wasn't really happening. I laced up my shoes and went for a 4.6 mile run. Afterwards, I enjoyed a lara and some WaWa coffee (I miss Wawa!!). I rarely eat bars at home, but they are PERFECT when you're traveling:

It was super rainy the majority of the weekend, but cleared up right after the wedding (great for the wedding pics!). Here is a cute picture of the couple right after the ceremony:

And a picture of me and Josh (Josh was in the wedding):

The reception was held at a country club and was absolutely beautiful! The veggie meal was HUGE and was the traditional pasta. I ate about 1/8 of this and Josh managed to eat almost the whole rest of the plate along with his crab cake dinner :

A few more random pics- Josh and his friend R:

Me and some of the girls. It was SO cold in the banquet hall, I wore Josh's jacket the majority of the night....it may have been a little large on me ;)

Overall, the night was a blast! After the reception, we hung out at the hotel bar for a while. I'm not a drinker, so I stuck to water, but it was a blast :). After lots more travel, we arrived home around 5 pm tonight. I threw some clothes in the wash and headed to the food store. Since then, I have been non stop! I did lots of laundry, gave Frank a bath, helped Josh cut his hair, and made din din. Josh got whole wheat tortellini with turkey sauce:

I was pasta-ed out and made myself a giant salad with a bowl of cantaloupe and some nut butter (how I missed you cantaloupe!!):

Josh and I are about to watch Entourage and then pass out! I am hoping I get to work from home tomorrow (fingers crossed) because my tummy is sort of up in arms :(.

What are you looking forward to this week? My birthday is Wednesday...so I'm looking forward to that! I will be 27 (when did that happen????).

Chobani: New Flavors Review

Thank you all for your kind comments about my 9 miler yesterday! You really know how to make a gal smile ;)

As I mentioned previously, the wonderful folks at Chobani sent me some samples of their two new flavors, Pineapple and Pomegranate. Below is a review of the two new flavors:

2% Pineapple:


The new pineapple chobani rocks! It is officially Josh's favorite chobani flavor. I asked him for his review and he says that all you need to know is...its awesome! I enjoy that it has all the great flavor of pineapple without being over the top sweet! Loveeeee it!


0% Pomegranate:

Again, yummmmmy flavor. Gentle but not over the top. I am not a HUGE fan of the pom seeds in the yogurt but Josh enjoyed them. Nice creamy texture.

My Chobani flavor preferences are now as follows:

1) Pineapple

2) Plain (with a little bit of added honey....I have never actually been able to locate the honey flavor)

3) Blueberry

4) Vanilla

5) Peach

6) Pomegranate

7) Strawberry

Josh's are:

1) Pineapple (obviously)

2) Pomegranate

3) Tie between Strawberry, Peach, Vanilla

4) Tie between plain and blueberry (Josh doesn't like blueberries and he just can't do the plain ;))

Run out and get the new flavors! They are fab.

On this Friday, I started my day with Body Pump. The rest of our day today and tomorrow will be dedicated to Josh's friend Jon's wedding (Josh is in the wedding). I may be MIA until Sunday night. Enjoy your weekend!!!

9 miles, Fridge Cleanout

I am in a wonderful mood tonight!! I haven't really shared it with ya'll, but I have been toying with the idea of running in some races- specifically an upcoming 10k bridge run and a 10 mile run (and hopefully...eventually a half marathon). In potential preparation, I have started following my own little training plan. Tonight marked my first longer run. I ate a snack at the end of my work day, drove home, got changed and set out. I am happy to say I completed my first 9 mile run!!!!!!! I want to thank my legs...

for cooperating. Here is a sweet sweaty picture of me after my run:

I'd also like to thank some of my awesome fellow bloggers who are INCREDIBLE runners and truly inspire me including Meghann, Caitlin, Alison, Matt, and countless others I'm forgetting right now.

After my run, I got showered, and did some stuff around the house. By dinner, I was famished! I'd like to note that what I show on the blog is NOT all I eat at night. I eat approximately 5-6 meals a day (its what works for me). What I show is my 4th or 5th meal and I usually snack later. For din din, I worked (again) on cleaning out the fridge. Not to totally bore you, but I had the same thing as last night ;)

For my "fifth meal" later on, I had some cereal and an apple. Josh had the new pineapple chobani (look for a full review tomorrow), a big load of eggs, an arnold's thin toasted with a little smart balance, and a pear:

He is now eating some cookies and milk :)

What is your eating schedule like? Do you tend to eat three meals? Do you snack?

Sesame Crusted Tuna, Healthy Eating Rules & Body Pump

Hooray for Wednesday!! Glad you all enjoyed the Body Attack video and thank you for responding with your healthy rules. Here is a quick summary of some of your rules/thoughts:

• Eat lots of fruits and veggies (Maria eats an apple a day (which I think is fabulous), and Eve tries to make her plates at least half fruits and veggies (wonderful tip!))
• Drink plenty of water (Taylor aims for 64 ounces of plain water aside from her other beverages- great job girl!)
• Eat balanced meals (proteins, fats, carbs)
• Eat mini meals
• Portion control desserts (Jenna likes to "live a little" (such a great phrase!!) and have a few pieces of candy or a little dessert every day)
• Stephanie noted she never skips a meal because it just leads to overeating (agreed!)
• MizFit eats intuitively (she just rocks :))
• Jessica tries to make sure she is actually hungry when she eats (not just eating to eat- another great tip)

My day started off right with a quick run and Body Pump. Body Pump is Les Mills barbell strength class that provides me with my huge muscles ;). Here is a quick promo video to make you want to lift some weights:

After pump, I had work and then ran some errands. I adjusted my plans for dinner tonight because I wanted to use up a lot of our fresh produce. For Josh, I made Tuna Medallions with a Sesame Crust based on this recipe (I wish I liked tuna....). I was VERY nervous about making this as I have never seared anything. Josh had his tuna with a dinosaur plum:

...and a big spinach salad with pea pods, broccoli, broccoli slaw, water chestnuts, whole wheat cous cous, almonds, and a little olive oil...

And here is the tuna! I over cooked it just a hint (but I was nervous!):



All together now:

I had another lovely mix of tomatoes, peppers, onions, green beans and white beans with a little olive oil and chili powder, cooked under the broiler in the oven in tin foil. I put the cooked veggies on top of crisp romaine with some salsa. YUM!

And cantaloupe = this times 2 plus nut butter :)

and.............Josh (so so sweet) stopped on his way home and picked up my FAVORITE candy as a special treat. What a guy....love these raspberries and blackberries and I hardly ever eat them :)

On a side note, I also did Polly's Yoga for Runners today. Felt fabulous! Do you do any yoga, tai chi or pilates? If so and you're a runner, do you feel like you have a better run the day after a yoga practice? I definitely do!!

Top Chef tonight- hooray.

Melty Mozzarella Sammies

Thank you all for your yucca suggestions!

Hope you had a nice Tuesday. Mine went pretty well!! I worked, did a little bit of light cleaning & laundry, and headed out to teach Body Attack. I have received a lot of questions about the Les Mills group fitness classes I teach & take, so I wanted to insert this video of a portion of a Body Attack class I found on youtube.

Hope you enjoyed it! When I got home, I made up an easy dinner for Josh and I. Josh had a toasted Arnold thin topped with WFs pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, spinach, a little marinara sauce and a shake of S&P. On the side he had some more mozzarella, steamed green beans and an orange:

I had the same thing minus the pepperoni, plus sliced tomato. On the side I also had tons of steamed green beans and cantaloupe (addict):



Question- Do you all have any general healthy eating rules that you try to stick to on most days? I try to eat a fruit and veggie with every meal (even if it is just a little lettuce on a sammie). I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Yucca is Yucky

Ahhh Monday. Today turned out to be kind of slow. I tried to maintain a positive attitude and took a break at lunch to go to Starbucks for a Skim Misto which did turn my day around (thanks ‘bucks).

After work, I quickly buzzed home and went for a run. Nothing like exercise therapy. Plus I made it to 6.7 miles today- felt awesome! I then quickly went through the Body Attack tracks I’m teaching tomorrow. I got showered and started on dinner.

I made Josh Steak in the following marinade that I originally posted about here:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix ingredients. Let steak sit in marinade for ~ 4 hours. Cook under the broiler or on aluminum foil on the grill (looks a little crispy but it was actually cooked just to Josh's liking!!).

I also made him a baked potato:

The baked potato was a substitute for the yucca I made tonight. Has anyone ever tried making yucca? I removed the skin, boiled it until tender, removed the woody core, and then baked it up. The result? YUCK! Maybe its an acquired taste. I was sort of bummed, as I was hoping it would make up a good chunk of my din din. Instead, I ended up with a salad of romaine and spinach topped with oven grilled veggies (peppers, onion, tomatoes, white beans and a little bit of olive oil and chili powder baked in aluminum foil in the oven).

On the side I had a large quantity of cantaloupe and nut butter ;).

What are you looking forward to this week?

POMx Iced Coffee, Sunday

Hey All! Hope you had a nice weekend. Here is my Sunday:

My day started off early! Josh had to get up to draft his fantasy football team, so I put together a nice breakfast for him of peanut butter puffins and a side of a new product, POMx Iced Coffee. The wonderful people at POM sent me two of the new flavors to try, Café au Lait and Chocolate:



According to POMx, these products are, “Made with premium, all-natural ingredients, POMx Iced Coffee is a delicious blend of antioxidants, caffeine and rich coffee.” Josh tried the Chocolate (190 calories, 0 g fat, 10 g Protein):

Josh thought the iced coffee beverage was just ok. He liked that it was a little thicker than your usual iced coffee and enjoyed the gentle chocolate flavor. However, he was a little disappointed in the coffee flavor itself…he said it just tasted a bit off. I am excited to try the Café Au Lait and will let you know my thoughts.

After I gave Josh his breakfast, I headed out the door to Hot Yoga!!! I treated myself to an awesome 90 minute class- it was incredible. I took it at Blue Turtle Yoga which is inside Eco Fitness.

I ran to WFs after to pick up some 3 for $5 cantaloupes (what a great sale). I got home and ate some brunch. Then Josh and I headed to the pool for about 45 minutes (between his drafting sessions ;)).

I did lots of work around the house and walked through some new tracks for Body Attack next week. I also spent some time with these two cuties:

I took the Frankster for a walk, showered, then made myself some din din. Cantaloupe:

And baked jicama rounds with a side of salsa and white beans:

Now I’m trying to figure out what I want for dessert ;) Did everyone catch the new Top Chef?? What do you think?

Pita Pocket Pizza

Today was filled with a very productive morning and a lazy afternoon :). In the morning, I taught Body Step, went food shopping, did lots of laundry, ironed and caught up on blogs. This afternoon I.....have been relaxing!

For din din tonight, I made up little pizzas on whole wheat pita pockets. For Josh's pizzas, I combined marinara and buffalo sauce and topped it with mozzarella and buffalo chicken breast lunch meat. He ate his pizzas with a side of pineapple:

For me, I used marinara, cheese, and tons of veggies (peppers, onions, broccoli). I had a side of pears and more veggies topped with a little marinara (I am tomato sauce obsessed!):

I baked the pizzas at 375 for probably 12ish minutes. It was a great, easy dinner. Josh requested a coffee dessert so I just brewed some up! I never say no to coffee haha. We will probably hang in and watch movies tonight. What are you up to?

A Simple Appetizer, Cookie Friday

Hey guys! Sounds like you all have some wonderful weekend plans and that a lot of people are going to just be relaxing (hooray to that!). I hope to get lots of relaxing in too.

After work yesterday, I grabbed a quick snack and headed to the gym. I took Body Flow and then taught Body Attack. I flew home to shower and prep my appetizer for the going away party we were having for one of the group fitness instructors. Although I am very sad that she is leaving, I am super excited for her. She was unhappy in her job and sad because she was living so far away from her family. As a result, she quit her job, is moving closer to her family, and is pursuing personal training.

My appetizer for the party was inspired by a recipe Esi posted for Caprese Skewers. Since I couldn’t find the smaller balls of mozzarella, I decided to do a Caprese & Salami platter (mozzarella and tomatoes topped with basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, basil, S&P (the picture below is pre olive oil/vinegar) and salami on the side):

I also wanted to let you know that I participated in Tina’s Cookie Friday. I split this Vegan Chocolate Chip cookie with Josh:

Enjoy your Saturday! I am off to teach Body Step and then am making my weekly food store visit. Hopefully after that we will be headed to a new local waterfront park!

Added to Note: Gina (the fabulous Fitnessista!!) has a new website and its not automatically updating in your google reader. Make sure you add her new website to your google reader!