China Study Cookbook: 20 Recipes In!

That's right! After less than a month, I've prepared twenty of the recipes, and two I've repeated!

Originally I had intended to cook my way through the three sample weekly meal plans provided, but the craziness of our summer schedules hasn't worked well with that idea. Now I'm just selecting a few that will fit in here and there, and tracking the results as I go. I've accumulated quite the list to share! So, if you're interested, I'm going to begin posting my adventures from this book - if you're not, well, just ignore the posts.

And by the way... NINE MILES!

China Study Cookbook: Sample Meal Plan 1

I've just received a new cookbook: The China Study Quick and Easy Cookbook. Usually I preview cookbooks via the library (or Barnes & Noble) before ordering, but this one was brand new and oh so intriguing I didn't want to have to wait. I'm glad I didn't, because upon flipping through it was immediately apparent that the recipes were both appealing and accessible - no huge list of new or difficult to find ingredients, and prep times low enough to be workable for weeknights. I decided to go all in and start exploring the contents by using the sample weekly meal plans provided. Here's a recap of Sample Meal Plan 1.

MONDAY

Breakfast:
Apple Pie Granola
(included Two-Minute Date Puree)

I made a half-recipe, which combined with a little almond milk provided seven breakfasts for me. Absolutely delicious!





Lunch:
Tomato, Corn, Fresh Basil Soup
mixed green salad (with All-Purpose Vinaigrette)

This was a super-easy soup to put together, very fresh tasting and with a little kick! The homemade vinaigrette was light and tangy.




Dinner:
Southwest Burger
mixed green salad

First time I've ever cooked with bulgur - these burgers are sensational!

TUESDAY

Breakfast:

Apple Pie Granola

By the way, a half-recipe of the granola fit perfectly into the 1.5 quart-sized Oxo pop-up container - I love those things, I own a bunch!

Lunch:

Southwest Burger

mixed greens salad

The burger was just as good reheated in the microwave the next day.

Dinner:

Falafel Tacos

mixed greens salad

Definitely getting my fill of greens this week! The falafel tacos were good, but I need to do a little tweaking for my personal taste.

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast:

Apple Pie Granola

I can't tell you how much I began looking forward to breakfast - I am hooked on this granola!

Lunch (not pictured):

Tomato, Corn, Fresh Basil soup

mixed greens salad

Dinner:
Tostadas
mixed greens salad

THURSDAY

Breakfast:

Apple Pie Granola

Soooo gooooooood...

Lunch:

Southwest Burger

This was supposed to be a Basil Pesto Hummus wrap, but I didn't get around to prepping it the night before. So I didn't exactly complete the meal plan.

Dinner:

Penne with Fresh-Herbed Corn Salsa

mixed greens salad

The salsa was amazing - and a fantastic topping in combination with diced avocado for the pasta!

FRIDAY

No pics, sorry!

Apple Pie Granola

Penne with Fresh-Herbed Corn Salsa

Definitely two thumbs up for week one! We're going on vacation this coming week, so the second meal plan won't be coming until after that. Stay tuned!

And just to keep you updated on the half-marathon training, my farthest distance thus far is 7 miles!!!

Half-Marathon Bound!

Second 5K of 2015!

It's amazing to be running outside again after the doldrums of winter - though I did run my first snow race last month:

And here's how I know I'm serious about training for the half-marathon this summer: according to my training schedule, yesterday was a four-miler. After the 5K, I actually stopped at another park to get in the final mile I needed. Crazy.

July Wrap-Up

I've now been at my new job for nearly two months, and I love it! I'm now at the local community college in a staff position - Instructional Technology/Faculty Development. So, I teach teachers! Right now our big project is moving everyone to a new LMS (learning management system) named Canvas, hence the sign outside my office:

Due to my utter enjoyment of the new job, the first sighting of this at the beginning of the month wasn't so bad:

In running news, I knocked out another 5K a week ago, the local YMCA annual fundraiser:

I'm also beginning to (very slowly) increase my distance, as my sister-in-law Kristine and I have decided to run a half-marathon next summer! Woot woot!

Some other highlights included going to the Lincoln Park Zoo and a White Sox game on the Fourth of July:

It's hard to see, but the top line above the stats on the scoreboard says "Fourth of July Stats;" ahhh, data...

Shortly thereafter I spent a wonderful day hanging out at the lake with my friend Erin, after her return from Costa Rica! What a gorgeous day...

We took a trip to go to Mike's high school reunion; while there we also went up to Galena for an afternoon and of course slipped in a Whitey's visit! And yeah, that photo of Galena is pretty lame, I wasn't very ready with the camera this weekend for whatever reason.

And, the Riggie had to endure two trips to the vet this month. Once for his annual exam/vaccine, then again yesterday because the poor guy has a sore on his paw and needed some antibiotics! He was not pleased. Here he is, trying to make his escape:

Just a few more days left in July, then we'll see what adventures August brings!

253 Days

So, 253 days to recap...

Yesterday was my first 5K of 2014... which means it was my first 5K since my last post, back in October. Too icy this past winter!

In May I graduated with my Reading Specialist MAEd (that's a hockey playoff beard, by the way):

This guy has officially been with us for over a year (look at him, he's huge!):

This guy continues to do what he does best (hint: you're looking at it):

I cheered Mike on through his first year of Sunday School (sorry, no six days of teaching for me!):

We survived this nonsense:

There have definitely been more pies, though nowhere near 52, not surprisingly:

And had the absolute best year of my teaching career, hands down:

Those are the biggies of the past 253. Plus I have decided not to be a teacher anymore and I have a brand-new job.

35!

Today is my 35th birthday, woot woot! I have been looking forward to 35 since I was 15 years old. I know it's an odd thing to say, but from observing the adults around me it seemed to me that the twenties were full of a bunch of nonsense. Having now lived through them, I think that was a rather perceptive observation, because my twenties were full of a bunch of nonsense. But 35... I always looked to 35 as a time of stability.

Don't get me wrong, my days still have plenty of nonsense (most of which I create for myself, either for my own amusement or due to a lack of writing things down that need to be remembered), but overall life is stable.

So here's to being 35!

Here's how I celebrated this weekend:

-Friday night we ordered pizza, the world's most perfect food. We also prepped some food that we signed up to bring for our church's big annual fundraiser, more on that shortly.

-Saturday morning I ran in my third 5K, my last in the 30-34 category!

 The race was held in Kankakee River State Park - it was gorgeous!

My bib and t-shirt.

-Saturday afternoon these beautiful flowers appeared in the house : ).

-Saturday evening I worked in the pie room for our church's Swiss Steak Supper, with these wonderful ladies.

That's me, leaving a note for the teacher whose room we borrowed!

-Sunday morning was filled with church activities. First, the Sunday school kids sang (that's Mike at the piano, he's one of the Sunday school music teachers this year!). Then we sang with the regular church choir. And then we sang at the first Christmas Cantata rehearsal of the year - the holiday season is beginning!

-Sunday afternoon I took a glorious nap next to these guys:

-Sunday evening: I am currently working on lesson plans (with a little blogging to break things up), and my hubby will be cooking tonight's meal. Great birthday weekend!

C25K Graduate Supreme!

I did it!

The first day that I ran an actual 5K straight was July 31, when we were on vacation in Boston. Thus, I ran my first 5K in the Boston Public Gardens!

 

Could not ask for a more beautiful location.

Then, after completing a 9th week of 5Ks, today I ran in my first race!

I feel comfortable now referring to myself as a C25K BEAST! 

Now I've just gotta keep it up during the start of the school year : ))).

More Pie, More C25K

Pie #8! Black Bottom Peanut Butter Cloud Pie, mmmmm mmmmmmm!

 Graham cracker crust, topped with melted chocolate chips, topped with chopped peanuts.

 Filling of peanut butter, cream cheese, sugar, whipped cream, and meringue.

 Topped with more chopped peanuts.

Frozen, sliced, served. Tastes like a soft and airy Reese's peanut butter cup in a crust.

Am I worried about the calories? Nope, because I just did this:

I'm still rocking the C25K. It took me a little bit longer (an extra 4 minutes) than 25 minutes to hit 2.5 miles, but I did it, and with energy to spare. I am a BEAST! Or am I a Belle?

That's how I picture myself. Reality is probably more like this:

Either way, 2.5 miles is 2.5 miles. Go me! Now where's that pie?

My Opinion: Treadmill vs Running Outside

Just started another week of C25K!

Not gonna lie, feeling pretty awesome right about now. Since I'm heavily invested at this point I'm going to weigh in on the treadmill vs outdoor running question. This one pops up a lot when you spend time surfing message boards and blogs about C25K. Not that I've been doing that on a regular basis over the past week or so or anything. Maybe just a little.

Anyway, here are my thoughts, assembled in stream of consciousness fashion. I began my running on a treadmill at the Y. My thinking first of all is that most people who work out at the Y look ridiculous, so if I look ridiculous running I'll blend right in. I liked knowing my exact speed and not having to deal with traffic, sun, or pesky hills ("hills" being a bit of an exaggeration, as I live in the Chicagoland area in which curbs are higher than most of our "hills"). I also didn't have "real" shoes yet, so I thought it safer to run in my cross-trainers on the treadmill than outside. I had no real basis for this theory, just pure speculation.

I attempted running outside for the first time (after getting real shoes) after completing Week 4. Week 4 ends with a Run 3, walk, run 5, walk, run 3. To be on the safe side I repeated a Week 2 workout - Run 90 seconds, walk 2 minutes, repeat for 20 minutes. I figured that would be a good way to ease into running outside, since I was up to 5 minutes on the treadmill.

It was hard. Each 90 second interval seemed to get longer and longer. I began griping at myself internally for not starting outside sooner.

My second attempt was after finishing Week 5, which ended with a 20 minute non-stop run. I thought that since I had run for 20 minutes on the treadmill I could handle moving on to Week 6 Day 1, which was Run 5, walk, Run 8, walk, Run 5. 8 minutes after running 20? Piece of cake.

And it was. At the end of that workout I decided that I was finished with the treadmill, as running outside was far superior! 

Here's why. One of my hesitations about moving from machine to nature was the fear of boredom. At the Y I had multiple distractions in addition to listening to music: I could read my Kindle, I could watch the morning news shows (airplane crashes, train crashes, second degree murder trials, and of course Matt Lauer), I could watch the other ridiculous looking people working out. I was afraid that without the distractions I wouldn't be able to trick myself into making it through the long stretches. I couldn't have been more wrong. 

Running outside, away from those distractions, made me more focused on me, which turned out to be a good thing. Outside I experienced the run, rather than avoided awareness of the run. I felt strong, I felt powerful... I felt like a beast!

Running outside you feel the wind on your face, you hear the birds tweeting, see the bunnies frolicking about, and the smell is the best part - that smell of cut grass and flowers and nature. 

I'm getting to know my neighborhood a lot better. We've only been here about a year, approximately 10 1/2 months of which were winter (ahem, Chicagoland) so most of that time has been spent indoors. I don't plot out my routes ahead of time, I just run where the spirit moves me (and it usually moves me along tree-lined streets, weird huh?), which leads to plenty of exploration.

Most of all, running outside gives me time to think. No distractions, no disruptions, no temptations to multi-task (as that would result in falling down). I finally felt the freedom that I hear runners talking about.

So, there is my long answer to the question. Running outside is preferable, by a long shot. I may choose to revisit the treadmill in the event of inclement weather, but we'll see what happens.

C25K!

Summer is a great time for reflection, thinking about what you'd like to accomplish and setting goals. One goal that I have been working toward this summer is completing the C25K program!

Running has never been my thing, primarily due to the terrible side stitches I have always been cursed with - and I mean always. I remember quitting gymnastics at a very young age because the conditioning running we did hurt so much. It's been a bummer, because I've always wanted to be a runner. I'd watch others run and think "Man, I wish I could do that!" Throughout junior high, high school, college, etc, etc, I would occasionally try to pick it up but it never worked out. That is not to say that other fitness routines didn't work for me - I could keep up with an intense elliptical workout forever. Just not running!

Finally I said enough, I'm going to do this thing! Enter C25K, short for Couch to 5K. It is a program designed to help non-runners gradually build up to running 5K through a combination of timed walks and runs. I use the iphone app, which I really like because you can play your own music through it and it alerts you when you should switch from walking to running and vice versa... plus it's FREE! I must say I'm really impressed with it. It's amazing how far I've come in only five weeks, from struggling to run repeated 60 second intervals to running for 20 minutes straight!

Of course an app alone won't get you off the couch, so I've employed a few other motivational tasks. This one's on my fridge:

There were several charts already available online, but some were variations on the program I'm using and some were, well, ugly, so I created this one to keep track of my progress (if you'd like one of these for yourself, there's a clean copy at the bottom of this post you can snag!). I'll confess that I really look forward to getting to cross off another box after each workout - somehow it substantially increases the feelings of accomplishment! I also assume my hubs would notice if the chart just "disappeared" one day, so it is a small measure of accountability.

Another motivational tool was that of financial investment - got me my first pair of REAL running shoes:

Love these shoes! I went to an actual running specialty store to go through the whole fitting process, which was pretty neat. I hesitated to do this - I'm the kind of gal that likes to do my research, go into the store, find what I want, try it on, buy it (preferably with a coupon), and leave. But, as a coach I know firsthand what happens when you don't take the effort to get the right equipment; and as a coach it would be pretty hypocritical to lecture parents about the importance of making the right investment and then not follow my own advice.

Five weeks down - more than halfway there!

Just right click on the picture below and save. Good luck, spud!